Additional costs on cruise

[kdlefevre]

We are exicited to start our planning and preparations for our 1st Disney cruise. We know the basics that will cost extra like Tips, Adult drinks and shore excursions, but what else should we budget for and approximately how much?

Thanks for all the help, advice and insight. I am finding this forum to be a great resource.
Kevin

 

[samily]

Welcome to the boards!

A few other things you may or may not spend $ on...

pics at Shutters
spa
Palo
arcade
souvenirs
transportation to/from port
pre cruise hotel
snacks at theatres (just pick up something from deck 9 and you won't need to spend anything here)
tips for excursions, room service, porters, etc.
lunch in port if you are off the ship
internet
Cove Cafe (specialty coffees)
smoothies
beer/wine/martini tastings
bottled water (bring your own if you want it - way overpriced on the ship!)
post office at Castaway Cay to mail postcards (they accept cash only - best to bring small bills or change)

Have fun!

 

[mindy327]

Welcome to the boards!

A few other things you may or may not spend $ on...

pics at Shutters
spa
Palo
arcade
souvenirs
transportation to/from port
pre cruise hotel
snacks at theatres (just pick up something from deck 9 and you won't need to spend anything here)
tips for excursions, room service, porters, etc.
lunch in port if you are off the ship
internet
Cove Cafe (specialty coffees)
smoothies
beer/wine/martini tastings
bottled water (bring your own if you want it - way overpriced on the ship!)
post office at Castaway Cay to mail postcards (they accept cash only - best to bring small bills or change)

Have fun!

That pretty much covers it! With these, the best way to budget is to make a mock itinerary for yourself. Then decide what you "would" do on an average day. Example, day 1: Breakfast, Pool, Show (get drinks), Store shopping. Gift for kids, and yourself. Day 2: Excursion (lunch), kids to Club, Spa day.
You get the idea. This was very accurate in planning for spending cash. Hope that helps.

 

[kcashner]

You really can spend as much or as little as you wish on the ship (and in port). There are so many little places where the decisions you make do not have to impact your enjoyment, but can save serious dollars. For instance, do you need snacks while you watch a movie? If yes, can you bring something from home (my grocery store sells "movie packs" of candies for $1), or can you go to deck 9 and get a "fast food" snack to bring down (free), or do you need to buy it right outside the theater?

Can you bring your own camera and take MOST of your pictures on your own? I'm not saying to never buy a photo...just to think about what you buy. Can you walk to the drink station on deck 9 or do you need to get your beverage from the servers strolling around the deck? DCL is one of the few lines that allows you to bring alcohol on board--you can choose to do that rather than buying it in board. It really is your decision as to what level of effort is worth what level of savings.

 

[tinkmom2]

(LONG) We budgeted about $1000.00 for our spending money for a family of 4 for our 4 day cruise. We decided not to do excursions this time and will do them when we do our bounceback later this year. We are not drinkers but will be buying the refillable beer mug for my hubby and I(heard they are around $13). Also we bought a gift basket from Shirley and she is including water and juices and movie snacks for us so we don't have to buy them. I am bringing only $100.00 in actual cash with me to bring to port. We don't plan on buying a lot of souvies. My girls are 3 &9. The three year old doesn't know and the 9 year old knows the trip is her present. We are also doing a FE exchange so she will be getting plenty of goodies. We are still doing Palo and are renting some equipment on Castaway. I am going to be tracking my spending throughout the trip. We don't plan on spending a lot of time in the night clubs and plan on taking full advantage of the soda kiosk. We are bringing our own camera and may buy a picture or two aboard but don't want to spend the $90 package price. Also I had diapers and wipes sent to the ship so that's not a added expense for me.

 

[nic_x]

If you have kids who might be enticed by pin trading, that's another cost. There were a couple nights where crew members stood in the main lobby atrium, outside Lumiere's, (Triton's on the Wonder) and traded pins with kids. We bought each of our kids a multi-pack of small pins in the gift shop for about $13 a box, then let them trade those small pins.

If you do any shopping in ports (souvenirs, jewelry, etc.) or if you decide to eat at restaurants in port cities, that's a cost, too. We saved $$ by skipping the souvenirs and by ducking back onto the ship for lunch on port days. (Though on Castaway Cay, the lunch on the island is included in your cruise.)

 

[jbm02]

Samily's post was dead on. I am going to copy it to save since I'm sure I'll never find it again when we get closer to the cruise!!

Here is my two cents - we are making sure to budget enough for Shutters. The family pictures that they took were awesome. Better than many of the professional photographers we have patronized at home. Especially the white background ones. So while you can take great pictures of your family with the characters, at dinner, etc - consider putting some money aside for the family shots. They really are worth it.

 

[DVCconvert]

port parking if you'll have a car.

 

[Tigger98]

Here is an example of our budget:

Cruise Gift: Sail Away Pack #2103 - 15
Tips: Stateroom Host/Hostess - 48
Tips: Head Server - 12
Tips: Assistant Server - 36
Tips: Server - 48
Misc Tips: Room Service/Porters (CASH) - 25
Pictures: shutters - 100
Arcade - 40
Castaway Cay - Souv- 100
Excursion: Dolphin Encounter - 400
Port Parking - 60
Hotel - 137
Boarding: dogs - 105
Gas - 210
Total: 1336

Because we used cash for our trip, I seperated the items into individual envelopes and was able to keep better track. I also kept track of what we spent that way we wouldn't over spend.

 

[Bracy]

Here is our budget for our upcoming 7 night cruise (family of four)

Insurance 76
gratuities 280
other tips 30
taxi to beach in Tortola 55
taxi to beach in st. Thomas 90
cc bike rental 18
parking 105
bingo 40
Palo brunch 20
bar tab 0 (we bring our own alcohol)
shutters 25
souvenirs yet to be determined

Total: $739