How much money should my husband and i take on our 5 day cruise?

Question

We are going to Couszmel, and Progresso? for 2 days and then we will be on the ship for the rest? How much should we take we will have to by our drinks, how expencive is the rest? Spa and all of that? on and off the ship

Answer 1

We took this cruise in June 2005.

Carnival is essentially a cashless system.  Purchases except for the casino and bingo cards are done via an account you set up when you board.

You have 2 options to fund this account.  Give them a credit card or open a cash account.  If you give them a credit card, you have no more accounting issues the rest of the trip.  However, you can really overspend!  If you open a cash account, you have to add more cash when you meet your deposit amount.

Costs....

Tips for Carnival employess:  $10/per guest/per day.  This is charged to your account the moment you step on board.  So, if you are using a cash account, you will need to deposit a $100 to cover 2 guests.  You won't be able to charge other items unless you add more money to your account.

Bar drinks - $4-$12 each.

Soda - by the can for $1.75 each or a Soda Fountain card.  About $6.00 per day for adults.  Unlimited soda by the glass.

Photos - $18-21 per sheet.

Spa - $40-200 per service.

Shore Excursions - $50-200 per person.  Plus tips for the tour guides.  $10-20.  Plus cash to eat/drink/shop while in port.

Taxis and tips while on shore - take a good supply of $1, 5 and 10 in US dollars.

Shop in the open air market in Progresso!  You can negotiate some great deals!

I use a credit card and get sticker shock at the end of the cruise.  My sister uses cash and she only spends what she had budgeted.

Have a good time.

Answer 2

enough to tip the staff  of the boat

its been a few years sinse i went

the cruise line gave us a letter explaining how much to tip each person

a 4 day cruise cost me $375 in tips!!

ask your travel agent for these guidelines

the rest will be spent on drinks,gambling and gifts

everything else is usually included

Answer 3

Whew, hard question to answer. Depending on how big of rollers you are. Drinks will be about the same as in the US. I was in Puerto Vallarata on the west coast and massages started at $ 70. Just depends on if your high class people take some extra money is all I can say.

Answer 4

every d**n cent

Answer 5

I recently went on a Carnival Cruise and they issued me a card that I charged everything on, Spa, drinks the whole nine yards.  In the end the charges are applied to the credit card of your choice.  For the two days on land, $200.00 per person should do it.  I would use a credit card as often as possible on land too, much more convenient.

Answer 6

I've used a general rule that's worked out pretty good; what ever the cost of the cruise was, figure the other expenses will be the same (ie. if the cruise cost $450, figure on other expenses (what you buy on the cruise ship, shore excursions, tips, suveniors, etc.) figure on spending around $450)

Keep in mind, the things you buy while on the ship, drinks, suveniors, etc. are charged to your account on the ship through a credit card you give during registration or you pay upfront for a debit amount on your ship account. You do NOT pay for things on the ship with cash or a credit card. The cruise/ship card issued to you is used (in the case of Carnival, it's your Sail and Sign card that you use as your cabin door key (on newer ships, older ones have seperate key cards). The card is also used as your ship passenger ID for getting back onto the ship while in ports. When you get like a drink on the ship, you give them your ship card and the drink is added to your ship account. At the end of the cruise, what is on your account is either charged to your credit card that you told them to charge on or you can pay down, or pay the full amount, by giving the Pursors Desk cash.

The small amount of actually cash you will use on the ship will be used to tip people such as your waitress at your assigned dining or maybe the person who brings you room service. Keep in mind that you are NOT required to tip them as a gratuity amount is added to your ship account as a set amount per day (usually $10 per day).

At ports and on shore, you pay for everything just as you would anywhere else (ie., your ship card isn't a shore credit card).

Keep in mind this is a general rule and of course can be higher or lower depending on your spending style.

Also, as a general rule, it's better to pay for things with a credit card while on shore and not carry a large amount of cash because like everywhere, where there's tourist, there's pick pockets. (A trick to help is to wear a f***y pack and wrap the strap around your belt before clipping it so if someone tries to take it, it's harder to do a quick grab and run. And have your husband leave his wallet locked in the cabin safe - his Sears card, business cards, etc. aren't going to do you any good and just make you a bigger target - put a little cash and a few credit cards in his front pocket and you're good - also don't take your purse, your Sears card, makeup, kid's and mom and dads pictures aren't doing you any good and just make for an easier theft of it - don't take a chance of ruining your vacation making out a report with the local police)