Curiosity

[nosnobunny]

It's really quite simple. We're rich! :p Seriously though, all our 6 kids are grown and gone, we have no mortgage or car payments. It really does feel like we're rich. DH is retired and I have a very good job where I get 7 1/2 weeks of vacation a year. Even at that, we still have to plan because if I don't have the cash in the bank, we aren't going. Period. Normally, we drive to Florida. Yes it's a 2 day drive but it's also very enjoyable to be able to talk to my DH without any interruptions. We'll be flying to our next cruise but I kept any eye on the fares and bought when the prices dropped. It's all in the budgeting and believe me, it works.

 

Beth

[ckrobyn]

We could never afford to cruise when ours kids were young, they were always involved in traveling sports and ice hockey and such that were very expensive. We took our first cruise the year our daughter graduated from college and have taken at least one extended cruise a year since then. Some are back to back cruises so the airfare is cheaper, two weeks for the price of one airfare. We have both worked at the same places for a long time and have plenty of vacation time, I get five weeks a year and hubby gets six weeks.

 

When the kids were younger we would rent a house at the beach for a week and vacation with them. No airfare was involved.

 

I too can't understand how people with kids can afford the cruises like they do.

 

We paid for college for both our kids, no school loans, maybe thats where we put our cruise money. It was worth it, and the kids agree.

 

I would like to help you understand how people with kids afford cruises :)

We ( us people with kids) enjoy vacations just as much as the next person, so much like the rest of the population.....we save our money in between vacations to pay for the next one. Cruising also allows the opportunity to book WAY in advance, thus giving time to pay the balance off.

We plan to take our daughter cruising with us for as long as we can - kids grow up too fast these days and we want to enjoy every minute with her.

In addition to taking a cruise each year ( and perhaps 2) we will pay for her College education as well. We are not rich, but we manage our finances carefully. I'm sure you have heard of RESP's ( Registered Education Savings Plan) what a wonderful way to save for your childs education. Perhaps that option was not available while you were raising your children?

[barbgazz]

No that option was not available, and how nice for you.

[Nessa1dc]

My DH and I are don't have alot of money. We just prioritize (or at least try to) about what is important to us. So we save like crazy for our vacations. We take anywhere from 1 - 3 a year. Only one can be cruise, but we have the audacity to love Vegas as well. I also look for major deals. That helps too.

[ckrobyn]

No that option was not available, and how nice for you.

 

Not just for me Barbgazz, but nice for the millions of parents who take advantage of this option, which allows them to save for their child's education AND cruise ;)

[PAFamily]

Maybe its just me... but I think the intent here was to voice best practices. Yes, cruising is expensive but like others have said, it is all about prioritizing.

 

We take annual trips to Disney and try to do 1 additional vacation a year.

 

Last year we did an all -inclusive, the year before we went to Paris, this year will be our first cruise with the kids. Is it expensive? Yes, but we LOVE the family time together, to me it is worth every penny. Where do we skimp? Well, I chose between the cruise and the new dining room set I have been lusting after in the Pottery Barn Catalog. My husband and I work, and we work a ton of hrs. Full time and then several hours in the evening after the kids are in bed. I am not complaining, we make very good money, but between private school, cars, mortgage and very importantly saving for college, we prioritize our excess spending- for us, the priority is family vacations over new furniture, landscaping etc.

My kids have traveled extensively and they are only 3 and 5. I think it is a wonderful gift to be able to spend time as a family away from the daily pressures of day to day life.

 

Just my 2 cents :)

[ckrobyn]

Maybe its just me... but I think the intent here was to voice best practices. Yes, cruising is expensive but like others have said, it is all about prioritizing.

 

We take annual trips to Disney and try to do 1 additional vacation a year.

 

Last year we did an all -inclusive, the year before we went to Paris, this year will be our first cruise with the kids. Is it expensive? Yes, but we LOVE the family time together, to me it is worth every penny. Where do we skimp? Well, I chose between the cruise and the new dining room set I have been lusting after in the Pottery Barn Catalog. My husband and I work, and we work a ton of hrs. Full time and then several hours in the evening after the kids are in bed. I am not complaining, we make very good money, but between private school, cars, mortgage and very importantly saving for college, we prioritize our excess spending- for us, the priority is family vacations over new furniture, landscaping etc.

My kids have traveled extensively and they are only 3 and 5. I think it is a wonderful gift to be able to spend time as a family away from the daily pressures of day to day life.

 

Just my 2 cents :)

 

Very well said ! :D

[Andipanda1]

We don't have any children. Our anniversary is in January, so our last cruise in January and our upcoming cruise next January are basically our Christmas presents to each other--we don't do lavish Christmas presents anyway, we focus on handmade/homemade gifts and time with friends and family.

 

The Enchantment post stretch cruise is at a port we can drive to.

 

Because we got bumped on our flight back from our criuse in January, we got free RT air tickets, which we are using when we're taking the Empress of the Seas from San Juan on a Southern Carribean next January.

 

On top of that, we take short cruises (we don't get a lot of time off from our jobs) and we book inside cabins.

 

We realized cruising would work for us when we realized that our week-long summer excursions to the Eastern Shore cost about that same as a short cruise.:eek:

[Arizona Cruz Chic]

We were GOING to do some remodeling but lucked into having a DIY show filmed at our house (they will be here in TWO WEEKS and will be in our house for THREE DAYS - FIFTEEN PEOPLE!! YIKES) so since we are saving money there we are spending it all on a vacation on the Navagator.

 

Next cruise we are saving for? ALASKA 2006!

 

Lucky you!! Is this something that will be televised? I'm a huge decorating TV junkie and do interior decorating as a hobby......can you give any details?

(Or you can email me through my profile.)

 

 

 

To answer the OP question.....we can pretty much cruise anytime, so we go for the bargins, some last minute deals and off season. We have cruised twice a year for the past 2 years and it has definitly spoiled us!!!

 

***

[Sassy Chassis]

My TA has a couple that books a year in advance and she charges their credit/debit card ~$100 per month and that pays for their cruise! She says they have been doing it this way for years. :)

 

Now that I finally have a steady job, steady income, and employment bonuses I find that it is absolutely essential to book some sort of trip at least once per year. A cruise is a very good value for the $$ spent, in my opinion, and I am a bargain hunter too! I try to pay as much up front as I can when I book the cruise and then pay the few hundred dollar balance when it is due. This year I paid a lot up front because I had a pretty good bonus check. I probably could have done the whole thing...if not for all of those darn taxes!!! ;)

 

 

Oh yeah, and it's just me & my hubby and we book oceanview staterooms.

[PAFamily]

Thanks CKRobin! Happy friday everyone!

[ckrobyn]

Thanks CKRobin! Happy friday everyone!

 

Happy Friday to you too !

Happy Mother's Day to all the Mom's on CC :)

[PAFamily]

Andipanda1- where in Northern Va are you from? We lived in Alexandria and later Springfield for the past 10 years. We moved to Philly last year.

[malsha]

My dh and I use our tax return every year for a vacation (sometimes cruise, sometimes not) I have coworkers who bank on that return to pay bills off etc but since I never know exactly what I will get back I don't bank on it for anything other than frivilous fun. It is "unexpected" money to me. Just as bonus' at work are. I can't bank on money that may or may not happen so when it does I use it for something I wouldn't have been able to afford with my normal paychecks.

 

And now with a child, well first off, he made my tax return slightly higher but he also goes to daycare full time so that eats his return portion up plus 10X! So we just watch for good deals, and save what we can and go above and beyond at work to get those bonus'.

 

 

PS We also use the TAP plan for his education. We will be able to pay for 4 years at a private school.

[debbie311]

Wow, thanks everyone for all the great replies! It has given me good ideas, and actually has made me feel better too! It's always interesting to see how other people live, and to see that no matter how different we may be, we are still alike in many ways.

 

It's fun to research different cruises - do we go to the Eastern Caribbean next, or maybe the Mediterranean? Or Alaksa???

 

Heather - I would love to hear more about the DIY show. I am hooked on HGTV, I LOVE all the decorating shows (hence my other passion, home/garden). Curb Appeal, House Hunters (my fave!), Designer's Challenge, etc., etc.

 

Happy cruising everyone and thanks again for all the replies! :)

[Andipanda1]

Andipanda1- where in Northern Va are you from? We lived in Alexandria and later Springfield for the past 10 years. We moved to Philly last year.

 

Alexandria. :) Hi, (former) neighbor!

[PAFamily]

Alexandria. :) Hi, (former) neighbor!

 

I love Old Town, we moved to West Chester PA (outside of Philly) mainly because it reminded me of Old Town Alexandria!

 

 

 

I am also an HGTV junkie, you will have to give us all the details of the show and when it will air. Good luck!

[nosnobunny]

I love Old Town, we moved to West Chester PA (outside of Philly) mainly because it reminded me of Old Town Alexandria!

 

 

 

I am also an HGTV junkie, you will have to give us all the details of the show and when it will air. Good luck!

 

I was there a few weeks ago. What a great place! Had dinner at the Chart House. Yum! :D

 

Beth

[vacation rccl]

As much as I would like to take a cruise every year, I think every other is more feasible. We are a working middle class family, 1 income, 2 kids, a house, 2 cars, and so on...I would love to be able to just plunk down the deposit for a cruise while on a cruise, but we watch every penny. When we take a vacation, I want it to be a "WOW" vacation.

 

Another way we same money for our cruise is that we drive down to FL. If you notice we live in MA. Having kids in school, our availability to vacation is limited. So, we drive and save a ton of $$$. For instance, we left on Fri. mid-morning and drove all night to Cape Canaveral. Got there on Sat. afternoon. We stayed at the Radisson. Boarded the Mariner on Sunday. Got off the ship on Sunday and got into the car to drive home. Got home Mon. morning, sent the kids to school (they slept all night in our minivan). In all we spent just over $400 in expenses to and from FL. Roundtrip airfare for four flying out of Boston, during vacation week, was $2500.

 

When we do book a cruise again, you can bet that we will be driving:D !

 

I don't suffer from insanity, I enjoy ever moment of it!!! ( I saw that on a bumper sticker, and loved it)

 

Valerie

DH Tom

DD Emily 9 yrs.

DS Thomas 7 yrs.

 

1st cruise-Voyager 10/01/2000-without kids

2nd cruise-Mariner 4/17/2005-with kids

3rd cruise-not yet planned, but will include kids!

 

Are there any alternatives to paying the $70 to park at Port Canaveral??

[nosnobunny]

Are there any alternatives to paying the $70 to park at Port Canaveral??

 

We're staying at a hotel near the pier that allows you to leave your car for the duration of the cruise at no additional cost. So for the price to park alone, we now have a hotel and free parking. We booked it before we decided to fly. :rolleyes: There are several hotels that have this option.

 

Beth

[lephysteria]

How do we afford cruises? Easy.

 

Both of us work ..... Jennifer finds very cheap cruise deals .... Jennifer's not in charge of the finances, so the money goes further (not just for shoes and purses) ...... Jen makes Naren put all purchases on the cruising credit card so we earn points for a discount ..... and the most important thing - Naren eats Macaroni & Cheese for dinner each night :D

 

 

This topic reminded me of another issue, and to explain I have to jump on a soapbox of mine. I am not sure if it's the same for other parts of the US, but housing here is VERY expensive! I don't know how people are affording houses ... but yet the $800k and $900k houses sell! I guess those people are very rich! (Or there are 15 people all with full-time jobs living in the house)

I'd guess its the same with cruises. If people budget accordingly, I guess they can afford cruises. I envy them, really :D

[mom2kids]

:) :) vacation RSSL-The Radisson at the Port in Port Canaveral. It was $139 for the night, we could leave our car there for free, and they have a FREE shuttle to the terminal. This hotel is very clean and there were a ton of cruisers there on the Saturday night before we embarked. I only know this because I kept seeing them on the ship. If you have kids, they have a great pool. It took a while to get ours out. We asked for a late checkout (12:30) and got on the 1pm shuttle. We were on board by 2pm. It may seem expensive, but when you figure that most hotels charge $89 a night, plus parking of $70, it's a little bit of a savings. You know at least 3-5 drinks worth of savings. HEHEHE!!!:D Let them know when you book that you are going on a cruise, they have a cruise package that includes breakfast for 2. Our total bill ended up being $169. Not bad for a family of four.

[heathernijoli]

How exciting! How did you get picked for the DIY show????

 

We just applied at www.diy.com!

[kg4pit]

DH and I love to cruise. We got hooked after our first cruise in 2000. We have cruised every year since, except for one. This October we are taking DH parents on the SOS for their 45th anniversary. They have never cruised before and MIL is very excited. We try not to go into debt for the cruises. We use our Royal Carribean credit card to get all those points. We try to have it paid off before the cruise. This year we opened a "Christmas Club" acct at our bank. We put money in there every payday. (some paydays not as much as others) This is a "Cruise" fund. By the time we go on the cruise in October, we should have enough to cover the "on board" charges that we spend on the cruise. Of course, we will be using the RCCL credit card on board, but be ready to pay it off when the bill comes. (hopefully):)