First-timer scared about being nickeled and dimed!

[kiford]

I just want to point out that the gratuities were charged to my credit card the day we prepaid, not to my cruise account on the last day of the cruise.

It was charged to your credit card, but it still doesn't go to the servers until that last day. The way in which the tickets are done is the same regardless of whether you prepaid or not. The mechanism that they use onboard may be simply to earmark that amount you've prepaid as for gratuities so doesn't show up as an available credit but if you had gone down to Guest Services to change the amount down, you would have been left with a credit on your account. If you had increased it, you would have been charged for the difference using whatever method you used to pay any other charges. Prepaying simply means DCL has your money until such time as it's handed over to the staff.

 

[Livelovedance]

It was charged to your credit card, but it still doesn't go to the servers until that last day. The way in which the tickets are done is the same regardless of whether you prepaid or not. The mechanism that they use onboard may be simply to earmark that amount you've prepaid as for gratuities so doesn't show up as an available credit but if you had gone down to Guest Services to change the amount down, you would have been left with a credit on your account. If you had increased it, you would have been charged for the difference using whatever method you used to pay any other charges. Prepaying simply means DCL has your money until such time as it's handed over to the staff.

Okay, that makes sense. I just didn't want the OP to think it would show up on their account because without making any changes, it never does.

 

[MomOTwins]

It's $9 an hour. Still not bad at all for someone to care for a kid.

I believe the nursery charge is $9/hour.

You're both correct, I was remembering that each increment in the online pre-booking was around $4, but that's because they are half hour increments. So it is $4.50 for a half hour, $9 for an hour.

 

[kj2mom]

Note that, even if you pre-pay gratuities, they don't get it until the end of the cruise. Pre-paying effectively puts a credit on your account. We never pre-pay so it's just charged to our onboard account on the last or penultimate night (I can't recall which night) which is then paid by credit card. If you pre-pay, it's charged to your account on the last/penultimate night and paid by the credit equivalent to the gratuities which you pre-paid. DCL holds the money until it's actually paid out and the staff does not know how much it is until they receive it so your service - either good or bad - will be the same whether you pre-pay or not. While I personally consider the amount that is recommended for gratuities to be essentially part of the non-discretionary cost of the cruise unlike other costs which I choose to spend or not, I see no reason for it to leave my hands before it's necessary.

Everyone has given great tips to keep cost down etc. I just wanted to respond with the reason I will prepay my tips. I have been trying to space out all of my payments using the 6 month no interest charge on my Disney Visa. If I prepay the tips then that charge will be eligible for the promotion. If I wait until I am onboard then that will be due immediately in my next billing cycle. Just a little bit of a financial game I play but so far it has helped me to pay little by little for my cruise without dipping into the cruise savings fund (which does make a few dollars a month in interest).

 

[Numtini]

I would encourage you to consider a cruise that isn't a double dip. You really want to have a sea day to experience the ship. Castaway is just a beach. It's a great beach. It's a beach I love and I don't like beaches despite living near one, but it's still just a beach.

On keeping the cost reasonable, you can easily lose track of exactly how much you're spending on drinks. This isn't so much "OMG I drank a lot of booze" as it is "wait, that was how much? what was I thinking." Stick to the drink of the day. It's always good and it's relatively cheap.

Gratuities are optional in name only. This is how people are paid.

 

[FigmentSpark]

Remember, if you do decide to splurge on a drink, or spa, or any of the little extras, an 18% gratuity is already added in. Tip extra if you want, but the tip has been included. Check your bill before you sign, if you're unsure.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

On one our cruises we decided to have a cruise with zero spending over the cruise fare except for gratuities and parking. We did it and had a blast!!! Disney gives you plenty of opportunities to spend money (just like at their parks), but they also provide a great experience without having to spend any more money. I'll put in the next post the current list of things you can spend your money on!

This!
We have done the same. We have cruised many, many times so we decided to have a 3-night quickie, very low budget, just to get away for a bit, (without kids.) We didn't set zero as a specific goal, but just kept in mind, "let's just be thankful that we're on the ship". Our total at the end was around $20.

When it doubt, don't be afraid to ask in advance, "Is there an extra charge for this?"
Keep in mind DCL makes it extremely easy to spend by being cash-free. We've had longer cruises where the bill slipped under the door the last night totaled $2200+ with 4 of us enjoying lots of excursions, photos, smoothies, etc. So it's true that you are in control of your own spending, but they make it easy to feel care free with spending. You can request a current bill printout at Guest Services at any time during your cruise if you want to keep close track of charges.

 

[FigmentSpark]

Another idea would be to prepay your excursions. If you know what you're taking (and assuming you won't have to miss them for any reason), add extra money on to your account. Now, tips and excursions are still going to show up on that bill and the number will be high, but the total owed/charged will be low, so that's an advantage.

Another idea is to buy Disney gift cards (Target Redcard holders still get the 5% discount on them, I think) and use them to pay your bill. That will limit your psychological spending ability. You risk being left with Disney money to spend, though.

 

[kiford]

Remember, if you do decide to splurge on a drink, or spa, or any of the little extras, an 18% gratuity is already added in. Tip extra if you want, but the tip has been included. Check your bill before you sign, if you're unsure.

Unless it's been raised in the last couple of years, the autogratuity is 15% (18% in the spa). I do always add an extra tip, however. The autogratuity is split amongst all bar staff but any extra goes to the specific server. It's always helpful for them to remember who you are, what you like and to get even better service if you try to find the same server and add an extra tip. Even $0.50-$1.50 (depending on what you're ordering). On Castaway Cay at Serenity Bay, we've often had servers who literally will run down the beach to get you drinks. Then we definitely tip extra.

 

[Caboosey]

On keeping the cost reasonable, you can easily lose track of exactly how much you're spending on drinks. This isn't so much "OMG I drank a lot of booze" as it is "wait, that was how much? what was I thinking." Stick to the drink of the day. It's always good and it's relatively cheap.

Doing my first cruise very soon - I'm torn between wanting to splurge and be on vacation (get a drink when I want, do excursions, eat Palo brunch) and being scared of my bill at the end of the week!

 

[3 Hobbits 2 Disney]

Doing my first cruise very soon - I'm torn between wanting to splurge and be on vacation (get a drink when I want, do excursions, eat Palo brunch) and being scared of my bill at the end of the week!

List out what you want with $ next to them. Total up with gratuities. Divide by cruise days. See if you can put it aside, if not, start making trades. We’re doing that now with the Spa Villa — it’s a big chunk of change on our cruise so we’re seeing if we can put it aside by pay time; if not it’s probably a goner. For drinks, preload your account with a prepaid amount and budget per day.

 

[BadPinkTink]

Doing my first cruise very soon - I'm torn between wanting to splurge and be on vacation (get a drink when I want, do excursions, eat Palo brunch) and being scared of my bill at the end of the week!

Im booked on my first cruise, for September 2020

Coffee
I have to start the day with coffee, at home I have a Kruig type machine and out and about Starbucks is always my first stop of the day. For the cruise however, my plan is to order room service coffee for about 7am. The coffee is free compared to the upcharge "nice" coffee in Cove Cafe.

Alcohol
I plan to buy the drink of the day in the souvenir glass on the first day. Then every day after get a refill, which will be a large drink for the price of the small drink. I also plan to bring a bottle of wine on board. During dinner each night I will drink water and soda. I also plan on doing either 1 tasting or 1 mixology, depending on what is available.

Merchandise and Onboard shopping
Just like when I go to Disney parks, I have specific items which I plan to buy. This way I dont get side tracked and buy things which I cant afford or have no room in my luggage for.

Port Excursions
I plan to do all ports on my own, and will pre book Hop On Hop Off bus tours. On port excursions I plan to use cash as much as possible and will have a daily budget.

Room Service
I plan to only order items which do not have a charge like coffee or fruit. I plan to make up tip envelopes with $1 bills for room service tipping.

Onboard UpCharge Activites
I wont be doing any spa treatments or cooking classes or Palo Restaurant or any other activity which has an up charge.

I will put all these planed expenses in a spreed sheet so that I will know in advance an approx cost.

I plan to go to guests services each night and pay off that days expenses. That way I can keep track of my spending and wont get hit with 1 large bill.

My cruise is in September 2020, so after Christmas I will start putting money aside week by week.

 

[MomOTwins]

When I was on the Dream last year you could view your room charge bill on the tv. It was a handy way to keep track.

 

[Numtini]

The app will show your charges as well.

 

[Caboosey]

Thanks! I'm bringing Starbucks Iced Via packets, as I heard free coffee onboard is pretty terrible and I like iced coffee but not cold brew. I'll probably be happy with the Drink of the Day - don't need the souvenir cup though. Would love to do Palo Brunch and a Mixology class but wasn't able to sign up for those ahead of time - so those are sort of a question in terms of my budget.

I pre-paid gratuities which was nice.