cruiseing is for the rich?

[winny63]

ok i have been wondering this.

everyone i talk to seem to tell me that I should have went to some resort cuz cruising is for the Rich and ifyour not and go on one you will be snubbed.

Any comments on this sorta thing? Being its our first vacation ever I would be very disapointed if we felt out of place.

[Sheffie]

We are far from rich, and I have never felt out of place or snubbed on a cruise. I bet those people you have talked to haven't been on a cruise! Have a wonderful time! You will be so amazed by the ship, the food, the islands, the fun people!

 

12 days to go! You have to be soooooooo excited!

 

Have a great cruise!

[mountainhouse]

But you're already "rubbing shoulders" with cruisers here! :D I think the people here on CC represent a cross section of people that cruise. The are friendly (love to meet others) and open minded. I hope you've been on the roll call for your cruise. You'll start off knowing 40-50 people on the ship before you get there!

 

My wife and I only been on 2 cruises. We really learned to look forward to going to the dining room for lunch or breakfast, and ask to be seated with others. Lots of nice conversations.

 

When you consider inside cabins are sub-$100 per day, it's not cheap, but it is affordable for most. Might be different on some of the high end cruise lines, but as far as Princess, HAL, Celebrity, Carnival, etc., your friend's comment is absurd.

 

Have great a cruise. And whenever you're in line somewhere, strike up a conversation with the person next to you. It's easy. :D

[spongerob]

I think one of the biggest reasons we fell in love with cruising is that once we were on board, everyone was treated to an equal level of service regardless of what they had paid for their cabin. We've met people from all stations in life and have to say that we've never once felt out of place.

[1bigballer]

The only way I ever even have a guess as to how much money someone has is thier play in the casino. Other than that, I have never seen a distinction. It seems to me nobody cares how much money anyone has. We met tons of great people on our cruise last week and the topics of conversation were: a)where are you from b)ports of call c)ship food & service d)etc... Cruising is only for the rich is an absurd statement and would only come from somebody that has NEVER cruised before!!

[Casshew]

Cruising is for everyone :)

[AliceJ]

Cruising is for everyone. With the variety of cruise lines, ships, cabin rates, etc., most everyone can afford some type of cruise.

 

I honestly don't believe you would be "snubbed" because of a money issue. However, really rude behavior or really bad attitude might very well have people avoiding the offending person(s)!

[chessbriar]

Ha Ha!!!

 

Is this some kind of joke. Cruising is for anyone who can afford it. With some of the prices today, most can save and go on a vacation of a lifetime. You will meet a ton of great people. Have never been snubbed. Besides, how is anyone going to know how much you are worth? You can be anyone you want to be. I always choose myself

[Pam in CA]

Define "rich" :) Compared to a land or all-inclusive resort vacation, cruising can be a lot less-expensive. Depending on the time of the year, the cruiseline and ship and the itinerary, you can cruise for less than $100/pp, including all food, lodging and entertainment. You can't beat that at a resort. There are cruises for everyone.

[kosmo]

I agree ... folks on cruises seem a lot more "approachable" than at AI resorts. My first cruise, 2 weeks ago, was wonderful and -- with all due respect -- was full of "average Joes". I mean that in a positive way -- everyone was just like me and DH so I never felt out of place at all. Very friendly and down to earth. And yes, cruises are very affordable nowadays -- with all of the choices available. Don't worry, you will have a GREAT time!!! :D

 

Debbie

[Arwenmark]

Cruising is one of the cheapest vacations you can take, [other than camping etc.]

and you must talk to some very uninformed people.

 

There are cruiselines that are for the upscale market but you don't hear that much about them in general.

[fnewman]

Given the number of new ships that have been built in the last 10-15 years, you can easily tell that cruising is for the masses rather than the rich. Yes, there are the luxury lines and yes, there are very expensive suites on every ship that most of us will never occupy, but when you look at how many ships there are and how many individual cruises they take every year the numbers look pretty big. Here is an example:

 

On one cruise we sat a the dinner table with a couple who clearly were not rich. He was a retired factory worker and she worked nights at a motel. There were probably in their early 70s. They had saved up enough to do this cruise - perhaps the only one they ever took. They were staying in one of the lowest priced cabins on the ship and came to the dining room for every meal. When in port, they would get off the ship only to walk around a little - no excursions at all. I'll bet at the end of the week, their on-board account was virtually "$0", but they were having a great time and enjoyed every minute they were there. By contract, we sat at a table on a Panama Canal cruise with two different couples both of whom were staying in luxury suites and were sailing the same cruise back-to-back! Go figure.

 

Those are some of the extremes we have seen; the rest of us are probably somewhere in between.

[Fuzzyape]

Winny,

 

Thank all the people you've been talking to. I've always looked for validation that I'm rich now I have it! I can't wait to tell my accountant, as soon as I have need for one ;)

 

In all seriousness, all the other people couldn't be more correct. You can spend as little or as much as you want.

 

Just have fun!

[madelinerose]

"Everyone" you are talking to is misinformed.

 

everyone i talk to seem to tell me that I should have went to some resort cuz cruising is for the Rich and ifyour not and go on one you will be snubbed. Any comments on this sorta thing?

[Dreamer333]

In my experience, you get MUCH more for your money on a cruise than you do on a land vacation.

[herb]

If we didn't go on so many cruises we probably would be rich :D

[Lynda90]

One of the greatest things about cruising is that it is so affordable. There are great deals to be found for those who are willing to investigate. If you look at all the things that are included in a cruise, you will see that there is not a 7 day land vacation (not talking about camping, etc.) that can compete with the prices. No way to tell who has money and who does not. And for that matter, who cares. We all cruise for common reasons, rest, relaxation and fun. Have a wonderful cruise; you will not be sorry!;)

[Stranger1]

I'm sorry, I was too busy counting all of my money. What was the question again?

[bjkTX]

up at Stranger for that remark! :-)

 

We are about to go on our third cruise and feel blessed we can do it, and we certainly aren't rich.

 

On our two previous cruises (both on Princess) we never ever felt like anyone was looking down on us or even trying to figure out if I fit in. of course the "Newbie" sign around my neck was probably all they needed.

 

The only time I felt out of place was one night when we went to eat and elected to join a large table of folks. We were sailing out of NY for the Fall Foliage cruise through New England (highly recommended). All of the others at the table were female, all older than we were (we were mid 50s), and all of them had either just got off a previous cruise to get on this one, or were getting on another one when they left this one. My guess is that the average amount of cruises per person was 30 or more. I'll never be at that point, and hope like hell to do one more after the cruise next month, so I think I was more in awe than anything else. It was our first cruise, it was way beyond anything we had expected, and to think people do it all the time just blew my poor feeble mind.

 

But I read the boards and see people who list tons of cruises in their signature, and you find out they scrimp and save to get an inside cabin on sale just so they can be on the ship - so it goes both ways.

 

You'll be fine - you'll love it - dig in and do everything you can - and then start planning your next one because I guarantee you'll be hooked just like the rest of us :-)

[LARGIN]

Remember on a cruise, whether you are in a suite or in the smallest inside room in the lowest deck on the ship, you will be treated equally with dignity and respect... Now if only some passengers would act this way...

[mountainhouse]

Remember on a cruise, whether you are in a suite or in the smallest inside room in the lowest deck on the ship, you will be treated equally with dignity and respect... Now if only some passengers would act this way...

 

I was looking at some pictures of the old Maasdam, and saw portions of the ship I did not recognize. Then I remembered, our family was in Tourist Class. :)

[paintchip8]

I learned a long time ago never to judge a person by what they are wearing or what they drive. Sometimes the person with the most bling is in debt up to their eyeballs. Go on the cruise and enjoy yourself! :cool:

[spongerob]

One of the greatest things about cruising is that it is so affordable.

 

I think we need to qualify the statement that cruising is affordable. It is affordable in comparison to some other vacation options. It is still a luxury vacation and the cruise fare is just the beginning of the expenses. You still have to consider travel to the port, lodging if you need to stay overnight prior to the cruise, and on-board expenses including tips that can very easily add up. It is possible to limit some of these items, to be sure, but you still need to budget some funds for your fun on shore. Then of course, there is insurance.

 

That still puts cruising well within the reach of a lot of people - once you have all the facts.

[Sinbad37]

Thank You for becoming "one of us cruise addicts"!

In My Humble Opinion (IMHO) you came to the right place for any and all of your cruise questions, suggestions, help or answers to any Cruise question. We are indeed a diverse group, all ages, all incomes, all nationalities, experienced and inexperienced at cruising - but all share THE LOVE OF CRUISING!

 

bjkTX really summed it up! You'll be fine - you'll love it - dig in and do everything you can - and then start planning your next one because I guarantee you'll be hooked just like the rest of us :-):D

 

 

HAVE A GREAT CRUISE, AND DON'T FORGET TO LET US KNOW YOUR EXPERIENCES!

[gambit57]

Define "rich" Personally, I think if you can afford to take a vacation (not work), then you're rich enough. I cruise cuz it's cheap and convenient. Stuff is all inclusive. Great service. All you can eat gourmet food. Free entertainment. No extra travel costs btw all the places you go to.

 

The more rich folk are the ones who can afford to go to all the places cruise ships go, but take airplanes and stay in hotels.