Quote:
Originally Posted by fotze
Always curious about cruises, sounds like you are a financial hostage from these stories. Is it really that bad?
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No, it's not. I'm going on my 5th cruise this March and love every minute of them. Tipping is really not that bad (on ship) - if you max the recommended tips - it comes out around $200 per cabin/week. Excursions can get pricey but we always check out those excursions before going without going through the ships and usually they are much cheaper.
As for buying things on ships, ya you get a card that handles all your funds but you can pay it down as the cruise goes on or let it build and pay it off at the end. The last cruise I ended up paying of 90% of my tab from playing craps - so i didn't mind that. On average we racked up about $700/week on the card. Again, it all depends on how much you spend.
As for alcohol. I always bring my own but ya, you have to kind of sneak it in. I found plastic mickeys are the easiest as I carry it on myself and the metal detector is none the wiser. But we always buy a wine package as well and you can take your bottle anywhere aboard.