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

[TheCalicoCat]

Roz - Thanks for being so honest, this is exactly the kind of thread that I have been looking for.

 

I've seen others where you see DOD, Bucket of beer, cabana, golf cart rental, etc. right & left, but you have no idea how much all of that ended up being... Which isn't very helpful when people want to budget accordingly.

[Roz]

Calico,

 

Glad you found my post helpful. I've been keeping track of my spending on every cruise I've taken since this one, and my budgeting and saving for cruises has gotten much better. Lots of people forget all the little items that really add up.

 

Roz

[TheCalicoCat]

I so know what you are saying. You included cat sitting. My two will be going to Kitty city - but I am giving the Vet $ every pay check, so that won't be a post cruise suprise. (But it is also an expense that I had not considered before reading this.)

 

I also agree about the saving money by driving instead of flying - Luckily we live about 1 hour away from our port.

[Roz]

Kitty City - I love it! My cat would probably be expelled! Sitters are a big expense for travellers with pets, but we love the little critters.

 

Roz

[pozz]

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

I'm thinking that the cost of any trip, not only a cruise,can add up

[Roz]

Pozz,

 

Good point. I don't think most people really think it thru from start to finish. Have you ever heard someone come back from a trip or cruise and say "I spent less than I thought I would"?

 

Roz

[keithm]

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

Yeah, we've added over $2K on Cunard by..Casino,Todd English, shore excursions, wine at dinner,etc. Yes it can really add up. I find if you do not partake in anything(just cruise)you'll save money, but you may have a more boring trip because of it.

[dane225]

Roz,

What a great post! So helpful to first time cruisers. I wish I had read something like that before I went on my first cruise. I spent wayyyyy too much! I am a seasoned cruiser now and know exactly what to expect!:)

[MrDanB]

Thanks Roz! I am about to take my first cruise in a few weeks to Alaska... I live in Seattle, so lucky about the lack of hotel/airfare costs :) I have done extensive research on costs and it seems that the ONLY source for finding out all the "little stuff" is through someone who's been there-done that...

I am planning 2 excursions and got the total costs figured out, the up front tipping total, and will bring a wad of 1's to tip servers etc. I will have to watch the bingo/gambling and other incidentals. I have heard that you can check your tab 1/2 way through the trip, but that only helps a little when they hand you the equivalency of a visa card and say have fun! :rolleyes:

I will be cruising with family and a few friends. 1/2 have been cruising before. My BIL ran up a huuuuuge bar tab on his first cruise. Thought my sister was gonna divorce him.lol Another thing I've read is to bring a little strip outlet. Rooms on ships don't have but 2 outlets typically. May or may not be an issue, but better to be prepared and not need it...

[Roz]

I started this thread in 2009, so it's gratifying to see that it's still helping people and generating posts 18 months later.

 

Roz

[gelson]

$85 for a cat sitter. That's robbery.

[Roz]

It's not robbery when you've found someone responsible that you entrust your pet and house to, and who has to put gas in their car.

 

Roz

[Morgsmom]

Actually I think that's very reasonable for a pet sitter! I have two cats and my sitter comes 3x a day when I am away. 7am for breakfast and to let them on the screen porch, 10am to let them back inside from their fresh air/al fresco nap, and 7pm for dinner (and a pooper scoop). I know it's overboard but they love the attention and it helps when I get back and get that "where have YOU been cat snub from them" :D

[Roz]

Al fresco nap...I like that! Finding a good pet sitter can almost be as difficult as finding good child care.

 

Roz

[Martini Mom]

$52 for a manicure!?! :eek: Was it gold leaf polish?

[carribbound]

I saw that you had fuel surcharge on your list. Are they implementing a fuel surcharge right now? When did you cruise?

[Roz]

I sailed in January, 2009, so I don't know what Carnival is doing about fuel surcharges right now. Yep, $52 for a manicure, including tip.

 

Roz

[paul929207]

I saw that you had fuel surcharge on your list. Are they implementing a fuel surcharge right now? When did you cruise?

No fuel surcharge currently on Carnival

[Neotericisis]

WOW! I'm a first time cruiser- and because it is all inclusive I never thought it would cost that much! We already paid for the cruise (not the tips though) and the air fare, but I made a list of all expenses to show my husband. We are staying in South Beach on Sunday and plan on visiting a club while there (we got a great deal and are splitting it with the 6 people in our group). My hubby wants to go to a Miami v. Celtics game that day, but even the crappy tickets are $150 (I doubt he'll go becaues decent seats are going to cost him around $300). He likes to gamble, so I'll limit him at $50 a day- We have 2 of his guy friends on the cruise with us who love to gamble as well, so even keeping him at $50/day will be hard- ugh! I won't gamble at all, and since I am using Bon Voyage for a bottle of vodka I will not get the unlimited soda (I'll just drink the free ice tea and he can sneak me some soda lol). Since he has such a high casino tab, I felt it was ok for me to add on my $30 massage in Cozumel (we both decided that we want to do jet skiing and parasailing). I really tried to keep the costs down, no fancy restaurants etc., and we want to have fun without really thinking too much about money- but gosh, its expensive:eek:

Here goes (I hope I did all the math correctly LOL):

 

CRUISE BOOKING AND AIRFARE

Cruise with taxes and fuel charges- $732

Air fare- $418

TOTAL BOOKING AND AIRFARE: $1150

MIAMI:

Gas & Tolls- one way from NJ-NY- $25

SoBe Hotel with taxes- $125/6= $20.80 * 2= $42

Miami food- $40

Club Fees- $40

Liquor- $20

Cab from airport to hotel- $20/4=$5*2= $10 (only 4 of us will arrive in MIA in the AM)

Cab roundtrip from hotel to club- $20/3*2=$14 (we’ll need 2 cabs with all 6 of us)

Cab from hotel to cruise port- $10/3= $3.33*2=$7 (we’ll need 2 cabs with all 6 of us)

National Hotel Pool Passes- $50

TOTAL MIAMI: $223

Heat v. Celtics- $150

TOTAL MIAMI with game: $373

CRUISE:

Gratuity- $10/per day/pp= $100

Bar/Extra Gratuity- $40

Bar Tab- $100

Bon Voyage Liquor- $40 (me only)

Unlimited Soda package- $35.00 (husband only)

Casino- $50/day Husband only)*5= $250

Cab from cruise to airport- $20

Gas & tolls from one way from NY to NJ- $25

TOTAL CRUISE: $585

PORTS:

Parasailing(Tandem)- $115

Bar Crawl Excursion in Key West- $41/pp=$82

Mr. Sanchos Beach (Cozumel)- $50 (not all inclusive because of time appx.2-5pm)

Mr. Sanchos Jet Skiing- $50*2= $100

Mr. Sanchos Massage- $30/30minutes

Souvenirs- $25

Dinner in Cozumel- $40

Drinking in Cozumel- $20

TOTAL PORTS: $462

OVERALL TOTALS:

TOTAL BOOKING AND AIRFARE: $1150

TOTAL MIAMI: $223

TOTAL CRUISE: $585

TOTAL PORTS: $462

OVERALL TOTAL: $2470

Total to left to be paid without NBA game: $1320 (with game: $1470)

[Cruisin Christi]

Yeah I am not even going to break mine down. I don't want to get depressed before we even cruise, LOL.

[Neotericisis]

Yeah I am not even going to break mine down. I don't want to get depressed before we even cruise, LOL.

 

 

LOL! I Plan on showing DH the breakdown after dinner tonight. I trully am happy that this was posted because it really makes you think where things can be cut. But honestly- I don't want anything to be cut (well maybe DH's casino tab LOL). I've decided to cut down my pre-cruise shopping because it really is not needed, so what if I am wearing clothes from last year- no one cares but me! I am supposed to be going on a trip with the girls in June, but I may cancel that if the expenses get over $2000 (not including the initial $1150-which they shouldn't but hey, once I get on the boat I may be singing a different tune!)

 

Good luck with your expenses people!

[gelo7]

WOW! I'm a first time cruiser- and because it is all inclusive I never thought it would cost that much! We already paid for the cruise (not the tips though) and the air fare, but I made a list of all expenses to show my husband. We are staying in South Beach on Sunday and plan on visiting a club while there (we got a great deal and are splitting it with the 6 people in our group). My hubby wants to go to a Miami v. Celtics game that day, but even the crappy tickets are $150 (I doubt he'll go becaues decent seats are going to cost him around $300). He likes to gamble, so I'll limit him at $50 a day- We have 2 of his guy friends on the cruise with us who love to gamble as well, so even keeping him at $50/day will be hard- ugh! I won't gamble at all, and since I am using Bon Voyage for a bottle of vodka I will not get the unlimited soda (I'll just drink the free ice tea and he can sneak me some soda lol). Since he has such a high casino tab, I felt it was ok for me to add on my $30 massage in Cozumel (we both decided that we want to do jet skiing and parasailing). I really tried to keep the costs down, no fancy restaurants etc., and we want to have fun without really thinking too much about money- but gosh, its expensive:eek:

Here goes (I hope I did all the math correctly LOL):

 

CRUISE BOOKING AND AIRFARE

Cruise with taxes and fuel charges- $732

Air fare- $418

TOTAL BOOKING AND AIRFARE: $1150

 

MIAMI:

Gas & Tolls- one way from NJ-NY- $25

SoBe Hotel with taxes- $125/6= $20.80 * 2= $42

Miami food- $40

Club Fees- $40

Liquor- $20

Cab from airport to hotel- $20/4=$5*2= $10 (only 4 of us will arrive in MIA in the AM)

Cab roundtrip from hotel to club- $20/3*2=$14 (we’ll need 2 cabs with all 6 of us)

Cab from hotel to cruise port- $10/3= $3.33*2=$7 (we’ll need 2 cabs with all 6 of us)

National Hotel Pool Passes- $50

TOTAL MIAMI: $223

Heat v. Celtics- $150

TOTAL MIAMI with game: $373

 

CRUISE:

Gratuity- $10/per day/pp= $100

Bar/Extra Gratuity- $40

Bar Tab- $100

Bon Voyage Liquor- $40 (me only)

Unlimited Soda package- $35.00 (husband only)

Casino- $50/day Husband only)*5= $250

Cab from cruise to airport- $20

Gas & tolls from one way from NY to NJ- $25

TOTAL CRUISE: $585

 

PORTS:

Parasailing(Tandem)- $115

Bar Crawl Excursion in Key West- $41/pp=$82

Mr. Sanchos Beach (Cozumel)- $50 (not all inclusive because of time appx.2-5pm)

Mr. Sanchos Jet Skiing- $50*2= $100

Mr. Sanchos Massage- $30/30minutes

Souvenirs- $25

Dinner in Cozumel- $40

Drinking in Cozumel- $20

TOTAL PORTS: $462

 

OVERALL TOTALS:

TOTAL BOOKING AND AIRFARE: $1150

TOTAL MIAMI: $223

TOTAL CRUISE: $585

TOTAL PORTS: $462

OVERALL TOTAL: $2470

Total to left to be paid without NBA game: $1320 (with game: $1470)

That's your budget with two of you, how about a family of five!?!?!

[Mom2B&Z]

Here's a family of four going from Ottawa to Tampa on the NCL Star (all ball park figures of course):

Cruise: $2700 (mini-suite)

On board expenses (DSC x4, excursions in 2 of the ports, my occasional alcoholic drink):$1000 (Note the daily service charge itself is $336 and I pay almost full fare for the kids to participate in excursions because they are over 2 yrs old.)

Airfare: $2600.28 (I booked it today, so that one's fresh in my mind!)

Spending money (souveniers, meals in airports/on the plane or in ports): $800

Slush fund: $500

Parking at airport $125

Grand total: $7725

There's the answer to the question wondering why we travel once a year! We are also limited to the school vacation times (aka high season), as DH is a teacher.

 

That's your budget with two of you, how about a family of five!?!?!

[Minouli]

Here's another budget for a family of 4 on our Valor cruise Dec. 2009:

Pre-cruise:

Gas from Montreal, Quebec to Burlington, Vermont: $20

Sleep/Park/Fly Hampton Inn Colcester Vt: $130

Supper in Burlington: $40 (IHOP)

Jetblue flight BVT to FLL via JFK: $1150

Snack at JFK: $10

Taxi FLL to hotel: $20

Renaissance 17th St. E.: $85 on Priceline

Sun Trolley: $10

Late lunch/supper Fort Lauderdale: $50 (? Italian restaurant)

Breakfast Fort Lauderdale: $15 (bagels/juice/coffee)

Taxi Fort Lauderdale to POM: $80 including tip

Cruise:

Carnival Valor inside quad cabin, Riviera deck: $1500

Tips: $280

Grand Cayman: Bus to Cemetary Beach/snack: $30

Roatan: Chair lift to beach: $20

Belize: Goff's Caye ship excursion: $300

Cozumel: Taxi/Chankanaab/snacks: $100

Smoothies and soft drinks on ship: $50

1 portrait and Xmas cards: $50

Post-cruise:

Taxi to South Beach: $30

Thrifty car rental: $35

Sheraton Suites Plantation: $45 on Priceline

Lunch & supper Fort Lauderdale: $40 (fast food)

Breakfast Fort Lauderdale: $10 (croissants/juice)

Gas from Burlington to Montreal: $20

Grand total: $4120

We purchased a couple of souvenirs in port but my mom gave the kids money for that, so I didn't count it.

I try to keep our "big" vacations around $4000. I think I did pretty well!

A few ways I could have saved more:

No portraits (save $50)

Sail from Fort Lauderdale (save $80)

Pre-cruise hotel including breakfast and transfers (save $15)

No ship excursion, do-it-yourself (save $150)

It might seem extreme, but without budgeting this way, we wouldn't be able to travel much. In fact, I approach my household budget in a similar way to allow us the extra $4000 in the first place.

[Z-Knight]

Now take out the stuff that you would spend anyway if you were just to go out for an equivalent number of nights and I suspect the price comes down a lot. But with the cruise you get to leave home and don't have to clean up your bedroom, etc.