Can You Afford To Cruise?

[beccadoby]

Just curious, where/how do you book so that you only have to pay $25 down?

 

All agencies have group cruises. Call one and ask what group cruises they have.

Low rates, reduced deposits, OBC or other amenties...BEST way to book!

[Mikel1733]

The newswires are reporting that the Algerian OPEC oil minister is saying $200 barrel oil is possible now. He blames continued demand in the U.S. and the sinking dollar. If oil were to go to $200 the same percentage increase in the fuel surcharge would then be $12 pp per day. :eek: Who knows what airfares would cost.

[CruizinMom2c]

For us...we go on cruise with any extra money we get...from either my dh's commission checks, my bonus checks....or tax refunds ect....

 

Its the best value trip for my family and we have decided that cruising will be our "vacation" each year. We will try to do 2 cruises a year from now on...in the end its better than going on a few beach trips to the same place....this way we get more for the money and the experience is priceless.

 

 

Plus starting next year we will spread them out more, probably one in the beginning of the year around Jan. or Feb. Then one at the end in October/November (plus these are off seasons...so much cheaper)

[DqALEX]

I need a vacation. For me a cruise is the best bang for the buck

[Wennfred]

Update: Direct deposit arrived overnight, so it's there now. Ta-Da!! :D

 

I should get mine by Friday, my last two are 60 !!! Wendy's is 01, she should of got hers today but no go.

 

 

Thanks for the info.

 

 

 

Fred

[Bert64]

No, you should NOT save it. The entire point of the tax stimulus check is that you spend it (and spend it on something you wouldn't otherwise buy). That is the way to stimulate the economy... Now enjoy your cruise!

 

I'm sorry, but I just have to say that SPENDING and not SAVING is what has gotten this country into our current mess. This doesn't apply to everyone, obviously, as some people can manage not to wrack up tens of thousands of credit card debt or buy a house for 200k more than its worth with a jumbo loan, but I think it's irresponsible for the government to tell people to go out and SPEND IT ALL when most of the people in this country are horribly in debt and struggling to pay their rent/mortgage. The over-consumption in this country is just sickening.

 

Sorry for the rant, but it's so maddening to see the state we're in now with people losing their homes and children not having health insurance, and the government suggesting they spend their money on flat-screen tv's instead of paying off the Visa they have maxed out.

 

Clearly, this DOES NOT apply to everyone, and it seems most of the people on this board (or those replying anyway) are among the ones who believe in financial planning and living within - or below - their means.

[KroozNut]

I'm sorry, but I just have to say that SPENDING and not SAVING is what has gotten this country into our current mess. This doesn't apply to everyone, obviously, as some people can manage not to wrack up tens of thousands of credit card debt or buy a house for 200k more than its worth with a jumbo loan, but I think it's irresponsible for the government to tell people to go out and SPEND IT ALL when most of the people in this country are horribly in debt and struggling to pay their rent/mortgage. The over-consumption in this country is just sickening.

 

Sorry for the rant, but it's so maddening to see the state we're in now with people losing their homes and children not having health insurance, and the government suggesting they spend their money on flat-screen tv's instead of paying off the Visa they have maxed out.

 

Clearly, this DOES NOT apply to everyone, and it seems most of the people on this board (or those replying anyway) are among the ones who believe in financial planning and living within - or below - their means.

 

I agree with you 100%... And I might add that we're one of those that lives within our means; which affords us the opportunity to cruise when we want to.. :)

[CruizinMom2c]

Ditto to krooznut

 

 

 

We don't go out to eat out every weekend...we have memberships to the local children's musuem/zoo....we go the park etc.. so we rarely spend money on a daily basis on extra activites....we would rather cruise more during the year and spend money on the tickets..

[crystalh256]

Fed Tax Incentive checks were in the mail or direct deposit today, did anyone get theirs?

 

 

 

Fred

Mine went into the bank last night...woohooo! Seriously we are saving it for a little while.

[VentureMan_2000]

We have three Teens at home... and between paying for their sports year round, feeding them ( they eat a lot), clothing them (they are now particular about what they wear), and school activities and social activities... I'm going broke! :eek:

 

All money well spent, no waste... they kids stay busy and out of trouble... but Dang!

[Texas_firefighter]

This is the first time in many years that my family doesn't have a future cruise already booked. Both my DH and I are in sales and with the economy being so flat, we're just making enough to pay our bills every month.

 

The rates aren't bad, in fact I've found some good deals. But I just can't spend $ on a vacation when we need it at home. Not having a cruise to look forward to is kinda depressing...:(

 

Is anyone else feeling the "pinch" like we are?

 

We started late ,been raising kids for 23 years,so now wanted to start doing two a year. We had to put that on hold in '08 for some other goals,so I guess we'll have to do 3 in '09 and 3 in 2010 to make up for it. :D You definately have to prioritize,but for us ,we use the extra money from O.T., etc. and don't use funds budgeted for day to day things.We feel blessed to be able to afford extras like vacations,but life is short and we all work hard don't we?Go have fun when you can !!

[cathyoo]

I should get mine by Friday, my last two are 60 !!! Wendy's is 01, she should of got hers today but no go.

 

 

Thanks for the info.

 

 

 

Fred

 

Fred if you filed a joint return and your was the first number on the acct it would go by your SSN.

[Theresa522]

Fed Tax Incentive checks were in the mail or direct deposit today, did anyone get theirs?

 

 

 

Fred

 

 

Not yet :o

[itchin2cruz]

nope

[crystalh256]

I am a SAHM and Hubby works 55+ hours a week plus going to school part time.....we deserve a vacation. Now we discovered that cruising is not expensive like we once thought. We have 4 kids 13,9,6,4 and thought we could only afford weekend vacations dropping 1200+ easily just going to Chattanooga, Panama City etc. We pay for our vacations with our income tax refunds every year, as we consider this our mad money! We save 10% with company kicking in another 4% into 401k, we also save a little from each check to go for house and car maintenance, do not use credit cards, did not buy a house that cost near as much as the bank was willing to loan. We deserve the vacation darn it, we only live once!!:D

[CruizinMom2c]

I know what you mean about spending a good amount on the weekend trips....same here we love to go to chattanooga all the time...but we could easily spend 500 bucks just for a weekend trip ...when i can spend 800 and get a 4 day cruise for the 3 of us... definitely worth the little extra hundred bucks...

[abitaturbodog]

I know what you mean about spending a good amount on the weekend trips....same here we love to go to chattanooga all the time...but we could easily spend 500 bucks just for a weekend trip ...when i can spend 800 and get a 4 day cruise for the 3 of us... definitely worth the little extra hundred bucks...

 

That's how we booked our cruise on Valor last year! We wanted to take the kids to Atlanta for 5 days and do all the fun stuff there, but after pricing everything it was going to cost over $1000 (and that was with driving there too!) Then I found the Valor for just $400 more...it was a no-brainer!

[Drew B]

I'm sorry, but I just have to say that SPENDING and not SAVING is what has gotten this country into our current mess. This doesn't apply to everyone, obviously, as some people can manage not to wrack up tens of thousands of credit card debt or buy a house for 200k more than its worth with a jumbo loan, but I think it's irresponsible for the government to tell people to go out and SPEND IT ALL when most of the people in this country are horribly in debt and struggling to pay their rent/mortgage. The over-consumption in this country is just sickening.

 

Sorry for the rant, but it's so maddening to see the state we're in now with people losing their homes and children not having health insurance, and the government suggesting they spend their money on flat-screen tv's instead of paying off the Visa they have maxed out.

 

Clearly, this DOES NOT apply to everyone, and it seems most of the people on this board (or those replying anyway) are among the ones who believe in financial planning and living within - or below - their means.

 

 

I couldn't agree with you more in theory. I'm one of those people who pays the credit card bill in full every month, saves up until I can buy a car in cash, and carries NO DEBT other than my mortgage (which I actually COULD pay off, but I'm better off with the write off). Still, there's no reason why the tax dollars of those who ARE responsible should go to bail out those who aren't. The reason why the government decided to give this "rebate" was because the economy is stagnant. That leads to a recession. Theoretically, if people use the money as intended, it will kick start the economy and help everybody. If they save it or spend it on something they would have bought anyway, then it will have no overall effect on the economy. It may help the individual recipients a little bit in clearing up a bit of their debt, but the net effect will be that the federal government will have spent billions, and we will continue to sink into a recession...

 

I'm not eligible for the economic stimulus check, but I am hoping that since I paid in to the pot from which everybody else's check will be coming, that the benefit of the program will help everybody... I have to say, I'm lucky to have a good job, but the MAIN reason that I seem to have enough money to cruise (without worrying too much about scrimping and saving on other things) is that I never had children. Those little buggers seem to drain the coffers dry!!! Still, if air fares continue to skyrocket as I expect them to, I will focus much more on taking cruises out of L.A. and/or San Diego in the future. My flight to Florida alone will probably cost as much as a week on the ship. That is ridiculous!

[Senoj84]

Everything is going up and we are definitely in a recession but bills will always be here because of that reason I think everyone deserves a vacation. It's our hard earned money-we deserve to spend it on ourselves esp cruising.

[Mikel1733]

My flight to Florida alone will probably cost as much as a week on the ship. That is ridiculous!

 

Yes......and flying is such a pleasant experience. :(

[sjcruiser]

I didn't feel like looking to see if I already responded, so if I did here's another post. I looked at saving for my cruise like any other expense. I cut back in or on areas that I really could do without. I started doing taxes via Turbo Tax for people that were scared to input the information themselves, and the money I made from that I sent to Carnival. As a student I also had sone stipend money left after all my bills were paid, so I used most of it to load up my S&S card. Even though I'm pretty much set for cruising in August, I still cut back on extra spending, especially all those Starbucks, and Dunkin Donuts stops!

[MuffyKismet]

First of all we are VERY lucky to be residents in Florida and only 2-3 hours drive from most of the ports. That is a huge savings right there. So for us it is actually cheaper to go on a cruise then nearly any other getaway! We went to Orlando this past weekend (unplanned to visit with family friends we haven't seen in 7 years) and it cost $600.00 plus for 4 of us UGGGG and that is without going into a theme park!!!! So my point is it is much cheaper going on a cruise for us and I prefer a cruise over just about any other vacation anyway!!!

 

We are planning another cruise in September or October, 7 day just the two of us.......but I have to admit the economy does scare me. We too are very fortunate to be able to afford vacations and such without too much pain but we have 8 kids from 29-almost 18 and things do come up, even though they are grown soooo I try to prepare for the unexpected but that can be a challenge!

 

SW Florida has really felt the economic crunch, lots of homes going into forclosure, lots of people out of work......very scary and very sad, we are both very lucky to be in solid fields of work that are not affected by the economy and my husband is also retired from the military but it is still scary with gas prices soring , grocery bills outragous....it all adds up for sure!!

 

We love to cruise but if we need to tighten our purse strings we will forfiet cruising for the sake of financial security through these rough times! :eek:

[Terre]

We will always have enough money to cruise! If we never do anything else, we will take a cruise twice a year.

[Dorene1]

I have been cruising for over 10 years, and have been on almost 40 cruises. Years ago, before I started taking cruises. I worked with a wonderful women, she would always tell me that in a few years, both her and her husband were going to retire, they talked for years about going on vacations (they never did, something always came up or they were worried about something . Her husband died a year later with cancer, she followed within 6 months, I believe of a broken heart............from that day on, I have been cruising, with my children, my gf, my new husband. I will never forget that, saying "one day" that day may never come. Enjoy life as often as you can, and please dont wait till you retire because those days may never come. If you can swing it do it, I have booked inside cabins up to penthouses. I love hearing the ocean, and meeting wonderful people on the cruises I take. Life is too short, live your dreams

 

Dorene

[Toddcan]

Cruising is a luxury, not a necessity despite what I try to convince myself from time to time.

 

If it's not in the cards financially, simply do not do it.

 

My rule: NEVER go into debt for a vacation. That's my own personal rule that I do not try to pursuade anyone of.

 

If the economy get so bad that I fear for my financial situation, would I cancel a booked cruise? Absolutely.