How much did your trip cost?

[tinksdreamwishes]

Hello everyone.... This is my first post... I am trying to plan our family's first cruise! And I am wondering how much the cruise will cost... including all hidden prices, taxes, fuel charges... hotel before and after the cruise, transportation to and from, extra money you spent on excursions and pictures, etc. and CLOTHES!!

I have been trying to add up the sum and I have been coming out at about $20,000. That is for My Mom, Me, my Husband, and 3 children- 1,7,and 9.

I have been playing around with the Dates for Dec 12th- 19th. For the Western trip, with 2 cabins, a Cat 11 for me, DH, and 2 kids, and Mom wants A Cabin with a Ver. and she will have the other kid. So just for the cruise it comes out to about $7613.

The plan was to go to Disney World and Universal for a week before- so that adds another $5,000.

Then add clothes for formal nights, pirate nights, and etc.
I just think this trip is going to cost a fortune.. heha...
So I was just wondering how much everyone spent on their trips. i guess its rude to ask, but I cant stop wondering if spending this much is insane... Thank you if you respond! ~Tinksdreamwishes!!!

 

[hgon76]

Well, if you just got another cat11 that would save you some $$$. We are a family of 4 in a cat 11 flying out to FL,renting car, 1 night hotel. I'm budgeting about $7,000 total for 7 nt eastern. ??? Who knows if I'll be able to STAY within my budget, but it's a good start!

 

[tinksdreamwishes]

Thank you for your reply! Yeah I had told my mom about the huge price difference- but she is paying for half of the trip and insists that she must have a Verrandah. So I am not arguing with her... plus she really wants to just sit outside on her balcony for hours on end watching the ocean!

I love my mom to death, so making her happy is all that counts!

( I love these little icon thingies... too bad they weren't disney related... )

~Tinksdreamwishes!

 

[ma2jr]

Shh.. still trying to forget

 

[King Charming]

We won a western DCL cruise for 4/08, so the tickets were free, but...
Our ship-board bill for our family of 4 looked like this: 400 Tulum excursion, 300 Castaway Cay excursion/shopping, 325 ships tips, 325 arcade, 130 spa, 150 booze, 200 gift shop, 100 bingo, 100 ships photos, 50 duty free shop.
Even without air fare, we spent another $2K+ on tuxes, dresses, dog boarding, one night pre hotel, passports, tips, clothes, gas & food. And we brought a small bar full of booze with us! (recommended). I cried about spending it all, but I think it was worth even more. That's why we are doing it again in Nov 09.

 

[NancyIL]

$20,000 for one trip? Well, my husband would have me committed if I planned a trip that cost that much!

Welcome to the DIS!

 

[Mickeyhugger]

$20,000 for one trip? Well, my husband would have me committed if I planned a trip that cost that much!

Welcome to the DIS!

I agree with Nancy 20k is WAY to much I would commit myself for spending that much

Rob

 

[my3m]

Shh.. still trying to forget

LOL

 

[disneylove69]

First of all welcome . 20k Here are a few suggestions since I am about as cheap as one can get.

1. Check various travel sites for cheaper prices and OBC (on board credit). You are picking a time of year that is more pricey.
2. Buy clothing off season. Summer clothes (shorts, swimsuits, etc, are now or will be clearanced very soon.) Spend some time doing laundry so you don't have to bring so much clothing.
3. Halloween costumes will be on sale before you go so grab ur pirate stuff then.
4. I don't buy anything on CC. I bring my own snorkel gear which you can get cheap for children at Target, etc.
5. Soda is free for most part so only need money for alcohol if you drink.
6. Rent a car or limo service to get to port/ hotel. It will be cheaper then shuttle bus.
7. Stay offsite and rent condo or house. Car rentals are pretty cheap. Might be easier then lugging all the kiddos on a bus. You can also make meals which would be cheaper.
8. There is only one formal night so you can skip it or dress down. You will see people in all kinds of attire.
9. If you don't want to take organized tours Cozumel you can walk around on your own and GC has a little beach just off the ship.
10. At the parks the kids meals are cheap and adults can also get them.
I was able to get my room 12 gty for $699. I hear if you book 4 for this room you get a free upgrade to 11 inside.

 

[ontariomonkey]

Well lots of people feel uncomfortable talking about money but I don't! Luckily for me DH is not on the DIS, he might be mortified haha.

DH and I are child-free so we please ourselves on vacation.

We are new to DVC and have used 2 years worth of points on an eastern carribean 7 night. We got a cat 6 delux verandah in September. I have since figured out that if we had rented our points, we could have got about $4000 for them! Yikes. That is also about the list price for the cruise we got I think. IMHO that is quite a bit of $ to spend on a week's vacation not including flights. I am more comfortable at the $1000 each all inclusive with flights! Oh well haha.

We will pay about $400inc for both of us to fly from buffalo return to orlando.
It will be about $150 I imagine to park the car for 2 weeks.

We are buying a timeshare 'getaway' through interval international for a week in a 1 bedroom villa with full kitchen. That will be $327 (plus tax I assume).

We plan on doing this vacation somewhat on the cheap once we are down there. I am not planning on buying any new clothes for the cruise. We just went to Vegas for the weekend and did drop $20 on a beach cover up! Yes I will be wearing last year's bikinis and dresses oh my!

We will not be doing any organized tours on the cruise. We have cruised before and are happy to use public transport to get where we need to go for a fraction of the price.

We will not be doing Palo since we expect the food on the cruise to be good.

We won't be spending $ at Shutters except maybe for a lifestyle shot.

We don't drink much alcohol but will bring a bit on board so as to further limit the cost.

We will most self cater our week in Orlando and don't need expensive souvenirs.

Not sure what the plan is for theme parks. We are happy to go to Timeshare meetings to get free (or discounted) tickets to places. I will celebrate my birthday on the trip so will get one day free! Florida is DH's happy place so we went to florida last June. I think we went to 2 timeshare things and got 2 days at disney plus an extra (water park or arcade pass) for like $150 and a 2 park pass for universal for $15 I think. We went to an outlet mall and the guy there had GREAT offers for timeshare presentations. He said he could have got us the Disney package for way less, oh well.

We plan on tipping the suggested amount if the service is up to par which I'm sure it will be. I am hoping that we get our fuel surcharge back and can use that money for tips.

Um, that was long winded, hope it helped!

 

[tinksdreamwishes]

Thanks for all the replys and welcomes!

I loved the Halloween shopping for pirate clothes AFTER Halloween! Ty! I soo didn't think of that!

I think renting a van would be great idea- no hassle of shuttles.
I did check into a condo rental for a week and liked that idea!

The only excursion we wanted to go on is the swimming with the dolphins and my mom was interested in climbing some temple...

I am curious about the timeshares- if my DH's mom has a timeshare could we use it?

I dont like doing laundry on trips- but i have never been on a 2 week trip either.. so that just might happen! haha

Planning a trip is so darn exciting! I also love to get great deals and love finding a bargain! Like winning cabin tickets! OMG! I would have been in heaven!

Here is one more question- what airport do you fly into for the cruise? Orlando?
Ok thanks again for everyone's input! I can't wait to hear more deals! Back to researching I go!
~Tinksdreamwishes!

 

[Mickeyhugger]

Thanks for all the replys and welcomes!

I loved the Halloween shopping for pirate clothes AFTER Halloween! Ty! I soo didn't think of that!

I think renting a van would be great idea- no hassle of shuttles.
I did check into a condo rental for a week and liked that idea!

The only excursion we wanted to go on is the swimming with the dolphins and my mom was interested in climbing some temple...

I am curious about the timeshares- if my DH's mom has a timeshare could we use it?

I dont like doing laundry on trips- but i have never been on a 2 week trip either.. so that just might happen! haha

Planning a trip is so darn exciting! I also love to get great deals and love finding a bargain! Like winning cabin tickets! OMG! I would have been in heaven!

Here is one more question- what airport do you fly into for the cruise? Orlando?
Ok thanks again for everyone's input! I can't wait to hear more deals! Back to researching I go!
~Tinksdreamwishes!

we always fly into MCO

 

[kcashner]

How much you spend is your decision but these prices are WAY more than we spend. We have the same cruise booked....cat 12 at $699 per person +$47 PP tax. Total for 2 with trip insurance is under $1700.

Thoughts for your pre-days...if you are going to just Disney, go to the rental boards and rent points for a DVC stay. You'll have a "Home," not just one or two hotel rooms. You can choose an one bedroom at Animal Kingdom which will sleep 5 or you could get a 2 bedroom or 2 studios which would technically sleep 8. Renting DVC points is a great way to get a stay in a deluxe resort for the price of a value. You can save a small fortune just on breakfasts in your room.

If you are doing Universal as well, you'll need a car.....do you need it for a day or two or for the whole time? If you're doing Universal as well as WDW, you might find it more economical to stay off property. Many hotels offer shuttles to various attractions. We prefer to stay at WDW, but.....

OK, you are sailing on Saturday. You could choose to stay at WDW but get a rental car in order to go to Universal on Friday and drive to the port on Saturday morning. You could pick up the car on Thursday evening (which would mean a 2 day rental)....or get it at 10 on Friday morning and have it turned in before 10 on Saturday and have a one day rental. Or have a car for the whole trip (week rental) but save money by being able to eat off property.

As above, most of the sit down restaurants offer kid meals for about $9...which is more than enough food for me! Anyone can order a kid meal at WDW.

If you want formals, keep checking the sale racks....I've gotten them for $15!!! Von Maur sale rack. Pirate clothes at after Halloween sales. OR save money and wear what you have and can create out of your own wardrobe.

We did a "budget" cruise for 6 people in May for DD's graduation.....
Cost breakdown--cat 12 $599 special. Each room was $1907 for 3 people, upgraded free to cat 10.

Plane--Southwest, $185 per person, total under $1500
Hotel, car rentals, dinner night before total $400
Tips $600
Excursion $180

So....our total was about $7K for 6 people. Admittedly, this was a great rate and we seriously limited misc. spending....I'm not saying you can do it for this rate, but it is reasonable to give you an idea of the "low end" of a trip. We could then deduct of Disney Visa credit and an onboard credit for each room from our TA.

Then, on the way home, DD and I got bumped...so I have $600 in airline
credits to use on our next trip.

Do you or your mother qualify for a FL res or military discount? If so, you may be able to pick up some serious reductions on her verandah as the date approaches. Reductions on a cat 11 will be less, but....Contrary to earlier poster, this is NOT prime cruise season....this is low season! The decorations will be up, but the higher prices won't hit until the following week.

Another thought...if you don't totally care about being across the hall from Mom (although DCL is doing a better job of keeping families together), cat 12s for our dates are coming and going. A good TA will track it for you, and my cat 12 is $600 less than the price of booking a cat 11 for 2 people on our dates!

 

[maktrk96]

We are doing the 3day land/4day Sea in November

$7K for trip (beachclub resort & Cat. 6 room)
$550.00 for Passports
$400.00 for new cloths for family of 5
$600.00 for excurisions
$400.00 for tips
$700.00 for surv. & whatever else

Having the time of my life with my whole family PRICELESS!!!!!!

 

[kkmcan]

Here's our breakdown for our Dec 19th three day cruise and almost a week at WDW.

Cruise 1600 2adults, 2 kids (12, 9) cat. 12gty
Airfare $1200- $300 using miles for at least one airfare= $900
Car Rental $250
Passports $400
Night before cruise hotel $150
Hotel at WDW is inlaws timeshare= free
WDW tickets- $800
Food at WDW- normal weekly grocery budget since we will eat in mostly
Kennel for dog- $250
Tips + ship board account ($150 obc)= $400-$150= $250 no excursions- maybe a float rental, a few drinks and one or two pics.

Total approx= $4500 for xmas week (not bad!!)

 

[Morgey24]

Wowza~~~ $20K and my DD wouldn't be going to college in a few years...

We did the June 13th Western..

$1538 2 Cat 12's at $699 (bumped to an 11 then a 9)
$10 Ride to port (we live in Orlando and neighbor took me over in my car)
$160 Tips
$79 On board charges after a $75 Onboard Credit
(75) On board Credit
$5 Beverages in Key West; had fee tour tix for Butterfly Museum
$120 Privately booked excursion in Grand Cayman (our "big day")
$40 Souvenirs in Grand Cayman (2 sterling stingray necklaces)
$10 Couple of Coronas (for me) and ceramic boxes from a roadside stand in Cozumel and just walked around
$10 Mat & sharpies for DCL autographed signatures/souvenir
$10 Photo processing of digitals including several 5x7s for mat
$0 Onboard drinks because I brought my own wine/waters (and I would have had them at home or on a ship)
$40 Some new clothes for DD
$0 A gown for me (given to me by a friend and I hemmed myself)
$0 Pet sitting (am exchanging services with a neighbor for his trip)

so it came to just under $2K for 2 of us for the week. That's my budget for a week's vacation. I can do other cruise lines for $100 pp/day or $1400 for the week (living in FL we can get $399 pp for the week deals).

I guess while I LOVE cruising, I am the kind of person who would rather do 2-3 cruises per year and forgo the fruity drinks and souvenirs and do one great excursion per trip than one blowout cruise per year. I am also fortunate to be in FL so have no air or day before expenses.

 

[stsomewhere]

Here's my budget

Cruise Western in Aug.

Cat 11 gty.( booked on board)$3350 + RECEIVED $200 obc (2 adults, 11 and 8 yr)
$75 OBC for transferring res to TA

$400 tulum excursion

Parking at port $250
Tips $500
Drinks $30 a day =$200

Driving to Fl from MI- 3 hotel nights at $100 each =$300


Food on the road $300
$500 in spending money in port and on ship

Total $5400 - OBC= $5125 I am sure we will not even spend that much on the ship.

I forgot to add gas. Add another $500

As for clothes, we are making due with what we have. For previos cruises, we have bought new things and they never get worn. The kids will each get a new swim suit.

 

[cg012]

I'm pretty new to this board, but if you get a limo, I would suggest asking the driver to make a complimentary "stop" on your trip. I suggest stopping for beer/wine/liquor and carrying them onboard. That is always a big money saver for us since I like to have a glass or two of wine before dinner

 

[Michele325]

Not really money related, but this made me think about something that is priceless to us on a (specifically Disney) cruise. Sitdown (yummy) meals. We hardly ever go out with the kids, they are so hard in a resturant! But not on the cruise. Lots to look at and lots of kids, so their loudness doesn't stand out! lol. And if they are board, we can drop them off at the club after appetizers and get them more food later.

Overall we are really frugal on vacation. DVC place were we make breakfast every morning and usually even pack lunch and snacks. So cruising is a splurge for us.

 

[disneymagicgirl]

you could also try moving another child to your mother's room (on paper) and then see if a cat. 12 pops up for you, your hubbie, and the 3rd child. sometimes it is easier to get them for 3 than for 4. if they are still offering it at $699 pp as a previous poster mentioned, that would save you a good bit of $$. We did this for our sept cruise and saved a little over $1000!