What's up with "penny pinching" travels?

[NLH Arizona]

I believe that everyone travels in a way that they feel is the right way for themselves. I've always been fortunate to travel well and never really thought much about how others travel. But this was all put into perspective on my first trip to Africa back in the early 90's. One of the ladies on the trip started quietly crying when we approached our first pride of lions. Concerned about her, I asked if she was okay and she said that she and her husband had scrimped and saved their whole life (she was in her late 50's), so that she could go to Africa. They didn't have enough saved for both of them to go, so he sacrificed going, so the love of his life could have her dream come true. Never judge anyone, because you don't know their story, because those pennies could have taken a life time to save.

[SadieN]

There's a huge difference between being cheap and being frugal.

 

 

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[lilly2015]

I believe that everyone travels in a way that they feel is the right way for themselves. I've always been fortunate to travel well and never really thought much about how others travel. But this was all put into perspective on my first trip to Africa back in the early 90's. One of the ladies on the trip started quietly crying when we approached our first pride of lions. Concerned about her, I asked if she was okay and she said that she and her husband had scrimped and saved their whole life (she was in her late 50's), so that she could go to Africa. They didn't have enough saved for both of them to go, so he sacrificed going, so the love of his life could have her dream come true. Never judge anyone, because you don't know their story, because those pennies could have taken a life time to save.

What a beautiful and sad Story at the same time and something to keep in mind...

 

Thanks for sharing!

[paul929207]

I couldn't agree more.

How many times do I see a thread on CC, where the poster demands some special itinerary or special treatment, but then balks when he finds out it will cost him extra.

It's absolutely amazing how ignorant people can ignore basic logic and math.

LOL. I guess you noticed that the shoe might fit someone.

[NMLady]

I just want to start this thread by saying I am by NO means a rich person. FAR from it!!! But when I travel I want to get the most out of it! Not to say you have to spend $1,000's and some of the best sights are free. But I have seen/heard of many people trying to save money when they are traveling. Flying in on the same day as when a cruise leaves, eating only at food from a gas station, not doing any of the optional excursions on a group tour, etc.

I'm a really cheap person in my regular life so that I can travel the world and splurge when over seas! Doesn't seem to make sense to travel and THEN be cheap....hhhmmmm....

 

That is your philosophy, desire, and practice. Fine. But why be judgmental simply because some others do not subscribe to that philosophy.

[spookyfudge]

OK, let me point out a few of the ill considered examples you've made. It's insulting and ignorant to assume it's only about money.

 

-Flying in the same day - not everyone is retired or has the luxury of extensive vacation time. Some people have obligations that can't be shrugged off. Yes, flying or driving into the embarkation port is ideal, but not always possible.

 

- Eating at gas stations. I'm going to assume you're talking about drivers here. If you've got a long days drive, why make it longer by a prolonged restaurant meal. We've taken a few driving trips where grabbing a sandwich and drink at a gas stop was all we wanted, and saved us an hour,. It's not always about the money. Heck, we've even (gasped) been known to pack a picnic lunch that we've eaten at a rest stop. Not to save money, but for the fresh air.

 

-not doing optional excursions. Why would I pay the exorbitant fees for ship excursions that are usually crowded with too many people? I can find my own excursion from a local provider that will not only be the same or similar, for a lower price, but I won't have to put up with 50 other people on a huge bus. Or I can just do my own thing. Go and spend a day at a fabulous beach or a favorite museum and do things at my own pace, not at one set to accommodate someone else. I'm spending my money on what I want to do, the way I want to do it.

 

Not everyone drinks alcohol; or they drink very little. Why buy a booze package that they will get little value from. And believe it or not, there actually are people who are completely content with the offerings in the MDR, and don't feel a need to dine in the specialty restaurants.

 

And there are also some people who have to scrimp and save for years just to take one cruise. And they still have to be careful with their spending once on board.

 

We feel privileged that we can travel frequently without having to "pinch pennies". But we certainly are not going to disparage those folks who are trying to make the best with what they have. What would you like to see - some kind of bank account scrutiny before someone is allowed to board? Frankly I find the whole tone of your post arrogant. Feel free to vacation in the manner you prefer. But extend the same courtesy to your fellow travellers. Not every experience is determined by the amount of money you spend on it.

 

Well said, I hate elitist snobs who are so opinionated!

Edited August 28, 2017 by spookyfudge

[Grandma Dazzles]

I believe that everyone travels in a way that they feel is the right way for themselves. I've always been fortunate to travel well and never really thought much about how others travel. But this was all put into perspective on my first trip to Africa back in the early 90's. One of the ladies on the trip started quietly crying when we approached our first pride of lions. Concerned about her, I asked if she was okay and she said that she and her husband had scrimped and saved their whole life (she was in her late 50's), so that she could go to Africa. They didn't have enough saved for both of them to go, so he sacrificed going, so the love of his life could have her dream come true. Never judge anyone, because you don't know their story, because those pennies could have taken a life time to save.

 

What a beautiful story. Makes you stop and think - sometimes life is not as simple as you assume. Thanks for sharing.

 

Since my husband's death a few years ago I have cruised solo, but in many ways feel he is with me. Vacations/cruises are not about how much you spend - they are about making memories.

[bUU]

How many times do I see a thread on CC, where the poster demands some special itinerary or special treatment, but then balks when he finds out it will cost him extra. It's absolutely amazing how ignorant people can ignore basic logic and math.

Yes, unfounded entitlement is much more common these days. While economy and deluxe are both reasonable approaches, expecting what deluxe offers for the economy price is downright irrational.

 

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[Robinsoncruiseso]

We have two types of vacations. Those for which we budget (put money in savings, skip the double mocha latte, buy generic) and those which we call "get-aways". You will find us perhaps in a deluxe balcony, enjoying a drink and dinner in a specialty restaurant if it was a planned and budgeted vacation. However, if we book a quick three night cruise, you will see us bringing on our own pop, mixing drinks in our cabin from our gratis mini bar and showing up prompt for dinner in the MDR. On these types of cruises, our shipboard balance at the end is simply for our gratuities, and perhaps there is a credit due to the OBC. So those that seem to be scrimping on their cruise...might actually be scrimping, for one reason or another.

[OCruisers]

Have to admit .... I do often wonder why people pick what is the "least expensive" rather than what they would "enjoy more" that's only somewhat more expensive? :confused: ?

Edited August 28, 2017 by OCruisers

[GUT2407]

My spend on a cruise (not including fare) has ranged from under $10 to thousands of dollars dependson time of year (Christmas Mrs Gut is likely to lash out on some presents) purpose if the cruise (a real one off v a quick getaway) itinerary, and let's be frank how my finances are (I'm self employed, if things have been a bit slower on the cash flow than we had expected well we tighten up on spending, if they've been unexpectedly good we might lash out)

[slidergirl]

I've been on both sides of the spending curve. When I was married, we did some very nice vacations, staying at 4 and 5 star properties in the US, Mexico, Caribbean, and Europe. We were never joiners, so we always DIY around. But, we stayed well and ate well and had fun. We were comfy enough with his salary that I was able to "retire" early. Well, come my mid 50s and my now-ex trades me in on a younger "model." I got screwed like a propeller on a ship (like that one?) in the divorce and I had to go back to work. I was out of date in the IT/Networking business, so I got in to Hospitality. The pay is poor. I've got a mortgage and bills. My pay barely covers that. When I was working for international brands, I could still enjoy those trips because of the very generous employee rates. When I first became solo, I decided to take a couple of my bucket list trips because I had a little money left from the divorce and I wanted to do them before I became too old to go it alone. Now, I work for a non-chain boutique hotel. No employees rates around the world. I keep thinking of a vacation, then I look at hotel and B&B rates and say, not this year. It's not being cheap. It's deciding what you can do and what you can afford and what you can live with...

[Silver Sweethearts]

And I know that even though I'm part of the older generation I'm affected by it as well. Where before I might have focused a bit more on what car I was driving or what jewelry I had now none of that really matters to me at all and my focus is on what experiences I can enjoy in the time I have left. That prompts me to reserve a balcony cabin; it prompts me to choose a bit more of a deluxe itinerary and perhaps even more upscale excursions.

 

Amen to that, and something not often fully appreciated/understood by those of a younger age.

[bUU]

Have to admit .... I do often wonder why people pick what is the "least expensive" rather than what they would "enjoy more" that's only somewhat more expensive? :confused: ?

All you need to do is look at how airline travel has progressed from comfortable to less comfortable to less comfortable to less comfortable to downright uncomfortable and Beyond. That shows very clearly how consumers have repeatedly rewarded the lowest price without any significant regard for lowering of standards.

 

Amen to that, and something not often fully appreciated/understood by those of a younger age.

Though the younger generation now seems to be much more following that ethic even though they're still of the younger age.

 

 

 

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[DirtyDawg]

In economics they call is Utility, the satisfaction an individual gets from an activity or a purchase. One person might get a great deal of Utility from purchasing a fancy coffee for $5 while another person will not, so that person will bot pay $5 for the fancy coffee. They are not being cheap, the coffee is not worth $5 to them while it is worth $5 to someone else. Last year when we were in Cancun we took a private plane tour of the Mayan ruins rather than spend the day in a bus or van getting there and back. The tour was triple the price of the most expensive land tour but it had great Utility for us, i.e. it was worth the money for us. We would rather wonder a new city by ourselves rather than take an organized tour not because it might be cheaper but because we get more satisfaction, Utility, from wondering around. The constant here is we don't get much Utility from sitting in a bus. ;)

[Strophic]

I'm just a couple of years out of college, so we do what we can with what we have. I have to admit though that the very premise of this thread is kind of ridiculous. Other people spending less on their cruise doesn't affect you, so why would you be bothered by it? Do you go down to the lower decks of each ship and loudly sigh as you pass by all of the inside cabins because those people didn't splurge on a balcony?

[bUU]

I have to admit though that the very premise of this thread is kind of ridiculous. Other people spending less on their cruise doesn't affect you, so why would you be bothered by it?

While I admit that the premise of the thread is ridiculous, other people's purchasing behaviors do affect you; specifically, they affect your future choices.

 

No one has legitimate standing to second-guess the bargain-hunting behaviors of those who always chose the absolute lowest airfare available, without regard to what the airline was doing to justify to investors offering flights as such low price-points. The end-result of the almost-39 years since deregulation is a much more egalitarian airline product catalog, but one offering a much lesser on-board experience for the vast majority, and a much lesser on-board experience even for a majority of those who still could have afforded air travel prior to deregulation. Again, the complaint is not legitimate, but elitists would be accurate in claiming that their travel experience has been degraded by way of making air travel more accessible to a broader range of air traveler.

 

The same mechanics apply in the cruise industry. On the Holland America board, especially, I note many people bemoaning how things have changed. I take them at their implied word that they could, today, have afforded to cruise on Holland America had it not be affected by how other travelers on Holland America have driven the cruise line to trade-off lower-than-inflation price increases for cost-reductions. Given that, they're surely getting a lesser experience on their chosen brand. Could they get that old, superior product elsewhere? Sure. (Regent Seven Seas, for example.) But just like air travel, that superior product (analogous to airlines' first class) is significantly more expensive than what they would have been paying if things never changed on Holland America.

[DirtyDawg]

While I admit that the premise of the thread is ridiculous, other people's purchasing behaviors do affect you; specifically, they affect your future choices. No one has legitimate standing to second-guess the bargain-hunting behaviors of those who always chose the absolute lowest airfare available, without regard to what the airline was doing to justify to investors offering flights as such low price-points. The end-result of the almost-39 years since deregulation is a much more egalitarian airline product catalog, but one offering a much lesser on-board experience for the vast majority, and a much lesser on-board experience even for a majority of those who still could have afforded air travel prior to deregulation. Again, the complaint is not legitimate, but elitists would be accurate in claiming that their travel experience has been degraded by way of making air travel more accessible to a broader range of air traveler.

 

However if airlines did not degrade air travel and expand their market would they even be in business today? Perhaps the elitists should thank the unwashed herds now filling up the back of all those planes. ;)

[bUU]

However if airlines did not degrade air travel and expand their market would they even be in business today?

If the industry had never been deregulated, then surely the industry would still be in business today.

[iancal]

We travel on value. Usually twice a year, 6-8 weeks per trip. We have no issue with spending but do it carefully and buy travel on value. That means a five star hotel in Bangkok but perhaps a nice B&B in Rome. We use Priceline and Hotwire for some areas. We typically buy cruises inside the final payment window-sometimes as little as a week or so out and often when we are also on a land trip. We buy air 90 days out, sometimes 10 days out. We don't skimp and we do what we want. But we want the best value always. We find the trick is to know what is a good price and not pay any attention to the stated percentage off. A few years ago we did an African Safari. Booking in with a local agent was far too expensive. We researched and found a local agent in South Africa. Similar product for half the price. All we had to do was email and skype the SA agent. We also travel on currency fluctuations. When the euro was low and economies were poor we did lots of land travel and cruising in Europe.

 

We are not interested in Hawaii or Florida any more. Or for that matter the Caribbean. So we travel to SE Asia or Central America in the winter. More enjoyable for us, much better value for our travel dollar. We don't aimlessly stick with one cruise line because of some false sense of loyalty. We never take a cruise line excursion. Not because of price. We find that private tours are much better, smaller groups, and typically less money. Same with cruise line hotels and transfers.

Edited August 28, 2017 by iancal

[cowboygene]

I've eaten "gas station" food from WaWa and Sheetz and it's better quality that the budget cut offerings from the cruise line

[bUU]

Apparently, the magic for getting good food on a cruise is to take videos of the food, since about 90% of the YouTube videos from cruise ship dining rooms depict a family tucking into the food served and gushing about how great it is.

[SantaFeFan]

I'm just a couple of years out of college, so we do what we can with what we have. I have to admit though that the very premise of this thread is kind of ridiculous. Other people spending less on their cruise doesn't affect you, so why would you be bothered by it? Do you go down to the lower decks of each ship and loudly sigh as you pass by all of the inside cabins because those people didn't splurge on a balcony?

 

Actually, those people do affect us. It is the most basic aspect of economics. The cruise line requires a certain level of revenue to continue staying viable as a company. If the revenue stream is decreased by too many people making fewer purchases of extras offered, which are the main source of profit revenue for the company, then prices will have to be raised to meet those revenue goals. This could happen in the form of higher prices for those extras, forcing those who do purchase those extras to pay more. Or in the form of higher cruise fares, which would force everyone to pay more, including the frugal customers. When those prices go up, we are indeed affected.

 

As for your sarcasm regarding people looking down their noses at the people in the inside cabins, it should be noted that the trend in the last couple of decades has been to offer a larger percentage of balcony cabins and fewer and fewer insides. That shift in cabin availability has been to not only meet the increasing demand for balcony cabins, but also to increase revenue to keep fare costs lower for all passengers. Those frugal inside cabin passengers are in effect having part of their cruise subsidized by those of us who will spend more money for those extras that they avoid.

 

Cruises today are much less expensive than cruises thirty or forty years ago when inflation is factored in, something someone like me who has been out of college much longer than your two years has experienced. ;)

Edited August 28, 2017 by SantaFeFan

[iancal]

Are you actually suggesting that we spend more, buy things that we don't want, or pay well above the odds for items on cruise ships in order to keep the base fares down????

 

We typically buy a balcony. But we really don't find many ways to spend money on the ship. Not interested in art auctions, duty free sales, spend very little in the casino and bars, and never take a ship sponsored excursion. We already help the industry by buying cabin space that may otherwise go empty.

 

From our perspective cruising is simply another travel option that competes with many other travel options. It is us to the vendor to build and offer a competitive product that is attractive to us.

[bUU]

Are you actually suggesting that we spend more, buy things that we don't want, or pay well above the odds for items on cruise ships in order to keep the base fares down????

I hope that poster wasn't suggesting that, but the reality is that those of us who don't (for another example) go to the casino and lose loads of money are being to some extent subsidized by those who do. Passengers can, if they wish, take advantage only of what is essentially the "loss leaders" offered by the cruise ship, the included food and entertainment, but the business model of the cruise ship could not withstand a consistent, major contingent of such passengers.

 

It is us to the vendor to build and offer a competitive product that is attractive to us.

Of course, and there's nothing wrong with what you're suggesting. However, at the same time, that does affect other passengers, in the way SantaFeFan and I have outlined. They have no legitimate grievance, but they are being adversely affected by how we cruise.