How Do You Pay For Your Cruise?

[Honey and Cinnamon]

First of all I wanted to tell you how we paid for our last cruise the Oasis. Each year every Thanksgiving I get a Large Purple Piggy Bank with a Red Hat, because I am a Red Hatter! Inside my bank I put in one hundred dollars each week into the bank, by the time I have enough saved up, and its time to pay off the cruise I break the bank.Yes Break the Bank!:D

It can take us up to one year to save or many years, depending on where we travel too.

For the Oasis we saved 100.00 per week, to save for that cruise,

And then I get all the money in that bank I pay off my cruise with that extra money I saved. the rest of it, is to buy drinks added to the cc card for my sign and sail pass. We know how to save. So I think this would benefit if anyone wants to do this, so then we get home we have no bills to pay and all thats in on the credit card is nothing. I hate debt and since I have none, I feel so much better don't you?

 

SO when its thanks giving give your family member a piggy bank to start cruising with, I have another Purple one, she will be broken again in a few weeks for our next trip coming up, on the Dream!

[rentlady]

:):)We book our cruises way in advance, usually about a yr out. Each night we fill our giant piggy bank with lose change and a few dollars. Instead of our yard service, my husband does the yard now and we put the $$ into the piggy bank. When I go to the mall, I look at something I would normally have bought, go home instead and put that amount of $$ in the piggy bank too. You would be surprised how fast this adds up! For birthdays and Christmas we add to this fund, this beats buying a present when a cruise is what we REALLY want.

[Kimbopolo]

:):)We book our cruises way in advance, usually about a yr out. Each night we fill our giant piggy bank with lose change and a few dollars. Instead of our yard service, my husband does the yard now and we put the $$ into the piggy bank. When I go to the mall, I look at something I would normally have bought, go home instead and put that amount of $$ in the piggy bank too. You would be surprised how fast this adds up! For birthdays and Christmas we add to this fund, this beats buying a present when a cruise is what we REALLY want.

 

 

I love it - what a great system!

[palavra]

Me too. If we didn't have the money to pay for it as soon as the bill comes we wouldn't be going. We would never "save" for a cruise or any other vacation for that matter. We wouldn't take trips if we didn't have the extra money already on top of our normal savings.

 

Good heavens, lots of people I know have a separate vacation savings account. I am a fan of Dave Ramsey and don't use credit cards at all. We will save for our cruise by transferring money each month into our vacation account. When we have the money for the cruise saved, we will book the cruise using a debit card connected to our vacation account. We will continue to save for the next few months for things such as port excursions and extras on the ship.

 

BTW, if you don't "save" for a vacation, how do you have the extra money?

[DanJ]

 

BTW, if you don't "save" for a vacation, how do you have the extra money?

 

I took that post to mean they don't set aside money specifically for a vacation. We don't either. We just have it in the bank. Paychecks come in, bills go out, what's left sits there for whatever we choose to spend on at whatever appropriate time.

[Brighton Line]

We planned for the cruise and put away savings, but I've paid every pay day via debit card and haven't touch my savings. After final payment, I'll start putting way for the on board expenses.

FWIW

[5326jan]

I don't get the poll. I charge the deposit and pay the bill as soon as it comes in. A week before final payment, I call my TA and charge the final payment and pay my credit card bill as soon as it comes in. That way I get my points, no finance charges and a little extra insurance by charging.

 

Sorry, but I would never book a cruise unless I had the money for the cruise plus an emergency fund in the bank.

 

 

 

Ditto

[Harley Granny]

We put the deposit on a "points" credit card.

Paid off the credit cards.

 

Every 5 weeks we did the same with the payment...but paid the card in full after every one.

 

Same with the airfare.

 

So we made payments but got LOTS of points at the same time and paid no interest on the cards.

 

I'm glad we did this, we've had a lot of unexpected expenses in the last couple of weeks...so much that if we still owed on the trip, we would have been in deep trouble...we would have still gone because I won't throw $$ away but it would not have been as enjoyable.

 

Now we go with the trip and the credit card paid...it's all good.

[okgirl]

I voted Save and pay cash but that is actually my FUTURE plan. We have $850 in the CCB (cruise cash box :p) right now. As soon as it gets to $1500 we'll book our 1st 2011 cruise.

 

In the past I have charged it and paid it out over a couple of months.

[Wormy53]

[quote name=uppitycats;24712865 So I pay the downpayment' date=' trip insurance , and any other related expenses with the first credit card bill, and then pay off the rest when "due". All this is on a credit card which gives me "points" -- and which is paid off every month, so there are never any interest charges.

 

We didn't start going on expensive vacations until our mortgage and car were totally paid for. We don't ever have a credit card balance, and budget for medical, dental, house repairs, etc. Then whatever is "left over" can be considered "play money", and we'll use that towards vacations. (Before we managed to pay off everything, our usual vacations were camping trips..or staying home and going to stuff around here in Wisconsin, on the "cheap".)[/quote]

 

I think you might be my twin, but Missouri, not Wisconsin!!!:) We also do not spend money on daily things that many do. (We rarely do "fast food" & I grind my own coffee beans instead of Starbucks.) We do not buy each other gifts on B-days, anniversaries, or X-mas. It is all put into the category of "what we really want". (That is vacation!!!:D) But when we go on vacation, we do not scrimp - it is all about the good time!!!

[Kimbopolo]

I think you might be my twin, but Missouri, not Wisconsin!!!:) We also do not spend money on daily things that many do. (We rarely do "fast food" & I grind my own coffee beans instead of Starbucks.) We do not buy each other gifts on B-days, anniversaries, or X-mas. It is all put into the category of "what we really want". (That is vacation!!!:D) But when we go on vacation, we do not scrimp - it is all about the good time!!!

 

 

And .... I'm your Alabama triplet !!! :p

[mitsugirly]

I pay cash for everything I do. I don't like to owe for anything. So, I paid cash for mine all up front. :)

[Krazy Kruizers]

Book months in advance. Since we buy deposits while cruising, we only put down $100 per person. Then about 70 days before the cruise our TA charges the final balance to our credit card. When that bill comes in we pay it off in full -- no monthly payments.

[michelle1836]

put away cash every month so when it is time for the final payment, it is already paid for. charge the credit card and put the cash deposit to pay it off the same day. this way I earn cash back from the credit card to help buy more DOD's :D