"living expense" on the ship?

[tempoct]

Hi,

On average, how much should I expected? Says just basic stuff. The accommodation and food are already included with the cruise. So, just water/drink? and maybe restaurant occationally?

 

I'm travelling with HAL. Trying to get the right budget so no-surprise when the bills come :)

 

:p

[Keith1010]

You might be better off to post your question on the HAL board.

 

Your add-ons will be gratuities and you can look at the HAL web site to figure on that. The cost of specialty restaurants. Just figure out how many times you plan to go and that will give you the total cost. As you mentioned water (eg., bottled water) and drinks. If by drinks you mean alcohol the cost will vary based on what and how much you plan to consume. (eg. a glass of wine will likely be in the $7.00-$10.00 range, a bottle will likely start at around $25.00 and then go up quite a bit from there. Then there are any purchases that you will make either at the shops on board or at port. If you plan to gamble, that's another one to buget for as well. If you plan to use their computer services for e mail or for the internet that's another one to budget. How about shore excusions. Whatever shore excursions you book through HAL you will be charged for those. Those are probably the main items that you want to budget for and how much you spend will depend on how much of all of this you do.

 

Keith

[Rena921]

Just a few tips that we used for keeping the "cost of living" down....If you gamble, take that money with you in the form of traveler's checks then cash them in when you need them. This helps to avoid those little surprises on the last day. If you drink wine with dinner, buy bottles, not glasses. Your waiter/waitress will keep your bottle of wine for your dinner the next night if you choose. Water is free....you are on the ocean. The desalinization process and the minerals that are added to the water makes it much better than most bottled water out there. Take a bottle of water with you and keep refilling it. But bottled water prices aren't all that bad either if you would rather not. Alcoholic beverages run about the same as they would in an up-scale bar. The drinks of the day are much cheaper and if you purchase in the souvenir glass, refills are cheaper. On soda, if you drink a lot purchase a soda card before hand, but if not purchase sodas individually. The card IMO is not worth it unless you drink at least a case per week in the real world. Also, purchase excursions before you go, so these don't get added onto your bill. All in all, plan to spend about an extra $300 - $700 for your on-board expenses (assuming there are 2 of you going). Just depends on your spending habits. On our cruise last year, we purchased drink coupons and excursions before months before-hand and used traveler's checks for the casino (which kept us from spending too much there...the ship card (CCL has the sail and sign card) makes it way too easy to access money to spend in the casino) and our bill was approx. $270.00. Of course we spent about the same, but it wasn't a big surprise at the end of the cruise.

 

Hope this helps...

Serena

[MilliesMom]

What had a major impact on our expenses was PHOTOS. On Carnival they were $20 for an 8x10 and most photos were 8x10s. The photos were really good and most we just couldn't toss and not buy. I noticed on Princess it says the 8x10 are $21.95, so each ship is different.

 

All purchases on the ship are added to your "sign & sail" card. We did buy a couple of magazines and candy in the gift shop. We probably spent $10 on pop so didn't get soda card that many recommend. We were charged for bottled water in the room and used a couple of the large bottles.

[tempoct]

Hi all,

Thank you so much for all you replies. This is really helpful :) I'll try to post the message later on HAL forum.

 

My question intended to get general idea. I wouldn't count gambling and other extra stuff coz it's different budget pool :D

 

Thank you again to give me the idea about your experience.

 

Here's so far what I find out about tipping from HAL. I believe extra tipping is recommended but do you know how much?

 

http://www.hollandamerica.com/guests/category.do?category=money&topic=tipping

Gratuity Policy

 

Exceptional service is part of the Holland America cruise experience. Because you are our guest, it is our goal to make sure you receive the finest service possible. And we have made it easy for you to reward excellent service onboard.

 

A gratuity of $10 per guest per day for dining and stateroom services will be automatically added to your shipboard account on a daily basis. We are confident that you will find the service onboard exemplary and, should you wish to make adjustments, you may do so at the end of the cruise by contacting the front desk. A 15% service charge will be automatically added to your bar charges and dining room wine account.

 

In terminals, airports, ports of call and on shore excursions, we suggest that you extend gratuities consistent with customary local practices.

[OldCodger73]

Extra tipping is recommended only if you feel you received extraordinary service and isn't required. If you order room service most people give a small tip to the person who delivers it. At the bar some people leave a couple of dollars for the bartender in addition to the added 15%.

[djacobson]

Hi,

On average, how much should I expected? Says just basic stuff. The accommodation and food are already included with the cruise. So, just water/drink? and maybe restaurant occationally?

 

I'm travelling with HAL. Trying to get the right budget so no-surprise when the bills come :)

 

:p

 

Just to throw my two cents in, tempoct: I bring with me a fridge pack of 12 cans of my favorite soft drinks for a week of cruising. Because of the size of the fridge pack, they fit in luggage without taking up too much space. I try to bring something I am fairly sure the cruise line does not offer, like Diet Barq's Root Beer. Carnival charges over $30 for a drink card, the 12 drinks I bring on board and drink during the week cost $3.50.