budgeting onboard account

[CyndiLouWho]

I use a spreadsheet and list everything I might want to spend. And I mean everything. I start out w/ the initial cost of the cruise, insurance, transportation to cruise (usually DCL bus), tips, excursions, photo pkg, rainforest room, drinks, souvenirs, etc. I also list motels, meals, transportation before / after the cruise. I start on the budget as soon as I know I will be cruising. I also keep track of payments on the same spreadsheet. I try to pay off as much as soon as possible and the spreadsheet helps me keep up with it all. I also add the cost of excursions, souvenirs, etc to my On Board Account. Once on the ship, most everything is already paid for and I don't have to worry about it. Sometimes I have gone over a little, but usually not.

So how do you know how much those things will cost? I have no idea the costs of specialty coffee, drinks, souvenirs, etc. I’m struggling with this now for our upcoming cruise. The excursions are paid for, pre/post cruise taken care of. I know what gratuities are but past that, I can’t put $ to much. I figured a drink and a coffee daily for me, a beer for DH. Maybe ice cream or other treat for DS. Popcorn/bucket for movie. But I’m not sure how much those will be.

 

[mevelandry]

So how do you know how much those things will cost? I have no idea the costs of specialty coffee, drinks, souvenirs, etc. I’m struggling with this now for our upcoming cruise. The excursions are paid for, pre/post cruise taken care of. I know what gratuities are but past that, I can’t put $ to much. I figured a drink and a coffee daily for me, a beer for DH. Maybe ice cream or other treat for DS. Popcorn/bucket for movie. But I’m not sure how much those will be.

You can ask people who recently went on a cruise to show you pictures of menus or to send you links with the info. Those are usually pretty spot on.

 

[CyndiLouWho]

You can ask people who recently went on a cruise to show you pictures of menus or to send you links with the info. Those are usually pretty spot on.

I tried that and not one person responded to my thread. And since the first Alaska cruise of the season gets off as we get on, I guess I’ll wing it.

 

[tvguy]

The prices for everything you mention are readily available so you can add up all those items right now to get an idea what your cost will be, and determine if you are comfortable with it.

For us, a lot of what you are talking about are things we don't do just because we thing there are too expensive. Or we have free alternatives. Our kids were perfectly happy with the free beverages, so no need to money for smoothies. We took the free french fries from the quick service food places on deck in place of paying for popcorn (and this was a common thing on our cruise).
Remy/Palo not on our list because we love the MDR experience so much. We did excursions in every port, but that cost was known in advance. So we really didn't have a budget. Only expense we didn't plan for was to have our son's tie dry cleaned after he spilled food on it, and as I recall that cost less than $10.

 

[mevelandry]

I tried that and not one person responded to my thread. And since the first Alaska cruise of the season gets off as we get on, I guess I’ll wing it.

I'd bump the thread again... Or try Google and/or a FB group if you are on FB. I have found those prices before. I'm sure the up to date info can be found somewhere.

 

[lilsonicfan]

So how do you know how much those things will cost? I have no idea the costs of specialty coffee, drinks, souvenirs, etc. I’m struggling with this now for our upcoming cruise. The excursions are paid for, pre/post cruise taken care of. I know what gratuities are but past that, I can’t put $ to much. I figured a drink and a coffee daily for me, a beer for DH. Maybe ice cream or other treat for DS. Popcorn/bucket for movie. But I’m not sure how much those will be.

The DCL Blog site has tons of menus including drink menus that should give you some idea.

Not sure about ice cream/treats since on the Wonder I don't think there's a separate for-a-price ice cream shop like on the Fantasy/Dream.

Popcorn bucket costs something like $7-12, and refills are I believe $1.75 or so.

 

[CyndiLouWho]

The DCL Blog site has tons of menus including drink menus that should give you some idea.

Not sure about ice cream/treats since on the Wonder I don't think there's a separate for-a-price ice cream shop like on the Fantasy/Dream.

Popcorn bucket costs something like $7-12, and refills are I believe $1.75 or so.

Thanks for that. I had looked at all the dinner menus (only only noted drink prices on 1 or 2) but never scrolled all the way down to see drinks.

 

[Lisa F]

Thanks for all of the thoughtful feedback! I'm going to answer a few specific things here and there without quoting because I am lazy

I keep a separate vacation savings account for my vacation expenses and I usually come back from a Disney vacation with about $500-600 in non-prepaid expenses but I have the money to cover it (and yes, I budget well enough during the year that if it was 2-3 times that it's not like I'll go without food or carry a balance for the rest of my life, I just don't LIKE that!)... usually I have enough left in my vacation account to cover some part of the next vacation.

Things I can't really prepay are the before flight park-sleep-fly hotel, food before and after (not at Disney), additional transportation costs like uber or rental car etc. I also use gift cards but always shoot $200-300 lower than I think I will use because there have been times I have not felt like eating in TS as much as I had booked and I do not want to be stuck with gift cards after (even though I know I will use them SOMEDAY) so I usually run out of gift cards 2nd to last day or something and start charging things to my card.

I think part of my worry about the cruise is exactly what people have identified - the "bucket list" feeling that you will never do this again. Chances are pretty good I really won't though. I took 5 cruises prior to 2005 with my ex husband and I think we pretty much overspent on all of them, but we were DINKs so it wasn't a big deal to pay the bill afterwards, it was just the sticker shock. That wast he days when cruises were much more reasonable, we did an Eastern Cruise and a Western cruise and then were "done" but then after 9/11 there were incredible deals, I think $799 for 2 in a cat 11 room for a 7 night the following january/february with a certificate for a $99 per person 3 night cruise the following fall so that was cruise 3 and 4 and then we did the return after the first panama canal cruise in 2005. That was the last time I sailed until 2018.

Since being a single mother to a special needs kid, money has been a lot tighter than those days. Someone asked if I budget the rest of the year why don't I really want to on vacation and the answer to that is for a week I like to spend like I want to and not worry about it. It took me a long time to be able to afford to take my son on vacation and I took some extra time to save up enough to vacation the way I like to. I own DVC from back in the day so that helps but I wanted to do all of the TS I wanted to do, the character meals he wanted to do, extras like dessert parties etc... and it was awesome to just be able to do it all (and not worry about the money). I work crazy hard most of the year so it's nice to reward myself with a week of "anything goes." I'm not a gambler and I don't care for bingo so I'm not going to spend money that way (I went to vegas and did $5 in the slots before being bored, lol). I like a nice cocktail or glass of wine but can't see myself racking up major bills in that (mostly because it bloats and inflames me and I gain too much weight!)

Taking the kiddo on a SWDAS cruise was a total bucket list item for me and I had it booked in 2018 but then my parents wanted to join us but do a shorter cruise so we ended up doing a 4 night Dream instead with them and I rebooked onboard hoping I'd be able to swing the expensive cruise 2 years later and that goal is well within reach now. But I don't really anticipate being a frequent DCL cruiser in spite of the number of cruises I've taken, it is just too expensive for me to do on a regular basis.

I just don't want to be worrying about it on vacation. I keep a few layers of savings - I keep a vacation savings account, in addition to a large surplus in my regular checking account and my regular savings so it's not like I imagine running up some kind of a tab that I won't be able to pay for, I just don't WANT to have much if anything that is not completely prepaid. It's not about restraint in spending, it's about planning for it (though I do restrain the kid as a lesson).

I am about 60% paid off on my cruise since my end of January trip to WDW and after my next work bonus in the next month, I will be 80% paid off for a PIF date of end of October, so I'm in fine shape for paying for things. I have $400 in southwest gift cards for the flights so I can probably hit whatever savings goal for onboard expenses I set without too much worry. I just want to get pretty close and not worry about it while onboard like I do with my WDW trips, where my handle on the budget is much better. I'm sure there will be a few extra merchandise purchases with the star wars stuff.

I do say "no" to my kid a lot throughout the year to the "I wants" so I like to treat him to extras on vacation like popcorn (which he has every night here, it's kind of a routine and the refillable buckets are a godsend!)... so if a refill is $2 I'm not going to make him eat french fries instead to save $15 over the course of the cruise. I'm just going to budget for the popcorn. We do go out to eat every so often here but I always make him drink water unless a beverage is included (it's often not because I live in a place with no chains... even chips are not included at the mexican restaurant)... on vacation I'd like to say "yes" to the smoothie if he wants it. So if I spend another $100 in smoothies and premium ice cream treats I'm fine with it. I just want to plan for it and not have it snowball to a horrifying total at the end of the trip

 

[cadien]

The DCL Blog site has tons of menus including drink menus that should give you some idea.

That's where I got all of my prices too. And then I pinned them for planning purposes. I think I just did a Google image search on Frozone Treats to get smoothie prices. The coffee prices were probably on DCL Blog as well. I have gotten a coffee card each time.

 

[cadien]

FWIW, very little of our overspending on our first trip was on our son. It was mostly underestimating the spa villa cost (it was per person rather than per couple) and me buying a ridiculous number of pins, including extras to trade with later. We did get him a Pirate Night makeover at BBB. That was about $45. They have special Star Wars Day costuming at BBB too but the makeup effects are so minimal and there's not the fancy hairstyling for boys, so it's an easy skip.

Our first cruise included Marvel Day at Sea and although there was a ton of merchandise, there wasn't anything that's not also on Amazon for much less. I just took photos of what he wanted and then we ordered one item after we got home. Nothing to pack that way. We did get the more extensive of the two Marvel room decoration packages too, but don't regret that.

We did buy him the smoothie special at dinner pretty much every night and those were more expensive than the ones you get on the pool deck. They usually had some sort of light up plastic accessory. Maybe $11 instead of $6?

 

[sunmoon620]

I have done my budgeting the same way for many years. I create a spreadsheet and I allocate a certain amount to everything that I intend to spend. I have found that if I give the kids there own allowance for the trip they are much more frugal in how they spend their money. They use their KTTW cards and bring me receipts, I keep a rough tally of what they have left. I budget an allocation for alcohol and then I budget 100 per day for extras. I add items like tips, excursions, a souvenier budget for myself and a popcorn movie snack budget for my husband lol! I guesstimate all of these items, in 13 cruises I have gotten better at this quesstimation lol! I used to just put all this money in my on board account ahead of time. Now I am collecting airline points, so I add my credit card to the account and pay the card back from my trip budget when we get home. I usually come pretty close. Don't forget to budget for things that are not on you ship board account, like shopping eating etc at the ports of call etc. I also always make sure the husband is toting a couple of hundred in small bills for extras and timing (porters at the terminal etc). It works for us! I hope this helps in some way!

 

[brentm77]

This is more to have a discussion than it is really for advice, since I do understand the concept of figuring out what you think you might spend, adding it up and budgeting.

But I was wondering in general how people budget for their onboard spending, and how well you do to sticking to that when you get on board.

Last time I cruised I cruised with my parents and there was no budget, lol, so I didn't really pay attention to anything. They paid for onboard expenses while we paid for the rest of our cruise/transport/trip and were insistent I not think about it, so I didn't! it was only a 4 day cruise and we didn't do any specialty dining, I had the rainforest in advance, Meme bought all of the souveniers and we had a drink or two with dinner every night.

I would like to be able to have a drink when I want it (but traveling as a single mom, I am not planning to walk around the cruise in a drunken stupor either), I would like to do Remy brunch and palo either brunch or dinner and a couple of tastings, I plan to do the rainforest room but I will be buying individual days ahead of time so that will be paid for. I will do port excursions but may not necessarily do them through Disney. I will more than likely say "yes" to popcorn refills and smoothies and premium ice cream treats - I am thinking of making a "coupon book" for this stuff for the kiddo because it will help him with the concept of budgeting as well... one premium sundae for the trip and a bucket of popcorn and a smoothie a day if he wants it. And then of course souvenirs... when we go to WDW I usually give him a budget of $100 that he has to earn before the trip that he can spend on anything (it really quiets down the constant "I wants" when I tell him he can have it if he spends HIS money on it) and then I will buy him one or two nice things for the trip out of my budget (last time we were there at festival of the arts and he got a wall hanging of his name written out graphically like star wars characters... we look for something special like that for his "big" souvenir).

Do people find that they budget and then end up spending wildly above it because it's a cruise and it's vacation? I hate to feel constrained on vacation (I budget pretty tightly the rest of the year) but I also do not have endless funds for a ridiculous onboard bill. How do people balance the two? I have gotten pretty good at budgeting for my WDW vacations so I don't feel deprived but don't have any nasty surprises at the end of the trip either. Cruising is a bit different as I feel like there is a lot more free time for impulse spending vs. at the parks where once I budget for food and souvenirs there's not a lot of extra stuff I end up spending anything on.

One thing the helped me keep our family in a reasonable range was checking the app. It keeps on ongoing tally of what you have spent so there is no shock at the end of the cruise. When you see it adding up, it is easier to say no to things you don't really want as much as you think you do in the moment. But we still splurge much more than when at home. We don't drink and our kids have to buy their own suivineers, so it isn't a huge issue for us. But we do love popcorn, non-alcoholic drinks when out in the sun, and a few other extras.

 

[brentm77]

I work crazy hard most of the year so it's nice to reward myself with a week of "anything goes."

Amen. My wife and I live very within our means during the non-vacation time. We don't go crazy on vacation, but to me much of the enjoyment is splurging on things I normally would not splurge on. When we were first married and taking trips to Disneyland, I really hated the feeling of budgeting so tightly that getting an extra churro would be too much, or even being hungry on parts of the vacation because buying more food would be too expensive. I love the feeling now that I can get what I want within reason. It makes vacation so much fun for me! I get that others enjoy the pinching pennies thing, but it doesn't bring me any enjoyment. So yes, YOLO for me when on vacation.

 

[lilsonicfan]

Given what you've posted, Lisa, what I might suggest is allocating some funds to your son to make his own choices about things like souvenirs (which can really add up if one spends too much time in the shops). Then it isn't so much a "no" as "do you have the budget for that?" I totally get the feeling of not wanting to budget on a vacation, after all it's your time to relax and to let go when throughout the rest of the year you can't. I am less frugal on vacation than in real life, but I also try to remember that there are many things that my kids will ask for that I know they can absolutely do without and still have a great time. My middle son would eat all the candy in the world if he could, but I don't buy candy at the theatre (I don't on land either) ... I'll either pack some, or offer other options. I try to remember that disney is excellent at separating me from my money and I try to spend for things that have value to me. Bingo is a great example. It seems so reasonable, only $40-80 to play, sure! But then you don't win, and you go to the next one, and the next one, and when you look back, was it really that enjoyable for the price? (for me: no!)

 

[brentm77]

Given what you've posted, Lisa, what I might suggest is allocating some funds to your son to make his own choices about things like souvenirs (which can really add up if one spends too much time in the shops). Then it isn't so much a "no" as "do you have the budget for that?" I totally get the feeling of not wanting to budget on a vacation, after all it's your time to relax and to let go when throughout the rest of the year you can't. I am less frugal on vacation than in real life, but I also try to remember that there are many things that my kids will ask for that I know they can absolutely do without and still have a great time. My middle son would eat all the candy in the world if he could, but I don't buy candy at the theatre (I don't on land either) ... I'll either pack some, or offer other options. I try to remember that disney is excellent at separating me from my money and I try to spend for things that have value to me. Bingo is a great example. It seems so reasonable, only $40-80 to play, sure! But then you don't win, and you go to the next one, and the next one, and when you look back, was it really that enjoyable for the price? (for me: no!)

I am curious what others enjoy about bingo. Are these individuals who love gambling? We tried it the last cruise and couldn't figure out why people do it. Even if you win, the prizes seemed to be split several ways and some were not even what we paid to play. Others might have made a small profit, but that would quickly be used up if you played multiple sessions and didn't win them all. So financially, you can't justify the odds of winning versus cost. That leaves the entertainment value, which seemed lacking. The jokes weren't fun, the game itself wasn't fun. I don't love gambling in real life, so it could just be a personality difference. I am mostly risk averse. I could use that $80 we spent for so many things I would enjoy more. But I would love to hear what people enjoy about it, and whether it is just a gambling/thrill thing. No judgment here. Just genuine curiosity.

 

[Travel60]

We don't really budget but we are both money aware just as we are when not on cruise. We don't mind spending $$$ for something of value but don't need another t-shirt unless it's really special, don't need Disney jewelry or purses or luggage. As for food, we usually have one evening at Palo and maybe a glass of wine a few nights. Never buy popcorn (too close to dinner), ice cream (free on deck) or special coffee (don't do this at home either). We usually do excursions (always DCL) but that's a known price. Tips are known ..we add to the recommended. I never understood the prepaying thing...I keep my money as long as possible, pay with credit card that I get 4% back on. Pay the card off in full when due.

 

[lilmc]

We’re a T-shirt family because things need to get used for me to spend my money on it and we all wear T-shirts (also why I buy the photo package). I don’t need trinkets cluttering up the house that need to be dusted and no one needs more plushies!!

 

[disneyfunfamily4]

We know what we’re going to spend. Specialty coffee in the morning. Drink of the day in the afternoon. Maybe a drink after dinner. I like to shop so I may come home with a new Dooney, we usually get a few Tervis’ and T-shirt’s etc. we do a meal at Palo. And we always book another place holder on board. So probably at least $1000 give or take and more if we are going to do for shore excursions!

 

[lilsonicfan]

I am curious what others enjoy about bingo. Are these individuals who love gambling? We tried it the last cruise and couldn't figure out why people do it. Even if you win, the prizes seemed to be split several ways and some were not even what we paid to play. Others might have made a small profit, but that would quickly be used up if you played multiple sessions and didn't win them all. So financially, you can't justify the odds of winning versus cost. That leaves the entertainment value, which seemed lacking. The jokes weren't fun, the game itself wasn't fun. I don't love gambling in real life, so it could just be a personality difference. I am mostly risk averse. I could use that $80 we spent for so many things I would enjoy more. But I would love to hear what people enjoy about it, and whether it is just a gambling/thrill thing. No judgment here. Just genuine curiosity.

To be honest bingo wasn’t a massive hit for me, glad to have tried it but felt like a waste of money. That said, my kids were completely enthralled and it was super fun for them as well as a good lesson in why gambling isn’t a good idea. I’m not much of a gambler by nature. I think bingo on DCL is just a good clean sort of gambling that lets people feel like they really could win. Those same people might not buy into a casino on board, but they’ll shell out hundreds to hear shake it up Betty yelled over and over. And let’s not forget B-11...