The price you see advertised for a cruise is the fare, per person, and it's only part of what you'll spend. On top of it come two costs nearly everyone pays, taxes and port fees and gratuities, then your choices: drinks, Wi-Fi, excursions, specialty dining and travel insurance. Those extras can add several hundred dollars to a 7-night trip, and with a drink package, well over a thousand more. None of it is hidden if you know where to look. Here's the full bill, line by line, with what my wife and I actually spend.
The costs you can't avoid
1. The cruise fare. Fares are quoted per person, based on two people sharing a cabin. A "from $699" fare means $1,398 for a couple. Third and fourth guests in the same cabin usually pay less than the first two. The fare covers your cabin, the included restaurants and buffet, most entertainment, the pools and the kids' clubs.
2. Taxes, fees and port expenses. These are charged per person and vary by itinerary: more ports and certain destinations cost more. Depending on the cruise line and where you're booking from, the price you're shown may already include them or may add them at checkout. When you compare two cruises, make sure you're comparing both with or both without.
3. Gratuities. Most lines add a daily charge per person to your onboard account, typically about $16 to $22 per person, per night. For a couple on a 7-night cruise, that's roughly $220 to $310. We break down every major line's rate in our gratuities guide.
Your choices
These are optional, and this is where your own habits make the biggest difference.
- Drinks. Water, iced tea, lemonade and regular coffee are included on most ships. Soda, specialty coffee and alcohol cost extra, either by the drink or with a package. Packages are priced per person, per day, for every day of the cruise, and many lines require every adult in the cabin to purchase the drink package, if one adult does. Carnival's CHEERS! package, for example, is $69.95 per person per day plus a 20% service charge if you buy it before you sail, which comes to $83.94 a day, and it's more if you buy it on board.
- Wi-Fi. Priced per device, per day. Bought before you sail, a plan usually has to cover the whole cruise, and it's cheaper than buying on board. On Carnival, pre-cruise plans start at $20.40 a day for a social-media plan and $25.50 a day for the fastest plan. Once on board, you can also buy a single 24-hour plan ($28 or $35 on Carnival) if you only need to get online for a day.
- Shore excursions. Booked through the cruise line or independently. Prices vary enormously, from a beach day to a once-in-a-lifetime tour, so budget per port for what you actually want to do.
- Specialty dining. Extra-charge restaurants are there if you want a special night out. Plenty of cruisers never use them, and the included restaurants and buffet are more than enough.
- Travel insurance. Optional, but worth a serious look, especially if you're flying to the port or sailing during hurricane season. Get a quote for your trip rather than guessing.
What we buy and what we skip. My wife and I don't buy a drink package. We don't drink much, and since every adult in the cabin has to buy it if one of us does, it would never pay off for us. Instead, we set aside a little money in case we decide to have drinks one night. We always get the premium Wi-Fi so we can stay in touch with family back home, but only for one device. Plans are usually sold per device, and only one device can be online at a time, so we take turns. That's never been a problem for us, and it halves the cost. We've never paid for specialty dining: we've always been happy with the included food and never felt the extra charge was worth it. For excursions, we follow a simple pattern on a typical 7-night cruise: one port we're least excited about, we just explore on our own; one port, we treat ourselves to an upgraded beach day; and one port, we try an activity we've never done before. That usually comes to $500 to $600 for the two of us.
A worked example: what goes on top of the fare
The fare itself varies too much by ship, date and cabin to be a useful example, so here's everything that goes on top of it for a couple on a 7-night Carnival cruise: once the way my wife and I do it, and once with a drink package for both of us.
Two things stand out. First, a drink package for two costs more than everything else in our bar put together, so decide on drinks before you compare fares. Second, gratuities, Wi-Fi and drink packages are all "per person (or per device), per day" prices, so they grow fast with a bigger party or a longer cruise.
Keep an eye on your onboard account
Everything you buy on board goes on your cruise account, and mistakes happen. On one cruise I was charged for not returning a towel, which I had returned, and I had to go to Guest Services to get it taken off. Since then, I check our account in the cruise line's app every day or two during the trip. It takes a minute, it keeps the spending honest, and it's far easier to sort out a mistake mid-cruise than in the Guest Services line on the last morning.
What isn't in the cruise price at all
Flights, a hotel the night before, airport transfers and port parking aren't part of the cruise price, and they vary too much by where you live and when you book for us to estimate. One firm tip: arrive the day before your cruise. If a flight is delayed and you miss the ship, it won't wait, and you won't get a refund.
The bottom line
- The advertised fare is per person, based on two sharing.
- Check whether taxes and port fees are already in the price you're shown.
- Add gratuities: about $16 to $22 per person, per night.
- Decide on drinks and Wi-Fi before comparing fares; they're priced per person (or per device), per day.
- Budget excursions per port, and get a real insurance quote.
- Check your onboard account in the app during the cruise, not just at the end.
How Portamora handles this
Every Portamora cost estimate shows the full cruise bill, line by line: the fare, taxes and port fees, gratuities, and then your choices (drinks, Wi-Fi, specialty dining, excursions and insurance), each with an on/off switch so you can see what your own trip would cost. Anything we don't have a reliable number for is shown as unknown, never quietly counted as $0, and we never guess at flight or hotel prices.
Join the launch list to see what your cruise would really cost before you book.
About this guide: this article was researched with AI assistance and checked against Carnival's published prices as of October 2026; the spending examples are my own. Portamora earns a commission from cruise lines when you book with us. It never changes your price, and it plays no part in our recommendations or cost estimates.
Sources
- Carnival: CHEERS! beverage program Q&A · CHEERS! package
- Carnival: Internet plans · Premium Wi-Fi plan
- Carnival: Specials terms and conditions
- Gratuity rates for every major line: our gratuities guide