How are you able to cruise so often?

[Soccerfan]

We take 1 "big" European cruise each year plus an average of 4 or 5 Caribbean cruises as "fillers"

 

We have 3 kids in College to pay for as well but I work full time and so does my husband.

 

I could quit work and my husband could retire but we chose to work V's not cruise as often. I am fortunate that I have a job with flexible hours, 5 weeks vacation and every other Friday off. I get creative with my time off and the long weekends.

 

This month we are going to Italy, In September to the Caribbean for a week and a 10 night one to Bermuda in October. Then.... our girls only 9 day Caribbean cruise in january 2010.

 

We are both willing to work full time to be able to mainatin our lifestyle.

 

The downside is that we have to fly to the ports as we live near Toronto but I spend a lot of time searching for bargains on cruises and flights. The time put in yields great results. We cruise with our friends and family, ranging in group size from 4 to 16. We are all pretty much on the same "wave length :)"

 

So, we are another case of Work hard and play hard!

 

If I lived near a port I would probably do a cruise a month :D

[NJCruiser23]

Right now we only cruise once a year but my goal is to cruise at least 3 times per year.

Do you ever cruise out of South Carolina? My Mom and Dad live about 45 minutes from Columbia. Wondering about your experience. Thanks.

 

OP, sorry about the deviation from the original subject.

 

By the way, we only go every other year or so. We have the kids and they usually like to disney or something like it every other year. Can't wait until we can go more often. Hopefully soon:D

 

Also if we lived closer to port. We are close to NY but not as many choices out of NY and they CHARGE MORE! Also we are kind of spoiled to the 7 day or 8 day and my DH LOVES having the balcony. Maybe if we downgraded in days and cabin size maybe we could go more often. LOL

[misguidedangel]

My reply to this is--THANKS MOM!!!!!!!

 

I get four weeks holiday a year an I would like to keep up with two cruises a year. Sadly, the nice fat bank account is going down quicker than I'd like it.

 

My mother sold her house and gave my brother and I an early inheritance. He use the money to put more down on his new home, buy two quads, a boat, and a down payment on a new RV. I got new furniture, appliaces, a kick-ass 52" LCD TV with four necessary peripherals. I also bought a HD video camera, two digital cameras. I also left a sizable sum for cruisng. I wanted enough to cruise through 2011, but now it looks like two a year through 2010 only.

 

I could have invested some of it, but all things considered, I would have lost much of the money!!!!!!!!!

 

I am fortunate to gave gotten what I did!!! I am happy!

[NJCruiser23]

My reply to this is--THANKS MOM!!!!!!!

 

I get four weeks holiday a year an I would like to keep up with two cruises a year. Sadly, the nice fat bank account is going down quicker than I'd like it.

 

My mother sold her house and gave my brother and I an early inheritance. He use the money to put more down on his new home, buy two quads, a boat, and a down payment on a new RV. I got new furniture, appliaces, a kick-ass 52" LCD TV with four necessary peripherals. I also bought a HD video camera, two digital cameras. I also left a sizable sum for cruisng. I wanted enough to cruise through 2011, but now it looks like two a year through 2010 only.

 

I could have invested some of it, but all things considered, I would have lost much of the money!!!!!!!!!

 

I am fortunate to gave gotten what I did!!! I am happy!

 

Congratulations! Good for you. Enjoy!

[gazingm42]

We cruise about once a year. A few years 2 times. But we like sticking to the

7 day cruises.

 

I currently get 4 weeks a vacation a year. Right now I have 7 weeks saved

up. So getting time off is not a issue.

 

We save our OT for a cruise fund and nothing but cruising.

 

We cruise normally last minute when work has me fed up.... About 70%

of ours are last minute. While we have #11 and #12 booked for next year

its only because of spring break and family joining us in the summer.

[Casino Player]

Just curious. I'm amazed by some of your signatures. A cruise a year, ok. Two cruises a year....Nice! But 3 and 4 or 5....WOW.

 

I always assume most of the constant cruisers are retired. But maybe not. I just realized I get 5 weeks a year vacation, so I could do some serious crusing myself!

 

How do you do it?

 

This year is the first year I'm doing three in a single year. I am also doing my first b2b cruises. Last year I only did one long cruise. Maybe next year I'll do another two or maybe I could squeeze a third one in again. I forgot to mention that living near a cruise homeport helps. We also have two other homeports nearby.

[Socref124]

Just curious. I'm amazed by some of your signatures. A cruise a year, ok. Two cruises a year....Nice! But 3 and 4 or 5....WOW.

 

I always assume most of the constant cruisers are retired. But maybe not. I just realized I get 5 weeks a year vacation, so I could do some serious crusing myself!

 

How do you do it?

 

We live in Florida so we can drive to the port of embarkation. Two cruises a year are 4 or 5 days and we stay in an inside cabin. Our major vacation is a 7 day cruise and we get a balcony. I am former military so I get some pretty good rates. Feb's Destiny cruise was $182pp while Oct's Destiny cruise was just $222pp. We just look for the good deals. We already had a cruise booked in May but friends of ours found a 7 day cruise for $229pp. That is an unbelievable rate. If you look hard enough and can cruise during off seasons, you can find some deals. Oct and early Nov are great, the week after Valentines Day and May are usually good times to get inexpensive rates. I think Jan is good too, but due to work I can't get off untill after Valentines Day.:( I would caution you to be careful during hurricane season. You can get some good rates but might not go to the ports intended and you have to worry about your car at the port of embarkation. Good Luck.

[jerseygirl79]

Correction... my little one is 18 YEARS OLD. He had a birthday yesterday!!!

 

Happy Birthday to you!!!

[jerseygirl79]

Wow....these have been some great replies. So I've learned what I need to do:

 

Moved closer to a port.

Remain a DINK (Duel Income No Kids) ;) -- can't believe babies are charged as a 3rd person!

Get mom to sell her house and give me an early inheritance. Woo Hoo!

Save the money I'd spend on food for cruising :D

Find a military man....or senior....great discounts!!! (husband may not like this option) :cool:

Get deals on flights

Cruise last minute

Book CC cruises

Work Hard, Play Hard!!!!

 

I love it!!!!

[Jeans*Fanatic]

Hi, Jerseygirl!

 

I am approaching 30 years of age and I don't have that many cruises under my belt... but I just joined a CC cruise and plan on joining another one in 2011!! But in between times I am doing 3, 4, or 5 day cruises.....

 

I will pay part of my cruises with income tax..

 

Most of the time with CC cruises you might have a while before final payment is due! :D

[nealstuber]

For us it's not the cruise that is so costly, but the travel to the pier, the hotel room the night before, eating out and paying off the S&S card.........those expenses can easily exceed what we actually pay for the cruise.

 

Uh-Huh!

[lazydayz]

We cruise two to three times a year. We are not retired; I get four weeks off a year. One week is spent on family vacation (DD's are 25 and 27); one week at an all-inclusive in Jamaica and the rest spent cruising.

 

We live 15 minutes from a port, are past guests of CCL and RCI, look for resident rates and last minute deals, and vary the length of the cruises. Each year we try to plan one seven night cruise in a balcony and a couple week-end or four night ones in OV.

 

Now I wish I was former military - those are some awesome rates.

[jerseygirl79]

Hi, Jerseygirl!

 

I am approaching 30 years of age and I don't have that many cruises under my belt... but I just joined a CC cruise and plan on joining another one in 2011!! But in between times I am doing 3, 4, or 5 day cruises.....

 

I will pay part of my cruises with income tax..

 

Most of the time with CC cruises you might have a while before final payment is due! :D

 

Hey Jeans,

 

I recently turned 30 and I too use that income tax refund money to pay for my cruises. But I definitely think I'm going to start the CC cruises. Sounds like a great deal!

[hazeleyez3]

We are in our 30s - 2 incomes, no kids, and have started cruising 2x/yr (If I had more vacation time we would probably do more).

 

I put $ into a high interest savings account every 2 weeks.

We use coupons at the grocery store

My husband has a few club cards to grocery stores

We don't go out to dinner a lot

We don't usually have much of a balance on our S&S card - not big soda drinkers, avoid alcohol, don't go to specialty restaurants or the spa.

My husband has a ton of points with Marriott so we usually cash them in for the hotel stay.

We've done a few of the CC cruises

Book early and put money down each month

Look for price drops

Look to see what kind of prices and incentives TAs have

[Ninjachyck]

12 weeks!??! :eek: That must be very nice!!! :D

 

Starting next year, I get 3 weeks so I don't know what I'll do with myself.:p

 

Being that I'm near 5 ports, you'd think I would go more than 2 times a year, but money is a big factor. As soon as I get my car paid off, which is hopefully next year, we'll be racking up the cruises, haha!! Well, we'll see since kids should be in the picture soon. How long before cruiselines start charging for babies? 1 year or 2?

 

We have a 13 month old - most cruiselines don't like babies younger than 6 months on board, and they charge right from the start :( We priced our upcoming cruise with our son included, and he was going to be another $400 - and he's too young for the camps and most amenities, so we are leaving him with Gramma!

 

As for cruising more...I wish Toronto was a port option!! yeah right...

Airfare out of Canada is pricey, so we just can't swing more than one every couple of years - plus we do other vacations as well. But soon we're hoping for at least one cruise a year! :D

[Mrs.C05]

We have a 13 month old - most cruiselines don't like babies younger than 6 months on board, and they charge right from the start :( We priced our upcoming cruise with our son included, and he was going to be another $400 - and he's too young for the camps and most amenities, so we are leaving him with Gramma!

 

I can't believe that.....Especially for a baby - you bring his/her own food, entertainment, you have their own bed (playpen or carrier) or they sleep with you.....sounds like it should be free to me.:eek:

[sxyshell]

I'm 40 and a single mom of a 15 year old. I get 5 weeks vacation a year. (wish it were more but that's pretty good.) We are hoping to do 3 cruises in a years time this year. We were very fortunate to get a nice inheritance from my Aunt. We live about 1 1/2 hours from Baltimore's port but I'm not crazy about their itineraries. So we need to fly to Port Canaveral so that's an added expense. Our next cruise is for Christmas on the Dream and we're hoping to take the Pride out of Baltimore next April or May. :cool:

[Tmrlovesjr]

Do you ever cruise out of South Carolina? My Mom and Dad live about 45 minutes from Columbia. Wondering about your experience. Thanks.

 

OP, sorry about the deviation from the original subject.

 

By the way, we only go every other year or so. We have the kids and they usually like to disney or something like it every other year. Can't wait until we can go more often. Hopefully soon:D

 

Also if we lived closer to port. We are close to NY but not as many choices out of NY and they CHARGE MORE! Also we are kind of spoiled to the 7 day or 8 day and my DH LOVES having the balcony. Maybe if we downgraded in days and cabin size maybe we could go more often. LOL

 

 

We have done 3 cruises out of Charleston in the past 15 months, on the Majesty. We have tons of friends who cruised it as well, and hope some cruise company ****Carnival****** will put a ship there every week.

[okgirl]

Linda.......Happy bday to DJ.........he's a great young man, and lucky to have parents that have nurtured the travel spirit within him.

I just read on another thread that John called him on his bday......that must have been really special for him.......Next thing ya know DJ will be our Brand Ambassador........

[LHP]

Linda.......Happy bday to DJ.........he's a great young man, and lucky to have parents that have nurtured the travel spirit within him.

I just read on another thread that John called him on his bday......that must have been really special for him.......Next thing ya know DJ will be our Brand Ambassador........

 

Thanks so much.....

 

We are blessed that DJ hangs in there with us step for step.

We just got back from court this morning finalizing his Conservatorship.

Now he is stuck with us!!! :D

 

Cruising and Cars...DJs two favorite subjects!!

 

See you in December on the DREAM!!! woo hoo!!

[okgirl]

Thanks so much.....

 

We are blessed that DJ hangs in there with us step for step.

We just got back from court this morning finalizing his Conservatorship.

Now he is stuck with us!!! :D

 

Cruising and Cars...DJs two favorite subjects!!

 

See you in December on the DREAM!!! woo hoo!!

 

I can't wait to see y'all either.......I'm really Jones-en for a cruise. Due to work I haven't been since we were on the Bloggers.

 

I'll be on the Crazies in 72 days, but that still seems like a long way off.

 

Wow.......what a drag for DJ......getting stuck with the 2 best parents in the world for life...:p..........The things that kid has to put up with :p:rolleyes:

 

You know that Floatie and Jeffie are going to be on the Dream with us too!!!! Woo Hoo, since Floatie and Mamma Floatie moved back to Florida in June we're not going to get to see much of her anymore.

[LHP]

I can't wait to see y'all either.......I'm really Jones-en for a cruise. Due to work I haven't been since we were on the Bloggers.

 

I'll be on the Crazies in 72 days, but that still seems like a long way off.

 

Wow.......what a drag for DJ......getting stuck with the 2 best parents in the world for life...:p..........The things that kid has to put up with :p:rolleyes:

 

You know that Floatie and Jeffie are going to be on the Dream with us too!!!! Woo Hoo, since Floatie and Mamma Floatie moved back to Florida in June we're not going to get to see much of her anymore.

 

I hope someone has alerted the authorities.....this could get out of hand!!! :D

[Jeans*Fanatic]

Hey Jeans,

 

I recently turned 30 and I too use that income tax refund money to pay for my cruises. But I definitely think I'm going to start the CC cruises. Sounds like a great deal!

 

I love it!!! They are suppppper great people too!!!! You should try one! I am going on the Dreamers one on November 6, 2010 on the Carnival Dream. I can't wait!!!! And then Carnival Magic in 2011 with another CC group!.... The in-between ones... I am just watching for sales....

[LHP]

I love it!!! They are suppppper great people too!!!! You should try one! I am going on the Dreamers one on November 6, 2010 on the Carnival Dream. I can't wait!!!! And then Carnival Magic in 2011 with another CC group!.... The in-between ones... I am just watching for sales....

 

You gotta watch that Host Mach though......he is a tricky one!! :D

[hazeleyez3]

One thing to note, you can always book a CC cruise for the benefits and not participate in any of the group activities.