How do y'all afford to cruise so often??

[mandrews2u]

o.k. great so we have a our way to the port without using taxi,wonderful and the resteraunt sounds perfect, I'll be traveling with my hubby so won't worry plus we won't use the train at night. We stayed downtown the last time we were in Vancouver so this will be o.k.I just thought I was like an hour away from the port or something. Thank-You

[M5M]

Questions for posts # 12 and 19...

So what is a deeply discounted interline rate? And, to the other poster, what is a Friend of Henry?

[linnealee]

My mother pays for everything, even when we are on board, so I am lucky. Otherwise I would be so in debt, it would not be funny. I just put down a deposit today for a one day cruise and sailing not too far from where I live.

[princess_cruz]

my dad pays for everything. apart from my souvenirs. am not entirely sure how he affords it either. but hey, who's complaining???!!!

[EJ'S MOM-MOM]

princess_cruz & linnealee how lucky you both are having parents who can afford to treat you so well. Are you only children ? I am the oldest of 8 & my parents where lucky to take my sisters & brothers on vacation to a cabin in the mountains that my grandfaher owned. And let me just say it was a VERY RUSTIC cabin with an outhouse...LOL.. I never went as I was out & married when they began going. Before that we would go to the Jersey shore for a day here & there. I am not complaining just stating how lucky you 2 are & hoping you appreciate it. We had a good life growing up but with 8 kids vacations were something my parents could not afford on a regular basis. As I remember it none of my neighbors seemed to go away to often either in those days. I myself do not pay for my 3 kids to cruise but I do put money on there S & S acct. for them to use as they wish. When I was young a cruise was for the rich but today thanks to lines like Carnival a lot more people can afford to enjoy such a wonderful vacation. Happy Crusing...:D :D :D

[cruie4ever]

:) most folks who cruise fly in to the area & stay at hotels over night . Over the years those extra hotel bills add up . There are ways to get hotels for free ;such as having a American Express Hilton Honors card ;which will give you 3 to 5 points per dollar.you must apply to HiltonHonors.com for the acct card for your american Express points to accumulate .It is easy to accumulate lots of points.We are going to Europe on cruise & staying 2 nights in Florence & 6 nights in Rome .With our points we stay free.UIf we had to pay for these nights it would cost us about $3800 extra. BTW the hilton Honors points are goos at all Hilton properties ,Embassy suites, Hampton Inns ,Double Tree Hotels ie

 

For those who prefer other hotels get the entertainment Book @www.entertainment.com & get 50% off hotel room rack rates.

 

Happy Cruising :D Cliff

[princess_cruz]

haha yes i suppose i am very lucky. i am grateful indeed.

i'm not an only child- i have a sister who is 22. so i suppose the combined money requirements for young adult city girls like myself and her will be quite strenuous on my dad's bank balance! lol.

[sasysutler]

Alecia.. come over to the floataway lounge and join us in the Florida boards!

[IslandDreamers]

Well, we are in our 30's-

We both work (a lot) have NO KIDS (by choice) and live in a small town 30 minutes out of the twin cities.

 

My husband has most the winter off since his job is construction related.

So during the time he does work (in the summer) he pays bills and I sock away as much money as we can afford to.

 

We pay for everything trip related in cash, right down to the sea-pass card. I know this is really hard to do for most people but believe me, it takes a lot of sacrafice.

Often we have to decline dinner out with our friends but to me, it's well worth it!

I love getting out of here in the winter time when our friends are all bundled up!!!!! tee hee!!

 

Sooo....we save, we have minimal expenses (no credit cards at all) try to live cheap....and budget. That's the hardest part!!

 

When we take our annual cruises, we splurge on fun stuff! Those are the things that will live in our memories!!!

 

...and that's what works for us!!!

 

~cheers! ;)

[WannaCruise365]

Many excellent posts. We cruise 3 times a year,,now that hubby retired..our motto,can't take it with you.. 1. travel off peak 2. look for specials 3. family..cruise instead of giving birthday/Xmas gifts 4. use credit card to accumulate points 5. We are happy to be on ship,,rarely eat at speciality restaurants, beach it in the Carribean, don't want any more trinkets from the ports, avoid the casino,,I consider Vegas the only place to loose my $$, don't buy in gift shop,,few drinks,,no coke card, don't buy extra food on ship,,too much already. 6. Be open to book 3-4 different cruiselines 7. Retire in a less expensive place 8. Enjoy the amenities on the ship,,,which you can do by booking an inside cabin or suite..we always had a balcony,,after 14 nt cruise..in an inside cabin,,decided we can take 2 cruises in an inside or OV cabin,,for the price of a balcony,,inside $1200 14 nts/Balcony $2350 14 nights...

[VaBeachCruisers897]

Save; Save; Save...... Spend

 

Throughout the year we will go without food for weeks. We even cut back on 8-Track tape purchases...

 

But seriously... it's not that expensive. We have friends that can not afford to cruise but!! A night in town Dinner & Bars $$. XBOX and Games $$ Movies $$ We go to the beach on the weekends and spend very little on a weekly basis compared to others. And when you can take a cruise even once or twice a year its worth it!!

[princess_cruz]

if you're on a ship which has all inclusive drinks, or free refill drinks, then buy one drink and get 4 straws! fill it up when you need and only pay for one drink! ta da!

[UpstateCruizer]

We will be going on our second cruise next month. We went in June loved it so much we decided to skip Niagara Falls and do a cruise instead. One of the things that allows us to afford vacations such as a cruise and resort types is that we are frugal with our money year round. I buy on sale and always do my research before making purchases. I will admit the one thing that seems to seperate my husband and I from other couples that we know is that we have ZERO credit card debt. We use it to make purchases to earn cashback and pay the entire balance when the bill comes. It's amazing how fast those monthly payments and interest charges can add up. The kids are 19 & 21 which makes a big difference as well. All the years of saving and being frugal in other areas have paid off allowing for this. I see it as a form of paying our dues all those years and now being able to enoy the choices we've made along the way. BTW I'm still frugal and do my research before booking a cruise/hotel/air ect which also helps :)

[mandrews2u]

I always think I am frugal, however maybe I am not frugal enough if we have to use charge cards then pay it off little by little, we eat out very seldom, never go to movies, I stay out the stores as what I can;t want what I do not see. Unfortunately our expenses our beyond our income, we can't cut down any further and until days of paying child support are over we do not meet ends meet and emotionally we NEED that Cruise everyother year, we need that time for us, away from my young adult children and my teen stepsons, we cherish the time on the ship of no worries, no responsibilities

( which I am NOT complaining) it's just the child support is larger than the mortgage, ha,ha. I will take any additional suggestions for being frugal within the home.

[kathyFNP]

I think some of it is a matter of priority. When our kids were little we couldn't afford to go. Now we are established in our careers and make decent incomes. Kids college is over and paid for. We consider overselves to be fairly conservative with our money. We don't get suites or buy alot of drinks or gamble onboard. We book our excursions privately. We get free or cheap flights. There are many ways to cut down your costs when cruising.

[Handsome58]

We have cruised once a year since 2002 and twice last year and plan on 2 again next year. Cruising can be cheap if you compare it to going to somewhere else..paying for hotel..food.....etc

 

Plus we use a travel agent most times and she puts us on a payment plan...so like for next August we will start paying after we return from our cruise on the Triumph on the 11th. Plus we will pay for a short 4 day one in February that will be less than $700 for the both...then just use some of the X-mas bonus for spending money on that cruise.

 

Plus I started saving for spending/gambling money for the crusie on the August 11th 3 months ago.......it is all how you plan and save......and which cruise you select and which cabin...........we have a balcony in August...but since we started paying for it when it was $935....just last month it was listed on Carnival at $1300.............you have be a wise shopper..........

[SueOverend]

We're in the lucky position to be mortgage and child free now, which makes a huge difference. I work full time and virtually my whole income is now spent on vacations. Life is too short to save!

[logan1_2000]

some portion of the next couple cruises are DS being covered by a free companion fare on the sovereign next month, and two of us, DW and myself, heavily subsidized by a "free" (really a credit for the value of the lowest available class oceanview) cruise for 2 to the caribbean next march 16th on the mariner. so that is about $2,100 total cruise fare not spent, earned from 150,000 total rewards points, with probably 15-20,000 of those points being "double" points (my guess is I spent 130-135,000 on the card to get those 150,000 points). some recent changes to the required point totals in the RCI Visa program have many card-holders upset, but that's business and I have decided to stick with the card because the RCI cruises tend to fit my family's needs.

 

the giant coke bottle coin bank is filling up pretty well at home, about two years and probably--this is a pure guess--about a thousand dollars in there now. sure will hurt to roll all those coins in '09 or so, and then --ugh!-- have to carry them in to my bank branch (i recall the last time, about $880...might be able to trace my hernia to that event), we paid for a portion of the april 2005 disney cruise with the coin bank --all loose change at the end of the day from all family members goes into the bank, and it eventually goes to a cruise.

 

and deciding to go for some shorter cruises, that we can live w/o some balconies, cruising from ports that are driveable instead of flying to san juan for the Adventurer of the Seas as I previously wanted to are all methods of squeezing more cruises out of life.

[Cruise Junky]

 

the giant coke bottle coin bank is filling up pretty well at home, about two years and probably--this is a pure guess--about a thousand dollars in there now. sure will hurt to roll all those coins in '09 or so, and then --ugh!-- have to carry them in to my bank branch (i recall the last time, about $880...might be able to trace my hernia to that event)

.

 

I feel you're pain. I deposited $508 in change this morning...ouch ;)

[sonomaphil]

Easy answer! Double income, no kids! We didn't make the mistake (LOL) of having kids so we can go on vacations whenever we want! :D

[etoile]

I just found this thread. I started a similar one MANY months ago and I got yelled at a lot..."just because you can't afford it doesn't mean you should ruin our enjoyment" and stuff like that. Glad to see there are others with the same question as me.

[slotl]

My husband and I took our first cruise on the Rotterdam V in 1969. We paid $195/each for an inside stateroom. I think we were in the crew quarters ;) . We got hooked on cruising then.

 

Some tips on cruising.

 

1. You don't need a suite or balcony to enjoy the cruise. Inside or oceanview rooms are less expensive and readily available.

 

2. Book (very) early or (very) late. Check the 90 day ticker for available rooms. The 90 day ticker contains unsold rooms or rooms where the original bookers chose not to make their final payment (some great rooms can become available at the last minute).

 

3. Sign up online at all the cruise line websites. They send flyers to your home and emails to your account with specials all the time.

 

4. Use frequent flyer airfare to get to/from the points of departure and arrival. Airline fares can be very expensive if purchased thru the cruise line and these usually involve one or more stops from your home to your destination cruise.

 

5. Check out airfare websites continuously looking for the best bargains....but check to see how far the cruise ship is from the airport. You may need to look into ship's transfers. I know Rome is far from the dock as is Beijing. We are talking 1-2 hour drives.

 

6. Look for private tours rather than the ship's tours at each port. Be VERY CAREFUL that you choose a reputable company. The ship will leave without you if you are late, but on a ship's tour, the ship will wait.

 

7. Depending on the itinerary and how close to "home" seriously consider travel insurance. I ALWAYS take travel insurance, not because of the fear of trip cancellation, but for the evacuation insurance to a medical facility closer to home. We have seen helicopers land on the ship to evacuate injured crew and sick passengers. I don't know about you, but I can't afford to pay for helicoper, private airfare, and ambulance service when I am in China, the Amazon, Africa, etc.

 

8. When our children were growing up, we would drop them at grandma and grandpa's house in Ft. Lauderdale and take a one week cruise out of Ft. Lauderdale. Everyone was very happy.

 

9. When the children got older, we sent them off to camp and we went on cruises.

 

10. Rethink buying souviners, cocktails of the day (or other drinks), "specials" in the onboard shops, playing bingo, going to the casino. And......DON'T go to the spa. The charges are excessive and the service is not as good as you get at home.

 

11. I still think cruising is the BEST and CHEAPEST way to travel. We lost some good friends in the past few years and we have excellerated our travel plans immensely. Too little time left to say, "I wish I had gone to......"

 

12. Lastly, look for repositioning cruises in March/April and September/October. A repositioning cruise is where the ship travels to Alaska in the summer months only or those ships that do Europe in the summer. These cruises can be very cost-friendly and have very unique itineraries.

 

Hope this helps.

[dontpanik]

Well, I don't have that many cruises to my name, but I live close to the port :D. You would be amazed at how inexpensive travel is when you don't have to pay for flights, hotels and restaurants.

[logan1_2000]

I feel you're pain. I deposited $508 in change this morning...ouch ;)

 

and with the exchange rate and your coins (presumably) canadian, you deserve to have gotten more benefit for your heavy schlep than I suspect you received.

 

I do envy your proximity to Alaskan cruises, though in the winter months I suspect you might wish to be a bit nearer, at least maybe sometimes, to ports of embarkation for the caribbean.

[deborahjo]

With kids gone we plan to cruise more. Going in October then Alaska and a 4 day to Mexico next year then another 8 day in 08. All booked and only paying on 2 of them right now. I would rather book early and pay along the way. Can cruise more often that way.