How Much Spending Money?

[Shazza]

Hi,

I've travelled extensively but have yet to take a cruise. However, my husband suggested one for next year's main family holiday and after looking through the brochures, we're keen on either a Hawaiian or Caribbean Cruise.

My questions is: how much spending money would a family of 5 (2 adults, 3 teenagers aged between 13-17) need for a 10 day cruise? I've no idea what prices onboard these cruise liners are like.

Any advice would be gratefully received.

Shazza

[Lucky Lulu]

It's a few years since last time I took a cruise but I can remember not actually spending as much money as we usually did on vacation. I put that down to the fact that once you've seen the onboard shops, you're not going to be tempted to keep buying stuff. Prices in the bars and restuarants were a little higher than otherwise but unless you spend a lot whenever you go in land, you probably won't need more than you would spend for any other holiday.

I'd take about 10% more than you normally would, just to be on the safe side I guess.

~Lucy~

[CruisinCousin]

For the cruises I've taken, each passenger is issued a swipe card for an ID. You can't get on or off the ship without putting the card through the swipe machine that pulls up your photo ID.

This same card is used onboard for all your purchases in the shops, restaurants and bars. It's safer and easier than converting cash from different countries. You just leave your cash locked in the safe in your room. You just feel so free - no worries about having enough money with you. You get a final tally before you leave the ship and pay at the end. The easiest way is to give your credit card number when you sign in the first day and all your expenses are taken care of nicely and automatically.

Then you just need money for when you are in port. Costs at the ports are about the same as in any tourist area. But if you don't wander too far from the ship, you and your family of five can go back to the ship for meals and a rest break and save money besides.

You don't need much money on the cruise - all-inclusive includes everything!

Hope that you enjoy your cruise!

CruisinCousin

[Shazza]

Thanks to both of you for your responses.

I hadn't heard about the swipe cards. Doesn't that mean that you could easily end up spending far more than you can reasonably afford, though? Or is there some way of keeping a tally of what you've bought without having to add things up manually as you go along? It's bad enough having to do that with my credit card otherwise, without having to worry about it during a holiday as well.

For us to be able to afford a cruise in the first place, we're going to have to stick to a definite budget during the actual cruise itself in order to survive when we come home - just like with any other holiday! I never use a CC on holiday, I budget our spending money and take it with us in cash, traveller's cheques and a certain amount on a debit card (once it's gone it's gone - no more can be taken out).

The idea of going back to the ship for meals etc was good. I wouldn't want to do that all the time as I'm sure there are some interesting excusions to take, but it's certainly a useful tip for those times we'd just be hanging around the port, anyway.

Once again, thanks for your response.

Shazza

[Helena]

Hi all...

I didn't bring a lot of cash with me when I went on my first cruise, figuring that pretty much everything was paid for. I used my credit and debit cards for purchases on and off the ship, and that worked out great. I carried a little cash when we were off the ship and used it to pay for snacks and drinks. I remember stopping in St. Martins and finding a beer stand on the beach. Let me tell you, that cold beer was certainly refreshing in the tropical heat!

I did need cash for tips, though, and shorted myself a bit. I ended up using the ATM onboard, and was charged a rather hefty fee for the convenience. So, I would advise taking along a couple of hundred dollars (or the equivalent) and setting it aside in the ship's safe to use for tips.

Helena

[Shazza]

I'm not even sure whether the cruises my husband was looking at are all-inclusive or not - I'll have to ask him. If they are, then obviously this is going to cost us a lot less than we initially thought.

A couple of hundred dollars for tips sounds like an awful lot to me. Do you have to tip every time somebody does something for you? And how do you work out what the tip would be when there isn't a price to guide you (you can't give 10% of nothing, after all, can you?). I wouldn't want to appear mean by tipping too little.

Shazza

[MandyMinx]

A couple of hundred dollars may be a bit high. Of course, it's always better to be safe than sorry (where have I heard that before?), and while there are no hard and fast rules, there some general guidelines for tipping on a cruise ship.

Although expectations and levels of service can vary, here’s an updated guideline that I found online.

Cabin Steward and waiter - $3.00 to $3.50 per person per day
Bus Boy, Pool Attendant, Cabin Person - $1.50 per person per day
Bar Tender and Wine Steward – Normally, a 15% gratuity is added to the bar or wine bill automatically.

You would also tip the maitre'd for any extra services provided. And, of course, if you should have your hair or nails done, or have a massage, you would tip the person the same thing you would tip them onshore.

Hope this helps.

MM

[Shazza]

I hate to sound uneducated but what's a 'bus boy'? I'm in the UK and we don't use that term here.

I take it, being as 15% of the bill is added as a tip to the bar staff, that alcoholic beverages aren't included in all-inclusive packages? Not that I'm surprised by that - if booze was free, I'm sure the ships would be full of drunks day and night, and nobody really wants that, do they?

~Shazza

[travelmd]

Norwegian Cruise Lines charges a flat fee to every passenger for tips. There's no hassle at the end of the cruise trying to decide how much money to leave and trying to find someone who gave you good service.

The tips are distributed by some formula that the cruise line determines. It may even be easier for the employees not to carry or try to store cash onboard too and in different currencies.

Service is great and employees that we've talked to simply asked us to fill in a favorable comment card so they could get a raise or promotion. No hands out looking for tips.

travel md

[Meezi]

I really like Norweigan's system! I always feel awkward handing people money, like I don't know if I'm giving the right amount to the right person. Or if I don't tip enough, I won't get the same level of service next time. But I love writing comment cards. Are there any other cruise lines that include tips as part of their fee?

[LostInSpace]

I hadn't heard about the swipe cards. Doesn't that mean that you could easily end up spending far more than you can reasonably afford, though? Or is there some way of keeping a tally of what you've bought without having to add things up manually as you go along? It's bad enough having to do that with my credit card otherwise, without having to worry about it during a holiday as well.



Oh yes, yes indeed. You'd need to be *very* careful with those debit cards. My DH and I cruised and while we loved the convenience of those swipe cards, when we got the bill, we almost passed out! I hate to say it, but a lot of it was spent on booze. The prices on board are not cheap, and unfortunately, it's very easy to just call a waiter over and get another drink.

But, if you're taking kiddos, it's likely you won't be drinking as much as we were. :) Oh, and you can always get your running total by visiting any of the desks on board. They're happy to print it out for you.

As far as tips go, we cruised on Carnival, and they gave good guidelines for tipping. We were free to tip more or less depending on how impressed we were, or even how much we'd used the service.

Good luck making your decision!!
LIS

[quinda]

I just started a thread in the Q&A section about this, I hadn't spotted this post.

I think a swipe card system would be really scary - I could imagine myself spending a fortune!

I'd forgotten about tips too, I'll have to re-budget to take that into account - it sounds like there will be a lot of people to tip :(

Thanks for this interesting and useful thread though!