Most interesting DCL question I've seen in awhile...

[Bsmitty]

Much like a lot of us, I'm constantly reading disboard, and many DCL Facebook pages, scouring YouTube, etc. to feed the DCL obsession. Which means the same topic over & over can get repetitious.

On a Facebook thread recently, someone asked a question & reading the responses was something I hadn't seen in a long time & was fun to see.

The question was...how much do you spend on your trip once you're on the ship & the cruise is already paid for, what did you spend it on, & what was the length of the cruise?

The answers were all over the board! But gave a great idea of differing scenarios based on length of cruise, ports visited, excursions, drinks, souvenirs, extras, palo/remy, etc. so I pose that same question here....and, go!

 

[KristiMc]

On a 7-night cruse my family will usually spend around $2000. This is for tips, excursions, alcohol drinks, smoothies, BINGO, tasting seminars, Spa treatments, specialty coffee, Palo, Remy, souvenirs, pictures, laundry, popcorn.

 

[FigmentSpark]

This was for 4 people:



We bought the Shutters package beforehand (first line) and then bought the prints on board. We added to gratuities with cash, so I don't know, off hand, how much extra that is (DH did that).

Edit: My Total line was cut and pasted from a spreadsheet... the real total for all listed on this page is $3067.36. Still, that's including the $500 placeholder for 2 rooms and the $400 for the Shutters photos and all my excursions and tips (less whatever extra we added).

 

[Bethany10]

I can tell you our budget is $500, NOT including gratuity that's a separate line item. (it does include any extra tips like room service though). We're only going on a 3 day and don't intend to get off the ship in Nassau so no excursions for us. We're also not big Disney shoppers, well 3 of us aren't one of us shall be reined in . Hey can I help it if I'm a sucker for a cute tervis?

Honestly, it's not going to go much over that as we're on a VERY tight budget and this is one component of a much larger vacation for us. We're putting a gift card on the account and telling each member of the family they have x $ to spend and that's it.

These are always fascinating to read, so thank you for posting.

 

[steves100]

This was for 4 people:

View attachment 267393

We bought the Shutters package beforehand (first line) and then bought the prints on board. We added to gratuities with cash, so I don't know, off hand, how much extra that is (DH did that).

WOW

No alcohol

: )

 

[FigmentSpark]

WOW

No alcohol

: )

lol - Believe it or not, DH, as he's aged out of the party years, is allergic to alcohol. It makes him have sneezing fits. And I don't like the taste enough to want to drink alone. Although there was one night when DS14 decided he didn't have to report in after his curfew... I probably could have used a drink after I knew he was safe.

 

[Jess_S]

On our 7 night Alaska cruise, our onboard account charges -- excluding the tip -- were about $700. That was 2 massages, 1 excursion (2 adults; son was 1 so he was free) and bar tab.

We spent about $200 more on on our own excursions (museum admission, shuttle to Mendenhall glacier, beer and food while in port).

We tipped the standard amount plus an extra $10 to $20 per person in cash in the envelope.

 

[mhconley]

We've only sailed on two 7 night cruises, one western and one eastern, both on the Fantasy. We spent right around $2,500 on each. That included excursions, spa treatments, all tips (porters, excursions, room service, host and servers), Shutters ($100), one dinner for two at Remy, popcorn at the theater, bingo, and shopping, both on and off the ship for two adults and one child; but no alcohol (we do not drink).

I'm budgeting about $3,500 for our upcoming 11 night B2B.

Martin

 

[Carrie in AZ]

Not much at all! For our 7nt in 2013, it was about $300, we paid for an excursion on our own which was about $350.

For our 4nt Double Dip in 2014, it was less than $200. A couple of drinks, a couple of photos, a few souvenirs, that was it. We didn't go to the spa, didn't eat at Palo, and Atlantis was free because I paid for it with hotel points. No excursion fees at CC.

This is what I love about cruising: Something for everyone! Can spend as little or as much as you want

On our upcoming cruise out of NYC, we are not booking any spa treatments or Palo. The bulk of our extra money will be spent beforehand in NYC and during our day at DW in the parks, we have a couple of ADRs. With four sea days, we won't be spending much on board.

 

[cedricandsophie]

The most we have ever spent on a Disney cruise is when we took 7 people to the Norway 9 day cruise. The excursions were the highest priced I have ever seen. Tips, excursions, alcohol, two massages, Cove coffee charges, Palo, a few souvenirs, wifi, laundry, etc came to over $11,000! Our last cruise with seven of us, last June, including excursions and all of the above was about $5000. If we are taking the whole family, i generally assume 5000 or more.

 

[kboo]

We just did our very first DCL trip a few weeks ago. 7nt Western Caribbean with a 6yo and 21 mo old. We spent about $3600 on our onboard account, which included tips and the $1800 shutters black and white photo album. Did not buy a photo package. So the remaining $1800 (other than the photo album) was spent on the following:

tips (we added about $150 to the base)
nursery charges ($9/hr and we probably paid for about 20 hours there - I know, 18 is the max)
a 3-bottle wine package + a few drinks here and there
Palo dinner
Remy brunch with 1 champagne pairing
couples' massage
Gift shop purchases, including pirate dress for the 6yo and lots of pins

Out of pocket additional costs:
approx $100 to eat/drink at Margaritaville, Falmouth
$150-170 for us to do a private (booked with a guy at the port) beach trip in Cozumel

ETA: I thought that list seemed really cheap, but then realized we had a $350 credit on our account. So total actual charges was closer to $4000. Oops.

 

[swooshbear]

I don't remember the exact amount but we did the dog sledding on a glacier excursion in Alaska, that was a memorable but probably once in a lifetime thing for us. I think we tend to average around $800 - 1000, we don't drink but we always book our next cruise on board.

 

[3monkeys4me]

For us it varies by the ports I think. For the Caribbean and Mexican Rivera cruises we have done in the past we have budgeted about $100 per day for our family of 5. That does not include tips, as I budget for that separately. It also doesn't include excursions as we don't really do many for those cruises and if we do we would plan something on our own that would also be budgeted for on its own. We generally don't even spend the $100. Dh and I might have a drink or two and the kids don't really buy anything.

When we get around to doing Alaska I suspect we will do a few more excursions, at least some of those through the ship. Same if we ever decide to cruise in Europe or South America.

We are just in the very early planning stages for our Australia/ New Zealand cruise but I expect we will be paying around $1200 for excursions, depending on what we decide to do. And probably around $800 for tips for the 10 night cruise. So if we stick to the budget we will be planning on about $3000 in addition to cruise fare and air fare.

 

[Bsmitty]

I can tell you our budget is $500, NOT including gratuity that's a separate line item. (it does include any extra tips like room service though). We're only going on a 3 day and don't intend to get off the ship in Nassau so no excursions for us. We're also not big Disney shoppers, well 3 of us aren't one of us shall be reined in . Hey can I help it if I'm a sucker for a cute tervis?

Honestly, it's not going to go much over that as we're on a VERY tight budget and this is one component of a much larger vacation for us. We're putting a gift card on the account and telling each member of the family they have x $ to spend and that's it.

These are always fascinating to read, so thank you for posting.

I loved the Tervis comment! That's the first thing I want to buy as the ship pulls out of port & shops open. I already ordered tervis straw lids to take with us for the tervis' I know we'll buy. Proud of you for strict budgeting! I need to do this too.

 

[Bsmitty]

Not much at all! For our 7nt in 2013, it was about $300, we paid for an excursion on our own which was about $350.

For our 4nt Double Dip in 2014, it was less than $200. A couple of drinks, a couple of photos, a few souvenirs, that was it. We didn't go to the spa, didn't eat at Palo, and Atlantis was free because I paid for it with hotel points. No excursion fees at CC.

This is what I love about cruising: Something for everyone! Can spend as little or as much as you want

On our upcoming cruise out of NYC, we are not booking any spa treatments or Palo. The bulk of our extra money will be spent beforehand in NYC and during our day at DW in the parks, we have a couple of ADRs. With four sea days, we won't be spending much on board.

I totally agree! You can totally go ham...but if you don't, you'll still have a luxurious vacation where you're well taken care of.

 

[hanscarlet]

for a 7 night our bill is usually $1200 but this is after putting on $1000 to the on board account using gift cards... but this $2200 usually includes a cabana so I think we do ok although most of it is alcohol and Palo as we do non Disney excursions

 

[rhinodadz]

Most recently about $2200 for a 7 night for 2 of us. Adult dining (Palo twice), a couple massages & rainforest passes, modest amount of alcohol & tastings, two non-Disney snorkeling excursions, additional gratuities.

 

[geoly1]

Last time we cruised (Dream 3 night for our20th Anniversary without the kids) dh gave our on board charges a name since it was as much as having another person in the room! Don't regret a thing though!

 

[Bethany10]

Proud of you for strict budgeting! I need to do this too.

It becomes rather easy to do when you don't have any other choice, but thank you. It's taken us almost 2 years of saving to make this trip happen. Part of our lower on board plan too is that we're spending the first half of the trip in Orlando at universal. I suspect our bill would be a great deal higher if we were just going on the boat.

 

[Carrie in AZ]

We just did our very first DCL trip a few weeks ago. 7nt Western Caribbean with a 6yo and 21 mo old. We spent about $3600 on our onboard account, which included tips and the $1800 shutters black and white photo album. Did not buy a photo package.

Off topic, sorry.....What is a Shutters black and white photo album? $1,800 seems like a lot of money to me. Thanks for answering.