With all the cutbacks I've been hearing about...

[In2why]

Wow, things are tough where you are! In the meantime, we're going on the Regent cruise below in March, because the January one with the same itinerary was waitlisted. Sold out. :cool:

 

 

Things aren't tough where you are in Northern VA? The houses haven't declined in value while at the same time property taxes escalate? They sure have where we are. Our investments are taking a beating...In the last week alone we lost over 20K. Filling up the gas tank to go to work is a nightmare and has added over a 25% bite to our monthly budget. Yes, I am still going to cruise on the cruise I have booked, but I am looking at finances and to meet the early retirement goals we have will require some cutbacks, and we are in much better shape financially then the average American.

[Kurbanfan]

True, but they are only in Greece now, having abandoned the Caribbean market. A U.S. version might be a viable business plan, though...I don't know the twisted laws that govern the waterways, but having a couple ports in the US, and running a month-long cruise that has port stops in a bunch of different countries, where you could book segments or even the whole thing would be kind of cool. If you had a small enough ship, you could get to some really interesting ports that the megaships can't stop at. I'd like an itinerary that wasn't the same thing again and again. I think a cruise where you get to determine the ports you want to see, and those you don't, with several different routes available, would be pretty awesome. Also, a cruise where the ship itself is not the destination would be really good as well. Some night entertainment, but quality. Don't care too much about all the silly pool games and Vegas-type shows. I realize the intent is to capture as much "Oooh, ahhh" factor, but perhaps a different type of cruise is waiting to be developed. Not as many "Fun Sea Days", more port-intensive, with more time in port.

 

 

 

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap_travel/20070402/ap_tr_ge/travel_trip_container_ship_cruises

[Mikel1733]

So, you would prefer to have all the cutbacks Bassic described? Why not just add/change a few ships to true "budget" cruises?

 

If prices are going to escalate and service decrease, why not just give people another option rather than lose cruise passengers altogether?

 

Not everyone WANTS bigger and newer ships with bells and whistles they don't use.

 

I haven't cruised lately on RCI because I don't WANT an ice skating rink and rock climbing wall and surfing. Why should I have to pay more for a cruise if I don't use the amenities?

 

If people want to continue to cruise and use the ship as a means to visit ports (and not so much for the onboard amenities), why not give them that option rather than cut services across the board?

 

For us less well heeled cruisers instead of eating at Johnny Rockets we can eat at the "Hot Pockets" cafe.

[linda_22003]

Things aren't tough where you are in Northern VA? The houses haven't declined in value while at the same time property taxes escalate? They sure have where we are. Our investments are taking a beating...In the last week alone we lost over 20K. Filling up the gas tank to go to work is a nightmare and has added over a 25% bite to our monthly budget. Yes, I am still going to cruise on the cruise I have booked, but I am looking at finances and to meet the early retirement goals we have will require some cutbacks, and we are in much better shape financially then the average American.

 

Things have slowed down some, but there's no reason to run around with your hair on fire, like the poster who was talking about an apocalyptic economic vision, above. Houses have declined somewhat, but they are hardly worthless. We bought at the top of the market in 1990, and things went down or stagnated for the next few years. Then the cycle picked up again.

 

Filling up the gas tank shouldn't be too awful either unless people decided to buy one of those huge behemoths that get bad mileage, and even then, that's not where the expense of owning a car is.

 

I lost about 50K in the past week; if you're properly diversified you'll be fine, even if you're doing some rockin' and rollin' now. If the market makes you nervous, you may not want to be in it; if you are in it, it's because you know that it performs better than anything else over the long term.

 

I was merely reacting to that poster's panicky view of things.

[BND]

We're in No. VA also. Things are fine here. Not tough at all. People forget that houses went up a great deal just a couple of years ago and the market is just adjusting now. It had to. It could not continue to go up the way it was or no one would be able to afford a house. It's econimics. My house is still work 250K more than I paid for it 3 years ago. Don't let the media make you think the sky is falling. It isn't. Mortgage rates are still at historic lows, more people own homes than ever and discretionary spending is continuing. The mortgages that have failed never should have been given in the first place. People were qualified who didn't have the income or credit history. The job market is still going strong and I don't know anyone who is cutting back on anything at the moment. I have family in TX and none of them are running around panicking either.

 

25% increase in the cost of your whole budget? I doubt it. 25% increase in your fuel budget maybe.

 

Also, the market has dropped some in the last few weeks, but if you look at the history, that is not uncommon. You have to be in it for the long haul and you can't look at the last month to determine that you can't retire early or whatever.