First cruise on Carnival Legend in May, what will I end up paying at the end? Like to drink and gamble. HELP?

Question

We are traveling on the Legend this May 18th out of Tampa. We are excited to go but I am curious what I should expect to end up paying when I get off the ship. We will drink and gamble, and will probably do the supper club once and will do some excursions like scuba once, maybe scuba and the cave tubing. I am curious because I want to make sure I have enough set aside for it.

Also any tips for me or my friends going (there will be 5 25 year olds)

Answer 1

WEll depending on how much you drink and how much you gamble can make a big difference. Shore Excursions are $15- $120 per person depending on what you do. Just be weary that you will have a bill at your stateroom at the end of the cruise and don't get too crazy!

Answer 2

I have been on the Carnival Lengend and it is a great ship. Fine drinks such as cognac is $5.95 at that time. Rum may be $4.95 and beer about the same price. As far as tours, carnival web site has a list and price range. Just make sure you don't arrange your tours unless it is through your Tour Desk in the ship.

Tips for your friends, drink responsibly!

Answer 3

The price of your cruise includes your cabin, all meals (except the specialty restaurants), all shows and entertainment, and use of all facilities on ship. The things that you will have to pay for once you are on the ship are:

Gratuities: They will amount to about $10 per person in your cabin per day; about $70 each for the week. When you check in at the pier they will set up an on-board charge account for you to cover any and everything you may buy on ship. They will issue you a "cruise card" which will also serve as your room key and pass to get on and off the ship. At the end of the cruise they will add the gratuity to your tab and you can pay with a credit card or cash, your choice.

Alcoholic drinks and soft drinks: Coffee, tea, milk, juice, and lemonade and punch will be provided free but you must pay for drinks (alcoholic beverages) and they will add a 15% gratuity to each drink of soft drink order. You can save on drinks by ordering them in a plain glass rather than the souvenir glasses they often use.

Photographs: Cruise lines will take plenty of photographs of you all over the ship, in the dining room, and as you exit the ship in ports. They also take a video and will offer it for a price. The photos will cost a lot, like $15 to $20 for most. Skip them and save yourself a lot of money. Take your own camera and have the other passengers photograph you on and off the ship.

Tours/Excursions: These are listed on your cruise line web site and you can reserve them well before the cruise and pay for them also. If you wait until you are on ship to book tours they will be charged to your on board account (then you can pay cash to settle your account on the last day)

Souvenirs: Anything you buy on ship from a gift shop or duty free shop goes on your on board account. Things that you buy on shore you pay cash or credit card for.

Casino: If you plan to gamble on ship you will need cash for that.

Other: most cruise lines have what they call "specialty" restaurants where there is a gratuity/service charge. All other food on board is free and its not really necessary to budget for food; you cannot eat all that will be available.

--If you want/need to have your hair done, get a massage or wrap, or any services from the spa, you will have to pay for them. You can use the gym free but the spa stuff cost big bucks.

--Ships now have internet cafe and some have WiFi but the there is a fee for internet access and it is very expensive (like about $50 to $60 an hour). We always look for internet cafes in the ports; they are usually only $5 or $6 an hour

--You cabin will likely have a minibar with soft drinks and munchies; you have to pay for them (but there is free room service 24/7).

You will not necessarily need to bring cash to pay your bill because when you board the ship they will set up an on board charge account for you (each passenger) and all things that you purchase on ship will be charged to that account.  At the end of the cruise it goes on your credit card, or you can arrange to pay in cash.  The amount that you spend will depend mostly on how much you drink alcoholic beverages, how much you plan to gamble, and how many ship's tours you book.  The gratuity charges will be standard for everyone and you know what that is in advance.

When we cruise we generally, for a 7-day cruise, buy several drinks during the week and maybe a bottle of wine for dinner.  We book our tours and pay for them in advance so our tab at the end is usually well under $200 for each of us.  of course that does not count what we drop in the casino.

Answer 4

Tinker uses the same cut and paste answer EVERYWHERE. I will answer YOUR questions:

1. Tips- plan for it based on $10 per person per day. so $70 each....

2. Gambling- win or lose? High stakes or low stakes? That is impossible to answer. If you win the big end of the week bingo, well you are in good shape.

3. Drinking. Again, that is up to you. Similar bar tap as any other US bar, and they add a 15% tip automatically. If you only drink top shelf liquor or Dom, your bill will be higher than a beer guy. What do you spend on an average night at a local sport's bar? The tab will be close....

4. The Golden Fleece is the upscale dining on your ship at $25 per person upcharge. Book as soon as you get on board, or earlier if you can do so through Carnival website.

5. Tours. You can sign in at Carnival.com and book you shore excursions in advance. Fun for planning to pack too. You should easily see what you want to do, and what it will cost. Plus usually a few dollars tip per tour.

Answer 5

You will lose track of how the bill can soar if you don't stay on top of it. I have been standing in line to sign my credit card receipt and there was a guy in front of me that was loud,boisterous and drunk the entire cruise,he had applied for and was given a Royal Caribbean credit card(bad idea) with a twenty-five thousand dollar credit limit,he had been buying drinks for everyone he came in contact with and his final bill was a little over ten thousand dollars in thirteen days.I personally saw his bill so I know it was true.While in line he couldn't believe he owed that crying and begging them to take some of the charges off because he didn't think it could possibly be that much,as he did this they made a call to the bars to bring up all of the receipts because they had never had anything like this happen before.When they brought up the receipts his alone covered the entire pursers desk and they still had more in their hand,he looked at the signatures and admitted they were his,the cruise director came up after he gentleman signed the receipt for the credit card and the presented the guy with a seven day cruise for four in a balcony cabin. Long story short after a couple of drinks you can lose track.