How do you do it?

[Gone Cruising]

I was spending $5.00 per day on a coffee w/tip, to get me going every day. Do the math, $5 x lets say 340 days = $ 1,700. This is how I convinced my wife we could afford it. I started cutting out things in my life I really didn't need. Like going out as much with friends or dinners, we just invite them over. They think were crazy and obsessed with cruising:p , but then again, they have never been on one and probably never will,:(

( they think it's too expensive even though they drop a couple hundred each weekend going out ):eek:

[pppiglet]

I always tease my DH. For the amount of sushi we eat in a year, we could go on another cruise!

[bubbles1209]

I wish I were rich, would go much much more often! I'm a waitress, my car is 13 years old and paid for. It runs ok, will probably drive it until it won't go anymore. We lease, have the normal bills, phone, cable, water, gas, lights, insurance, 2 loan payments. I manage to pay off the monthly bills by the 18th of each month. That leaves the rest of the month as clear money. Cruise money. From Feb, until June of this year, I managed to put up over $2300 for spending money. We used our tax refund to pay for the cruise. It was the first cruise I had ever been on in my life, and I promise, not the last. We are hoping to take a 5 day in Feb, and then another 7 day in the summer. I'm already in the process of saving money, and checking out deals. I'm hoping for us to go the week of valentine's day. If by chance something comes up and the trip doesn't work out, just more spending money for the next cruise in the summer.:D I figure if I can do it, I know people with more income than what I make can do it easily, if they really wanted to. Those that don't, they have no clue what they are missing. It's like everyone says, you sacrifice things to have what ya really want. We hardly ever go out to eat, or to movies and such. We lease, not own, no property taxes, and when something goes wrong, the owner fixes it, we don't (unless it's something we did, and we are not into tearing things up) so see, we do without what most people do every week, and for the scenery, pics, and memories we got out of this last cruise, it's well worth it, and I don't hesitate to cruise again, for that, I will aways be ready. :)

[gfsmith]

I play online poker to pay for all our cruises, I am getting better so we get to go 2 times a year now.........lol As my poker improves so do our cruises.........;)

 

That being said we also do alot of freebies and surveys to pay for all the extras....gas getting to and from port, parking, tips, food while traveling. We rarly have any out of pocket expenses aside from the casino and ports.

 

I know you guys wanna know "freebies", tell me more. Well since i am unable to mention specific sites, I will tell you this there are alot of sites who will reward you very well for shopping online, and for just clicking on a link.

 

I spend on average 10 minutes a day doing my freebies and DH takes about 20 minutes. DH does spend alot more time doing surveys about 1 hour a day or less sometimes.

 

We have been saving our freebies since January and have...

 

$175 in shell gas cards

$75 in Sonic

$25 in Subway

$23 in Burger King

$10 in Kentucky Fried Chicken

$10 in mcDonalds

 

$325 in cash

 

You don't have to get fast food gift certificates we just choose to get them because they work for us while we are traveling.

 

Sometimes it gets a little tedious but it works for us.

 

We have it down just like artwork, we have been doing this for 7 years now.

 

 

Our first freebie vacation was to Disney World 5 days and 4 days at the beach then down to D.C. for 2 days and PA for 4 days and down to St.louis six flags for 2 days on the way home. the entire trip was paid for by freebies and we came home with $200, but that was a different time and freebies are not near as good as they used to be. now they earn slow, but they still cost nothing.

[nimbex1970]

we keep an ongoing budget on excell each month of our expenses...everything down to the penny. Included with expenses, savings and retirement.... you can see where all your money goes... down to hair, nails, clothes, birthdays, beer food. gas ect.

 

so we cut down on some, added a cruise headline and cruise twice a year now, usually with the kids.

 

this year only exception of one... a huge move down south cut our available vacation time... but going to shoot for three next year to compensate for my withdrawl:D tyring to squeeze a december one in... ya never know.

[Drew's Wife]

For us, I guess it just comes down to counting our many Blessings. Drew is retired Military, so the discount helps, we live within driving distance of several ports, so no airfare. Fortunate enough to be able to book assigned suites, but I still pay on them monthly till they are payed in full, and even go ahead and pay the gratuities so that I don't have to worry about that on my card later. Also, like one of the other poster said there are other ways to save money on cruises, the excursions, the casino, and the liquor, these can really all add up. These are all things that just don't appeal to us. Nothing wrong with them, just not our cup of tea. We just like to do the short cruise to have time to be together. I'm sure there are lots of other ways to save to get that cruise you want to take. You will love it and always be preparing for your next cruise!

[lhall85917]

I have never paid attention and realized the group cruises were only $25.00 down. Cool, so I will check on those.

 

I have done stuff from yard sales to ebay to cruise $$. Even thought of a part time job for a short time. We are lucky that we live close enough to the port and can drive, so we don't have to pay to fly.

 

Great topic!!

 

Not all group cruises are $25 down, but many are - especially those offered on Cruise Critic!! The $25 deposit is for a limited period right when the group is first booked, so you need to catch them early. For example (blatant plug - sorry) our Legend cruise for next June just got pricing last week and the $25 deposit is good until Aug. 4. This would be a great one for those of you trying to catch that low deposit price!! :D

 

Moving on to the post, also check out some credit cards that offer cash back, travel miles, etc. We don't live close enough to drive easily to most cruise docks so we plan in advance and put our itinerary in one of the online fare watchers. We get email alerts when airline prices go down for our dates and can watch for the best airfare. This year we went from Cincinnati to Hawaii for $347 round trip each, this combined with a group cruise rate and $1000 off from our credit card made our cruise very affordable!! We also watched prices and when we saw a price drop, called our TA and got the price reduction saving another $350 :D

 

Your best advice - watch these boards, ask questions, plan ahead and shop around!!

[RWolver672]

I retired from a seven day a week factory job in 1996. I then went out and got a five day a week job. My pension check is automatically depostied into a savings account. I opened a separate account just for cruising. Each month, $200 is deposited in the cruise account before any money goes into the regular savings account. We never touch it for anything but cruises. It gives us a balcony on the Panorama deck every other year and spending money to boot.

[zebra36]

I doubt Bill Gates or Warren Buffet post here but there is probably a good cross section here wealth-wise. As noted some save and go without while others can just write a check or charge it without any worry. Hopefully all of us will be in the later category some day.

[adbnva]

i like cruises but i like other vacations also. we don't sail in the summer because it is wilder (kids & teenagers) & more expensive. we are going 2 times this year (sept 5 day) & day in dec. if we vacation in summer it's beach, but this year we took a bus trip around canada. we loved it. i work in the winter (gives us traveling money) so we try a spring all-inclusive to treat ourselves completely decadent. we don't care for flying anymore so we usually drive. that limits us. we try to stay where we can park while we

cruise. that saves parking fees. we live in va so rcl will be in norfolk in 07, so we will go to bermuda next yr. we usually book inside. we don't a butler @ home so don't need one on the ship. we have not booked w/an internet service but they seem to have good deals.

[CeleBrat]

I am the ultimate bargain shopper--including cruises! Recenty, I have been able to find GREAT deal that have allowed our family of four (2 kids) to cruise for 7 days for $1400--TOTAL! You just have to scour the internet for those deals.

 

We generally cruise twice per year--and right now I am already searching for a cruise for next spring.

 

Oh--and we book inside cabins. Sometimes, we get an upgrade, sometimes not. But either way, we're on a CRUISE!

 

CeleBrat

[SantanaTto]

We also watch what we spend on the cruise itself... We learned after the first one or two cruises that there is no need to play every bingo (we only play the last one which is the biggest pot anyway) We don't book shore excursions on the ship, we know now that each port has plenty of taxis and buses to take you wherever you might want to go for half the price. We are not big drinkers so that helps keep the tab down..

 

I've learned that my own pictures come out just as good as theirs and skip buying all of the photos..maybe just one each cruise.

 

Now, if I could only keep away from the casino !!!!

[jenjens1023]

Just got the estimate for DD's braces and two rounds of oral surgery. There's two cruises down the drain:(

[britishiles]

I have only been on 2 cruises, with the 3rd at the end of August this year, but I don't plan on stopping.

 

The first year I got a great price because my mom bought some sort of a time share in Branson, MO and they gave her a discounted cruise for two that she gave us.

 

Last year we planned way ahead and got a great price. In fact we were fully paid 8 months in advance.

 

This year we had decided that we probably would get to go because my company was sold and the new company had different vacation criteria (had to accrue before spending vacation time). But then we got $1000 bonus for sticking with the company through the sale and that clinched it. Balcony celebrating our 15 year anniversary.

[LHP]

Just got the estimate for DD's braces and two rounds of oral surgery. There's two cruises down the drain:(

 

Know what you mean. Our special needs child has to have even fillings done under anesthesia in the hospital. $5,000 to fill 3 teeth. Thank goodness for dental insurance. It still costs us $350.00, but that is way better than $5,000.00.

[PADutchman]

Good retirement plan, 25 years with Military and 25 with the DOD. Earned that retirement. Now its travel and fun time at least 3 or 4 times a year. If you play mouse potato you can find some really good cruise prices if you can go anytime. We like spring and fall for cruiseing.

[time4agetaway]

We rent a small 2BR/2BA house. We decided that right now, our vacations are important. (Average house price here is $470,000). Plus, we don't eat out and spend as little as possible.....we make our own coffee, take lunch to work and our children know that gifts come at birthdays and holidays.

 

We also set aside some money each month to pay for the cruise. Looking for good deals and using entertainment coupons for $100 off the cabins help. (Guarantee booking is also a great way to pay for a lesser room and get an upgrade!)

 

We have learned to be satisfied with what we have and not try to live above our means.

[wercruzin]

We use to be a pay-check to pay-check family. I knew I loved cruising, but DW was nervous.. until her 2000 trip.. she was hooked. In the past we have tried to go every 3 years or so.. but recently by getting our debt ration right (for a change). we are able to put a few dollars up every paycheck. Not much, but it is going to make the deposit when we find the cruise we want.. Our tax refund got invested and grew some, and that is going to pay the balance, and the souvineer money (for the 4 of us).. next year will be the same thing!!

 

Our motto now is "Debt off.. Cruise ON!!" and it is keeping us motivated.. if nothing changes by July '07 we will turn into a two cruise a year family!!! :D

[CJDore]

I do things a little different from the board I guess. I usually book the cruise no more than 30 days out. I plan a weeks vacation in advance and am open to the Ship I will sail on (within limits of course). I then check online for best deals and then give a couple of my favorite vacation planners a call. They usually beat the on line price.

 

While packing, I always slip in a few (or more) bottles of wine in my luggage for then room. On the first island stop I load the bar in my beach bag...booze is veeeeery cheap on the islands (Absolute Vodka= $8/ltr). Then at poolside I have a water bottle filled with absolute which mixes well with fruit juices that are available at poolside for free. This probably saves me $500 in bar costs on a 7 day trip;) .

[Mamanance]

CJDore you're my type of cruiser.

[jsmeeker]

Just plan them and go. It really doesn't have to be any different than any other vacation. Some people choose to cruise, others choose to do something else.

 

My first (and only so far) cruise was one of my first real vacations in a long, long time. I really didn't even plan it. The right things happened at the right time, I had some down time at work, my manager encouraged me to take a week off, so I just deicded on a cruise. This was only 5-6 weeks in advance. It was great.

 

Recently, I've been taking more vacations. Going places, visiting friends, going places with a bunch of friends. I just got back from Las Vegas. Took a whole week off (5 days) from work. Could I have cruised? Oh, yeah. And I could have done it for much less money. At the start of the year, I took another whoel week off to go to San Francisco. Could I have cruised? Yeah, I could have.

 

So, really, it's just about choices on how you spend your vacation dollar. I would love to take a cruise again, but I don't regret any of the other trips I've taken instead of cruises. They are always a blast.

 

For me to cruise again, I need to find someone (or someones) to go with. That's probably the biggest hurdle right now (being a single guy and all). The hardest part of clearing that hurdle is finding friends who would be interested in the same thing as me. I prefer a longer cruise [7 days] on a newer ship and in a blacony cabin. Some people simply want the cheapest possible one (short cruise, older ship, inside stateroom). Just gotta find someone with the same "agenda".

 

So, really, crusing every year is really doable. Heck, if I wanted to, I could cruise twice a year. Time isn't the issue for me, nor is the money to do it. (cruising would change either) It's just finding some other people that can do it.

[Wennfred]

How do you all go on so many cruises? Is there some secret? Do you earn cruise miles or something, like air miles? I would really appreciate some "insider information."

 

We use the Carnival SeaMiles Credit Card to earn points and sail for free, also with all of the overtime we do that helps with paying for those cruises. We always book the cheapest cabin to be able to sail twice a year.

 

Fred

[JGB]

Sure money is hard earned and for my family too easily spent. However time is even more problematic. We have had to cancel one cruise already this year and lost 4 deposits. Now I have another booked and fully paid and there are some "if's" connected to this cruise. Brother!

 

John

[Joanportia]

A few years back, I realized that I might only have 20 to 30 vacations left in my life if my health cooperates. Well, that put things into perspective quite quickly!!!! So I work hard to travel usually twice a year, that doubles to 40 to 60 vacations! I do a group cruise once a year and a land vacation once a year. Each has it's own pluses!!! I don't live large by any means. I have been traveling since the age of 6 and have found that it is more meaningful to me than "stuff"!!!!! So I work my butt off and go out rarely but I sure have traveled!!! I think that has made my life very interesting! I would rather talk about St. Maarten than the meal I had at Chili's on Saturday night. Don't get me wrong I like Chili's but St. Maarten and Aruba and the Italian Riviera are so much more interesting, at least for me. So for as long as I can I'll be cruising and traveling.

 

Joan

 

Sail on.......................

[Chexmix]

That being said we also do alot of freebies and surveys to pay for all the extras....gas getting to and from port, parking, tips, food while traveling. We rarly have any out of pocket expenses aside from the casino and ports.

 

GFSMITH - will you please e-mail me at Cruisenews4me @ Aol.com Thanks:)

 

We used to have two houses which equaled two payments. When we sold one of them we put the extra money we made in to savings and then also put the payment amount (every month) in savings as well. It is amazing how much money you can save by cutting things out, cooking at home and searching the internet for great deals.

 

However, I would LOVE to know more ways to save and cruise. I really never enjoyed land vacations. Not sure why just didn't. Now that I have found cruising it is fun to go on vacation.