5 Little Known Costs of Taking That Cruise

A cruise can look like one of the easiest vacations to budget: pay the fare, board the ship and unpack once. But the advertised price often represents only part of what travelers ultimately spend, especially once gratuities, internet access, excursions and transportation enter the picture.

Those cruise costs can turn an affordable-looking getaway into a much more expensive trip. The surprise is not necessarily that extras exist, but how quickly small daily charges multiply across two people and seven nights. Before clicking “book,” here are five cruise costs worth putting into your vacation budget.

1. Daily Gratuities Can Add Hundreds

Automatic crew gratuities are among the easiest cruise costs to overlook because they may not appear prominently in the advertised fare. Royal Caribbean currently lists standard daily gratuities of $18.50 per guest in most cabins and $21 for suite guests. That means two people spending seven nights in a standard cabin would owe $259 in gratuities alone unless those charges are already included or prepaid.

Carnival currently recommends $17 per person per day for standard staterooms, showing that this is not a minor expense limited to one cruise line. Before booking, ask whether gratuities are included in your quoted total and whether additional service charges apply to purchases such as drinks, spa treatments or specialty dining.

2. Drink Packages Have Expensive Fine Print

That frozen cocktail beside the pool can become surprisingly expensive when travelers decide they need an unlimited beverage package. Carnival’s CHEERS! package currently starts at $69.95 per person per day when purchased before sailing, plus a 20% service charge. Even more important for couples, every adult 21 or older assigned to the same stateroom generally must purchase CHEERS! when one adult buys it. Two adults on a seven-day cruise would therefore spend roughly $1,175 after the service charge at that starting rate.

Compare the package price with what you realistically drink each day instead of assuming “unlimited” automatically means cheaper.

3. Staying Connected Can Become A Daily Bill

Many travelers discover after booking that regular internet access is another one of those cruise costs that works differently than it does at a hotel. Carnival currently prices its Value Wi-Fi plan from $23.80 per person per day when purchased before sailing, and Carnival says the comparable onboard price is $32 per day. At the pre-cruise rate, seven days of internet for one person costs $166.60, while purchasing two plans could more than double that expense.

Travelers should also check exactly what a plan permits, because Carnival says its Value plan does not support video streaming or cellular-network-dependent Wi-Fi calling. If you only need occasional connectivity, determine whether using one plan across different devices at different times or relying on connectivity in port could meet your needs.

4. Shore Excursions Can Rival The Cruise Fare

A low cruise fare becomes less impressive when every port stop comes with another triple-digit activity. Current Carnival excursion listings include The Baths at Virgin Gorda starting at $114.99 per adult and the Skyglider & World’s Largest Ziprider at Icy Strait Point starting at $196.99 per person. A couple taking three $125-per-person excursions would spend another $750 before buying souvenirs, meals, drinks or tips ashore. Independent tours can sometimes cost less, but travelers should carefully examine cancellation policies and how much time they have to return to the ship.

Compare cruise-line excursions with reputable local operators, check which transportation and admission costs are included, and build a generous return-time cushion into independently booked activities.

5. Getting To The Ship Is Part Of The Vacation Price

Transportation between your home, airport, hotel and cruise terminal is easy to leave out when comparing cruise costs. For a real-world example, Carnival currently lists its transfer from Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental Airport to the Port of Galveston starting at $58.99 per person. With the return transfer also currently starting at $58.99 per person, a couple traveling both directions could spend roughly $236 before counting airfare, airport parking, baggage fees or a hotel.

Flying in a day early can add another hotel bill, but it can also create a valuable buffer against a delayed flight causing you to miss embarkation. Price the vacation from your front door to the ship and back home rather than comparing cruises solely by their cabin fares.

The Cheapest Fare May Not Be The Cheapest Cruise

The smartest way to control cruise costs is to build a realistic “all-in” budget before paying the deposit. Include the fare, taxes, gratuities, transportation, excursions, drinks, Wi-Fi, specialty dining and an emergency cushion, then compare that number with competing vacations. Travel insurance deserves consideration too, particularly for an expensive or largely nonrefundable vacation; Allianz Travel Insurance says a general rule of thumb for quality cruise travel insurance is roughly 4% to 6% of total trip costs. A bargain cruise can still be a great value, but only when you know which extras matter to you and which ones you can comfortably skip.

Which cruise cost has surprised you the most, and what would you tell a first-time cruiser to budget for? Leave a comment and share your experience.

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Evan Morgan

Evan Morgan has been a full-time freelance writer and editor for 10+ years. When not working, he enjoys catching the latest true crime documentary or getting lost in a good book.