- Day D-2 Leaving Imperial Beach, California
- Day D-1 Arriving in Fort Lauderdale
- Day 1- The Grand Voyage Begins! 115 Days
- Day 2 – At Sea – Enroute Costa Rica
- Day 3 – Cruising the Carribean
- Day 4 – At Sea Enroute to Costa Rica
- Day 5 – Puerto Limon, Costa Rica
- Day 6- Cruising the Panama Canal
- Day 7 – Fuerte Amador, Panama
- Day 8 – At Sea enroute to Nuku Hiva
- Day 9 – At Sea enroute to Nuku Hiva
- Day 10, At Sea – Enroute Nuku Hiva
- Day 11 – Sailing towards Nuku Hiva
- Day 12 – Sailing towards Nuku Hiva
- Day 13, Sailing towards Nuku Hiva
- Day 14, Sailing towards Nuku Hiva
- Day 15, Sailing toward Nuku Hiva
- Day 16, Taiohae, Nuku Hiva, French Polynesia
- Day 17, Sailing toward Avatoru
- Day 18 – Avatoru, Rangiroa
- Day 19, Papeete, Tahiti and taking the ferry to Mo’orea
- Day 20, Moorea, French Polynesia
- Day 21, Sailing toward Avatiu, Rarotonga
- Day 22, Avatiu, Rarotonga
- Day 23, Sailing toward Waitangi, New Zealand
- Day 24, Sailing towards Waitangi
- Day 25, Sailing towards Waitangi
- Day 26, Sailing towards Waitangi
- Day 27, Waitangi (Bay of Islands) New Zealand
- Day 28, Auckland, New Zealand
- Day 29, Sailing toward Picton, New Zealand
- Day 30, Picton New Zealand
- Day 31, Sailing toward Melbourne, Australia
- Day 32, Sailing toward Melbourne
- Day 33, Sailing toward Melbourne
- Day 34, Melbourne, Australia
- Day 35, Sailing toward Sydney Australia
- Day 36, Sydney, Australia
- Day 37, Sydney, Australia
- Day 38, Sailing towards Townsville
- Day 39, Sailing towards Townsville
- Day 40, Sailing towards Townsville
- Day 41, Townsville, Australia
- Day 42, Cairns, Australia
- Day 43, Sailing towards Darwin, Australia
- Day 44, Sailing towards Darwin, Australia
- Day 45, Sailing towards Darwin, Australia
- Day 46, Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia
- Day 47, Sailing toward Benoa, Indonesia
- Day 48, Sailing toward Benoa, Indonesia
- Day 49, Benoa, Bali, Indonesia
- Day 50, Sailing towards Semarang, Indonesia
- Day 51, Semarang, Java, Indonesia
- Day 52, Jakarta, Indonesia
- Day 53, Sailing toward Hong Kong
- Day 54, Sailing toward Hong Kong
- Day 55, Sailing toward Hong Kong
- Day 56, Sailing toward Hong Kong
- Day 57, Hong Kong
- Day 58, Hong Kong
- Day 59, Hong Kong
- Day 60, Sailing toward Da Nang
- Day 61, Da Nang, Vietnam
- Day 62, Da Nang, Viet Nam
- Day 63, Sailing toward Phu My, Vietnam
- Day 64. Phu My, Vietnam
- Day 65, Siem Reap, Cambodia, Ms Amsterdam sailing toward Sihanoukville
- Day 66; Siem Reap to Sihanoukville – while Amsterdam is moored at Sihanoukville
- Day 67, Sailing toward Singapore
- Day 68, Singapore
- Day 69, Singapore
- Day 70, Singapore
- Day 71, Sailing toward Phuket, Thailand
- Day 72, Phuket, Thailand
- Day 73, Sailing toward Hambantota, Sri Lanka
- Day 74, Sailing toward Hambantota, Sri Lanka
- Day 75, Hambantota, Sri Lanka
- Day 76, Colombo, Sri Lanka
- Day 77, Colombo, Sri Lanka to New Delhi, India
- Day 78, Agra, India (Ship sailing toward Dubai)
- Day 79, Agra, India (Ship sailing toward Dubai)
- Day 80, New Delhi, India (Ship sailing toward Dubai)
- Day 81, New Delhi to Dubai
- Day 82, Dubai, UAE
- Day 83, Dubai, UAE
- Day 84, Sailing toward Muscat
- Day 85, Muscat, Oman
- Day 86, Sailing toward Salalah, Oman
- Day 87, Salalah, Oman
- Day 88, Sailing toward Al’Aqabah, Jordan
- Day 89, Sailing toward Al’Aqabah, Jordan
- Day 90, Sailing toward Al’Aqabah, Jordan
- Day 91, Sailing toward Al’Aqabah, Jordan
- Day 92, Al’Aqabah, Jordan
- Day 93, Sailing toward the Suez Canal
- Day 94, Transiting the Suez Canal
- Day 95, Haifa, Israel
- Day 96, Ashdod, Israel
- Day 97, Sailing toward Piraeus, Greece
- Day 98, Piraeus (Athens,) Greece
- Day 99, Katakolon, Greece
- Day 100, Sailing toward Civitavecchia, Italy
- Day 101, Civitavecchia, Italy
- Menus and On Locations updated…more posts coming soon
- Day 102, Livorno, Italy
- Day 103, Monte Carlo, Monaco
- Day 104, Barcelona, Spain
- Day 105, Sailing toward Cadiz
- Day 106, Cadiz, Spain
- Day 107, Sailing toward Funchal, Portugal
- Day 108, Funchal, Portugal
- Day 109, Sailing toward Fort Lauderdale
- Day 110, Sailing toward Fort Lauderdale
- Day 111, Sailing toward Fort Lauderdale
- Day 112, April 26, Sailing toward Fort Lauderdale
- Day 113, Sailing toward Fort Lauderdale
- Day 114, April 28, Sailing toward Fort Lauderdale
- Day 115, April 29, Sailing toward Fort Lauderdale
- Day 116, Fort Lauderdale, Florida
- Day 117, Half Moon Cay, Bahamas
- Day 118, Sailing towards Cartagena
- Day 119, Sailing towards Cartagena
- Day 120, Cartagena, Colombia
- Day 121, Transiting the Panama Canal
- Day 122, Sailing toward Puntarenas, Costa Rica
- Day 123, Puntarenas, Costa Rica
- Day 124, Corinto, Nicaragua
- Day 125, Puerto Quetzal, Guatemala
- Day 126, Puerto Chiapas, Mexico
- Subscribe to this blog! – Check box at bottom of this page
- Day 127, Huatulco, Mexico
- Day 128, Sailing toward Puerto Vallarta, Mexico
- Day 129, Puerto Vallarta, Mexico
- Day 130, Sailing toward San Diego, California
- Day 131, Sailing toward San Diego, California
- Day 132, San Diego, California
- Opening the Package! What is inside?
- That’s Entertainment!
- PACKING FOR A WORLD CRUISE
- How much does it cost to go on a world cruise? Part 1
- Amazing end of cruise video!
- How much does it cost to go on a world cruise? Part 2 – Pre and Post Cruise Expenses
- Holland America SELLS OUT 2017 World Cruise Inside Cabins – Segments still avail for less the $5,000 per cabin!
- How Much Does it Cost to Go on a World Cruise? Part 3 – Onboard Spending and Calculator
Onboard Spending
In this section we will take a look at how much you spend onboard once you are on the cruise. I’ll save shore excursions for the next section.
Before we dig in, let’s take a look at a fast way to estimate your shipboard account at the end of your cruise. For this method you calculate your average daily spending on your previous cruises and then use that average to calculate your future spending. For this we assume that your daily spending on previous cruises is a good predictor of your daily spending on future cruises. But is this a good assumption? Will you spend more or less per day on a longer cruise than on a shorter cruise?
One easy way to do this on HAL is to go to your account on Holland America and then go to your “My Mariner Status” page. Below is the data from my account. You will see a table similar to this in your account except you won’t see the column labeled spending ratio as that is my own calculation. The spending ratio is a ratio of the number of actual days vs onboard spending credit days. This column also includes spending before the cruise if you bought HAL excursions or indulgences in advance.
Days |
OnBoard Spending Days |
Spending Ratio | |
Panama Canal | 16 |
8 |
50.00% |
World Voyage | 115 |
46 |
40.00% |
Alaska Southbound Gulf | 7 |
6 |
85.71% |
Canada New England | 7 |
2 |
28.57% |
Circle Hawaii | 17 |
7 |
41.18% |
Europe Northern | 14 |
6 |
42.86% |
South America Explorer | 13 |
9 |
69.23% |
Europe Northern | 7 |
4 |
57.14% |
Average spending ratio before world cruise | 54.1% |
This table can help you look at your own long term trends and patterns. In my case, my ratio before the cruise was 54% and on the cruise was 40%. Based on this analysis, I would suggest that you should probably discount your non-world cruise daily rate by 25% to get a more accurate prediction of your expected spending on a world cruise.
This approach doesn’t take into account your spending off the ship or on private excursions, but this is a quick and dirty method to at least get you in the ball park.
My conclusion based on this VERY limited data is that you will probably spend less per day on a world cruise then you would on your shorter cruise, but take a look at your own data and it can help with your world cruise budgeting.
There are numerous ways for you to spend your money onboard. When you are thinking about your budget for a world cruise, take a look at this list of how you could spend your money. Sometimes on a longer cruise you may want to try something new so reviewing this list may help jog your thinking:
Beverages
- Specialty Coffees
- Beer
- Wine
- Cocktails
- Soft Drinks
- Bottled Water
- Wine Tastings
- Other tastings and beverage classes
Specialty Restaurant Dinners
- Canaletto’s
- Pinnacle Grill
- Theme Dinners
Spa
- Massages
- Haircuts, styling and treatments
- Mani/Pedi
- Thermal Suite
- Specialty Treatments
OnBoard Shops
Casino
- Table Games
- Slots
- Slot and Blackjack Tournaments
- Texas Holdem
Internet
Art Auctions
Fitness Center
- Pilates Classes
- Spinning Classes
- Personal Training
Culinary Arts Center Classes
BINGO
You will receive a statement of your charges at the end of every segment. This is your chance to correct any errors. HERE is a copy of the letter from the Purser that explains how the billing works on a world cruise. The letter says that only the summary of each segment will be carried over, but I received an 11 page account summary at the end of the cruise anyway.
Right outside the front desk was an ATM looking machine that would print out your onboard account statement at any time on demand. Unfortunately, it was out of order most of the cruise so it didn’t turn out to be very useful, however, the front desk would always cheerfully print your statement whenever you asked.
Below is a spreadsheet that can help you predict your total spending for a world cruise, or for that matter, any cruise as you can enter whatever input numbers you choose.
The areas in green can be changed or you can simply leave the numbers alone to use the default values. The numbers in yellow or gray are calculated from other cells and cannot be modified except by changing the values in the input cells.
Here the instructions, block by block:
Number of passengers – enter 1 or 2 – this spreadsheet will not work for more than 2 people.
Enter the passengers ages. This will estimate the cost of your travel insurance. If you don’t want to price in travel insurance, enter zero for passenger ages. Add in the cost for medical evacuation insurance as a separate item under “Other pre/post cruse costs”.
In a suite? This answer will decide which Hotel Service Charge to use for your calculations.
Normal HSC and Suite HSC – the values here are for Holland America in 2016. Enter the values for your cruise line.
HSC Prepaid? Under certain circumstances and cabin categories, the HSC may be prepaid. Enter Yes or No as appropriate.
Base Cruise Fare: Enter the base fare for your cruise for one person. The spreadsheet will multiply this by the number of passengers you entered earlier. If you are a single, enter the fare with the single supplement included.
Port Charges: Enter the port charges and taxes for your cruise.
Travel Agent Discount: Enter the amount of your travel agent discount per person. If you’d rather simply enter a lower fare into the base cruise fare, then that is OK too.
Enter the number of sea days: This is used as a multiplier for onboard consumption on sea days.
Enter the number of port days: This is used as a multiplier for onboard consumption on port days.
Total Airfare/Car: Enter the round trip airfare or the cost of your other transportation to and from the cruise port.
Pre/Post Cruise Hotel: Enter the cost of any hotels you plan to stay in before and after the cruise.
Transfers: Enter the total cost of your transfers from the airport to your hotel and then to the ship and then the same on the return.
Baggage Shipment: If you plan to ship bags separately enter $100 per bag if you are in the USA or CANADA otherwise $250 a bag elsewhere.
OBC: Enter the total amount of Onboard Credits you will receive.
The next section, left hand column, gives you a chance to enter the prices for various items sold or offered onboard. I have entered approximate prices for many items. If you want to use different prices, you can enter them here. If you are happy with these prices, you can leave them alone. For the price of shore excursions, enter the average price of a single shore excursion. This number will be multiplied by the number of passengers you entered earlier.
For shore meals, souvenirs and internet minutes, enter the total amounts for both passengers.
The onboard usage will be entered into the next two columns. In these columns, enter the expected usage for both passengers. If you have a drink every other day enter .5, every third day .3 and so on. Rough numbers are fine here as you are simply trying to get a ball bark estimate.
The pricing for the internet is based on the HAL rates and the spreadsheet uses the least expensive rate based on your total minutes.
Minutes | Price | Rate |
1000 | $250 | 25 cents/minute |
500 | $175 | 35 cents/minute |
250 | $100 | 40 cents/minute |
100 | $55 | 55 cents/minute |
Pay as you go | NA | 75 cents/minute |
On the lower right side, you can enter your expected Casino losses and how much you expect to spend in the onboard shops.
Lastly, there is a block to enter Other Charges. Here you can enter anything you may have overlooked elsewhere.
Once you have numbers in all the green blocks, you will see the estimated TOTAL price of your cruise in the YELLOW BLOCKS.
This entry was posted in World Cruise Tips and Tricks
Great information. Thanks.
I have a question about the “wine by the glass” charge. Could you explain this a bit more? Is the charge you mentioned good for 1 glass of wine per day for the entire cruise or for sea days only or something else?