How much more can I expect to spend on a cruise?

[Aurora D]

I think I found a great price on a cruise. Carnival Paradise to Cozumel and Grand Cayman, family of 4 adults for 5 days for $1280. We will drive to and from the port. So I know I need to account for gas and food on the drive. How much more will I need on the cruise? We aren't big drinkers, but what does an average alcoholic beverage cost onboard? How much are excursions? Can you just get off and "look around" without fear? Or go to the beach for a few hours?
I'm a teacher and I waitress in the summers for extras like a vacation. I already have the cruise money set aside. How much more do I need to make to have a little fun?

 

[antmaril]

I think I found a great price on a cruise. Carnival Paradise to Cozumel and Grand Cayman, family of 4 adults for 5 days for $1280. We will drive to and from the port. So I know I need to account for gas and food on the drive. How much more will I need on the cruise? We aren't big drinkers, but what does an average alcoholic beverage cost onboard? How much are excursions? Can you just get off and "look around" without fear? Or go to the beach for a few hours?
I'm a teacher and I waitress in the summers for extras like a vacation. I already have the cruise money set aside. How much more do I need to make to have a little fun?

One thing you have to account for is tips, which will be approximately $12 per passenger, per night of the cruise. Excursion costs can vary. You can definitely get off the ship and just look around. Alcoholic beverages should be about $7-8 each depending on what you order. Sometimes, there are drink specials which can be cheaper. If you go to the Spa, that could add up quickly. Specialty restaurants could also add to your bill. If you decide to just eat in the dining rooms and/or the buffet, you would not have any added cost for food. I believe soda would be extra on a Carnival cruise, but you should have access to coffee, tea, lemonade, iced tea, etc, without added cost.

I am sure other folks will add their thoughts on this. Cruising can be done without a lot of added expense, but there will be some for sure.

 

[bbak3030]

We have taken 3 cruises and have never done excursions. We usually just walk around and check out the area. Maybe have lunch/drinks. In Cozumel we did pay a flat fee to an all inclusive resort to enjoy their amenities for the day.

There is probably a casino on board, that's something to think about. A mixed drink is around $8 or so. Not sure about beer. Some cruise lines have a sofa card or something like it. All you care to drink soda. Usually it's tea, water and punch/lemonade included.

 

[kymom99]

You should be able to go to the carnival website and look at shore excursions for your cruise and maybe even book them ahead of time.

 

[mjkacmom]

We rarely book excursions with the cruiseline - check out cruisecritic.com, and go on the forums where your ship docks. There are lots of extras you can pay for onboard, but really nothing you need to, besides gratuities.

 

[mikehn]

Yes you can get off the ship and walk around and sightsee on your own. Beach excursions are the cheapest excursions if you do it yourself, versus booking it though the ship or a tour operator. Do some research on the beach you want and take a cab. Grand caymen is a great place to get off the ship and just 'look around'. Adjacent to the dock in Grand cayman are several blocks of shops and restaurants with thousands of cruisers walking around.

 

[kymom99]

I have never cruised carnival but on RCCL you have a day at the private island. I booked a teen activity for my son. It was $50 for snorkeling and time in the water inflatable area.

 

[Luv Bunnies]

It's easy to rack up a large bill on a cruise if you're not careful. As another poster mentioned, be sure to account for tips. Carnival automatically adds tips onto your bill. If you want them to remove the charge and handle tipping on your own, you can go to the concierge desk to have it taken care of. You will constantly be offered drinks. As soon as you sit down somewhere - by the pool, in a lounge, at a show, on deck, a server will be by to ask if you want a drink. Even though food is included in your fare, there are little specialty coffee/pastry places around that sell tempting little goodies.

We took a Carnival cruise two years ago, and I recall that a soda card was $10 per person, per day. Sodas are generally $3 each, so you need to drink more than 3 to make it worthwhile. If you like soda with lunch and dinner, and you order more in lounges or shows, you're covered. One thing that I do recall - if you have a soda card and order a soda with dinner, good luck getting a refill. The drink server would come by for our order, bring the sodas, and disappear. If we asked the waiter for refills, he said, "I'll send the drink server over." Never happened once in four dinners. I guess they see that prepaid soda card and aren't interested in dealing with you.

As I recall, in Grand Cayman the ships dock near town and passengers are tendered in. The coral reef makes it impossible for them to dock right next to the pier. It's a good place to get off the ship and walk around. Just remember that if you want to have lunch on the ship, you'll need to take the tender back, and then back to town if you want to walk around more. Many times we end up paying for lunch on shore because the ship was too far away, or we wanted to try a local restaurant. In Cozumel, the ships dock right at the pier, but it's a little ways into town. There was a bus that went back and forth, for a small fee, or you could take a cab. We took a tour that dropped us in town. We had lunch, shopped, and then took a cab back to the ship. It was just too far and too hot to consider walking.

Other possible charges to consider - souvenirs on the ship or in port, incidentals like toiletries, OTC meds, etc. that you might need (they're sold on board at a premium), on-board activities (some have fees), gambling/bingo.

 

[Showpony]

We loved Grand Cayman island. We also cruised through RCCL and took the ship's tour of the island which included a visit to the Turtle Farm, and the Tortuga Rum Factory . It is one of my favorite stops. You'll have a fun time.

 

[damiel]

As far as a soda card: you must purchase it for the intire party and the entire length of the cruise. So that $10.00 card is $50.00 per-person. That is $200.00 for the cruise. At least that is the way it was the last time we cruised.

 

[kymom99]

On Royal Caribbean, it wasn't a soda card, but a soda mug. They had those freestyle coke machines and the mugs had those chips in them to activate the machines. There were 3 of us and we got 2 mugs. You pay so much per day, for the length of your cruise. Again, different cruise line, but this may be the way they are all going recently.

 

[Angie789]

We NEVER book excursions through the cruise lines. As another poster said, it is very easy and safe to book direct with excursion operators at the various ports - many times, it is the exact same company that cruise line excursions use, but you don't have to pay the middle man. Check out cruisecritic.com for reviews, or feel free to PM me. We've done all inclusive beach days, dune buggy trips and 4 wheeler tours in Cozumel that we booked on our own and absolutely loved them all!

That said, Grand Cayman is an easy place to skip excursions altogether. You'll tender in to a shopping/restaurant strip, and great beaches are a short cab ride away.

 

[S. C.]

Cruisecritic.com to find out excursins and cost of them for each port. Have fun i love cruises!

 

[LynnTH]

Just got back from our 3rd Carnival Cruise (9th cruise overall). How much you spend depends on you.

I like to prepay the tips ahead of time. That way it is out of the way and not on my bill at the end of the cruise. You can call Carnival and do that.

I always get the Soda cards for myself and the kids. For Adults the card is like $6 per person a day and the kids is like $4.50 per day. It's nice in the fact that you are the pool and stuff and the drinks melt and get icky so fast - you can just get a new one without worrying about it. Also covers juices at the bar. I don't drink much so this works great for me and the kids. DH will mostly drink beer, which is about $5-$6 I think. You can always get free water, lemonade and some other things in the buffet area on the Lido deck.

Excursions can be really cheap/free to really expensive. All depends on what you are looking for. Lots of times we like to just get off the ship and browse around town or go to the beach. Sometimes we do an all inclusive - like Mr. Sanchos in Cozumel.

We don't buy many things on and off the ship (well except DD13 who loves bartering and bought 4 dresses this past trip).

The main thing I spent extra money on was pictures. Like to get a nice one of the family/kids. But, they mainly print the large 8x10's and those are $22 each. But a nice souvenir.

I second the cruise critic forum. Lots of good information. Look at the Port of Call boards for your particular ports and it will give you lots of good ideas.

One more thing. Get trip insurance. Not through Carnival. We always go through ***************** and find one that works for us. For this last cruise I think I paid $150 for the 4 of us. Very glad we had it this time. My DS15 broke his wrist on the basketball court on the 2nd day of the cruise. Had to see the ships Dr. where they did x-rays and put a temp cast on. Then the next day in Cozumel they sent us to the hospital and they set up an appt with the orthopedic surgeon. They then had to call in the anestheologist and put DS under and rebreak his wrist and then put a different cast on. Total bill for both ship and Cozumel was about $2500 (way less than it would have been in the states). So, right now I have submitted my claim to my Health Insurance and whatever they don't cover my Trip Insurance will. So, glad to have bought this. Just a little peace of mind...

 

[*pixie*dust*]

Expect to budget quite a bit if you will do excursions, drink sodas, want photos, etc. Carnival prices are cheap but they tend to do a lot of nickel and diming to passengers. I would figure at least $500-1000 when you consider all the incidentals for 4 people.

 

[stsomewhere]

Parking at port- $20 a day
tips $12 pp per night

if you are are big soda drinkers, get the soda cards. I think it was $6 for adults per day . One can of soda was $2.37

 

[dpswift]

Both Cozumel and Grand Cayman are good for exploring on your own. DH took our boys to a public beach that had a lot to offer when they were in Cozumel.

DH always gets the drink card I never do. He has never had trouble getting refills at dinner. The servers on Carnival are great.

We do not spend much. We do not go to the Casino. I do enjoy the adult drinks$$$$. In fact our bill is usually tips and drinks.

 

[Darcy03231]

I find it averages out to about double the cruise price. We're not big drinkers, but do enjoy the occasional cocktail. We tend to do an excursion in each port, some more expensive than others. I'm a sucker for the photos when the kids are with us. It's not often that we get the whole family together and all dressed up for photos.

 

[bumbershoot]

I think I found a great price on a cruise. Carnival Paradise to Cozumel and Grand Cayman, family of 4 adults for 5 days for $1280. We will drive to and from the port. So I know I need to account for gas and food on the drive. How much more will I need on the cruise? We aren't big drinkers, but what does an average alcoholic beverage cost onboard? How much are excursions? Can you just get off and "look around" without fear? Or go to the beach for a few hours?

I second? third? the advice to go to the "ports of call" forum on cruisecritic and start reading. I personally would (and will be) get off the ship and maybe get a taxi to take me to an area along the beach in Grand Cayman, but I won't do that in Mexico.

I would budget about $7 for alcohol, but know that sometimes the drinks are offered in "souvenir" cups. you don't have to buy them in the cups! Ask for them in a normal cup, and the price will go down. Not sure how Carnival does it, but you might have to go to the bartender for that, because the roaming employees won't necessarily have the drinks in non-souvenir cups.

We bought pictures on our honeymoon (two pictures) and we bought pictures on our first Disney cruise, but that's it. We really don't even pose anymore, and if we've posed b/c a photographer "makes us" do it, we don't really go to check on the pictures. Just not that important to us.

 

[dreamin_disney]

Cruising is so much fun!!!!!

How much you spend will depends on what you like. Its been 2-3 years since my last cruise.

We purchased a soda card for dd. It was $25 for 7 days. If you purchase at a certain time (I think when casino is open) theres no taxes on it. I think its international rule or something.
-with soda card dd got
-juice
-soda
-special drink was 1/2 pineapple & 1/2 orange juice and a shot of grenadine( suggested by someone on cruise critic

Dh and I stuck to tea and lemonade. I love tea but not carnivals cold tea. I would get 1/2 tea and 1/2 lemonade=Arnold palmer. or I would just get lemonade.

We also took some bottled water on board . Next time we will also take some soda. Your allowed a limit per person. Another suggestion I got from Cruise critic is take some rootbeer soda to make rootbeer floats with the unlimited free ice cream

We've only done 1 excursion and it was to the blow hole in Ensenada. Excursion can be very expensive so we didn't do it except once. We've only been on 2 cruises.

I treated myself to 2 special mix drinks. Drinking will really boost your bill.

We paid for our tips, pictures, and two drinks on our last cruise, plus shopping money in port