How Much Does a Cruise Cost? The Full Breakdown

Updated September 21, 2026 3 min read

The short answer

The advertised fare is roughly half the real cost. For two adults on a seven-night mainstream cruise, budget $1,000 to $2,400 for the fare, $220 to $280 in gratuities, $400 to $1,200 for flights and a hotel night, and whatever you spend on drinks and excursions. A cruise advertised at $1,400 for two typically lands between $2,500 and $5,000.

Key takeaways

Gratuities are $16 to $20 per person per night and are added automatically
Excursions are the biggest controllable cost; independent tours often cost a third as much
Drink packages break even at six or seven drinks a day, which is more than most people drink
Flights and a pre-cruise hotel night are frequently the largest single line item
Cabin, main dining, buffet, shows, pools and port-to-port transport are all included

The advertised fare is roughly half of what a cruise costs. That is not a scam, it is how the industry prices: the fare covers the cabin, the main restaurants and the entertainment, and almost everything else is sold separately once you are aboard and no longer comparing.

The real total, broken down

For a seven-night Caribbean cruise for two adults on a mainstream line, budget roughly like this:

Fare: $1,000 to $2,400 for two, depending on cabin grade and season
Gratuities: $16 to $20 per person per night, so $220 to $280 for the week
Drinks: $0 if you stick to what is included, $600 to $1,300 for two drinks packages
Flights and a pre-cruise hotel night: $400 to $1,200
Shore excursions: $60 to $200 per person per port, so $400 to $1,000 for a week
Wi-Fi: $100 to $250 for the week if you need it
Speciality dining, spa, photos, casino: whatever you allow

A cruise advertised at $1,400 for two therefore lands somewhere between $2,500 and $5,000 in practice. The gap between those two numbers is almost entirely choices, not surprises.

What is genuinely included

More than people expect. Your cabin and its daily servicing, the main dining rooms, the buffet, most casual eateries, room service on many lines, the theatre shows, the pools, the gym, the daytime activity programme, and transport between every port on the itinerary.

Tea, coffee, tap water, basic juice at breakfast and iced tea are normally free. Anything with a brand name on it usually is not.

What is not

Alcohol, speciality coffee, bottled water and fizzy drinks. Speciality restaurants. Shore excursions. Wi-Fi. Spa and salon. Laundry. The casino, obviously. Photographs. And gratuities, which most lines add automatically to your onboard account whether or not you think of them as optional.

Where the money actually goes wrong

Gratuities catch people out most. They are charged per person per night, they are added automatically, and on a family of four for a week they exceed $600. Budget them as part of the fare, because that is effectively what they are.

Excursions are the biggest controllable cost. Ship excursions are convenient and marked up heavily. In most Caribbean and Mediterranean ports you can walk off, take a taxi to the same beach or old town, and spend a third as much. The exception is any port where being late back to the ship is a real risk, because the ship waits for its own excursions and not for you.

Drinks packages are a gamble, not a saving. Worth it above roughly six or seven drinks a day, which is more than most people actually drink. The arithmetic is worth doing before you book one.

Cheap ways to cruise

Sail in shoulder season. Early December, late April and September cost far less than school holidays for near-identical weather.
Take an older ship. Same destinations, same crew standards, sometimes half the fare.
Book an inside cabin if you will not be in it during daylight anyway.
Drive to the port if you can. Flights and the pre-cruise hotel are often the largest single line item.
Look at repositioning sailings. One-way voyages between seasons sell at roughly half the nightly rate, which is the deepest structural discount in cruising. Our sister site covers how repositioning cruises work in detail.

What a cruise costs compared with a land holiday

Honestly assessed, an all-in cruise at $250 per person per night is not cheap next to a package holiday. What it buys is a lack of decisions: no restaurant booking, no internal transport, no second hotel, no luggage moved twice. Whether that is worth the premium is personal, and the industry’s marketing is very careful never to let you make the comparison directly.

Frequently asked questions

Is food included on a cruise?

Yes, and more of it than people expect. The main dining rooms, the buffet, most casual venues and often room service are all covered by the fare. Speciality restaurants, branded coffee, bottled water and fizzy drinks cost extra.

Are gratuities compulsory on a cruise?

They are added to your onboard account automatically and most lines will remove them on request. Removing them does not refund you from the cruise line; it reduces what the crew pool receives, since gratuities form a substantial part of crew pay.

What is the cheapest way to cruise?

Sail in shoulder season, take an older ship, book an inside cabin, drive to the port rather than flying, and look at one-way repositioning voyages, which sell at roughly half the usual nightly rate.

How much spending money do you need for a week cruise?

Excluding gratuities, $500 to $1,500 per couple covers most people for a seven-night cruise with a few drinks and a couple of excursions. It rises quickly with drink packages and ship-booked tours.

Costs & Money