Does anyone else use "fuzzy accounting" when costing a cruise?

[pcur]

2 minutes ago, newcruzer2 said:

I laughed so hard because I can totally relate to the picture you painted of you being animated and hands flapping ...is me to a tee.

And the more animated the more he knows I want to go 😁

because it's not so much the money as "getting a deal, aka our money's worth"

After all the years of selling him on "the deals i got", he now expects a deal and a show from me 😃

 

I've had to stop calling them deals, because he just says, "Peggy, a DEAL is free; what you do is fuzzy accounting".  However, he's always ready to go, because he trusts me to look at everything first.  

[pcur]

6 minutes ago, newcruzer2 said:

I laughed so hard because I can totally relate to the picture you painted of you being animated and hands flapping ...is me to a tee.

And the more animated the more he knows I want to go 😁

because it's not so much the money as "getting a deal, aka our money's worth"

After all the years of selling him on "the deals i got", he now expects a deal and a show from me 😃

 

And, to really wind me up, he'll say "where's the money for that going to come from?".  But, I cured him of that:  the explanation gets even more hand flapping, more complex, more multi-layered, and when his eyes glaze over, he gives up.  

 

Oh, and this is coming from the man who has to be forced to sit down and look at our budget and finances:  like kicking, complaining, and running for the garage to be "busy".  

 

It's all a game.

[#55worktoplay]

4 hours ago, pasodancer said:

I do the same thing you do --- but husband has NEVER known the cost of a cruise (or any vacation).  He is VERY cheap and if he knew the cost of a cruise - we would be doing our cruises in a row boat!

I do the same and have the same type of husband 😀😀

Edited July 25, 2020 by #55worktoplay

[What We Found Travelling]

34 minutes ago, pcur said:

 

Retired, but still cost analyzing after all these years.........................................

 

That makes sense.  You’ve got plenty of time for cost analysis & planning.  That’s how I do things also.  Only wish my adult children would do the same.
While l’m not retired just financially independent, the real way I make money is by meticulous analysis & planning.  Wifey always says to me “how much have you saved on this”.😂

[Coralc]

5 hours ago, pcur said:

So, does anybody else do this, or am I just weird? (I can hear Coralc now in my head, "you are weird, Peggy, but in a good way") 😉

 

Peggy books, cancels, and shifts and stacks so many cruises, that I can't even keep track of what she has booked in the future, let alone what her accounting methods are.  But she is a great deal hunter! 

[Blizzard54]

2 hours ago, Iamcruzin said:

It's very scary but I completely understand because that's how I plan. My wife won't even listen. She says," Tell me where and when I have to be"?  If someone asks her about our upcoming cruise she tells them to ask me. A day or two before she will ask me what the itinerary is. The only rule is I can't book anyplace cold. No Alaska for me but I can live with that.

My wife is similar except she wants to know where about 4 days before when she starts planning her packing and we do cruise to Alaska.

[pcur]

1 hour ago, Coralc said:

 

Peggy books, cancels, and shifts and stacks so many cruises, that I can't even keep track of what she has booked in the future, let alone what her accounting methods are.  But she is a great deal hunter! 

 

And, I do the virtual animated talking and hand flapping to her in emails, ad nauseam............................

[pcur]

1 hour ago, Blizzard54 said:

My wife is similar except she wants to know where about 4 days before when she starts planning her packing and we do cruise to Alaska.

 

I corral Mr. Pcur into the closet, and make him try on his pants and pick out shirts, etc. to take.  The way I get him to do this is I threaten to pick it ALL out myself and pack it.  He's usually cooperative, because he knows I will pack his, "I'm up, I'm dressed, what more do you want" shirt.  He hates the attention he gets wearing that shirt.

[PigsCanFly]

I am able to book a cruise (usually very little upfront costs) for the three of us thru the casino folke.  The up front cost is usually just taxes, port fees, prepaid grats and a few $ for 3rd person.  Of course, the up front cost is low due to the on cruise $ spent and/or risked at the casino.  We 3 agree that a cruise is preferable to similar visits to our land based casino/hotels.  

Those land based deals do not change views and countries daily.  Pretty much the same parking lot view out the stateroom window.

[NHProud]

2 hours ago, Blizzard54 said:

My wife is similar except she wants to know where about 4 days before when she starts planning her packing and we do cruise to Alaska.

I was wondering how you are doing .   It must be hard on you to be land based for months with no end in sight.  My TA called RCI today because they’ve not fully refunded our Pacific Coastal cruise .  I hope , you’ve had better luck than us. 

 

Not too hard : 

Pick a destination 

pick a stateroom 

factor in gratuities , port fees and insurance 

 

If the price is right , book it . Never longer than 2 weeks otherwise it is extremely boring .  

 

I think some some people get an adrenaline rush booking cruises , planning cruises and even canceling cruises.  I’m not referring to John. 

[pcur]

20 minutes ago, NHProud said:

I think some some people get an adrenaline rush booking cruises , planning cruises and even canceling cruises.  I’m not referring to John. 

 

Cancelling cruises is irritating to me, but in the last 4 months I've been forced to move our booked cruises around due to covid19.  I cancelled one today because I found out Princess listed a port in the itinerary where they were only docking for an hour!  I found an identical one on RCCL that stopped in the port for the entire day.

 

That one was my bad for looking at the itinerary, but not the times in port.

[RosieCanberra]

Fuzzy accounting - yes! Although my husband and I both do it, we are both keen to cruise. In the end we often say 'this deal is so good, they are forcing us to take it' 😂😂😂

[Coralc]

35 minutes ago, NHProud said:

 My TA called RCI today because they’ve not fully refunded our Pacific Coastal cruise .  I hope , you’ve had better luck than us. 

 

 

I had looked at the Pacific Coastal for this year. As always, it sold out very quickly. I guess in retrospect, I'm glad I didn't book it. Right now, I am running down the clock for final payment (not) on the Allure TA. 

Edited July 25, 2020 by Coralc

[RosieCanberra]

7 hours ago, RKHOOKER said:

 

Not in Australia.

Retired: receiving tax free income/pension usually over 65 years old.

Financially independent: living off investments & still paying tax.

Hey! I'm Australian, retired, 55, financially independent and still paying tax. We do exist 😎

[grandgeezer]

7 hours ago, RKHOOKER said:

 

Not in Australia.

Retired: receiving tax free income/pension usually over 65 years old.

Financially independent: living off investments & still paying tax.

 

We live in the U.S. Financially independent. Retired, pay taxes on pension. Pay full taxes on all of our Social Security (make to much money to be exempt). Pay full taxes on our IRA minimum distribution payments we receive. You have to take a minimum amount out when you turn 69 1/2. We pay more taxes now than before we retired, but we bring in more now than when we worked.

[Havin'fun]

 

I remember my husband had asked what our Hawaii vacation and cruise had cost.  I told him that before I could answer I would require a note from his cardiologist that his heart was healthy. 

He dropped it and never asked again.  

[Sunshine3601]

Oh I must say I have done most of the things mentioned and do get very animated when I am "pitching" my DH on a cruise and the itinerary.   I have never brought up the savings of food, gas, etc when giving him the numbers.  I will have to remember that factor.        I usually have no issue with him agreeing as he enjoys cruising.   His first questions are usually what is the itinerary and how long will we be gone for.    I have been known to book 7-12 night cruises and before he knows it we are booked to be on the ship for 3 or 4 weeks.   He just sighs and shakes his head

[NHProud]

8 hours ago, Coralc said:

 

I had looked at the Pacific Coastal for this year. As always, it sold out very quickly. I guess in retrospect, I'm glad I didn't book it. Right now, I am running down the clock for final payment (not) on the Allure TA. 

We’ve booked the Pacific Coastal on Celebrity for May 2022.  There should be a vaccine by then .  The 2022 itinerary has the additional ports of Monterey and Victoria, BC .    

[NHProud]

Duplicate entry ? ? 

Edited July 25, 2020 by NHProud

[pcur]

2 hours ago, Sunshine3601 said:

Oh I must say I have done most of the things mentioned and do get very animated when I am "pitching" my DH on a cruise and the itinerary.   I have never brought up the savings of food, gas, etc when giving him the numbers.  I will have to remember that factor.  

 

What is wonderful about this "reasoning" is the longer you're gone, the more you save!!  Of course, the other person in the conversation will state the obvious:  the longer you're gone, the more you spend, too.

 

However, if we've decided to book a cruise, that daily savings does take some of the bite out of the price tag for the cruise.

[firefly333]

20 hours ago, Merion_Mom said:

 

I am so glad that I sail solo!  😄  😄 😄 😄 😄

I've give you a star for this answer.

 

I'm so glad I don't feel I have to justify what I spend to someone else. For o cell we agree

[Baron Barracuda]

For us, dw decides what region she wants to sail to and then I as former financial analyst create spreadsheets comparing itineraries and offerings across different cruise lines.  I track current cruise line pricing and promotions and and factor in what each line provides in the way of inclusions and loyalty benefits.  In addition to my raw cost comparison we factor in cruise line, ship, itinerary,  and cabin preferences.  Once we decide on the sailing I step aside and dw (the former accountant) costs it out.

 

One potentially large expense I don't see on op's list is travel insurance.  Depending on the level of coverage you want cost can vary greatly (for example CFAR or no).  Others which can add up are ground transportation (home - airport - hotel - ship - airport - home) and pre/post cruise meals.

 

 

DW as the former accountant locks in on bottom line cost. 

[firefly333]

I just want to know what I owe for final payment. Next up is a b2b in Feb. If that falls thru and have a FCC paying for first leg, and paid the deposits in cash because at that time I was told that was the rule. I don't want more fccs.

 

I just want to know what I owe and to quit getting cancelled. The FCC I have only one because I asked for refund after that. But we moved a deposit with cc so I'm not positive I can even get a refund.

 

My math at this pt is pretty fuzzy. My cruise parking I was able to move to this year says 15% penalty to cancel. It was moved from my April 26th cruise that got cancelled.

 

If my math gets any fuzzier ... my TA is already he has the costs somewhere, I've just gotten lost along the way with all the changes.

 

Does this qualify for fuzzy math?

[cruisequeen4ever]

Your fuzzy accounting is entertaining. ☺️ We do what we’ve gotta do to get hubby approval for our cruises! My hubby set up a vacation spreadsheet for us many years ago, and I’m not to quote him a price without having every line item in the budget spreadsheet completed. 🤣 I mean we get down to the nittiest of gritty in our planning. On the complete opposite end is my friend when we do a girls’ cruise; she freaks out when I tell her the total from the spreadsheet. She’d rather just know the base cost of the cruise, tips, and air. Everyone is different. I have to say, I do enjoy filling out the spreadsheets because sometimes there are fun surprises like the value added items making the OOP cost less for a nicer cruise or stateroom!

[sparks1093]

You aren't the only one, I have seen many on this board tout a cruise line and how much is saved because certain things are "included" (but marketed as "free"). I do like to know what I'm getting for my money but I'm not going to break it down much further than what the fare costs, with anything that we know that we'll be purchasing factored in. The best example is the beverage package that is included in the fare for NCL. We know about what we're going to spend on drinks during the cruise (and have only purchased one once), so if the NCL cruise and another cruise had a fare that were close then we would consider NCL, but otherwise the beverage package wouldn't be a big convincing point for us.