| Sign & Sail |
| The only place on board that accepts cash is the Casino, so that being said, this will explain how the Sign & Sail card works as well as the Expenses you can expect to have. |
Sign & Sail
Travelers Cheques should be considered in the same category as Cash. That being said you
can do things a couple different ways:
Credit Card:
You put a credit card down and all of your charges go on your credit card. This is great, but
also an easy way of going a little overboard! (no pun intended)
Cash:
You can choose to not put a credit card down at all and only use cash. You can put as much
down as you wish but as soon as you have $75 left on your stateroom credit, a bill will be
placed under your door which is a sign that you need to put more cash down on your stateroom
credit
Cash then Credit Card:
This is more often the procedure we use. We put cash down on our stateroom credit and then
the next to the last full day I estimate enough cash we will need for the last days and a credit
card. The reason for this is if you put $150 down and you only use $100, Carnival will issue
you a check and place it under your door the last day, thus you are “out” that $50 until you can
get home and cash the check. If I only put down $75 dollars those last few days and I spend
$100, they will charge the additional $25 to my credit card. Just makes life a little easier!
Credit Card with Cash:
Our last cruise we did this. We put down a credit card but when our bill got a little high, we
applied some of the cash we had brought with us. Thus bringing the amount being charged to
our credit card down a little.
Spending Money
Each person is different but at minimum these are the items you need to prepare for:
Alcoholic Beverages
See Drink Menu's for prices.
Non-Alcoholic Beverages
This includes non-alcoholic frou-frou drinks as well as soft drinks. The only drinks that are
free are tap water, fruit punch, tea, lemonade, coffee, hot tea.
Soda Card
A soda card is available. This card allows all you can drink sodas. It’s approximately $40
(includes tax & gratuity). A can of soda is $1.77 and a bottle of soda is $2.95 (both costs
include tax & gratuity). So do the math. If you are going to drink at least 2 bottles of soda a
day then a soda card is worth it for you! If you get a soda card and your bar waiter/waitress at
mealtime is especially good and brings you your soft drink without asking, goes above and
beyond service you should tip them something at the end of the week. Remember $5 is a lot of
money to a lot of the crewmembers as they are from other countries and some countries the US
dollar is worth as much as 20 times for their “dollar”.
Casino/Gambling
This can include Bingo, Table Games, Slot Machines as well as Instant Bingo/Lottery tickets
(these vary by ship).
Excursions
See Ports of Call for pricing information. Excursions booked on board will appear on your
Sign & Sail card. Excursion booked on your own through outside tour companies will need to
be paid either by Credit Card, Cash or Traveler's Cheques.
Souvenirs
Souvenirs bought on board the ship will be charged to your Sign & Sail Card. Souvenirs
bought at Ports of Call may require a combination of credit cards, cash, travelers cheques.
Supper Club
The supper club is something that is exclusive to just a few Carnival Ships. On the Spirit it is
called the Nouveau Supper Club. They serve delicious steaks, seafood, lamb, etc. (See menu
here) The fee is $25 pp. It is well worth the fee!!! Eating at the Supper Club is the equivalent
of eating at someplace like Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse and eating a meal that on land would
probably cost you $100-150 pp! We pay the $25 pp gladly and even tip extra as the service is
impeccable!!!
Art Auctions
These are not for everyone. However it is a fun way to get some artwork really cheap! Scott
and I just bought three pieces of art this past cruise. We paid for all three what we would
have probably paid for 1 piece on land. You can buy art as cheap as $100!!!
Tips
$10 pp, per day = $70 pp is automatically billed to your stateroom credit. This is what is
recommended, however if you have service that is below par and you wish to remove any or
this entire amount you may go to the purser’s desk to do so. On the same note, if you are
pleased with the service or you feel the crewmember has gone above and beyond service you
may tip them more.
When you order a drink (alcoholic or non-alcoholic) a gratuity of 18% is automatically
added. These bar waiters work for about $250 a month, so they live on those tips. If you have
a bar waiter that takes special care, you may add to this automatic tip amount.
Also remember to have one-dollar bills to tip people like the skycap, the cabbie, and the
porters who take your luggage. It is customary to tip at minimum $1 per bag, but you should
tip $2 per bag. If any of your excursions require a cab transport don’t forget cash for that as
well.
Travelers Cheques should be considered in the same category as Cash. That being said you
can do things a couple different ways:
Credit Card:
You put a credit card down and all of your charges go on your credit card. This is great, but
also an easy way of going a little overboard! (no pun intended)
Cash:
You can choose to not put a credit card down at all and only use cash. You can put as much
down as you wish but as soon as you have $75 left on your stateroom credit, a bill will be
placed under your door which is a sign that you need to put more cash down on your stateroom
credit
Cash then Credit Card:
This is more often the procedure we use. We put cash down on our stateroom credit and then
the next to the last full day I estimate enough cash we will need for the last days and a credit
card. The reason for this is if you put $150 down and you only use $100, Carnival will issue
you a check and place it under your door the last day, thus you are “out” that $50 until you can
get home and cash the check. If I only put down $75 dollars those last few days and I spend
$100, they will charge the additional $25 to my credit card. Just makes life a little easier!
Credit Card with Cash:
Our last cruise we did this. We put down a credit card but when our bill got a little high, we
applied some of the cash we had brought with us. Thus bringing the amount being charged to
our credit card down a little.
Spending Money
Each person is different but at minimum these are the items you need to prepare for:
Alcoholic Beverages
See Drink Menu's for prices.
Non-Alcoholic Beverages
This includes non-alcoholic frou-frou drinks as well as soft drinks. The only drinks that are
free are tap water, fruit punch, tea, lemonade, coffee, hot tea.
Soda Card
A soda card is available. This card allows all you can drink sodas. It’s approximately $40
(includes tax & gratuity). A can of soda is $1.77 and a bottle of soda is $2.95 (both costs
include tax & gratuity). So do the math. If you are going to drink at least 2 bottles of soda a
day then a soda card is worth it for you! If you get a soda card and your bar waiter/waitress at
mealtime is especially good and brings you your soft drink without asking, goes above and
beyond service you should tip them something at the end of the week. Remember $5 is a lot of
money to a lot of the crewmembers as they are from other countries and some countries the US
dollar is worth as much as 20 times for their “dollar”.
Casino/Gambling
This can include Bingo, Table Games, Slot Machines as well as Instant Bingo/Lottery tickets
(these vary by ship).
Excursions
See Ports of Call for pricing information. Excursions booked on board will appear on your
Sign & Sail card. Excursion booked on your own through outside tour companies will need to
be paid either by Credit Card, Cash or Traveler's Cheques.
Souvenirs
Souvenirs bought on board the ship will be charged to your Sign & Sail Card. Souvenirs
bought at Ports of Call may require a combination of credit cards, cash, travelers cheques.
Supper Club
The supper club is something that is exclusive to just a few Carnival Ships. On the Spirit it is
called the Nouveau Supper Club. They serve delicious steaks, seafood, lamb, etc. (See menu
here) The fee is $25 pp. It is well worth the fee!!! Eating at the Supper Club is the equivalent
of eating at someplace like Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse and eating a meal that on land would
probably cost you $100-150 pp! We pay the $25 pp gladly and even tip extra as the service is
impeccable!!!
Art Auctions
These are not for everyone. However it is a fun way to get some artwork really cheap! Scott
and I just bought three pieces of art this past cruise. We paid for all three what we would
have probably paid for 1 piece on land. You can buy art as cheap as $100!!!
Tips
$10 pp, per day = $70 pp is automatically billed to your stateroom credit. This is what is
recommended, however if you have service that is below par and you wish to remove any or
this entire amount you may go to the purser’s desk to do so. On the same note, if you are
pleased with the service or you feel the crewmember has gone above and beyond service you
may tip them more.
When you order a drink (alcoholic or non-alcoholic) a gratuity of 18% is automatically
added. These bar waiters work for about $250 a month, so they live on those tips. If you have
a bar waiter that takes special care, you may add to this automatic tip amount.
Also remember to have one-dollar bills to tip people like the skycap, the cabbie, and the
porters who take your luggage. It is customary to tip at minimum $1 per bag, but you should
tip $2 per bag. If any of your excursions require a cab transport don’t forget cash for that as
well.
