Has the current ecomonic situation affected your cruise plans?

[JLC@SD]

We are 47 days out from our cruise and we're trying to decide if we shouldn't cancel. Even with the $$$ loss we would take, we would be saving from pre-cruise stay, onboard account, tips, excursions. No matter what we decide on this cruise I know we won't be planning another for sometime. I think we're in for some lean times for the foreseeable future. I wonder how all this will effect the cruise industry????

 

...I can't leave the country with my 401k here.......it might not be there when I get back.....:rolleyes:

[love2vacation]

We are going on the Mariner Mexico cruise 2x next year. We live in California and will drive. I hope airfare drops and the economy eases up. I love cruising out of Miami.

 

I have been wanting to go on on a Mexican Riviera cruise it seems like a good choice for late August and September when the Caribbean might not be so calm. :eek: Hopefully Mexico will be a choice for us in 2010!

BTW- you are soooooo lucky to be able to drive to a port. We always have to fly since we live in the mid-west.

 

Flying adds on 1000.00 to our cruises- though we have been lucky and 3 of the 4 we have had one ticket free with FF miles and stayed free with hotel points. The extra cost of flying may make a difference for some vacationers cruisers.

[SHARONB]

As this day closes & the market has dropped even more, I am very torn. We have a Feb 2009 cruise booked & we were getting ready to leave in 2 weeks on a Mexico vacation. I got a heck of a deal at an all inclusive, & it's already paid for, but, being self employed & seeing our IRA's drop by 40% & being at an age where retirement was around the corner I have a lot of doubts. My husband is so mad at me for expressing doubts about taking a trip right now. He sees a lost vacation & I see eating dog food (Oh yeah, that would probably be too expensive) and living under a bridge. I'm a worrier & he is not. But one thing is for sure there will be no easy answers & this is a long term thing. No quick recoveries this time. Oh what to do. I am just glad that we took the cruises we did in the past. We have some wonderful memories. We'll probably need them.

[MLG4MEE]

We have three cruises booked coming up. The Majesty in December was paid for months ago so we're fine with that. We don't drink much and tour we don't do so we'll be fine money wise. We had a Alaska cruise booked for next July on the Rhapsody out of Seattle but I just couldn't trust the airlines to get us there and we had a hard time justifing the cost so we changed from Alaska to Bermuda. The cost was about the same for the cruise but we can drive from Toledo to Baltimore so we'll be saving money on airfare and not doing any tours. I know if we had did Alaska we would have spend a lot on the tours. In 2010 we're doing a group cruise on the Freedom. That's a ways off and I hope things have calmed down by then.

[baabtx]

I have booked a cruise for Feb. 2010 that I was supposed to go on last year with my ex-husband.

 

I really just can't help myself - but the ex-husband thing is somewhat puzzling! Ya'll must be great friends - I've never been divorced, but for my friends that have been it's been a total nightmare!

 

More power to you!

[Former Goalie]

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!

Just want to add my two cents re: the stock market. I used to be a broker, and still am involved in the markets.

Like everyone else, I'm very worried about what is going on in the global markets. I will mention what might be a ray of hope:

The volatility index (VIX) was extraordinarily high today, the second highest reading ever, I believe (if memory serves, the only higher reading came on crash day in '87). VIX has been described as a measure of fear, so we are definitely in fear mode. Plus, some view this indicator as a contrarian indicator. Believe me, I'm not saying we are at or near a bottom, I'm trying to provide just a small sliver of cheer in a dismal environment of selling, selling, and more selling, some panic driven.

Of course the cruise industry will be affected by this economic situation, anything involving discretionary spending is at risk. The positive flip side of this is there will be bunches of exceptionally good deals out there IMHO as cruise lines scramble to fill ships, which they like to sail at or near 100% capacity.

I probably will re-evaluate our cruise and vacation travel plans.

[jensue1]

When we first booked our cruise (Christmas sailing on Mariner) the US $ was 81c to 1 New Zealand $ but it is now 62c to 1 New Zealand dollar! Yikes! Luckily the poor exchange rate doesn't change whether or not we still do the trip as it is too late now to cancel. Cruise and flights etc. are paid for. It will just mean that we won't be spending as freely as we might have been. We will be away for 5 weeks.

 

I know the Aussie dollar has fallen considerable against the US$ as well, so we are definately feeling it 'down under'.

 

This will be our last 'big' trip for some time. We will have to satisfy ourselves with the odd trip to Aussie until things settle down.

[ruskatab]

Its strange how the economy effects people in so many ways. We can actually afford to vacation, our problem is vacation time off. My hubby is an air traffic controller and they are so short he is working mandatory overtime almost every week now. No more long weekend get aways for us. And who knows what will happen to his vacation time next year. His 401K has taken a big hit this year but we are saving more with all the overtime. I feel bad for anyone whose looking for a job now and good luck to all of you. At least gas has come down, it was 2.89 at some gas staions in San Antonio but im sure its just a matter of time until it goes way up again.

[raringtogo]

For the life of me I cannot understand why our dollar has fallen so drastically in this last couple of days. Today I reluctantly paid the balance of our cruise because I am scared our dollar will slide even further into misery. So far, it has cost me nearly AUD$700 extra from the time we booked a few months ago. Why oh why did I not pay the whole fare back then:(

[nrdsb4]

Absolutely we have noticed a change in our cruise plans...we have increased them!!! Life is short, you need to enjoy it and our vacations, our private time together is the most important thing in the world to us...we live on the beach in Cancun in a resort but there is still nothing like an escape...its romantic, its good for your health, its good for your mind...everything.

Something to look forward to .... experiences are everything.

Every time I see people tossing money away (my words) on diamonds or sculptures...I PERSONALLY think its foolish...everywhere I read that HAPPINESS comes mostly from your EXPERIENCES and not your POSESSIONS.

So the cruises, they will never take a back seat.

People are sick, people are dying, people are losing their loved ones...take advantage of the time that you have and spend it with your loved one...enjoying a new place, a beautiful ship, great people...thats what its all about ;)

 

 

 

That attitude is all fine and good if you have the extra money to spend and I totally agree with your attitude that experiences are more important than material goods. However, people that don't have the money or are looking at extreme financial uncertainty should not be charging trips they cannot pay for. They should not neglect their bills, savings, retirement, or children's college funds in lieu of taking a vacation, no matter how wonderful "experiences" and "new places" are, or how much they "deserve" them. That's irresponsible and that kind of behavior is what got our economy where it is right now. I can't tell you how many sob stories I've been reading lately about people who are losing everything. Once you delve into the story, you find that these people have been living beyond their means for years, buying houses, clothes, gadgets, and taking trips that they had no means to pay for beyond a plastic credit card. Guess who picks up the tab for this when they finally cry uncle and file for bankruptcy?

 

Sometimes you HAVE to be practical, and I commend everyone who is taking a realistic look at their finances before booking future vacations.

 

That said, people who have saved hard for their vacations and have them paid off while still meeting their other obligations should feel NO guilt for taking their cruises or other trips.

[pmshirl]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081007/ap_on_bi_ge/bernanke_economy

 

Time are tough and it doesn't seem to be much light at the end of the tunnel soon!:mad:

 

I have future Cruise's planned and do not see any reason that I won't be going!;) I have put aside for my retirement ( hopefully have 5 months to retire), I don't owe a single soul a dime! I am fortunate to be able to have paid my home off 21 yrs ago, aquired rental properties ( which produces monthly income), and have a hard working DH who owns his own Business for 32 years!

 

I was never one to spend, spend , spend! I did without in my younger years to get where I am at today! I do use ONE Credit card and Never paid a dime in interest!

 

It is very sad that people get themselves in a mess! I have friends who are there too. Can't charge $8.00, cause they are maxed out! Can't pay their bills because they lived above their means! They don't have a nickle to their names or a window to throw it out of! Very very sad!:confused:

[nrdsb4]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081007/ap_on_bi_ge/bernanke_economy

 

Time are tough and it doesn't seem to be much light at the end of the tunnel soon!:mad:

 

I have future Cruise's planned and do not see any reason that I won't be going!;) I have put aside for my retirement ( hopefully have 5 months to retire), I don't owe a single soul a dime! I am fortunate to be able to have paid my home off 21 yrs ago, aquired rental properties ( which produces monthly income), and have a hard working DH who owns his own Business for 32 years!

 

I was never one to spend, spend , spend! I did without in my younger years to get where I am at today! I do use ONE Credit card and Never paid a dime in interest!

 

It is very sad that people get themselves in a mess! I have friends who are there too. Can't charge $8.00, cause they are maxed out! Can't pay their bills because they lived above their means! They don't have a nickle to their names or a window to throw it out of! Very very sad!:confused:

 

People like you are few and far between, but you are the ones who will weather the current storm without a scratch. We are not near retirement age, but we have been saving like squirrels for the past 18 years. We have a mortgage (but small relative to the home's total value), and that's it. It's such a great feeling to go to bed at night knowing that you have so little debt. We still have kids to get through college, so we keep plugging away. This current financial climate will affect our income significantly, but fortunately we've saved with this in mind (my husband's job is cyclical, so we have to plan for lean times as well as the good).

 

We hope to be in your shoes by the time retirement age arrives. I just wanted to say "good job!" because so few people handle themselves the way you have.

 

I can't imagine the panic I'd be feeling if we'd been living beyond our means, stacking up debt, and/or looking at possible layoffs.