S&S Cards

[Chucko]

There are 3 of us in a cabin leaving on the Elation in 13 days (woohoo!).

My question is, can we use different cc's for each s&s card, or do we have to use one cc for the whole cabin?

 

[joebat1]

Yes, you will have 3 different S & S cards. Everyone will have their own, and you can put the charges on one charge card, or several--That will depend on you.

 

[Chucko]

Whew, thanks for the quick response. I was having visions of a 3 grand cc bill when I got home!

 

[Jeff & Susana]

>>I was having visions of a 3 grand cc bill <<

See, now you can lower that expectation to a mere $1,000.00 bill!

(don't laugh, it ain't that hard to do)

Trust me.

 

[CruiseColl]

Jeff & Susana,

Thats exactly what we are expecting and its funny that should come up. In October, Dh and I and our three kids(16,12 and 4), DH's uncle, wife and their 18 yr old son, and his other uncle, wife and their 4 yr old son are all going together on the cruise. We plan for it to be a blast. My aunt the one with the 18 yr old and I are best friends and have been talking about how much "spending money" we are going to need above and beyond the cruise cost. We are thinking thousands of dollars. When my aunt was talking to my other uncle, he said he was only planning on spending $500. That is including his shore excursions, tips and everything else for all three of them. Is that realistic? It's a six day bermuda cruise on the Legend.
Thanks in advance for any feedback.

 

[Cruzman]

What a question! Since I only pay for two, my on board account usually amounts to no more than 6 or $700, including tips. If you are big alcohol/ soda drinkers, as well as needing to book shore excursions in every port of call for each and everyone; expect to utilize the boutique, buy lotsa souvenirs onboard, not to mention all of the pictures taken of you, etc., etc., then your account could certainly add up in a hurry.

 

[Sara Lee]

I dont think you have to spend a lot of money if you dont want to ...

We went on the Star Princess and our sign and sail card was only like 45 dollars and we took off the tips and tipped people ourselves so we could give the ones we used more ..

If you drink a lot , that is going to cost you but otherwise buy a drink card for sodas if you drink sodas and then you can have free sodas and there is always tea , coffee , fruit punch free anytime you want ..

Unless you buy a lot of stuff on board at the shops what are you going to buy , except for the casino.. ? but they take CASH..

 

[Jeff & Susana]

CruiseColl

Sara Lee is correct, you don't have to spend a lot of $$ to have a lot of fun.
(although most people do spend a bit more than they really wanted to)

Our first cruise with Premier we owed nothing at the end.
Last cruise was 5 nights and the bill for us 2 was about $500.00.
(not counting the casino)

>>planning on spending $500. That is including his shore excursions, tips and everything else for all three of them. Is that realistic?<<

No, not really. Figure that the tips alone for 3 will start the bill at about $175.00 the moment you board. Shore excursions vary on cruises but are somewhere between $35-$80 per person. On our cruise, 2 shore excursions for the 2 of us were $236.00.

If all 3 can resist the gift shops, pictures, bingo and if they don't require a lot of 'frozen thingies' they can make it on $500.00.........maybe.

The dinger..........Cruise lines do a great job of getting you into the lounge before meetings early so you can drop $10-$20 on bingo while waiting. They also offer Lotto cards to help waste a little more time & cash. Photos will be taken all the time, and just purchasing a couple of 8x10's can set you back $40.00 in a heartbeat. Better get an album too so add anther $10-$15 to the S&S account. Now you'll need a logo'd tote to carry your spoils of the cruise home so ring up another $20.00 or so. Of course you toss a keychain in there for your best freind at home, and a nice coffee mug so you can sit in your kitchen and remember your trip........another mere $10-$15 addition to your ever growing debt of FUN! Don't forget all those daily drink specials were $6.25 each and you just counted 8 plastic souvenir glasses as you were trying to pack them in your luggage!

But, IF you can resist................................then you are stronger than the vast majority of us!

 

[CruiseColl]

Thank you, thank you... my aunt and I don't want to spend thousands, just don't want to limit ourselves and "worry" about the money on our cruise. KWIM? Glad to know that it can be done, as far as conserving. I will definately be getting that mug. It is a must to sip coffee and dream in the morning!!

 

[OBFam]

We found that Carnival excursions are usually much more expensive than what you can arrange for yourself quite easily. On one excursion that I took note of, the Carnival price was $69 per person; I was able to arrange the same excursion for $25 privately. Just a thought.

If you don't know where to start, you can just start on "the boards". I just posted questions about the different ports we were going to, and people responded with excursion ideas and contact names/numbers/websites, etc.

From what I understand, the downside to a private excursion is that if you're late getting back, the ship will not wait. However, we were careful about our time, made sure our arrangements were adequate, and never had any problem.

This is just another way to save money.

Happy Sailing!
JO

 

[Jeff & Susana]

As OBFam says, you can save some money by booking your our excursions, outside of the ship.
In some ports, such as Grand Cayman, you need to tender in. Because our ship was only there for 6 hours, we thought that a ship excursion would be best. Those booked via Carnival were first off the ship at 7AM, no waiting to tender off.
Also trips purchased through the cruise line are in constant touch with the ship.
If, by some chance, there is a problem the ship knows about it and will make adjustments.
If you book on your own, you are on your own!

Seasoned cruisers will most likely make arrangements on their own.

For first timers, I would go with the ship, unless you are comfortable on your own.

Pretty much whatever you are comfortable with.

 

[lisagro]

When you are on Carnival, do they automatically put your tips on the card unless you remove them? lisa

 

[Jeff & Susana]

Yes. $9.75 per person, per day.

 

[Sara Lee]

They put tips on most ships I believe but you have the option to go to the pursers desk and take them off your sail and sign card and they provide envelopes so you can tip what you feel you want to tip .. Not everyone uses all the same things on a ship and the money you tip with is used to give certain people more or less

Say for example you choose to use alternative dining or room service .. I believe that 7 dollars a day goes to the waiter in the dining room and you didnt even use him or her ..

And the room steward gets 3. 50 of that money and he cleans your room 2 or 3 times a day .. I just perfer to look and see who is working the hardest , and who you use the most and divide it accordingly to that ..

Some people drink a lot and some dont .. So its all in what you perfer to do and I think it makes cruising a good thing because people used to be so concerned about what to tip and how to tip but I do find it best to tip on how I feel it should be and if you go to the pursers office and tell them to take it off your sail and sign card.. They do NOT In the least way make you FEEL BAD OR SAY ANYTHING they just remove it immediately