How Money Conscious Are You, on board

[heyabbott]

Once we're on vacation, I rarely try to think about money or how much something costs, large jewelry and electronics purchases aside. But it's annoying to hear people nickel and dime everything, try to get something for nothing and complain about the cost of the little things. Is it that hard to relax about money that it jaundice's your view of everything?

 

It's actually a little funny to watch grown people jockey for position to get an extra free drink or hors d'ourve.

[tomc]

I am very conscious of how much I am spending and how much things cost. I will not nickel & dime, but I carefully figure how much I can spend and for what, including choice of cabin (steerage) and departure port (no $$ air). I'm not cheap out of choice, but of necessity.

[dakrewser]

The secret, we find, is to pre-pay as much as possible. That way there's a lot less "watching the budget" needed on a day-to-day basis. For example, on our recent 7-day O'dam cruise, the final bill for our shipboard account was about $500 which included the $10/pp/day auto-tip as well as $100 in the casino so I'd have pocket money on the last day (surpringly, San Diego cabbies don't take Pesos!).

[lipoppop]

Spending money on a cruise is a good way to maintain harmony in the family. In this way the children will have less to fight over after our final cruise.

 

 

Spending can also be genetic in nature and/or inherited. We recently had some historical records from our family dating back to the 15th centery translated from early to modern English. One item is of note. The translation reads:

 

"Shop till you drop."

 

Don't forget chocalates for the DW Monday. Another way to maintain harmony in the family.

[RaffinOrganGrinders]

In the past we prebook tours to help budget. Unless you are planning on staying in your cabin you will spend some money.

 

George

[jhannah]

I guess the closest choice for us is "splurge within reason." We're on vacation. A cruise vacation is very special for us ... so we enjoy ourselves. We don't buy scads of jewelry or electronics and the like in ports. But if we see something we like or want, within reason, we get it.

 

I agree with Dave's approach. We pre-pay as much as possible. I like that with HAL you pay for your shore excursions when you book them. On other lines, that can make for a steep settlement of your onboard account. Then it's just a matter of living within our means. But an occasional splurge is appropriate, IMO. For instance, my DW found a lovely Greek vase on Rhodes. It was just what she had been looking for. The price wasn't outrageous, but it was a little more than what we generally spend for decorator accent pieces. We (and especially she) now have a beautiful, tangible reminder of our Mediterranean cruise.

 

Some day, when we're retired, it may be different. And that's okay. Meantime, the way I see it, it's just our kids' inheritance! ;)

[ekerr19]

I think I am the only one so far who selected "couldn't care less!"

 

When I am on vacation, money is the last thing I want or choose to worry about. :)

[Mary Ellen]

We're on vacation. A cruise vacation is very special for us ... so we enjoy ourselves. We don't buy scads of jewelry or electronics and the like in ports. But if we see something we like or want, within reason, we get it.

This about sums it up for us. We don't 'splurge' but at the same time, we spend what we spend. We don't have a budget, but we're not extravagant people either. None of the categories seemed to fit us.

[bepsf]

Well, I chose within reason - when I pay.

 

...but when I travel w/ Joe - the sky's the limit!!!

[DFD1]

Seems to me that if you're a conservative spender by nature, that trait will follow you on vacation....and, I suppose, the opposite is true as well. at least most of the time.

 

For us, one of the nicest things about cruising with HAL is the convenience of pre-paying all of the major items.....now, even the tips. That seems to leave a relatively small part of the whole experience as a variable.

 

We were on Carnival a week or so ago and found everyone chasing around the first afternoon trying to be first to get the shore excurison they wanted before it sold out. Those charges all went on the on-board tab.

 

We looked at all the fuss and just decided not to purchase any at all. Too much grief.

IMO, Carnival and it's passengers would be better served to allow these to be pre-booked and paid for in advance.

[ekerr19]

I agree with Dave's approach. We pre-pay as much as possible. I like that with HAL you pay for your shore excursions when you book them. On other lines, that can make for a steep settlement of your onboard account. Then it's just a matter of living within our means. But an occasional splurge is appropriate, IMO. For instance, my DW found a lovely Greek vase on Rhodes. It was just what she had been looking for. The price wasn't outrageous, but it was a little more than what we generally spend for decorator accent pieces. We (and especially she) now have a beautiful, tangible reminder of our Mediterranean cruise.

 

Jim, We like to buy pieces of art from local craftspeople when we travel as well. We have some wonderful pieces - I am partial to watercolors done by local artists and have several from Tallinn, St. Petersburg, Nicaragua and my most recent purchase in Barcelona. They are such wonderful reminders of our vacations. We have found these to be some of our more reasonably priced purchases too.

 

It used to be you could get a good deal on electronics or jewelry in the Caribbean, but we don't bother with that anymore, as we find competitive pricing at home.

 

I also love the option to pay as much as possible before sailing. We book our Pinnacle and excursions, and other incidentals months in advance and get them paid off before sailing. I also like the auto tip being applied to the credit card - it lessens the amount of cash we need to bring for tips. I wish we had the option to add extra tips to our onboard account.

[jhannah]

For us, one of the nicest things about cruising with HAL is the convenience of pre-paying all of the major items.....now, even the tips./QUOTE]

I thought the tips were just added daily to your stateroom account. Do you just make an extra advance payment to HAL to cover this?

[heyabbott]

Well, I chose within reason - when I pay.

 

...but when I travel w/ Joe - the sky's the limit!!!

 

Can I go with Joe?:)

[RuthC]

Part of me believes that my life should run out minutes before my money does. :D

Part of me has that Depression mentality that there won't be enough money to live on. :eek:

 

 

So, I've never been much of a spender, but when I do spend I don't think about it. Splurge within reason? :confused:

[Cauvet]

I limit myself to Bingo only once a day!

[DFD1]

Ruth C, I share your angst. I read a great book a few years back that has become quite well known....."How Live Well, but Die Broke". It helped me feel a little better. LOL

[localady]

Part of me believes that my life should run out minutes before my money does. :D

Part of me has that Depression mentality that there won't be enough money to live on. :eek:

 

 

So, I've never been much of a spender, but when I do spend I don't think about it. Splurge within reason? :confused:

 

So well said RuthC!!:)

 

We would rather cruise more often and many times we don't play in the casino, play bingo or use the spa services. By keeping our on-board bills semi-reasonable I feel I can justify the more frequent travel.:cool:

[Krazy Kruizers]

We never worry about what we spend - money is not an issue.

Casino - not for us - but we don't mind watching others once in a while contribute to the HAL coffers.

[heyabbott]

We never worry about what we spend - money is not an issue.

 

Casino - not for us - but we don't mind watching others once in a while contribute to the HAL coffers.

 

Well, Carnival Cruise Lines is trading at historic highs. If you invested your cruise money last year you could almost pay for a cruise next year.

[LAFFNVEGAS]

We Never Never Gamble (they did not build those big Mega Resorts here on Winners) so gambling is not part of our spending. I guess we really never really worry about it, If I find some jewlery I want I buy it. We do usually pre buy our excursions. Usually our Ship Board account runs from $800 to $1000. If we were worried about money we probably would not be on the cruise to begin with. I think we have just gotten to the point that we just automatically know what we should spend money on and what we can't. I have never come home thinking OMG we should not of spent that much money.

 

I can imagine if one was a gambler and you spent a lot of time in the casino you could spend a lot of money.

[Stevesan]

Spending money on a cruise is a good way to maintain harmony in the family. In this way the children will have less to fight over after our final cruise.

 

Our goal is to leave enough for a casket and maybe a modest funeral. Uncle Sam will pop for the headstone and burial site.:)

 

On second thought I just might buy the casket now and use it as a coffee table. Great conversation piece.

[Krazy Kruizers]

heyabbott

We did buy Carnival stock many years ago at $12 a share even though we no longer use that to obtain ship board credit.

[HeatherInFlorida]

I want to pretend I'm Joe and travel with Brian;) !!

 

We budget what we're going to spend on a cruise. It's not that we're stingy ... we're just planners and unfortunately we're at a point in our lives when it would be awfully helpful to know exactly how long we're going to live. Then we could simply divide by the number of years and spend it all:) .

But since we don't know that magic number, we plan like we'll live to be 100. We never want to be a burden on anyone and sadly we don't have enough money to say "the heck with it, it's only money".

Maybe we're crazy, but we sleep better nights and we still have one heck of a great time.

[bonnyweed]

I have the eccentricity of enjoying the whole process of going on vacations for less $$. I get a lot of vicarious pleasure by knowing the going rate for cruises and then knowing an incredible deal when I see one. It's pleasurable to surf the net frequently & see if there are any bargains out there.

Once I have booked a cruise, then I have the fun of looking up the HAL price for shore excursions and doing research on how I can do better on my own. In many ports, I just enjoy setting off on foot and exploring at my leisure.

I bring one roll of quarters for the slot machines on the ship. When the 1 roll is gone...I'm done.

Cruisewear, formalwear and country club casual are not a part of my everyday wardrobe. When my cruise wardrobe is lacking,I go to a used clothing store and pick up a few cruise-appropriate items.....have done this for years and no one seems to have the impression that I am a bag lady.

I always bring 1 bottle of wine or liquor on board. If it gets confiscated for the duration the cruise, that's fine. Hasn't happened yet. I do buy drinks at onboard lounges as well.

I don't complain about being nickled and dimed. I pay the recommended gratuity.

My pre-cruise hotel is always booked on Priceline.

The day will not come when I buy overpriced ship photos, rent cabanas or have a suite. I'm happy with my frugal world and have enjoyed many cruises and land-based vacations in many exotic locations thanks to my "cheapness."

[jhannah]

Hey, it works for you and that's terrific! Bargains are to be had. It just takes some looking sometimes.