How much money do I really need to take on a cruise?

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TINKERTOY ..... the 1 & only

The price of your cruise includes your cabin, all meals (including breakfast, lunch dinner, snacks and free room service), free admissions to all shows and entertainment, and free use of all facilities on ship except spa services. The things that you will have to pay for are:

GRATUITIES: They will amount to about $10 to $11 per person in your cabin per day; about $70 to $80 each for a 7 day cruise. When you check in at the pier they will set up an on-board charge account for you to cover any and everything you may buy on ship. They will issue you a "cruise card" which will also serve as your room key and pass to get on and off the ship. At the end of the cruise they will add the gratuity to your tab and you can pay with a credit card or cash, your choice. So everything on ship except the casino is cashless; everything you buy goes on your account. So take about $150 to cover the gratuities.

ALCOHOLIC DRINKS AND SOFT DRINKS: Coffee, tea, milk, juice, and lemonade and punch will be provided FREE but you must pay for soft drinks and alcoholic beverages and they will add a 15 percent gratuity to each drink and soft drink order. Drinks of cruise ships are generally in the range of $7 to $9 including the 15 percent gratuity that is included in each tab. Beer and wine are slightly less, maybe $6 to $7. If you are not a big drinker then maybe another $100 for drinks will do.

PHOTOGRAPHS: Cruise ship employees will take plenty of photographs of you all over the ship, in the dining room, and as you exit the ship in ports. These will cost a lot, like $15 to $25 for most and the cost of them goes on your on-board tab. You can save yourself a lot of money by taking your own photos and asking other passengers to take photos of you; they generally always will. We usually buy only the boarding photo if its a good one and skip the rest. So take $25 for a photo.

TOURS/EXCURSIONS: You are not required to book any tours and can get off and on in the ports as much as you want. But the cruise line will offer a lot of tours and these are expensive. Take enough money to cover the tours you plan to book, or maybe another $100 for taxi's if you go on your own.

SOUVENIRS: Anything you buy on ship from a gift shop or duty free shop goes on your on board account. Things that you buy on shore you pay cash or credit card for. If you just want a cap, "T" shirt or magnet then another $50 should cover that.

CASINO: If you plan to gamble on ship you will need cash for that. So take A total of $50 to gamble with; just go one night.

OTHER: The ship will have what they call "specialty" restaurants where there IS a gratuity/service charge of between $10 and $20. All other food on board is free and its not really necessary to budget for food; you cannot eat all of the FREE FOOD that will be available (so why pay to go eat).

SPA SERVICES: If you want/need to have your hair done, get a massage or wrap, or any services from the spa, you will have to pay for them. Spa fees start at about $70 to $80 and they go on your on-board tab if you use the spa services. You can use the gym free but the spa stuff cost big bucks.

INTERNET SVCS: Ships now have internet cafe and some have WiFi but the there is a fee for internet access and it is very expensive (like about $50 an hour). Skip the high priced internet and ship and wait for port stops where you can usually find an internet cafe where the charges are about $5. to $7 an hour. Just ask the cabin steward and/or your wait staff where the internet is at the port. They know because they use them when they can get off the ship.

ROOM SERVICE/MINI-BAR: You cabin will likely have a minibar with soft drinks and munchies; you have to pay for anything you take out of the mini-bar. But the room service (24/7) is always free. However, you should tip the person who brings your order at least a couple dollars, more if you order a full meal for several people.

Now, after saying all that my advice is take $400 to $500 and you can get more from an ATM if you need it. We do not drink a lot on cruises either and we normally take about $300 cash and our on board tab (which goes on our credit card) is usually just the gratuities, a drink or two and maybe a photo, totaling less than $200 each. The $300 cash is about what I take on a 7 day cruise and rarely use it all. If you decide to take more cash you can lock it in the safe in your cabin.

The ship has an ATM and depending upon what port stops you make you will likely find ATM's there also. Plus, if you need cash you can always go to the casino (when its open) and get cash on your cruise card.

Tyler

not a lot credit card works

Jenn Bunny â™¥

$500 and a credit card for emergencies should be fine.

Brittany

I'm pretty sure that that will be enough. It all depends on how much you want to spend on souvenirs and activities off the cruise. They can be quite pricey.

neil j

yes thats more than enough you will probably only need $500 each
i went on a 7 day cruise to Vanuatu from Brisbane Australia and only spent $300 on drinks and $250 on shore tours
Enjoy your cruise you will never eat so well in your life!

sally b

Based upon the facts that you have given, I would say that would be a sufficient amount. My husband and I spend a lot of time in the casino and find that $1500 is more than enough. We always bring some of it home but like to have it on hand just in case. The shore excursions are the ?? There are some that cost $200 to $300 per person. But if you are sticking with the normal $50 to $75 per person tours you will be fine

Barkley Hound

The basic cruise fare includes your room, meals in the regular dining rooms and buffets, room service, shows, and most ship facilities. Many ships also have free pizza, ice cream at various times. sushi, and hot dogs and hamburgers.

The extras are first tips. Figure about $10 per day per person for the tips to the room steward and wait staff. This is optional and some cruise lines automatically charge you. It can be adjusted or reversed at the end of the cruise. You should also tip a few dollars if you use room service. All bar drinks will have 15% added for a tip.

Many ships have alternate dining facilities that have a service charge of $15 on up. It may be a steak house or an Italian restaurant for example. There are also specialty coffee bars that charge. All bar drinks including sodas have a charge. The only free bar drinks are at the Captains Reception and the Repeat Cruiser Reception. Do not assume that the drinks being offered when you board are free. They are not. Some ships are even charging for juice at any meal other than breakfast.

There is a charge for any personal service such as laundry, salons, private trainers, etc. There is also gambling which includes the casino, bingo, and sometime deck games such as horse racing. A ship photographer will be taking pictures all over the ship and at special occasions. They cost over $10 each. Phone calls in the room are about $8 a minute. Some ships have cell phone service. You are charged for international roaming by your phone service at about $3 per minute. There is also a charge for using internet service on a ship but it is cheaper than phone calls.

Off ship excursions are expensive. They start at about $30 and can be in the hundreds. You can book them on the ship or go on your own. The ship will not leave without you if a cruise excursion is late. With one you did on your own they will not wait.

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