How do you SPEND on a cruise?

[travelmatron]

I'm curious as to how people spend their cruise dollars. For example, we care more about our cabin than specialty dinning. We drink more in our cabin than in lounges. It's just a preference. On his last cruise (NCL) our son's on board account was more than the cruise price. He chose his cabin so that he could spend on the options; excursions, dining, drinks and stuff. He had a great time. We have a great time. We all just have different priorities. I'm interested in what's important to different HAL cruisers.

[sail7seas]

Same as people spend at home on their personal interests, it is that way on a ship.

 

There's lots of spending opportunities aboard...... something for everyone. :)

 

We personally enjoy a very comfortable cabin and veranda, we like our pre dinner cocktail and even (gracious be, someone will think we drink too much :eek:) enjoy a cognac or after diinner drink sometimes. Lately I've returned to getting manicures/pedicures on board, we buy internet minutes, if we are lucky to find something we like in the ships we'll buy it but that doesn't happen often these days what with the poor selection etc..... We don't do many excursions and never play bingo.

 

At home we spend on things we like and it might well be things you don't like at all. :D We do the same on the ships.

 

[shandryl]

My crusie/flights/hotels/shorex and drink cards are all bought way in advance. :D

 

I always buy a magnet (of the ship I was on) to remember the cruise :D

[GmaPajama]

Even though we're on a budget, like most everyone else, we don't think about what we spend while we're cruising. The big ticket item is the cruise itself (we like S and SA cabins), and everything else is just incidental. We do and buy whatever we want, but our needs are more than met with the cabin class and our wants are few - so it really doesn't add up to much extra.

 

Sometimes I'll spend time in the spa. We'll usually dine in the Pinnacle a couple of times a week. We'll add a shore excursion if it strikes us. We gamble a little some days, but don't play bingo. We don't usually shop and never even look at art auctions. For us ... it's simply about the cruising, in the cabins we like.

[cb at sea]

Cabin is our 1st priority...we like at least a mini-suite of some sort. We seldom do excursions...just sort of go it alone and wander to the beach! Few, if any, souveniers (I figure if I need something to remind me of my vacation, I've wasted my money! I can remember every good vacation just fine!)

We may do a specialty restaurant, but not if we're really enjoying our tablemates....usually, it's quite the "fun" table!

We do spend a considerable amount on drinks....hey...we're not driving, so why not?

[CowPrincess]

By the time we pay for our flights, our pre-flight hotel, our pre-cruise hotel, our pet care, snow removal, etc, we have usually exceeded the cost of our cruise fare. We spend as little as we can on our cabin, and spend lots on our experiences -- shorex thru the ship or independent adventures on shore. I've seen recent info that shows manicures/pedicures onboard are cheaper than at home, so I might be adding those to our onboard bill. The occasional cocktail, and a bit of wiine.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Have to agree -- our big ticket item is our cabin -- we book only PS, SA and S cabins.

 

Like at home we do enjoy eating at the better restaurants so we do the same on cruises -- we eat at the specialty restaurants.

 

We do shore excursions for new ports and if something new is offered that interests us for ports that we have been to -- we go on them.

 

Yes -- we like before dinner drinks and after dinner drinks.

 

When HAL changed the Casinos on the ships -- I quite playing the slots. Also do not buy anything from the boutiques -- JMO -- but I do not like HAL's merchandise. We also do not spend anything on Pictures as we have no family - thus don't need pictures. Don't do Bingo -- odds are against us wining.

[LMB01]

A Suite is a priority for us - if we can't get one, we will not sail on that voyage. We also spend freely on board in the bars and casino. We do not do shore excursions, bingo or specialty restaurants (on HAL) - we don't care for arranged excursions and don't care for the Pinnacle.

[dot73]

I like cruising because it is not all-inclusive. I pay the basic price and then I add on what I want. I cruise mostly solo and spend very little day time in my cabin so I usually get an inside or an outside cabin. Although I loved the balcony when I cruised with my mother last year, I just cannot justifying blowing my budget to pay the double price on a balcony. It would mean cutting off other extras that I love. I'm a foodie and love to try the specialty restaurants. I can't wait to try the special Chef's Dinner on the Nieuw Amsterdam this December. On land, I rarely drink as I usually wake up with a major headache after two glasses of wine. On a cruise, I can drink cocktails all day by the pool, have a couple of glasses of wine at dinner, and a martini to finish off the day, and I can wake up the next day with a totally clear head. If there is a winetasting on a cruise, I always sign up. I have no interest in the casino, in bingo, in art, in shopping, etc., while other folks love these things. So, I think cruising offers the best of everything and suits everyone's budgets.

[hensghan]

Your question really got me thinking. How do we actually spend our money while cruising? Well, the lion's share goes toward the cabin, of course. We have only had an SA once and have decided we aren't really SA people, but we do like a veranda cabin, especially a stern one, if one is available. After that, we do tend to spoil ourselves while cruising. We like to eat at the Pinnacle Grill probably every 3rd night or so (and we are looking forward to enjoying the Canaletto for the first time on the Zuiderdam come December). We enjoy a nice bottle of wine with dinner (wines which we almost always bring aboard with us), and we usually also enjoy after dinner drinks and entertainment at the Ocean Bar. So ... I guess we spend our money pretty much on us. We have done a few fairly expensive shore excursions in the past (i.e., Alaska dog sledding) but nowadays we tend to spend much less in that category and just enjoy the various ports for themselves. Finally -- and I know this is going to sound strange -- I think we also get a certain amount of enjoyment out of being able to financially recognize exceptional HAL service, be it the bar or wait staff, the room stewards, whom ever. I think we have aways personally benefited far more from such financial recognitions than equaled the total of any funds expended. A little server recognition usually begets a really enhanced cruising experience.

[lazey1]

We like to get a balcony cabin, have wine with dinner every night and sometimes take either the special drink or the special coffee of the day out on our balcony at night. We will eat in a specialty restaurant once or twice a week.

 

If we see something in a souvenir or gift shop that we like, we will buy it; we buy a lot of the ship photos for our scrapbooks.

 

We take an excursion in every port as seeing new countries or areas is a major interest for us.

 

We do not go to art auctions, play bingo, go to the spa unless a manicure is totally necessary or go to the casino. (Well maybe we will each take $50 and donate it to the casino say once a week);)

 

Jane & Gary

[kazu]

Have to agree -- our big ticket item is our cabin -- we book only PS, SA and S cabins.

 

Like at home we do enjoy eating at the better restaurants so we do the same on cruises -- we eat at the specialty restaurants.

 

We do shore excursions for new ports and if something new is offered that interests us for ports that we have been to -- we go on them.

 

Yes -- we like before dinner drinks and after dinner drinks.

 

When HAL changed the Casinos on the ships -- I quite playing the slots. Also do not buy anything from the boutiques -- JMO -- but I do not like HAL's merchandise. We also do not spend anything on Pictures as we have no family - thus don't need pictures. Don't do Bingo -- odds are against us wining.

 

KK,could you enlighten me as to the casino and the slots? Not sure what you mean about changing the casino?

 

As to the question, YES, I play bingo, can't resist, the only time I play bingo is when I cruise. I have been lucky in the past to have paid for my games and it's simply an expense that I know I will incur and DH doesn't mind.

 

We book SA,S/PS too. that means a lot. We like the space and being able to relax in our room/verandah and have a glass of wine or whatever.

 

We order the wine packages for dinner, do the odd shorex but mostly private and the culinary arts, wine tastings and yes, I do hit the casino to play the slots. (there is a limit though). Any cruise credits I have are quickly used up between tips and the wine packages, so I really don't have to worry about it.

 

We do usually buy a sweatshirt or something from HAL. Personally, i find the sweatshirts very good quality and wait for the sales and then I have something for the cool days on the verandah.:):)

[moondoggie]

Airfare to the port and petsitters who live in our home while we are gone consume the cost of one of our cruise fares! And, we have a beach house in the OBX that I would rather spend our $$$ on instead of shore excursions, fancy clothes, photos, specialty restaurants. Plus, we do not care to give up our level of charitable giving in order to spend more on a cruise. Perhaps HAL loses money on us...

 

Since I still work, I am just so happy to be vacationing with my DH that there is little that we 'spend' on the ship. We don't drink or gamble, and do not need more 'stuff' or 't-shirts', so unless we happen to come across something we adore on our way to and from beaches at the ports, we really don't buy souvenirs. An example of something we did buy--a handpainted platter in St Lucia that is one of a kind.

 

We can be happy with an inside cabin, although I would love a balcony upgrade/upsell for our upcoming two week BTB. It all depends on what the upsell cost is and how we place our price/value to the cost. No way will I be disappointed if it is what I consider 'too expensive'.

 

We did buy one photographer's picture of us a few cruises ago to be used as our, uh 'obituary photos', should the occasion present itself in the near future ;--)

 

Everyone spends differently--we have a wonderful yet modest life at home and don't feel the need to change this when we are on vacation. Don't mean to be preaching here, but we are not complainers and it doesn't take much to make us happy!

[TracieABD]

We like to have a room with a verandah. We have yet to try a suite, and that is probably a good thing, because we probably would never go back.

 

My husband likes to have a cocktail. I like to visit the spa several times. We both like specialty dining and will eat there fairly often.

 

We do 2-3 shore-excursions per cruise, but not as much as we used to. I am not a big shopper and neither is my husband (on board or off).

 

On our last cruise, we used the laundry service and the Thermal Suite. We would do those again. I take classes in the fitness center.

 

We like to tip frequently and generously. We do not gamble, do the art auctions, or play bingo.:)

[Jade13]

The majority of our money is spent on excursions, although those are usually mostly private.

 

We have found out if we want a half day tour the ships excursion is usually a better deal, and also in the Caribbean we have found that many excursion companies have exclusives with the cruise line, so we have to book that way, and they have worked out well.

 

We used to play a lot Bingo, but stopped doing that. But I won't say we will never play again. We recently won a PH Suite on another cruise line, but it wasn't HAL. We thought it was a clever way to make extra money, and they made more than the reported upsell amounts we have seen on this board, based on the turnout.

 

We also like the unlimited laundry package that HAL offers and would pay for that again on a cruise that is 10 nights or longer.

[bobalink]

It really depends on the destination for the cruise, but primarily we think of our cruises as "adventures" and try to experience as much in each port as possible. That said, we spend a great deal of money on excursions. We prefer independent tours, although we sometimes do take a ship excursion.

 

Excursions like, helicopter rides and dog sledding in Alaska, visiting a concentration camp in Poland, the Hermitage, and numerous palaces in the Baltic. Pre-cruise and post-cruise lodging, meals and tours are expensive, but the memories are priceless.;)

 

We always have a balcony or a mini-suite. I am a little claustrophobic so I don't think I could stay in a room without a balcony. Part of the whole experience is to be out at sea and I want to gaze out at the ocean and relax on my balcony.

 

I buy some Christmas gifts while traveling. My daughters love the unique ornaments that I bring home for them.

 

The areas where we save money on cruises - we seldom drink and don't gamble. The gift shops on the ships are fun to browse through, but I typically don't purchase anything.

 

We are going to try something new for us. In September we are going on a Coastal Cruise. Just 4 days of doing nothing! Vancouver to LA - just total relaxation. There won't be much opportunity to spend money. At least that is what I told DH.:D

[Kay240]

When we first began to cruise, we went on 7 day trips, selected a specific OV cabin and went on the ship's SHOREX for every new port. In addition, I spent $10 per day on the "slots", drank whatever "free" wine or champagne offered, brought dirty clothes home, and loved the art auctions.

Now that we are retired, we are taking three cruises a year, often in an "Inside Guarantee"; many times the weather is too cold and/or windy to enjoy a balcony and if we've been to the port before, we usually don't need the view. As many people on CC have said, I rather have more cruises than less. Our cruises are not only more frequent, but also longer (we did a 33 day last Spring).

Here are our other changes: Now that our cruises are longer, I don't visit the slots any more, as that's enough to buy myself a "little trinket". Once in a while, I use the laundry machines, but now I usually send it "out" by the bag and have been very happy with the results.:) I stopped the wine and champagne, as I am more likely to feel yukky (sp?) when I drink. I eat less, because what I don't eat on this cruise, I'll eat on the next one;:D I also know what (to me) is not worth the calories. BTW, I have discovered all recipes are not the same from "dam ship to dam ship". We no longer purchase art because our walls are full and we don't like the work they have been selling on our last several cruises. If the situation is right we will book a high level cabin too; we have an SY on our first TA October 2011.:D:D

I agree that the stores have a very poor selection; we find it difficult to spend all of our OBC sometimes (we purchase whatever shorex we want in advance and then sometimes decide to cancel, giving us additional OBC). I spend much of our sailing days reading, playing cards with DH and napping. We LOVE the flexible seating for dinner; we never could decide whether to eat too early, or to eat too late). We go to the Pinnacle occasionally and always try to "dance the night away"... or at least till 11:00 PM!!

Whatever your preferences, the important thing is to enjoy yourself and have wonderful memories.

[travelmatron]

Well now several of you have reminded me just how differently we drink on a cruise than in "real life"...different as in more. Part of it is because we don't go out that often in the evenings at home, and on ship we often stop by the Crow's Nest or listen to the strings and have an after dinner drink (or two). The other part is that we tend to start our pre-dinner drinks earlier, just sitting on the verandah contemplating the joys of being at sea.

[VermeulT]

On our last cruise, our biggest on-board expense was pictures... we did the black & white package - because we haven't had pictures like that since our wedding - and might not for many years to come.

 

I think we have taken the hurdle to cruising more (2nd for this year in Nov)... I'm hoping to cruise at least 2 x per year ... and it doesn't matter so much where we go or what we do there - as long as we can relax and spend time together.

 

Sure there are drinks and we will take the ship's excursion if there is any risk that we might not get back on time if we go out on our own... being late for departure is not on our itinerary. We also do one cooking class each and at least one night in the Pinnacle.

[LMB01]

The other thing I think is evident from reading the various replies - people are scattered around the ship doing the various things that interest them (and not doing the things that don't interest them) thus you can be on a ship with 2,000 passengers and it doesn't seem like it.

[CaveDiving]

Hi There,

 

Fortunately, Karen and I were full time RVers for ten years after we retired, so a smallish room is just fine for us. We always stay in an inside cabin which, BTW, is somewhat larger than the inside of the RV we lived in for ten years. Also as RVers, we have learned to live outside of our room and only nap, sleep, bathe, and watch TV and read in bed in the room. The rest of our time is spent out and about the ship or on shore.

 

The tens of thousands of dollars this saves us over the cost of a veranda cabin on each cruise (or literally the hundred thousand dollars on the World Cruises) holds the total cost of our cruises to a reasonable level.

 

We almost never drink, perhaps one or two glasses of wine to be sociable during a cruise, so the bar tab is not a consideration for us.

 

We do enjoy excursions and Scott goes scuba diving and zip-lining wherever he can find either available. So the excursion cost for us can be appreciable.

 

All in all, I think our cruising experiences are well worth the dollars they cost us.

 

Scott & Karen

[ariawoman]

 

As to the question, YES, I play bingo, can't resist, the only time I play bingo is when I cruise. I have been lucky in the past to have paid for my games and it's simply an expense that I know I will incur and DH doesn't mind.

 

 

First of all a question....how often is Bingo offered on the cruise, and what is the cost? (I presume you pay per card per game?). My grandmother (may she rest in peace) would love it if I played in her honor :-) I have no choice :-)

 

Second of all, to the general thread...Our cost is mainly on the cruise itself (balcony or oceanview so far...but I'd love to graduate to a suite someday hehe) and shore excursions, as seeing new places is high on our priority list. Doesn't make for a relaxing vacation in the least bit, but I figure I might as well see and do as much as I can, as I dont know how often I'll allow myself to go to Europe or on real vacations in general, since they are large investments. :-)

 

I'm trying to buy what I can upfront, so that on board spending is limited mostly to incidentals such as bingo or drinks (soda for me lol) or the occasional trinket from the gift shop (i too do magnets) and whatever shore excursions we don't end up booking before hand (don't really see this happening since i'm a pre-planner lol).

 

This leads me to a 2nd question....

 

If you purchase a shore excursion on the HAL site - do they bill your credit card on file, or will it be billed to your OB account? I have some OBC so I'm trying to figure out if I should save an excursion to book on board in order to effectively use it. Else, I think i've read that you can apply OBC to the $11 per day gratuity fee, is this correct?

 

Gosh I'm so excited for October. Can't come soon enough. I can't believe it's August already!

[sapper1]

 

 

This leads me to a 2nd question....

 

If you purchase a shore excursion on the HAL site - do they bill your credit card on file, or will it be billed to your OB account? I have some OBC so I'm trying to figure out if I should save an excursion to book on board in order to effectively use it. Else, I think i've read that you can apply OBC to the $11 per day gratuity fee, is this correct?

 

Gosh I'm so excited for October. Can't come soon enough. I can't believe it's August already!

 

Popular excursions are often sold out by the time the ship sails so it is a good idea to book online. You will enter a credit card number at the time of purchase and it will be charged at once.

Your OBC will appear as a credit on your overall shipboard account regardless of what is charged to your account.

[Middle Aged and Happy]

Everyone spends money differently based on their individual preferances. For me, we book a quad inside cabin. We probably spend the majority of our money on excursions, some from the boat and some from independents. I like adventure and expect to learn and see where the boat takes us. With short port times, excursions are typically the best dollars spent to get in as much as possible. Aside from that, I'm always taken in by a few good photographs and a couple of beers in the Crows nest.

[m steve]

and her philosophy was money spend out of town or on a vacation doesn't count.