How do you afford to cruise so much??

[Pwknox]

I know this is random but I'm a newbie to the crusing way of life....I've read a lot of posts and see some people take 3/4/5 if not more cruises a year.

 

My question is how do people afford so much? I'm married, active duty enlisted and am no way loaded lol we live in guam so the closest port is Singapore/Hong Kong.

 

Any suggestions would be great!

 

Thanks

[afzeluches123]

I know this is random but I'm a newbie to the crusing way of life....I've read a lot of posts and see some people take 3/4/5 if not more cruises a year.

 

My question is how do people afford so much? I'm married, active duty enlisted and am no way loaded lol we live in guam so the closest port is Singapore/Hong Kong.

 

Any suggestions would be great!

 

Thanks

This one intrigues me also.

I guess that for some people who live by the port and are able to get last minute deals its cheaper than a vacation in a hotel, and its all included plus entertainment and travelling.

I'm addicted to cruising also, ever since we first cruised about 10 years ago, but can afford a cruise about once 2 years or so.

[lazydave]

Yeah we're on our first cruise in 4 weeks, I'm hoping to get hooked :-) and if it is that good I'll be looking at one a year

 

Cheers

Lazy Dave

[aussielozzie18]

I think if you are retired or just able to cruise any time of the year, then you can get some really cheap rates in the "off-season". Also, if you don;t get seasick and you are happy to have a cabin anywhere on the cruise ship, then you can get some real bargains that way too.

[evelyn51]

I think if you are retired or just able to cruise any time of the year, then you can get some really cheap rates in the "off-season". Also, if you don;t get seasick and you are happy to have a cabin anywhere on the cruise ship, then you can get some real bargains that way too.

 

 

And if you're a Floridian.. . Well! ;)

 

As a Canadian travel to a port $$!

[help04me]

I know this is random but I'm a newbie to the crusing way of life....I've read a lot of posts and see some people take 3/4/5 if not more cruises a year.

 

My question is how do people afford so much? I'm married, active duty enlisted and am no way loaded lol we live in guam so the closest port is Singapore/Hong Kong.

 

Any suggestions would be great!

Thanks

I cruise 2 times a year spring break and fall during no peak times . I always book really early most of the time a year in advance and always watch for price reductions . I wait for true sales and always book guaranteed interior cabins because as long as I am on the ship I am on vacation.last but not least I pay myself 200 to 300$ a month just like a normal bill because I have come to the conclusion that life is way too short. good luck and happy cruising

[avalon007]

We are not retired or even close & didn't get any deals like they do in the US.

 

We live about a 7 hour drive from Sydney & have to pay to park our car & for a hotel in Sydney the night prior.

 

We did 4 cruises last year. A total of 48 days at sea plus 5 days on a cruise/tour land portion.

We prefer balcony cabins so only save with our C&A balcony discount not because of cabin type.

 

But, we are self employed so can travel when ever it suits us & we choose to spend our money on travel, we don't smoke, we don't eat out a lot or buy take away, we grow some of our vegies etc, so if you save some $ every week it adds up.

 

Also our car is not the latest model, we have a small mortgage etc etc.

 

It's about choosing were you spend your money, some people prefer to have every latest gadget, mobile phones with locked in contracts they don't really need, new cars & so on, we prefer to travel.

 

Also how often we travel depends on what work comes in, in a good year we travel more, 2013 was a good year! :D

Edited February 7, 2014 by avalon007
clarification

[ChipLondon]

We are not Floridian, we do not live near any port that we would want to cruise from, nor are we retired with any chance of taking last minute deals. BUT

 

I do have my own Stocking Mask and as yet have not run out of friendly bank cashiers that choose to give me money when I smile at them.:eek:

 

No seriously, we have a policy in life of "Work Hard, Play Harder" :D

 

 

 

.

Edited February 7, 2014 by ChipLondon

[Miryam1234]

 

It's about choosing were you spend your money, some people prefer to have every latest gadget, mobile phones with locked in contracts they don't really need, new cars & so on, we prefer to travel.

:D

 

I could not agree more. If you have average living standards (I mean you do have work and not extensively large family or anything other life related restricting issues), it is about choosing.

 

We choose to live in an apartment - not a house. We choose our cars not to be latest models. We choose not to overspend into shopping & restaurants.

 

Likewise; we also choose to travel! We spent almost 2 months last year traveling, one of the trips was a Med cruise.

 

My sister has similar situation in life, but she chooses to concentrate on collecting inheritance to her children (just a little exaggerated). She always asks, how we can afford traveling. I keep telling her, its a choise I knowingly make in my life. She could do it too, if she would want to. If not, that's her choise.

[fishtaco]

Financial security and Job security helps a lot! lol

 

Cruising these days is a very very economical vacation for all ages just not all people realize it:)

 

Diversity in vacation choice can lead to less cruises.

 

Every Vacation I take now includes a cruise and it has done since 2007.

 

We have a trip planned to USA from Australia this year and wouldnt dream of not including a cruise into that trip same as last trip.

 

You are lucky! USA cruises are cheap as chips lol, if I lived in The States I would be dripping Concierge benefits and adding "Platinum/Diamond" privileges to every post I made and I am just a Bricklayer lol :D:D:D

 

Hotel costs plus food on land well exceeds the same at sea:)

[trev71]

Either they make a ton of money or interierted it. DW and I cruise once a year. We save up for it each month. Mainly by cutting back on going on day night trips.. I could never imagine 3-4-5.. Maybe if i didnt have a mortage :)

[PattyG12]

We are not retired nor do we live close to a port. We try to cruise twice a year. We used to take the kids to the beach once a summer and we used to do a bunch of outside stuff. Now the kids are grown. We have slowed down our lifestyle now and we look forward to each of our cruises. I spend the other 49-50 weeks per year saving for our next one!

[larka]

My wife and I cruise several times a year. Seven years ago we quit smoking. Every month the money we would spend on cigarettes goes into savings automatically. It adds up quickly. Also, we don t eat out too often or go out drinking so this is our entertainment and relaxation. Bon Voyage.

[seaofwonder]

We cruise 2-3x per year and do a few land based trips. We can only travel during the holidays (most expensive times) and don't live in Florida. We're not retired and not rich. We are typically booked into balconies or junior suites.

 

We don't drink, do drugs, and I don't smoke.

 

However, we don't do anything when we're at home. We eat out a few times a month, but don't really go to movies or go out and spend money. We are basically hermits but that allows us to funnel all of our disposable income to travel.

 

Another big one is that we don't have kids. That's a few cruises right there, lol.

 

After taking care of retirements contributions, I would estimate that about 25-30% of our income goes to travel.

 

It's really all about priorities in life. If travel is a priority, then you can make it happen. It's my "hobby" and passion.

 

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

Edited February 7, 2014 by seaofwonder

[NorbertsNiece]

I typically book over a year out and set up a savings plan based on the number of weeks until final payment. As one final payment is reached I start saving for the next cruise on the bucket list. As a solo traveller it's a huge endeavour as there are fewer deals out there these days and my bucket list is taking me further afield.... and let's not talk air fare.....

[Karma5]

We cruise 2-3x per year and do a few land based trips. We can only travel during the holidays (most expensive times) and don't live in Florida. We're not retired and not rich. We are typically booked into balconies or junior suites.

 

We don't drink, do drugs, and I don't smoke.

 

However, we don't do anything when we're at home. We eat out a few times a month, but don't really go to movies or go out and spend money. We are basically hermits but that allows us to funnel all of our disposable income to travel.

 

Another big one is that we don't have kids. That's a few cruises right there, lol.

 

After taking care of retirements contributions, I would estimate that about 25-30% of our income goes to travel.

 

It's really all about priorities in life. If travel is a priority, then you can make it happen. It's my "hobby" and passion.

 

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

 

Very well said……………….

[Katie333]

We cruise once or twice a year (generally twice if we are doing the Caribbean routes). We could swing a third if we wanted to, but my DH feels it won't be special if we go too often. I agree with the other posters who indicate it's about choices.

 

We don't live a fancy lifestyle, and we funnel our extra savings into cruising. We also book our cruises 1-2 years in advance, leverage cheap or prepaid deposits and then save up the funds.

 

It's also about how much you spend on the cruise itself, I mean while cruising (though getting a good deal on the fares help too!). We cruise balcony and up so our cabin isn't always the cheapest option, but while we are onboard we can generally avoid the same temptations we do on land. We have yet to pay extra for specialty dining, and don't overindulge in other shipboard costs such as spa, alcohol, onboard shops etc. Our last cruise the cruiseline owed us $8 at the end!

[Tyler80]

My wife and I cruise every other year. Like others said, we don't smoke, drink, or go out to dinner a lot. We contribute money towards a vacation account each month. It is all about living within your means and not spending more than you make. It really is a simple concept.

[framboesa]

In my situation with what I spend in air fares and pre cruise hotel I could cruise 3 times/year...And normally never get big discounts like in USA...The rules here are different.... :( Unfortunately even with all my savings (and I don't drink, smoke, hair dress, dinning out, expensive clothes...no,no,no...) it's hard to have money to cruise often...But I'm the only one in my group of friends that can afford to cruise maybe 1 time in 2 years (here in Portugal the minimum salary is really....minimum...:mad: ) so I feel blessed to have this opportunity :)

[mommabean]

Some people here are headed in the right direction. For full details, read Dave Ramsey's book, The Total Money Makeover. For you younger people, "live like no on else now, so you can live like no one else later". Once you read the book, you'll understand. It's available to read for free from any library.

 

It works. Both parties in a relationship must be committed to the plan.

 

Gina

[sparky-elpaso]

We're retired and since we're working on our "bucket list" we cruise once every 18 months or so - have to stretch the time out because we're taking longer cruises. Like most people are saying we have a 10 year old car, made sure when we bought our house the payments weren't huge, don't eat out a lot, etc. Our one "extra" is a gym membership - although it's only $35 a month for both of us.

 

On the other hand, our son teases us and tells us we're spending his "inheritance". :D Told him he (and his brother) have good jobs so they can make their own inheritance.

[papaflamingo]

I know this is random but I'm a newbie to the crusing way of life....I've read a lot of posts and see some people take 3/4/5 if not more cruises a year.

 

My question is how do people afford so much? I'm married, active duty enlisted and am no way loaded lol we live in guam so the closest port is Singapore/Hong Kong.

 

Any suggestions would be great!

 

Thanks

 

First, I'm old. I didn't cruise until I was 47 (1998). Since then the rates have dropped incredibly. You (OP) are likely still relatively young ("active duty enlisted"). I am retired military, an airline pilot, over 55, and live in Ga. So I am eligible for Military, Interline, Senior, and Resident discounts. Plus I have no kids at home and am at the twilight of my career with time and enough income to afford it. Not so when I was young.

We don't cruise at the "high season." As a pilot I can adjust my days off and combine them with vacation to get the time off. I get free flights so getting to the port is no problem (other than getting on the plane as a standby). I get great hotel discounts due to my retired military and my airline status.

But it's just a great deal. We have done inside cabins as cheap as $350 per person for a 7 night cruise! Where can you vacation in the Caribbean for 7 nights for just $50 per day per person for all food, entertainment, room?

We have reached Diamond Plus. We now get an additional discount plus, and this is big, free happy hour from 5pm to 8:30 on the ship. The happy hour probably saves us a minimum of $250 dollars if you figure 2 drinks each and an average of $8 per drink.

Last, we book well in advance then watch for drops. We save up over the months. Then when a great deal comes up, we will book a second or even third cruise.

But you are young and have plenty of time. Use your military discount, find a cruise line you like and build "status," cruise in the off times, and when you get to our age, you'll find you are also cruising 2 or 3 times a year.

[surfclam2003]

We used to book suites and balconies then realized we don't spend time in cabin except to sleep and dress. We switched to inside cabins save money so we can do 2-3 a year.

 

We also watch for price drops once we book our cruise.

[BND]

We didn't start cruising til our two boys were in college. DH and I started out going once/year, and then in our 5th year we took 2 and we decided we like that. So, we go spring and fall and we don't have to worry about school vacations etc. I earn 5 weeks of leave a year and DH earns 4. As I tell some who ask, we jut choose to spend our money differently than others do. We have neighbors who drive BMW's and Lexus'. We drive Toyota and Honda. We usually eat out once per week, while we know plenty who eat out 4-5 times per week. We always book suites because we love having a balcony and the space (and a tub instead of those stupid tube showers:rolleyes:). There's also the fact that there will always be those that have more disposable income than others. I was a SAHM for 14 years and we could barely afford 4 days at Ocean City back then, so we've chosen to vacation by cruising now. Most of the people we have met on cruises who cruise a lot are retired with nice retirement incomes.

Edited February 7, 2014 by BND

[cruisinck]

Here's our story. DH and I live in S Florida so yes we have 4 ports we can go out of. We are not retired but DH has been with his job for over 25 years and has a position the gives him 6 weeks vacation a year. I also work full time but am able to take time off with out pay when I want. All four of our children are out of the house and we have no outstanding debt. DH is over 55 so we are able to get senior and FLA discounts. We choosing cruising as our vacations as it gets my husband away from work. DH does travel quite a bit for work so when I find a good deal we usually jump on it.