Carnival Ships are basically Cashless – everything onboard will be purchased using your Sail and Sign Card, which will either be linked to a Credit Card, Debit Card or a Cash Account.

The only things you can use cash for on the ship are for Tips, The Casino, or to Load Cash onto your Account.

A General Rule/Recommendation is to bring $100.00 per person per Port Day, and nothing for Sea Days.

Every person is different and every trip is different – so there’s no real answer to the amount of money you should bring. Below are some things to consider when deciding how much cash to bring:

1 – Casino – are you planning to gamble. You can use cash at the tables or the machines. If you use your Sail and Sign Card at the Tables, there is a 3% charge added to each transaction. I recommend setting a Set Amount for each day if you plan to gamble.

2 – Tipping – even if you Pre-Pay Gratuities, these Gratuities do not go to everyone you Interact with. It is completely up to you if you wish to tip more. It is customary, but not necessary to tip your Servers, Bartenders, Room Stewards and Porters. The amount is entirely up to you. CLICK HERE FOR A FULL ARTICLE ABOUT TIPPING ON A CRUISE. When ordering drinks, there will be an option on your receipt to add tips if you don’t want to use cash.

3 – If you are using Cash for your account, you’ll want to make sure to have enough cash to reload if needed. Charges on Cruises can add up really fast.

4 – Shopping In Ports – Are you planning on doing some shopping? You can Barter in a lot of ports on the prices. If you don’t want to use a Credit Card or Debit Card while shopping – consider the amount you’d like to budget for shopping.

5 – Eating/Drinking In Ports – If you plan to venture out on your own and don’t want to use a Credit Card or Debit Card, you can always use cash – and all of the Port Destinations on Cruises that leave from the United States accept American Money.

6 – Tipping on Excursions – You may want to budget a little bit of cash to tip your Tour Bus Driver, Tour Guide or other people that helped with your Excursions.

*My personal preference for Cash – I bring a set amount for the Casino every day – if I lose that Day’s Money, I’m finished for the day and start over the next day. Whatever I win, or have left over at the end of the day, I put in a bag to take home, and start over the next day. On the last night, I take some of that cash and pay off any balance I may have on my Sail and Sign Account. I don’t always win in the Casino, but I always come home with money. My highest bill for my Sail and Sign Account over my last 15+ Cruises has been $6.00. I also use some of that money for tips on the last night – tips for the restaurant staff and my Room Steward. The length of the Cruise and the number of nights I actually dine in the Main Dining Room determine the amount that I end up tipping, and it varies every Cruise.

I also bring a stack of 20 – $1.00 Bills for each day for tipping the servers/bartenders for my drinks.

We personally always Carry On our own luggage, so we don’t budget tips for the Porters.

Overall, I like to have around $100 extra with me for Miscellaneous things like tipping for excursions, or random meals we may get in Port.