Just Booked my first cruise.?

Show all answers

Novarobin

What cruise line?
I just got home from a Carnival Cruise. In the morning, orange juice, apple juice and a mango-orange juice were free until 11am or so. You can take a bottle and fill it up so you have some later, which is what we didThen the only free drinks were water (ships water, didn't taste so great), iced tea and lemonade. You could buy an unlimited soda card for about $30. Coffee, tea, hot chocolate was free all the time as well.
Tips when doing excursions is something extra. Although you pay to do the excursion, they still expect a tip at the end. Some cruise lines look for tips for a few of the staff. The only extra tip Carnival asked for was for the Maitre D.
The shows and most entertainment is free. There were extras like Bingo, and fitness classes were extra ($12 for yoga).
Internet is not free. It was .75 cents a minute without buying a package. The packages started at like $50.
I can't think of anything else that isn't obviously free or not.

Erika

Soda is not included, but definately get the soda pass, where you pay one price in the beginning for all of your soda and thats it. We did it and it was definately worth it. We had friends that went with a bunch of people and their bill was like $900 (all together) for soda, when it would have been much much less if they had gotten the passes.

jonasbrothers1202

The only things that are not included in the price are alcohol, shore excursions, some restaurants on the ship you might have to pay for, and soda. Everything else is absolutely free and you can have as much as you want of it!! I am also going on my first Carnival cruise in April and I am so excited. My parents have been before though. Have fun =]

L_Card

You'll have so much fun! The other people answered the questions very well, but I wanted to give you a link.

Here's is a great message board where you can get all the info you could ever want or need.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/

nolainkansas

If there is a tiny frige in your stateroom you will be charged for anything you use out of there.
I always ask that it be emptied and then buy my own canned drinks at the first port.
Take along a cheap travel mug with a lid and you can fill it with juice at meals.

Paul in San Diego

For everything you pay for on the cruise, you pay with your ID card they give you that is your debarkation/embarkation pass, your room key, and your charge card (it charges the credit card you have on file). However, you can gamble with cash in the casino.

Things that cost extra on a cruise include:

- Sodas (you can buy them individually at about $2 each or get a soda card for about $5.50 a day - you must buy it for the week, though)

- Alcoholic beverages at expensive prices (like at a decent restaurant on shore). They also add a 15% automatic gratuity. And, you're not allowed to bring alcohol on board (maybe some wine for specific cruise lines).

- Bottled water (if you open that bottle of water in your stateroom, you pay for it).

- Luxurious meals at specialty restaurants (like $20 or $25 per person)

- Specialty coffee drinks (like espresso)

- Shore excursions and all expenses while on shore (unless it's included in an excursion)

- Spa treatments and products

- Casino (obviously)

- Gift shop and duty free shop purchases (including things like art or jewelry sales in the corridors)

- Other gaming, like bingo in the main showroom

- Room steward gratuity (automatic $10 per day per room)

Everything else is pretty much included. The buffet-style dining facility on the top deck is open for about 3 hours for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. You can either wait in line at the various server stations, or just pick things up from the buffet lines. There you can eat all you want. You can also order room service pretty much any time. But, you may have to wait a while if it's busy. And, you can eat a sit-down breakfast and dinner in the main dining room. Sometimes they also serve lunch. Free beverages include water (by the glass), hot or cold tea, standard coffee, hot chocolate, juices, and milk.

There are also various stations around the ship that might be open 24 hours. This might be a sandwich deli or a pizza station.

All shows are free and all contests are free (they sometimes have games by the pool or in the showroom, where they give away little prizes).

When in port, you can come and go as you please at no charge. That is, you can leave the ship and do what you want. You don't have to do the ship-sponsored excursions to leave the ship in port. But, if you come back late and you're not on a ship-sponsored excursion, the ship will leave without you.

Time travler

Except Disney or the top of the line cruise companies such as Crystal cruises, soda is a extra. Tea, coffee, water, and milk are usually free on all cruises. Don't forget that tips also should be paid. Many companies take out tips automatically from you credit card. They vary from about $10 a day per person to $12 a day per person. Of course shore excursions are extra and they can end up costing quit a bit. But they are always done very well and are trust worthy. I hope this helped.

Enter Your Message or Comment

User Name:
User Email:
Post a comment: