A return to the "Good old days of cruising"?

[starfamily]

I have not taken advantage of any yet as we still have our son who is 14, the years left with him (sounds like that cats in the cradle song) are short and I would prefer to just pay for my trips and take my comission so that he is included and we vacation as a family.

As for the cape, I finally have talked them out of it since we have gone for ten years now, we are planning something else for july but if you ever want a gorgeous resort Green Harbor on the Ocean in west yarmouth is tops, we are in southampton MA. up in the western area

[weary traveler]

hello then neighbor (of sorts) lol. yeah you'll have plenty of time to do a fam. (they think we have all sorts of vacation time to do these NOT) I applaud your attitude of family vacations.. just be forewarned.. i have an 11 year old grandaughter who's been to WDW 7 times already.. 6 flags in Springfield is no longer an option.. lol.. we create caviar tastes.. lol

good hearing from you.

 

Weary Traveler (just before the bridge on 495)

[starfamily]

hello then neighbor (of sorts) lol. yeah you'll have plenty of time to do a fam. (they think we have all sorts of vacation time to do these NOT) I applaud your attitude of family vacations.. just be forewarned.. i have an 11 year old grandaughter who's been to WDW 7 times already.. 6 flags in Springfield is no longer an option.. lol.. we create caviar tastes.. lol

good hearing from you.

 

Weary Traveler (just before the bridge on 495)

that is too funny! we brought mike to six flags once- I actually worked there as a teenager decades ago when it was still riverside park, anyhow we were in the park all of ten minutes and he said ok when can we leave? After disney six flags is no comparison

[weary traveler]

dont tell me you hung around that bowling alley off the highway as a youngster... lol. yup remember St James Ave verrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrry well.. lol

[starfamily]

goodness we may have met decades ago, back when rollar rinks were safe and mountain park was still open for two dollars a day-

[BruceMuzz]

Fifteen years ago in the so-called "good old days of cruising" you could build a new cruise ship for about $250 million. Today a new cruise ship runs about triple that, at $750 million.

 

Has anyone tried to calculate just the interest payments on a bank loan for $750 million??? Who do you think is paying those interest payments (and the capital loan payments as well)?? Hint: It's not the upgrade fairy.

 

Fifteen years ago you could sail a cruise ship for an entire year on $1 Million worth of fuel. Today you cannot even get through one month for that kind of money. Who do you think is paying for that cost increase??

 

Fifteen years ago I could fly from North America to the Philippines for $500. Today it's $1,000 each way. Now multiply the round trip cost of $2,000 by the 1,000 crewmembers who need to have one or two round trips every year they work on the ship. Who do you think is paying for that?

 

Did you even hire a tug boat to follow you into and out of a US Port? It doesn't matter if you need one or not. Most US Ports force you to do it. In fact most US Ports force you to hire 2 tugboats to get you in and 2 to get you out. They never touch the ship, but you have to pay each one $19,000 per hour - with a 2 hour minimum for each one. That comes to $76,000 coming into port and $76,000 going out. Who do you think is going to pay for that?

 

Did you ever have to hire US Union Stevedores to load your luggage at a US Port? Doesn't matter if you don't want to. You have no choice. The union controls the port. If you want your luggage loaded and unloaded, it must be done by them only. Starting price is $40,000 for the day.

 

Basic cost of parking your cruise ship at the Port of Miami is about $50,000 per 12 hour period. There are many extra incidental charges added to that basic cost. A typical day at Miami will cost the average cruise ship in excess of $100,000.

 

Does anyone still wonder why the cost of cruising is going up?

[BeachBumMama]

Does anyone still wonder why the cost of cruising is going up?

I'm just wondering why I didn't go into the tugboat business.:rolleyes:

 

They never touch the ship, but you have to pay each one $19,000 per hour - with a 2 hour minimum for each one. That comes to $76,000 coming into port and $76,000 going out. Who do you think is going to pay for that?

[Surfgirl]

When the price of crude oil goes up-- so does fuel for our cars, airplanes, ships, etc. Cruise lines are hit with a double whammy-- the cost of diesel goes up, so it costs more to operate the ships.. and many people cut out luxuries (like cruises) to pay for the gasoline for their cars.

 

Here are a few news stories on the subject:

http://investing.reuters.co.uk/news/articleinvesting.aspx?type=consumerProducts&storyID=2007-03-30T170552Z_01_N30251075_RTRIDST_0_SP_PAGE_016-N30251075-OISCP.XML

http://www.canada.com/edmontonjournal/news/business/story.html?id=a5c0b96c-681a-47e9-b782-d3700310b74e

[Giorgi-one]

What the heck happened to $3900 ;) Just jumped on the internet and priced Secrets. Same 10 days as my Gem cruise Cheapest air change planes non refundable and the cheapest room (no water/pool view) at the resort $7,312.08 in Mexico - :D :D Plus I loss 2 days travelling. Think I will stay on the Gem:rolleyes:

 

The resort does look nice however

 

We paid $1200 per person for four days over Memorial Day weekend last year ($300 per night per person including flight). For ten days, you are looking at about $360 per person per night. How far out are you traveling? Airfare really goes up big time very quickly. I have noticed that all nonstop flights from Philadelphia to Cancun are gone within 8 months of travel dates. So if you want to travel in August, you need to book the previous December. Also, AI prices are very high in the Winter.

[localady]

Fifteen years ago in the so-called "good old days of cruising" you could build a new cruise ship for about $250 million. Today a new cruise ship runs about triple that, at $750 million.

 

Has anyone tried to calculate just the interest payments on a bank loan for $750 million??? Who do you think is paying those interest payments (and the capital loan payments as well)?? Hint: It's not the upgrade fairy.

 

Fifteen years ago you could sail a cruise ship for an entire year on $1 Million worth of fuel. Today you cannot even get through one month for that kind of money. Who do you think is paying for that cost increase??

 

Fifteen years ago I could fly from North America to the Philippines for $500. Today it's $1,000 each way. Now multiply the round trip cost of $2,000 by the 1,000 crewmembers who need to have one or two round trips every year they work on the ship. Who do you think is paying for that?

 

Did you even hire a tug boat to follow you into and out of a US Port? It doesn't matter if you need one or not. Most US Ports force you to do it. In fact most US Ports force you to hire 2 tugboats to get you in and 2 to get you out. They never touch the ship, but you have to pay each one $19,000 per hour - with a 2 hour minimum for each one. That comes to $76,000 coming into port and $76,000 going out. Who do you think is going to pay for that?

 

Did you ever have to hire US Union Stevedores to load your luggage at a US Port? Doesn't matter if you don't want to. You have no choice. The union controls the port. If you want your luggage loaded and unloaded, it must be done by them only. Starting price is $40,000 for the day.

 

Basic cost of parking your cruise ship at the Port of Miami is about $50,000 per 12 hour period. There are many extra incidental charges added to that basic cost. A typical day at Miami will cost the average cruise ship in excess of $100,000.

 

Does anyone still wonder why the cost of cruising is going up?

 

Thank you for a very eye opening look at the costs most cruisers never give thought too.....:eek:

BTW.....I wonder if those who finance the ships provide the cruise lines with those little payment books for a $750 million dollar loan like they do for our mortgages????;) :D