Here's How a $350 Cruise Turns Into $1,100!

[Roz]

Thought y'all would find this interesting. As you can see on the attached figures, I kept a detailed tally of everything I spent on my recent cruise on the Carnival Fascination. It was a 5-day cruise to Key West and Nassau from Jacksonville. I want to be able to budget better in the future. Now you see how a $350 cruise turns out to cost over $1,100!

 

I analyzed my spending to see what I would do differently next time. Play less bingo? That wouldn't be any fun, and I did budget for it. The ship's manicure cost $52 vs. $25 at home. That was poor planning on my part. The taxi from the hotel to the port cost me $30 (including tip), whereas the ship's transfer back to the airport was $15 (including tip). I would have been better off having the free hotel shuttle take me over to the airport the morning of embarkation, where I could have gotten on the Carnival bus.

 

I ran out of reading material, so I ended up spending $4.80 on a magazine in the airport. Overall, other than the few things I've mentioned, which don't total up to $100, I wouldn't have cut anything. Good thing I had the free hotel room and free one-way ticket on Southwest.

 

Someone posted here at Cruise Critic that they took the price of their cruise and then doubled it. Then they added the double amount onto the price of the cruise in order to figure out how much it would cost them. That would have worked for me. Cruise was $350; double would be $700. Add the 2 together and it's $1,050.

 

Inside 1A Cabin - $313.50

Port Fees & Tax - $41.82

Fuel Supplement - $45.00

Travel Insurance - Paid by TA as booking incentive

4 Drink Coupons - Paid by TA as booking incentive

Prepaid Ship Gratuities - $50.00

Prepaid Nassau Shore Excursion - $39.00

Airline Ticket - 1/2 paid w/SW Rapid Rewards Coupon - $120.00

Hotel Room - Free - Hilton Honors Points

Taxi from Hotel to Port (incl. tip) - $30.00

Meals in JAX - $17.00

Hemingway House Admission - $12.00

Water in Key West - $1.50

Lunch at Sloppy Joe's (incl. tip) - $17.00

Postcards & Souvenirs - $54.30

Manicure (incl. tip) - $52.00

Misc. Tips - Tour Guides, Hotel Maid, Shuttle Drivers, Porters, Etc.- $24.00

Additional Tips on Ship - Cabin Steward, Maitre D', Waiter, & Asst. Waiter - $27.00

Bar Tab - $25.89

Bingo - $140.00

Ship's Transfer to Airport $13.00

Lunch at Airport - $17.53

Cat Sitter - $85.00

Magazine - $4.80

Parking at Airport (coupon for 5 days free) - $24.58

Refund of Fuel Supplement - $(45.00)

 

TOTAL $1,109.92 :eek:

 

Roz

[BonnieVA]

This should be a must-read for all 1st-time cruisers so they're prepared, lol. I've seen many young people on CC asking about the extras involved & this would help.

[Roz]

It really adds up! This was the first time I really took the time to write down EVERYTHING I spent.

 

Roz

[rav4lady]

I thought that was depressing!! Other than the bingo and the manicure, you didn't spend any money I wouldn't! I better be careful on my cruise!

[BIG_Steve]

Kind of sobering numbers there. This is our first cruise. But we've taken numerous family vacations over the years. I always sit down ahead of time and calculate everything we could possibly spend money on. Then I double that figure. And it has never even been close to the actual total :eek:

[LadyKLO]

wow, great write up. I am doing a solo 4 day 3 night cruise to Ensenada and I put myself on a budget since I've been on this cruise before. I had a choice of either cruising or going to San Fran and I know it would have cost me more to go to San Fran because of my eating abilities!!!!!

[JLC@SD]

I went to a San Diego Padre baseball game recently......with free tickets.........and the game cost me $75.00......after I paid for parking, bought a hat and had a hot dog.........:D

[cateyes2u]

I really like to play bingo, and it adds up quick. On my last 7 night cruise, I spent $140 on Bingo.

 

My next trip, I think I'll only play on the final nights. Now, if I can stay out of the casino. I don't spend a lot there, but stop between shows.

 

PJ

[Roz]

JLC@SD, I've also been a victim of "free tickets" to TN Titan and Nashville Predator games.

 

Rav4lady, didn't mean to depress you. :D

 

Glad everyone found this thread helpful. Believe me, it's going to help me budget for my next cruise.

 

Roz

[cruisinsmoothly]

thanks for sharing. A couple of comments. 1- I always include the gratuities as part of the cost of the cruise, so I think the cost of cruise is really $400. 2- the free hotel and reduced airfare is often not an option. 3- I agree that bingo costs a bunch, but it is fun and occasionally you win. $700 last cruise. and we only played 2-3 times 4- it looks like manicuring your cat during bingo cost almost as much as the cruise! I try to do up a spreadsheet that includes all of the travel costs, so I know what the cruise will cost me (and others traveling with me) This includes cruise, travel (car or auto), hotels before/after, meals pre and post cruise, parking airport or port. This then becomes my cost of cruise vacation. Any other expenditures, bingo, casino , drinks, gifts, excursions are then estimated and added to that cost and (sigh!) that is the total I budget for. Once I am on a vacation, I no longer sweat the costs. I stay within my gambling budget, but other than that I just relax and enjoy. The details you have provided should help many see just what the bottom line can be.

[eandj]

Thought y'all would find this interesting. As you can see on the attached figures, I kept a detailed tally of everything I spent on my recent cruise on the Carnival Fascination. It was a 5-day cruise to Key West and Nassau from Jacksonville. I want to be able to budget better in the future. Now you see how a $350 cruise turns out to cost over $1,100!

 

I analyzed my spending to see what I would do differently next time. Play less bingo? That wouldn't be any fun, and I did budget for it. The ship's manicure cost $52 vs. $25 at home. That was poor planning on my part. The taxi from the hotel to the port cost me $30 (including tip), whereas the ship's transfer back to the airport was $15 (including tip). I would have been better off having the free hotel shuttle take me over to the airport the morning of embarkation, where I could have gotten on the Carnival bus.

 

I ran out of reading material, so I ended up spending $4.80 on a magazine in the airport. Overall, other than the few things I've mentioned, which don't total up to $100, I wouldn't have cut anything. Good thing I had the free hotel room and free one-way ticket on Southwest.

 

Someone posted here at Cruise Critic that they took the price of their cruise and then doubled it. Then they added the double amount onto the price of the cruise in order to figure out how much it would cost them. That would have worked for me. Cruise was $350; double would be $700. Add the 2 together and it's $1,050.

 

Inside 1A Cabin - $313.50

Port Fees & Tax - $41.82

Fuel Supplement - $45.00

Travel Insurance - Paid by TA as booking incentive

4 Drink Coupons - Paid by TA as booking incentive

Prepaid Ship Gratuities - $50.00

Prepaid Nassau Shore Excursion - $39.00

Airline Ticket - 1/2 paid w/SW Rapid Rewards Coupon - $120.00

Hotel Room - Free - Hilton Honors Points

Taxi from Hotel to Port (incl. tip) - $30.00

Meals in JAX - $17.00

Hemingway House Admission - $12.00

Water in Key West - $1.50

Lunch at Sloppy Joe's (incl. tip) - $17.00

Postcards & Souvenirs - $54.30

Manicure (incl. tip) - $52.00

Misc. Tips - Tour Guides, Hotel Maid, Shuttle Drivers, Porters, Etc.- $24.00

Additional Tips on Ship - Cabin Steward, Maitre D', Waiter, & Asst. Waiter - $27.00

Bar Tab - $25.89

Bingo - $140.00

Ship's Transfer to Airport $13.00

Lunch at Airport - $17.53

Cat Sitter - $85.00

Magazine - $4.80

Parking at Airport (coupon for 5 days free) - $24.58

Refund of Fuel Supplement - $(45.00)

 

TOTAL $1,109.92 :eek:

 

Roz

 

You might want to post this on the first time cruisers board. Reality sometimes is hard to fathom when you are budgeting...especially with a family.

[Illmaxict]

cheap bar tab. i had a 300 dollar bar tab last time. thats why im smuggling this time.

[geoherb]

Our cruise fare on a 4-night Celebrity cruise was less than $300 per person with the fuel surcharge. (Celebrity was still charging passengers that in December.) That turned into closer to $900 per person for us. Our big extras were our airfare, hotel for two nights in Miami (plus going to see the Lakers play the Heat), meals in Miami, and taxis.

 

Our next cruise, though, is not going to cost us triple the price because we're going with a higher category of cabin. The airfare and hotel prices are less, and we'll probably end up spending less than double.

[stones902]

Thought y'all would find this interesting. As you can see on the attached figures, I kept a detailed tally of everything I spent on my recent cruise on the Carnival Fascination. It was a 5-day cruise to Key West and Nassau from Jacksonville. I want to be able to budget better in the future. Now you see how a $350 cruise turns out to cost over $1,100!

 

I analyzed my spending to see what I would do differently next time. Play less bingo? That wouldn't be any fun, and I did budget for it. The ship's manicure cost $52 vs. $25 at home. That was poor planning on my part. The taxi from the hotel to the port cost me $30 (including tip), whereas the ship's transfer back to the airport was $15 (including tip). I would have been better off having the free hotel shuttle take me over to the airport the morning of embarkation, where I could have gotten on the Carnival bus.

 

I ran out of reading material, so I ended up spending $4.80 on a magazine in the airport. Overall, other than the few things I've mentioned, which don't total up to $100, I wouldn't have cut anything. Good thing I had the free hotel room and free one-way ticket on Southwest.

 

Someone posted here at Cruise Critic that they took the price of their cruise and then doubled it. Then they added the double amount onto the price of the cruise in order to figure out how much it would cost them. That would have worked for me. Cruise was $350; double would be $700. Add the 2 together and it's $1,050.

 

Inside 1A Cabin - $313.50

Port Fees & Tax - $41.82

Fuel Supplement - $45.00

Travel Insurance - Paid by TA as booking incentive

4 Drink Coupons - Paid by TA as booking incentive

Prepaid Ship Gratuities - $50.00

Prepaid Nassau Shore Excursion - $39.00

Airline Ticket - 1/2 paid w/SW Rapid Rewards Coupon - $120.00

Hotel Room - Free - Hilton Honors Points

Taxi from Hotel to Port (incl. tip) - $30.00

Meals in JAX - $17.00

Hemingway House Admission - $12.00

Water in Key West - $1.50

Lunch at Sloppy Joe's (incl. tip) - $17.00

Postcards & Souvenirs - $54.30

Manicure (incl. tip) - $52.00

Misc. Tips - Tour Guides, Hotel Maid, Shuttle Drivers, Porters, Etc.- $24.00

Additional Tips on Ship - Cabin Steward, Maitre D', Waiter, & Asst. Waiter - $27.00

Bar Tab - $25.89

Bingo - $140.00

Ship's Transfer to Airport $13.00

Lunch at Airport - $17.53

Cat Sitter - $85.00

Magazine - $4.80

Parking at Airport (coupon for 5 days free) - $24.58

Refund of Fuel Supplement - $(45.00)

 

TOTAL $1,109.92 :eek:

 

Roz

 

Excellent analysis! Great job!

 

This is why my best advice to new cruisers is to bring more money and less clothes:D

[LindaKE]

Someone posted here at Cruise Critic that they took the price of their cruise and then doubled it. Then they added the double amount onto the price of the cruise in order to figure out how much it would cost them. That would have worked for me. Cruise was $350; double would be $700. Add the 2 together and it's $1,050.

 

Roz

 

An easier way to figure this is to multiply the cost of the trip by 3.

$350 x 3 = $1,050.

(Sorry, I'm a math teacher.)

[Roz]

Linda,

 

Duh! Thanks for the quick math lesson. :D

 

Roz

[appgirl]

Hey Roz,

I was on this cruise too. We got our fuel charges back, did you not? I noticed you had included them.

[Roz]

Appgirl,

 

I included the fuel surcharge, but then credited it at the end of the spreadsheet - ($45). I really had a good time on that cruise, did you? There seemed to be a lot of people on the ship from North Carolina.

 

Roz

[mzche1999]

The first cruise we took was in 01'. I am off in the summers, but decided to work a summer job for my mad money on my cruise. I earned 2K! I made up my mind that I would buy whatever I wanted. I came home with $800. We did an excursion everyday and I think I bought every photo taken of us. I seem to be powerless when it comes to knowing that my photo will be thrown away!

 

Things I will try on this cruise:

*Turn down photo ops....that way I have fewer temptations.

*Research excursions that are not through carnival

*Stay away from things I can do cheaper at home...spa stuff...maybe, because I really want a massage at sea or on a beach!

*I will also not repeat an excursion. We did more than one catamaran and snorkel adventure the first time around. Except maybe parasailing. We did that in Hawaii and I went higher than hubby. He has never lived it down and wants to prove that he can go the whole way up!!

 

Hugs,

Chelle

[sayaguru]

How disappointing.

 

I thought the post was going to be about how you paid $350 for a cruise and ended up getting $1,100 :rolleyes:

 

Thought you'd won Bingo!!!

 

Never mind. Interesting though. Thanks

[appgirl]

Appgirl,

 

I included the fuel surcharge, but then credited it at the end of the spreadsheet - ($45). I really had a good time on that cruise, did you? There seemed to be a lot of people on the ship from North Carolina.

 

Roz

 

 

Ok I didn't notice at the bottom. yes, we had a great time. I am ready to go on another cruise. It had been about 3 years since I had been on a cruise before this and I forgot how much fun it was. I was worried if the weather was going to be nice and I'm glad it was warm.

[Roz]

I hope Jacksonville is able to build a permanent cruise terminal, as the lease on the bldg. they're using is up in 2010. I found JAX to be easy to fly in and out of, and there were lots of hotels near the airport to choose from. I would consider sailing on the Fascination on that same itinerary again. Yes, the weather was warm, in fact, I thought it was too hot and humid in Key West.

 

Roz

[caliber35]

The industry average for shipboard accounts is equal to the fare paid for the cabin. However, the average fare paid is closer to $1,000 than the $300 cited here. Shore excursions and bar tabs make up most of the revenue for the cruise lines, followed by spa treatments. This is how the cruise lines maintain their bottom line in these days of dropping cruise fares. With the luxury lines, more things are included, so a budget cruise may not end up being what you bargained for!

[Roz]

Good point, Caliber. I agree that $1,000 is probably the average cruise fare. Another consideration is that regardless of the length of the cruise - 5 days, 7 days, 10 days - certain costs are relatively fixed. For instance, airfare is airfare, most people spend a night in a hotel before embarkation, there are meals/snacks at the airport and hotel, etc.

 

The embarkation city itself influences costs. For instance, San Diego is more expensive than Jacksonville or Tampa.

 

Roz

[Happy ks]

I actually thought you did great, considering you had a flight, stayed in a hotel and you paid more than 3 times over what I have ever paid for a manicure :) Your costs could have been at least $250 more had you paid full price for the flight and paid for the hotel room.

 

We generally budget $100 a day for onboard expenses and we don't gamble, buy souvenirs or have any spa treatments. But, I've never added up all the miscellaneous costs, I'll have to do that sometime.

 

On second thought, it might be too depressing :p