Spending Money

[Rohu13]

My family is planning a Nov 2003 seven night cruise. Not including the cost of the cruise package....How much should I have set aside for spending? (ie. tips, souvies, misc, and some excursions) I just need a rough estimate so I can plan my budget to save for the trip. Traveling will be mysef, DH, DS(8), and DS(5).
Any help will be greatly appreciated.

 

[imgoingtodisney]

DH, DS and I (and maybe MIL) are cruising 7 days this November. Im planning on
tips - $75 each
drinks - $15 - 1/day each- also bringing booze for the room
excursions - $400 - 1 is costing $225ish
game cards - $10 - DH and DS each got $10 for V-Day
souveniers - usually buy at the end of vaca with leftover $

We are already beginning to save up. Each month I head to the disney store and charge disney dollars. Its easier to charge $100/50 per month than have $800-1000 on charge card after our vacation. And yes these can be put on room charge.
I give Disney dollars for valentines day, easter, birthdays, fathers day, report cards - just about every occasion there is

 

[bkline]

Don't forget about any spa treatments. I really enjoyed the Rainforest room. Also we spent a lot on photos (over $100).

 

[Mjasp]

That is a great idea. Where do u get Disney dollars and where can u spend them? Are they good on the ship and Castaway Cay. Are there alot of things for kids to buy ages 10 and 6. I'm thinking report cards, Easter and thats it because in May we SAIL!!!!!!

 

[Jobro2]

We cruised this past June with our 2 kids (9&11). I brought $1200 in traveler's checks for spending $... We wound up spending $1000.. This includeded:

all our tips
2-3 alcoholic drinks each for DH and myself each day (don't miss those conk cookers!) We also brought a case of beer...hey, it's vacation!
$20 for each child in Quarters Arcade cards
Brunch + tip at Palos
Castaway rentals for each of us (floats and snorkeling equipment)
We did Coki Beach on our own...taxi, floats, snorkeling equipment, 2 chairs and umbrella
1 smoothie a day for each kid, plus a soda or 2...(didn't opt for the soda mugs...we figured it would be cheaper for us to just buy them 1 soda or so a day, plus there is water available all day at the drink station)
$200 in photos from Shutters (Yikes! didn't plan on buying that many,but the shots were soooo good!
1-2 souveneers for each of us from the ship
No spa treatments for us, or organized excursions...

We were pleased with what we spent, we wanted to go and have a good time with out going crazy with our money, but also didn't have to watch "every penny" we spent. You can certainly have a great time and spend less!!

 

[Dave_from_Marietta]

Originally posted by Mjasp

Where do u get Disney dollars and where can u spend them? Are they good on the ship and Castaway Cay.

Disney Dollars can be purchased at any Disney Store.

All purchases onboard the ship and at Castaway Cay (except for the post office... cash only) are charged to your shipboard account using your Key to the World (KTTW) card. You can use Disney Dollars at Guest Services to pay down your account.

 

[kendall]

In our family were DH and I, two kids ages 10 and 8. Roughly, we spent:

$250 on excursions
$80 spa
$120 photos
$300 gratuities
$250 onboard souveniers, occasional drink, arcade, bingo

and off the ship, I would say we spent another $100 dollars on the islands (not Castaway Cay)

I think buying Disney Dollars over the period leading up to the trip is a fabulous idea! I will do that for our next trip.

The photos will add up quickly - we did get some EXCELLENT family photos on the cruise.

Another idea - I have started using www.mypoints.com (more info is on the Disney Rewards board on this website) - my plan is to redeem those points to (1) purchase items for family use on the cruise and (2) purchase phone cards to give as appreciation tips for outstanding service on board. One thing I am going to check is if I can purchase a Disney Gift Card through My Points and then purchase Disney Dollars with the Gift Card - is that possible?

And one money saving idea for you - if you are thinking of renting floats at Castaway Cay - consider going to your local Wal-Mart and buying cheap, bright color (not blue) floats - take them along, blow them up at Castaway Cay and then throw them out if you don't want to bring them home. The advantages are (1) you bring a $2 float instead of renting, (2) it is easy to identify and locate your own kids by their color float in the sea of Disney floats and (3) if you leave the float you have some room in your suitcase for that t-shirt you are going to buy at Castaway Cay. Of course, the idea of throwing away the float is so typical of the American consumer attitude (read here a twinge of economic and environmental guilt), but....