How much should I plan on spending NCL Gem Cruise 7 day?

Question

My roomate and I are going to Florida and the Bahamas on the NCL Gem, were both 21 and plan to have a good time, excursions aside, how much should I plan to spend?

Answer 1

Figure the automatic 15% gratuity. They add something like $11 per guest per day to your on board account for that. You will also want to book shore excursions and buy a few things on board. I don't know about NCL, but Carnival and princess offer "buckets" of beer in the deck bars. You save some by doing that. Princess offers liquor bottles delivered to the staterooms. You can probably find all this out on NCL's website. It's a good idea to check at the purser's deck periodically to make sure you're not over spendeng.

Answer 2

About $200 per person should do it.  Here's why.

When you have paid for your cruise you will be entitled to your cabin, free use of all facilities and activities on ship (except spa services which have a fee), and all meals including breakfast, lunch dinner, and snacks, plus free room service. Included also will be coffee, tea, juices, milk, and any punch or lemonade they may have. You will have to pay for alcoholic beverages and soft drinks. A 15% gratuity is added to every drink order, so you don't pay them as a lump sum but per order.  

But the ship is basically cashless so there will be just a very few things that you need cash for.  Here's how it works.  When you first board the ship they will set up at check in a cruise account for everything that you buy on board the ship. And that includes drinks, photos, tours, and souvenirs.  So all of the alcoholic and soft drinks that you order will go on that tab. If you decide to eat at a specialty restaurant the gratuity fee for that goes on your tab also. If you want to go on any tours from the ship or buy any of the photos of you that they take you will pay for them via the tab. Then at the end of the cruise they will add the gratuity which will be $10 per person per day. So $70 for you and $70 for your room mate will be added to your tab. Then before you get off the ship they will charge this to whatever credit card you gave them at check in, OR you can make arrangements to pay cash for everything if that's what you want.

Your cruise will likely have two (2) at sea days with no port stops and a day at an NCL private island. So that's three (3) of the seven days when you will not spend any money, except maybe the casino.  So you will likely have 3 or 4 days when you might spend about $50 for souvenirs and maybe a drink or two on shore.  

So if you plan to pay your tab by credit card and not do a lot of shopping you will not need much cash.   Most places in the Bahamas and/or Caribbean you may want to buy a T-shirt, cap, or something small which may run you about $20 to $25.  If you plan to buy jewelry or more expensive things then use a credit card.  The ONLY reason you will need a lot of cash is if you plan to pay your full tab in cash at the end of the cruise.  Your room will have a safe to store cash if you decide to take a lot of cash.

I have cruised on the Gem and many other NCL and other cruise lines among my almost 20 cruises.  When we cruise we typically buy one or two photos, a few souvenirs, a couple drinks a day and with our gratuities added our tab is usually under $200 each. Then we take a couple hundred to spend on the trinkets and stuff that you see in port stops.

Answer 3

put money aside to tip your room steward, and the waiters at dinner, also you will be spending money on excursions, they vary according to each one you do, they can be costly, and it depends on how much you drink, have a greta time, i would approximate at $100.00 a day a person

Answer 4

You will pay for the tickets which will include all food, drinks (nonalcholic), and entertainment aboard ship. I took went with  NCL last year and the tips are $10.00 per person per day and will be on your account to be paid at the end of your cruise totaling $140.00. Excursions range from $45.00 and up and some are worth it others are not. Example I took on in Belize that drove us to a pool with a butterfly garden I would have much rather swam in the ocean for free. Then I took a snorkling one that was amazing and I was drunk before noon so be informed before you buy. There are plenty to adventures to get into just walking around though just to be in a complete other culture. Also on the hush hush you can pour brown liquior in apple juice bottles and white liquior in water bottles to come out cheaper on the drinks. Hope I was helpful.