Our Family of 3 (2 Adults and 1 Child) recently took a cruise on Royal Caribbean's Icon of the Seas. We cruised on the week of Spring break (March 30th - April 6th), and had an amazing time. I spent quiet a lot of time prior to embarkation day making sure we could afford the trip and understand what extra costs that we planned on incurring during the trip. I’ve also made this handy dandy calculator to help you plan your next cruise vacation.
Now that we are back home, I can tally up the final total to share with you what a vacation of this type may run you. Some information that you need to know is that we booked this vacation about 1 year in advance and repriced to a lower fair once prior to our sailing. We stayed in the “controversial” infinite balcony cabin type, and outside of the AC turning off when you open the window, we found the extra inside space nice. Anyone that has booked with Royal Caribbean lately knows that their "dynamic pricing" can give you wildly different prices for the same room at different points in time. But usually, the further out you book your cruise, the better the price will be. We sailed from Miami and did the Western Caribbean itinerary of Costa Maya, Roatan, Cozumel and Perfect Day at Coco Cay.
Our Trip costs included travel insurance, accommodations, on-board and off-board activities, dining, pet care, and travel expenses. Here are the breakdowns;
Basic Costs: The foundational expenses for the cruise included a comprehensive insurance policy, the cruise fare itself, and standard and extra gratuities. These are considered the essential costs for participating in the cruise. Another must have for us is the internet package, for this sailing we purchased “The Key” which included that. Insurance was purchased at $320. The Cruise Fare for the Infinite Balcony Room was $6,687.29. – Prepaid gratuities, which cover tips for the staff on board, amounted to $336 and we gave an addition $200 in tips throughout the cruise. The cost of the key program for our sailing was $713.79.
Extra Paid Costs: These are discretionary expenses that were chosen to enhance our cruise experience. We opted to only get the refreshment package for this trip, because the alcoholic drink package never hit a reasonable amount for us. The price of the refreshment package was $396.20. We did however pay a la carte for alcohol beverages, that came to a total of $850 for the duration of the cruise. Dining experiences outside of the included meals were enjoyed for lunch at Giovanni’s and Hooked, costing $48.32 and $45.96 respectively (I purchased these prior to the sailing when Royal had a sale). I also had a spa visit on Icon that came to $208.
Shore Excursions provided opportunities for adventure and exploration, with a total expense of $1295.87 divided by Cacchoben Mayan Ruins Excursion Drive VIP ($374.97 + $100 additional tips to driver and guide), Paradise Beach in Cozumel ($250 + $100 additional tips to servers), and a Day Bed at Breeze Beach on Coco Cay ($430.90 + $40 additional tips to staff). We opted to no do any excursions in Roatan, but explored the port and had a fun time around Icon with less crowds during that day.
Travel and Hotel Accommodations: We don’t leave in or near Miami (an oversight that my husband keeps trying to rectify) so we both needed to fly to Miami and have 1 night hotel stays both before and after the cruise. The two stays would have come to roughly $800 but we had some hotel points that reduce out of pocket cost to only $300. We don’t live near a major hub so our plane ticket options on spring break week were limited. We flew Jet Blue with a round trip cost of $2,528.91 for the three of us.
Ancillary Costs: - These costs accounted for ancillary services related to the cruise. Pet Lodging for the duration of the cruise was necessary, incurring a cost of $1,300, (I understand that we overspend on our baby dog, she stays at a doggy hotel). Airport Parking amounted to $240. Miscellaneous ride shares while in Miami were roughly $200. We also spent roughly $500 on food and drinks during our time in Miami and another $200 on souvenirs during the trip.
Grand Total: - The grand total cost of the Icon of the Seas Cruise experience, which includes Basic, Extra Paid, Travel and Hotel Accommodations: and Ancillary Costs, amounted to $16,870.34.
I hope this give you a basic understand on what a vacation of this type will afford you. Please comment with any questions!
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