Are there any additional unexpected costs on a Disney Cruise?

The price of your cruise includes your cabin, all meals (except the specialty restaurants), all shows and entertainment, and use of all facilities on ship. The things that you will have to pay for once you are on the ship are:

Gratuities: They will amount to about $10 per person in your cabin per day; about $70 each for the week. When you check in at the pier they will set up an on-board charge account for you to cover any and everything you may buy on ship. They will issue you a “cruise card” which will also serve as your room key and pass to get on and off the ship. At the end of the cruise they will add the gratuity to your tab and you can pay with a credit card or cash, your choice.

Alcoholic drinks: Coffee, tea, soft drinks, milk, juice, and lemonade and punch will be provided free but you must pay for drinks (alcoholic beverages) and they will add a 15% gratuity to each drink order. They will also charge for bottled water.

Photographs: Cruise lines will take plenty of photographs of you all over the ship, in the dining room, and as you exit the ship in ports. The photos will cost a lot, like $15 to $20 for most.

Tours/Excursions: These are listed on your cruise line web site and you can reserve them well before the cruise and pay for them also. If you wait until you are on ship to book tours they will be charged to your on board account (then you can pay cash to settle your account on the last day). The tours and excursions will add the most to your on board account as they usually start at about $40. per person and can be as much as $100 or more per person for some. If you stop at an island you can usually rent snorkel equipment, water trikes, jet skis, small two-people sail boats, go para-sailing and a few other things for a fee. These are usually not charged to your on board account; cash or credit card.

Souvenirs: Anything you buy on ship from a gift shop or duty free shop goes on your on board account. Things that you buy on shore you pay cash or credit card for.

Other: most cruise lines have what they call “specialty” restaurants where there is a gratuity/service charge. All other food on board is free and its not really necessary to budget for food; you cannot eat all that will be available.

–If you want/need to have your hair done, get a massage or wrap, or any services from the spa, you will have to pay for them. You can use the gym free but the spa stuff cost big bucks. Massages and wraps are generally in the range of $80 to $100, some even more.

–Ships now have internet cafe and some have WiFi but the there is a fee for internet access and it is very expensive (like about $50 to $60 an hour).

–You cabin will likely have a minibar with soft drinks and munchies; you have to pay for them (but there is free room service 24/7).