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5 Hidden Expenses on Cruising

Cruising is a great vacation for family on a budget. The cruise cost includes almost everything from food, accommodation and transportation (to different port but not to the port of call). But there are certain expenses that are not part of the cruise fee. So today I want to share 5 Expenses that you might not have thought or aware of when planning a cruise vacation and ways to keep the lid on those expenses so you won’t have to come home with a huge bill waiting after the fun vacation.

1. Watch Out those Fancy Drinks

We don’t drink period. My husband has some scare about his liver enzyme a few years ago so we practically cut out all alcohol beverage from our house. So it does help us cut down dramatically on the spending in this category. Some cruise line will provide free soda drink (like Disney) but some cruise line will only provide water and ice tea. So if you can’t live without soda, you can bring your own in your suitcase.

As for wine and other beverage, I’m not quite sure since I didn’t even bother to check. But I believe you can bring one bottle per person. Check with your cruise line on their rule. Check on cruise boards like Cruise Critic or Cruise Mates on more tips to cut down on beverage cost.

2. Portrait Picture? What pictures?

Family portrait on the cruise is a big business and a money maker for cruise line. You can end up spending a fortune if you blindly pick every single pictures ever taken on the ship. If you think you absolutely must have those portraits, check out a package and see if you can get discount. I have seen the light and aren’t too crazy about those pictures so we came out pretty good at the end with a couple pictures of our whole family. That’s pretty much what we got.

3. The Shopping Spree

In each port of call, you will most likely have a flyer in your room the night before about the great discount if you shop at certain approved store. I rarely look at those. I LOVE to shop. Who doesn’t. But I also love to explore and spend my money on something else that I couldn’t have when we are back home. Buying a watch or jewelry isn’t high on my list.

But if it’s what you are looking for, then shop smart and watch out for your budget. This one is a big one that can blow a big hole in your wallet if you are not careful. I don’t have much self-controlled myself when it comes to shopping. So I set a limit on 1 souvenir per person per port. At least they will get to pick something from each place that we visit. For the kids, I told them $10 maximum and Miss J has learned that rule by heart. It’s all about training them young.

4. Tips

Alright, yes maybe they did tell you about tips. But most people forget or didn’t think about adding it up until the last day. The cruise line is pretty good at providing the information of suggested tip per person per night. The tip ranges from $10-$15 per person per day. I have also heard that some cruise lines have moved to add service charges instead of tipping. So make sure to check your cruise cost before shelling out those cash at the end of your trip.

5. Expense on Port of Call Day

The port of call day is pretty much a free style day. You can do whatever you want. Majority of passengers choose to disembark and enjoy sightseeing or exploring the city for a day.

If you plan to explore, don’t forget the cost of food and transportation during the day as it does not include in your cruise cost. The ship still provided food on board but most countries have strict rule of bringing fresh food, fruit and vegetable to their countries. So you can either eat before you leave, plan and budget for local food (which I love to do. Otherwise why visit if you didn’t get to taste local food), or pack package food that allows through custom.

Another expense during the port of call day that can be a major budget buster is the excursion fee. Try to avoid the idea of doing it all. I try to limit to one excursion per port. You will have less than 5-8 hours at the port so make sure that you check all the excursion time and length before signing up. Remember that the excursions provided by local companies are for all cruise ships so they might not know about your ship time.

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