How do people afford $20,000 suites?

[Ret MP]

1 minute ago, A&L_Ont said:

Or take control yourself and block them and you will never see their posts.  It’s just a couple of clicks to relieve your suffering. It’s better than living the life of a martyr. 

In more than 30 years of using social media, I have never NEVER blocked or taped the "Ignore" button.  That's like putting a bandaid on a crashed car.  Behavioral changes must be made, not ignored.  I'm glad and I'm sure many people were glad I didn't tap the "ignore" button while I was in Law Enforcement. 

[Slidell_Cruiser]

Just run for Congress and win or be a senior staffer….presto…..jackpot….

enter with little net worth, ten years later you own several prime locations houses valued at over 50 million, all on less than 200k per year….

What a country….

[BecciBoo]

11 hours ago, pittnh said:

My favorite motto about wealth comes from Texas, where the saying is big hat, no cattle.  Many people make very good incomes, think nothing about dropping 20K on a suite, and are probably pretty close to living paycheck to paycheck.

Big Hair too!  LOL  I have a small Sun visor and no cattle...LOL

[Ret MP]

10 minutes ago, PompeySailor said:

is why people spend $1600 on a phone 📱 (and take 3 years to pay it off)

 

or pay $42k for a car and pay $600 a month to lease it 

 

Too funny but so true!  

 

 

[orville99]

15 hours ago, Ret MP said:

That was a small issue for us on Ovation, Star Loft Suit.  But, it was just an inconvenience, we just didn't sit on that balcony. 

Different class of ship, and Wonder is a significantly different design than its predecessors. They added decks and moved all the suites up to the top or the ship. According to the captain, those design changes coupled with a scrubber system that is too small for the ship, and cheap fuel that they are buying creates a perfect storm for oily soot to blanket every exposed surface aft of the suites.

Edited April 1, 2023 by orville99

[LobsterStalker]

12 hours ago, grandgeezer said:

Affording it is no problem. Zero chance of booking it though. We make financial decisions based on our perceived value of the product. We didn’t see any value in cruising pre pandemic and have read or heard anything post pandemic to change our mind. 48cruises and 494 days at sea is more than enough. We have everything we want and have done about everything we want so we have no problems leaving what we have accumulated to our son, daughter in law and only grandson. In fact we have a better feeling with that than almost everything we have or done.

Seems a bit conflicting ... clearly you saw value in cruising with 48 cruises under your belt ..?!

[lovesthebeach2]

On 3/30/2023 at 6:36 PM, njsmom said:

I guess there's that. We each put away 10% of our incomes into our 401K, in addition to other savings we accumulate. I save $1,500 a month just for travel. And add to that pile as needed. Sigh. $18K a year for vacations feels very extravagant. I need to just feel fortunate that I can do that. 

There are those here that are already into retirement, also made a good salary, also saved >10% in their 401Ks, may have lived frugally while the kids were growing up, are done paying for college, etc that now look at how much retirement they have, including SSA, and may say to themselves that they worked hard all their life and now want to splurge a bit and enjoy it. 

Youre on the right track to be one of those people one day and you’ll be splurging too 😁

[LobsterStalker]

3 hours ago, Cruise a holic said:

So sad that they gave money to their kids!  Our kids make very good livings and support themselves and their families.  They wouldn't want to rob us of a comfortable future.  We give nice gifts to them and our grandchildren, but they are responsible for their own family.  So said that your friends gave away all of their money and sad that the kids accepted it.

When did they lose family status ? Sounds like if they fell on hard times you would not help ?

 

2 hours ago, poocher said:

Why is that choice any better or worse than any other?  I love spending/giving money to my kids.  One needs the help, one doesn’t.  I don’t care because it’s what makes me happy. I don’t care how old they are, they’re still my kids.  Hubby & I aren’t living under a bridge because of it.  Would we have more money?  Yes.  Do I care? No.

Exactly !

Personally it makes me feel quite nice to be able to help my grown children along the way !

I also enjoy travelling... It's called balance , and everyone needs to find their it .

 

Cheers

[LobsterStalker]

1 hour ago, BecciBoo said:

I don't begrudge anyone their money or their choices, but we learned a very valuable lesson early in our married life and swore we'd never make those mistakes again.  So for 27 years we've never once used our CCs to finance anything.  We use one card, AMEX and the only reason is so we can fly free.  We pay it off every month, they don't make much off us in interest.  After our big financial debacle, my favorite quote was, "If you don't have the cash to buy it now what makes you think you'll have it next month or the next or the next?"  Save your money, then buy it.  We book early, and put cash away in our fun account until final payment so we cruise without worrying about having to pay off a cruise on the CC.  I am naturally frugal, do my research and don't pull the plug on anything unless it's a bargain...so far...so good.  ICON is the only cruise that just about choked me to book.  But we have 2 years to save for it.  Just an inside though, nothing fancy.  If we were wealthy we'd probably book a loft or something, but the chances of that are nil at this point.  We are tent camping this weekend and scrounging around for deals on new cots today.  Ahhhh, the simple life!

Just sayin , if you pay it off every month they should be making nothing off you in interest

[Cruise for vacation]

It’s a personal choice/preference.  I sail 2-3 times a year in suites.  We are in a suite on the RCCL Icon inaugural (Jan 2024) and Celebrity Beyond to Italy, Greece and Croatia (Aug 2024, hubby bday)  It is not costing more for the suites as my land trips for my birthday in Sept 2023, a week in the Maldives then fly over to Dubai for a week.  It a personal preference and planning, I plan out my trips well in advance as you see (nothing on credit cards).  I like to have everything paid all we have to do is show up.

[ldubs]

On 3/30/2023 at 3:30 PM, njsmom said:

I keep trying to figure this out. Who is it paying $15,000 and $20,000 for suites on cruise ships and going multiple times a year? Are they putting it on credit or are they paying cash? 

 

Since this is an anonymous board, I can say that my spouse and I are very successful without sounding like I am bragging. No one knows me here. 🙂 

 

We each make well over six figures and our income easily places us in the top 3-4% of all households in our state. I am a vice president at my company, and my husband is quite successful as well. And it's not just our annual income. We have over $2 million already saved for retirement and we're still many years away from that time in our lives.Yet, I can't fathom spending $20,000 on a suite.  It's not that we're against spending. We love fancy things. We live in a lovely home, we drive luxury cars and we have taken our three kids to Europe and we go regularly to Napa and drop $600 a night for a 4-5 night stay, and do $300 dinners. But again, $20,000 on a suite? That is another realm of spending. 

 

Who is it spending this much on a suite? If my husband and I can't afford to do it, who can? There's not that many people who make more than us, to be frank. I just don't get it. 

 

A lot of folks might wonder who can afford $900/day for lodging and dinner.  Add in breakfast and lunch then maybe that is close to $1,000/day?  Multiply by 20 for a 20 day cruise and there you are.    

[Ferry_Watcher]

17 hours ago, orville99 said:

Ship was designed for the Oriental market,

 

ASIAN market - the use of the word, Oriental is dated in this context.

[lenquixote66]

1 hour ago, Slidell_Cruiser said:

Just run for Congress and win or be a senior staffer….presto…..jackpot….

enter with little net worth, ten years later you own several prime locations houses valued at over 50 million, all on less than 200k per year….

What a country….

Or become the POTUS

[orville99]

5 minutes ago, Ferry_Watcher said:

 

ASIAN market - the use of the word, Oriental is dated in this context.

Not for a 75 YO Irishman 😇

[Ferry_Watcher]

3 minutes ago, orville99 said:

Not for a 75 YO Irishman 😇

 

Yes, you and Robert Kraft.

[orville99]

6 minutes ago, Ferry_Watcher said:

 

Yes, you and Robert Kraft.

I have no use for the word police.

[A&L_Ont]

2 hours ago, Ret MP said:

In more than 30 years of using social media, I have never NEVER blocked or taped the "Ignore" button.  That's like putting a bandaid on a crashed car.  Behavioral changes must be made, not ignored. 

 

Or look at it differently.  Behavioural changes can also come from within.  After 30 years of treating social media one way it doesn’t mean that you have to continue on the same path. 

 

[Ferry_Watcher]

One possible explanation for some older folks traveling in $20K suites is the extra yearly use of retirement dollars from the RMDs (Required Minimum Distribution).  If you have to withdraw a sizeable amount of your retirement savings, spending it on a suite on a cruise ship is one way of using it.

 

I do check-in for cruises going to Alaska.  I remember pre Covid I would be checking in older passengers (mostly on HAL) who would be treating their adult children and grandkids to an Alaska cruise.  I remember one very unassuming grandmother telling me that she was treating her family to the cruise, which she told me was costing her $42K all in.  She was so happy, just loving the fact that she was treating her loved ones.  

 

 

Edited April 1, 2023 by Ferry_Watcher

[A&L_Ont]

1 hour ago, orville99 said:

Different class of ship, and Wonder is a significantly different design than its predecessors. They added decks and moved all the suites up to the top or the ship. According to the captain, those design changes coupled with a scrubber system that is too small for the ship, and cheap fuel that they are buying creates a perfect storm for oily soot to blanket every exposed surface aft of the suites.

 

 

This isn’t just a Wonder issue. This has been plaguing the suites on deck 17 Oasis Class ships since they first came out. You also see it by the mini golf, flow riders, and basketball court.  It can happen to any cabin past the stacks, unless they have no balcony.  It really depends on whatever direction the winds took the soot, to where it lands.  Still crappy when you get it on your clothing etc..

[orville99]

4 minutes ago, A&L_Ont said:

 

 

This isn’t just a Wonder issue. This has been plaguing the suites on deck 17 Oasis Class ships since they first came out. You also see it by the mini golf, flow riders, and basketball court.  It can happen to any cabin past the stacks, unless they have no balcony.  It really depends on whatever direction the winds took the soot, to where it lands.  Still crappy when you get it on your clothing etc..

True,, but we have never seen it as pervasive or bad as on the Wonder. Even the Boardwalk deck and the seats at the Aqua Theatre were covered with it, and there was a housekeeping person pressure washing the Suite sun deck most mornings to try to stay ahead of it.

[AlexandNessa]

Two words: no kids. 

[HBE4]

As others have said, it's all about spending priorities.  I'm a cheap skate with certain items - day to day items like groceries and clothing -  but won't think twice about splurging for other items, such as nicer car, concert or baseball/ hockey tickets...or the Deluxe Drink Package. 😉

 

So if someone chooses to spend $20,000 on a suite, more power to them! Hopefully that's a big profit center for RCL which help lower the cost (ha-ha) for the regular cabins. I know, wishful thinking.

[voyager70]

2 hours ago, LobsterStalker said:

When did they lose family status ? Sounds like if they fell on hard times you would not help ?

 

Exactly !

Personally it makes me feel quite nice to be able to help my grown children along the way !

I also enjoy travelling... It's called balance , and everyone needs to find their it .

 

Cheers

Well said. I would never tell anyone or try to influence anyone how to spend their money. It’s none of my business. Likewise it’s nobody’s business but mine how I spend my money.

[RFerrington]

17 hours ago, RoperDK said:

Thanks for adding in all of the extra details.  We will hopefully be able to try Star Class one day!  

One of the most important perks of SC that I haven’t seen mentioned is unlimited laundry service.  They wash and press everything then return it to you on hangers.  It’s one of my very favorite SC amenities.  

Edited April 1, 2023 by RFerrington

[Toddcan]

58 minutes ago, Ferry_Watcher said:

One possible explanation for some older folks traveling in $20K suites is the extra yearly use of retirement dollars from the RMDs (Required Minimum Distribution).  If you have to withdraw a sizeable amount of your retirement savings, spending it on a suite on a cruise ship is one way of using it.

 

I do check-in for cruises going to Alaska.  I remember pre Covid I would be checking in older passengers (mostly on HAL) who would be treating their adult children and grandkids to an Alaska cruise.  I remember one very unassuming grandmother telling me that she was treating her family to the cruise, which she told me was costing her $42K all in.  She was so happy, just loving the fact that she was treating her loved ones.  

 

 

^^^ This ^^^

 

I look at it like this... the $20,000 suites are a tiny minority of the total people on the ship... let's say there are 10-20 people booked in them on every sailing.  To believe that 10-20 people out of 5,000 (0.4%) passengers find themselves having this much money to spend on a cruise - is very plausible. 

 

Some thoughts off the top of my head:

-Inheritance settlement

-Recent retirement with extra funds that allow for this expenditure without affecting future

-Frugal savings - maybe these people saved for 5 years, and REALLY wanted that suite

-Wealthy enough that $20k cruise it like avg Jill & Joe spending $2k 

-Household income > $600,000 per year (avg income of top 1% of earners)

 

Very easy to see how these suites sell.