Cruising on the Cheap

[cruzin4us]

I'm not a first time cruiser, but I thought it would be fun to see how much (I mean little) your bill is at the end of a 7 day cruise?   Mine is ALWAYS more than I expect, but I'm sure many of you have challenged yourself to keep your bill at a minimum.   I envy those that can book an inside cabin, and virtually only have gratuities to pay for.    What's your lowest bill?

[LHT28]

$0

I  get PPG from my TA  + OBC

 

[shipgeeks]

Gratuities (frequently covered by TA/OBC).  We have no interest in photos, spa, drinks, specialty restaurant, bingo, souvenirs.  Very occasionally an excursion or transfer.  We cruise to be at sea.

[taglovestocruise]

Last 12 night cruise on Symphony. Had OBC from RCL, OBC from travel agent.  Pre paid Grats from travel agent. Had a Bad experience on a Pre paid excursion that we got credit for after returning. Final bill was a $450.00 credit back to our credit card. 

[Joebucks]

My final bill is usually less than $200 including grats and drinks. The "all-inclusive" experience is highly overrated IMO. It's not about how much I can consume. You can still have a great time without uncontrollable spend.

[lenquixote66]

1 hour ago, cruzin4us said:

I'm not a first time cruiser, but I thought it would be fun to see how much (I mean little) your bill is at the end of a 7 day cruise?   Mine is ALWAYS more than I expect, but I'm sure many of you have challenged yourself to keep your bill at a minimum.   I envy those that can book an inside cabin, and virtually only have gratuities to pay for.    What's your lowest bill?

Our lowest cruise price was 7 days on a Cunard ship from NY to Bermuda $699.00 total ,taxes and port charges included for my wife and I.

[sprint180]

I prepay what I can.  So bill was less then $100

[dogs4fun]

We cruise for the ports - the itinerary is what is most important to us. We book European cruises almost exclusively & have no interest in booking shore excursions through the ship (we much prefer independent operators or DIY). Likewise, we do not purchase a drinks package, do not gamble onboard and rarely book a specialty restaurant.

Usually our bill upon disembarkation is $0 (we prepay or gratuities) or a small charge for the occasional cocktail purchased onboard.

[MicCanberra]

It depends on what you consider included and not. We have had numerous end of cruise bills of $0 and even some where we have cashed out OBC so we were in the positive. However, we tend to prepay for a lot of things prior to the cruise. Excursions, dining, gratuities, etc. and sometimes even extra OBC (that we buy) for the trip to cover our costs.

[calliopecruiser]

$0.

I don't think I've ever cruised with a balance owing at the end......but I cruise on a virtually all-inclusive line and have some OBC to pay for little extras (or extra gratuities, or both). 

[leaveitallbehind]

Lowest? - credit from refundable OBC for ($65). Typically our stateroom account is $0 - $100 or less. 

[knoxscoop]

7 hours ago, dogs4fun said:

We cruise for the ports - the itinerary is what is most important to us. We book European cruises almost exclusively & have no interest in booking shore excursions through the ship (we much prefer independent operators or DIY). Likewise, we do not purchase a drinks package, do not gamble onboard and rarely book a specialty restaurant.

Usually our bill upon disembarkation is $0 (we prepay or gratuities) or a small charge for the occasional cocktail purchased onboard.

 

 

We want to do independent excursions on caribbean cruise starting tuesday. Can someone recommend a thread (I saw one, then lost it) that advises operators outside cruise line? 

[MicCanberra]

Welcome to Cruise critic,

Try the port of call forum.

[GUT2407]

10 hours ago, cruzin4us said:

I'm not a first time cruiser, but I thought it would be fun to see how much (I mean little) your bill is at the end of a 7 day cruise?   Mine is ALWAYS more than I expect, but I'm sure many of you have challenged yourself to keep your bill at a minimum.   I envy those that can book an inside cabin, and virtually only have gratuities to pay for.    What's your lowest bill?

Had about $2 left over OBC Mrs G still often says “we should have put it in the pokies” as life long non gamblers.

 

now my biggest final account? I’d rather not go there, save it was in the thousands.

[Nebr.cruiser]

We often get money back from OBC, so a refund instead of a bill.  If we do have a bill it is usually for gratuities if they weren't included and maybe a photo or two.  We don't spend much on board.

[Joebucks]

I think a lot of people don't understand the difference between cheap and bill at the end. Prepaying does not make things cheaper.

[Hlitner]

Not sure we understand the question asked by the OP.  If it is a matter of having little or no bill at the end of a cruise, this has nothing to do with the overall cost.  For example, when we cruise some of the luxury lines (which are essentially all-inclusive) we have little or no bill at the end of a cruise.  or... Since we shop around for the best overall deals we often get very generous perks (on board credits) and often return with a very small bill....or in one notable Princess case we actually received a $700 refund check for all the unused OBC.

 

Sometimes the cheapest overall cruise may involve a substantial end of cruise bill.  One of our favored high volume cruise agencies will often offer various prices for the same cruise, based on perks.  In some cases, booking the lowest price (which includes no perks) is a much better deal.  But one of their cruise agents told me that many cruisers prefer to pay a higher overall cost if they have less of a an after cruise bill.  So if I offer you $700 of OBC, or zero OBC with a $1000 less price....many will book the deal with the OBC.  Go figure.  

 

Since DW and I do a lot of cruising and international travel, we compare things by breaking it down to a total cost per travel day.  If we decide to take a month-long driving trip in Western Europe we have a very good idea of what it will cost us per day.  If we take a 30 day cruise we also know about what it will cost us per day.  Whether we pay everything in advance or after the trip is not relevant (to us).

 

Hank

[D&L Thomas]

Two weeks on the Regal Princess, booked in a GTY balcony. Started the cruise with $250 Veterans Credit (refundable), $250 Stockholder Credit, $200 credit from future cruise deposit, and $60 from TA.

 

Three nights before we boarded we got a call from Princess with a move-over offer. If we would give up our balcony and move to an inside, we would get a refund of 100% of our cruise fare.

 

Left the ship with a negative balance of $3,600; got a refund check in the mail a couple weeks later.

 

 

[calliopecruiser]

34 minutes ago, Hlitner said:

Not sure we understand the question asked by the OP.  If it is a matter of having little or no bill at the end of a cruise, this has nothing to do with the overall cost. 

I answered the question in her post, even though I agree it is unrelated to the title of her post. 

[JTBCruiser]

We usually buy a photo and get the coffee card and nothing else.  Always use a TA but for the Caribbean, hard to get one to cover the gratuities.  I usually get OBC but not enough to cover it.  Still shopping around.

[MicCanberra]

5 hours ago, Joebucks said:

I think a lot of people don't understand the difference between cheap and bill at the end. Prepaying does not make things cheaper.

I get your point, and I did mention that in my post but sometimes it does as well.

E.g pre paying for many things can save us money and not just on the currency conversion where we will buy when our dollar is higher. There are usually sales for pre purchase and often we get to pay in AUD for these, so a dining package or even gratuities can end up being 25% cheaper.

[MicCanberra]

4 hours ago, D&L Thomas said:

Two weeks on the Regal Princess, booked in a GTY balcony. Started the cruise with $250 Veterans Credit (refundable), $250 Stockholder Credit, $200 credit from future cruise deposit, and $60 from TA.

 

Three nights before we boarded we got a call from Princess with a move-over offer. If we would give up our balcony and move to an inside, we would get a refund of 100% of our cruise fare.

 

Left the ship with a negative balance of $3,600; got a refund check in the mail a couple weeks later.

 

 

This will be similar to a move over offer we accepted and is scheduled for next year.

[GUT2407]

Never had a move over offer, nit sure how I’d feel, a move down I’d be all over.

[pris993]

We have had bills of only pennies... we usually have a good on board credit, so our challenge is to use it... LOL.   So now we look at what we enjoy to spending the credit on.... 

[MicCanberra]

9 hours ago, Joebucks said:

I think a lot of people don't understand the difference between cheap and bill at the end. Prepaying does not make things cheaper.

I suppose using OBC no matter where it comes from to pay for everything should be excluded as well then.