Ever wonder how much it costs to cruise, including all the extra costs and related purchases you have to make?
Last month, I embarked on an epic adventure to Asia with my parents and sister. Because of the pandemic, we still had unused cruise credits that we wanted to apply for a sailing. We eventually settled on an incredible 12-night repositioning cruise from Singapore to Japan with stops in Vietnam, Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea, and Japan.
We were ecstatic to find this unique itinerary aboard Royal Caribbean’s Anthem of the Seas. This repositioning cruise is part of the ship’s transition between Australia and Alaska, so this particular itinerary is only offered once in the fall and spring.
My family booked the itinerary right after it was available, and we secured two balcony cabins next to one another. Anthem of the Seas had just completed her dry dock in Singapore, so we had fresh beds and carpet in our cabins! Although this Quantum class ship isn’t the newest vessel in Royal Caribbean’s fleet, the 10-year-old ship has aged gracefully and still feels quite modern and fresh.
Because I was traveling with my sister, we were able to split the costs of our stateroom, hotels, and transfers. For my portion of the trip, I paid $6,773 for the entire vacation. With 14 total nights of vacation, the cost was $483 per person for each night of the trip.
Here’s a full breakdown of what I spent for my 12-night Asia cruise on Anthem of the Seas, which includes travel-related expenses, onboard purchases, souvenirs, and transportation costs.
My sister and I split the cost of the cabin, costing me $2,888 for a standard balcony stateroom.
Typically, I prefer booking interior cabins to save money while cruising. Because of this, my sister and I normally book the cheapest inside cabin we can find, although we prefer spending a little extra to avoid booking guarantee cabins.
When we booked this cruise, we were pleasantly surprised to find a reasonably priced standard balcony stateroom. Since my parents always book a balcony cabin, and the only option near them was another balcony cabin, it made sense for us to do the same. We were even able to select a connecting stateroom right next to theirs, so we knew we wouldn’t end up with noisy neighbors.
We reserved cabins 11268 and 11266, located on Deck 11. This was a great spot to stay, and we appreciated the convenient location onboard Anthem of the Seas.
Read more: Anthem of the Seas Cruise Ship Balcony Cabin: Review, Photos
For instance, we were only a few decks below the Windjammer buffet. Before meeting for our excursions, we could quickly grab breakfast on Deck 14 and scurry back to our cabin to finish getting ready. Nothing ever felt too far from our stateroom, so I would definitely book this cabin again.
Most importantly, the cabin was very comfortable for our 12-night stay and featured a functional, modern design. The bathroom was especially spacious, and the shower was one of the largest I’ve had on a cruise ship.
We had more than enough space to unpack and settle in without feeling cramped. The cabin offered two wardrobe closets, plus ample shelving and drawer space. The connecting cabins were an added bonus—we loved the convenience of moving between the two rooms and sharing the balconies.
The cruise fare was $5,776 for the two of us, which included port fees and taxes. Splitting this with my sister, my portion was $2,888, or $240 per night. This cruise fare is a little higher than I typically like to pay; however, the unique sailing was in high demand, and cabins booked up quickly. A few months later, only suites were available to book for $10,000 each!
We forgot to prepay our gratuities, which we normally do before embarkation. This resulted in a daily charge of $18.50 to our shipboard account, or $222 total for my gratuities.
For this trip, the cruise fare and gratuities comprised about 45.91% of the total expenses for this trip. This was the priciest expense of the entire trip, as expected!
I spent $2,302 on flights, which arrived in Singapore and departed from Tokyo.
In addition to the cruise fare, I was shocked by the cost of airfare for this cruise! Because our cruise was departing from Singapore and concluding in Tokyo, I booked a multi-city itinerary. Since it takes more than 30 hours to reach Singapore from Florida, I wanted to have a few buffer days for any potential travel delays or cancellations. This would also give us a few days to adjust to the new timezone before boarding our cruise.
I booked economy seats with Delta Air Lines, which included connections in Atlanta and Seoul, South Korea. The flights were grueling, but I was thankful to receive free upgrades to Comfort Plus on my long-haul segments. Although the extra legroom was welcomed, nothing really makes a 14-hour flight very enjoyable.
I spent $2,302 for the entire flight, or about 34% of the trip’s overall cost. Luckily, this included two free checked bags, which I took advantage of.
Unfortunately, my trip home from Tokyo was more disruptive. My sister and I were stranded in Japan for 24 hours when our flight to Atlanta was cancelled due to maintenance issues. The flight was rescheduled for the following day so they could fix the plane, but we had to spend an additional night in Japan.
Thankfully, we both purchased travel insurance, and these expenses (upwards of $500 for hotel, food, and transportation) were covered.
We booked excursions through Royal Caribbean for about $340 each.
Originally, we had booked excursions for all five port stops of our itinerary, costing around $500 each. Most of these were full-day tours, although we had half-day stops in Tokyo and Jeju Island, South Korea.
We had never visited these countries before, so we felt Royal Caribbean’s excursions were the best choices for convenience and safety. Additionally, some of the ports were far away from the actual city. For example, Ho Chi Minh was nearly two hours from where the ship docked.
After boarding in Singapore, we received notice that our excursion in Japan was cancelled. Supposedly, the ship couldn’t sail at full speed due to the recent dry dock, so we had to leave South Korea earlier than expected.
With the revised itinerary, we wouldn’t reach Tokyo until an hour or two after our originally scheduled afternoon arrival. Since face-to-face immigration is required in Japan, the delayed arrival and expected slow processing led to the cancellation of all ship-sponsored excursions. In the end, that saved us about $150.
In addition, we received a 50% refund for our excursion in Jeju Island, South Korea. This was already a half-day tour because we had a short stay; however, it was down pouring when we arrived. The cruise line offered guests a full refund if they wanted to cancel their excursion that morning, which I thought was generous.
We decided to take the excursion anyway, and it ended up only costing us about $50. In the end, we agreed the money was well spent on these cruise-sponsored excursions, especially in Vietnam. In fact, we ended up departing late from Vietnam due to a huge traffic jam that delayed other excursions from returning to the ship on time. I bet those passengers were thankful they booked an excursion through the cruise line!
We only spent about $340 on excursions, or 5% of our trip’s total cost — this was one of our cheapest expenses for the entire vacation!
Onboard expenses, including internet and specialty dining, totaled $402.
Overall, I didn’t spend much money onboard our ship. Most of our time was spent exploring ashore, and I took advantage of the complimentary activities and amenities onboard. Prior to boarding, I booked VOOM Surf + Stream internet for $250 - this would provide Wi-Fi access for the entire cruise.
The internet was reliably fast, and I never had issues with connecting onboard. We did experience some blackouts while cruising from Hong Kong to Taiwan, but Royal Caribbean reimbursed us for a few days.
In addition, our family also decided to treat ourselves to two specialty dining experiences during the cruise. Anthem of the Seas offers a variety of specialty restaurants to choose from, including Chops Grille, Jamie’s Italian, Izumi Sushi, and Wonderland.
We used our Diamond Plus loyalty benefit to take advantage of the BOGO specialty dining offer, choosing to dine at Chops Grille and Jamie’s Italian. On a longer itinerary, I do appreciate the change-of-pace for a more upscale, intimate dining experience.
Both meals were excellent, though service at Jamie’s Italian was noticeably slow. One crew member mentioned the staff was still finding their rhythm again after the ship’s break from regular operations during dry dock, which may have contributed to the isolated experience.
Surprisingly, the main dining room impressed us night after night. We had consistently great food, attentive service, and a smooth dining experience each night. Although this hasn’t always been the case on my recent Royal Caribbean cruises, I was impressed with the main dining room experience on Anthem of the Seas.
I didn’t purchase any drinks during this cruise, as our five daily Diamond Plus drink vouchers were more than sufficient. I enjoyed specialty coffee each morning, followed by a few drinks in the evenings or by the pool on a sea day.
In the end, these onboard expenses were minimal compared to the total cost of the trip. I only spent $402 for internet and specialty dining, or about 5.95% of the entire vacation budget.
For this trip, we spent about $239 each on hotels and transfers.
It’s always best practice to arrive to your cruise port at least one day before embarkation. If your flights get delayed or cancelled, you don’t want to risk missing your entire vacation! When flying internationally or long distances for a cruise, I prefer to arrive two days prior to embarkation.
For this cruise, we arrived two nights before our cruise started, giving us one full day in Singapore and two nights in a hotel. At first, we booked our hotels directly through Marriott. But, I worked with my travel agent, Hayley with Fora Travel, and she ended up saving us $200 on the hotels!
My sister and I split the hotel cost, so my portion was only $164 for two nights at the Four Points Sheraton in Singapore. We had to spend $405 for our unexpected night in Tokyo after our flight was cancelled, as it was last minute and during Japan’s very busy Golden Week. Thankfully, these expenses were covered by the airline and travel insurance.
In addition, we booked private transfers from the Singapore airport to our hotel, followed by another transfer to the port. We had so much luggage that our transfer had to bring a second car just to transport the suitcases - whoops! Thankfully, we split the cost of the transfers between the four of us.
In addition, we booked a transfer through Royal Caribbean to the Tokyo airport when we struggled to find any other options. My sister and I spent an additional $90 on transfers after our flight was cancelled, but this was also covered by travel insurance.
I spent about $239 for the hotels and transfers - or about 3.5% of the total trip cost. However, this total would have been much higher if I hadn’t purchased travel insurance for the unexpected costs with the cancelled flight. Take this as a reminder to always have travel insurance!
I budgeted $100 for cash tips, which I provided to crew members on the last night of the cruise.
In addition to the onboard daily gratuities, I also brought cash for tips at the end of the cruise. This is always an expense that I budget for, as I want to ensure the crew members are rewarded for their hard-working service.
We decided to provide additional tips to our waiters in the main dining room, along with the head waiter. All of them provided excellent service for the entirety of the cruise, and we felt it was deserved. Finally, we also tipped our stateroom attendant on the last day for dealing with our messy room for 12 nights!
My sister and I provided cash tips totaling $100 each, which is only about 1.5% of the total trip cost.
Finally, I spent around $280 for in-port purchases and souvenirs.
I’ll admit, I love to shop for souvenirs and treasures during my cruises. Each of these destinations had incredible shops to purchase trinkets and goodies. We first started at the famous Ben Thanh Market in Ho Chi Minh City, where I found a myriad of souvenirs to bring home.
Our next ports offered even more chances to shop, especially in Hong Kong, where I couldn’t resist splurging. I picked up a stylish leather backpack for just $40 and a knock-off designer purse for $20. I also stocked up on Nespresso pods at a local grocery store for a fraction of the price I usually pay back home.
I also collect Starbucks mugs from each destination that I visit, so I came home with four new mugs to add to my collection. These are each about $20, and I was thrilled to find unique designs from each country.
Surprisingly, we purchased very little food or drinks during our time ashore. Most of our excursions included lunches with massive buffets, so we never felt the need to purchase our own food. We prioritized eating most of our meals on the ship, as Anthem of the Seas has plenty of included dining options to enjoy.
Overall, I spent around $280 on in-port purchases for this trip, or about 4.13% of the trip cost. Most of these purchases were souvenirs, trinkets, Starbucks mugs, and unique treasures. I was thankful for packing a second suitcase to bring home all of my new travel goodies!
In the end, I paid $6,773 for my 12-night Asia cruise on Anthem of the Seas.
Cruise expenses can add up quickly, and even with minimal onboard purchases and add-ons, I still spent close to $7,000 for this vacation with my parents and sister. The biggest expenses for this trip included the cruise fare itself for $2,888 and airfare for $2,302. Both of these categories accounted for 76% of the total vacation cost, followed by onboard expenses and excursions.
I cherish time with my family, especially because my husband and I live across the country from them. This was money well spent, and I loved being able to visit such diverse, culturally-rich ports of call. I’d rather spend this amount of money seeing new places in the world than visiting the same Caribbean destinations over and over again.
