Cruises - how much for extras?
Discussion
In her infinite wisdom, the SiL has booked a 2 week cruise in the Med next summer, despite never having any money and struggling with debt 
She has a "plan" to pay for the balance, which I assume includes a credit card, but my pessimistic self is not convinced she's factored in any other costs outside the basic price, and thinks that because it's all inclusive she won't need to spend anything else. (she's already underestimated the cost of kennels/alternative care for her dog while she's away).
Mrs ZS has already been roped into taxi duties to drop them off and collect them from the airport, but I'm concerned she thinks the "all-inclusive" element means everything will be free. Obviously the cost of extras will vary wildly depending on what you want to do, then you've got the stop-offs at various ports and all the costs of spending money while off the ship, but was hoping for some rough ballpark figures, at least for a few different activities, etc, so I can try and forewarn her and encourage her to be more prepared.
The alternative is we get a message halfway through her holiday saying she's run out of money and can we lend her some, which is what I'd obviously like to avoid.
TIA
She has a "plan" to pay for the balance, which I assume includes a credit card, but my pessimistic self is not convinced she's factored in any other costs outside the basic price, and thinks that because it's all inclusive she won't need to spend anything else. (she's already underestimated the cost of kennels/alternative care for her dog while she's away).
Mrs ZS has already been roped into taxi duties to drop them off and collect them from the airport, but I'm concerned she thinks the "all-inclusive" element means everything will be free. Obviously the cost of extras will vary wildly depending on what you want to do, then you've got the stop-offs at various ports and all the costs of spending money while off the ship, but was hoping for some rough ballpark figures, at least for a few different activities, etc, so I can try and forewarn her and encourage her to be more prepared.
The alternative is we get a message halfway through her holiday saying she's run out of money and can we lend her some, which is what I'd obviously like to avoid.
TIA
Only been on a cruise once so limited knowledge.
Anything you do from the port you pay for yourself. However they may provide shuttles from the port into the city / town centre.
There will be plenty of opportunities to spend more money on board although a lot is included. Some of the on-board restaurants will charge extra on top of the all inclusive aspect. Alcoholic drinks may need paying for. There will probably be a casino of some sort to fritter away some money.
Anything you do from the port you pay for yourself. However they may provide shuttles from the port into the city / town centre.
There will be plenty of opportunities to spend more money on board although a lot is included. Some of the on-board restaurants will charge extra on top of the all inclusive aspect. Alcoholic drinks may need paying for. There will probably be a casino of some sort to fritter away some money.
If you stay on board and you have a drinks package, you should be able to do it without spending anything else, apart from gratuities which some cruise lines charge per day (we just paid $20pppd on NCL).
Anything off the ship will be extra including even some of the shuttles from port to town ($20pp on NCL in a couple of ports). Of course in some ports you can walk and spend nothing more. Med cruise will likely include “Rome” and “Florence” both of which are >1 hr coach from the (container) port.
ETA typical tour arranged by cruise line circa $100 per head.
Anything off the ship will be extra including even some of the shuttles from port to town ($20pp on NCL in a couple of ports). Of course in some ports you can walk and spend nothing more. Med cruise will likely include “Rome” and “Florence” both of which are >1 hr coach from the (container) port.
ETA typical tour arranged by cruise line circa $100 per head.
Edited by miniman on Wednesday 28th August 17:32
very true 
As others have said, depends on the cruise line. I know there are some all inclusive cruises that include some alcoholic drinks as part of the deal, but every cruise I have been on no alcoholic drinks have been included.
I recently did a weeks Mediterranean cruise with MSC and I think it would have been possible to not spend another penny but it would not have been a pleasant experience.
The only drinks you can get for free are in the buffet and I think it may just have been water, tea/coffee and fruit juice with breakfast. The shows in the evenings are free, but you wouldn't be able to get any drinks from the bars, not even a soft drink.
You can get off the boat and go ashore for free, but obviously every excursion costs money. All you would be able to do is walk around the town near the port. We did an excursion which involved a coach and boat trips and it was 70 Euros each.
On the MSC cruise a cocktail was 9 Euros (the strength of which depended on who was pouring it) and a Vodka was also 9 Euros, but bear in mind what they call a shot is actually a double. All bottled water and canned soft drinks are extra. Also there is a service charge associated with every drink you buy unless you have a drinks package.
They try to make it as difficult as possible to do a cruise without a drinks package as this is where they make their money. It is also MUCH cheaper to but the package in advance and personally I always think the premium over standard package is a waste of money.
You are looking at around £30 a day for a drinks package if you buy it when you book the cruise. At 9 Euros a drink and having to pay for bottled water and canned soft drinks it doesn't take long to spend £30 a day.
As someone else said above, Rome is an hour away from the port. We didn't bother getting off the boat that day as we had both been before and didn't fancy the journey. Some ports run shuttle buses, some ports the town is walkable from the port.
I recently did a weeks Mediterranean cruise with MSC and I think it would have been possible to not spend another penny but it would not have been a pleasant experience.
The only drinks you can get for free are in the buffet and I think it may just have been water, tea/coffee and fruit juice with breakfast. The shows in the evenings are free, but you wouldn't be able to get any drinks from the bars, not even a soft drink.
You can get off the boat and go ashore for free, but obviously every excursion costs money. All you would be able to do is walk around the town near the port. We did an excursion which involved a coach and boat trips and it was 70 Euros each.
On the MSC cruise a cocktail was 9 Euros (the strength of which depended on who was pouring it) and a Vodka was also 9 Euros, but bear in mind what they call a shot is actually a double. All bottled water and canned soft drinks are extra. Also there is a service charge associated with every drink you buy unless you have a drinks package.
They try to make it as difficult as possible to do a cruise without a drinks package as this is where they make their money. It is also MUCH cheaper to but the package in advance and personally I always think the premium over standard package is a waste of money.
You are looking at around £30 a day for a drinks package if you buy it when you book the cruise. At 9 Euros a drink and having to pay for bottled water and canned soft drinks it doesn't take long to spend £30 a day.
As someone else said above, Rome is an hour away from the port. We didn't bother getting off the boat that day as we had both been before and didn't fancy the journey. Some ports run shuttle buses, some ports the town is walkable from the port.
Edited by ThingsBehindTheSun on Wednesday 28th August 19:54
I’ve been on a couple of cruises, P&O and Royal Caribbean
In my experience:
The food is all inclusive, apart from any speciality restaurants. Depends on the ship.
Drink isn’t all inc, apart from tea/coffee and water. Cost depends on the cruise line.
Activities on board - depends on the ship but think of it like a hotel - gym is free, swimming pool is free, shows are free. Funky stuff may have an extra cost.
All on-shore stuff like tours costs. They generally get you to dry land and from then on it’s your dollar.
Some ships add tips automatically on to your room bill. You can ask for these to be removed if you wish (we did)
In my experience:
The food is all inclusive, apart from any speciality restaurants. Depends on the ship.
Drink isn’t all inc, apart from tea/coffee and water. Cost depends on the cruise line.
Activities on board - depends on the ship but think of it like a hotel - gym is free, swimming pool is free, shows are free. Funky stuff may have an extra cost.
All on-shore stuff like tours costs. They generally get you to dry land and from then on it’s your dollar.
Some ships add tips automatically on to your room bill. You can ask for these to be removed if you wish (we did)
Need to know which ship and which package but as a rule of thumb the following is not *normally* included
Alcohol
Premium non alcoholic drinks
Special menu items / premium restaurants
Excursions
Some onboard activities
Tips on all the above
Some cruise lines offer more, some offer less.
Someone like Virgin for example will include everything other than alcohol and shore costs.
We happily go on a Virgin cruise and spend sub £100 on alcohol. But some people will want to spend £100 a DAY.
Alcohol
Premium non alcoholic drinks
Special menu items / premium restaurants
Excursions
Some onboard activities
Tips on all the above
Some cruise lines offer more, some offer less.
Someone like Virgin for example will include everything other than alcohol and shore costs.
We happily go on a Virgin cruise and spend sub £100 on alcohol. But some people will want to spend £100 a DAY.
Have been on a couple of Marella ones so can only speak of those - the clientele are an eclectic mix putting it mildly - from those aiming for, and largely getting, a more classic experience to the nose in the trough and quaffing slabs of lager as it all inc - if your sil wants to go to lovely locations and stay on the boat (an extraordinary amount of folk do which I still find mystifying) and quaff endless nosh and basic drinks then really there no need to spend much over and above....
You really do meet an interesting mix but all part of the experience and everyone's there to have a good time...
Ship generally stops off in port 6 days out of 7 - Excursions can be pricey (and of variable quality - you get what you pay for) - ad hoc runs ashore can obviously be as expensive or cheap as you like ...
All incl food is perfectly OK (some folk burger & chip & cafeteria it their whole holiday but you don't have to there nice'ish all inc restaurants as is the booze (every attempt will be made to upsell drinks package - a simple solution to that - witnessed many times - is to befriend someone with the better package). There's the odd "upgrade" restaurant - steak or curry - which I've never bothered with and haven't felt I've missed out.
Lots of entertainment is laid on - cheesy but holiday fun...
There's no necessity for interweb access in fact on holiday I largely avoid it...once close in to port phone service is generally restored and you only have to find a bar with free wifi....
Beware there's a casino onboard...
Last time out was the Caribbean and in a fortnight between the two of us - excursions and incidental expenses came to about two grand....
You really do meet an interesting mix but all part of the experience and everyone's there to have a good time...
Ship generally stops off in port 6 days out of 7 - Excursions can be pricey (and of variable quality - you get what you pay for) - ad hoc runs ashore can obviously be as expensive or cheap as you like ...
All incl food is perfectly OK (some folk burger & chip & cafeteria it their whole holiday but you don't have to there nice'ish all inc restaurants as is the booze (every attempt will be made to upsell drinks package - a simple solution to that - witnessed many times - is to befriend someone with the better package). There's the odd "upgrade" restaurant - steak or curry - which I've never bothered with and haven't felt I've missed out.
Lots of entertainment is laid on - cheesy but holiday fun...
There's no necessity for interweb access in fact on holiday I largely avoid it...once close in to port phone service is generally restored and you only have to find a bar with free wifi....
Beware there's a casino onboard...
Last time out was the Caribbean and in a fortnight between the two of us - excursions and incidental expenses came to about two grand....
just back from a 9 day Spainish cruise with Royal Caribbean.
Observations:
If you don't have a drinks package, the bill can run up quite easily.
The drinks package is not cheap - I think circa $80/day (you need to have 6 drinks a day, every day to break even)
Didn't bother with on board wifi - happy to have some digital detox and I don't need ot post all my movements on social media.
All good when at port, use the package from your provider.
Port - some of the places you can walk off the ship and be in town (Vigo)
Others require a shuttle / taxi (Bilbao)
We didn't do any ship organised tours, but did a walking tour in Lisbon and Cadiz. Both interesting nad you pay what you think it is worth (suggested is €20/per person).
All of the food choices on board were great. I topped the waiters on day 1 and they looked after us during hte duration of the trip. Most nights we ate at the same place. One night the head waiter asked if we had been to a speciality restaurant and offered us 50% off Jamies Italian. Considering I don't go to his place when on tera firma, I was not interested, but the wife had other ideas and we di go there - $59/ea was halved - admittedly, the food was good.
The BIG thing was the gratuity. BY DEFAULT it was $18/ per person, per day.
7 of us in total meant that it was over $1100 in additional cost. You have the option of NOT paying this, but you have to get it taken off from customer services. We did this and made sure that we tipped the cleaner and wiaters and bar staff that looked after us handsomely.
SO, your SiL could be correct and have a great time with no additional costs over what she has signed up for..... but I would guess as others have said, it is all dependent on the cruise operator.
Observations:
If you don't have a drinks package, the bill can run up quite easily.
The drinks package is not cheap - I think circa $80/day (you need to have 6 drinks a day, every day to break even)
Didn't bother with on board wifi - happy to have some digital detox and I don't need ot post all my movements on social media.
All good when at port, use the package from your provider.
Port - some of the places you can walk off the ship and be in town (Vigo)
Others require a shuttle / taxi (Bilbao)
We didn't do any ship organised tours, but did a walking tour in Lisbon and Cadiz. Both interesting nad you pay what you think it is worth (suggested is €20/per person).
All of the food choices on board were great. I topped the waiters on day 1 and they looked after us during hte duration of the trip. Most nights we ate at the same place. One night the head waiter asked if we had been to a speciality restaurant and offered us 50% off Jamies Italian. Considering I don't go to his place when on tera firma, I was not interested, but the wife had other ideas and we di go there - $59/ea was halved - admittedly, the food was good.
The BIG thing was the gratuity. BY DEFAULT it was $18/ per person, per day.
7 of us in total meant that it was over $1100 in additional cost. You have the option of NOT paying this, but you have to get it taken off from customer services. We did this and made sure that we tipped the cleaner and wiaters and bar staff that looked after us handsomely.
SO, your SiL could be correct and have a great time with no additional costs over what she has signed up for..... but I would guess as others have said, it is all dependent on the cruise operator.
Cupid-stunt said:
just back from a 9 day Spainish cruise with Royal Caribbean.
Observations:
If you don't have a drinks package, the bill can run up quite easily.
The drinks package is not cheap - I think circa $80/day (you need to have 6 drinks a day, every day to break even)
Didn't bother with on board wifi - happy to have some digital detox and I don't need ot post all my movements on social media.
All good when at port, use the package from your provider.
Port - some of the places you can walk off the ship and be in town (Vigo)
Others require a shuttle / taxi (Bilbao)
We didn't do any ship organised tours, but did a walking tour in Lisbon and Cadiz. Both interesting nad you pay what you think it is worth (suggested is €20/per person).
All of the food choices on board were great. I topped the waiters on day 1 and they looked after us during hte duration of the trip. Most nights we ate at the same place. One night the head waiter asked if we had been to a speciality restaurant and offered us 50% off Jamies Italian. Considering I don't go to his place when on tera firma, I was not interested, but the wife had other ideas and we di go there - $59/ea was halved - admittedly, the food was good.
The BIG thing was the gratuity. BY DEFAULT it was $18/ per person, per day.
7 of us in total meant that it was over $1100 in additional cost. You have the option of NOT paying this, but you have to get it taken off from customer services. We did this and made sure that we tipped the cleaner and wiaters and bar staff that looked after us handsomely.
SO, your SiL could be correct and have a great time with no additional costs over what she has signed up for..... but I would guess as others have said, it is all dependent on the cruise operator.
Jamies isn't bad, did you go to chops ? First time we paid for drinks but it was £40 pe person per day, the next time we didn't botherObservations:
If you don't have a drinks package, the bill can run up quite easily.
The drinks package is not cheap - I think circa $80/day (you need to have 6 drinks a day, every day to break even)
Didn't bother with on board wifi - happy to have some digital detox and I don't need ot post all my movements on social media.
All good when at port, use the package from your provider.
Port - some of the places you can walk off the ship and be in town (Vigo)
Others require a shuttle / taxi (Bilbao)
We didn't do any ship organised tours, but did a walking tour in Lisbon and Cadiz. Both interesting nad you pay what you think it is worth (suggested is €20/per person).
All of the food choices on board were great. I topped the waiters on day 1 and they looked after us during hte duration of the trip. Most nights we ate at the same place. One night the head waiter asked if we had been to a speciality restaurant and offered us 50% off Jamies Italian. Considering I don't go to his place when on tera firma, I was not interested, but the wife had other ideas and we di go there - $59/ea was halved - admittedly, the food was good.
The BIG thing was the gratuity. BY DEFAULT it was $18/ per person, per day.
7 of us in total meant that it was over $1100 in additional cost. You have the option of NOT paying this, but you have to get it taken off from customer services. We did this and made sure that we tipped the cleaner and wiaters and bar staff that looked after us handsomely.
SO, your SiL could be correct and have a great time with no additional costs over what she has signed up for..... but I would guess as others have said, it is all dependent on the cruise operator.
Did a P&O cruise a few years ago around the Greek islands and Turkey, As I recall we didn't pay for any excursions while at Port and never found it an issue where we visited, we were able to make our way into the port town and entertain ourselves.
The drinks package was a must in my opinion for making life simple onboard the ship.
The drinks package was a must in my opinion for making life simple onboard the ship.
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