HAS anyone ever been on a cruise? should i bring this?

Question

I am going on my first cruise at the end of this month. Should i take something with me that is hard to part with?......My Laptop Computer. i will be gone for 7days. Is $100.00 dollars a day enough spending money? I am a frugal shopper, so buying designer is out of the question, unless of course it is marked way down, like 75% or more :-) (i am going to belize, honduras, costa maya mexico, and caymen islands)

Answer 1

Yes you can take your laptop and depending upon what cruise line and ship you are going on you may be able to get WiFi connection on the ship, in your cabin and/or certain locations. Two things however to be aware of. First, the ships internet access will be really expensive: like $50 an hour or more. Second, you need to have a plan for securing your laptop when you leave it in the cabin. The best plan is out of sight, out of mind. So, take a small lock for one of your suitcases and when you leave the cabin put your laptop in your suitcase under the bed and lock the bag.

Your cruise fare includes your cabin and all food, shows and activities and facilities on ship. Here's what you will need money for on the cruise:

Gratuities: They will amount to about $10 per person in your cabin per day; about $70 each for the week. When you check in at the pier they will set up an on-board charge account for you to cover any and everything you may buy on ship. So you will not really need cash once you are on the ship. They will issue you a "cruise card" which will also serve as your room key and pass to get on and off the ship. At the end of the cruise they will add the gratuity to your tab and you can pay with a credit card or cash, your choice.

Alcoholic drinks and soft drinks: Coffee, tea, milk, juice, and lemonade and punch will be provided free but you must pay for drinks (alcoholic beverages) and they will add a 15% gratuity to each drink or soft drink order. You can save on drinks by ordering them in a plain glass rather than the souvenir glasses they often use. You can also save money if you can by taking a six-pack of bottled water and soft drinks with you in your carry on. Since you cannot take these through airport security you would have to get them after leaving the airport.

Photographs: Cruise lines will take plenty of photographs of you all over the ship, in the dining room, and as you exit the ship in ports. These will cost a lot, like $15 to $20 for most. Skip them and save yourself a lot of money. Take your own camera and have the other passengers photograph you on and off the ship.

Tours/Excursions: These are listed on your cruise line web site and you can reserve them well before the cruise and pay for them also. If you wait until you are on ship to book tours they will be charged to your on board account (then you can pay cash to settle your account on the last day)

Souvenirs: Anything you buy on ship from a gift shop or duty free shop goes on your on board account. Things that you buy on shore you pay cash or credit card for.

Casino: If you plan to gamble on ship you will need cash for that.

Other: most cruise lines have what they call "specialty" restaurants where there is a gratuity/service charge. All other food on board is free and its not really necessary to budget for food; you cannot eat all that will be available.

Your room will likely have a safe so you can keep your cash safe until its time to pay your bill. So you will need in addition to what you have already paid at least the money for gratuities and add to that whatever else you plan to buy as outlined above. $100 a day is more than enough for spending; I never take that much because we do not buy a lot on cruise stops.

Answer 2

My wife & I been on a 7 day cruise, the boat had computers on board. We didn't need money, just charge to the room, for drinks & excursion. There's even shops on boad the ship, that you can charge to the room.

The ship was with Holland America. I'm not sure if the outher cruise lines are the same.

You should call or check the web site of the cruise ship your sailing with.