Charges on board

[jbuckent]

I'm impressed with those of you who have little or no bill at the end!

Our bill is usually pretty high, around $800 most of which is tips, photos and excursions.

 

[jenvin]

Thanks for mentioning bringing alcohol on board - I didn't realize I could do that! I'll be adding some more items to buy/pack before we board now

Jen

 

[jilljill]

Oh, yes ...big help especially the tip about the smoothies.... we love some smoothies.... is there a place to get them complimentary

The only place that I know of to get complimentary smoothies is in the teen club during a designated timeframe. Then it's only for the teens who are able to go in the teen club.

 

[FairyGrandmother]

Thanks for mentioning bringing alcohol on board - I didn't realize I could do that! I'll be adding some more items to buy/pack before we board now

Jen

Remember that all beverages must be carried on by you. You can not put it in the luggage you check. What cruise will you be on? We will be on the Sept 19 & 23 sailings on the Wonder.

 

[SucalT]

Remember that all beverages must be carried on by you. You can not put it in the luggage you check. What cruise will you be on? We will be on the Sept 19 & 23 sailings on the Wonder.

I will be on the second half of your B2B. Three weeks!!

 

[Silverfox97]

Does anyone know how much the Bingo costs? Is it everyday? Do they have so many sessions a day? My mom is a big bingo fan and she is going with us...I would like to know the damage before hand if possible. )

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2546252

 

[Silverfox97]

I actually find it very easy to curtail spending on a Disney cruise. We've never purchased any pictures, but then, DH is a very good photographer and lets face it, a lot of people are drawn in by the borders on the pics, not the actual picture (DH knows his way around photoshop, so if I ever wanted a border, he could replicate it no prob!!). Let's see.....on our first cruise, we did the getaway package at CC, which we felt was a waste of $$. Now, DH brings his own snorkel stuff. We don't buy Cove Cafe stuff. We brought 2 bottles of wine on with us, that sort of thing. You just have to be smart. Also, book thru a TA to get on board credit. Our on board credit on this last cruise covered our tips, all but $10.

 

[Adsmama]

Our waiter told us to bring our bottle of wine to dinner. He said as long as it is open he does not have to charge us a cork fee Too bad he is moving to the Dream

 

[Silverfox97]

Our waiter told us to bring our bottle of wine to dinner. He said as long as it is open he does not have to charge us a cork fee Too bad he is moving to the Dream

DH stopped at Promenade lounge, picked up 2 wine glasses, we filled them, and to dinner we went! Love doing that

 

[Adsmama]

DH stopped at Promenade lounge, picked up 2 wine glasses, we filled them, and to dinner we went! Love doing that

we did that too, until our waiter told us, just bring the bottle in !

 

[kjdaniel66]

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2546252

Thanks for the link. I ended up finding out the information there.
Everyone said bingo cost about 70 but can be less in the beginning of the cruise or more at the end.
Thanks again,
Kelly

 

[kjdaniel66]

I actually find it very easy to curtail spending on a Disney cruise. We've never purchased any pictures, but then, DH is a very good photographer and lets face it, a lot of people are drawn in by the borders on the pics, not the actual picture (DH knows his way around photoshop, so if I ever wanted a border, he could replicate it no prob!!). Let's see.....on our first cruise, we did the getaway package at CC, which we felt was a waste of $$. Now, DH brings his own snorkel stuff. We don't buy Cove Cafe stuff. We brought 2 bottles of wine on with us, that sort of thing. You just have to be smart. Also, book thru a TA to get on board credit. Our on board credit on this last cruise covered our tips, all but $10.

How did you bring the wine onboard? Was the wine in your suitcase? We have problem with that because we are coming straight from the airport. I read that we cannot have glass bottles in our suitcases but unfortunately we can't carry them on the plane either. Any suggestions???

Thanks in advance,
Kelly

 

[dizzi]

Kelly,

Can you make a stop between airport and ship port?

 

[dizzi]

Oh, yes ...big help especially the tip about the smoothies.... we love some smoothies.... is there a place to get them complimentary

We get them from...our state room!

We bring our tiny blender (called Magic Bullet)
We go to deck and get ice cream and ice and fruit, always getting extra fruit for the fridge...bring everything back to the room add our favorite liquor put it in the blender.....pour it in a DCL cup brought from home, saved from last cruise, add a piece of fruit on side of cup, straw, very own FREE DRINK OF THE DAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[TDC Nala]

I suppose it could be done. I would never do it. It's not a cruise without Palo and booze.

 

[carmie3377]

We get them from...our state room!

We bring our tiny blender (called Magic Bullet)
We go to deck and get ice cream and ice and fruit, always getting extra fruit for the fridge...bring everything back to the room add our favorite liquor put it in the blender.....pour it in a DCL cup brought from home, saved from last cruise, add a piece of fruit on side of cup, straw, very own FREE DRINK OF THE DAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We're bringing our Magic Bullet on our PC cruise. Should save us a ton over 15 nights. However, I know we'll still have a bill. We have $350 worth of OBC and about $200 in DDRD. That won't even cover our tips. Plus, we'll buy pictures, a few drinks of the day (won't have all the supplies to make everything in the bullet), DS wants a stuffed "Mickey Boat", and I'm sure we'll all want some PC themed merchandise. I'll be happy if we can keep it between $500-750 after all credits.

 

[DisWitt]

OMG! This is hilarious. I must be one of the biggest cheapskates! Other than tips, on our first cruise, I think we had a $0. It's TOTALLY DO-ABLE people! Literally, we were on the cruise over our 2nd anniversary and had a blast. We did a 7 night Western Carribbean in cat 12 for about $1000 total, flew on air miles and stayed at the Holiday Inn the night before. I think that our total on-board bill INCLUDING tips was less than $200 (maybe $150?).

Here's my list of DCL Cheapskates:

1. Hit your local liquor store pre-cruise and get your favorite mixers in the little "airline bottles". I buy rum and Jack Daniels to mix with sodas on Deck 9. FREE COCKTAILS! "Yes, Daddy is just drinking soda!... sure..."

2. Why buy candy and crap before the shows? Did you not eat enough at dinner, snack, dessert, lunch, ice cream station, and every other opportunity to eat? If I really wanted something to nosh during a show, I'd hop up to deck 9 and bring it down or order cookies or something to take from room service (on the free part of the menu of course). CHEAPSKATE: take a few extra cookies from the lunch buffet in a paper napkin. Keep those for free snacks.

3. Bring some massage oil for you and the DH or DW. Grab a few towels from deck 9. Have an in-room massage party while the kids are at the club. ;-) This way you can have a massage with a "happy ending"... and even DCL can't do that no matter how much you tip! Want to "splurge"? Buy a day pass for the spa on a port day (nobody will be there) and see how long you can spend in there.

4. No shore excursions needed. A) the ship is fabulous! B) the ports are fun just to walk around and see, people watch, gawk, take photos at, etc. Then get back on board for lunch and take an afternoon nap.

5. Belive it or not, it's a Disney-wide policy that all CM's (including their photogs) MUST take your photo with your camera if you ask! Thus, free Shutters photos! I used to be a DLR photographer. The smart guests would hand me their camera before I took their picture with mine. I'd take it with mine, then line up and take with theirs. 75%+ of the time, their camera did just fine! Also, all Disney CM's are nearly pro-level photographers. They take hundreds (if not 1000's) of photos with random people's cameras every week. They get LOTS of practice. And they can figure out how to use your camera... you don't need to tell them "press this button". Duh. Also, you can "accost" just about any CM to take a photo of you. I've used janitors, security, food servers, ride ops, etc... anyone passing by. A fun game is to "kick a character out" of your photo and have them take the picture of just you... a great turn-about and the characters REALLY play that up!

6. Enjoy the bars, evening activities, etc... just take your "cocktail" in from deck 9! See #1.

7. Turn off your phone as you pull out of Port Canaveral and leave your laptop at home. You're on vacation! If work needs you, there's always the emergency phone # to the ship. Cheapskates don't pay for internet onboard.

8. Play in the kids areas. If you've got a kid in the program, you can join them for the fun activities which can be more fun (seriously) than losing at BINGO, going to the art auction, or wine tasting. Pre-kids, we actually checked out the kids area on day #1 and they let us test out the pirate ship slide and everything... the photos are priceless.

9. Walk around the "track" or hit the gym. FREE!

10. Karoke, shuffleboard, game shows, DVC presentation, ship tour, ice carving demo, reading a book on deck 5 (or 4?)... all FREE!

11. Charge nothing to your room. Promise to pay in cash (bring a certain amount as your budget) or not buy it. Your KTTW can merely be for boarding and room entry if you want it to be.

12. While I have yet to have a "room with a view", there are plusses to Cat 11 and 12... sleeping in. With no idea of what time it is and no set agenda, you can really catch up on that sleep that you've been missing. On the day that we were at Costa Maya, DW and I woke up in the dark (Cat 12, remember) and wondered aloud what time it was. We felt the boat rocking and could feel the vibration from the engines, so we figured that we were just pulling into port. "Must be about 8am," we thought. Back to sleep. Snoozing some more, we work up to the same. "Hmm... maybe we're just up really early!" Feeling refreshed, we actually got out of bed and turned on the light. Looking at the clock, it was 11am! We felt the generator engine and the wind/waves pushing the ship into the pier. But we really needed to catch up on our sleep...

Make a game out of being a CHEAPSKATE and see if you can get TWO cruises for the price of one... who wouldn't want TWO weeks on the ship?

 

[makaylee]

Mine usually have zero - at least 3 of them before the decimal point...

This looks like my bill also! I am a sucker for the gift shops!! The fact that they now have Dooney and Bourke doesn't help

 

[orlandothebeagle]

Mine usually have zero - at least 3 of them before the decimal point...

WE never go mad but I couldnt see us ever wanting or having a zero bill.
Last cruise the bill was around 300 bucks.
But no photos,drinks or presents would have made that zero.

 

[orlandothebeagle]

OMG! This is hilarious. I must be one of the biggest cheapskates! Other than tips, on our first cruise, I think we had a $0. It's TOTALLY DO-ABLE people! Literally, we were on the cruise over our 2nd anniversary and had a blast. We did a 7 night Western Carribbean in cat 12 for about $1000 total, flew on air miles and stayed at the Holiday Inn the night before. I think that our total on-board bill INCLUDING tips was less than $200 (maybe $150?).

Here's my list of DCL Cheapskates:

1. Hit your local liquor store pre-cruise and get your favorite mixers in the little "airline bottles". I buy rum and Jack Daniels to mix with sodas on Deck 9. FREE COCKTAILS! "Yes, Daddy is just drinking soda!... sure..."

2. Why buy candy and crap before the shows? Did you not eat enough at dinner, snack, dessert, lunch, ice cream station, and every other opportunity to eat? If I really wanted something to nosh during a show, I'd hop up to deck 9 and bring it down or order cookies or something to take from room service (on the free part of the menu of course). CHEAPSKATE: take a few extra cookies from the lunch buffet in a paper napkin. Keep those for free snacks.

3. Bring some massage oil for you and the DH or DW. Grab a few towels from deck 9. Have an in-room massage party while the kids are at the club. ;-) This way you can have a massage with a "happy ending"... and even DCL can't do that no matter how much you tip! Want to "splurge"? Buy a day pass for the spa on a port day (nobody will be there) and see how long you can spend in there.

4. No shore excursions needed. A) the ship is fabulous! B) the ports are fun just to walk around and see, people watch, gawk, take photos at, etc. Then get back on board for lunch and take an afternoon nap.

5. Belive it or not, it's a Disney-wide policy that all CM's (including their photogs) MUST take your photo with your camera if you ask! Thus, free Shutters photos! I used to be a DLR photographer. The smart guests would hand me their camera before I took their picture with mine. I'd take it with mine, then line up and take with theirs. 75%+ of the time, their camera did just fine! Also, all Disney CM's are nearly pro-level photographers. They take hundreds (if not 1000's) of photos with random people's cameras every week. They get LOTS of practice. And they can figure out how to use your camera... you don't need to tell them "press this button". Duh. Also, you can "accost" just about any CM to take a photo of you. I've used janitors, security, food servers, ride ops, etc... anyone passing by. A fun game is to "kick a character out" of your photo and have them take the picture of just you... a great turn-about and the characters REALLY play that up!

6. Enjoy the bars, evening activities, etc... just take your "cocktail" in from deck 9! See #1.

7. Turn off your phone as you pull out of Port Canaveral and leave your laptop at home. You're on vacation! If work needs you, there's always the emergency phone # to the ship. Cheapskates don't pay for internet onboard.

8. Play in the kids areas. If you've got a kid in the program, you can join them for the fun activities which can be more fun (seriously) than losing at BINGO, going to the art auction, or wine tasting. Pre-kids, we actually checked out the kids area on day #1 and they let us test out the pirate ship slide and everything... the photos are priceless.

9. Walk around the "track" or hit the gym. FREE!

10. Karoke, shuffleboard, game shows, DVC presentation, ship tour, ice carving demo, reading a book on deck 5 (or 4?)... all FREE!

11. Charge nothing to your room. Promise to pay in cash (bring a certain amount as your budget) or not buy it. Your KTTW can merely be for boarding and room entry if you want it to be.

12. While I have yet to have a "room with a view", there are plusses to Cat 11 and 12... sleeping in. With no idea of what time it is and no set agenda, you can really catch up on that sleep that you've been missing. On the day that we were at Costa Maya, DW and I woke up in the dark (Cat 12, remember) and wondered aloud what time it was. We felt the boat rocking and could feel the vibration from the engines, so we figured that we were just pulling into port. "Must be about 8am," we thought. Back to sleep. Snoozing some more, we work up to the same. "Hmm... maybe we're just up really early!" Feeling refreshed, we actually got out of bed and turned on the light. Looking at the clock, it was 11am! We felt the generator engine and the wind/waves pushing the ship into the pier. But we really needed to catch up on our sleep...

Make a game out of being a CHEAPSKATE and see if you can get TWO cruises for the price of one... who wouldn't want TWO weeks on the ship?

I would be gutted if I slept in till 11am
Sleep?sleep? no time to sleep on vacation