How To Spend Lots Of Money On Cruise Extras

Extras on a cruise ship fall into several categories as I see it: shopping, excursions, accommodations and dining. I really need to add the spa to that but it's not a place where you will find me. If you love the spa and all it has to offer, there are lots of ways to spend money there from hair styling and makeup to exotic massages and thermal suites.

Start with accommodations. If you really want to spend some bucks don't just upgrade to a balcony. Go for a full blown suite with a butler. The big ones come with private hot tubs on the balcony and even grand pianos! Invite all your new cruising friends in for a party and let the butler make all the arrangements. Be ready to leave a nice tip though.

The on board boutiques (every ship has several) also know as the retail therapy area offer lots of ways to spend money. From the my-grandparents-took-a-cruise-and-brought-me-this shirts to jewelry worth thousand of dollars. Prices are high in most cases but you can run into sales from time to time when a ship is leaving one area of the world for another. It's like the seasonal changes in the stores back home. Most of the time however the prices are out of my comfort zone. I once saw a pretty clutch purse in the window of a ship shop and stopped to admire it. In one of my husband's generous moments, he took me in and asked the price. We should have known better. If there's no price tag, it's more than we want to spend. The answer to his question was $4,000. We quietly left without a purchase. No one has explained to me why I would need a $4,000 purse.

Excursions are another area where lots of money can be spent. Sure there are plenty of bus tours and lots of reasonable panoramic tours that give you a taste of the port. But if you really want to spend the kids' inheritance try taking a tour with a private car and driver. Or several of those helicopter tours. The overnight excursions are a must for those who love to splurge. Some of them go for several nights and are pretty pricey. You get off in one port and go overland to join up with the ship again in another port. Bob always asks those on that kind of tour who's eating your meals on board ship?

Only one tray of many.

And now we come to dining. The specialty restaurants are calling. More and more restaurants are showing up on ships nowadays. If you really want to go overboard (well, not literally) try some of the extra special ones. Champagne breakfast for two in the room or a romantic catered dinner on your balcony. Princess offers a special chef's dinner where the chef comes out and cooks something at your table. It is usually for a group of people and you also get to tour the kitchen and receive a cookbook. There was enough food at that meal to feed ten times the number of people at the table. We walked away uncomfortably stuffed. Truly was a once-in-a-lifetime experience for us.

So bottom line: Plan ahead! You can research much of what your ship and your itinerary has to offer and make those choices that you feel will enhance your cruise experience. Provide enough in your budget for a few nice souvenirs or spa visits and if you must have a $4,000 clutch purse--well, be sure your credit card isn't maxed out.