Income of Royal Caribbean Passengers

[cruzsnooze]

True statement. However, there also should be a caveat for retired cruisers, because depending on where their income comes from, they are usually in a lower tax bracket, so their income stretches further.

 

Because we have a mortgage and other tax deductions, we pay no income tax at all. So, our retirement income has more disposable/discretionary/left over for travel.

 

Income is misleading. The poll should ask anonymously how much disposable income does one have after expenses and taxes.

 

Take it a step further, how many retires only have social security which would be a low income but a million bucks in the bank?

[Havingfun2010]

It seems per the poll, Middle class to rich go on cruises. But honestly, it's the same as any vacation.

[charmed101]

You should be careful and answer this poll truthfully because the dept. of revenue monitors this site and can double check your answer with your taxes through your IP address, if they find a large discrepancy you may be subjected to an audit !!!!

 

 

( ok, just kidding, I will not tell them who's hiding money and where ;-)

[fischymom]

I had no issues at all answering the poll, I to thought it was more of a what demographic style question because I could make 200,000 , live in a 1.5 million dollar home which I owe more than the value on, have 3- 50,000 vehicles, and be paying 2 college tuitions for our 2.5 children OR I could make 50,000 a year own my 100,000 home , drive my 2005 vehicle, and watch my grandbabies every afternoon. I would guess the 50,000 person would have more disposable income than the other but just me.

I think it has many variables.

[PerferWarmWeather]

I had no issues at all answering the poll, I to thought it was more of a what demographic style question because I could make 200,000 , live in a 1.5 million dollar home which I owe more than the value on, have 3- 50,000 vehicles, and be paying 2 college tuitions for our 2.5 children OR I could make 50,000 a year own my 100,000 home , drive my 2005 vehicle, and watch my grandbabies every afternoon. I would guess the 50,000 person would have more disposable income than the other but just me.

I think it has many variables.

 

It's not how much you make, it's how much you keep. :)

[golfer1966]

Nunya.......:rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes:

 

 

Nunya darn business.... this is a dumb poll

[printingchick]

The poll is anonymous and I think interesting. My daughter used to tell me that her friends all thought I was RICH because I took cruises. I was FAR from rich. I think there has been a misconception that cruising is for the rich, but it's really such an incredible value. I can cruise in the Caribbean for 7 days for less than it would take me to FLY to one of the 5 islands I visit and stay there the entire time. There are many islands I'd like to visit for an extended stay, but cruising is by far the more economical option.

[Klstaack]

One of the reasons I always look to cruising is because of the great value. For us we can drive to any port in Florida so no having to fly makes it an even better value. The lodging, food, and activities included in the fare make cruising a great value.

[330searay]

I get a kick out of the nunya people. lmao. How bout this, I voted in the 32nd percentile. Guess what, Ya still know nothing about me. Its a simple, yet interesting poll. As said a few other times if you dont choose to vote, back out. Why even leave the nunya comment?

[SausPud]

I had to just pick a random answer as you don't state what currency this is in.

Is it £ or $ or E or C$

[lah66]

I have never understood why people get so perturbed when they are asked how much money they make, especially anonymously. Is it a generational thing? Do you feel people judge you by how much or how little you make? Do you think you should be making more? I do not get it!

 

I am proud to answer that question though I do not go around telling everybody. If a close friend or family member asks, who cares if they know? We have worked hard, went to college, made some (not all!) smart financial decisions and have done well. Do we make more than most others here? Maybe, maybe not. Our newest car is a 2004 but we could afford new but we are not about "show". If it gets us where we need to be, that is good enough! I stayed home when my kids were little so we did not have the income to go on big vacations. I was proud then too of how we lived on just my DH's salary but never felt we went without.

 

Help me understand!

Lauri

[joge107]

You're all taking into account that the respondents will be truthful in their replies.

All the suite guests, diamond++, platinum etc. are truthful. All the others below them probably fib often!

[BND]

I had no issues at all answering the poll, I to thought it was more of a what demographic style question because I could make 200,000 , live in a 1.5 million dollar home which I owe more than the value on, have 3- 50,000 vehicles, and be paying 2 college tuitions for our 2.5 children OR I could make 50,000 a year own my 100,000 home , drive my 2005 vehicle, and watch my grandbabies every afternoon. I would guess the 50,000 person would have more disposable income than the other but just me.

I think it has many variables.

 

I do have to say I had no issues either, but it really doesn't prove anything. Where you live has a lot more to do with it than just income. The average home in our area, not just our zip code, but probably for 35 miles around us is closer to 500K. You can't even buy a 1 bedroom condo for 100K. Our cost of living is higher and our incomes are too. That said, we're in our 50's and at the peak of our earning so we make more than the average for our area, but we weren't always in that position. My car is new, not a cheap car, but by no means a luxury one and DH's car is 8 years old. If you knew our income, you'd think we were close to "rich" but, while well off, we are not unusual for our zip code and we have neighbors that have one income at the level of our two. Too many variables for this survey to mean squat.

 

I'm also a Federal Gov employee so a lot of people know what I make, just as I know theirs because we're all on a pay grade scale and can usually guess within a few steps what they make.

 

We've also chosen over the years to live on DH's salary as much as possible and play with mine since I went back to work part-time when our boys were 12 and 14. Currently, mine goes to my car payment, our internet/tv/phones and vacations, etc. We qualify for a larger mortgage than we have, but that's okay...

Edited June 19, 2015 by BND

[NJcruisenewbie]

The median income in my town is over the top amount in this poll. We also have some of the highest property taxes and real estate prices in the country as well. Our income really tells you nothing about our ability to cruise.

[lah66]

That is so interesting! I cannot imagine trying to afford a $500,000 house! You are so right, your income does not mean a thing!

 

We live in a 12 year old, 3000 sq ft, 4 bedroom, 4 bathroom house on almost an acre lot in a great neighborhood and our house is worth about $235,000- $250,000. We pay about $3200 in property taxes per year. If I lived in Virginia, would I have to make 30%, 50% more to live the same life I do now?

 

Seeing that your mortgage is usually your biggest expense (right now ours is our 2 kids college tuition bills!), are wages equally higher or do you think you just end up paying a larger % of your take home pay to your mortgage company?

 

I have used a website before that compares cost of living between two cities. At one point we were looking at California, San Diego area, as a possible career move and housing prices were outrageous. I was surprised that it said our income would only have to increase 20% to have the same standard of living.

Interesting!

Lauri

Edited June 19, 2015 by lah66

[Sharon Sails]

None of your business......

It's like asking somebody how often do you have sex? Where do you do it on the ship...

 

You mean like at the Love and Marriage game show on board?

[Cigar King]

Add me to the list of people who just don't understand why if you don't want to participate in this poll you don't. What is the point of being insulting?

 

Sent from my SPH-L720 using Tapatalk

[destiny217]

http://www.statisticbrain.com/cruise-ship-industry-statistics/

 

http://www.cruisemarketwatch.com/home/financial-breakdown-of-typical-cruiser/

 

http://www.windrosenetwork.com/The-Cruise-Industry-Demographic-Profiles.html

 

 

Could not find what I was looking for but came across these.

[Peeker28]

LOL...pretty simple, right?!? But it's Cruise Critic. This is the place where we welcome everyone to contribute questions, deep thoughts, personal opinions about cruising. Then we turn on the posters; verbally assault them, and beat them mercilessly with the cyber-space bat. I love this place. :rolleyes:

 

 

LOL!!!!:p

[Peeker28]

I have no issue with the poll. I answered it. I try to book my cruise as soon as I can and then make payments every month.:D

[reallyitsmema]

Add me to the list of people who just don't understand why if you don't want to participate in this poll you don't. What is the point of being insulting?

 

Sent from my SPH-L720 using Tapatalk

 

There is absolutely no point in being insulting, you might want to go back and read who is actually being "clobbered" and who is doing the insulting.

 

Some people voted in this thread since there wasn't an applicable choice in the poll. Unfortunately, the OP chose to then personally attack me, which is against the community guidelines of this board. While some people choose to report attacks, I made the OP aware of the ignore feature so he no longer has to read my posts.

 

Hopefully, that explains things. If you have further questions, I will answer as best I can within the rules of Cruise Critic.

[kruzerci]

I think this is so interesting. Like others have said, a high income does not mean high level of disposable income.

In my industry and area, the median income is higher than the highest figure listed here. That doesn't necessarily mean we have any more disposable income that somebody who makes half what we do.

 

We have a second home, still have one child in college out of state, what some would consider high car payments, and help support my parents financially. We live comfortably and splurge on our home and vacations, but we shop sales (even use coupons!), don't waste money, and watch our spending just like everybody else!

 

OP- also remember, a lot of CC members cruise very frequently and generally is not the first time, one time, cruiser crowd that you may see onboard.

[Cinerama]

This is a totally anonymous survey do not feel the need to answer if you do not feel so inclined!

 

A crew member we became close with on a cruise last weekend commented about how passengers are all rich and have lots of disposable income.

 

Did you ask him how much he makes?

 

A few years ago on a Princess cruise, I was talking to the person bringing me my drink and asked how much he makes on each drink that he serves (not on a drink package) and said "50 cents". I then asked how much they pay him for a salary. He said something ridiculously low like $50 a month. Maybe in his country $50 is a decent amount of money. If this is true, any income would sound like a lot of money to him.

Edited June 19, 2015 by Cinerama

[sfaaa]

Considering the amount of people trying to smuggle booze onboard or skip out on paying DSC, I would say many are either on welfare or deep in debt.

[Flatbush Flyer]

That is so interesting! I cannot imagine trying to afford a $500,000 house! You are so right, your income does not mean a thing!

 

We live in a 12 year old, 3000 sq ft, 4 bedroom, 4 bathroom house on almost an acre lot in a great neighborhood and our house is worth about $235,000- $250,000. We pay about $3200 in property taxes per year. If I lived in Virginia, would I have to make 30%, 50% more to live the same life I do now?

 

Seeing that your mortgage is usually your biggest expense (right now ours is our 2 kids college tuition bills!), are wages equally higher or do you think you just end up paying a larger % of your take home pay to your mortgage company?

 

I have used a website before that compares cost of living between two cities. At one point we were looking at California, San Diego area, as a possible career move and housing prices were outrageous. I was surprised that it said our income would only have to increase 20% to have the same standard of living.

Interesting!

Lauri

 

 

San Diego is actually "affordable" by urban coastal California standards. BTW, $250k wouldn't even get you a shack here in the SF Bay Area. And 3,000 sq ft? In some of our neighborhoods, just add another 0 to the Michigan price you cited.

 

I'm reminded of a work situation (in Los Angeles years ago) where someone I was interested in hiring balked at housing prices. When she cited comparison stats for her housing in a college town in Indiana, I reminded her:

"True. But, when you walk out of your apartment there, you're still in Indiana." (She took the job).