60 days till our cruise and i've just lost my job

[kteachcruiser52]

San Juan. Before you go, print a self guided walking tour from the Internet. There is also a free shuttle, but we just walked. Go back to the ship for lunch. They now sell water for $2.99 for a 12 pack delivered to your room. Take Crystal Light or Kool Aid drink packets to add to the water. You can also add these packets to your water at dinner so the kids will not ask for pop. With the 12 cans of pop per person (must be carried on) and the packets, you should not need to buy any drinks. We take a small soft side cooler which the steward will fill with ice twice a day if you ask. That keeps your pop much colder than the cooler. If you drink, each person over 21 can take a bottle of wine (and a corkscrew). Ask for a couple of wine glasses from the bar. You can take that glass of wine to dinner or the shows.

Go back to the ship for meals when possible.

 

St. Martin - You can walk instead of taking the water taxi. That will save quite a bit of money since you are a large group. Directions can be found in the Port of Call board. In fact, the port of call boards have a lot of threads about things to do near port and inexpensive things to do at port.

 

Grand Turk is a great free beach day. Look at the port of call board and there are directions to the conch graveyard. The kids might like to see that. Again, I would return to the ship for lunch.

 

As other have said, make sure you have the children's Sign &Sail cards blocked so they can not charge anything on them.

 

Your biggest on board expense is the $12 per person per day gratuities. We buy gift cards at a 10% discount through Verizon and AARP for theses. We pay $450 for a $500 gift card and $90 for a $100 gift card.

 

Hope you are getting some kind of severance package after that many years. Good luck on finding a new job. If you find one before the cruise, mention the cruise after you are offered and have accepted the job offer. Indicate you would be willing to forgo the cruise, if necessary; but ask if there was any way you could take the time off without pay as you have already paid for the cruise.

Edited September 24, 2015 by kteachcruiser52

[Bobkat26]

Also not sure if you booked ES, but if you did, watch daily for price drops. It would give you a little bit of spending money if there are any drops.

 

GOod luck, lots of great tips here.

 

Kathy

[Budget Queen]

We actually just fly into St. Maartin just for Moho. (staying at the Sonesta ).

 

American with the USAirways merger now flies in several planes, so check their flights for your day there. BUT the clear highlight is KLM who beings in their 747, from Amsterdam, so take a look at their flights. In Jan. for example- (plans for another trip) they bring in their 747 Tue, Fr and Sun the time we're going. They do codeshare with Air France- so be sure to read the fine print- the aircraft used will be listed.

Edited September 24, 2015 by Budget Queen

[grammak]

You are not allowed to bring any food into the port from the ship that is not pre-packaged.

[poolreader]

Rather than rent snorkeling equipment I have purchased a small kids raft, the type with a see through window. It works well to float around and see the same thing you would snorkeling, and it takes up very little room in the suitcase when it is in the package. The last stop I give it to a local child.

[RecoveryDude]

First of all ... to cancel your cruise after final payment is rediculous. GO GO GO. Everything happens for a reason ... so that means you booked this cruise ... for a reason. ...and the job got eliminated, for a reason! Life is an adventure, ENJOY IT!

 

Everything WILL be ok. And you are clearly going to have to economize and watch spending for a while ... I don't know about you, but I would rather "watch my spending" while in exotic locations and on a cruise ship rather than doing it at home.

 

If you cancel your cruise you will spend those days sad and depressed at home, wondering whats in that days "Fun Times" and what they are serving in the MDR. Speaking of food ...Why buy food to cook at home for those days when you already paid to eat in the MDR?

 

Sounds like you have plenty of OBC anyway, but make a game out of spending as little as possible ... then either cash out what's left in the casino (use a slot and not a table to avoid the fee) on the last night OR, use some to BOOK YOUR NEXT CRUISE for 2017!

 

Cause I am SURE you will get another job and this will be nothing more than a little financial hiccup and 5 years from now you can say, "Hey, remember when I got fired right before the cruise? ....Thank goodness we went anyway, cause it was so much fun!!"

 

Good luck and we expect to see a FULL REVIEW with how you saved money and we will all be curious what your final S&S bill ends up being :)

 

Cheers!

 

Jeff aka Recovery Dude

[drafterdw]

Thanks so much!

 

We were hoping to go to Maho to see the planes come in but I've heard we probably don't want to spend your entire day there - any ideas for after we see the planes?

 

Would love to have a driver for the day if we could find one that was reasonable but I haven't been able to find anything so far. This would probably be our only stop that we would actually "do" something.

 

If you are willing to take your chances there were drivers negotiating price the last time we were there....we walked away but my friends got a good deal.

[RuthlessBoss]

First of all ... to cancel your cruise after final payment is rediculous. GO GO GO. Everything happens for a reason ... so that means you booked this cruise ... for a reason. ...and the job got eliminated, for a reason! Life is an adventure, ENJOY IT!

 

Everything WILL be ok. And you are clearly going to have to economize and watch spending for a while ... I don't know about you, but I would rather "watch my spending" while in exotic locations and on a cruise ship rather than doing it at home.

 

If you cancel your cruise you will spend those days sad and depressed at home, wondering whats in that days "Fun Times" and what they are serving in the MDR. Speaking of food ...Why buy food to cook at home for those days when you already paid to eat in the MDR?

 

Sounds like you have plenty of OBC anyway, but make a game out of spending as little as possible ... then either cash out what's left in the casino (use a slot and not a table to avoid the fee) on the last night OR, use some to BOOK YOUR NEXT CRUISE for 2017!

 

Cause I am SURE you will get another job and this will be nothing more than a little financial hiccup and 5 years from now you can say, "Hey, remember when I got fired right before the cruise? ....Thank goodness we went anyway, cause it was so much fun!!"

 

Good luck and we expect to see a FULL REVIEW with how you saved money and we will all be curious what your final S&S bill ends up being :)

 

Cheers!

 

Jeff aka Recovery Dude

 

Someone here said they had $800 OBC, but saw no mention from the OP of this. An old post said $100, but was it total or PP I don't know. Things won't be too bad if it's 800 though.

[Isasprings]

I am so sorry for you. I still would go since you already paid. You will need to pay tips that are about 90 dollars per person but can cruise without spending a whole lot more. Bring soda on board for sure. St. Marten has a beach close to the cruise terminal. The water taxi is a few dollars but not too bad. They rent chairs and umbrellas there as we'll but you can negotiate a cheaper price or just take your towels. The beach where the airplanes fly over is a lot of fun. We spent a whole day there, but it can get crowded and is a distance from the cruise terminal and so you need to take into account taxi costs. It is a fun beach though and glad we went. We sat in a bar/restaurant half the day and had drinks and some appetizers.

 

I think you can do your ports pretty economically if you plan ahead. Have a wonderful cruise and good luck to you on your job search.

 

You can go to maho beach to see the planes using public transportation is cheap

and safe I did it.

[faroozi]

In St. Maarten walk to Back Street (free) and get into a Bus (looks identical to cabs, license plate will say BUS) can get all over the island for a fraction of the cost of one cab ride anywhere.

 

We took a bus from Back Street to Marigot, then a bus from Marigot to Maho to watch the planes, then another bus back. I think we spent $6 per person for all of this. The busses run CONSTANTLY and have a sign in their front window of what the next stop is. Got some great food for two of us at a cafe in Marigot +/- $10 and you can find beers on the street for about a buck or two. The total for both of us with some food and drinks was less than the cost of one person to do the cheapest excursion with no add ons.

 

The only difference between a bus and a taxi is a bus will pick up and drop off others along the route, a taxi won't. But it is WAY cheaper.

 

This was going to be my suggestion. We took the bus to Maho Beach. $2 per person each way. So fun and the people on the bus were nice.

[Gallivanting Souls]

I have never been to these particular ports, but I have got pretty good at doing the cruise on the cheap. (and we still have a great time) I spend lots of time on the ports of call boards and tripadvisor and then the local websites finding free and cheap stuff to see. We mostly walk around and see what there is to see. I love the local culture. I always try and find the light houses and other must photograph places. We are not drinkers. My DH does drink soda at home, but not on the ship and we don't bother to drag it along either. Lemon aid, ice tea, and water are good enough to get us through the week.

 

What I don't remember reading about is how your family is getting to the ship? Are you flying? Driving? That would be the next biggest cost that you will not be able to control. Then a pre cruise hotel/lodging, food. Then like someone else mentioned around $90 p/p tips and you are good to go on the ship. I am sorry, I don't recall how many are in your total household party, but when my husband and I just did the Mexican Rivera, I budgeted $200 per port. I ended up having money left over and was able to by pictures. Whatever is your budget, stick to it. Go on your cruise. Have fun. You will be a way better person that will interview for new jobs much better and get THE JOB that you are soppost to have!;)

[Minkster1973]

On my first cruise I didn't do any excursions. My time at the ports was amazing too. I did a lot of walking, people watching, had a nice lunch and a few drinks, and I enjoyed just being at each stop.

 

I prepaid my tips and whatnot before boarding the ship, so all the pressure was off regarding money I had to spend.

 

My next cruise in February I'm doing the same thing. My BFF has never left the country before, and she is similar to me in that she doesn't need to be entertained. We will enjoy our time together at each stop and not stress about schedules or anything regarding money.

 

Both of us are single moms and getting away to paradise is quite welcome. The two of us together can have fun anywhere, so there is no pressure to spend extra money this time. We just want to be.

 

Our plan is to go again a year later, and then we will splurge a bit on doing something extra. We've already started saving for the next trip.

 

Saying all that, just enjoy your family. Let the stresses of home and a lack of work go and just be with those you love. There's so much you can do without spending a ton of money, and great times can be had.

 

My hope is you have a wonderful experience bonding with your family. That's what vacationing is all about, right?

[ladygal4.4]

Don't drink or do excursions. Bring your own sodas. No on board shopping. Enjoy the ports by simply walking around and seeing the sites.

 

 

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[Cruisinforsanity]

Although your cruise is paid for, remember that there will be automatic gratuities added to your sail & sign card. Enjoy your family cruise.

[GeorgiaMomof4]

We will be on this same cruise! We have never been to St. Maarten, but have been to San Juan and Grand Turk multiple times.

 

For San Juan , the map and walking tour that are attached did not originally go together, but if you use the map to guide you around town, you can use the walking tour for additional sites as well as a historical description of each stop along the way. FYI the numbers on the map do not match the numbers on the walking tour. While in Old San Juan I would recommend stopping for a snack or lunch at this little bakery on Calle O’Donnell. I do not know the name of the bakery, but it is across the street from Plaza Colon. It is operated by a little old Puerto Rican woman that makes the best empanadas and croquetas. You can get a bag full of good food for $10-$15 that would be enough food for all four of you. Be sure to go inside the Cathedral of San Juan. It is one of the two places in the world that claim to house the remains of Ponce de Leon, the other is in Havana.

 

In Grand Turk I would bypass Margaritaville as the cost for food and drinks is crazy. Head to Jacks Shack a few hundred yards north of Margaritaville. The beach is actually much nicer and the food and drinks are very reasonable. Chairs are free and umbrellas are only like $10.

 

I hope to see you there!

 

 

Wow - can't believe you will be on this cruise also!

 

I believe we are going to do the walking tour in San Juan. The seawall walk sounds great - not too fond of forts, but the kids would probably enjoy it. The only thing that worries me is how my husband will hold up doing the walking. About how much walking is involved - do you remember?

 

St. Marteen is the first place we ever cruised to but that was way back in 2004. They were doing a lot of work to the Phillipsburg area then. I'm really anxious to go back and see how it's changed. The first time we went we actually rented a car and drove around - there was just 4 of us then. We hadn't become foster parents and expanded our family at that point and time. We had a great time doing that even though I was a little scared at first - you know you hear so many horror stories of renting a car out of the country.

 

Please do send me those maps and info you have on San Juan. My email address is agrant1965@gmail.com.

 

Thanks!

[GeorgiaMomof4]

Definitely going to check out Jo Junie Tours!

 

Thanks

[cruisequeen4ever]

I'm so sorry you lost your job! [emoji17] Your idea to open a daycare sounds fabulous!! I'm a teacher, and soooo many parents have trouble finding daycare for their kids. In the meantime, you're being wise to be proactive about saving money on the trip, and I agree with others who said GO! It's paid for anyway, might as well enjoy it! Here are my tips...

1) only drink the free drinks onboard like water, coffee, tea, iced tea, milk, and juice (I know some recommended brings your own on, but I read that Carnival no longer allows any bottled drinks because of risk of liquor smuggling)

2) tell your kids now to start saving their own spending $ to buy souvenirs, drinks, video games, or anything else "extra"

3) Grand Turk- free beach day with gorgeous view of the ship

4) St. Maarten- Take the bus to Maho, but with buses running on island time, make sure you leave waaaaaay early to get back to the ship. I heard there's quite a crowd trying to head back in the afternoon, and the last thing you need is the cost of missing the ship! [emoji33]

5) Eat all means on the ship. Just walk back to the ship for lunch. My fam did that when I was a child, and it saves a lot of money.

6) Put all coins into a jar from now until the cruise to put toward tips.

7) use Priceline to book your hotel

8) make the cruise your kids' and each other's Christmas present, thus freeing up the Christmas fund

9) walk, walk, walk to explore the ports

10) Call Carnival and see if you can downgrade your stateroom and get the $ difference back as OBC

Good luck, and have a fantastic family cruise! [emoji568]