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Budget above cruise fare


nicoleinwi
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DH and I are about 5 years away from our first world cruise  I'm trying to get a handle around extra costs.  We have already narrowed down to Viking due to all their inclusions compared to other lines and the opportunity for an included excursion in each port.  But in looking at the included excursions many appear to just be walking tours which is fine in some ports but we'd likely want to do a little more then just a walking tour in ports, so we'd be looking at that as an add on.  I can't find on Viking's website the costs for excursions so that is where we're really in a sticking point on estimating the true cost of the trip.  

 

I see right now for the 2021 Viking world cruises they are offering $2k per person shore exc credit and $1k per person OBC.  Assume this is pretty common at some point to pull in the credits.  So not counting all the pre-trip purchases (such as all the extra toiletries and medications) and not including air (as either free with Viking or too variable based on our different locations) what sort of costs are people experiencing at the end of their cruise?  

 

We have only done week long cruises; most of the Caribbean, Norway and Med.  Each cruise not counting airfare or cruise fare we spent about $3k (for 2 of us) during the weeklong cruise.  I'm thinking it's not realistic on a 140 day cruise to use the same rationale and looking at $60K in extras.  But on a weeklong cruise we are doing full day expensive excursions each day and I also don't think that is realistic on a world cruise.  We are going to want some down days even on a port call day so I can't image expensive full day excursions at each port.  

 

Has anyone ever went just a 7 night cruise to a 140 day cruise?  Is that too crazy of an option?  We can occupy our down time with the various activities, socializing with other passengers, reading, playing on iPad, etc.  DH was in the Navy and did some 180 day deployments on a submarine, one time they were even underwater for about 90 days straight so the boredom factor definitely isn't there for him.  No children or pets for us.  And, our parents as of right now are still healthy as of now.  I think the parent thing and if their health fails would be the only consideration with going that long.  

 

Any advice you could give would be appreciated.  And, if you don't feel comfortable giving an actual number, if you wanted to say ___% of the cruise fare is what we ended up spending also works great.  

 

 

Edited by nicoleinwi
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We are booked on the 2020 Viking World Cruise, departing L/A Jan 4th. While this is our 2nd WC, it is our very first Viking Cruise.

 

Similar OBC to what you quoted was offered when we booked about 20 months before departure. The OBC was cut in half a few months ago and our cabin increased about $1,000 since we booked.

 

For tours, we use a combination of private tours, Ho-Ho buses and ship tours. Of the 50 odd ports, we have booked included tours in about 20 ports. In at least 6 ports we have booked included and optional tours. Our OBC for Shore-Ex was CAN $7,200 and we used that entire amount plus about an additional CAN $3,000. Note - a large portion of the excursion costs is the 4-day overland in Egypt and the 2-day overland in Saigon. We have also booked about CAN $3,000 of private tours.

 

For on board spend, we still have a few thousand dollars, so with included drinks, gratuities, laundry, wi-fi, specialty restaurants, etc. I expect a minimal bill at the end of the cruise. Business airfare, baggage shipping and transfers are also included.

 

Suggest coming over to the Viking Board and the Viking Roll Calls (Viking Sun) Boards. You will find an active thread on the current 245-day WC of the Viking Ocean Board and a couple of active threads on the Viking Sun Roll Calls.

 

On another thread in this Board, I did a detailed cost breakdown of WC costs between Princess & Viking.

 

I also spent 40 years working at sea, so have no difficulty spending a meagre 4-months at sea, as my longest trip was 9-months. DW has no problem with 4-months, but would not consider the 8-months of the 245-day cruise. If concerned, I suggest trying a 30-day cruise, with a trans Pacific/Atlantic to experience a few sea days. Our cruise starts with 8 sea days.

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We went from 24 days to 108 days.

 

For many years it was 7 day cruises, then a 12 day cruise then ones of 18 and 16 days before the 24 days.

 

My biggest piece of advice is to sail the cruise line (and if possible ship if it is not the same as other ones in the fleet) before booking the World Cruise to be sure you will be happy with cruise line and the ship.  With that said on the cruise line we sail we often have people on the World Cruise who have never sailed the line.

 

Don't use the same rational as to what you will spend extra on a world cruise.  Just as for many people they can't eat the same way they do on a 7 day cruise.  On a seven day cruise the average person gains 5 to 10 pounds.  That would be a disaster on a World Cruise.

 

Make a budget.  Think it through.  If tours are included still budget a bit for potential tours in some selected places where you want to do a special tour.  Budget for eating off the ship in selected places, shopping, any medical costs where you will be reimbursed but you will pay up front, postage if you plan to mail anything back to friends and family such as post cards, pre or post cruise expenses (hotel, food) , expense to get from airport to hotel and to ship and same getting home, haircuts, dry cleaning, pressing, and have a misc. category.  These are things that come to mind.

 

What things will be offered five years from now is anyones guess.  Say the global economy is in a recession .  With so many ships being built there might be a deal better than today's offering.

 

Keith

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Thank you both for your reply!  I have checked out that Sun world cruise thread, very good info, and just makes me more excited for when our day comes.

 

Thanks or the info on the overland trips, that does sound nice.  

 

@Heidi13 I came across your breakdown when we were looking at different options.  That was one of the reasons, I would rather pay more upfront with Viking and not be as surprised at the end with all the add-ons.  Plus we like to gamble so no casino is a huge bonus so we are not adding a gambling budget into the already pricey trip. 

 

I would like to do a transatlantic in the next couple years so even though that cruise is not too long, it would get us a good feel of so many sea days in a row.  Right now I think we've only had 2 and while we loved them, a week straight of sea might give me a better idea.  I want to retrace our ancestors path into NYC.  

 

Good point on incidentals like hair cuts.  I'm sure a lot pricer then at home.  Especially with DH and his every 3 week cut at $15 US, looking at probably 3x the price.  Well maybe we purchase a pair of clippers and I learn how to do his military cut. 

 

And, eating, good point.  I can shed the extra pounds pretty easy from a week long cruise, but couldn't keep up that eating for months.  

 

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3 hours ago, nicoleinwi said:

Thanks or the info on the overland trips, that does sound nice.  

 

Viking offers numerous multi-day overland excursions, some of which are extremely expensive. I believe the most expensive was the 5-day NZ & Tasmania overland at CAN $14,500 pp. The 4-day India was also fairly expensive at over CAN $4,000 pp.

 

However, the 4-day Egypt was more reasonable at about CAN $1,600 pp and the 2-day Meekong Delta was CAN $800 pp.

 

In addition to posting on CC, I will also be posting daily blog posts on my travel blog. I recall that Keith also maintains a blog.

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On 10/10/2019 at 4:09 AM, Keith1010 said:

Make a budget.  Think it through.  If tours are included still budget a bit for potential tours in some selected places where you want to do a special tour.  Budget for eating off the ship in selected places, shopping, any medical costs where you will be reimbursed but you will pay up front, postage if you plan to mail anything back to friends and family such as post cards, pre or post cruise expenses (hotel, food) , expense to get from airport to hotel and to ship and same getting home, haircuts, dry cleaning, pressing, and have a misc. category.  These are things that come to mind.

 

Good advice, thank you.  I haven't really done that except for 'back of the envelope' in my head. But now I will think about that seriously.  I had intended to come up with a budget for our possible overland trips and post-cruise this month, so I'll get to that! 

 

I also like to think about all the money we will NOT be spending during that four months.  No groceries, no restaurants (or few), no bar tabs (in our case.)  Fortunately for us laundry, pressing and dry cleaning is also included--pressing will come in handy immediately after shipping several suitcases full of clothes.

 

And having done an 18-day cruise on the same ship, I can do a rough budget for excursions with an add-on cost, and then extrapolate to perhaps $5K total.

Edited by Wendy The Wanderer
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Wendy, you are very welcome and you are correct you will realize some savings by being on board. 

 

If you get things like cable or satellite you often can have it turned off while you are away and turned back on when you return.  Think through all of these.

 

Keith

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23 hours ago, Keith1010 said:

Wendy, you are very welcome and you are correct you will realize some savings by being on board. 

 

If you get things like cable or satellite you often can have it turned off while you are away and turned back on when you return.  Think through all of these.

 

Keith

 

Yes, good point for most, Keith.  For us it's a bit different since we 'migrate' south to Florida each November anyways, and turn everything off up here in the Frozen North.  And our condo in Florida will no doubt we rented out for that 4 month period, which means we'll be leaving the cable and internet turned on for the tenants.

 

But things we don't think about, like gasoline, wear and tear on the car, house cleaning if you pay someone.  Of course for some they'll have to arrange to pay extras like snow shovelling and mail holds.

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  • 3 weeks later...

I have just under 50 cruises under my belt, the longest being a 49 night 'Round The Horn cruise with Princess.  I have sailed on Royal Caribbean, Celebrity, HAL, Cunard, Princess, and Viking.  Being retired and on a fixed income (I fixed it so I would have income) I am careful when budgeting for cruises.  After a couple of years of research on world cruises, I finally settled on one and booked a 99 night world cruise with P&O.  Since I had never cruised with P&O before, I was a bit wary, but I read a wonderful book about a world cruise on P&O (see the link below) and I lurked on the P&O board here to see what people were talking about.  P&O offered the best itinerary for my per day budget.  Another P&O plus is the world cruise ships are adult only - no feral children.  And there is no tipping on P&O.

 

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1781557071/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o07_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

I made a matrix of the cruise lines under consideration, their basic fare cost per day, inclusions, extras that you pay for, and other things that are important to me - such as a real promenade deck that goes all the way around the ship.  Having been on Viking, the included walking tour in every port is less important to me now.  A guest laundromat is certainly a factor on a long cruise.  Having a comfortable chair in my cabin became a factor now that Princess has seen fit to remove the so-called barrel chairs from their standard balcony cabins.

 

My suggestion would be to do the same - make a list of the items that are important to you on a cruise and see which line shakes out.

 

Regardless, it will be the adventure of a lifetime.

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1 hour ago, Wendy The Wanderer said:

Interesting about Princess--do you mean there's no comfy place to sit in a standard cabin?  Weird.  Your trip sounds wonderful, and that's definitely the right approach.

 

Yes, Princess has removed the barrel chairs from the standard balcony cabins, leaving only a straight back desk chair,  "to make more room".  Princess is no longer under consideration for my cruises in the future.

 

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Regent also removed the easy chair from its standard cabin to make more room. For our 89-night cruise last year, our TA asked them to add a chair back into our cabin, which they did. Funny, it looked EXACTLY like the chairs in one of the lounges. Fortunately, the lounge with the comfortable chairs.

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26 minutes ago, wishIweretravelling said:

Regent also removed the easy chair from its standard cabin to make more room. For our 89-night cruise last year, our TA asked them to add a chair back into our cabin, which they did. Funny, it looked EXACTLY like the chairs in one of the lounges. Fortunately, the lounge with the comfortable chairs.

 

Yeah, but they still have a loveseat, right?

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13 hours ago, wishIweretravelling said:

Yes, they do. I was assuming Princess also does, but perhaps that’s not a valid assumption?

 

No love seat in the standard balcony on Princess.  The only seating left in the room is a straight back desk chair.  I have one last cruise already booked with Princess that I cannot cancel because we are traveling with a group of friends and family.  Luckily, through the boards here, I learned about removal of cabin seating so I have made arrangements to purchase a folding camping chair in the port city before we board for almost a month-long cruise. 

 

976490750_CampChair.jpeg.f78fc33aa0370f5937f78abf207bc79a.jpeg

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1 hour ago, wishIweretravelling said:

Yikes! You're right--I certainly can't see doing a WC in a cabin with no real seating. And I'm guessing Princess is not amenable to a TA request to add a chair for the duration of a cruise?

 

On the Princess threads I am seeing where some folks have been successful in requesting a chair - and in at least one case the cabin steward brought in another straight back chair.  I don't plan to take a chance and that's why I'm purchasing the folding camp chair before I board.

 

When I was researching world cruises and had my matrix going, I was also studying deck plans of the ships in the running and the cabin floor plans.  If not for cruise critic, I would not have learned about  Princess removing the barrel chairs since their website still shows a floor plan and a photo of a standard balcony cabin with the barrel chair.

 

Princess is off my list permanently and we are Elite with them - of course their Elite benefits are pretty lame so it's no big loss.  There are plenty of other ships on the sea.

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We were also elite with Princess for many years, but stopped cruising with them 4 years age. When trying to resolve an issue from our previous WC we got the impression they were happy to loose "Elite" pax, so they can fill the ships with Blue cards.

 

Agree, the Elite benefits were negligible.

 

Which P&O ship is doing the World Cruise - Arcadia or Aurora. The Aurora is older, but a classic 90's build, while Arcadia is a HAL Vista Class ship that was initially re-assigned to Cunard, hence the non-traditional P&O styling. She was finally transferred to P&O just before launch.

 

Worked for P&O many years ago, when it was a brilliant company. Unfortunately can't provide any current feedback, as this was pre-Carnival days.

 

Assuming you depart Southampton in early January. Once you get through Biscay, it is normally an easier ride. Will check to see if we are in port with you.

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5 hours ago, SargassoPirate said:

The Aurora in 2022.  From info on the P&O board it looks like it will be a good fit for my style of cruising.  There is a good thread over there comparing the Arcadia and the Aurora.

Nice ship, built late 1990's if my memory is correct. Built after I left them, but our son did work on her as a Navigating Cadet many years ago. He enjoyed his 4 months on board.

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  • 4 weeks later...
On 10/9/2019 at 9:30 PM, nicoleinwi said:

about $3k (for 2 of us) during the weeklong cruise.

 

That sounds high to me. We often walk around on our own if the port is convenient for that, preferably early in the morning before the passengers of multiple ships clog small towns.  I count on an average of $ 120 per person and tour. All basic walking/bus/castle/temple etc. tours. They are included in our Regent cruise. Overland tours are extra. When choosing a cruise line, compare the price of what's included.

 

I hope you are not jumping from a 7 day cruise to a world cruise. We did several 14 days, 4 weeks, and one 82 days on various ships and lines and found that we wouldn't want to be on certain highly touted ships for more than 2 weeks, but were ok on an average ship with an experienced enrichment and excursion staff and a comfortable cabin with space to sit that was not the bed. DH also wants a bridge director for sea days. We both don't like overly formal ships.

 

Follow Keith's advice.

 

On 10/10/2019 at 4:09 AM, Keith1010 said:

Make a budget.  Think it through.  If tours are included still budget a bit for potential tours in some selected places where you want to do a special tour.  Budget for eating off the ship in selected places, shopping, any medical costs where you will be reimbursed but you will pay up front, postage if you plan to mail anything back to friends and family such as post cards, pre or post cruise expenses (hotel, food) , expense to get from airport to hotel and to ship and same getting home, haircuts, dry cleaning, pressing, and have a misc. category.  These are things that come to mind.

 

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On 11/25/2019 at 2:15 PM, Floridiana said:

 

That sounds high to me. We often walk around on our own if the port is convenient for that, preferably early in the morning before the passengers of multiple ships clog small towns.  I count on an average of $ 120 per person and tour. All basic walking/bus/castle/temple etc. tours. They are included in our Regent cruise. Overland tours are extra. When choosing a cruise line, compare the price of what's included.

...

 

I agree.  Coming from all-inclusive lines, $3K a week in extras seems astronomical, and makes me glad I've stayed away from mass market lines.  As you say, on Regent, if you figure in a bit for value-added excursions (the not-quite-free ones), I'm thinking that for 4 months, we *might* spend $5K on excursions; that's 70 ports.  That doesn't include a couple of overland trips that we may or may not take.  Spa and gift shop are about the only other extras I can think of.

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On 10/11/2019 at 12:31 PM, Keith1010 said:

Wendy, you are very welcome and you are correct you will realize some savings by being on board. 

 

If you get things like cable or satellite you often can have it turned off while you are away and turned back on when you return.  Think through all of these.

 

Keith

Think twice before turning off your cable. We had tablemates on our 2018 WC who did just that and then realized that their internet was bundled with it. They were unable to access their email accounts on the ship because they were tied up with that specific internet provider.

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1 minute ago, Aquadesiac said:

Think twice before turning off your cable. We had tablemates on our 2018 WC who did just that and then realized that their internet was bundled with it. They were unable to access their email accounts on the ship because they were tied up with that specific internet provider.

Good point but for us not an issue as we do not have e mail tied to a cable provider.  I see no reason to go that route with so many other e mail providers and would never want to be locked into a cable provider for my e-mail.  There are so many better options.

 

At the same time if it happened to them the solution would be to call the provider to have it turned back on.

 

Keith

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