additional costs on an NCL cruise to hawaii
 

We are planning a family cruise around Hawaii on the NCL ship ALOHA. This is our first cruise. I know the food is included but how expensive are the drinks and are there added charges for food? Are the onboard activities free? I like to plan my expenses and hate to have big surprises in terms of hidden costs when I travel. Thanks for any cruise tips you can offer. Scilo

Alcohol, any specialty restaurants cost. Soda, even at meals is extra - many people buy "soda cards", especially for kids which give you unlimited fountain soads, but not cans of sodas. Bottled water costs.

Onboard activities are free, except for things like Bingo.

However, the biggest expenditures will be in 2 categories - tips and what you do onshore.

NCL gives you option of paying tips on credit card you use for onboard account - website will give you suggested tip amount per person. Anytime you order something not covered by cruise cost - a soda at the pool, for example, they add a gratuity.

When ship is docked and you get off, you either pay for a "ship excursion", or do something on your own - latter is almost always cheaper, but is still not free - you have to pay for taxis, tours, etc. You can also stay on ship, of course, and that is free. You also need to pay to eat when you are on-shore (or eat on ship). Off-ship activities can add up to a fair amount of money.

They also make it very easy to get sucked into spending money while on the ship - they take photos and you have option of buying, shopping, waiters walking around with great tropical drinks with little umbrellas.

If you are traveling with kids/teens, you have option of their having ability to charge with their ship card, which is also room key card, or not - we always have let our kids charge because we know they will not run out and buy $1,000 worth of jewelery - but the card would allow them to do that, so think about it.

Spend some time on cruisecritic website - they have a message board for first time cruisers that will give you lots of helpful hints.

Go to cruisecritic.com. You will find an abundance of info here. You can check out ports, go to 'roll call' and talk with people who will be on your cruise & plan activities together, go to 'ask a cruise question' and ask questions and find out about tours you can take. Also go to NCL's site and look up the excursions and cost of that they offer. In the middle of the last night they will put your total cost of everything you've spent under your door/in your mail box. I tell people to sit down before they look at it as it is often a lot more than they thought. The automatic tips will be here. You can prepay for things and increase the amount if you want to. Believe you do this at check inand can pay cash or put it on your credit card. Everything you order from the bar - drinks AND soda are not included in your cruise fare-will have 15% added to the cost as tip for the waiter. You can get ice tea anytime, free, at the buffet. The only cost for food is if you eat in the specialty restaurants and just the tip if you order room service.

There is also a service fee of $10pp per day- tipping. There are several pay resturants, but several free options available.

I suggest renting a car in every port. I did with Thrifty ave about $33/day with taxes. A VERY budget option that offered plenty.

We met some people on a recent cruise who actually paid next to zero in additional expenses from the cruise line. (They bragged about it.)

Just before sailing they got a “rebate” or something on their cabin which was put into their shipboard account. They used the shipboard account to pay for the tips. They did not drink, brought some of their own soda aboard so they didn’t purchase any sodas, and ate only at in the buffet or regular dining room (no specialty dining). No souvenir photos. No casino. No at sea auctions. No spa.

Their additional expenses were on their own when they arrived in port and did their own thing, not with the cruise line expeditions, and any souvenirs they bought in the ports.

That’s a lot different from other passengers who let their teenagers charge on their credit card and end up with $1000 additional on their bills.

we went on an NCL cruise to Hawaii; loved it, but it was a bit expensive. I found a lot of the excursions to be overpriced. We had booked a helicoptor tour on Hilo for $199 each; it was cancelled. We ended up booking our own thru Mauiscape on Maui for $125 each. I believe you are charged $10/day per person for tips. Also, alcoholic drinks are expensive~about what you would pay in a bar. I made the mistake of getting myself and my daughter a soda card--waste of money for me!

One thing to keep in mind is at most ports, Walmart, Kmart and Hilo Hattie's have free shuttles that meet the ship. If you want souvenirs, bottled water or soda pop, go to walmart. They will allow you to bring pop and water on board but no beer or liquor. Security does a great shakedown job looking for those items when you come back to get on. We just got back on 4/2 from a 7 day cruise on the Pride of Hawaii. If I can help you with a specific question, drop me an email. On our ship, your onboard account could be accessed through your cabin TV. That way you can keep an eye on expenses.