HELP! Trying to set up a cruise budget!!

[JFHoneymoon]

This will be my first cruise as an adult, and my future husband's first cruise ever. This will be our honeymoon and we want to do a RCCL Oasis cruise. Planning a 7 day cruise with 3 ports of call. I just want to put together a budget so we can plan accordingly and know how much we need to have the honeymoon of our dreams.

 

So for the budget thus far i have:

 

Airfare

 

Cruise Price (including taxes)

 

Excursions

 

Insurance

 

OnBoard activities (spa services, casino, etc)

 

Drinks

 

After that, i don't know what else to budget for. If anyone can just add to the list, that would be really helpful! Also if you know the average cost or percentages to go along with the budget items, that would be very much appreciated too.

 

TIA!!

[trish1c]

Congratulations!

Souveniers.

On Board photos -- normally I don't buy them but since this is your HM, you are going to want the professional pictures. I bought everything in sight on our HM last year. :rolleyes:

Tips -- budget $10 per person per day = $140 for the 2 of you for 7 days. Add in some extra b/c you have to tip the stevedores for your bags, the taxi drivers, the tour operators etc.

New clothes or luggage if you need it.

Transporation to the AP to the pier & back.

[dna1990]

Hotel pre or post?

 

Taxi or shuttle to/from airport/hotel/pier/etc.

 

Internet or phone calls from ship or ports.

[JFHoneymoon]

Congratulations!

 

Souveniers.

 

On Board photos -- normally I don't buy them but since this is your HM, you are going to want the professional pictures. I bought everything in sight on our HM last year. :rolleyes:

 

Tips -- budget $10 per person per day = $140 for the 2 of you for 7 days. Add in some extra b/c you have to tip the stevedores for your bags, the taxi drivers, the tour operators etc.

 

New clothes or luggage if you need it.

 

Transporation to the AP to the pier & back.

 

Congrats on the newlywed life! and thanks for the add-ons! I didn't think about souviniers and onboard photos. I gonna lump those together into "shopping expenses" and add that to our list.

 

The tipping add was really important. I've been so confused on how much to tip and if i needed cash or not.

 

I think i will pre-pay most of our gratuities and then bring just a lil extra cash for tipping.

 

I loved the cruise when i went as a teen. I did the teen on board activities, so i know this cruise will be a whole different experience. Im sure we will go on more cruises after my fiance experiences his first one. but like you said, this is our honeymoon, so we are going to go all out for this one...spa services, shows, excursions... as much as we can do without overwhelming ourselves.

 

and we are planning on having a honeymoon registry to go along with our other registries. So our wedding guests will be giving us excursions and dinners and massages as thier gifts..and i plan on doing a "Thank-you" dvd with pics and footage of all our cruise activities

 

Next cruise, we will budget much better:)

[JFHoneymoon]

Hotel pre or post?

 

Taxi or shuttle to/from airport/hotel/pier/etc.

 

Internet or phone calls from ship or ports.

 

I forgot about hotel too. I think i'm going to book our airfare, hotel, and transportation with the cruise line. That would be much easier for me i think... but i wonder if we would actually be getting a deal.

 

I'm gonna add internet to the list as well. Thanks:)

[trish1c]

Booking the hotel & air through the cruise line is not really a financial deal but one stop shopping is what every bride to be needs. You have too many other details to worry about. Either do it through the cruise or get a TA.

For our HM, I dumped everything in the TAs lap & she made it so easier. I'm back to wanting to micro manage this cruise & I'm making her nuts now. :p

[firefly333]

I wouldnt book air with the cruiseline as you have no control over it if they want to do a red eye or fly you in 2 hours before the ship leaves.

 

Its best to fly in the night before and the only way you have control is to also pay extra to pick your flight with the cruiseline... it rarely pays. I think if you are diamond on RCL you get to pick and dont pay the extra fee for it.

 

Id do the hotel and air fare on your own or use a TA.

 

Id love to do Oasis, sounds like a fabulous trip. Congrats.

[Fredr]

hello,

 

Congratulations!

 

Let's get a whole lot of serious here, for just one moment.

 

A cruise is not about spending a lot of big green, or making like "Cruise meets the Real Housewives of Atlanta". And a cruise is not about showing everyone and everyone who matters (grandma, mom, sisters, your brother's wife and especially friends) how much you did spend.

 

What a cruise is...romance, romance and a lot more romance! It doesn't impress the old lady down the street or your best friend's mother in law, but watching a sunset is priceless. The same is true for looking at the stars and moonbeams on the ocean at night. And for sure, both you and your DH are getting up early to watch a sunrise. See the meeting of ocean and sky as the dawn breaks up the dark sky.

 

As the ship heads out to sea, you are going to be standing in the wind, at the very front of the ship. And no, you are not going to be thinking about how many pairs of shoes you can afford to buy when the ship reaches your first port.

 

Believe it or not but there is a whole lot of fools out there who go on cruises just for the cruise, ports (history and culture), aesthetics, meeting interesting and fun people, and spending lots of time together. And if the urge to spend, spend and spend comes over you, go for a nice long walk on the ship, cause the fresh air is going to clear your mind.

 

Toward saving money research the ports, get some maps and see the ports on your own.

 

Here's hoping that you have a great cruise and a wonderful life together.

[dna1990]

I agree to offload arrangements to others, but it is true that lately cruise-purchased air has been some really odd times and layovers.

 

Given that time will be of importance, I suggest that air be purchased separate, and get the exact flight/route that makes sense for your schedule.

[FireMonkey]

I'd definitely say book the airfare/hotel on your own and fly in the night before. Last thing you want on your HM is the stress of a late flight and possibly missing your cruise!! It's not that much stress to get the flight and hotel booked on your own.

 

Congrats to you and your future DH!!

[lnw]

You will be amazed at how fast cost runs up while on the ship.

 

If you like a drink or two after dinner or during the show - plan $5-$6 for beer and $8-$9 for mixed drink and then add 15% tip which is added to the bill.

 

Internet cost was $.55 per minute so don't plan to spend time downloading your email and all the junk that comes with it. Plus, the internet speed is not the best so time and $$ clickes away very fast.

 

If you like wine - you may consider the wine package or individual bottles while on board. Yes, it too is at a premium.

 

We usually book the departure flight the day AFTER the ship returns to port and spend the night in the city relaxing. Our last cruise was a day late to port and people ended up spending a ton on extra tickets to get home which sometimes took several days since airlines have reduced the seat capacity in the system. Be aware of what your travel insurance will and will not cover.

 

We downloaded our pictures every night for the day. Good thing we did too since our camera was stolen during the trip. We only lost the one day of pictures.

 

Above all, HAVE FUN and remember the cherrished moments of this trip!

[Heathrow Airport Parking]

Hey all....Nice to see u all giggling around..Ya i m new to this forum and soon i m going to be on cruise.....

[MICHLEV1974]

I think i will pre-pay most of our gratuities and then bring just a lil extra cash for tipping.

 

i plan on doing a "Thank-you" dvd with pics and footage of all our cruise activities

 

Next cruise, we will budget much better:)

 

It is a great idea to prepay the grats and bring cash for extra tipping.

 

Why would your guests want to see a dvd of you on your cruise honeymoon? Are they going to watch it year after year? My family would probably watch once and throw away. All my hard work right into the landfill....yikes :( Save yourself the time and send out a thank you note w/your pix from formal night. You can make copies when you return--don't buy 50 copies onboard.;) The dvd seems like you will put more energy into something that might take away from your romantic HM...anyway, it is your HM, just thought I would save you some time....

 

congrats! enjoy your fabulous cruise!

 

you are on the right trackw/all your budget items...

[JFHoneymoon]

hello,

 

Congratulations!

 

Let's get a whole lot of serious here, for just one moment.

 

A cruise is not about spending a lot of big green, or making like "Cruise meets the Real Housewives of Atlanta". And a cruise is not about showing everyone and everyone who matters (grandma, mom, sisters, your brother's wife and especially friends) how much you did spend.

 

What a cruise is...romance, romance and a lot more romance! It doesn't impress the old lady down the street or your best friend's mother in law, but watching a sunset is priceless. The same is true for looking at the stars and moonbeams on the ocean at night. And for sure, both you and your DH are getting up early to watch a sunrise. See the meeting of ocean and sky as the dawn breaks up the dark sky.

 

As the ship heads out to sea, you are going to be standing in the wind, at the very front of the ship. And no, you are not going to be thinking about how many pairs of shoes you can afford to buy when the ship reaches your first port.

 

Believe it or not but there is a whole lot of fools out there who go on cruises just for the cruise, ports (history and culture), aesthetics, meeting interesting and fun people, and spending lots of time together. And if the urge to spend, spend and spend comes over you, go for a nice long walk on the ship, cause the fresh air is going to clear your mind.

 

Toward saving money research the ports, get some maps and see the ports on your own.

 

Here's hoping that you have a great cruise and a wonderful life together.

 

 

thanks for the advice :) We won't forget the romance, but one of the reasons we are choosing a cruise is so that we can be active and experience alot of different things. Swimming with dolphins, or snorkling, or touring ruins. Those type of things that we have never done before. We want our honeymoon to be about fun! But i'll make sure that we don't get too carried away.

 

And i don't want to spend as much money as possible, but our honeymoon only happens once so we want to make sure it's everything we want.

[JFHoneymoon]

I agree to offload arrangements to others, but it is true that lately cruise-purchased air has been some really odd times and layovers.

 

Given that time will be of importance, I suggest that air be purchased separate, and get the exact flight/route that makes sense for your schedule.

 

I'd definitely say book the airfare/hotel on your own and fly in the night before. Last thing you want on your HM is the stress of a late flight and possibly missing your cruise!! It's not that much stress to get the flight and hotel booked on your own.

 

Congrats to you and your future DH!!

 

thanks 4 the tip!! I will definitely just book our own in advance then to land a day before the cruise and spend the night in a hotel.

 

an experienced TA may be a good investment though...

[JFHoneymoon]

 

Why would your guests want to see a dvd of you on your cruise honeymoon? Are they going to watch it year after year? My family would probably watch once and throw away. All my hard work right into the landfill....yikes :( Save yourself the time and send out a thank you note w/your pix from formal night. You can make copies when you return--don't buy 50 copies onboard.;) The dvd seems like you will put more energy into something that might take away from your romantic HM...anyway, it is your HM, just thought I would save you some time....

 

congrats! enjoy your fabulous cruise!

 

you are on the right trackw/all your budget items...

 

I'm a film major, i love video editing lol. I may even be editing my own wedding video. :D

 

And since we are doings a honeymoon registry, some of our activities on the cruise will be given to us by our guests. So i wanted to do a special SHORT 5-10 min dvd to say thank you and to show us doing only the activities they gave us (plus it's just a dvd i would like to have for me and my future husband...but our's will be the directo's cut haha).

 

We won't forget the romance. The camera won't be taken on our romantic dinners or our midnight strolls around the ship;). Just the fun stuff, mostly stuff done off board.

 

I'll make sure i get home too before i make copies of anything lol. I don't want to spend afortune on something i could get for under 20 dollars off the ship!

[JFHoneymoon]

You will be amazed at how fast cost runs up while on the ship.

 

If you like a drink or two after dinner or during the show - plan $5-$6 for beer and $8-$9 for mixed drink and then add 15% tip which is added to the bill.

 

Internet cost was $.55 per minute so don't plan to spend time downloading your email and all the junk that comes with it. Plus, the internet speed is not the best so time and $$ clickes away very fast.

 

If you like wine - you may consider the wine package or individual bottles while on board. Yes, it too is at a premium.

 

We usually book the departure flight the day AFTER the ship returns to port and spend the night in the city relaxing. Our last cruise was a day late to port and people ended up spending a ton on extra tickets to get home which sometimes took several days since airlines have reduced the seat capacity in the system. Be aware of what your travel insurance will and will not cover.

 

We downloaded our pictures every night for the day. Good thing we did too since our camera was stolen during the trip. We only lost the one day of pictures.

 

Above all, HAVE FUN and remember the cherrished moments of this trip!

 

Thank you for all your tips. I will be following all of them. I just realized how much drinks add up so we will probably buy a couple bottles to be sent to our cabin on the cruise, and only buy one or two "Drinks of the Day". And downloading our pics is a very good tip. I would be so upset if we had lost them.

 

Thanks again:)

[rjm1cc]

Just thinking about the need for a budget puts you a big steep aheah of most of your firends. Money is a big issue in marraige.

 

Good luck

 

PS The fule charge could come back. Probably another 150.00.

 

I have seen several pretty detail cost estimates on this site so spend some time searching. I think one person listed every penny spent.