How much spending money

[MAAR0629]

How much spending money do you bring? I'm sure it depends in the person, size of family etc but I'm not sure how much to bring since this would be our first cruise ever!

 

[kcashner]

There is no good way to answer your question without at least some more info. First, as you asking how much people spend or how much cash they bring (a lot of people tie their account to a credit or debit card and bring/spend almost nothing in cash while others prefer to spend cash). Or are you asking about a cruise budget over and above the ticket to get you onto the ship?

Things you can be spending money on:
Transportation from airport to port and back--$35 per person each way at PC, other prices at other ports, private alternatives available

Suggested tips--$12 per guest per night of cruise...so $84 per guest on a 7 night cruise. That's $168 for 2 of you

Beyond that, it gets totally subjective based on what you WANT to spend/do

Adult dining--$20 per person + tip
Photos-$0 to $400 (CD + prints)
Alcohol, specialty drinks, specialty coffees
Spa--$16 one day rainforest pass to $500 + tip or more for spa villa for 2
Excursions--$6 for float on Castaway to $400 for "dolphin trainer for a day"
Bingo--this one adds up fast
shopping--nuff said

This may sound crazy, but we've been on cruises where we spent basically nothing beyond tips and we've done it where we spent a LOT of money--it doesn't make that much difference in the cruise to us. Yes, there were excursions that I'm really glad we did. But spa? Yeah, it feels good, but then it is over and the big money is spent. And I can get it at home for half the cost.

 

[OKW Lover]

Big distinction between spending and actually using cash.

You'll need cash to tip the porters who take your bags at the curb when you arrive. Same thing on when you depart.

On board there isn't anything you actually pay cash for since its all charged to your account. However, if you're getting room service for something, its customary to tip even if there isn't a charge for it. We usually keep a few singles handy to tip the person delivering our afternoon cheese and crackers. If you get something that there is a charge for there will be a tip already on the slip you sign.

 

[kcashner]

If you use DCL transportation TO the port, there won't be porters involved. If you have onboard airline check in on the way home, again no porters. Regardless of transportation on the way home, if you choose to handle your own luggage, there is no need to use the porters. Families with kids and/or lots of luggage may find that statement crazy; for adults with one bag each it makes total sense. I'm not trying to "cheap out" on the tips, just to point out that each family may have a different way of making things happen.

And yes, a small tip to the guy who delivers room service is appropriate.

 

[DisSarahK]

We brought $100 in singles on our seven day cruise to Alaska and brought cash home with us. We used the cash to tip the porters, to tip the bus drivers who brought us to/from whale watching (we were the only family on the entire bus!), and to tip room service. We used our Key to the World Card (which was linked to a credit card) to pay for everything else on board the ship.

We tipped the room service guy $2 every time he came.

 

[Summerl30]

It depends on a lot, but we plan to pay most of our stuff by credit card and we aren't doing any tours as we are only on a short cruise and we are just taking one carryon each. We are staying in the airport and likely just eating mcdonald's or something similar before the cruise and snack foods otherwise. We only plan to shop on the ship or at castaway cay (can be settled up with credit card)

It depends on:
size of your family
how much luggage
length of cruise
how many times you plan to use room service
if you plan to tip on top of standard tips
if you plan to pay cash instead of prepaying tips
how many tours you are going on
how many cabs you plan to take
food before and after cruises
food on flights

 

[Aurora l]

I only bring cash for tips. I like a record of very thing I purchase.

 

[llqool]

You don't even need cash for room service tips -- you can just write it in on the slip that they have you sign when they deliver your food.

But be aware that you might need cash if you are going ashore. We are taking a couple of excursions in Mexico on our W. Caribbean next week. We need to pay in dollars, and there is no ATM on the ship. We were told that DCL only cashes one personal check for $100 per stateroom. So I will be getting $$ before we embark and putting it in the safe in our room.

 

[holula]

We take enough to cover anything we may want to do not on a DCL excursion (such as going to Atlantis on our own), any tips we may need to pay off the ship, and then double what we think we will spend for anything else we may find at a market/store etc.