Estimating the Cost of
Your Cruise Ship Vacation

By Teri Champigny

When it comes to planning a vacation, many families are concerned with the cost.  Whether you consider yourself to be middle class, lower class, or upper class, the cost of your vacation is often of great importance.  If you are spending your next vacation aboard a cruises ship, there are a number of different ways that you can estimate the total cost of your vacation.

The first step in estimating the cost of travel is to select a particular cruise line and cruise ship. The cruise ship you select is vital to estimating your vacation costs.  This is because a number of cruise ships offer all-inclusive vacation packages.  All-inclusive cruise ship packages may seem high priced, but you often do not have to worry about carrying along excessive amounts of money.

In addition to the type of cruise ship package you select, you will also need to consider where your cruise ship will depart from and what its destination is.  If you are unable to book a vacation aboard a cruise ship with a departure port located near your home, you will have to include the cost of reaching your the port into your cruise. 

If you are planning a cruise ship vacation, on a budget, the method of travel you select could have a significant impact on the overall cost of your vacation.  For long distance travel you may want to compare the cost of airline tickets, bus tickets, or train tickets.  Air travel is often considered the most preferred method of travel, but it is the most expensive.  In addition to purchasing a bus ticket, airplane ticket, or train ticket, you may want to examine the cost of driving your own vehicle. 

As previously mentioned, all-inclusive cruise ship packages help to eliminate the cost of food, drinks, and entertainment.  While all-inclusive packages are nice, they are often hard to come by.  If you are unable to book an all-inclusive cruise, will have to estimate the amount of money you will spend onboard.  This estimate is not only important to estimating the cost of your vacation, but it should also be used to make sure you bring along enough spending money. 

Estimating the cost of onboard entertainment is often easier than estimating the cost of your food and drinks.  Most cruise lines have websites that offer detailed information on all of their ships. This information is also likely to include the cost of using a particular entertainment facility.  You will find that many cruise ships charge their passengers to watch a movie, view a performance, or participate in many onboard activities.  These onboard activities may include, but are not limited to, rock climbing, onboard surfing, gambling lessons, dance lessons, and swimming lessons.

Speaking of gambling, if you are interested in gambling on a cruise ship casino, you will need to keep this in mind when estimating the cost of your vacation.  As with most land-based casinos, you can gamble with different amounts of money.  If you are planning to estimate the cost of your vacation, you are encouraged to estimate the amount of money you will spend gambling. Since estimating money spent on gambling is difficult, you will want to aim your estimate high.

As previously mentioned, estimating the cost of your food and drinks can also be a difficult task.  You can estimate the number of meals and drink you will have in a day, but it is important to remember that it is only an estimate.  It is also difficult to estimate the cost of your onboard food and drinks because cruise ship menus are often difficult or impossible to obtain online.  As with cruise ship gambling, it is advised that you overestimate the cost of food and drinks.

In addition to the cost of food, child care, travel, entertainment, and gambling it is advised that you consider the cost of obtaining items or souvenirs at the ports your ship plans on docking at.  Whether you need to know if you can afford a cruise ship vacation or you’d just like to know where your money is going, there are an unlimited number of ways to estimate the total cost of your vacation.