So many cruises....How do you do it?

[traveling1969]

How can anyone afford NOT to cruise? We are fortunate enough to have enough time off to travel and enough buckaroos to afford it. Before we discovered cruising we spent a lot more money for our vacations what with the cost of hotels, food and entertainment. Now we cruise and talk about all-inclusive; great hotels (ships) with unlimited free room service, gourmet meals (at least to my taste), great entertainment and activities, pools, spas and exercise rooms, beautiful vistas, interesting ports of call...I could go on forever. And now, thanks to the availability of cruises leaving from nearby ports, airfare is no longer an added expense. For the cost of two land-based vacations, we can take four cruises. As a matter of fact we used to count years to retirement. Now we count cruises. Three a year as long as we can swing it.

 

Oh I forgot. You asked about discounts and such. You're on the right track by cruising these boards. You'll pick up a lot of tips by just looking around. Carnival offers a killer military discount for anyone who has served in the armed forces; you don't have to be an active duty service member. Princess offers periodic early-booking discounts; we got a dandy upgrade by booking a back-to-back cruise a year in advance. RCCL offers a variety of discounts (senior specials, resident specials etc). There are real bargains to be had if you just look around. Bon Voyage!

[MortgageChick]

With cruise # 17 coming up on OCt 31st it seems like a long time since we started and it is only 7 years ago. I am lucky to have a high paying job, and as much vacation as I want. My husband is self employed and also makes his own hours. We live in a modest home, and do not drive brand new vehicles. We take 2 or 3 cruises a year and I land based resort vacation. We prefer longer cruises , which allows you to save on air if you go for 2 weeks instead of two one week cruises. We currently have 3 cruises booked as well as a 1 week in an all incl in Mexico for New Years. Jewel of the Seas 12 nights 10/31/06, Carnival Spirit 12 nights to Hawaii 4/07, Navigator of the Seas 13 nights Transatlantic Nov 2007.

We do not always have a balcony,sometimes we are inside , sometimes oceanview. Most of our cruises are repositioning which allows us to spend as little as 60 per day p/p and about 100 per day p/p for a balcony . We blew this budget in 2004 on our TA crossing on HAL , because I really wanted a specific aft balcony and it was just more expensive. We cruise approx 30-35 days in a 12 to 14 month period and Budget around $10K a year for both of us. We spend very little on our on board account, this was not always the case. I would rather cruise more often and take a miss on casino, photos, gift shop etc. AIrfare is on points or from a ticket discounter in the case of our European airline tickets.

[cindiedee]

I agree with all the above - the thing is.....you just have to spend time looking for the deals. I probably get 15-20 emails a day with cruise deals - no, I don't spend hours reading them - I skim them and if there is something I know we are interested in, then I will read that particular part. But, you have to be willing to jump on your deal right then. We did a TA last year and one of the sites had a one day - FREE AIR - with the 23-24 day TA - now that was 2 tickets to Rome from South FL free! We jumped on it and got it (this was probably 8-9 months prior to the sailing). We always go with an inside cabin and I will say - the upgrade fairy has been VERY good to us - we are now booked on cruises 20 and 21 (sailing this fall/winter) and only twice have we gotten the cabin we actually paid for - just be sure that if you book inside or GTY, that you can be happy in that cabin. DH and I were BLESSED to be able to retire about age 50 - we have small but nice house that is paid for - we keep our cars for 10+ years - we don't eat fancy meals at restaurants - the kids are grown and on their own, etc etc etc - everyone spends their money differently - DH would LOVE a fancy shmancy $100,000K sportscar but realistically, he also loves traveling the world - so that is where the $ goes. Also, we are doing it NOW - we know too many people who are going to do it "later" - when we retire, when we get Social Security, etc - and then something happens to one of them and they can't go anywhere or do anything - we are doing it now - we will either run out of time or money and that's ok with us!!!!:cool: