Greek Isles Cruise departing Venice
 

Hey all!
My husband and I are taking a 7 day Greek Isles Cruise departing Venice this August.
My main question is... what do you think is an appropriate amount to budget for spending money?
Things we have prepaid so far:
- Cruise is paid in full
- plane tickets paid in full
- cruise gratuities paid in full
- 2 short excursions booked (we have 5 ports... we want to explore the other 3 on our own)
- we have the free drink package for the entire cruise (any drink under $15 is free) and we’ve already paid the required gratitities for that package.

Ive cruised a lot before but this is my first European cruise. Thank you for your help!

Can't really answer your question without more info:

What are your normal spending habits when you travel?

Do you plan on purchasing lots of souvenirs?

Do you plan on having any meals while you are ashore?

Do you plan on taking part in any types of "for a fee" activities on in the Ports of Call you are visiting?

Since you say you've "cruised a lot before" you should probably base your "spending money budget" on your past experience. Costs for things at Ports of Call in the Greek Isles isn't going to be that much more than in most of the other places you've visited.

Follow the old "travel adage" - take less clothes, bring more money. Seriously, you don't really need that much cash. Credit Cards are widely accepted in the Greek Isles and you can use ATM to get whatever cash you might need when you need it.

I travel extensively all over the world and rarely carry more than the equivalent of somewhere between $150US and $200US (in the local currency). When my supply of cash begins to run low I just go to the nearest bank ATM and withdraw some enough to last me a few days.

A lot depends on what you intend to do. If you want to rent a scooter on an island, that's at least 25 euros per person (maybe more these days); a car is at least double. Public buses are pretty cheap on the islands, but they cost perhaps 2 euros per ride, but a taxi ride could cost at least 10 or 20 euros (each way). I'd certainly plan on spending 10 or 15 euros per day on incidentals on shore (drinks, snacks, etc.), double that if you plan on having lunch ashore and not going back to the ship. Budget whatever you wish for purchases (more if you plan on buying jewelry, less if not), but there are some beautiful table linens in the islands, lots of jewelry, bottles of ouzo and wine, and plenty of tourist trinkets like T-shirts, evil eye charms, some nice clothing, etc. Then whatever else you spend depends entirely on what you do ... admissions to museums and sights, small tips, etc. (say 5 to 30 euros per day), but certainly more if you want to do a boat trip or something like that. You might pay a cover of 20 euros just to get a beach chair and umbrella on a busy beach (aside from food and drinks, which will cost double what you'd pay anywhere else) ... so you can see that a few hours on the beach could cost you 50 euros.

If you have to set aside a real budget, then plan on setting aside 25 to 50 euros per day, and you should be covered unless you rent a car more than once or go to something like Superparadise Beach every day of your trip. I'm assuming you'll eat most meals and drink most alcohol on your ship. (And you won't because it's going to be blisteringly hot.)

Be sure to check Cruise Critic for their Greek ports information from fellow travelers.
https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=594

What islands are you docking/tendering at? Typically, you wlll have lunch off the boat. We were just in Greece in October via Azamara (Greek Islands only). Big differences in the islands as to amenities. Happy to help.

Additional thoughts, are you staying in Venice before your departure (you definitely should); also where does the cruise end, in Athens? Also worthy of a couple nights. What month are you travelling? Fill in the blanks and we'll all be more than happy to help!