How much should i save for a Royal Caribbean cruise?

I have cruised on the Oasis of the Seas and many other Royal Caribbean and other cruise line cruises. Here's what you need to know. The price of your cruise includes your cabin, all meals (including breakfast, lunch dinner, snacks and free room service), all shows and entertainment, and free use of all facilities on ship. On the Oasis they do have several "specialty" restaurants where there IS a fee to eat but they are strictly optional places. The staff will give you a flier when you board that lists all of the free places and those that have a fee. The zip line, rock wall, ice skating, and all of the shows are free; but you do need to reserve them and you can do that online once you have made your reservation. The things that you will have to pay for are: GRATUITIES: They will amount to $11.50 per person in your cabin per day; about $80 each person for a 7 day cruise. The gratuities cover your cabin steward, waiter, assistant waiter, and the head waiter. Those are the only people you'll need to tip. When you check in at the pier they will set up an on-board charge account for you to cover any and everything you may buy on ship. They will issue you a "cruise card" which will also serve as your room key and pass to get on and off the ship. At the end of the cruise they will add the gratuity to your tab and you can pay with a credit card or cash, your choice. If you select the "MY Time" dining option which allows you to go to dinner in the main dining room any time after 6:00 PM, you must pay the gratuities up front as a part of your booking costs. Otherwise everything on the ship is cashless, except the casino and you pay at the end of the cruise with your charge card, or you can arrange to pay cash. Gratuities are one of the biggest additional cost on your cruise. ALCOHOLIC DRINKS AND SOFT DRINKS: Coffee, tea, milk, juice, and lemonade and punch will be provided free. BUT you must pay for soft drinks and alcoholic beverages and they will add a 15% gratuity to each drink or soft drink order. Your drinks bill will be the second biggest additional cost, depending upon how many alcoholic beverages you drink and/or how many soft drinks. You can buy a soft drink package for unlimited soft drinks the whole cruise at a cost of $6 per day per adult and $4 per day per child: http://www.royalcaribbean.com/customersupport/faq/details.do?pagename=frequently_asked_questions&pnav=5&snav=2&faqId=3653&faqSubjectId=336&faqSubjectName=Food+%26+Beverage&faqType=faq PHOTOGRAPHS: Cruise lines will take plenty of photographs of you all over the ship, in the dining room, and as you exit the ship in ports. These will cost a lot, like $15 to $20 for most. But you don't have to buy any photos and my advice is take your camera with you everywhere and take your own photos. TOURS/EXCURSIONS: You are not required to book any tours and can get off and on in the ports as much as you want. But the cruise line will offer a lot of tours and these are expensive. These are listed on your cruise line web site and you can reserve them well before the cruise and pay for them also. If you are going to the Caribbean, most places you can get a tour or taxi on the pier for a much lower price than on the ship. Most tours are going to be in the $35 to $65 per person range. If you book them after you board the ship the cost will go on your on-board account that you pay by credit card, or cash, at the end of the cruise. SOUVENIRS: Anything you buy on ship from a gift shop or duty free shop goes on your on board account. CASINO: If you plan to gamble on ship you will need cash for that. OTHER: The Oasis has several eating places they call "specialty" restaurants where there is a gratuity/service charge. All other food on board is free and its not really necessary to budget for food; you cannot eat all of the FREE FOOD that will be available. The flier that you receive when you board the ship will tell you which places are free and which have a fee. If you want/need to have your hair done, get a massage or wrap, or any services from the spa, you will have to pay for them and the cost is added to your on-board account. You can use the gym free but the spa stuff cost big bucks. Ships now have internet cafe and some have WiFi but the there is a fee for internet access and it is very expensive (like about $50 an hour). The cost of the internet goes on your on-board account. You cabin will likely have a minibar with soft drinks and munchies; you have to pay for them (but there is free room service 24/7). Considering all of the above, on a 7-day cruise I typically take about $300 to $500 cash, mainly for incidental souvenirs on shore and for the casino. Your on-board bill will be paid by credit card and will be about $200 per person, depending upon which and how many of the above optional charges you have.