How do you cruise so often?

[lifeisgoodPat]

I cruise because my husband died a couple years ago, and that is the only pleasure I look forward to.

At 62, life is too short, and I am going to live the remaining life like i want to.

Melanie

Good for you….I agree- life is too short….. Spend your time as you like. Cruising is my passion.

[MissRabbit]

We save every penny we can to vacation. Quite often...the airfare is more than the cost of the cruise.

 

Hiya Dawn! Long time no talk! Glad to see you, your kids and GF (was it Mona?) are doing well and have a couple vacations to look forward to. Hope you have a fantastic time :)

 

 

As for the OT... we have 1.5 incomes, no kids. no debt. 3 weeks vacation but yet there is no way we could afford to cruise every year, much less 4 or 5 times a year! Sure, the base price of the cruise is fairly reasonable, but once you add in drive down to seattle (and back), airfare, hotels, taxis, tips, excursions (even non-cruise ship ones), small amnt of drinks, small amnt of gambling, small amnt of souvenirs.... the price has pretty much tripled. I'd rather save up for a cruise every couple years or longer, than deplete my savings cruising more often and have to live paycheck to paycheck.

 

I suppose, if i lived in Florida, was retired and had oodles of cash burning in my pocket, i would go cruising more often. But not to the extent that a lot of people here do. If you do something several times a year, how can it remain special and memorable?

[JD4Nati]

For me the issue is not about money but about time away from work. With only two weeks of vacation time at the moment, it is hard to cruise more than once per year.

[Katiebug430]

We would like to cruise more often than we do. We got married in 2005 and cruised for our honeymoon. In 2006 we bought a house rather than go on vacation. In 2007 we were on a big Dave Ramsey kick and postponed our booked cruise to 2008 to pay off debt instead. In 2008, DH was laid off twice in a 6 month span, including less than a month before our cruise that year (it was paid for, we figured that we might as well go!). Due to the financial meltdown it was mid-2009 until he was working again and his now-former employer paid horribly and offered no PTO. Then we decided to start our family and I had our first baby in August 2010, so no cruise last year! DH got a new job when she was about 6 weeks old and now not only are we making more money now but he has a nice amount of PTO.

 

Kids aren't cheap. Between daycare and clothes and toys and saving for her education, she's pretty freaking expensive. We both work and would fall into the top quintile of household income in the US yet we just don't have as much disposable income as we used to. She's worth every penny, though!

 

We decided early this year to cruise with our daughter because we feel it's important to make memories with our children and have fun as a family. Neither of our families could afford vacations when we were kids and we want to do things differently if we can. We enjoy cruising but don't think we'll take one every year.

[flcruiser4]

We try to take one big vacation a year, one small one, and a few short weekend trips. So far the cruise has been the small vacation every year (4-5 days). We like to travel a lot but I don't think I'd want to cruise 3+ times a year. We very much enjoy the experience but sometimes we want to go somewhere and stay for a week to really explore the place. I will admit that on those trips we miss the constant great food and service you get on the cruise ships!

 

We have no children, no credit card debt, and save a lot of money every month so our vacation budget is bigger than some people's. Plus we are in FL, so we don't have to go far to the port and can fly to many destinations easily.

[Nezmo]

Cruising is a tremendous value. C'mon.....shop smart and you can get a 7 day cruise for less than $400pp. And that includes all your food and entertainment! You can get a shorter cruise for $279......I' ve even seen them as low as $199! You can't even go CAMPING that cheap!

I'd rather stay at home for what you get for that. But you're right, the message is clear, if you simply must be on a ship cruising, shop the bargain basement cabins and deals and you can sail often.

[PROCRUISE]

It is all about choices.

 

When we were younger we saved our money so when we got older would have more.

 

Also on many of our cruises we do inside or OV's. Also watch our expenses on cruises.

 

As a result we can do 2-3 per year.

 

"It is all about choices" hit the nail on the head. Now to be honest, I have a very stressful but high paying job. However, my parents always told me to save every penny I could for retirement (1/3/12) but travel as much as possible while I was young enough to really enjoy it. That's what I've done for the last 25 years. As a result, my economic retirement picture looks very good and I have two more cruises booked for 2012. By the way, there was a day in 1988 when I lost everything, but I got back on "the horse", made choices and moved on successfully. Wishing all a great next cruise! :)

[Isasprings]

:( For the life of me I cannot figure out how everyone here can cruise so much? I am an average person from Ohio. Not rich by any means but we have money for a trip or two. I see some taking 5 or more cruises a year. I just don't get it.

I try to cruise twice a year but sometimes is very hard.My DD is in medical school and cost a lot of $$$$$.But at least I live in Miami:)

[nytraveller53]

I think it's silly to cruise more than, say, 2 times a year. After that, it will lose it's excitement, and it will become routine. A vacation should not be routine, and should be something you look forward to for a long time. IMO

[ooulio]

We cruise once or twice a year. I dont get bored traveling twice a year. If it wasn't so much for our dog sitter, we could do more. Maybe if we live long enough to retire somewhere in Florida, we could do more. Dog sitting is such a great business. Maybe it will be something I do later for cruisers. I love dogs. I would not mind it at all.

[firefly333]

Cruising is a tremendous value. C'mon.....shop smart and you can get a 7 day cruise for less than $400pp. And that includes all your food and entertainment! You can get a shorter cruise for $279......I' ve even seen them as low as $199! You can't even go CAMPING that cheap!

 

I dont see any 7 day cruises listed out of Galveston for under $400 unless there is a hurricane, swine flu etc.. nothing to do with shopping smart.

 

If I have to add in flying to the mix, its still not cheaper to go out of FL.

[firefly333]

Some people ARE rich. Some are frugel. Some are retired. Some are young and have no kids and a ton of vacation time (that would be us):)

 

If I was RICH, I wouldnt be cruising the mass market cruiselines!!! lmao. well maybe I do love a bargain, but I would be flying to europe and doing the spirit repo to Hawaii that some people I know are doing.

[nytraveller53]

If I was RICH, I wouldnt be cruising the mass market cruiselines!!! lmao. well maybe I do love a bargain, but I would be flying to europe and doing the spirit repo to Hawaii that some people I know are doing.

Well, Fire, you certainly aren't poor because I know you cruise just about every month or two...

[C Cruise Dude]

:( For the life of me I cannot figure out how everyone here can cruise so much? I am an average person from Ohio. Not rich by any means but we have money for a trip or two. I see some taking 5 or more cruises a year. I just don't get it.

 

I too noticed the multiple cruises on these boards a year ago. I now think of spending in terms of cruise money, lol. If you look at how much you spend, eating out, purchasing stuff that is not good for you and you really don't need, pack a lunch. It adds up to serious cruise money.

 

I also gave up the OV's. If you shop around on the net and watch prices, daily, you would be surprised at the bargains you can find. I found that last minute deals, when they are trying to fill the ship, is a great way to go. You can get 7 day cruises for $300pp or less. You have to have a flexible work schedule, which I am blessed to have, to do that. My Pearl review in my signature was my first. Also, look at the cruise schedule over a year in advance. The cruise lines will offer great deals to book far in advance and with Carnival's Early Saver you can't lose.

 

For me, it's a matter of cruising solo or with somebody. My Valor trip below is solo. I decided to spurge and get a balcony just to see what it's like. When you cruise solo you pay 200%. My March trip is with a friend so we split the cost.

 

Remember, to book ahead, all you need is the deposit. The balance is not due until 70 days before cruise. That can be a lot of time to save up. Airlines do offer good prices if you book far in advance. Some airlines offer bargain rates with their clubs to cruise port cities. Good luck. :D

[firefly333]

Well, Fire, you certainly aren't poor because I know you cruise just about every month or two...

 

there is a lot of middle class .. errr. I mean middle ground between poor and rich.

 

I admit I have more cruises I want to do, and not enough time I always feel to squeeze them in.

 

Next up OV balcony on Oasis, but I dont often splurge, but on that ship where there is so much inside, I thought a balcony might be nice.

 

I still want to go on Allure and Epic, havent even gotten around to NCL yet. Just so many cruises I feel I can do.

[MrBreeze]

Car paid off + House paid off = Fun on the High Seas.

[idlenote]

I think it's silly to cruise more than, say, 2 times a year. After that, it will lose it's excitement, and it will become routine. A vacation should not be routine, and should be something you look forward to for a long time. IMO

 

I spend a lot of time planning the cruises and the excursions. So far it has never become boring, and we've never had a dull cruise. This year we will do more cruises than we probably ever will again, but when the price drops so much it's fun to grab a pack and go fare and run off for the weekend.

 

Have to admit that the same ports out of Galveston are becoming a little stale, looks like New Orleans could be a nice alternative.

[BenjiRodney]

1 a year and I book 1 or more years in advance so I have time to pay them off. 2011 is paid for making payments on 2012 and 2013 cruises.

[evandbob]

Choices: I stopped smoking and drinking back in the '80's and figured I would use the money I spent on those habits to reward myself....... so travel became my new thrill. With 6 weeks vacation a year, I can do 3 cruises and 3 land trips a year, no problem, on money that would have gone up in smoke or down the toilet. So far, I'm happy with the results!

[spideyfam]

So am I. You've been listening to too much Bob Marley bub!

 

 

Actually I am too in a way. I am 43, and both my kids are grown adults (22-20). We are glad we started a family early in life. We can now travel.

 

And you should probably let everybody besides us Mainers know that Bob Marley is a comedian. You can go in any convienence store and pick up any number of his CDs. He is funny. He would be a great comedian on a carnival ship.

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

Pack and unpack

[popsec]

Prioritize .... for us, cruising is at the top of our list. We drive older cars, don't spend much on extras throughout the year and pay for things with our credit card so we can use the points for airfare (we totally pay off the credit card every month so we never pay interest on that). We own our home and cars and never buy anything that we can't pay for right away.

 

When we met 16 years ago we had no money.... I was doing housecleaning and Ray worked at a jail. Now he's retired and, after selling on eBay for the past 12 years, I now work for my son (the only hard part is convincing him I need to take off 6 times a year) :p

 

We normally have to fly to FL for a cruise since there are no ports in Vermont and NY is 4 1/2 hours away with $30 a day parking (might as well fly to FL for the cheaper cruises). If we lived by a port our PVP would have us on speed-dial :D

 

It's all about priorities and cruising has become a priority for us

[NavarreCruiser]

We average 7 to 11 cruises a year. How, you may ask. 1. We're retired. 2. We live in Forida. 3. We have no debt. Cars, house everthing is paid off. 4. We spend zero money on any other entertainment. Never go out to dinner or a movie or a sporting event. 4. Do not spend a lot of money on clothes or food.

[firefly333]

We average 7 to 11 cruises a year. How, you may ask. 1. We're retired. 2. We live in Forida. 3. We have no debt. Cars, house everthing is paid off. 4. We spend zero money on any other entertainment. Never go out to dinner or a movie or a sporting event. 4. Do not spend a lot of money on clothes or food.

 

lol now I dont feel so bad about 5 this year. .. Of course if I lived in FL it would be more, but Im flying to FTL twice for oasis, so I am cutting back.

[frito58]

I'm Retired and I have a wife thats makes a boat

load of money:D:D