To any penny pinchers...

[gatreveler]

oh and one more thing...since you're young (which I'm assuming you are) it always helps to know which bars are having entertainment nights and specials on certain-cuts more costs on how much you'll spend when you go out with friends!

[ute_fan]

I haven't read through this whole thread, so I apologize in advance if this is a duplicate suggestion. We're NCL fans -- yeah, I know, there's not a lot of us posting outside the NCL board, but that is my (so-far) only cruise line and I'm perfectly happy with it.

 

We have the BofA NCL cruise card, which is a very generous rewards card. Over the last 2 years, I've been able to earn $1500 in rewards certificates, which apply directly to the cost of the cruise. We pay it off in full every month --- it wouldn't be worth it if I was paying interest -- and use it for charging everything possible, from my kid's college tuition and books to cell phone bills sto the cable/satellite bills, etc. It pays points at the rate of 3%, 4% if the bill is for NCL charges, and 1 point = $1 at redemption time. It has a limit of 250 points per month, and 1,000 points per year. Several NCL board regulars who also use it have 2 or more cards to avoid hitting the maximum during the year.

 

We're going on our 4th cruise in November -- our first was in January, 2004. I certainly would never have expected to able to cruise that frequently. This cruise, for my DH and I, is costing me less than $600 total for an outside view room for a 7 day eastern-Caribbean cruise. That's my kind of travel! Of course, tips and shore excursions will slightly increase that cost, but not substantially.

 

Our other big money saver is that we don't drink alcohol, which is a BIG help when it comes to the end of the cruise.

[bpear1600]

What college did you graduate "in", gatreveler?

[gatreveler]

BS biology with a minor in history from the University of Georgia

[Horn]

Horn - If you're like most of us, the time actually spent in your cabin is minimal! There's just so much to see and do on the ship and in the ports! Just consider it a cozy little sleeping area, and hopefully you'll be just fine as far as the panic attacks are concerned. If there are a lot of mirrors in the cabin, that will also help because it gives the illusion of more space.

 

Have a fabulous first cruise! My first one was in August and I'm now addicted! Land vacations just don't have the same appeal to me anymore! :D

 

I'm hoping I'll spend a little more time in the cabin...it is an anniversary cruise after all <wink wink nudge nudge>...;) However, I figure that if I get too panicky, I'll just take a blanket and go sleep in a deck chair!! :)

[gojigirl2]

I am definitely a penny pincher. We always watch our money on the cruise. We book all of our excursions prior to sailing via the internet, not the cruise line. If we port and haven't booked we talk to folks on board that have been to that particular port and find out what is good to do and do it on our own. We always have a great time.

[when7576]

My DH and I are going to Alaska in May. We booked a balcony for the first time ever. Our last cruise we booked and inside cabin and were upgraded to a balcony. But I wanted to splurge on a balcony for Alaska. When ever I need money my husband is my ATM. (I hate going to ATM's) I take half of what I take from my DH and put it in my travel "bucket". All of our change goes into my travel bank. It's amazing how fast quarters adds up. I have sold things on ebay and I put that money into my travel account. I don't do shore excursions with the ship. I stay in B&B instead of hotels since then breakfast is included.

 

I'm a great penny pincher.

[anabolina]

I'm also in college and interested in saving money. I wonder if you have to use the cruisehip excursions (they are a bit pricey).

 

Anyway, my parents are paying for half the cruise as a birthday present and I'm paying for the rest and any extras like excursions or eating in the specialty restaurants.

 

Congrats on the cruise!!!:)

[ute_fan]

No, you don't have to use the shore excursions. I have done it both ways in the past. The advantage to the ship's excursions is that they won't go and leave you -- if something happens on your excursion (mechanical breakdown, etc) the ship will wait for their excursion to return. If you're on a private excursion, don't expect the ship to be there if you return late.

 

I like to make my decision based on a few factors:

 

1) What is the difference in price between booking through the ship and booking independently?

 

2) Is the ship docked, or is it a tender port? I feel more comfortable booking on my own if we're docked.

 

3) What is the length of the excursion compared to the amount of time in port? The more of the port time the excursion takes up, the more likely I am to take the ship's tour.

 

For instance, in Belize we did the excursion to Lamanai. It was a tender port, we were scheduled to be in port for about 8 hours and the excursion was supposed to be about 6, and the cost of booking independently was only $10 less per person. That one I booked through the ship. In Antigua, we're in port for 8 hours, I've booked an island tour that only lasts 4 hours, and we're docked. The guide we're using comes with very good recommendations from the cruise critic port-of-call section, so there I feel comfortable booking independently.

[funcorn]

My friend and I booked a balcony cabin to AK last May and used it once in a while--most of the time we were up on deck. This year we're booking a partially obstructed OV near the stairs one deck above the promenade, so that we can get out on deck quickly. (This is how we can afford to go to AK this year, too) Last year I discovered that I usually take way too much money. I left my wallet with my cc and over half of my money at home (by mistake) and I did just fine--kept me from impulse buying for sure.

[cusyl]

We like to cruise often, being on a limited income we most always book inside guarantee and hope for an upgrade. Usually we get one.

We don't do excursions in the islands and always eat on the ship. Also, we don't drink alcoholic beverages. Coffee, tea and juices are always available at no charge.

Our extras on the ship at the end of the cruise are rarely over $200.

[mom2tcdx2]

This will be my first year that I have taken two cruises - one that we did in May I basically booked that almost a year before and put a little aside each month for it and paid the balance with my tax refund as well as my spending money onboard. We then booked another in November, the price was really good and a lot less than my May cruise. However we had some financial problems so I don't have a lot to spend at this point on my shipboard account as I would have liked as I went through my savings etc that was set aside so we won't get to do as much onboard as I would have liked to try. I basically have the shore excursions covered, tips, soda cards, etc and a small amount left. Our family chose for 8 of us to go on the cruise in November instead of exchanging gifts for Christmas. My next hope is my mother and I would both like to do either Alaska or Hawaii but realize it will probably 2009 before we will be able to afford to do either of those. I have always had an inside cabin and would like a balcony for those.

[silverlilly1]

I'm a Canadian student as well, getting married in May, and that's why we're doing our first cruise ever. I've been on student loans the entire time and have never figured out how people managed to take cruises before they graduate. Luckily he's graduated already and we're both in areas that do/should pay ~$25/hour starting wage. If you've got the money, go for it! We've worked 5 years to get where we are, and frankly I think even if we ARE young, we deserve a break after what we went through to get here.

 

Enjoy your trip!

[EnchantmentSeeker]

I usually go for the gty cabins(except for Alaska, I wanted to make sure I had a balcony, so I thats what I booked)...have been upgraded a few times...but, I will probably never see the inside of a suite unless its courtsy of the upgrade fairy...;)

 

Hey parrotthead - can you tell me about 'Friends of Henry'?

 

Thanks

[cusyl]

Hey parrotthead - can you tell me about 'Friends of Henry'?

 

Thanks

Henry sucks! :D

[zetnic]

This is a great thread. I sign up for all the web travel agents e-mail specials and I have the saying "You can't afford not to." I recently received a princess 7 night for $349. I received an e-mail from a fellow cruiser that I really didn't know but had gone on a tour with set up by another cc member. He told me that his TA and booked a section of rooms for a 14 night Celebrity ancient Empires cruise. I booked an inside room for an outstanding price of $723. "Couldn't afford not to." My airfare will be high because it leaves out of Rome but I figure I can pick up some overtime shifts as a nurse and all extra money will go to travel. The same man is setting up tours at all the ports. There is an all day tour to the pyramids and sphinx for only $40. I have a full year to save and put away extra money. There should be a place for CC members to pass on these great deals. I wouldn't have know had he not had my e-mail address from past tour. Janice

[Up-in-Ohio]

We are simpletons. In Nassau we walked around town for a few hours then took a cab to Atlantis. After that we hailed a cab, we told the cab driver we wanted him to drive around for an hour. So we ended up seeing a different side of the island, and it only cost us $50 and he drove for 1 1/2 hours. This is our form of entertainment though. We like to see different things. This activity could be done in a group. Just get a van taxi.

Our biggest cruise disappointments were due to delays in the ships schedule. We learned the hard way that some of the best and cheapest excursions are the unplanned ones. In Grand Cayman we planned a snorkeling excursion. The ship was late and the tenders were disorganized. Our 4 hr event ended up being 1hr long, and we waited 1hr on the dock waiting for it to start.

This is what we've learned from the GC event. We could have walked off the ship and 1/2 mile to a snorkeling area and paid 1/2 as much for twice as long.

Another example. we were eating dinner with the 3 other couples at our table after GC. One couple took a sight seeing tour scheduled through the cruise line. One of the other couples got off the tender, did 1/2hrs worth of shopping, then decided to go on a tour (any tour) and wound up on the same tour (and bus) as the other couple at the table. The unplanned excursion cost 1/2 as much as the planned one.

This doesn't always work. Most of the tours for the ruins and boating tours need to be planned.

We are in our early 40's, work and go to college. We keep track of schedules, appointments and daily stress every day so the last thing we need is to do is "plan" during our vacation. We don't drink, smoke, or gamble so we rely on the ships free shows and each other to stay entertained. Oh yeh did I mention, we are cheap and simple.

[EnchantmentSeeker]

Henry the vaccum???

[croozymooner]

I just have to respond to those criticizing students for taking cruises. Maybe in the undergraduate/college years, I can understand thinking it's inappropriate for 18-22 year olds to spend so much on a vacation. But some of us are in school for a looooong time. I am in medical school. My husband is getting his PhD. That's eight years of school for me (with tuition at about $36,000 a year for the last four years) plus probably five years of residency during which I'm earning a teacher's salary while working 80 hours a week with one day off a week, no holidays. My husband's education will likely be ten years while earning about half a teacher's salary during those last six years plus likely a two year post-doctoral position after that.

 

Those types of hours are grueling. We are a married couple. You reach a point when you just don't want to live off ramen noodles anymore and ache to be like your peers who just got jobs after college. Please don't begrudge us our once every two years cruise just so we can feel like a normal married couple like everyone else even if it does mean taking out student loans.

 

Yes we chose to take very long and very challenging career paths with regards to our educations. But hey, the United States isn't widely regarded as the best producer of medical and scientific research in the world for nothing. Neither of us regrets what our decisions, but please, don't be so quick to judge others when it comes to how they use their student loans!

[calliecat]

croozymooner.....you keep going on your cruises and don't worry about what others think! You don't have to justify your reasons to anyone! Life's too short to wait until you have the money or time to do things together. There is no guarantee that you will around next year or even tomorrow. When you have children take them too because if something should happen to you (heaven forbid) they will have the memories of doing things with their parents forever!

And BTW....I used my cancer insurance I received from my cancer diagnosis two years ago to fund my Christmas cruise with my husband and then 12yr old son. I'd do it again in a heartbeat.

[RizzoLee]

I feel like I have deja vu here... I know I posted this somewhere else, but oh well!

 

I also just graduated last year. I did not get OSAP (am an Ontarian as well! Go Leafs!) as I did not qualify for it, though I lived 2 hours away from my school and travelled everyday. I graduated with over $17k in credit card and credit line debt. I paid for the remainder of my third year on my VISA, or else I wouldn't have been able to finish. The biggest kicker is that I had an accident shortly before graduation, and now can't even practise in my chosen field (massage therapy) due to pain. :(

 

This year, after paying a fortune to have my brakes fixed (after they went and almost caused an accident), my steering fixed (steering seized while driving) and my gas tank patched (had a gas leak), I had to go out and buy a new(er) car on a credit line. I was thoroughly convinced my old car was trying to kill me. :) The good news is is that my student debt was almost halfway paid off at the time.

 

Moral of the story? Sometimes you just can't stop debt from happening. I've gotten small handouts (ie. partial year's scholarship), but I had to work extremely hard for that and barely missed Honours by 0.036 of a mark when I graduated.

 

I'm now engaged, just bought a house (thank God it's a new build and won't be ready til May 2008), and am planning a cruise wedding, of which, again, I'm paying for. :D I still owe a ton of money. I'm like the above fellow graduate-I pick up every penny I see. It was a source of embarassment for DBF until he saw I picked up an average of 5 pennies a day. 0.05 x 365 = $18.xx, or roughly enough to pre-pay for 4 drink tickets. Add to that that I drop all my pennies and nickels from my purse into a piggy bank everyday (or every Friday, depends on how tight finances become), and have saved over $120 over several months now. I just started a newspaper route (which pays more than I expected it to!) and am looking for a part-time job. I'm used to working 60 hours a week, in fact, get bored when I don't!

 

An idea that hit me the other day was that I'm going to start bringing tea to work from home-I still get my caffeine fix, but don't have to spend $1.39 on a triple triple at Timmy's. Now I put that $1.39 in the piggy bank everyday. It also saves me 5 minutes travel everyday plus there's less fat in milk than cream!

 

I ask for gift certificates for birthdays and Christmas, that way I can still go out for a bite to eat when the itch gets me, and I don't feel bad. Nor do I have over 100 different varieties of knick knacks I'll never use hanging around either... :) Don't get me wrong, I love that lime green sweater my aunt got me last year, but it's 6 sizes too big...

 

I treat cruises and vacations as my time-I don't go shopping, and when I absolutely have to, I won't spend over a certan amount on clothes. Need work pants? Black slacks at Wal-Mart are $12.99. Shoes? Again, Wal-Mart, $14.99. One day I'll be able to afford Aldo and Guess, etc. but not today. And I'm okay with that! My Fascination trip was only $93 plus tax ($164). I will eat more than $93 in food over 4 days. We're driving down to save money, and are bringing our own wine to save slightly on the bar bill.

 

So-if you're okay with using your school money for a vacation, do it. In the long run, you're not hurting anyone but yourself (if in fact you really are hurting yourself, memories are worth millions). I went on my first cruise just after my first year of school (got a big tax return). It would have been nice to have the money and less debt, but I think of the blast I had with my friends, and in hindsight, I would have gone again if I could.

[5sailingeagles]

Wow...my hubby calls me the "Queen of Frugal"...:) I clip coupons...buy in bulk..buy on clearance/sale...buy school clothes a year ahead so they are cheaper (if I can figure out their size..lol)..etc. We both drive used cars so as not to have some huge car payments. You name it..I do it.

 

We too love to cruise but I do not use a credit card for any part of it. This is why we save all year. We did however book a balcony cabin for next summer. I watch everyday for a price drop.

 

We also about 3 months ago stumbled up Dave Ramsey "Total Money Makeover" book. WOW is this guy smart! If you have a chance, check out his book at the library (I did end up buying it later on). This gentleman is truly a financial genius in many many aspects. He has taught us how to control our money...not have our money control us. Its the best book I've read in years.

 

great post by the way!

 

squeezes Lincoln till he cries...;)

Esmerelda

 

We got hooked up with Dave aprox 5 years ago. His teaching works!

We are going on our first weeks vacation been married for 20 years.

We have delayed allot. Used Daves Debt snow ball. Today we are debt free, home will be paid in full in 12 months and our very first carnival cruise for feb 07 is paid in full. Glory! We did splurge a little got an aft balcony and inside cabin for the kids and of course 1 adult:rolleyes: Got a huge military discount on both rooms.

To save money ...if its not on sale we dont buy it and do get great deals at yard sales.

I looked at airfare before we even booked. It was MUCH less to fly into Texas than to FL. From Michigan anyway.

 

We will tip. Got a bunch of 2 dollar bills from the bank for room service, I read that is a hit;) If my kids dont require a bunch of attention, keeping room neat ect. Our firstborn is very neat. I will possible reduce the recomended amount on their room just a little bit.

We are not going nuts on shore stuff either. Sunset beach in mo bay and paradise beach in mexico we will do cheap snorkeling in Edens rock in GC.

No pop cards or casino or spa. Did buy 4 drink coupons, was told that was a $ saver.

Thanks for letting me share. We recomend FPU to anyone who wants to be completley debt free:D

[Livin4Real]

First off, I would never consider not tipping those who have made my vacation enjoyable. (all the usuals + anybody else I feel went out of their way).

To save money I only book if I can afford to go. Then I book on a credit card at 0%. Yes I said 0 %.:cool: I continue to pay at that rate until it's paid off. This next cruise, I put on my Carnival credit card to get the points then transferred it to the 0% card. When I arrive on board I will put my seapass acct to the carnival card to get the points. When I get home I will transfer it to the 0% card as well.

I'm loving the fact that I'm cruising RCCL and earning points so someday Carnival will need to give me a free cruise. I know I could get double points with a RCCL card but at this point I want to stick it to the carnival card (Juniper Bank) because I felt misled about their intrest rate when I got the card.

 

Yes I do enjoy playing with the credit card companies. I haven't paid intrest on a credit card in 6 years.

Happy Cruising To All

 

Nothing wrong with this. I had a buddy pay his way through college by continually transferring his balance to a new 0% interest credit card everytime his was about to go to the regular rate. Smart guy, saved a ton over a student loan. :)

[TravelerThom]

... I'm just afraid that I'll have panic attacks in the inside cabin :eek:, so I'm going to get something from my doctor before we go in case I have one.

 

Remember that EVERY room [including insides] has a 20 inch "window" - just turn the TV on the bow camera channel and viola, there's your window. :D

 

I will go ocean view when it is cheaper than inside [believe me, it does happen; we leave in two weeks on a cruise with (over-55) oceanviews cheaper than insides]. BUT I really prefer to be on deck and meeting new friends than stuck in my room.

[retiredldo]

Well we watch our money when we travel, and do not take the approach that you are on vacation so spend freely. We will always book our own air and fly down the day before, do a ton of research and get a good deal on a hotel, finding one that has a free breakfast and provides transportation

 

On board, we dont eat in the alternate dining rooms (pinnacle etc), we have already paid for our meals and always find plenty to eat and most of the time it is very good. ALways remembering that it is and I dont care what line, massed produced food.

 

We will always book our own excursions, this has been talked about at length, this inlcudes renting a car etc.

 

Does this mean we penny pinch nope, does this mean we might get to cruise more often yup. I remember the first cruise way back when and the guy next to us got his bill and we could hear him loud and clear, "I cant believe we just spent the same amount in one week on the ship as we did on the cruise ^%#&* &(*(#&* " he was not a happy camper To that end, we bring our own water and soda.

 

Oh I must mention that on each and every cruise we have a fantastic vacation

 

THere you go

 

Semper FI