Cruising continues to be one of the most affordable ways to travel, even as costs continue to rise. With an influx in cruising demand, cruise fares have been steadily on the rise over the last few years.
As a budget traveler, I am repeatedly looking for ways to save money when traveling. The more money I can save while traveling, the better. With these savings, I am able to both cruise and travel more frequently.
When I cruise, it’s not uncommon for me to disembark with a minimal list of charges. I hardly ever spend over $100 on add-ons or extras when I cruise. Other than booking internet and the occasional specialty dinner, I don’t find it necessary to spend much while onboard a cruise. Don’t get me wrong, there are plenty of opportunities to spend extra when cruising. Everything from drink packages to spa treatments and onboard thrills can rack up a large bill.
However, thanks to loyalty benefits with my preferred cruise lines, Royal Caribbean and Celebrity Cruises, I receive discounts and freebies when cruising. Because of this, I rarely purchase alcohol when cruising - this alone has saved me thousands of dollars! In addition, I normally book an inside cabin as well to cut down on costs.
However, my last cruise to Europe was a different story. I found it difficult to stick to any sort of budget - and I spent way more than I typically do while cruising. I was surprised how quickly the costs added up as we sailed around Norway and Belgium on a 7-night itinerary on Celebrity Apex.
I just returned from my cruise with Celebrity Cruises and the final spending amount was a huge buzzkill. Here’s how much I overspent on my last European cruise and where our money went.
Shore Excursions - $870
I’ve taken more than ten European cruises over the last decade, so I am no stranger to planning the perfect overseas cruise. I’ve found that European cruises generally do not require many excursions.
Cruise ships dock right in town for some of the most popular European destinations, such as Lisbon, Amsterdam, Naples, Barcelona, Santorini, and more. This means you don’t need to travel large distances to get to the city’s main attractions.
However, I ended up booking three excursions for my recent European cruise. After doing some research, I concluded that booking excursions would ensure we could conveniently visit the sights we wanted to see the most. I wanted to make the most of our time in Norway and Belgium!
For instance, our ship docked in Zeebrugge, which is a 30-minute drive from the charming town of Brugge, Belgium. Independent transportation would require a shuttle from the port to another shuttle transfer that would take us into town. Rideshares can also be limited for this port, and we were only docked from 7am to 3pm, so there was little buffer time.
Because of this, I spent $129 on a Celebrity-sponsored shore excursion to Brugge. This was basically a guaranteed transfer that left directly from the cruise port and brought us into the city center. It seemed to be the least stressful option; after all, no one wants added stress on vacation!
We also booked an all-day excursion in Flam, Norway to ride on the world-famous Flam Railway. We had never visited this port before, and I was anxious about taking a train outside the port area. This excursion was the most expensive for us at $543.98.
Finally, I booked a third excursion to visit a glacier in Olden, Norway that was located more than 30 miles from the port city. I don’t like independently traveling too far from the port of call, especially in a remote area like Olden. The peace of mind was worth the money spent on shore excursions.
Read more: 11 common cruise shore excursion mistakes to avoid
Souvenirs and Gifts- $806
The amount of spending in this category truly shocked me. My souvenir spending varies greatly when cruising. If I’m taking a Caribbean cruise, as I’ve done more than one dozen times, I typically won’t purchase any souvenirs.
On the other hand, I will shop for souvenirs and knick-knacks when I cruise to more interesting destinations. This is especially true when I travel to new places! Moreover, I love buying local artwork to bring back for home decor.
Depending on how much luggage space I have, I don’t hold back when it comes to in-port shopping. It’s one of my favorite activities both at home and while cruising!
However, the cost of souvenirs in Norway was exorbitant compared to other European cruises I’ve taken. For instance, t-shirts were upwards of $40, while crewnecks were easily $60 to $70 each. Even a keychain was around $10!
I am a sucker for tourist merchandise (clearly!). I guess those t-shirts, magnets, key chains, and Christmas ornaments all added up. We spent over $800 on souvenirs, gifts, trinkets, and knickknacks. Did I need the embroidered pillow in Belgium featuring a dog that looks identical to ours? No, but I love it and don’t regret spending money on these treasures.
Spa Treatment - $428
Another unplanned expense during our European cruise was a splurge on a spa treatment. This cruise was a vacation to celebrate my husband’s return from his military deployment; as such, he had planned a couple’s massage for us to celebrate!
While waiting for our excursion to meet one morning on the ship, the spa provided guests with free "massage tasters." For five minutes, the masseuses easily persuaded my husband to book a couple’s massage for us. Who was I to stop him?
We booked a 75-minute massage with a facial for $214 each. This was supposedly a discounted rate since we booked the excursion for an evening we were in port, as sea day spa treatments are full-price.
As someone who has rarely stepped foot in the spa on a cruise ship, I was shocked at the cost! Of course, the prices on a cruise are almost always inflated compared to land-based spa prices, but we typically don’t spend money for these kinds of treatments and deem the splurge worthwhile.
Overall, we had a lovely couples massage in the Celebrity Apex spa. Was it worth $428? That’s up for debate. And I hate the post-treatment upsell where you are pressured to spend more money on spa products!
Food and Drink Ashore - $320.99
As if we didn’t have enough food or drink on the cruise ship itself, my husband and I spent more than $300 in port on these expenses. It’s not unusual for us to grab a coffee, drink, or snack while exploring ports of call. For us, this is part of the local experience!
Our culinary expenses started in Belgium, which is known for its waffles, fries, beer, and chocolate. Of course, we had to partake in all four of these during our short time in the country! We started our morning with Belgian waffles and finished the day with beer and fries. Our afternoon brought us to a local chocolate shop where one family makes all the chocolates from scratch - how can you say no?
Moreover, we did not book any excursion in Bergen, Norway, and instead chose to explore the port of call on our own. This included a lovely lunch on the water with pizza and drinks near the famous Brygge buildings. We also enjoyed a local coffee shop with homemade pastries, which was one of the best treats we had on our trip!
For the other ports in Norway, we would grab a coffee and snack to share for longer days. If you’ve been to Norway, you know this can easily cost $30 to $40 - so costs add up quickly.
Overall, I calculated that we spent around $320 on food and drinks throughout our four ports of call. I’m chalking this up to indulging in the local cuisine, which is one of my and my husband’s favorite parts of traveling. However, I would have guessed our spending was a fraction of what we actually spent.
Internet - $268.40
Purchasing internet isn’t an unexpected expense for me, as I need this connectivity for my multiple remote jobs. I also want to stay in touch with my sister back home, who watches our home and our dogs while we travel.
On the other hand, my husband normally doesn’t purchase internet when he and I cruise together. Since I have access to anything related to our home and he doesn’t need it, he finds it unnecessary considering the cost and reliability of cruise ship Wi-Fi.
Read more: What's included with Celebrity Cruises fare?
However, my husband changed his mind after we boarded our cruise. Although we saved 35% on our internet package because of our loyalty discount, we still spent $268.40 for internet access on two devices. This was cheaper than each of us booking an internet package individually.
Even with our discount, this was more than I expected to spend. I forgot that Celebrity Cruises charges more for Internet than Royal Caribbean for whatever reason. Between the higher price and my husband deciding last-minute to purchase internet, this expense was more than anticipated.
Specialty Dining - $133
It’s not unusual for my husband and I to splurge on at least one meal in a specialty restaurant when cruising. The elevated ambiance and food quality are a nice change from the main dining room, especially on longer itineraries.
However, we typically cruise with Royal Caribbean where we receive a buy-one-get-one-free specialty dining coupon. This means we can indulge in a specialty meal for around $50 to $60 for both of us.
Moreover, my husband had never cruised with Celebrity Cruises. He was eager to try the main dining room on Celebrity Apex, as he’s had extensive experience with Royal Caribbean’s. Because of this, we were not planning to book any specialty dining meals for our European cruise.
Well, that plan went out of the window on the first day when we boarded our cruise and looked at the specialty dining menus. My husband wanted to try the sushi and oyster cuisine at Raw on 5, which is an Asian-fusion restaurant. We booked an a-la-carte lunch for the first sea day and spent $41.55 on a meal here.
Our spontaneous spending continued the following evening with a dinner at the Rooftop Garden Grill for $91.80. We were enjoying happy hour when we found the outdoor restaurant was open for dinner. Originally, they said this restaurant wouldn’t be open during our sailing because of the weather. To our surprise, it was unexpectedly open this evening.
We were able to snag an outdoor table for the same evening and decided to go for it! This was our favorite meal during our cruise, so the cost was certainly worthwhile. Even though it was 40 degrees outside, the restaurant provided us with blankets and we were comfortable enough to endure a multi-course meal.
Gratuities - $120
Although my husband and I had already prepaid our gratuities for this cruise, the service on Celebrity Apex was exceptional. From our cabin attendant to the bartenders and wait staff in the dining room, we were blown away by the attentive and personalized service we received onboard. This is one of the selling points of booking a premium cruise like Celebrity Cruises, and we were more than satisfied with the onboard service.
We felt it was necessary to get cash from the ATM onboard the cruise to provide the additional gratuities. While this wasn’t needed because we had already prepaid our gratuities, we wanted to provide these cash tips to the crew members who went above and beyond for us.
For these cash tips, we took out $120 on the last day of the cruise to hand out before disembarking. The crew members work remarkably hard on a cruise ship and we wanted to make sure they knew how appreciative we were.
Honorable Mention: Concert Tickets - $980
My husband and I booked this cruise more than one year in advance, so we had plenty of time to plan and save appropriately. After making our final cruise payment, booking airfare, and confirming excursions, we thought we had paid for the bulk of pre-cruise expenses.
As luck would have it, Taylor Swift was performing for her Eras Tour in England on the day of our cruise ending. Some might call it crazy, but I’ll consider it fate.
While exciting, this was absolutely not part of our budget when we planned our cruise vacation. Unfortunately, tickets to see Taylor Swift are not cheap for her current tour, either. We decided to see if we could snag tickets, although we had little hope given the insane demand.
By a stroke of luck, we snagged tickets to her concert for $980 total. We considered this a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and decided the splurge was worthwhile.
Immediately after disembarking from our cruise in Southampton, we drove four hours to attend the Taylor Swift concert before flying home. Since we had already blown our cruise budget, we certainly went out with a bang on the last day of our vacation!
Allie Hubers
Allie Hubers has been cruising since she was a tiny toddler. What started as a yearly vacation with family quickly turned into a passion for travel, cruising and adventure. Allie's been on over 45 cruises all over the world. She even studied abroad on Semester at Sea, sailing the world on a ship while taking courses for college and visiting 4 continents.
