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ginny

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My husband and I are going on our first cruise. We prepaid the taxes and gratuities but we don't drink much so we didn't buy one of the packages. Is it possible to go on a cruise without spending a fortune? I keep reading horror stories about people getting a huge bill. Please advise. Thank you in advance.

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100% possible. It's the extras that can add up but only if you let them. If you're not big drinkers alcohol shouldn't be a big expense, you can pre pay all of your excursions if you want to. If you want to skip excursions from RC you can find private tours online or just taxi to beaches. The food/drink/lodging is paid for so unless you want extras or anything off of the ship you technically need not spend another penny. It's entirely up to you. Check the site for what's available and see if there are any extras you may want.

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1 hour ago, ginny said:

My husband and I are going on our first cruise. We prepaid the taxes and gratuities but we don't drink much so we didn't buy one of the packages. Is it possible to go on a cruise without spending a fortune? I keep reading horror stories about people getting a huge bill. Please advise. Thank you in advance.

A few years ago we managed to go on a cruise (Grandeur when she was sailing out of Tampa) and left the ship with a $0 bill.  We learned, just as we went to Guest Services to verify that our final bill was $0 that we had a $50 OBC that we didn’t know about. It was too late to spend it so we lost $50.  Rookie mistake !  Needless to say, that was the last time we tried not to spend anything.  It wasn’t hard to do though.  There are plenty of things to do, food to eat and drinks to drink.

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The horror stories are because everything is charged to a card so it is really easy to just keep spending.  I still remember my father's reaction upon seeing the bill after our first cruise.  Luckily I was ready when I started cruising on my own.

If you track what you spend then there shouldn't be any surprises.  And as Waaaytooo proved, it is even possible to not spend a penny more than you already have.

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On our cruises we rarely have any extra bill. Prepaying the Gratuities, internet, and excursions ensures that nothing extra will be required. The only extra bills we have had at the end of our cruise have been gifts we bought on board for our kids. It is not hard to avoid extra expenses if you try a little.  

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As others have said yes!  As long as you drink the free drinks and do not go nuts on anything else then it is completely possible.  We will be sailing to Alaska in June, everything will be prepaid, I can assure you that with the expense of this trip there will not be hardly anything else that we will need to purchase onboard.  Should not be a problem getting off the ship without a major expense.  

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Beyond gratuity charged daily to your account which doesn't apply to you since you prepaid it, it is possible to enjoy a cruise without spending anything. 

There will be plenty of opportunity to spend more such as the casino, specialty dining, bar service, spa, shops on board, etc., but if you are disciplined you don't really need anything of that. 

Your SeaPass pass is like a credit card.  Anytime you are asked to present it ask yourself if you would hand your credit card over for item you are considering. 

You may want a shirt or some other memento of the trip.  That's fine, just understand there is a charge for it. 

I often cruise without specialty dining or buying anything in the souvenir shop.  I may buy a drink or two.  When I buy them I view it just like staying in a hotel and going to the hotel bar - yes I will have to pay for this, it's my choice to buy a drink or not to.  Drink prices on ships is much like drink prices in hotel bars.  You can bring two bottles of wine with you in your carry on.  This will be much cheaper than buying a glass of wine just like it is when you go to a hotel. 

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With the gratuities paid there is nothing that will be charged to your bill on the cruise without your permission from here on out :)

If you wanted to not spend a penny you certainly could;

the pools are free, the shows are free, most activities (not sure which ship you are on to know which activities are available) on board are free ...

the main dining room is free, the buffet is free, depending on your ship there may be other free snack/meal options as well ...

several non-alcoholic beverage options are free ... (Water, Iced Tea, Coffee, Hot Tea, usually some kind of a flavored water as well)

You probably want to plan on spending a little bit though;

alcoholic drinks are probably similar to restaurant pricing, beers $7 or so, mixed drinks $8-12 , etc ...

shore excursions can be a lot of fun but aren't necessary .... you can see the options and pricing for ship based excursions in your cruise planner now so there are aren't any surprises there. If the idea appeals but the $ seems a little high, there are usually private excursions available through the internet for a little less $ and there is always the option of just strolling around on your own (make sure you read up on the destination/port area first).

Photos are expensive IMO but we usually plan on $15-$30 for one or two souvenir pictures (my wife has a wall of framed pictures with at least one from every cruise we have done).

Internet is pricey, I would pay not to have it available so NOT having to pay and NOT getting it is like a win-win for me !

Spa treatments are pricey but again if you plan on that, not a problem.

 

Basically .... figure out what you want to do ... "set aside" the appropriate money and you will be fine, if you just wander around the ship trying everything and not thinking about the costs then yes you will have a bad surprise as the charges do add up fast if you aren't watching.

 

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