Anybody else to poor to cruise every year?

[gypsyrose]

Gabsabunch, we are neighbors, we live in Statesville:) We are taking our 2nd cruise April 06, our 1st was March 04. I too have marvelled at all the cruises some people have under their belt. We have decided to try to do one a year now but will probably cut back on some other small trips. I love to travel. I also love the planning just as much. Many thanks to these boards!!!

 

Sablerose, I wish you and your husband luck with everything. You sound like a wonderful couple with a good head on your shoulder. I am sure not all of your friends are debt free like you. You should be very proud.

[waterbound]

We do cruise every year and sometimes twice a year, but its not generally 2 of the big ships in one year.. we try to do one of the newer ones and then if we do a smaller one we do that as the second trip.. our kids are now addicted too.. We do without alot of extras from day to day in order to afford cruising but thats a choice we have made.. My car was paid off and we just a new one a few months ago so that will make things a little tougher but I try to work as much overtime as I can.. I get bonuses from time to time at work.. I believe that making the memories with my family is important right now so I do what I need to to make that happen.. We also get some really good deals and watch the prices and if they go down get that taken off the bill..

[MrPete]

I hear this from friends, relatives, and co-workers all the time, and these are the same people that go out to dinner almost every night, or take in.

 

We hardly ever eat out or take in. And that's because we don't like to.

 

When we first got married, I divided the paychecks up for the 52/53 weeks a year. Every four weeks income, that paid the bills and our "allowance" for that month. The remaining 4/5 weeks every year was our "free" weeks, our vacation fund.

[Gabsabunch42]

Gabsabunch, we are neighbors, we live in Statesville:) We are taking our 2nd cruise April 06, our 1st was March 04. I too have marvelled at all the cruises some people have under their belt. We have decided to try to do one a year now but will probably cut back on some other small trips. I love to travel. I also love the planning just as much. Many thanks to these boards!!!

 

.

 

And we are both cruising on the Glory!!:) We are cruising in a couple of months, but are already toying with the idea of cruising next summer. I guess I better start clipping coupons. lol

[Gabsabunch42]

I hear this from friends, relatives, and co-workers all the time, and these are the same people that go out to dinner almost every night, or take in.

 

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I wish this were my excuse :( We eat takeout perhaps once every couple of weeks. I think we are pretty frugal (as frugal as a family with a teen can be:rolleyes: ) But we would like to be able to help our kids as much as possible on their college education because that is important to me, so I feel guilty taking money away from that.

[halos]

I don't cruise every year for sure...YET.

The thing is, once you are badly addicted, you will do anything to find a way to get on a ship......

chemical addictions??? HA!!! Try having ship addiciton.....it will be the ruin of us all ;)

[PlanningToCruise]

Hello everyone. I notice when I look through posts, some folks have soooo many cruises in their signature, sometimes a few a year. I am JEALOUS! We haven't cruised since 2001 and we are still having to be thrifty:confused: Am I the only one on Cruise Critics this is financially challenged! lol

We're not financially challenged now, however, in our early marriage day's we were and couldn't afford to cruise with 2 kids. However over the yrs things have changed but we just never really wanted to cruise until now.

Just an idea for those trying to save, something we did Years ago has now become a challenge for dh and I. Back yrs ago we did something for saving with our boys, we didn't spend any quarters throughout the yr so that when we went to the Jersey shore for our wks vacation it was the boys boardwalk money. THey alway's had plenty of money to spend. So When I booked the cruise I told my dh jokingly oh now lets not spend any quarters, lol and we laughed as it brought back memories from our financial struggling day's. HOwever, we decided to do it because of course it become a "challenge" for dh and I, " Who could save the most quarters" Agreement is you can't change in dollars for quarters, just dont spend any you get. We started about a wk after we booked our cruise, about 2 wks ago we checked our can's. His can has 156.25, and mine had 223.50, ( I do most of the shopping so it' makes sense I'd end up with more change) this just in quarters in a few months. You'd be surprised how much it adds up. Do this with all your change, just never spend change, and see how much it adds up, that's all extra "fun" money for your cruise :)

[DebbieOinKC]

DH and I got lucky to be able to cruise this year. We are still paying on the credit card from last years cruise. This year we came into some extra money, and we knew right away what we were going to do with it. As I have that PCD, and I needed a fix.:D

 

 

Unless we get lucky again within the next couple of years, we do not plan on cruising again until 2009 when DD graduates from HS. At that time we are also taking DS and DD-in-law. That will cost quite a bit of $$$.

[imosoreal]

I'm not rich but I do have plans to cruise every year. Our first cruise was the honeymoon so of course I told hubby we must cruise every year. We missed one year because he wanted to do a week on an island. He won't allow me to put the cruise on a credit card so I now have to schedule the cruise at least a year in advance and use a payment plan. The cruise payments are now just considered part of the household budget.

[my3kids]

I just wanted to post a thank you - you know it really is a good thing that some people can be so honest :) - I just love it!!

 

Especially you - pacerzfan - my goodness - there is a special place in heaven for men like you:D -------- I am so humbled.

 

Now I have the guilt...........I am so trying to plan a 2nd cruise for DH and I - without our children. After reading all these wonderful honest posts about memories, family time - etc... I maybe ought to rethink this and wait one more year and plan a family cruise with the kiddies......my hesitation now is the youngest is only 3 and I am so nervous about taking her on the boat - a) she will either be a clingon - or b) I will be to afraid to leave her in the 'camp' without someone to look out for her....(long long story - but I was a sexually abused child).......

 

Ugh what to do - what to do.

 

But again - a huge APPLAUSE for everyone that had the confidence to post there ins and outs of how they cruise -

 

YOU GUYS ARE GREAT!!!!!!!!!!!:D

 

Robin

[moonvine]

I can cruise every year, occasionally twice a year, and I do not make tons of money, but there are several reasons why.

 

I am single and childless. That means I get to decide how to spend all the money:cool:

 

I am frugal in a lot of other ways. I rarely eat out and I drive an 11 year old gas efficent car. I bring my lunch to work EVERY day.

 

I live within driving distance of a port (Galveston).

 

I cruise on Fantasy class ships in 1A cabins (only 150% of fare).

 

A typical cruise for me is under $1,000, including all expenses. S&S, fare, port charges and taxes, all of it.

[tonyrobin]

We are going in August. We went last July, just the 2 of us (we renewed our marriage vows). But this year we are taking the 2 boys. One is 13 and the other is 16. The 16 year old has never been on a cruise and we wanted him to exprience this before he is on is own and probably won't be able to afford something like this for a long time. The 16 year just came to live with us from NC last year. We have to pay for braces on the 13 year old in about 2 weeks (his father is court ordered to pay 100% of uncovered medical bills but says if I want it paid I will have to take him to court). My husband is in the military and thank goodness we get the military discount. I guess we all do the best we can.

[dromMOM]

Usually the poor part comes in after the cruise!

[halos]

Usually the poor part comes in after the cruise!

 

 

LOL!!!!! :D

[bcc99]

I probably can't afford it, but I go anyway! :) I've gotten pretty good at bargain shopping, and sniffing out the deals is actually part of the fun of cruising for me. Occasional sacrifice is a big part of it, too...many times I've found myself ready to buy something I don't really need, and it inevitably goes back onto the shelf when I remind myself that "you can have [name of item here] today, or you can take a cruise this year." It's also a little bit easier because my annual cruise is typically my only vacation...whether this is a good thing or a bad thing, I'll leave to the historians.

[huskerdude]

I would suggest looking at one of the group cruises. You only have to put $25 pp down as a deposit and usually the rest is not due until 6+ months later. That can give people that like to make payments a chance to lock into a great rate and not have to worry about coming up with the full $250 at the time of booking.

 

I would also recommend this. We actually missed the cut off day for the $25.00 by one day, but the rate was great for a balcony room, which will be our first. Plus like you said the full payment now is not due until June 30, 2006!

That gives us plenty of time to save up.

[huskerdude]

I would suggest looking at one of the group cruises. You only have to put $25 pp down as a deposit and usually the rest is not due until 6+ months later. That can give people that like to make payments a chance to lock into a great rate and not have to worry about coming up with the full $250 at the time of booking.

 

I would also recommend this. We miss the cut off date for the $25.00 deposit by 1 day, but the rate for a balcony, our first, was just too good to pass up. Now we have until June 30, 2006 to pay the balance!

Sorry about the double post for some reason I thought the first post did not take, but apperantley it did:confused:

[Krittie67]

Hello everyone. I notice when I look through posts, some folks have soooo many cruises in their signature, sometimes a few a year. I am JEALOUS! We haven't cruised since 2001 and we are still having to be thrifty:confused: Am I the only one on Cruise Critics this is financially challenged! lol

 

I wish I could cruise 2x a year or even yearly - our first cruise was in May 2003 and our second was this past May. I am hoping to cruise again early 2007. We did have the cruise and airfare paid for before we went and some spending for the sail and sign card but of course we went well over between the bucket of beers, drinks of the day, and of course those excursions. But as I see it, it was money well spent!

[sophiecruiser]

For me, it's a matter of priorities.

 

About a week ago, I was washing the windows in our (35yr old) house and was complaining about the old windows that needed replacing. My husband chimed in and said that if I hadn't just booked another cruise, we would be able to afford to replace the rest of the old windows. HMMMMMM.....let's see......new windows or new cruise???? Obviously, the windows are not my priority!

 

I'm the type of person who needs something (like a cruise) to look forward to. It helps me get up and go to work everyday. Oh yah, and deal with my 3 teenagers....and the dog....and.....................everything else!

[Sharon2U]

We definately save for a cruise, like others have said the actual cruise cost is just the beginning, by the time air, excursions and even a few drinks are added it's usually about triple for us. It's been 4 years since we cruised, not just because of the cost but we really enjoy doing different things for vacation. We take 1 (what I call "real" vacation) then take several mini vacations during the year. Did not take "real" vacation last year to save for this year's cruise.

[cathyoo]

Marvholly

 

First, condolences on the loss of your hubby.

Second, congratulations on the upcoming birth of your grandchild.

I have any many wonderful experiences in my life including giving birth to four beautiful babies but they were all eclipsed by the birth of my first grandchild.

I hope you enjoy your 2006 cruise. Will you have a traveling mate or are you going solo?

 

PS must warn you... Grandchildren are an expense.

[Judge Jenny]

Great topic! I don't make much money, either, and I like to travel solo. Any penny pinching advice from CCr's would be appreciated.:p

 

Jennifer

 

 

______________________

 

Galaxy, September 2004

Galaxy, October 2005 (woohoo!)

 

Liberty - April Fools Day, 2006!

[bcc99]

I don't make much money, either, and I like to travel solo. Any penny pinching advice from CCr's would be appreciated.:p

 

Hey, Jennifer...right there with ya on this one. It's been a while ago, but there was a great thread about this very topic on the "special interests-single cruisers" board. If it's still there, it's worth a look! :cool:

[Quincella]

I think that most of us are probably in the same place. I do have three booked right now, but I happened to have a couple of small, unexpected bonuses that made it possible. After my Thanksgiving '06 cruise, there probably won't be another one for quite some time.

 

This makes me wonder, though...couldn't most of us cruise (or any other "luxury") more often if we were willing to make more sacrifices of other things? Eating out, new clothes, premium cable...these things all add up. If we really wanted to vacation instead, we could probably do so more often if we gave up other stuff. Not everyone, of course, but probably more of us than we think.

[Wennfred]

Hello everyone. I notice when I look through posts, some folks have soooo many cruises in their signature, sometimes a few a year. I am JEALOUS! We haven't cruised since 2001 and we are still having to be thrifty:confused: Am I the only one on Cruise Critics this is financially challenged! lol

 

A few things to how I can go more then once a year.

 

1. We dont smoke, I guess Smoking could take a good chunk of money out of your wallet if youre a heavy smoker.

 

2. We dont go clubbing, just to an ocasional movie and dinner.

 

3. We use a SeaMiles card that allow us to cruise for Free every few years.

 

4. We joined the Carnival Vacation Club so our next 4 to 5 cruises are Prepaid already including 2 for 1 airfare coupons.

 

5. We always book 1a or 4a and get upgraded.

 

6. Lastly we have everything paid off so that the rest of the money can be saved for vacations.