Has the current ecomonic situation affected your cruise plans?

[Cruiserccl]

I have been following the stock market for some years now and I own stock in many, many companies. In fact last year I was 22nd in the nation for a stock market simulation out of thousands and thousands of teams. So in kid term is know what’s going on but just not as much as some adults do! But I can say this is going to be a long and rocky road. No time soon will we see our economy recover until at least a new president is in office! I urge you guys even though I can’t vote to make the right decision this November! I can say I having been campaigning for my candidate for some time now and I have seen and meet both candidates and in my mind there is only on guy who will lead our country forward! So please make the right decision this November!

[CanTex]

Wow. It is not at all encouraging reading this discussion. If this is reflective of people's confidence in the economy, the reluctance to commit to discretionary spending will be hugely negative.

 

If I was a cruise line executive reading this discussion, I'd be terrified of the months ahead. Ships may still get filled, but only by discounting fares and on-board spending is surely going to plummet. Not good.

[baabtx]

Wow. It is not at all encouraging reading this discussion. If this is reflective of people's confidence in the economy, the reluctance to commit to discretionary spending will be hugely negative.

 

I agree, it does seem to be somewhat negative thinking, but unfortunately it's shoved down our throats 24/7 these days!

 

That being said, I'm a big believer in our economy's ability to rebound (hopefully sooner than later) and it will, but we, like many other citizens, have also trimmed much of our discretionary spending as I'm directly affected by the changes in the mortgage industry.

 

We'll be on a fantastic canal/SA cruise in November, but fortunately we set aside the money for both the cruise and extras - but after this it'll be slooooow sailing for awhile!

[4everafter]

I want to thank everyone who has responded to this thread. (I guess misery loves company.) With our bank going under last week (FDIC covered so we're ok and JP Morgan buying it, it's still stable.) And friends losing their retirement accts. in mutual funds I pretty much was feeling panicy. Actually in a lot of ways I still am. Don't know if I'll be able to retire in 10 yrs. like I'd hope but feel that my and DH jobs are stable and that's something!

 

We talked tonight and decided to go as planned on our cruise. We will cut back on some things, no excursions, pay our onboard acct. nightly, etc., but as one poster mentioned the time together will be priceless. Thanks for the input, you helped total strangers make a hard decision!

 

My husband and I just got back from a week on Mariner. I won the cruise a year ago at Bingo and I had planned it the whole year. I run a small company and manage property and DH & I have 2 restaurants. Everything was so up in the air, I really thought about staying home... but why stay home and worry about everything. your trip is paid for and you can't get your money back. We rested the week and came back to tuff times but I'm so glad I took my week off. We had the lowest sea pass acct balance ever which in the end was ok, no souviners for everyone in our phone book but thats just how it is right? I really hope that we can all keep faith in our every day lives, we can cut back expenses but we can't give up on ourselves and our home towns.

[cruisinalong001]

We won't be canceling our December cruise, but will be cautious looking further out. We decided to do an early December cruise with family as a substitute for Christmas presents and numerous birthday and anniversary presents and dinners in December....time together.....priceless. It is the retailers that won't have our business this holiday season. Those $ are going cruisin' :D . We'll probably spend a lot on photos too........Can hardly wait.

[CL-JW]

So far, we haven't canceled anything, but nothing has been ruled out. The only "for sure" is our upcoming cruise on Ruby Princess (maiden voyage, already paid for).

 

We are looking at more cruises from the west coast though, to save on air and hotel.

[lady.buttons.of.idaho]

We haven't cancelled yet, but we're keeping the option open of just doing a weekend cruise instead of a 7 night. I really don't want to, but my fiance has been out of work for almost a year and it doesn't look like he'll be getting a job in this economy anytime soon.

 

Let's keep our fingers crossed.

[coolnrj]

I started a thread on the Oasis board on a somewhat related topic. I think I'm paying wayyyyyyyyyy to much for the Oasis inaugural and since I've book I can't help but to think "can I rally afford it and am I paying to much"? Unfortunately, I work for a State that is in financial difficulties (the budget was 85 days late) so the money I spend can be used for something else..I don't know. I'm still booked and have until next October to get a refund. Times just seem so wishy washy now and although I'm a young person you still want to fel confident financially. YIKES!!! what to do???

[lady.buttons.of.idaho]

I started a thread on the Oasis board on a somewhat related topic. I think I'm paying wayyyyyyyyyy to much for the Oasis inaugural and since I've book I can't help but to think "can I rally afford it and am I paying to much"? Unfortunately, I work for a State that is in financial difficulties (the budget was 85 days late) so the money I spend can be used for something else..I don't know. I'm still booked and have until next October to get a refund. Times just seem so wishy washy now and although I'm a young person you still want to fel confident financially. YIKES!!! what to do???

I'm in the same boat. I'm teetering back and forth on what to do. It's our honeymoon for crying out loud! We can't cancel!

 

I'd like to think I have a pretty secure job (I work for Tropicana Orange Juice), but hell, who knows. The past few years we've been doing more and more business with Brazil. There's been rumors of going all Brazillian, but they're just that...rumors. Shutting down fruit production here and dealing with only imported juice would eliminate three jobs in my office, mine included. I guess it's all just a waiting game.

[bajathree]

Wow. It is not at all encouraging reading this discussion. If this is reflective of people's confidence in the economy, the reluctance to commit to discretionary spending will be hugely negative.

 

If I was a cruise line executive reading this discussion, I'd be terrified of the months ahead. Ships may still get filled, but only by discounting fares and on-board spending is surely going to plummet. Not good.

 

I am sure RCCL already is well aware of this. If you want to see a wake up call go over to Trip Advisor and read the Paradise Island forum on "Atlantis Closings". They have completely shut down the Beach Tower and have now shut down parts of the other towers. Many restaurants are now closed and people who are currently visiting are reporting it being "eerily quiet". This is just a sign of things to come:(

[reeran]

The one thing we all need to remember is, the media always blows things way out of proportion. I have gotten into the habit of not listening to them for any length of time. The economy is not good right now, but it rolls like the waves on our beloved cruises! It always has. Retirement accounts are not like our beloved casinos on the ship, it is meant to be for the long term not a quick pull of the one armed bandit. I'm 50 years old so I am only stating what I remember in my lifetime...

• In the 70's we had to wait in line for gasoline
  
• 1973-1974- Another long market crash -one that many people still remember (think Vietnam and the Watergate scandal). This crash lasted for 694 days before bottoming out.
  
• October 19, 1987 stocks drop almost 20% in one session.
  
• Mortgage rates in the early 80's were 15%+...and that's if you had good credit.

Those are just a few examples of past history that didn't ruin us ...it simply (hopefully) made us wiser.

 

 

Right now mortgage interest rates are 6%-6.5% LOL I remember in 1995 when my husband and I bought our current home and the rate was 8%...everyone was in awe because we had such a low rate. In 2003 we refinanced at 4.75% so that 8% was not so pretty anymore!;) The problem is we have had such good Mortgage rates for so long that when they inch their way up to 7% people panic. When things are great we come to expect it.

 

We are cruising on Liberty on 11/1 and for the first time in a long time do not have anything else booked. Partially because of the airlines (pain in neck to fly) and partially because we believe there are going to be some nice last minute deals ahead of us hopefully out of Baltimore or New York ports.

 

I think the key is to think positive and constantly reinvent yourself.

[dorothyh]

I hope it doesn't affect our future cruises...we'll see.

 

We just made final payment on our December cruise so that one is a go.

 

We have an 11 day Hawaii/Tahiti cruise coming up next year (on Princess) that is our 25th anniversary cruise. We are getting an owner's suite,etc. Yesterday was the first time I started thinking that it was a real possibility that we may have to downsize that cruise or change it.

[bajathree]

The one thing we all need to remember is, the media always blows things way out of proportion. I have gotten into the habit of not listening to them for any length of time. The economy is not good right now, but it rolls like the waves on our beloved cruises! It always has. Retirement accounts are not like our beloved casinos on the ship, it is meant to be for the long term not a quick pull of the one armed bandit. I'm 50 years old so I am only stating what I remember in my lifetime...

• In the 70's we had to wait in line for gasoline
  
• 1973-1974- Another long market crash -one that many people still remember (think Vietnam and the Watergate scandal). This crash lasted for 694 days before bottoming out.
  
• October 19, 1987 stocks drop almost 20% in one session.
  
• Mortgage rates in the early 80's were 15%+...and that's if you had good credit.

Those are just a few examples of past history that didn't ruin us ...it simply (hopefully) made us wiser.

 

 

Right now mortgage interest rates are 6%-6.5% LOL I remember in 1995 when my husband and I bought our current home and the rate was 8%...everyone was in awe because we had such a low rate. In 2003 we refinanced at 4.75% so that 8% was not so pretty anymore!;) The problem is we have had such good Mortgage rates for so long that when they inch their way up to 7% people panic. When things are great we come to expect it.

 

We are cruising on Liberty on 11/1 and for the first time in a long time do not have anything booked. Partially because of the airlines (pain in neck to fly) and partially because we believe there are going to be some nice last minute deals ahead of us hopefully out of Baltimore or New York ports.

 

I think the key is to think positive and constantly reinvent yourself.

 

I understand your point....but I am not going by the press, I am going by what I see for myself and what I read on real life threads. Every week I see at least 2 more houses in my area go either up for sale or people just walking away. When you go out to eat and the restaurants you used to frequent that were once thriving are now empty....to me thats a sign of the times.....and thats not going to cure itself anytime soon. I saw this in 87 and again in 01....it took years for recovery. You are right, people should not panic but people should also not have blinders on and go into denial.

[baabtx]

The one thing we all need to remember is, the media always blows things way out of proportion. I have gotten into the habit of not listening to them for any length of time. The economy is not good right now, but it rolls like the waves on our beloved cruises! It always has. Retirement accounts are not like our beloved casinos on the ship, it is meant to be for the long term not a quick pull of the one armed bandit. I'm 50 years old so I am only stating what I remember in my lifetime...

• In the 70's we had to wait in line for gasoline
  
• 1973-1974- Another long market crash -one that many people still remember (think Vietnam and the Watergate scandal). This crash lasted for 694 days before bottoming out.
  
• October 19, 1987 stocks drop almost 20% in one session.
  
• Mortgage rates in the early 80's were 15%+...and that's if you had good credit.

Those are just a few examples of past history that didn't ruin us ...it simply (hopefully) made us wiser.

 

 

Right now mortgage interest rates are 6%-6.5% LOL I remember in 1995 when my husband and I bought our current home and the rate was 8%...everyone was in awe because we had such a low rate. In 2003 we refinanced at 4.75% so that 8% was not so pretty anymore!;) The problem is we have had such good Mortgage rates for so long that when they inch their way up to 7% people panic. When things are great we come to expect it.

 

We are cruising on Liberty on 11/1 and for the first time in a long time do not have anything else booked. Partially because of the airlines (pain in neck to fly) and partially because we believe there are going to be some nice last minute deals ahead of us hopefully out of Baltimore or New York ports.

 

I think the key is to think positive and constantly reinvent yourself.

 

1) You are correct - the media is moving this along, it fits their "pain" template. That is not to say the economy is on a sloooooow track right now and does need some type of injection.

 

2) As someone in the mortgage business - rates are actually lower right now - 30 year fixed last week was under 6%, so the money is still available (although I'm in a sever drought) - it's just that qualifying for loans right now is very difficult - 2 years ago - the base credit score for A paper loans was about 620, today if you don't have 700 or above, the loan process is more difficult. I spent 25 years in the credit bureau industry - so don't believe all the "raise credit scores quickly hype"!

 

3) We too are in a 4.75% 15 year fixed loan - so we won't be going anywhere soon!

 

We will come out of this situation just as we have all the time - we live in a great country!

[Silvery Seas Cruiser]

What we'll most likely be doing until the financial mess straightens itself out--and Susy Ormand says she thinks it will take five or more years--is to book shorter cruises, stay out of suites and just do balconies and shop strenuously for the best cruise bargains and cheapest times of the year.

 

We typically cruise three times a year, but that may change to two or even just one if push comes to shove. We really dream of sailing on Oasis. We may just not cruise until Oasis is ready and save all the money for a great cruise on that ship. Plus, maybe by then the economy will have recovered. How I hope so.

[Moeve]

If the cruiselines are prudent they will start accuring other markets and there are a whole lot out there that are not hurting as much as the US market is.

[reeran]

1) You are correct - the media is moving this along, it fits their "pain" template. That is not to say the economy is on a sloooooow track right now and does need some type of injection.

 

2) As someone in the mortgage business - rates are actually lower right now - 30 year fixed last week was under 6%, so the money is still available (although I'm in a sever drought) - it's just that qualifying for loans right now is very difficult - 2 years ago - the base credit score for A paper loans was about 620, today if you don't have 700 or above, the loan process is more difficult. I spent 25 years in the credit bureau industry - so don't believe all the "raise credit scores quickly hype"!

 

3) We too are in a 4.75% 15 year fixed loan - so we won't be going anywhere soon!

 

We will come out of this situation just as we have all the time - we live in a great country!

 

 

I agree.

 

We are not in a mortgage draught but you better be able to qualify to get a mortgage. ( but when you think about it shouldn't that have been the case all along???) FHA is still there for those with little money or lower scores. We never had a real estate boom here so I never made a fortune but we are still making a living...just have to work a little harder to do it.

[Litewait]

I am a single mom of 2 kids. We live on my income alone ( less than 100k) in Southern Ca. A very expensive place to live. I was fortunate to be able to buy my parents house when they moved 14 years ago. I took out a second on a variable rate and realized quickly that was a no go, refied and consolidated into one. I now have no second, a fixed rate and my house will be paid for in about 15 years. I will NEVER take a second against my home again. And who would take a variable rate loan? ( I didn't realize mine was on the 2nd)

 

I also got caught in the CC mess. Over spending and only paying the minimum. I cut up all the cards in Jan. I'm settling those and paying them off one at a time. I know it was stupid, but I have to dig myself out of the hole.

 

We had 3 cruises booked in 08. I cancelled them all but the 4 day over New Years and paid cash for that. We have one booked in 09 for springbreak and we may have to cancel that ( have until Dec. 29th) have paid cash for most of that as well. Straight from the debit card. We do very little spending onboard now. We cruise only from our home ports and stay in inside cabins.

And do beach days and not excursions, Weve been to the ports many times.

If we are able to swing the one in April, that will be it for 09 unless I can find a really cheap New Years cruise. And that may happen if the cruise industry starts to tank.

 

We do not eat out, with the occasional fast food for ds after football when it's late. I cut back the watering of the yard, turned the fans off, barbque alot instead of using the gas stove. Everything I can think of to cut corners.

More will come if necessary. My kids don't notice it so much as I do. And thats what I find interesting. Kids adapt. DD is 20 and knows all about what is going on and the necessity to adapt and save. Ds is 14 and is starting to get it, with all the news and newspaper headlines now.

 

I think that people are going to cruise/vacation of any kind less and less until the economy gets better. The extra money is just not there to be found right now and I don't see it changing in the next year to 18 months for sure.

 

Just my 2 cents.

Happy Cruising,

Donna

[Kimmer727]

We usually cruise twice a year, but this time only once. My problem on this upcoming cruise is, how to stay away from the casino?? That is my weakness, but can't afford to lose any more money right now.

 

 

MY PROBLEM ALSO - staying out of the casino. And I know I'm cutting WAY back on my cash I bring along for the cruise. We won't be cancelling the Sapphire - we leave in 10 days! And we got the GRAND SUITE!!

So next year - maybe only one cruise - and a quicky trip to VEGAS??:eek:

[Cruiser Forever]

We are booked on an IOS for next Sept. I have a "Vacation Fund Account" and every week I put something away. I treat it as a bill and sometimes I deposit X amount of $$ and other weeks it might be less. But every week something goes into that account and believe it or not it adds up. I have the cruise fare/airfare saved. Now I have 1 year to save for tips, pocket money, excursions and extras. We don't go to the casinos and we limit ourselves on ship photos so we don't spend much. DH will buy wine for dinner but we are not big drinkers at the bars. God willing we will be going but yes it is tough saving for a vacation. But this year we did not go away at all so it's not like we spend any fund money this year. But this is a terrible mess the country is in. :mad: :mad: :mad:

[01Sweetpea]

Our next cruise isn't until 2010, but I do think about cancelling.

 

I question if the $1250 that RCCL has as a deposit couldn't be better used elsewhere. I wonder what the airfare & hotel prices are going to be (since we're crusing out of PR), I wonder if I should be exploring cheaper excursions, etc.

 

Times are tough.

[flcouple]

By the way, I live within minutes of both South Florida cruise ports so I can avoid the hassles and increasing expenses of flying and hotels. I understand that this is not the case for most people. Lately, Royal Caribbean has been offering really discounted Florida resident specials, hence the need for locals to fill the void left by out-of-town folks affected by the increased travel costs.

 

I agree. We are within 2-3 hours drive of all the Florida ports. That really saves a lot of travel costs. But with our grocery bill almost doubling and everything get more expensive, it may become a matter of saving money and going on trips a lot less often. For now, we are on SoS in 4 weeks and still planning on going.

[flcouple]

I am a single mom of 2 kids. We live on my income alone ( less than 100k) in Southern Ca. A very expensive place to live. I was fortunate to be able to buy my parents house when they moved 14 years ago. I took out a second on a variable rate and realized quickly that was a no go, refied and consolidated into one. I now have no second, a fixed rate and my house will be paid for in about 15 years. I will NEVER take a second against my home again. And who would take a variable rate loan? ( I didn't realize mine was on the 2nd)

 

I also got caught in the CC mess. Over spending and only paying the minimum. I cut up all the cards in Jan. I'm settling those and paying them off one at a time. I know it was stupid, but I have to dig myself out of the hole.

 

We had 3 cruises booked in 08. I cancelled them all but the 4 day over New Years and paid cash for that. We have one booked in 09 for springbreak and we may have to cancel that ( have until Dec. 29th) have paid cash for most of that as well. Straight from the debit card. We do very little spending onboard now. We cruise only from our home ports and stay in inside cabins.

And do beach days and not excursions, Weve been to the ports many times.

If we are able to swing the one in April, that will be it for 09 unless I can find a really cheap New Years cruise. And that may happen if the cruise industry starts to tank.

 

We do not eat out, with the occasional fast food for ds after football when it's late. I cut back the watering of the yard, turned the fans off, barbque alot instead of using the gas stove. Everything I can think of to cut corners.

More will come if necessary. My kids don't notice it so much as I do. And thats what I find interesting. Kids adapt. DD is 20 and knows all about what is going on and the necessity to adapt and save. Ds is 14 and is starting to get it, with all the news and newspaper headlines now.

 

I think that people are going to cruise/vacation of any kind less and less until the economy gets better. The extra money is just not there to be found right now and I don't see it changing in the next year to 18 months for sure.

 

Just my 2 cents.

Happy Cruising,

Donna

 

You've been planning well. We pay off our house next month and we paid off and stopped using all our credit cards 3 years ago. It took a lot of effort, but now we are so glad we took our pain then. We still have a credit card for emergencies and deposits, but they get paid off as soon as we get the bill.

[reeran]

I understand your point....but I am not going by the press, I am going by what I see for myself and what I read on real life threads. Every week I see at least 2 more houses in my area go either up for sale or people just walking away. When you go out to eat and the restaurants you used to frequent that were once thriving are now empty....to me thats a sign of the times.....and thats not going to cure itself anytime soon. I saw this in 87 and again in 01....it took years for recovery. You are right, people should not panic but people should also not have blinders on and go into denial.

 

 

I don't think it is denial...Different parts of the country are reacting differently economically.

 

I think the parts of the country that had a boom are now seeing the after effects. We never had a boom here... home sales were a little better in 2004-2005 and now it has slowed down and while we have our share of forclosures we are still selling Real Estate. We are seeing some stores/restaurants go out of business but others are opening up in their place. 1987 and 2001 had some rough spots but the years to follow were good. I agree it takes time.

[tip]

We sail on the Independence of the Seas next February. Our final payment is due in early December and the $$ are in the bank ready to pay the Visa card when the bill comes due. By the way we have not paid any finance charges or our cards for many, many years. If anything, we have been fortunate to cash in on many reward points.

 

Right now we are still looking ahead to February of 2010. Does anyone know when those cruises will be opened up for booking? The only thing that will stop us would be health issues and right now there are no problems. We plan to cruise until we can no longer walk up the gangplank!

 

I think that all of us are looking forward to some changes in Washington! Maybe then better days will be on the horizon.