Anticipated onboard charges

[ZoeBell]

I love paying for as much of my trips as I can before I take the trip. Usually in the form all paid or GC set aside.

So I'm trying to come up with a fair amount I think we'll spend on board so I can have that many GC.

There are 3 of us going. 1 adult and 2(13yo) teenagers.

Right now I have about $400 in GC, plus $50 OBC. Is that a fair amount to start with?

After tips, which will be about $180, what else is there to spend my money on? We'll have $280?

Most likely no spa and not to many drinks. Oh and no excursions thru DCL. But I know things can add up rather quickly.

Also I can I apply the GC before we sail? Call Disney after I receive my docs? Or can my TA apply before hand? Is there a way check during the cruise how much your balance is?

Thanks...40 days

Help me spend my money DISers!!

 

[neg58]

I just went with my daughter, 16. The only charges we had were

1) sail away drink (sort of a waste but she wanted to do it) $18

2) sweatshirt and tote bags from the shops on board $75

3) t-shirt on Castaway $10

4) excursions on Castaway $110; Nassau $250 (dolphin swim)

I paid extra tips in cash. Charged tips were ~$100.

Not too bad. I don't drink much and we probably would have had more coffees at the Cove but my daughter wasn't old enough to sit in there and it was too much trouble for me. No Palo or Remy, no candy before shows. We're boring.

My daughter doesn't 'do' videos or arcades, so no money spent there. We also didn't buy any pictures as she was happy with the ones she took.

I'd put enough gift cards on the account to cover what you know you'll spend, and then go back to guest services if you need to apply more. If you overpay with gift cards, they'll put the money back onto the card (s).

Nancy

 

[ZoeBell]

I just went with my daughter, 16. The only charges we had were

1) sail away drink (sort of a waste but she wanted to do it) $18

2) sweatshirt and tote bags from the shops on board $75

3) t-shirt on Castaway $10

4) excursions on Castaway $110; Nassau $250 (dolphin swim)

I paid extra tips in cash. Charged tips were ~$100.

Not too bad. I don't drink much and we probably would have had more coffees at the Cove but my daughter wasn't old enough to sit in there and it was too much trouble for me. No Palo or Remy, no candy before shows. We're boring.

My daughter doesn't 'do' videos or arcades, so no money spent there. We also didn't buy any pictures as she was happy with the ones she took.

I'd put enough gift cards on the account to cover what you know you'll spend, and then go back to guest services if you need to apply more. If you overpay with gift cards, they'll put the money back onto the card (s).

Nancy

Thank you! We're quite boring as well..

I'll probably apply all my cards to the account and "force" myself and the girls to spend them. I'm sure they wouldn't mind a extra souvenir or an extra tooty-fruitty non alcoholic drink.

 

[quickcat]

We spend money on bingo and my son loves to do the pin trading so he always will buy a few new pins on board as well.
We dont do smoothies or the arcade but I know that could be another expense.
We also buy a few shirts on board too. You can always ask guest services what your balance is at any time.

 

[chemnerd09]

Thank you! We're quite boring as well..

I'll probably apply all my cards to the account and "force" myself and the girls to spend them. I'm sure they wouldn't mind a extra souvenir or an extra tooty-fruitty non alcoholic drink.

We're the same way. I only drink stouts which I doubt will be on the ship so no cost there. I have a feeling most of our money will be spent on Bingo. We love playing Bingo.

 

[STLEdge]

I only drink stouts which I doubt will be on the ship so no cost there.

The Tube on the Fantasy has Guinness available, which probably means you can order it at any of the Deck 4 bars.

 

[neg58]

I'll add that it is very unusual for me to do (and pay for) expensive excursions, but I thought the two we did were very good. We did Blue Island dolphins, and it was $199 for my daughter to swim with the dolphins and $40 for me to go as an observer. I could have booked it separately and saved about $30, but it was nice to know that I wasn't responsible for thinking the entire day and booked it through DCL. Stand here, ride this boat, stand here, take the pictures. No possibility of missing the ship at the return.

On Castaway, we did the stingray package, and got to feed the stingrays, go snorkling, have a bike ride and a float. It was great. It was about $50 and worth it.

Nancy

 

[Lauralooneyfordisney]

Extra items which you might want that cost extra are: any alcohol, smoothies, fancy coffee drinks, pictures, anything at the spa, some classes at the fitness center, drink tastings, anything from the gift shops, certain items on room service menu like bottled water, popcorn, candy.

 

[tastefullyjenn]

I would def budget for souvenirs. I always under budget for those!

If you haven't called and put your gift cards on your account prior to sailing (you can do that any time by the way, once you have a reservation number!), let guest services know you have gift cards you'd like to use first, otherwise they automatically charge your linked credit card once it gets to $400. LOL, just saw you didn't plan on even spending that much--still I'd let them know so you don't have a surprise charge!

 

[ZoeBell]

Extra items which you might want that cost extra are: any alcohol, smoothies, fancy coffee drinks, pictures, anything at the spa, some classes at the fitness center, drink tastings, anything from the gift shops, certain items on room service menu like bottled water, popcorn, candy.

I read your list am I'm like ...no, nope, no, no, not for us.

What? I said I was boring and a pretty cheap date...

 

[kcashner]

I want to know about this $10 t-shirt on DCL. That's better than I've managed at the sale racks. An adult shirt is generally $18-25 in the more "kid oriented" shops, higher in the pricier shop (where they are no longer considered basic t-shirts).

We've had cruises where we spent next to nothing beyond tips and cruises where we spent a whole lot more--it depends on the choices you make.

Photos--VERY costly. Carry your own camera. 8X10 at Shutters is $20, 6X8 recently increased from $10 to $12!

 

[ZoeBell]

I would def budget for souvenirs. I always under budget for those!

If you haven't called and put your gift cards on your account prior to sailing (you can do that any time by the way, once you have a reservation number!), let guest services know you have gift cards you'd like to use first, otherwise they automatically charge your linked credit card once it gets to $400. LOL, just saw you didn't plan on even spending that much--still I'd let them know so you don't have a surprise charge!

Oh it's not that I don't plan on spending that much. I just didn't know what there was to spend once I took away all the "stuff" I doubt we'd be doing.

I'm willing to spend what we need to have an enjoyable time. I don't mean the sky's the limited. I was trying to get a ball park figure so I could be prepared in GC. But I don't want to buy to many GC because they will be useless to me after the cruise.

 

[tastefullyjenn]

Oh it's not that I don't plan on spending that much. I just didn't know what there was to spend once I took away all the "stuff" I doubt we'd be doing.

I'm willing to spend what we need to have an enjoyable time. I don't mean the sky's the limited. I was trying to get a ball park figure so I could be prepared in GC. But I don't want to buy to many GC because they will be useless to me after the cruise.

here are some previously un-mentioned items we spent money on (that you could use a gift card for!)
hairbraiding
laundry
room service tips
rafts/intertubes at CC
water package

 

[neg58]

I want to know about this $10 t-shirt on DCL. That's better than I've managed at the sale racks. An adult shirt is generally $18-25 in the more "kid oriented" shops, higher in the pricier shop (where they are no longer considered basic t-shirts).

We've had cruises where we spent next to nothing beyond tips and cruises where we spent a whole lot more--it depends on the choices you make.

Photos--VERY costly. Carry your own camera. 8X10 at Shutters is $20, 6X8 recently increased from $10 to $12!

It was from the Bahama shop on CC, and it was a kids size shirt. They had a bunch of really nice adult ones from about $12 I think. It is on the path between the two areas of beach.

Nancy

 

[kmcford]

On our bill we had:

upgrade fee
pictures
Bingo
a few drinks
Christmas ornament and tshirts
tips

 

[kcashner]

It was from the Bahama shop on CC, and it was a kids size shirt. They had a bunch of really nice adult ones from about $12 I think. It is on the path between the two areas of beach.

Nancy

That makes sense....the local's shop area rather than the DCL area and the kid size explains it.

 

[leahmichl]

I didn't see mentioned my FAVORITE onboard cost - the deposit for a future cruse date We always budget in an extra $200ish for a 10% deposit on a dummy date for a future cruise.

 

[violetmonarch]

I didn't see mentioned my FAVORITE onboard cost - the deposit for a future cruse date We always budget in an extra $200ish for a 10% deposit on a dummy date for a future cruise.

Yes! do not forget that one! I am taking cash, because from what I understand is that you can pay at GS up to $500 on your KTTW account and once you start using up the amount, you can add more as you go. This is a way to keep from having just enough there if you need it, and also not overspend. Well, this made sense to me anyways, lOl.

 

[MichelleVW]

How much are drinks? I'm trying to figure out about how much we're going to spend and we don't drink a ton, but I"m sure that my DD21 and I will have at least 2 or 3 drinks a day a piece.

 

[Night Owl]

Is putting your on board spending amount on a disney gift card the way to go? I'm thinking its good for not having to carry the cash and not having to worry about using credit cards. This will be our first cruise ever with the family. I still need to research more on what all is included, but based on what people have mentioned so far, I don't think our on board expenses will be that much. We are not drinkers either.