Hidden Charges on Board

[davewilliamt]

Hi, what are the charges on the cruise?

 

How much is the daily housekeeping tip?

 

15% tip for all purchases or just drinks? Do you have to tip for items bought in the ship stores?

 

Is there a 15% for specialty dining?

 

Sorry

 

Couldn't find this info anywhere else

[falkcor]

10/day for all tips. this includes housekeeping, dining staff, etc.

 

15% on all drinks (only).

 

you do not have to tip for items bought in the stores (or pay taxes!)

 

the tip for the specialty dining / steakhouse is included in the 30pp fee. many tip over and above that for service received, but that is at your discretion.

[davewilliamt]

10/day for all tips. this includes housekeeping, dining staff, etc.

 

15% on all drinks (only).

 

you do not have to tip for items bought in the stores (or pay taxes!)

 

the tip for the specialty dining / steakhouse is included in the 30pp fee. many tip over and above that for service received, but that is at your discretion.

 

Thanks,

 

So...if someone only drinks water or coffee in the dining room and doesn't buy anything the most they are on the hook for is $10 a day?

[Pegs222]

Thanks,

 

So...if someone only drinks water or coffee in the dining room and doesn't buy anything the most they are on the hook for is $10 a day?

 

 

 

Yes, but you may want to purchase some of the pictures, that goes on your S&S bill. You can purchase your excursions when you get on the ship. You can also pay for your tips before you get on the ship as well as your excursions.

[AZ Karaoke Girl]

There have been people that had zero on their sail&sign account. Prepay tips and don't buy anything and you are charged nothing more. That has never happened to me. I drink alcohol, buy pictures, and shop in their stores.

[falkcor]

Thanks,

 

So...if someone only drinks water or coffee in the dining room and doesn't buy anything the most they are on the hook for is $10 a day?

 

yup, exactly. nothing else is charged to your s&s account that you don't initiate via a purchase, etc.

[davewilliamt]

Its the same price whether you prepay or not right? Do some people just like getting it done with?

Is there any reason to prepay if you are going to use the same credit card anyway?

[falkcor]

Its the same price whether you prepay or not right? Do some people just like getting it done with?

Is there any reason to prepay if you are going to use the same credit card anyway?

 

pretty much... for some, it's a way to pay expenses before hand, and just avoid them being added to the bill at the end of the cruise. some do it just for personal planning / budgetting purposes, etc.

 

there isn't any other real advantage...

[firefly333]

Thanks,

 

So...if someone only drinks water or coffee in the dining room and doesn't buy anything the most they are on the hook for is $10 a day?

 

There is a tip on bottled water and soda

 

Iced tea and lemonaide during lunch and dinner in the buffet is free, juice in the morning. In the dining room you can get capachino and espresso free. I like it after dinner. There is a charge for specialty coffee from the coffee bar.

[davewilliamt]

Yes, but you may want to purchase some of the pictures, that goes on your S&S bill. You can purchase your excursions when you get on the ship. You can also pay for your tips before you get on the ship as well as your excursions.

 

 

Thanks, I am helping plan a group party which leaves on Thursday. My guess is the people who are the most worried about the costs are the ones who spend the most.

[Pegs222]

Its the same price whether you prepay or not right? Do some people just like getting it done with?

Is there any reason to prepay if you are going to use the same credit card anyway?

 

We always pay for our tips when I book our cruise, just one less thing on our S&S bill.

[dmdiver]

There's also tip added to those spray-painted tattoos.

[firefly333]

There's also tip added to those spray-painted tattoos.

 

wow, now thats one I didnt know about.

[habby]

Its the same price whether you prepay or not right? Do some people just like getting it done with?

Is there any reason to prepay if you are going to use the same credit card anyway?

The only reason I can see is that you won't be charged the interest on your credit card until after the cruise. (not a problem if you pay off your credit card each month)

[dmdiver]

The last 2 cruises, we have booked our excursions online in advance through Carnival. The reason we do it is just so the vacation will fall on 2 different credit card billing cycles. It just helps to keep the cash flow more level.

 

As far as expenditures, this year we spent roughly $1100 on excursions, soda cards, drinks (not many, either), parking & photos. We also took $200 cash with us - some of that was spent on food on the way to the hotel & on the way home.

[ItsAllAboutTheSass]

There are no hidden charges. You will not be charged for anything you don't sign for. If you ask for something and they ask for your S&S card, you are paying for it.

[RizzoLee]

There are no hidden charges. You will not be charged for anything you don't sign for. If you ask for something and they ask for your S&S card, you are paying for it.

 

Just to piggy back on this post - watch your S&S account through your tv. They like to charge you for mini bar items and bottles of water in your room that you haven't purchased. Has happened to us twice, and my mom once.

[skiorcruise]

We like some drinks, wine at dinner, pictures (too many) and on-board shopping. This last cruise we did no excursions through the ship, and no jewlery in the gift shops. The S&S bill was $619, or $44.21 pp/pd. Any time I can keep this number under $50, I consider it a successful cruise.

[Edmund DeWinter]

If you've pre-paid your tips for the cruise, is it noted somewhere in your account so that your Room Steward or Wait Staff knows that you've already selected this as an option and, if so, has anyone seen it make a difference in the service you receive?

 

I plan on tipping for additional services provided and that sort of thing, but wasn't sure if there was an advantage to the pre-paid tips since the staff might know about it?

[twinklen01]

Just to piggy back on this post - watch your S&S account through your tv. They like to charge you for mini bar items and bottles of water in your room that you haven't purchased. Has happened to us twice, and my mom once.

 

so do we leave a note for them to clear out the mini bar and water? Do they give us a recipet stating we are clear of any charges?

 

 

another tip for OP- dont lose the large beach towels in the closet. If lost those will cost $25

[dmdiver]

We just took their water & set it on the counter by the ice bucket, then rearranged the items already in the fridge to make room for our water bottles. When we packed up, we put their water bottle back in the fridge. This worked fine for us, as we didn't have a lot of stuff to put in there.

[Scootch]

Just to piggy back on this post - watch your S&S account through your tv. They like to charge you for mini bar items and bottles of water in your room that you haven't purchased. Has happened to us twice, and my mom once.

 

We also use the TV to do a daily check of what we have spent and to review the account for any errors. Remember, anything you buy, you sign for so they can pull the receipt for anything you question.