Anyone else having Economy + Cruising thoughts

[GeekyMom]

Don't get me wrong, I love cruising, and doing the family thing, but when I booked this cruise the economy was doing a lot better than it is doing now.

 

Does anyone else think about the $$$ you are spending on your cruise in a time of such instability in our economy.

 

No flaming please, I am honestly thinking about all of this money we are spending. I know it will be worth it, but still. :D

[DavidO]

I think a lot of the economy view will depend on your specific situation - do you have a job, how secure is your job in this time of layoffs and mergers. I think you need to be sure not to go into debt to cruise but do take advantage of good deals. We recently booked a cruise for our family of 4 and got a good deal on the cruise itself, but due to high airfares now we are going to make the 2 day drive to Florida for the first time. It is at the holiday winter break when the kids are out of school and I get off work anyway so the time is available to us. So while we are still cruising, we adjusted some to the air prices.

 

I would say use caution and be aware of your circumstances, but if you enjoy cruising as a family and can still do it then go for it and enjoy. The memories will be great.

 

David

[pdxmomto2]

We are cruising at Christmas - it's all paid for now, so no going back :o

[tiggerfan616]

I have been doing alot of thinking about it also. Infact I came really close to cancelling our Jan cruise. But we also have my parents joining us and this will by my sons 1st cruise I knew he would be disappointed, it didnt hurt that my cabin price dropped $700 last week so my final payment is a lot less.

 

I've already told everyone XMas will be a bit scarce this year, they will get plenty of stuff on the cruise.

[Morgsmom]

Yes, we are having cruise cost concerns. Our upcoming trip is locked & loaded so that is happening, but it is unusual that I don't have a spring break cruise booked and it is looking bleak at this point. When you combine the cruise fare and then the fuel surcharges and taxes and other nonsense, plus the tips, and the onboard frou-frou drink or two, the $599 rock bottom cabin fare per person easily turns into a $3000 week for two. And that's just too much to swallow right now with the state of my 401(k) ... which is now a 200.5(k):eek:

[jkrislc]

This is a fair enough question and I considered it myself. However, I am in a stable job and the cruise will be paid in cash at the end of the month in which the fare is charged. If I had to pay it off over several months, I don't think I'd consider going on the cruise at this time.

 

For those of use who like cruising, the slow down in the economy might equate to lower cruise prices. The fares for the cruise I have booked in January have already dropped twice. In fact, we're now in a mini-suite for less than when we booked a standard balcony cabin. In addition, we're also receiving a $100 onboard credit.

[kitty9]

I don't think that cruising out of a US port will be affected, as prices are really coming down, but I do think families may think twice about cruising in Europe, not because of the cruise prices, but the cost of the airfare. I'm not sure many people realize that every airline is now charging fuel surcharges, some in the area of $400 to $500 per person, per way. I think the airfares will impact families more than the actual cost of the cruise. I just cannot see how a family of four will want to pay twice the cost of their cruise just for airfare, and that is a very real possibility.

[greatful]

If I hadn't booked before my 401K was converted to a 101K I probably wouldn't be going either. Unless the market stops dropping, and we get some sort of flattening out, or a rise, we're done for a while

[crusinmama06]

Does anyone else think about the $$$ you are spending on your cruise in a time of such instability in our economy.

 

Yes, then I try to put the thought out of my mind or I would become physically ill. ;) :p

 

It seems like everytime I turn on the TV, the economists are telling us to get rid of vacations in order to "tighten the belt". That is the last thing I would get rid of.

 

I'll get rid of cable TV first. :D lol

[sas80]

Don't get me wrong, I love cruising, and doing the family thing, but when I booked this cruise the economy was doing a lot better than it is doing now.

 

Does anyone else think about the $$$ you are spending on your cruise in a time of such instability in our economy.

 

No flaming please, I am honestly thinking about all of this money we are spending. I know it will be worth it, but still. :D

 

I tend to always consider our personal economic situation when "cruising" thru life....

 

The country economy doesn't affect our vacation cruising situation because, at 7 months along, we wont be cruising for at least 8 more months!:D

But, absolutely, i think about the thousands that we spend every time we go cruising. I consider what that money could be doing for us if we invested it. We tend to be fiscally responsible to our retirement first, and then our family, and then extras.

 

We tend to book in advance (so we can save for them) and check our cruise fares on an ongoing basis (to take advantage of price drops) If it wasn't fiscally prudent to cruise, we would not do it.

 

Our next cruise is on the books for a year from now. If we approach final payment date, and our financial situation has changed for the worse, damn skippy, we would cancel!

[Julienatul]

I think about it, especially since I have a new baby coming in December but cruising for us as a family is such a cost saver compared to land vacations, we live in Fl and can drive to any port in the state in less than 4 hrs, that I cant really see us backing off. DH and I luckily both have stable jobs so unless that changed we would continue to cruise. DH and I dont really go out that much at home or spend that much on entertainment, movies, videos, games, concerts etc. so cruises are really our treat to ourselves for working so hard.

 

And, just like Sas80 above, since I am also 7.5 months along the earliest we can cruise is next summer so hopefully the economy will be a bit better by then or at least have low cruise fares for us.

[Wilda]

Yes, we do think about it. I looked a a trip to WDW at roughly the same time as our December Liberty cruise and the difference was astonishing. I actually feel much better about the $$$ we are spending on the cruise---it's so much less that a trip to WDW:)

 

We have a trip to Mexico planned for February and then we will be laying low for a while. We had both of the vacations booked and paid for so while I won't cancel them, I'll be verrrry particular in the future with my discretionary income!

[travelingirl70]

I'll get rid of cable TV first. :D lol

 

LMAO! I know exactly what you mean!!

[gelo7]

I think that the state of the economy is over sold, in this "bad" economy 94% of us are employed. We are not skipping vacations.:)

[VillaHappy]

My March cruise is almost paid off, so no big deal there. It's next summer's cruise to Bermuda... still owe some major bucks on that. We'll see how next spring shapes up with tax refunds, bonuses, etc. I'd hate to have to cancel it... :(

[rebeccalouise]

I completely understand your concerns about the economy.

 

Here is another way of looking at this topic. There may come a time in the not so distant future that cruising will be a thing of the past. Fuel costs and airline costs to get you to the ship are going to eventually make cruising obsolete.

 

So I say- set sail while you can. Have a great time and make the cruise your Christmas present. If your kids are still believers, just tell them that the cruise is their present from Santa plus maybe a soda card and an excursion or two.

 

My son still believes in Santa but his gifts are going to be from Ebay this year.

[GeekyMom]

I completely understand your concerns about the economy.

 

Here is another way of looking at this topic. There may come a time in the not so distant future that cruising will be a thing of the past. Fuel costs and airline costs to get you to the ship are going to eventually make cruising obsolete.

 

So I say- set sail while you can. Have a great time and make the cruise your Christmas present. If your kids are still believers, just tell them that the cruise is their present from Santa plus maybe a soda card and an excursion or two.

 

My son still believes in Santa but his gifts are going to be from Ebay this year.

Yes, and the economy is real and impacting millions of Americans. It's just not a pretty picture.

 

That being said, this thread is not really about canceling a cruise, I'm just giving thought to where $$$ of our dollars are going right now.

 

geleo7 ; I'm not a fan of statistics. If one is on the other side of the quoted 94%, I'm sure they would disagree. Matters are definitely not overstated. While we're not in the unemployment group, I still empathize with the situation at hand as well as people who are affected. Things happen and no one is immune to things going sour.

 

On a lighter note, I love Ebay, it's also really good on gas. :D

 

-- Sail on.

[flaca]

We booked our 2nd attempt to cruise Europe last May. But like someone said with airfare around 1200 a person looks like we might be switching to alaska. I am just praying that with oils prices dropping airline will lower their cost soon. I will continue to check till the day before I need to cancel or lose money. I have to thank God that has been the only impact on our life which is petty compare to other people.

[flaca]

We booked our 2nd attempt to cruise Europe last May. But like someone said with airfare around 1200 a person looks like we might be switching to alaska. I am just praying that with oils prices dropping airline will lower their cost soon. I will continue to check till the day before I need to cancel or lose money. I have to thank God that has been the only impact on our life which is petty compare to other people.

[flaca]

We booked our 2nd attempt to cruise Europe last May. But like someone said with airfare around 1200 a person looks like we might be switching to alaska. I am just praying that with oils prices dropping airline will lower their cost soon. I will continue to check till the day before I need to cancel or lose money. I have to thank God that has been the only impact on our life which is petty compare to other people.

[flaca]

We booked our 2nd attempt to cruise Europe last May. But like someone said with airfare around 1200 a person looks like we might be switching to Alaska. I am just praying that with oils prices dropping airline will lower their cost soon. I will continue to check till the day before I need to cancel or lose money. I have to thank God that has been the only impact on our life which is petty compare to other people.

[linda_22003]

Don't get me wrong, I love cruising, and doing the family thing, but when I booked this cruise the economy was doing a lot better than it is doing now.

 

Does anyone else think about the $$$ you are spending on your cruise in a time of such instability in our economy.

 

No flaming please, I am honestly thinking about all of this money we are spending. I know it will be worth it, but still. :D

 

I can understand the hesitation, but consider your own circumstances. If you don't have debt, and you have cash in the bank to cover a few (or several) months' expenses in case of emergency, then cruise and enjoy. If those circumstances don't exist, then it's premature to cruise even if the economy is vibrantly healthy.

[coilover88]

We are so glad we are paid up and have been for awhile. We wouldn't book now and have shelved plans for next year. The majority of our income is fixed and has gone down 50-60%. I believe the retired crowd will feel this crunch more than younger, secure, salaried people.

[Kerry's Girls]

I downgraded our cabins on our next cruise before the final payment was due. Went from ocean view on a high deck to obstructed ocean view on a lower deck, but with help from those on CC, we're chose a spot between life boats and saved $900. I'm just grateful we'll still get to enjoy such a wonderful holiday. Also, I check prices for our cruise most every day, and there have already been two price decreases, so we've saved money that way as well. Spending much less than when we reserved it.

 

Best,

Mia

[warren2650]

Kerry's Girls,

 

I am looking to book a cruise in January and my son will be 2 years old. I was hoping you could chat with me via e-mail about your experience with your toddlers. I want to make sure we plan properly to maximize the experience.

 

If you have a moment, could you please e-mail my work address at warren@jtechgrp.com? I would appreciate it!!

 

Thanks,

Warren

 

 

 

I downgraded our cabins on our next cruise before the final payment was due. Went from ocean view on a high deck to obstructed ocean view on a lower deck' date=' but with help from those on CC, we're chose a spot between life boats and saved $900. I'm just grateful we'll still get to enjoy such a wonderful holiday. Also, I check prices for our cruise most every day, and there have already been two price decreases, so we've saved money that way as well. Spending much less than when we reserved it.

 

Best,

Mia[/quote']