How much was your bill after 7 days on the Dream - Eastern?

[Meredisney]

DH and I have always put a cc down for our ship account but this year, we are trying to save money. We would like to start a family and this cruise marks the beginning of our adventure. Therefore, I want to put us on a budget. We have a massage and an excursion lined up but they are both already paid for. Our onboard purchases usually include a few drinks in the lounges and poolside and a few bottles of alcohol if the price is better than in port.. In the past, on other cruiselines, our account have totaled anywhere from $500-$700 but that has always included spa services because DCL & Princess allows you to book and not pay upfront. They just add it to your ship account.

 

So, my question is how much cash should I put on our account. Is $100 a day too much, too little, a good estimate? What is your experience with the 7 day Eastern on the Dream? Thanks in advance!

[poobears]

Only you can figure that one out. Our bill varies each time. We always prepay what we can but we base our spending on how much money we have at the time. So one trip we may not spend much at all, another we might splurge and spend quite a bit in the casino (we don't drink either).

 

Figure out what you want to budget for the trip and just stick to it. If you come home with money left that's a bonus.

[DEBnGAB]

DH and I have always put a cc down for our ship account but this year, we are trying to save money. We would like to start a family and this cruise marks the beginning of our adventure. Therefore, I want to put us on a budget. We have a massage and an excursion lined up but they are both already paid for. Our onboard purchases usually include a few drinks in the lounges and poolside and a few bottles of alcohol if the price is better than in port.. In the past, on other cruiselines, our account have totaled anywhere from $500-$700 but that has always included spa services because DCL & Princess allows you to book and not pay upfront. They just add it to your ship account.

 

So, my question is how much cash should I put on our account. Is $100 a day too much, too little, a good estimate? What is your experience with the 7 day Eastern on the Dream? Thanks in advance!

 

How many of you are going?

[JerseyshoreBruce]

if its 2 of you that should be good....but you never know:D

[jennmaybe]

I'm certainly not the right person to be advising anything on this topic.....:D On our last 2 cruises (6 days), our bill was about $800 each for the week. My DH always says that he isn't going to go on a cruise and be on a budget. If we can't splurge, then we're just not going. We do enjoy ourselves-we work hard all year long and we want to enjoy our vacations.

 

Good luck on starting your family! I will say that if you aren't drinking much (which you shouldn't be at all if you're trying to become a little mommy--:)) and if you don't gamble much, I think $100 a day should definitely do it for you guys!!

 

HAPPY CRUISING!!!

[Meredisney]

Thanks everyone. Yes, it's just the two of us.

[DEBnGAB]

Thanks everyone. Yes, it's just the two of us.

 

Im doing 7 nights in Aug with me and DD....Im budgeting $1000 or so.

[familycruzer]

I am a light weight here. I bought $200 worth of OBC and not going over budget. I figured 3 drinks a day for each of the 5 days we are actually on the ship at $6 a drink = $180. No spa, no shopping, no specialty dining.

[ewpsrp]

We are doing FOS in September and I have $1500 saved but would only like to spend $1000 for the 2 of us. I just don't want to have to worry about how much money I don't have. :) That's why I saved the 1500. I'm hoping we don't go overboard in our spending and come home with some money, but if we don't then it's ok because the money is specifically saved for our cruise. Budget what you want to spend and watch it each day. You can always adjust your spending during the week if you realize you overspent the first couple of days.

[NotWthOutablcony]

First and foremost, we always add shipboard credit so that we owe nothing at the end of the cruise, you can add shipboard credit up until a few days prior to your sailing,$100 here $200 there in the months after final payment, so its like prepaying the account, we also estimate $40 per person per day that includes tipping, we have some days where we have 3-5 drinks a piece, some days no drinks at all, and a few purchases from the onboard shops etc. So the $40 works well for us, if you average 3-5 drinks per day maybe bump it up to $50 per person per day, anything left over in the account they refund you at the end of the cruise, we've never had to pay anything extra. We always have the extra in the account to purchase 2 FCC's and have always had money refunded to us at the end. Its a great system and takes all the guess work out.

[bitemyfly]

I have not been on the Dream yet.. ( not sure the ship matters much).

My s&s card has been somewhere between 1000 to 1400 for seven days.

hope this helps and good luck!

[MistyRo76]

I usually plan for $100 per person/per day for onboard the ship. And I also plan abour $100 cash per port. But this would include excursions. If you have already booked your excursions, then you can probably come down on that a bit. Just plan extra for the unexpected, such as tips to cab drivers, luggage handlers, and miscellaneous stuff. The little stuff adds up quicker than the big stuff. It sneaks up on ya. Not sure if you plan on spending any time in the casino...but if so, set a limit for the week and if you lose it, then that's it. I usually plan about $200 for the week. If I lose it day one, then I don't do any more gambling. Another thing to do, is pre-pay as much as you can before the trip, so you are ahead of the game.

 

Have a great cruise!

[gogetter]

WOW..........

 

I am with Jennmaybe's husband. I am not going on a cruise if i have to be on a budget.

 

My rule of thumb is, whatever i spend for the cruise, i spend on the cruise.

[TheTravelista]

I'm certainly not the right person to be advising anything on this topic.....:D On our last 2 cruises (6 days), our bill was about $800 each for the week. My DH always says that he isn't going to go on a cruise and be on a budget. If we can't splurge, then we're just not going. We do enjoy ourselves-we work hard all year long and we want to enjoy our vacations.

 

Good luck on starting your family! I will say that if you aren't drinking much (which you shouldn't be at all if you're trying to become a little mommy--:)) and if you don't gamble much, I think $100 a day should definitely do it for you guys!!

 

HAPPY CRUISING!!!

 

We go by the same philosophy!!

 

Our last S&S bill from the Freedom last July was about $1200 for 3 people. 8 day cruise. And I donate to the casino daily. And nightly. LOL!