Very personal question for all of you.

[Folgy]

[quote name='Seaside2358']Folgy---you've really never had Moosehead beer? It is a type of Canadian beer and pretty kick a**. A friend of mine had a party years ago and got a 1/2 keg of it. There were alot of "not feeling so good people" the next day. In moderation, I think it is a very good beer...[/QUOTE]
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I have a beer cooler dispenser in my bar at home. I like BULL MAX 8% alcohol
made locally in Vernon B.C. It holds a full Keg.( beer gas ,rather than C0 2 makes it last a long time.)

My friend informed me about Moosehead. I just never looked or heard of it before.

[Cruzin' Rob]

OK, now the job is coming out in me. Yes, I am a financial planner, so let me show everyone here who is working how to save for a cruise and be able to go on ONE ADDITIONAL cruise per year.

Lets look at our daily lives:

Starbucks coffee (foofoo drink) = $4.00 per day, 5 days a week =$20, 50 weeks a year (2 weeks vacation) = $1,000 per year

Going out to eat for lunch = $9.00 per day (conservative), 5 days a week = $45, 50 weeks a year = $2,250 per year

So far we are at $3,250 per year.

Cable TV, upgraded package, $15.00 extra per month = $180
Bottled water (for all us California's) = $1.00 per bottle (this is a small bottle), 5 bottles per week, 52 weeks a year = $260

$3,250+$180+$260 = $3,690 (the cruise is getting nicer, shall we go for an upgrade on the cabin?)

I would be willing to bet everyone here has an extra $5-$10 per day just floating around in their pocket -- lets use $5, $5 times 365 (366 this year) = $1,830. Now lets add that to the total above, $3,690 + $1,830 = $5,520. This is a very nice cruise. OK, you say you aren't spending money at Starbucks everyday, you aren't eating out everyday. OK, lets say I am only half right. Let's divide that number in half; we are now at $2,760. Oh yeah, that's also per person, if you are a family of two workers then you can now double that number and you are back to $5,520. I don't know about you guys, but $5,520 is a nice cruise.

Are any of my numbers off? If it's not Starbucks, what is it for you, your morning bagel, going to the craft store, hitting the sale rack, buying that extra beer at the bar? Everyone has something. If we look at money on a daily basis it's kind of scary how inexpensive things are. For my next cruise all I needed to save was about $4.11 per day for one year. This is for a week on Explorer of the Seas. We are all spending money on things we don't need. So if we just PAY OURSELF FIRST we can do pretty much whatever we want.

OK, that is how to pay for just one ADDITIONAL cruise per year. Now go to the bank and open a new account, have the bank TAKE $8 per day and put it in the new “Cruise” account, and then you will really be cruising!!!

OK, now everyone who read this let me know so I can send you a bill and I can go on an extra cruise, LOL!!!

[Folgy]

I just worked out my math = 30.14 a day

[moofus]

Okay, we are dual income, grown kids that need financial help now and then. But we have two older cars that we paid cash for, so no car payments... one is a Jag, 1988, creampuff condition, less than 12,000.00.and a 5,000, perfect condition truck for the yard stuff.
Just purchased our first new car last christmas, and will have it paid off before we take our next cruise in Sept. ( that was the deal we made with each other... no cruise until the car is paid off....
We rarely eat out ( by choice because we get home so late, we would rather just come home.) I cook almost everynight.
My husband travels alot, so he eats out all the time,, and when he is out of town, I do eat out with girlfriends. We pay off all credit cards at the end of the month
We work very hard, including weekends, holidays... nothing stops us from working, and that is how my DH has made a few expendable bucks.
Now, he is the problem cruiser. He won't go unless he can have a balcony,, and now that has been upped to a suite. He figures that if he works as hard as he does, and we are in our 50's... he is going to travel in the manner he is most comfortable.... so I just have to put up with the suite;)
We usually do not do many excursions, and choose cruises with more sea days. Because we like the "being at sea" We live close enough to the ports that we can drive ( another way to save money) DH is sick of planes every week so he prefers to drive and pack anyway he wants. We have a modest but nice house and do not go to starbucks or eat lunch out everyday. I take my lunch to work most of the time, because it takes too long to go out everyday (too much time away from work) understand about the work thing here? MY DH also takes his lunch to work when he is in town, because he won't leave the office for lunch and if he doesn't take lunch, he doesn't eat. So I get up extra early to fix our lunches, so I can make sure he eats during the day. I guess we are workaholicis, and since we are "at risk" for a shorter life because of the type A personalities, I figure the cruises are our only outlet. But we can usually go only once per year, due to the "suite" problem and not having enough time to go ( work schedules)...
Boy, after re reading this I sound pretty boring... but we really aren't! Hope to meet some of you soon on a cruise!


We also

[BEVGOO]

More Dinks Here, Although We Have Had Race Horses In Training For The Last Several Years (a Kentucky Thing To Do). The Horses Have Helped With Tax Returns (it's A Business) Which Gives A Return To Travel With. This Has Happened For The Last Four Years And We've Cruised In December Of 2000, 2001 And 2003. We Have Aos Scheduled For This December.

Anyway, For 2003 And 2004, We Have Used Our Aa And Delta Ff Miles To San Juan. This Is A Big Chunk Of The $$. We Chose A Balcony Room We Want And Book It. We Look For Deals Along The Way And Use The Discount Coupons From C&a Or Celebrity. For 2003, I Was Lucky To Find A Deal "buy An Oceanview And Get A Balcony For $1 More". Our Balcony For The Constellation Was Around $625 Each (i Think). I Don't Think Aos Will Be That Cheap But We Are In The $700 Range With Group, Ta And Royal Caribbean Discounts. This Is The Last Of Our Ff Miles, So San Jaun Will No Longer Be An Option. We've Been Looking For A 10 Day Out Of Florida Again Anyway.

[L.W.]

We book back to back cruises...our airfare is usually as much as one week on the ship (flying from Canada) so we book for 2 weeks....one week is too short anyway!

[dougp26364]

I'll try to keep what could be a very long story short. ;)

For years we lived in a cheap, inexpensive, mobil condominium known to the rest of the world as a mobil home. We salted away money and didn't travel at all. Eventually, we had enough money for a down payment on a house. In the process of building the house, my mother, who had survived my father, passed away, leaving us a inheritance. We ended up putting 50% down on our house.

After building the house, we concentrated on paying off the cars while begining to vacation a little bit. At this point we have less payments and more income. The bills I do have will be paid off about the time I'll need to get a new car. That old payment will become a new car payment and our disposable income should remain the same.

It took YEARS of skimping and saving but by age 40 we were financially sound with decent disposable income. We still usually only cruise once a year but, next year I have two on the books and I'm looking at a third. One was booked while on a cruise, then we discovered online TA's and saved enough transfering that booking that I could book a short 3 night cruise. The potential third cruise will come from a TS exchange that will allow us to cruise without expending anymore $ than is already going out. After next year we'll probably go back to one cruise and three or four land based vactions.

It took a long time to get to the point we're at. It was a lot of blood sweat and tears but we're happy to be were we are now. On the other hand, most of my coworkers are still struggling just to get their income to match their what's going out.

[Chloe Girl]

Shelby2002:

We only go on one cruise a year but we usually try to take a land vacation as well...this year cruised in May and have a getaway to Florida coming up in the first week in October with friends.

To answer your question, it is all a question of each individual's priorities...

V&M

[TXSailor]

Hi:

I'm 35 years old and I can cruise multiple times a year because I can afford it for both of us and yes, we get the suites if they are available. Why spend the extra cash? Because I can. Everyone is different. I see people saying "I'm never in the cabin, so why pay extra?" I say this to them: Because, even though I may only spend 10 minutes in my cabin during the day, they are a very comfortable 10 minutes. This question from the original poster is silly. It is like asking why some people travel around in private jets while the majority don't? Because those who can, will. Duh....

Fausto

[obosix]

my hubby retired 6 yrs ago and started his own biz and Im an RN. We cruise 2 x a year. Once is just the 2 of us (with another crusin couple) and the 2nd trip , its all 6 of us. We try to book couple cruise well in advance( booked the QM2 3 yrs in advance) but must book in the summer with the kids, 3 in school, 1 in college, its not easy, but not impossible

[colette5479]

We cruise about once a year and we are a family of four, both my husband and I work, and are on a limited income like most working families. We make such sacrifices such as not eating out as much and renting movies instead of going to see a movie. I book a crusie about a year in advance and in that time I do these things to save for the cruise:
I clip coupons and put the money I save into our cruise account.
I save all of our change...a little can add up over time.
I sell our children's clothing on Ebay and make a little extra cash here and there.
We pay for part of our cruse with our tax refund.
We save our Christmas bonuses for our cruise

We also book inside rooms unless we can find a good bargin online. Booking a year in advance helps us get a great price. It also gives you ten months to make monthly payments toward your cruise! We crusie during hurricane season when the rates are a little cheaper...never had a problem yet!

We have found that with cruising, we get more for our money than if we spent a week in a resort, had to pay for all of our meals, and pay for enterainment.

[tennis837]

We live in Florida so can drive to Port Canaveral, Tampa or Miami so we don't have to fly. We use reverse auctions where companies bid on our business. They do not know who we are until we book. Another way to get the best price is last minute booking which we have done several times. We have booked as late as Wednesday for a Sunday cruise. We have found that with cruises you get more for your buck than any other way of travel. We have owned RV's for over 30 years but now this is the way to go. Pack once and your are done. Leave the driving, cooking and cleaning to others.

We are booked on RCCL's new ship Jewel of the Seas in September to New England/Canada for 10 days.

[websailor]

After reading all the posts, we've decided to give up kids - it cuts down costs both at home and on the cruise.....





:rolleyes: :D :rolleyes: :D
JUST Kidding


Ooohhh, that's a pun... oh my :D

[MattInFLL]

There's a great scene in Sex and the City when Carrie is trying to buy her apartment that's going condo.. in talking to her friend about how upset she is that she had been working all these years and not managed to save any money, let alone enough for a down payment, her friend Miranda asks: "How many pairs of shoes do you own?" Carrie owns several hundred at $400 a pair. Miranda says, "there's your down payment." A sobering moment... but somehow we always find a way to pay for our addictions :)

[slavearlen]

[quote name='MattInFLL']There's a great scene in Sex and the City when Carrie is trying to buy her apartment that's going condo.. in talking to her friend about how upset she is that she had been working all these years and not managed to save any money, let alone enough for a down payment, her friend Miranda asks: "How many pairs of shoes do you own?" Carrie owns several hundred at $400 a pair. Miranda says, "there's your down payment." A sobering moment... but somehow we always find a way to pay for our addictions :)[/QUOTE]

MattinFLL, I love that story and it is soooo appropriate! I have cruised alot and wish to continue. Plans are to travel twice a year, one cruise and one land trip. In order to facilitate that the money has got to come from somewhere. As a single individual I found myself living in a large place where I rarely used all the room. I decided to move and downsize to half, making life much simplier and very cost effective. I saved $500/month in that move alone. I am conscious about eating out constantly which is a downfall of the single individual. In doing that I've lost 24 pounds along with several hundreds of dollars. When one adds all this up and puts into a piggy bank combined with the travel deals and resources that are out there today .... wha-la!!! There's your cruise budget!

What I find interesting are those who wish to travel more but refuse to make the necessary adjustments to get it done. Basically, they want it all ... who doesn't. But sometimes you just can't have it all. Set priorities and work towards those goals.

Penny pincher in San Antonio!!!

[carwash80]

I just check out all the deals..Travelocity has lots of em, and good prices. I don't mind staying in a windowless interior room, so I save a lot. Everything else on the ship is the same for everyone. I tend to only sleep in the room. You can also get some great last minute deals on Travelocity, and if you don't break the bank with liquor or photographs onborad, I am sure you can go at least three times a year, (hopefully you live close to a port) Just know where there is a will, there is a way!

[MrsPete]

We don't ALWAYS cruise; we enjoy a variety of vacations, and we want to expose our children to many different experiences while they're young. We just spent a week in Florida, soon we're going for a long fishing weekend at a mountain lake cabin, I really want to rent a houseboat for a summer week, and I really want to visit Mammouth Caves in Kentucky, and we're just starting plans for a one-month cross-country driving trip (maybe going to rent an RV?). But the other things that we do still take money, so I'll get back to the real question.

My husband and I don't have exceptionally large incomes, but we do seem to have money for all we need. I think the main reason is that we STARTED OUT RIGHT when we were newleyweds. We started with pretty much nothing, but we decided NEVER to accumulate unnecessary debt. We were a one-car family for the first three years of our marriage (not an easy task given where we lived and the fact that we both worked in different places); we only added a second car when it became absolutely necessary. We never ate out. We didn't use shopping as a hobby, but instead only shopped when we had a specific need and a list. We didn't even have a credit card. Tough? Sometimes, but now we're not-quite fourty, and we live in a paid-for house and no debt. We're not rich -- we still have to go to work every day -- but we're comfortable, and we can afford the things that we want as a family. We're still careful with our money: we buy kids' clothes (and some of our own) from yard sales and ebay, we still don't eat out often, we brown-bag our lunches, etc. But we have EVERYTHING we need and most of our wants. I guess it could be summed up by saying we're frugal.

[dennisme41]

hi Rob.Its Dennis, just read your thread about the Saving for your next cruise- How about this one, Take your lose change and put it in a Water Bottle, then at the end of a yr, roll it up and your set for another cruise? Nifty ya? i bet y already heard of that one, but your ideas do make sense, we are a nation of wasters and spenders not savers lol, looking foward to seeing u and Your sis and tak some shop, can u make me rich?lmao, talk later the dennis the menice lol

[TheRoses]

First time taking 2 cruises in a year...both are short but one was a christmas gift for the inlaws (no vacation since seminary) and the next one in October if taking the munchkins (6 & 3) for the first time. I do not work but DH takes care of our needs and if I stay within my allotted budget then we usually have a little extra left over. Also found that is is cheaper to take the kids on a 3 night Bahamas cruise than a trip to Disney and the 6 yo (boy) ti terribly excited as this will be his first vacation from school (K). He has already started saving his money for souviners. In addition we agreed no to purchases birthday or christmas presents for each other (traveling the week after & week of b-days) ...and most important...we have a GREAT travel agent who searches for deals! Wish I could pass her name on...but

[Tatka]

We are two 32 yos and 12 years old son. We started family early and were still living in Ukraine. Then went through emmigration process when our main problem was how to pay the rent... Now we have to fairly good paying jobs (comp programmer and stock trader) , lives in the nice town were it's safe to send our kid to the public school. We started nice vacations 5 years ago (mostly AI, same prices as cruises) and now it's cruising. This year we have 2 7-nighters (Med and Caribbeans) and next year and later we are planning to have 1 a year. We can afford two but only have 2 weeks of vacations a year and we visit friends in Europe every year. (My DH is crazy about Belgium,Holland and France).

We book mostly inside cabins because as other people say we spend little time in cabin and darkness also helps us sleep well. We are also comfortable in inside cabin.

My husband is also "crazy" about good cars... I am sure if we had anything less than two ML- 320 we could vacation more but since I only have 2 weeks a year it's not a problem anyway.

We are not DINKs but DIOK ( DI one K) which is the next best category. :) ( We also didn't have to pay off our college as we got our degrees for free back in USSR)

[savva0122]

We're DINKS as well from the UK (at the moment...) We're lucky in having good salaries but we have a huge mortgage, all our extra pennies goes on the cruises. I am able to work some overtime which makes me an extra £200-400 per month, which pretty much pays for my cruises.
We don't really save any money, the cruises will have do go when the sprogs come along (sniff:( )

[cruizeblues]

How lucky you guys within driving distance of Florida are!!! Airfair adds at least $1,200 to our trip if we bring the two kids! We also don't qualify for the "off-season" or last minute specials because I am a teacher:( We are trying now to save to bring the kids (9&11) We want to get adjoining cabins because I can't imagine 4 of us in a tiny cabin! We'd be throwing each other overboard by the end of the trip!

[cruizeblues]

[quote name='websailor']After reading all the posts, we've decided to give up kids - it cuts down costs both at home and on the cruise.....


LMAO---have considered it once or twice myself!

[Cruiz'nTall]

[quote name='superjerryw']We usually book a cheap cabin. I would rather cruise twice in a cheap cabin than once in an expensive cabin. We find that we use the cabin very little. If the ship is in port we are ashore all day. If the ship is at sea we are engaged in some sort of activity, even if it is just relaxing in a deck chair.

[img]http://escati.linkopp.net/cgi-bin/countdown.cgi?trgb=000000&srgb=00ff00&prgb=00ff00&cdt=2004;3;19;17;0;00&timezone=GMT-0500[/img]

Donuts, is there anything they can't do....[/QUOTE]
Here, here. That is the right spirit! I wouldn't probably ever upgrade to a suite or more expensive cabin unless it was complimentary. It's just not worth it to us. That money is better spent on excursions and port exploring.

[malony33]

The mortgage is paid; there are no car payments right now(cars are 4 and 7 yrs. old) and the next cars will be MUCH smaller with FAR better gas mileage; kids are through college; credit cards are paid off; expensive professional wardrobes are no longer needed b/c we're retired; 2 weddings(the girls) are long over and our son's, we hope, will have most paid by future in-laws; we've downsized: fewer phone lines, long-distance calls, fewer mouths to feed, we eat far less than we used to (esp. expensive cuts of the dreaded red meat), don't need to replace/repair/repaint as often w/o all the kids living here; lucky us - very good ret. benefits that we worked long and hard for; other main entertainment is going to the movies and good restaurants w/good food and prices; all other vacations are with the use of our points with the Disney Vacation Club, and these points go a looong way; and many, many hours of research, e-mails, and phone calls to find good deals and promotions for our cruises...now that I have the time to do all that "work", which I really enjoy!

We waited many, many years to enjoy all this travel and "our" time, and we've planned extensively and well to get here. I wish all of you the same now or in time to come.

Barb