My sister and I are about to take off on our first cruise on Carnival and are wondering what the "hidden costs" are- for example, how much do the shore excursions usually cost? How about beverages- alcohol and non-alcoholic? On board activities? ANy insight would be appreciated!

Alcoholic beverages, soda, excursions, are extra. Shore excursions are posted on the website. They usually cost approx $45-65 dollars. You will get charged for gratuity, i.e. daily maid services, and for sit down dinners (daily and per person). Spa is extra. Gambling you pay. Many on board activites are free like the gym and the theater. You can read up more on their website.

When you order a drink on board from a waiter or bartender, they will automatically charge you extra for gratuity, so don't tip any more unless they really deserve it.

Carnival charges a flat fee of $9.95 pp per day in lieu of tips so if you are going on a 7 day cruise you will be charges around $140.00 for tips. This covers the waiters and cabin stewards. There is the option of tipping the Maitre'de if you wish. As he was nearly invisible for us we chose to give his money to our waiters who for 7 nights worked like heck for us. Expect to pay for drinks and there will be 15% added to the bill for tips. Coffee, tea and juice are free. As for the excursions IMO do it on your own. We saved doing it this way and we were on our own time as well. There will be cabbies and private tour operators waiting at the docks in abundance. Where are you going?

Here are a couple of threads that talk about the costs, whether they be hidden or not, that you might encounter.

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34467615

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34496706

I don't know about "hidden", they were pretty obvious to me

Gave up the cocktails and it's awe inspiring how much I save! $) =

Happy Saving, I mean sailing!

The following article was in today's (7/18/04) Los Angeles Times:
Extra Onboard Costs May Be More Than You Bargained For".
There is a lot of good (but disheartening) information! I think anyone new to cruising should read this...us experienced ones too!
To read the entire article see:

http://www.latimes.com/travel/la-tr-...avel-headlines

Sorry I don't know how to make this a "link" so you'll need to copy and paste.

I remember talking to one gentleman on a cruise who said they (he and his wife)never run up any charges on their sign and sail card. He said they do not drink or gamble and there is nothing in the ships store they are interested in buying. On shore, they pay for whatever they do or see. I said 'zilch, nada, zippo'? and he said 'not a dime'. (Hopefully they left tips but we didn't go into that).
Admittedly, he is definately the exception but he may not be alone. I thought we did good on our last cruise when we charged right at $250...a few drinks and a bottle of wine and then bingo a couple of times. Then there are those who I'm sure run up a huge bill. So you see there is a whole range of what you can do and spend and it really depends on your budget.

In any event, have a good time. I'm sure you'll love cruising!

Enjoyed that article...but charging $10 for yoga or pilates...pleeeze!

What esd says makes a lot of sense. For those who never spend money on board, the less expensive mainstream cruises would make good sense and be a better value. Unfortunately, it wouldn't work for me and my husband. We enjoy a cocktail out on our balcony before getting ready for dinner, enjoy nice wine with dinner, enjoy eating in the alternative restaurants that some ships charge extra for, and love sampling the specialty coffees and the list goes on. We actually prefer to pay more upfront to cruise on the luxury lines that are all inclusive but the bottom line, it's cheaper for us than if we have to pay as we go. When we were on Princess we had outstanding shipboard bills in excess of $1,200 for a one week cruise! egads!