I need your honest help

[bonnielynn]

There are 4 of us going on our first ever cruise.. (2 A and 8, 16yr old).. How much $ should we be using on a 7 night Eastern Cruise.. My dh likes to drink and I love to have a few glasses of wine.. wanted to do a few excursions...

I have never cruised and have no clue how to do a budget on this one...

I need help....!!

 

[rbork]

one phrase - BYOB!
I know others will clue you in on specifics $$$.
Good Luck!

 

[Jsme]

You can drink the drink of the day for $3.50. You can buy the wine package for dinner. You can also BYOB or wine. If you take the wine to dinner with you they will charge a rather high cork fee. You room stewart will be gald to provide you with wine glasses and ice. You can always take a glass of wine with you to dinner.

As far as excursions this can get pricy. Depends on what you chose to do. Have you looked at the excursion offered on DCL website? I thought we spend $1800 last cruise but I was wrong we spend $2250 on a 7 day cruise. This included a ot of junk the kids bought, several arcadia cards, drinks for us, the IL's and the kids. Several excursion, wine tasting, 3 spa treatments and a few souvies.

You can take a soft side cooler with you and fill it with all types of foods to take on excursion. You can call room service to get food or pick up some fruit at breakfast, lunch or scoops. There's all kinds of ways to save money and not waste it while cruising. You can also take water with you onboard.

 

[mommasita]

We try to keep our budget down by:

Bringing some wine ourselves, and have Shirley send some nice baskets (theperfectgift.cc) with some cans of beer, and a couple of bottles of wine...This really helps A LOT!!!

We also usually do our own excursions, just beach ones on our own..This can really keep the cost down, and we have a nice scenic taxi ride of the place we are visiting..In St. Thomas we usually do Megan's Bay, and it is quite cheaply done by cab, and we eat lunch there...Water taxi in St. Maartan as well, same thing justabout...

Disney excursions are by far the most $$$, and you can check out other companies, just be careful of their cancellation policies...

All total our stateroom account, with tips, photos, shopping, etc...is roughly 1200-1500$....

HTH

 

[dairyou]

I agree with Mommasita. Booking your own excursion is the way to go. I know for myself I was scared at first, but there are so many taxi drivers out there waiting for you. They will come back and pick you up whenever you tell them to. I usually look at the DCL excursion site and then go on my own.

The only thing you have to be very careful of is to get back to the ship on time. Since you are not on a Disney excursion and you are late, the boat will leave without you. We have never experience this though. Just make sure you leave enough time to get back.

On the July 2nd cruise I read alot about people bringing their own alcoholic beverages.

Deb

 

[bonnielynn]

So bring your own drinks (wine, beer and liquor).. get a cab to the beaches and shopping while on the islands.. and expect to spend at least $1800...

Is it safe to just wonder around the islands?

Anything else I should know?

Thanks.. for all the infor and help.. can somone more experienced just pack and go with us???? I am a bit scared of the unknown.. Can ya tell?

 

[Hockeychic]

Hey Bonnielyn....are you on the same cruise as me????

Oct 29th from Port Canaveral???

We are also traveling.....Dh and myself and DS 16 and DD 13.

Kim

 

[TiggerKing]

Thanks.. for all the infor and help.. can somone more experienced just pack and go with us???? I am a bit scared of the unknown.. Can ya tell?

If you are looking for a tour guide, my rates are cheap. Just pay for my cabin and everything else is handled!

 

[bonnielynn]

Hey Bonnielyn....are you on the same cruise as me????

Oct 29th from Port Canaveral???

Yup we are on the same cruise as you... October 29-November 5... first for us.. been to disney plenty, but never the cruise. Its gonna be my DH, 8yr old and 16yr old.. both boys... My hope is to have a great time and possibly become a cruiser... we shall see..

 

[bonnielynn]

If you are looking for a tour guide, my rates are cheap. Just pay for my cabin and everything else is handled!

LMAO!! Thanks for the offer!

 

[Hockeychic]

Our first cruise as well. Hopefully our 16 year old boys can meet up.

We have also been to WDW a few times but this brings a entirely new meaning to planning... I am a compulsive planner I am getting a bit overwelmed but loving every minute of it...

I am not sure if you have seen it but under cruisemeets there is a thread just for us that are going Oct 29th...check it out there are some pretty nice people there. I think we are going to have a good time.

Kim

 

[lindakmonty]

Your cost will also depend on what type of stateroom you choose. I would go to the discounts page at the top here from dreams unlimited and compare. I have spent anywhere from $2500 to $6k for 3 of us... and the first few my son was under 3 years old so.... no matter what ,you will all have a blast. I personally prefer to spend a little less and go more often since you aren't in your stateroom much, but our next cruise I do plan to splurge and at least get a verandah !! good luck and have fun planning. that is 1/2 the fun! check out the sites and threads on other peoples experiences. It does help a lot! Also, do you plan on driving or flying? We drive just to save there too and that is a 17 hour drive for us!

 

[BoardwalkBabe]

For our first cruise, I budgeted $100 for photos, $100 for drinks, $300 for excursions, $200 for souveniers and $100 for miscellaneous items.

I think we ended up spending around $1200. I spent more on photos than I had planned, more on drinks, bought an internet package, played bingo and splurged at the Fresh Produce store on Key West. You just never know...

 

[HIHO...HIHO]

Just remember you are on vacation and that means 'not worrying' and enjoying yourself. We went on our first cruise in May and did not do any shore excursions - and wish we had. I figure a cruise is a chance to explore and have fun - within reason so try to budget and add some extra money. I put away 25 to 30.00$ a week for about a year for our spending money and we really did not miss it - it seems easier to put away in smaller amounts. Have a blast and if you splurge a little - don't fret - we all deserve it now and then!

 

[jrabbit]

What can you spend money on onboard?

Family of 4 on a seven night cruise will generate a "standard" gratuity of about $305. If the family of 4 goes on a 4 night cruise the gratuity would be about $175. Some people don't tip (don't go there ). Some just the standard, some a little more and some tip a LOT more :yes:: yes the service is THAT good).

If you go to Palo there is a service charge of $10 per person. You should tip above this service charge for "using the room" Some people kick in an extra $10 per person, others have said that they've tipped $100 -- Wow!!

Room service is free for most items on the menu (sodas and some items you have to pay for). Be sure to tip your "server" or is it runner in this case . DCL has reciently made it possible to tip your server on your KTTW card.

Room service There are items on the menu that Do carry a charge -soda and the other chargable beverages along with several food items.

You can purchase snacks at Preludes (outside of the Walt Disney Theater). There is candy and popcorn to buy.

Baskets and Cruise Gifts I don't know if you can order these once you are on board but you can most definately order them before your cruise. DCL includes a brochure with your cruise documents.

Depending upon the ages of your children (or if your DW is gosh darn beautiful ) Shutters may be a big ticket item. The 6x8 (small) photos are around $10 each. I don't remember how much the formal (large) photos are (maybe $20 each).

If you have a child that is not yet potty trained (and 3 or younger) you can "hire a babysitter" at Flounders. You are able to initally reserve 3 time slots for your child. Later in the cruise you can see if you can get any additional times (if you need more mommy and daddy private time ) This is different than the Club, Lab or the Stack / Aloft - which are included in your cruise fees for kids from age 3 to 17.

If you stick to the drink of the day, they will run you $3.50 each (which isn't too bad). Otherwise the prices go up from there (but still are not outrageous!!) Speciality Drinks - like coffees, smoothies etc carry a charge. Smoothies run about $5.00 each with manditory tip.

If you buy the wine package for dinner the cost is $185 to $250 depending upon the package purchased. If you buy wine by the bottle I believe you can count on $50 per bottle (but if you each only drink 1 glass each, it will last for two nights and your waiters will take care of it for you!)

There is also a "water package" that you can purchase for dinners. Why , I don't know, the water that the ship "makes" is wonderful.

Shore excursions really add up. Even if you do a "cheep" $45 excursion that's $180 for the family.

If you do the wine tasting class onboard there's a cost and I really don't know how much it is because I don't like wine that much.

Spa treatments run from $83 to well over $200 per person per treatment (count on at least $100 ).

Arcade cards for the kids. Denominations start at $10 and go up from there.

Now for the souvineers: you can get some small plastic figurine for $5. If you want a tee shirt, think at least $35, polo shirts are well over $50. A DCL frame for one of your 6x8 pictures will run you $18 to $20. Lots of fun stuff to buy for the whole family at Mickey's Mates. Then across the hall is the Treasure Ketch and that stuff is generally way more expensive!!

Then there's the "store" that's between Rock'n Bar D and Diversions on the Magic (its in the same location on the Wonder-just different Club Names) that sells tobaco and alcohol products. I believe that any alcohol you purchase CAN NOT be consumed onboard. They will deliver it to you close to disembarkation time.

Some people have a Bingo habit that costs them a ton of $$$$. I believe that it's $35 for 5 or 6 games. Haven't done it so I really don't know. I probably will be giving it a go at the end of the repo cruise - the jackpot is going to be HUGE!!

Hairbrading onboard has a per braid charge.

Landry: You’ll need money if you plan on using the Self Service Landry’s on the ship. You'll need even more money if you use the onboard Landry and Pressing service that DCL offers!

Other people have talked about spending money onshore. Unless its at Castaway Cay, thats a different bill from your onboard account.

I think thats all of the areas that you can spend money ON the ship.

 

[jrabbit]

OK for some "real world" ideas ...

For shore excursions with DCL you can look at their web site and find the excursions you want and the cost per person. For snorkeling trips we've stuck with DCL - prices that we've compared seem pretty equal - $5/person not enough to justify the "risk". For beach days we do that on our own - MUCH, MUCH less expensive than doing the same thing with DCL.

If you want wine with dinner there's a few ways to go. 1) buy one of the packages 2) buy a bottle at first dinner, have a glass each and have sever save it for the next night (they do an excellent job of this!) or 3) by (or is it buy) the glass

Drinks: stick to the Drink of the Day (very reasonably priced). And look for the 2 for 1 offers that they have at different times throughout the cruise (I beleive that these are published in the Navigators each day)

Your Kids: Give them a budget. Check with Guest Services every day and get a print out of your room charges. Once they hit their budget - turn off their cards!!

Strongly suggest to the kids that they play video games in the Lab / Teen Club. They have PS2's and these are free. The video arcade charges per game.

Stay out of Shutters (that's what will save us the most money). One of the worst things that I've seen (my personal opinion) was a lady lineing up her Shutters Pictures and then taking a picture of the picture and not buying any of them.:no:

You CAN go on a cruise and not spend any money (other than tips / gratuities) and still have a wonderful trip. There was a thread many months ago where people said what they spent on "extras" while on the cruise. The range went from $50 to over several thousand dollars (don't remember the exact amount posted but I think that it was over $5,000 and may have been $10,000!!!

 

[Keggy]

On our first 7 night cruise - an Eastern - we didn't plan any excursions. We got off the ship and shopped in the morning and took a cab to a beach in the afternoon. We were actually tired of the beach by the end of the week - Weird I know! This next cruise we are booking an excursion though Disney on 2 days and doing the beach thing on the third.

My DH and I do not drink very much - so we are able to keep down the costs a lot that way - but I do a spa treatment that is about $250 - so that is where I splurge!

Kelly

 

[jhorstma]

There are 4 of us going on our first ever cruise.. (2 A and 8, 16yr old).. How much $ should we be using on a 7 night Eastern Cruise.. My dh likes to drink and I love to have a few glasses of wine.. wanted to do a few excursions...

I have never cruised and have no clue how to do a budget on this one...

I need help....!!

Here's the breakdown for our Spring Break 2005 (March 19-26) trip (Me, DW, DD9, DS11):

Cruise fare: $8500 Cat 4 (2nd most expensive time to go - $2K higher than 3/5 Eastern) - could have gone as cheaply as $5500 for an inside cabin. Included DCL transfers.

Air: $1000

Cabs/MCO Hyatt/Meals + Books in transit: $400

St. Maarten, St. Thomas, CC: $1000 (Rhino Riders, 1/2 Day Catamaran, Banana Boats, Paradise Point tram and lunch, cab rides, souveniers)

Tips: $400

Misc: $900 (Arcade cards - $150, Palo - $50, Shutters - $100, wine - $250, drinks - $250, souveniers - $100, no spa)

So if I did my math right you're talking $12,200. If we picked a cheaper week and skipped the verandah we could have taken $3K to $5K off, bringing us to maybe $8,000 total (outside cabin). If you're within driving distance you can save the $1,000 air and just keep the $400 transit line item to cover gas, meals/hotel, and parking - so $7K total. Any other savings would likely put some serious crimps into your cruise (flying down Sat morning will stress you out, adults will want to drink, kids will want to play in the arcade - a lot, many fun but expensive things to do in the islands, etc.).

 

[tvguy]

Wow, I got off lucky I guess. Our total charges were $1100 for 4 on a 7 day.
$800 of that was excursions. $140 was for wine, 4 bottles of wine and 2 bottles of Martinellis Cider. We found it cheaper to buy wine ala carte because my wife and I never would have finished the 7 bottles in the smallest wine package.. The rest was tee shirts and junk. It does not include tips, I always do those in cash.
We traveled BEFORE free soda. Kids found the selection of drinks at the beverage station and at the buffets more than adequate so never asked for extra cost sodas. I was prepared to buy them.

 

[kritter]

Is soda included or do you have to pay or cups of water, etc..Help me out please..