How do you afford all of these cruises?

[pjnj40]

Since i Lived in New Jersey, I tend to go to Atlantic City. After while it a bore. I stopped going there and my $ is going up. Since I made new friends, he advise me to try cruise for a vacation. I did and it sound reasonable. He gave me a formula to figure out how to find a good deal. It way cheaper then most hotel out there for a week. Also, if you really want to cruise, do overtime in work when it available. That will definitely help you out.

 

 

Here the trick to get 2 to 3 cruises per year

If you gamble on land, stop. You will never win the big jackpot like $11 million. Just do it on the ship casino.

If your workplace have overtime available, take it.

If you buy gadget from store for no reason, ignore it. It just sitting there collecting dust. Then later you gone say to yourself, i hate having that gadget.

If you go to movie theater, try not to go often. Why pay that movie theater prices when you can wait till it on DVD for a dollar rental(red box rental).

 

Believe me your money will go up and you will be on more cruises.

[Familygoboston]

big house or

fancy car or

fancy boat or

loads of jewelry or

swanky country club...

 

there are only 4 ways people afford these things:

1) they inherited the money or

2) they worked hard for the money or

3) they scrimp and save out of their daily budget for the money or

4) they borrowed the money

[Granny&Pap]

I will say we've only done one cruise, but the activities offered were absolutely horrible...only a couple each day sounded worth even a consideration. Same with the shows...we never went to any of them and never had any desire to. Still, we would rather have the balcony and sit out with our books than do most other things on a cruise ship. That is why we're pretty sure it will be quite some time before we cruise again...we didn't see any advantage to a "regular" beach vacation.

We have friends that won't cruise. They ask us 'how can you stand being cooped up on a ship for 7 nights'. Like you, they didn't find the entertainment/activities to their liking. Guess it's all in the person....to cruise or not to cruise. We will continue. Perhaps another cruise on another ship will find more for your interest.

[teajak]

Please do not flame me here because I think there is a giant liars club on CC. I am not trying to make trouble, I'm just using what I see here on the boards to make my judgement.

 

There are so many D+ people on the boards based on thier signatures. My guess would be that there are more D+ people here than actually exist.

 

It would be impossible for all the D+ and above members to be CC members.

 

Just an opinion that is not intended to offend anyone.

I would be happy to print a picture of my D+ pin for you but I don't know how to do that.Don't really have anything in writing,I could print a picture of our last sail-sign card or list all of our cruises but none of the above would be proof. Guess you will just have to believe that most people are honest and would have no earthly reason to lie about this.:rolleyes:

[bigque]

Interesting post! since we started cruising in 2008, we fell in love with it and like it alot and have cruised now every other year with one booked this year. Next year we are considering booking a cruise for 2013 while we are on this year's cruise which would break the every other year cycle. I find it admirable that folks like to cruise and can afford to cruise 2, 3 or 4 times a year and do all the things you do that has been mentioned in the various responses to make it possible. As much as we enjoy the cruise experience, there are other thing that we like to do also for vacations, and there are things that we like to have, that we buy. We go to family reunions and I can go on & on! Even though cruising will be in our vacation plans now at least every other year, there is just too many other things we like to do also and we are not willing to make all the sacrifices that folks are making to take these multiple yearly cruise. I love to go n the cruises, but I guess in the context of the thread I'm not a real cruise junkie!, One day maybe, but not right now!

[Shanafan]

Oh wow. That sounds great. So does $1 = 1 point? That can't be right?

 

Yes $1 spent equals 1 point. It adds up quickly. We are able to put our cell phone bill, internet, cable, electric, gas, gasoline, groceries etc on every month. Have one large Visa bill and don't have to write a bunch of small check AND we get the points.

[nelblu]

For a number of years, my Wife & I agreed to forgo large Christmas gifts and use the moneys for our annual cruise. On special occasions, eg. anniversary(s) we splurge, assuming we get a good deal, on a 12 days Med Cruise. Also, many years ago, I had a certain amount of moneys deducted by my Credit Union from my pay and earmarked it for our vacations.

[rjrpar]

Many, many people have good jobs

[Host Faith]

Married, no kids yet, in our early 30's (well, I'll be 30 soon lol). We have one car. We like to spend less in certain areas so that we can do something we really enjoy. It's a matter of what's more important. There are a lot of things we do ourselves rather than paying for someone else to do them. I have friends who spend lots of $$ going to salons, manicurists, and spas each month, and that money could actually go toward a nice 3-4 night cruise each year.

 

I love to cook, so we eat at home quite often. We take leftovers for lunch at work about 90% of the time. We do enjoy a nice restaurant once in a while, but it's hardly ever an impulse meal. If we do eat out, we're using a gift certificate (like restaurant.com), or a coupon from the restaurant's email program. We also like to rack up points and miles as much as we can. I looove loyalty programs.

 

In terms of shopping, I wait for clearance sales and use coupons on top of that. I haven't paid full price for clothes in years. We take good care of what we have, and only go shopping when we really need to.

 

For Christmas and Anniversaries, our gift to one another is normally a deposit on a cruise or a payment toward a cruise.

 

All those savings go toward one big vacation a year, and we take small weekend trips once in a while as well. Because I like to cruise more than Wesley does, I try and book a shorter cruise or land vacation with my friends once a year as well. I have my own small business that helps pay for that.

 

My friends all laugh at me often because I don't like to spend money on full price items, and I don't spend money on things they normally do...but then again we get to travel and create awesome memories together while they're at home all year long. They always ask us what in the world we're doing to be able to travel like that, but when we tell them what we do, they always say, I could never live without this or that. I would rather live a little more humbly in order to spend enjoyable times with DH. And it's not like we don't have a nice place to live, we just know how to look for bargains and be patient with our purchase decisions. The small sacrifices allow us to travel like we do. It's worth it to us. :)

[ChevyCruiser]

As I peruse the forums I see a lot of posters with the cruises they have been on listed in their signatures. Many people have 2-3 cruises per year every year for the past 10 years.

 

I'm not trying to poke and prod into your financial life, just wondering if I am missing something as far as getting free cruises or half off because I don't know many people who could afford 3 vacations per year every year. So is it all personal income or are you getting amazing deals? Should I sign up for anchor club?

 

Thanks for the tips/advice in advance!

 

Easy beezy. Worked hard for 30 years. Saved hard for 30 years. Lived BELOW our means. Maintained our cars and kept them for at least 10 years. Didn't feel the need to have the latest electronic gadget. Didn't eat out three or four times a week. Didn't buy into the whole spend, spend, spend. Our motto is:

 

Use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without!

 

Now we are out spending our kid's inheretence on cruises and other travel, WAHOOOO!:D

[Mach1]

I also have a second job that pays for my cruises – that paycheck goes automatically into a savings account. Can’t seem to get my husband on board with cruising so it’s usually my sister and I every other year so that makes it really easy to save for the cruise. Then we take land trips (mostly camping as we live in the mountains & camping is pretty cheap). My DD wants to go on our next cruise so I told her she has to save $$XX money – because flights out of Montana are expensive – and she so far has saved more than me!!

I’ve really enjoyed reading this thread as it gave me some other good ideas, really makes me rethink some of the things we spend money on. Unfortunately – we have a growing daughter and she keeps out growing her clothes & I’ve had some medical issues this past year (broken ankle & foot) which slowed me down and ate up a lot of our funds! :(

Bottom line is to save – when I have to get up early or on weekends for my second job – I look at the light at the end of the tunnel – I get to go on a cruise! ;)

[tsconley19]

living in Florida, close to cruise ports, majority of our cruises are 3 night Bahamas cruises(cheap). We usually do a week long cruise per year. Royal Caribbean Visa through Bank of America gives us cruise points to use for onboard credits and such. Onboard booking bonus or Crown and Anchor Savings Certificates for discounts....etc

Less expensive during hurricaine season (pays to be flexible)

just some of the ways we are able to cruise 2 to 3 times a year

Tom

[Zach1213]

Bottom line is to save – when I have to get up early or on weekends for my second job – I look at the light at the end of the tunnel – I get to go on a cruise! ;)

Man, people love cruising WAYYYYYY more than I do ;)

[Mach1]

Man, people love cruising WAYYYYYY more than I do ;)

 

Zach,

I should also say that I only work about 10 (sometimes15) hours a week extra...I hate working, but I do like to cruise :cool: And I don't want to take from the family vacation fund, so this is the best way to have a little extra.

[Calker]

We've been asked this question many times because we do cruise three or four times a year, plus we fit in a few land vacations, and weekend get-a-ways. We always cruise in a balcony cabin, we fly coach class, we book hotel rooms in clean hotels, but we don't stay in the Trump Towers or W.

 

We are extremely lucky, we both work full time and specifically budget to travel as much as possible.

 

We don't go out to bars (we have guests over), we don't go to movies (we watch them off our tv), we don't spend money on hobbies (maybe we do - cruising/travel is our hobby), we don't wear designer clothes or shoes (but we do dress appropriately), my husband does indulge in a new car every three years but I'm still driving my 2002, we don't buy each other "things" for holidays, anniversarys, birthdays - all of our disposable income is used to travel.

[DRD07]

This thread is like an interesting self analyzer to how we think.

 

I am one of those who always wonders how the heck we are so blessed to do the things we do and meet the bills and help the kids when the phone rings. As you parents know, the phone rings quite often and at least for us we would have it no other way.

 

We are all paid up and paid off past normal food, insurances and utilities as far as monthly expenses go and because I want for my better half to have the best available we cruise in the Royal Suite or whatever the top tier is on a given ship. I know it can seem outrageous from a cost standpoint but we only do it once a year and really enjoy the experience.

I guess it is like making a years house payments for a weeks getaway but that's ok.

 

We still intend to put a video of the Royal Suite from Jan on Voyager onto YouTube soon. It shows a slower sweep of the entire space without lots of people milling around so you get a good perspective to choose it you want to do the room.

[pcur]

I read the title of this post and just kinda cringe, because I'm guessing my inlaws wonder this exact same thing about us! And we only go on approx. one cruise year...

 

Oh, TELL me about it!! We have this coming from our KIDS!

 

Our cruising over the last several years was pretty much paid in advance while I was working. We are both retired now, but we still plan at least 2 a year.

 

I'm a freakazoid travel planner, going for the best deals I can find. The cruise is always booked while on board a previous cruise, so that we get the reduced deposit and obc. The obc is usually put toward paying our tips.

 

We use a Southwest Visa for everything we can, and fly free to/from the port.

 

We never buy drinks: we are D+, but it wouldn't matter because we didn't buy alcohol before that, anyway.

 

We spend very little on board the ship: we are there for the cruise, not to spend money on miscellaneous things.

 

We are pretty independent in port, but if it's a new place I always look for a hop on/off bus first. We frequently use the local bus service, which gives you a lot of sightseeing for very little money. Ship's tours that includes seeing the local sights are usually the cheapest. If I want a private tour of any kind, I search for it and compare prices. For instance, I found a private tour company for Ephesus that had a 25% discount if you booked by the end of January last year. I added 4 more people from our Meet and Mingle thread, and the price was way down.

 

Speaking of Meet and Mingle threads, they are an excellent way to group up for transfers and tours.

 

I scour hotel and air web sites for the lowest price I can find, but avoid Priceline. Just my preference, but I find I can get prices just as low and still know where I'm staying in advance. I always look for hotels with airport transfers. I always check the hotel ratings on tripadvisor. I usually can find very inexpensive hotels with 3.5 - 4.5 ratings. We are over 50 so I always start with aarp-expedia, and compare other sites to their price.

 

But, lastly, we don't spend a lot of money on other things in our life. We aren't particularly frugal, but just aren't spenders when it comes to clothes, jewelry, no Starbucks, no expensive entertainment, drive our cars on average 10 years. Cruising is our only real luxury.

[kimbolimbo]

Cruising is cheap for what your getting. It's the flights to get to and from the ports that are expensive. For our upcoming cruise the flights alone were over $1000.00 for each person.:( I can fly and stay at a 4 star all inclusive resort for a week in Mexico, Cuba or Dominican Republic for the same price as the air fare. I'm really looking forward to our cruise next month but the cost of air fare will defiantly be a deterrent for us for future cruising, we travel to tropical destinations twice a year but $1000.00 to reach the cruise ship won't be in the cards on a yearly basis.

[Artemis908]

My husband and are in our late 20s, both have good jobs and no kids quite yet, but possibly soon. I consider this upcoming trip the last for us for a long time since we want kids soon.

 

I grew up with the "travel bug" since I was 12 my mom took me almost every year with her on some kind of trip, 3 of which were cruises. Now that I am grown up, I drag my husband with me (poor him ;) ) every year on a trip and the last few have been cruises. I like seeing a lot of places in one trip and cruises are perfect for that without us having to pack and repack after every change of location.

 

I know I am lucky to have been able to travel so much growing up and my mom worked really hard so we could travel together so much but after she and my dad got divorced she just wanted to go see new places and I was her travel partner!

 

 

 

Oh man kill me now...

 

I guess that's why I don't fit in to the cruise scene. I enjoy spending time in my room and need a balcony because of it. I'd rather sit on my balcony reading, watching the waves go by than fight for a chair up top with annoying people and bad entertainment. But, that's why I don't fit in on CC...

 

I kind of feel the same way. I like being peaceful. My life and career is always rushed and I'm around people alot, having to act a certain way or work with clients. It's nice to just lay in bed, sit out at my balcony and be at peace. No one calling me, no one bothering me, just totally relaxed with work so far away...

 

I would often avoid many of the shows on board because I don't feel like dealing with people but we are in a suite this year and I look forward to having a suite section of the theaters which will encourage me to go to more shows.

[kimbolimbo]

I love it...we are the same!

[clean1owner]

Priorities. That's about it.

 

Every so often we take a look at what we're spending money on, and decide if our spending is in line with our values.

 

We don't have cable or satellite. We put a bunch of DVDs on a Media Player (specifically, the WDTV Live Hub), so kids have something to watch whenever they want. Add $8/mo for Netflix and free Hulu, that's all the entertainment we need. We do budget $50/mo for entertainment, so the occasional movie outing is fine.

 

We do value going out to eat, to the tune of $50/wk. Might sound like a lot, might sound like nothing. When we're not watching, we can easily spend much more.

 

Use a prepaid mobile phone plan, about $5/mo each (so $10/mo for the two of us). Price in the US was similar, I had AT&T gophone that was a bit more, wife had Net10 which was a bit less.

 

We buy at thrift stores. Loved $1 Mondays at Value Village. Bought an almost brand-new pair of Nikes for $10 (I wouldn't normally buy used shoes...but these looked brand-new).

 

We own a small 3-bedroom home in a rural community (in the US). Property taxes are about $110/yr, doesn't cost much to maintain when we're not there.

 

No house payments, no car payments, no credit card payments, etc.

 

I don't have to cruise on a particular cruise line or ship. Don't even care what the destination is, though preference is given to a cruise with ports we haven't visited yet. Cheap transatlantic, sure! Oooh, look at this deal for an Alaska cruise. Hrm, 11-night Celebrity under $600pp, why not?

 

That pretty much sums up the "how can you afford it?"

 

Past few years, my wife's worked 6-9 months out of the year. I stay home all year with the kids. That takes care of "how can you find the time?"

 

Are you serious about $110 per year???!! If my property taxes were that low, we could afford 1 more cruise every year!!

[Donray]

When we retired at 63 we retired estimating that we would spend 25K on vacations.

Lucky that we still have more money than when we retired. Stayed in the market through all the mess and came out ahead.

[dep]

Retired, live in florida, get last minute deals....just my guess

 

 

 

Retired, live in florida, last minute, 3-4 a year,all of the above and more.Balcony , we have also done Alaska and doing Panama canal next year YES air is a killer !!!!!!!!!

[Sharon Sails]

Retired early (62) and hubby still works. Live in a nice, small retirement community in Florida. Hubby still only has two weeks/year of vacation, so I went on a couple cruises by myself last year. I went on three cruises in 2010 and one to the Southern Caribbean in Jan. with hubby. We are taking our grown daughter and her husband and 6-year-old son to CA for a week next month. I'll prob. take another cruise this year. How? Inexpensive house payments, no credit card debt, living in Fl. I made a lot of money from ccard rewards last year. Get one with 0% interest and pay it off every time you use it - the reward dollars add up! I usually get a balcony cabin - I look for good deals on the RCI site. :D

[cynt]

Single, no kids, good job and an annual bonus. I shop sales when I need something and I'm not loyal to any cruise line. However, Royal is my favorite.

 

My thing is the vacation time. I only get 2 weeks a year. AARRGGHH!!! And I've been here 6 1/2 years. Small company and the owners are WORKAHOLICS so they don't think anyone needs a vacation! :D I won't get another week until 10 years. O I will get two more days after year 7. So one of my vacations I usually take around Christmas or Thanksgiving so I'll have two paid holiday days and only need to take 3 days vacation. The job I left I had put in 10 years and was at 4 weeks of vacation. But this job was almost double the pay so I had to take it. My friends said I should have negotiated 3 weeks of vacation. LOL! But it's all good. No complaints.

 

I drove the same car for 11 years and just purchased a new one because this last year I put $4K into it. But at 268K miles I couldn't complain. I love Honda Accords. Just purchased me another one.

 

I have no real hobbies besides traveling and I am a priceline QUEEN! I negotiate and bid on hotel and car rentals. Land vacations I use VRBO to rent time shares/condos/etc. You can rent for quarters on the dollar.

 

I live 5 hours from Galveston so I try and cruise from there when I can.

 

Someone mentioned no cable, cheap cell plan, etc. I've been looking over my budget for the year and saw I was paying $301/month for cell, cable, internet, phone. I couldn't believe it. The first thing I said was that's another cruise or two! LOL! My coworker who is an older lady said you should put that money in your 401K. We're almost 20 years apart so I can see how sometimes it's a generational thing too when it comes to how you spend your money. So my reply was let's go half - half into retirement and half into vacation fund if I drop those extra bills. :D