Charges on board

[dizzi]

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

i bought a dooney and bourke purse this past cruise, and plan to purchse the next size up next time around.

But i dont consider this frivilous spending....I can get it no where else, and i carry my purse every day.....I wanted the bigger one when i was on board last time, and they were down to one...and the disney cruise line words were under the DB logo and couldnt handle that.

 

[Kirbo]

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?

We've never had a big family vacation. This is our first one coming up. And we know we may fall in love with it, so to afford it again we need to be cheapskates too!

 

[orlandothebeagle]

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!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thats a great idea.

 

[carmie3377]

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!

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'm not saying I don't believe you but we did have a CM refuse to use our camera. DH and I were out on deck 9 by the pool with Mickey. We asked the CM to take our picture and she refused, said she couldn't do it. We just used our camera to take individual pics and they turned out great. We didn't buy the shutter photos for those. But, we did buy some others, even though we used our camera. We have a nice DSLR but we don't have the external flash so some of ours inside just didn't turn out quite as nice as theirs. DH is wanting to invest in an external flash but boy are they expensive. I guess if it takes away from the need to buy Shutters photos, then it could pay for itself in a couple of trips.

Anyway, I am a cheapskate but we save all year to go on nice vacations. Maybe if we were repeating ports we could cut out excursion expenses (can still get pricey on your own), but we don't travel all that way not to get off, explore, and experience the new place. We don't go overboard by any means - we book lower cat rooms, bring our own snacks to the theaters, buy very few drinks (only 2 total on our 7 nt) and souvies, book our own excursions, ect but I don't think there is anyway I could walk off with a $0 bill (after tips of course). But for those that can - BRAVO!!!

 

[carmie3377]

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.

FOrgot to add...

This can't be done on the ship or CC. The only places that except cash are guest services for your bill and the post office on CC for stamps (in fact, that MUST be cash). Otherwise, everything must be charged to your KTTW card, you can't even use a credit card.

 

[DisWitt]

I'm not saying that I always travel as a cheapskate... we have done cruises with tea, brunch, and 4 nights at Palo plus wine, drinks of the day, massages, and photos from Shutters. But we've also done the complete opposite. Call me manic-depressive.

We have a nice DSLR but we don't have the external flash so some of ours inside just didn't turn out quite as nice as theirs. DH is wanting to invest in an external flash but boy are they expensive.

...but I don't think there is anyway I could walk off with a $0 bill (after tips of course). But for those that can - BRAVO!!!

Get him a Vivitar 285HV. It's a great starter flash that can illuminate the whole Mickey pool from deck 10 if you want. I'm a pro and have used 3 in the last 15 years. $90. http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/61441-REG/Vivitar_233965.html

 

[DisWitt]

We have a nice DSLR but we don't have the external flash so some of ours inside just didn't turn out quite as nice as theirs. DH is wanting to invest in an external flash but boy are they expensive. ...I don't think there is anyway I could walk off with a $0 bill (after tips of course). But for those that can - BRAVO!!!

Don't get me wrong, we LOVE to splurge like anyone else. We have done the brunch, tea, 4 nights at Palo, drinks-of-the-day, excursions, wine, massages, all-out trips, too. Those bills do add up!

For your flash, look into the Vivitar 285HV. At $100, it's a great flash that I have used for 15 years as a PRO photographer. You won't beat it as hard as I do. Power? It'll blitz the whole Mickey pool from Deck 10 if you want. XMas present or cruise present for your hubby? http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/61441-REG/Vivitar_233965.html

 

[carmie3377]

For your flash, look into the Vivitar 285HV. At $100, it's a great flash that I have used for 15 years as a PRO photographer. You won't beat it as hard as I do. Power? It'll blitz the whole Mickey pool from Deck 10 if you want. XMas present or cruise present for your hubby? http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/61441-REG/Vivitar_233965.html

Thanks, I'll take a look at it . I have thought about getting him a flash for Christmas (got him a lens one year and he was thrilled!) but the one he was looking at was close to $300. I didn't want to spend that much since we will be heading out for the cruise 2 week later. But if I can get him a quality flash for under a hundred, might just go ahead and do it!

 

[chrisd596]

Loved your answer. How many "little airport bottles" of liquor can you carry on?

Thanks

Chris

 

[CrazyBoutDisney]

Loved your answer. How many "little airport bottles" of liquor can you carry on?

Thanks

Chris

Bring as many as you can carry! When I pack our shoes, I stuff them full of "little airplane bottles" and use them to make "adult" milkshakes in a sports water bottle or the old CC water bottle I bring from home. Get the ice cream from Goofy's galley and some milk or coffee from the drink station. Add a little bottle of your choice, shake and enjoy!

 

[chrisd596]

Wow, another great idea! Thanks! Do you put the bottles in carry on or your checked bags..

Thanks

Chris

 

[CrazyBoutDisney]

LOL, Chris! My DH wears "boats" and mine are darn close! Sneakers are HEAVY even with nothing stuffed into them!! Shoes line the perimeter of our checked baggage, lying on their sides, soles to the outside. Each shoe is also in its own plastic bag (like from the grocery or WalMart), just in case. The bottles are all sealed, so I don't worry too much about them leaking, but ya never know. Most are plastic, nowadays, too, so no worries about breakage, either.

 

[makaylee]

On our Baltics cruise this past July we ended up with a $4. credit coming back to us. We had great OBC's from our TA and DCL, and the sale on merchandise in the shops helped up a bit. That was the first cruise we didn't owe anything at the end.
We even charged our tips to our account.

How do you get OBC with both a TA and DCL?

 

[verygfy]

LOL, Chris! My DH wears "boats" and mine are darn close! Sneakers are HEAVY even with nothing stuffed into them!! Shoes line the perimeter of our checked baggage, lying on their sides, soles to the outside. Each shoe is also in its own plastic bag (like from the grocery or WalMart), just in case. The bottles are all sealed, so I don't worry too much about them leaking, but ya never know. Most are plastic, nowadays, too, so no worries about breakage, either.

I love the idea of the small bottles!!

 

[ibouncetoo]

How do you get OBC with both a TA and DCL?

The OBC from DCL could be a $25 credit for booking on line, or a much larger one for booking while on board the ship. The amount of that OBC depends on length of cruise booked and Castaway Club standing. Any OBC from your travel agent is an entirely separate arrangement and varies by agent/agency.

.

 

[chrisd596]

Now I get it! This is so, so, sophisticated! Very "Get Smartest", Great idea of cracking the drinking problem.

Thanks for sharing this and your other tricks, keep um coming.

Chris

 

[DaveH]

To the OP, we have not had a $0 bill. We do try to stay within a budget. We usually stay within or exceed by very little. Some of the tricks that has worked for me at WDW and on the cruises are. Check my balance daily. Try to understand how much I can spend in a day. This way if I am good one day and I can be a little bad the next. On the cruise yo can always ask if it cost. The CM's are use to that. If it is alcohol, it costs. If you get soda from some other than your server in the dinning room, it costs. If you want food outside the theaters, it costs. Coffees from Quiet Cove, it more than likely costs. I can be compulsive at buying things. I try to look at the big picture to take more vacations. This works for me, it may not work for others. We try to decide what we really really want/must do, then what we like to do. Then look at the budget and try to make good decisions. Good luck and have a great cruise.

 

[jilljill]

How do you get OBC with both a TA and DCL?

The OBC from DCL could be a $25 credit for booking on line, or a much larger one for booking while on board the ship. The amount of that OBC depends on length of cruise booked and Castaway Club standing. Any OBC from your travel agent is an entirely separate arrangement and varies by agent/agency.

.

The DCL OBC was from rebooking onboard, not the $25 OBC for booking online. When I rebooked the cruise onboard I just gave the onboard booking agent our TA's info so she got credit for the booking right away.

 

[disney1990]

This will be our 5th Disney Cruise and we usually have a hefty bill at the end. We are doing a 4 night Wonder in a couple weeks. We want to know if anyone has ever had a bill of zero and end of cruise. Not including tips of course. We want to be on a strict budget. Can it be done?!

We have gone and had very low bills at the end. We usually buy a couple bottles of alcohol to bring home and not much more. I think our last bill was under $200 (not counting our tips).