Cruises & spending money

loisa

Hi, just wondered if there were any cruise experts out there willing to share a few tips.
My parents have recently booked a cruise (as a one-off treat) and were told that they should budget for $150 US per day for spending money, excursions etc. This sounds quite excessive and way above their planned budget ,is this normal?
Also what would be the best way to take the money? My parents are quite old fashioned in that they always like to pay with cash but given the above, this doesn't seem like a realistic option. They are worried that their Visa debit card won't work. I'm pretty sure that it will from personal experience and the company's literature confirms as much. I think a quick call to the bank beforehand would clear up any misunderstanding.
I think I would also take some euros or dollars as backup and keep the bank's number safe in the event of any problem. And, of course know the PIN!
My dad is reluctant to change money beforehand because he thinks he'll get a bad exchange rate but I think he in for a bigger shock when he finds out that charges are added on every time a card is used! It seems to be a no win situation as far as I can see.

richardw

Have they budgeted for tips?

doelani

hI loisa

There are a lot of things that come into it,

what ship are they going on ?
where is the cruise?
how long are they going for ?

A good site to look at is www.cruisecritic.co.uk . It has a forum and is full of useful tips and information.

I went on a cruise before and going on another in September and I really think you can spend as little or as much as you plan to depending on what you want to do.

shop-to-drop

Is the $150 per person or per couple? Doesn't sound excessive if per couple even per person not a lot if they are planning on doing many trips. You should take a look at all the info Martin has compiled on holiday currency and spending. Charges for cards vary a lot I believe. He recommends some.

FloFlo

If they don't want to charge their card for their shipboard account they may be allowed to load cash onto the shipboard account. Excursions are usually expensive and you won't need to book excursions for every port.

It really does depend on the cruiseline.

pelirocco

We went with RCI and this is what we found

They can set up an account with a credit card , but pay by cash at the end , tips can be prepaid . We booked and paid for our excursions online before we left .

This just then left drinks , meals at speciality restuarants ( with bottle of wine these cost about $120 ) then any spending money for trips and any icidental tips , ie everytime you get a drink you are expected to tip $1.There are also opportunites to spend money on shipboard carp and of course the gambling .........we didnt spend a lot tbh , but then we didnt really enter into the spirit of all things cruising

Fenella

On a cruise you pay for drinks, excursions, hairdressing, spa treatments and any laundry or dry cleaning you want doing. Some cruise lines charge for a shuttle bus into the town. You are expected to give tips to your cabin steward and the waiters. On some cruise lines a service charge is added to drinks.
You have to register a credit card at the beginning of your cruise but usually can settle your bill with cash at the end of the cruise.
Some ships have speciality restaurants which make an extra charge if you eat there and some have coffe shops where you have to pay for coffee.
A few cruise lines (the top end and Saga) may include all drinks and specify no tipping. Some even include excursions in the ports of call and some have free shuttle buses.
You can find out from the cruise company website exactly what is included.
The answers to any other questions you have can usually be found on the cruisecritic.co.uk website as mentioned by another poster above.