How much do you budget for on board purchases, per adult, per day?

[cruiser21]

We always get the wine package, internet and Palo. That’s about 400.00 on a 7 night cruise. Throw in a couple hundred more for random drinks and misc. we don’t do excursions through dcl., but that would be an extra cost. I usually use my Disney visa rewards in the gift shop.

 

[Shanti]

I spend hundreds on Bingo on each cruise. I'm not a gambler in real life, just on the ships, so I guess that's okay. I also spend a little money on specialty dining and the Rainforest Room, but that's probably less than $100 per cruise. I don't drink & I usually travel 1:1 with my 13 year-old son, who can't join me at Palo or Remy.

I probably spend $50 - $200 on gift shop purchases per cruise. That mostly depends on how unique the cruise is, and therefore how unique the gift shop offerings are. On our Alaska cruise, I bought more items than I did on our Fantasy cruise.

Excursions can really cost $, depending on what you book, but I try to book them privately whenever I can, to avoid the Disney difference in pricing.

 

[Laughfreely]

Depending on what is included or not, it goes from 25 to 50$/per day for me on DCL.

Not including what I know I'm spending(Palo, rainforest, port adventures etc) I add $25-50 as a cushion. Hoping to not spend it all but don't want to be too shocked with the bill lol.

 

[cruiser21]

I always add onboard credit before the cruise. It seems less painful at the end. Most of money is spent on alcohol and I don't think were really big drinkers. The wine package runs around 30.00 per day. If we each have a couple of drinks during the day that's another 35-50. The drinks aren't cheap its seems to add up quickly.

 

[Cruising Engineer]

I have a budget of $1000.00 for a 7 night cruise (one Disney GC). Over the years the actual cost to the budget have gone down since I no longer do the spa and nails (do that normal maintenance before the cruise at a local spa, which is much cheaper). The excursions are a big part of the budget, but I know the costs when I pre-book. We bring our allotment of beer and wine on the ship and buy the dinner wine package. The only splurge would be a fine cognac once or twice during the cruise.

 

[Girl of the South]

I saw a Cognac on the drinks list for $45! Is there a way to track your spending on the DCL ship app???

 

[mevelandry]

Not including what I know I'm spending(Palo, rainforest, port adventures etc) I add $25-50 as a cushion. Hoping to not spend it all but don't want to be too shocked with the bill lol.

Same.

My spendings usually go on drinks, candy, popcorn, specialty coffee and tea. I buy On Board Credit and try to control my spendings in order to avoid a bad surprise at the end of the cruise.

 

[Pooh2]

On our first cruise (Alaska), we spent about $100 after our onboard credit.
Went to get a print out and had sticker shock, $1800 in expenses!
Ha! They gave us another passengers print out accidentally..

 

[cmph]

I'm not sure it would be that useful to me to think about it from a "per day" perspective, aside from beverages. I find it easier to add up the costs of the up-charge things I'm planning to do over the entire length of the cruise. I take that number, along with the tips for everyone, and add $25/day for extra drinks (coffee and alcohol). Then I have a number for the entire cruise, which I use to estimate how many gift cards to buy for the balance after OBB is applied. I guess my point is that if you come from a per day angle - and one day you go to Palo, the spa, and an alcohol tasting... then you're going to feel like you destroyed your budget! FWIW we spent waaay more on our first than our second, b/c we figured out which things we didn't care to spend the extra money on. Glad we tried things, but not worth the added cost.

 

[Cruising Engineer]

I saw a Cognac on the drinks list for $45! Is there a way to track your spending on the DCL ship app???

$45, that's a mid-range cognac. Remy Martin Louis XIII starts at $121 and goes up to $231. Haven't had that, YET, but someday !!!!!!

 

[aboveH20]

Last Disney cruise all I spent was $13.99 (I think) on cold medicine. We've gotten to the point that we spend so little that I hate filing out customs forms because I don't think they'd believe us. Don't drink alcohol, too cheap to pay for coffee and other snacks, just save my $ for the nect adventure. Like you said, it varies widely based on personal preference.

 

[Girl of the South]

Wow! $13.99 must be a record! So is $231 for Cognac!

So, no way to track spending on the App? I have pre-paid gratuities, sworn off Bingo, packed my own m&m's . . . so will shoot for $200. We'll see what happens. Way more of a 'point spread' than I thought!

 

[cmph]

Wow! $13.99 must be a record! So is $231 for Cognac!

So, no way to track spending on the App? I have pre-paid gratuities, sworn off Bingo, packed my own m&m's . . . so will shoot for $200. We'll see what happens. Way more of a 'point spread' than I thought!

You can see your charges on the app. It's exactly the same as the print-out you'd get from guest services. You don't get alerts when you purchase something or anything like that, if that's what you were hoping for? But you can see the breakdown of who has purchased what so far, with the totals.

 

[Girl of the South]

GREAT! That should be really helpful. My first time with the App and at the moment it doesn't do much . . . . THANKS!

 

[Yokelridesagain]

Wow! $13.99 must be a record! So is $231 for Cognac!

Nope. Louis XIII Rare Cask (available on Dream and Fantasy, I think) is roughly $1500/shot.

 

[southerngirl528]

My first time with the App and at the moment it doesn't do much .

Yeah, the app doesn't really do anything but a cute countdown widget until you are aboard and turn your phone on airplane mode. THEN, you'll have all sorts of cool access!

Nope. Louis XIII Rare Cask (available on Dream and Fantasy, I think) is roughly $1500/shot.

YOWZA!!! Mighty happy I don't care for cognac....

 

[Girl of the South]

Seems like the App COULD do a bit more pre-cruise? Not book excursions but . . . they could list the movies or put some weather up there or . . . I don't know. Certainly could be a tad more helpful, interesting ahead of time. Some history on the ports? When you are on the ship - do you have to log in? How does it know who I am? I won't be bringing my DCL password with me, should I?

 

[Cruising Engineer]

Nope. Louis XIII Rare Cask (available on Dream and Fantasy, I think) is roughly $1500/shot.

Oh yeah we saw that on last year's western Caribbean cruise. All I really want is the Baccarat crystal bottle !!!!!!

 

[southerngirl528]

Seems like the App COULD do a bit more pre-cruise? Not book excursions but . . . they could list the movies or put some weather up there or . . . I don't know. Certainly could be a tad more helpful, interesting ahead of time. Some history on the ports? When you are on the ship - do you have to log in? How does it know who I am? I won't be bringing my DCL password with me, should I?

Wow, it's been a couple of years since I've cruised, so I truly can't recall if I had to log-in every time. I have my MDE app set up as a "touch I.D." so I don't need a password, just my thumb!

 

[southerngirl528]

Hmmm. I never have to log in when I look at my DCL app almost daily to see my countdown (it's getting close now!), and I never have to sign in.......