How much extra money is needed on a cruise?

First of all, to get the best price you need to plan to book your cruise very early, like 9 to 12 months before you plan to go. The cruise liens give early booking discounts. You should also go to Carnival's web site: http://www.carnivalcruiselines.com/

and click on the tab on the top right side of the page that say "SPECIALS". Take a look at what's available and that will give you a idea of the basic cost of a cruise.

The prices shown will always be the price for an inside cabin and the prices for outside cabins, balcony cabins and suites scale up from that. Also, the prices shown are per person based on two people going in that cabin.

So if you decide to pick a cruise and cabin that is $800 a person, that's your basic cost. Then taxes and fees are added and one of those fees now is a $5.00 per day per person fuel supplement charge (all cruise lines now charge this since oil prices went up). So add another $70 to your total cost. So lets take an estimate of $950. per person and you are on the ship.

The price of your cruise includes your cabin, all meals (except the specialty restaurants), all shows and entertainment, and free use of all facilities on ship except the spa services. There are some other things that you will have to pay for but the only one that is mandatory is the gratuities. When you board the ship the cruise line will set up an on-board charge account to cover any and everything that you buy on ship. That includes the gratuities, tours, drinks, photos and souvenirs you buy, etc. But you can pay for all of this at the end of your cruise on a credit card or by cash. So you don't necessarily need cash for these but you do need to include them in your budget. SO instead of giving you a figure for an estimate, I'll give you a list of things to consider as follows:

GRATUITIES: They will amount to about $10 per person in your cabin per day; about $70 each for a 7 day cruise. 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 and soft drink order. You can save a couple dollars per drink of you oder it in a plain glass rather than the fancy souvenir glasses they generally serve them in.

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. These 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 or wait until you are on ship. If you wait until you are on ship to book tours they will be charged to your on board account (then you can pay by credit card or cash to settle your account on the last day). Once you book your cruise the cruise line will send you a booklet listing all of the tours. If you are going to the Caribbean, most places you can get a tour or taxi on the pier for a much lower price than on the ship. Remember, you do not HAVE to do any tours, you can just get off the ship and browse the port town or take a taxi or van to the beach; or even book tours on the pier.

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 (like steak or Italian) 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 of the FREE FOOD that will be available.

SPA services: 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.

INTERNET: 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). Skip the ship's internet service and just look for an internet cafe in your port stops. You can usually get internet service in the ports for $5 to $7 an hour.

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

When we cruise we always take a loom at the tours and book them in advance and either pay for them in advance or have them added to our on-board account. We generally purchase the boarding photo and no others and maybe one or two small souvenirs. We may have a couple drinks per day and even go to the casino some. But as for cash, we generally only take about $200 each. And our on-board tab at the end of the cruise is generally under $200 each, and that's including the gratuities.

So add to that $950 per person that I gave you above another $400 each to cover ALL of the rest of your expenses.

This is going to depend on how long your cruise is, how much you intend to drink while on the cruise, and what your shopping or spending habits are. Unless you've paid your gratuities (tips) up front, when you booked your cruise (Royal Caribbean allows you to do this), you will want to make an allowance for gratuities, port taxes, drinks, souvenirs, spa treatments, and excursions. As a general rule, I recommend $200 to $500 above the initial cost of the cruise, depending on your spending habits. This should cover the gratuities and taxes, and give you some spending money to play with. Always best to over-estimate the cost and return home with some $$ left over, than to under-estimate, and spread yourself too thin. Avoid using ATMS while on the cruise, if you possibly can. If you do need to use an ATM on the ship, be prepared to pay some very hefty surcharges.

Well, depends a bit, but here's my estimate:

Drinks: average $6 each x 2 people x 4.5 drinks x 7 days = $378

Gratuities: $10 per person per day x 7 days x 2 people = $140

(And don't worry about bringing cash for lots of little tips. Apart from if you want to tip room service a buck or two, gratuities are charged to your onboard account.)

Excursions: Depends on which ones. Some are $100+, some are $40. Let's assume on average $75.

$75 x 2 people x 3 days = $450

Total: $968 (Though opting for fewer or cheaper excursions would lower that by a lot. And it assumes you don't gamble, shop or spend money at the spa.)

You can read up on cruise costs here:

http://www.cruisesavvy.com/savvyguide/introduction...

And not sure if this is your first cruise, but you might want to peruse the Savvy Guide to Cruising. It has lots of information about what cruises are really like, how to get the best price, etc.:

http://www.cruisesavvy.com/savvyguide

Hope that helps!

i took 400 cash for my cruise (went in july) and i spent every penny, my mom wired me and extra 200 to the bahamas when i called her. that paid for all the excursions, shopping, food off the ship, extra things on the ship, taxi cabs, jetskis, clothes, dramamine, drinks on the beach, and anything extra. trust me you'll end up doing a lot more than you plan on doing so extra money is nice. i would say 500 if you are frugal.

have fun!!

Alot! Don't forget to bring alot of $1s and $5s for tips.