Maybe because we sail once a year and I have learned to live as a single parent/single income household, but you can do the cruise, have a fabulous time and not spend hordes of cash. This past January we (my two teenaged daughters and myself) each participated in one excursion in Cozumel, enjoyed the trolley tour of Key West (independent of Disney), visited the Rainforest Room and splurged on one spa treatment and ended up with a $500 tab on our last day - not including gratuities. We never felt deprived or as though we were missing out of anything.
Enjoy - no matter what your budget may be,
Dawn Hope