First Time Cruisers- What are the "incidentals".

[Alohakoa]

Hi everyone! My family is so excited to be going on the Fantasy this Winter! We have ever cruised before...aside from alcohol, port adventures, and the $12/per person/per day surcharge, what are the other hidden costs? I read somewhere that snacks in the movie theatre are not free (but can you bring in snacks)- soda in the theatre is not free? Are the kids clubs free?

We are a family of 6 so you can imagine what our overall costs are.... I am just trying to have a realistic expectation of the added cruise costs... Thanks in advance!

 

[DVCTigger]

You pretty much have it. Other things may include smoothies for the kids and photos. The kids clubs are free with the exception of the nursery. The snacks right outside the theater are extra, but you are welcome to bring snacks into the theater. We have brought in drinks from the drinks station, ice cream and cookies, and fruit. We are a family of 5 and have been able to get off the ship with only tips and maybe a drink and family photo, less then $100 in "extras". . .not including tips.
Good luck, but it is very easy to get off the ship without breaking the bank!!

 

[mmouse37]

Hi everyone! My family is so excited to be going on the Fantasy this Winter! We have ever cruised before...aside from alcohol, port adventures, and the $12/per person/per day surcharge, what are the other hidden costs? I read somewhere that snacks in the movie theatre are not free (but can you bring in snacks)- soda in the theatre is not free? Are the kids clubs free?

We are a family of 6 so you can imagine what our overall costs are.... I am just trying to have a realistic expectation of the added cruise costs... Thanks in advance!

Here is everything NOT included in the cruise price. You don't have to have any extra fees if you don't want to (other than tips...those are important)

• TIPS Sever, Assistant Server, head server, Stateroom host.
• Shore excursions (port adventures)
• Alcohol anywhere
• SPA Treatments
• Bars, all drinks inc Soft drinks+tip
• Palo Meals
• SPECIAL Drinks in restaurants, example Smoothies
• Shop purchases
• Bingo
• Auctions
• Photos
• Soft Drinks through Room Service
• Pre-Packaged Snacks (candy, popcorn, etc.) at the theaters & through Room Service
• Cove Cafe Coffee/beverages
• Laundry -DCL Service & Self-Serve options


• transfers to and from the port
• bottled beverages like water, beer, or soda
• PC:gratuities for your porter
• gratuity for room service deliveries
• arcade games
• services for Flounder's Reef (daycare) at $6/hr for children that aren't old enough for the kids club
• internet connections

Soft drinks are free in all dining rooms at any meal and in Topsiders /Beach Blanket Buffet & Cabanas, and at deck 9 Soda stations on Magic/Wonder and Deck 11 soda stations on the Dream/Fantasy.

 

[extechie rbd/wdt]

If you go to Prelude's or Dream Class equivilent and buy bagged popcorn or bagged candy then it is charged, but the soda drink's and coffee etc on the pool deck are included and you can bring them to the theater!
And any Snack's or beverages allowed to be brought back onboard or you boarded with as well.
I personally wouldn't bring hot food like burger's or fries from the pool deck or room service in, but some people have said they had no problem and other's have said they were asked to leave them outside.

Aside from that, it's your choice for the surcharge for Adult Dining only restaurant's, photo packages, BINGO!, Adult wine and alcohol tasting's, and I'm sure someone else with think of a few other's but hope that is a start!

Ex Techie

Already answered before my post was completed

 

[kcashner]

You can actually have a great cruise and spend essentially nothing beyond tips and the cruise costs (and cost of getting to/from the ship). On the other hand, you can spend thousands....

THoughts--anything done within the kid programming is at no cost (except teen excursions off the ship). For instance, if they do "Invade the Arcade," all games are set for free play during that time. If they do "Smoothie Party" or "Into the Blender," everyone present at that time gets a free smoothie.

Outside of the programming, a smoothie with gratuity is about $4.50. Adds up fast when you have multiple kids.

Keep your own camera handy and you'll save a bundle over Shutters. You can do the fitness center and the sauna in the locker room free; the rainforest room is $16 per day.

And I'll spare you what I told mine would happen if I ever saw a charge for a can of soda because someone was too lazy to go to the pool deck and get it free.

 

[Alohakoa]

Thank you so much for all your responses! That's helped me out tremendously!

 

[Dislaney4n6]

And I'll spare you what I told mine would happen if I ever saw a charge for a can of soda because someone was too lazy to go to the pool deck and get it free.

Oh.. This you HAVE to share!!!!

 

[Alohakoa]

What about on Castaway Cay? I am having trouble finding info on lunch, etc. there... Do you have to purchase meals while on the island?

 

[bibbidibobbidibecky]

What about on Castaway Cay? I am having trouble finding info on lunch, etc. there... Do you have to purchase meals while on the island?

The lunch on the island is included, too, and one of our favorite meals! Of course, alcohol on CC is extra. They also have the best fruit stand, which is all free. It's been three years since we were at CC but I assume they still have the fruit stand and the soft-serve!

 

[llqool]

Food on Castaway Cay is free, although alcohol (and smoothies etc) is not.

We of course paid for tips, but a few other things that we paid for on our cruises are:

-refillable beer mug (I usually bring wine with me, but my husband likes draft beers, and on a 7 day cruise the refillable mug can make for some savings if you are going to buy alcohol anyway)
-beer for mug
-self serve laundry
-pressing/dry cleaning (on our last cruise, we flew to Vancouver and our formal/semi-formal wear got all wrinkled. I found the Disney charges for pressing/dry cleaning are quite reasonable, in some cases even less than our local dry cleaner)
-tips for room service (Had to have an All Hands on Deck platter every afternoon!)
-Palo

We don't buy smoothies, we bring snacks, and our kids don't get the light up cups or anything unless they are purchasing it on their own (they get a LARGE allowance, so they are responsible for toys, souvenirs and other incidentals)

 

[ilovetexas]

I don't know how old your kids are but beware of the ARCADE!!!

When we went on the Wonder, my kids all got Disney gift cards for Christmas and knew how much they could spend on the ship. As a result, I left charging privileges on all their KTTW cards. Suffice to say that my youngest, who was 10 at the time and knew better, will never have charging privileges again. He blew through his money and more!

 

[llqool]

I don't know how old your kids are but beware of the ARCADE!!!

We are SOOOO lucky....up till this point, we have never let our kids even know this exists! I think we will be out of luck on our next cruise in August, when our older daughter will be 9. We will certainly keep an eye on her, though, and are NOT giving her charging privileges!

 

[LoveStitch]

the $12/per person/per day surcharge

I haven't heard about this before...can anyone tell me about it?

 

[faithtrustpixie]

Hi There-

We traveled on the Dream with our 6 year old DD. We thought we wouldn't spend on much, but we did a little more than we'd anticipated. Here's what we actually spent money on:

-The smoothies during the shows are really tempting for kids because they have a glowing Tinkerbell, Buzz Lightyear, Ariel, etc. We ended up getting two of those. (We had late dining so it was actually a decent snack.)

-The drink of the day comes in a cute plastic glass which I had to have . We ended up with three of those. Yum.

-DH and I each tried the spa but we restrained from purchasing the spa products. I'm not sure I will be able to restrain next time.

-We got a few things little items from the shops, but not many (thanks to the bounty in our FE everyday.)

-I ordered cans of diet coke for me and popcorn for DD for a "treat" from room service when my husband was on a snorkeling excursion.

-DH did an excursion at Nassau and we all did one at Castaway Cay. The Castaway excursion was not worth it because we were having fun just playing.

-DD had her hair braided.

-DH and I each got a few fancy coffees.

That was with for us, other than tips which we did in advance, then added cash for exceptional service which we were lucky enough to receive. (Why couldn't Noel, our Stateroom Host, come home with us?!)

Safe and happy travels.

 

[Phil'sFrontier]

If your family likes to shop the you can still spend lots of money. We spent more than enough.

 

[KsSteve]

I haven't heard about this before...can anyone tell me about it?

The $12 per person per day is to tip your head server, server, assistant server and room host.

 

[mmouse37]

I haven't heard about this before...can anyone tell me about it?

This is not really a surcharge but the gratuities. This is nothing new... the OP just called it a surcharge instead of gratuities or tips. They come out to about $12 per person per day but are paid at the end of the cruise.

There are a tons of threads on tipping if you do a search.

MJ

 

[LoveStitch]

Oh, thank you. Yes, I knew about the tips.

 

[kcashner]

The easiest way to think of Castaway Cay is that it is an extension of the ship. THe things that are "free" (really included with cruise fare) on the ship are free on the island; those that have a charge on the ship have a charge on the island. You charge to your KTTW card. The only exception is the post office which takes cash only.

Meals, sodas, tea, etc. are free. The beverages are similar to the beverage station on the ship. Anything purchased at a bar or from a roaming server on the beach will have a charge.

Again, you excursions here can range from a free "beach day" which can include snorkeling with your own equipment...to $6 float rental...to snorkel equipment rental...to parasailing, etc. Lots of choices, each with a price tag attached, but you can have a great time without spending much.

The arcade--there are horror stories of bigger kids convincing younger ones with charging to recharge their arcade cards. Your kid can use the arcade without charging on his KTTW--mom or dad buys an arcade card loaded with the amount they consider appropriate. Kid can use this till it runs out, then needs to see mom or dad again. But WHY? they can play free during "Invade the Arcade" time with the programming...and did they really come on a cruise to play arcade games?

 

[Aurora's Mommy]

(really included with cruise fare)

My DH's mantra "it's not FREE, it's INCLUDED"

Tip to the OP, I don't know how much time you have until your cruise, but when relatives asked over Christmas (birthdays, valentine's day, etc) what to get the kids, I suggested Disney gift cards. They can be applied to the on board account to cover those things the kids (in their minds) just have to have. My best friends went so far as to tell the kids it was for their "Arcade and Smoothie Fund" (although I agree with kcashner, why would you want to spend your cruise in the arcade?).