How would you spend $15K this June?

[olindacat]

We haven't cruised/vacationed in over five years. We have done tons of research and before we pull the trigger wanted to do one post first.

 

Our plan is to spread our budget, $15k, next month over two or three cruises. We plan to do a seven day stint in Alaska, are contemplating a transatlantic on Cunard, and then one in Europe.

 

We are fearful of the incidentals costs running out of control. This happened to us last decade when we did Oceania and RCCL.

 

If you were in our shoes, how would you spend your own $15k given such short notice? Many thanks. First post, but have followed threads here for several years.

[cb at sea]

I don't think 15K will cover 3 cruises! At least, it wouldn't for us! As you said, incidentals rack up the bill!

 

I would pick the 1 cruise I most wanted to do, along with any excursions that are "must-dos", and if there's money left, I'd do home improvements or invest that extra money!

[olindacat]

I don't think 15K will cover 3 cruises! At least, it wouldn't for us! As you said, incidentals rack up the bill!

 

I would pick the 1 cruise I most wanted to do, along with any excursions that are "must-dos", and if there's money left, I'd do home improvements or invest that extra money!

 

Sorry: cruise fare only. I have $3k for Alaska on Celeb, $3500 Cunard NY-Southampton. That leaves $8500 for Europe.

 

The spirit of my post is more about best use of acorns in June. But with 50k posts here, I'm guessing you've given enough advice in your time :-)

 

Thanks for your input. I was leaning toward Seabourn Legend 21 days with OV for $12,400 but got scared away by reviews.

[olindacat]

Not big on shore activities organized by ships. Too many bad experiences.

[navybankerteacher]

We haven't cruised/vacationed in over five years. We have done tons of research and before we pull the trigger wanted to do one post first.

 

Our plan is to spread our budget, $15k, next month over two or three cruises. We plan to do a seven day stint in Alaska, are contemplating a transatlantic on Cunard, and then one in Europe.

 

We are fearful of the incidentals costs running out of control. This happened to us last decade when we did Oceania and RCCL.

 

If you were in our shoes, how would you spend your own $15k given such short notice? Many thanks. First post, but have followed threads here for several years.

 

The Alaska cruise of course should be done on its own. But you might want to think about a transatlantic re -positioning, either from, say, Rome, with a number of port calls in the Mediterranean; or from Northern Europe, say England, with stops in France, Spain and Portugal before crossing. That way you combine a few stops in Europe with a T/A - and get the low fares typically available on two week or so repositionings.

 

You will find that a 7 day T/A on Cunard, with no stops, is likely to cost more than a two week repositioning. Your $15,000 budget should be sufficient with care - discuss Cruise Air, or the like, with your cruise line when you book -that will give you the best deal on your one way flight.

[iancal]

It depends when you go, how you book, and how particular you are.

 

Balcony cabins were going for 700-1000 this month on 7 day Alaska cruises-HAL and Princess. Saw a few 12 day Baltic cruises from C'hagen for $1200.

 

We usually book just inside the final payment window. Hard to f'cast.. it is all based on supply and demand. Over the past two years we have done four Med cruises. All balcony, all for $100-$110 per day. On Celebrity. One thing for certain, as you get closer to departure date prices can go up and down in a period of 24 hours. Understand the prices, and book when your deal hits. Save you money for on board spending and land tours.

 

Shop around. We are finding that air 30-40 days out is no different in price that 3-6 months out.

 

Good luck.

Edited May 22, 2014 by iancal

[olindacat]

It depends when you go, how you book, and how particular you are.

 

Balcony cabins were going for 700-1000 this month on 7 day Alaska cruises-HAL and Princess. Saw a few 12 day Baltic cruises from C'hagen for $1200.

 

We usually book just inside the final payment window. Hard to f'cast.. it is all based on supply and demand. Over the past two years we have done four Med cruises. All balcony, all for $100-$110 per day. On Celebrity. One thing for certain, as you get closer to departure date prices can go up and down in a period of 24 hours. Understand the prices, and book when your deal hits. Save you money for on board spending and land tours.

 

Shop around. We are finding that air 30-40 days out is no different in price that 3-6 months out.

 

Good luck.

 

I know there are bargains out there for sure. And, savvy shopper like you will find them. Would is interesting is how you'd get the most for your money? I guess I am trying to lure you into telling me what and why, like every other noob must do. In the camera forums we'll talk about what we'd buy and why. Perhaps the way I wrote my post doesn't encourage that. But, if anyone feels the urge to share exactly what cruises they'd buy and why, it might prove to be insightful.

 

Is cruising in general a commodity? How many out of 100 do you think spend whatever they want and not feel the financial pain of it? How much is your vacation dollar worth to you or what is your priority?

 

We are just looking to use our dollar as wisely as we can and the suggestion that a Transatlantic may be too much money for what it offers was very insightful.

[Keith1010]

I would pick the first cruise and budget that one out and see where that leaves you. Be sure to factor in costs such as hotel and air.

 

Keith

[sherilyn70]

I know there are bargains out there for sure. And, savvy shopper like you will find them. Would is interesting is how you'd get the most for your money? I guess I am trying to lure you into telling me what and why, like every other noob must do. In the camera forums we'll talk about what we'd buy and why. Perhaps the way I wrote my post doesn't encourage that. But, if anyone feels the urge to share exactly what cruises they'd buy and why, it might prove to be insightful.

Cruise lines are a personal choice as are itineraries. Without more specifics you are not likely to get a lot of responses with solid answers because we don't know what you like, what you prefer to do on your cruise, and what type of room and experience you are looking for.

[agabbymama]

As others have said, we don't know you or your likes/dislikes.

 

If it were me, I'd do Alaska BIG, not just the cruise, unless you do HAL 14 day.

 

My first 7 day cruise to Alaska whetted my appetite to see more. We then did an 11 day cruisetour to the tune of $3000 pp. The longer you stay, the more money it's going to take.

 

Europe on the other hand ended up costing us $6000 pp for a 21 day trip. If I'm paying the airfare & investing the time to get there, I want to see as much as I can for the bucks I'm spending. While the 12 day cruise itself was $2200, it didn't take long for the cost to escalate.

 

Just these two cruises would be $18,000 for two people, which is over your budget of $15,000.

 

I can't imagine you are going to get anywhere near your proposed budget on an Oceania cruise. Good luck with your planning, and have a great trip, whatever you decide to do.

[olemissreb]

We spent your entire budget for 2 weeks in Alaska last year. That being said, there were 4 of us and we booked 2 cabins - a Royal Suite and the adjoining Concierge Cabin. I also booked a year in advance so I would have time to pay it off in smaller chunks. Our first week was DIY land tour so we had hotel, food and excursion costs. As much as possible, I prepaid our excursions and hotels. I also used the coupon books as much as possible. It was a fantastic trip and I would do it again in a heartbeat.

 

Do a lot of research to determine the best for your vacation dollar. Instead of taking 3 trips this year, maybe take one this year and with a little extra research do 2 next year. I've already started researching my youngest son's pre-graduation trip and we won't be taking that until 2017! It won't be cheap, but I'm going to try my best to get a good deal.

[iancal]

We have only done one TA and we really did not like it. Too many sea days for our preference. We do not like more than two sea days at a time. We used it a mode of transportation-on our way to Costa Rica via Florida.

 

If you like sea days, TA's are very inexpensive. $70-$80. will get you a balcony cabin on a mass market line-this is what we paid on Celebrity. Sometimes we found it too hot to sit on our balcony! Beautiful ship, great food, service. It was just too long at sea for us.

 

We absolutely view cruising as a commodity. Probably because we stick with the mass market lines-primarily Princess, HAL, Celebrity. There are so many cruise lines, ships, and offerings out there how can it not be a commodity? Unless of course you are looking for an specific, unusual itinerary on a specific ship. We do more land travel and prefer a max of 14 days on a ship. After that the food starts to taste the same and the service is no longer very special for us.

 

For us a cruise is another travel choice-it competes with all the other travel options in the marketplace. We are retired and travel often. We can afford to spend more but we are typically on the look out for value ahead of price. And we are very flexible. We have a long list of places that we want to visit.

Edited May 22, 2014 by iancal

[skandls]

We have done 2 Med cruises on Oceania. Those worked well for us - open seating for dinner with decent food. The smaller ships can dock closer to some of the major cities - so travel time is less. We did not need a lot of evening entertainment as with all the port stops we went to bed fairly early. We found private tours to share on the CruiseCritic roll calls. There were expensive but worth the cost as we got to see a lot more than the cruise line was offering.

 

I would not choose Seabourn for a Med cruise because the port intensive cruises do not really allow for a lot of time to enjoy the pampering aboard the luxury lines.

 

You should set your priorities and research real costs - taking into account what the 'cruise fare' includes. Also don't forget transportation costs (flying to/from HI can be expensive).

 

I don't know if the 15k will stretch to cover 3 cruises - the cheapest fares are for inside cabins - the price goes up a lot if you want a balcony (almost a must for Alaska).

[Grannycb]

That budget is huge! You should be able to do more than 3 cruises in nice cabins by booking last minute, or at least within a month or two of sailing. Perhaps you could try Celebrity, HAL, or Princess for the transatlantic instead of the pricier lines? Check airfare before booking your cruise so you don't get stuck with a huge cost. Check with different travel agents. Sometimes they buy up a block of cabins and will sell for less or with OBC close to sailing. Avoid paying list price. Have you thought of flying to Europe for a cruise and returning along the northern route to see Scotland, Iceland, Greenland, & Canada? That's an interesting cruise with ports most days. Eight days at sea to get from Point A to Point B gets a little old. Whatever you do, I wish you a wonderful vacation.

[iancal]

duplicate

Edited May 23, 2014 by iancal

[iancal]

Agree. No sweat. $15K would definitely get you 3 cruises-balcony cabins-on very nice ships Maybe gtys, but balcony. Shop carefully, deal with a TA that provides OBC's. Research ship excursions and private excursions.

 

36 days at $120 average per day (includes tips) uses up 8800. That is conservative. You can probably get more days than that if you are careful. Replace a HAL, Princess or Celebrity for Cunard and you will have some extra perhaps. Spend the balance on air, excursions, pre cruise hotel, and a few pre cruise days at ports in Europe (local family run B&B's vs higher end hotels).

 

No issue. You can do this if you truly want to. It comes down to good shopping, setting your priorities and passing on some of the over priced on board items like spas etc (get them while you are in Turkey!). Make your

$15K count. You will have a blast.

 

But it takes work on your part. You need to do your research-this will save you big bucks and enhance your enjoyment and your appreciation of where you happen to be travelling. If you are serious about this, you need to start your research NOW.

 

Option B is to blow it all on one cruise. Big luxury suite, lots of on board spending, etc. etc. We typically go with Option A but we travel anywhere for 4-6 months each year.

Edited May 23, 2014 by iancal

[Lerin]

Seems your budget is too small for the 3 cruises you're looking at.

 

I'd probably just do Oceania and Cunard, though still wouldn't have enough cash.

Good luck

[SPacificbound]

:)I would concentrate on one continent only and take back to back cruises, preferably with one of them either leaving or returning to my area, which I see for you would be Hawaii. You get more bang for your buck this way because you only have to buy one long haul plane ticket. :)

 

I have not read any responses so I may be saying the same thing a dozen other people have already said. :D

 

Right now I have 2 Mediterranean cruises and 1 Transatlantic booked on a superior ocean view balcony, total of 38 nights for $13,734.00 before taxes and tips. I will be moving these booking numbers to other cruises because we found a Princess Grand Adventure we liked better.

 

Take your time and do lots of research, don't just take CC posts advice because we don't know you. :)

Edited May 23, 2014 by SPacificbound

[SPacificbound]

Just a PS to my post above. :) We like sea days after a very busy land trip or port intensive cruise. It's wind down time.

 

I book cruises as soon as they are released and I always save money. For 42 nights SA on Celebrity the price has doubled. So shop wisely.

 

We are going to Alaska in August, 7 nights south to north in a GS (RCCL) and then two week land trip. The land trip will cost waaaayyyy more then the cruise.

 

We also will never book a cruise that we don't also have a land trip either before or after the cruise.

 

OK too much information. :)

Edited May 23, 2014 by SPacificbound

[JustinPlusLauren]

I have NO idea how much they cost, but have you thought of doing a river cruise in Europe? I've heard they're amazing!!! It would be an entirely different type of experience!

[iancal]

$250-300 pp per day.sometimes $200.

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

How about a River cruise ????

[biker@sea]

We haven't cruised/vacationed in over five years. We have done tons of research and before we pull the trigger wanted to do one post first.

 

Our plan is to spread our budget, $15k, next month over two or three cruises. We plan to do a seven day stint in Alaska, are contemplating a transatlantic on Cunard, and then one in Europe.

 

We are fearful of the incidentals costs running out of control. This happened to us last decade when we did Oceania and RCCL.

 

If you were in our shoes, how would you spend your own $15k given such short notice? Many thanks. First post, but have followed threads here for several years.

.

 

My experience was .

 

I booked two last minute b2b cruise deals .

Rented a car for one week one way In Boston Mass.

 

Drove 2000 miles across America to the Florida keys for a few days at the Marriott key largo bay resort .

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hbIO2NYnTu8

 

Made the drive to Tampa for a 7 night Western Caribbean cruise leaving the rent a car at a near by drop off.

 

Stayed on the ship for the next cruise that was a 14 day Tampa to Boston repositioning cruise through the southern Caribbean coming full circle back to Boston .

 

 

My 27 day Vacation was under 10 G's .;)

Edited May 23, 2014 by biker@sea

[ducklite]

As a benchmark, when we did our B2B in Europe, including all expenses--airfare, airport parking, pre and post hotels and meals, some shore excursions, a couple of tours in Rome, admissions for DIY things, subway/bus fares, the whole nine yards, it came to $20K for two people. We spent nothing on gambling, and total alcohol bill for three weeks was maybe $200, including house wines at cafes to get the WiFi password.

 

Could I have shaved some of those expenses? Yes, but not to the level you'd need to given what you are trying to do.

[iancal]

Last year we spent 6 months travelling. Canada-Portugal land trip. Portugal-Rome. Adriatic cruise from Rome -Venice(booked in final payment window).

 

Days in Venice then Milan and Lake Como. Milan was nice. 5 star Westin Palace Hotel for $90 USD on a Priceline bid.

 

Flew to South Africa from Milan, Kruger safari then on to Victoria Falls and Botswana. Two week car trip through SA to CapeTown. Flew back to Rome for a few days. Picked up a TA Rome-Fll. A week in FLL area-higher end hotels via Priceline bidding. Picked up a last minute 10 Christmas cruise from Miami. Flew to Costa Rica on New Years day for 4 weeks in condo and 2 weeks of driving tour. Then back to FLL with tour of Florida and drive to N.O. for three weeks. Then picked up a last minute 7 day Carib. cruise. Home in late March.

 

Now that we are retired and our travel is more flexible we are doing these types of trips...mixing land and cruise-often in Europe and more specifically in Southern Europe. We could easily do your 3 trips for $15K in a reasonable style. If we can do it, anyone can. And we have met many interesting people along the way (lots of Australians) who are also doing exactly this.

 

If you do it...let us know what you did, how you did it, and if you came in on budget!

Edited May 23, 2014 by iancal