Cruising vs. Vacation Cottage

It strikes me that cruising equates to the concept of going off to your vacation cottage ... without property taxes, without having to be your own maid, and without having to deal with your own maintenance. I can be happy for my friends who made a vacation cottage their goal and they get to enjoy the end product, but I would rather cruise.

I used to have a motor home and it was certainly a different kind of vacation ... and we got to go places a cruise ship can never go, but it was most definitely not a form of budget travel by the time you factored in the cost of ownership, operating, maintenance, off-site storage and insurance.

It was what I wanted at the time, but my interests have changed and cruising is a far more desirable vacation option now. You pay someone else to deal with the work and you just unplug and enjoy the ride.

Could not agree more! We must be related. We have had a beach condo, vacation home, sold that and bought a big motor coach and traveled in it for a while. We've also owned boats as well. For all the same reasons you have listed, we now only cruise! :)

I agree. We've done it all. Cruising is the best.

Least amount of stress...and that's why I cruise; to rid myself of stress.

We only cruise to the Caribbean and Canada/New England. Now, everyone asks why we go to the same places all the time. I say "Well you go to the same place at the shore year in and year out. And you pay a lot more to do that then we do to cruise!" :rolleyes: Our destination is the ship. The ports are just the added extra. I love being on deck and watching the sea go by. Everyone has their ideas of how to spend their vacation. We just choose to cruise.......:D;) To each, their own.

Happy cruising......:p

Gwen :)

We only cruise to the Caribbean and Canada/New England. Now, everyone asks why we go to the same places all the time. I say "Well you go to the same place at the shore year in and year out. And you pay a lot more to do that then we do to cruise!" :rolleyes: Our destination is the ship. The ports are just the added extra. I love being on deck and watching the sea go by. Everyone has their ideas of how to spend their vacation. We just choose to cruise.......:D;) To each, their own.

 

Happy cruising......:p

 

Gwen :)

Very similar to the way we feel too.:)

Likewise +2

You have it all when cruising.

Now if I could afford one of those nice cottages(apartments) on the "The World"

Then would have the best of both worlds..

Shame smallest apartment with 90 year lease is $800k:eek:

Can dream;)

Also agree with the OP.... too many ownership issues with a cottage/condo/time share/motor home. Cruising beats all of them for me.

CC had an interesting article earlier this week that was somewhat related, they compared pro's and con's of AI's versus cruising. It all boiled down to personal preferences really, since each had different pluses and minuses. I suppose the same goes for cruising versus that little cottage or beach house on the sand. :)

I prefer to visit new places and cruising allows me to do that. The idea of sitting at the beach or cottage every weekend....meh, I can think of better places to spend my vacation time.

But that is what makes this world so great....we can all find different ways to spend our money and time :)

To each their own.

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It strikes me that cruising equates to the concept of going off to your vacation cottage ... without property taxes, without having to be your own maid, and without having to deal with your own maintenance. I can be happy for my friends who made a vacation cottage their goal and they get to enjoy the end product, but I would rather cruise.

 

I used to have a motor home and it was certainly a different kind of vacation ... and we got to go places a cruise ship can never go, but it was most definitely not a form of budget travel by the time you factored in the cost of ownership, operating, maintenance, off-site storage and insurance.

 

It was what I wanted at the time, but my interests have changed and cruising is a far more desirable vacation option now. You pay someone else to deal with the work and you just unplug and enjoy the ride.

I agree with you 100%. And the older I get, the more it all makes sense to me. :D

Cruising works for me

I Love to cruise too, but there is another cost-effective (often cheaper) form of vacation:

Rent a condo/vacation home on your favourite island (or other destination).

If you travel with more than 2 people, it's almost always cheaper than cruising.

Our example:

Family vacation Summer 2016 - 6 people.

Option 1 - Cruise (7 days)

Drive to Florida from Canada (hotels, gas, meals, etc): $1,600

2 Cabins - total cost approx $6,000 including gratuities/fees.

Total cost before "misc spending": $7,600

Option 2 - Land Vacation to Playa Del Carmen (7 days)

Flights: $3,000

Vacation Home Rental: $1,400 (with private pool)

Rental Car: $200

Food (prep breakfast, but eat dinner out): $1,400

Total cost before "misc spending": $6,000

note: If we flew to our cruise, the cost would be considerably higher.

My point is that for families - that vacation rental home is an excellent option.

Also agree with the OP.... too many ownership issues with a cottage/condo/time share/motor home.

Timeshares are pretty simple, just pay the annual maintenance fee and show up:D

In fact this year we're cruising to our timeshare:):):)

Could not agree more! We must be related. We have had a beach condo, vacation home, sold that and bought a big motor coach and traveled in it for a while. We've also owned boats as well. For all the same reasons you have listed, we now only cruise! :)

been there done that also, we have sold all of the above and now just cruise, less worry and stress and money for us, we have cruised just about everywhere a ship can go and have enjoyed each and everyone for a different reason.!!

We live at the beach so we don't cruise to go to beaches, got one in walking distance. We cruise to go to new places, enjoy the relaxation of being on the ship and the entertainment they provide.

We bought an RV last year because we want to travel Route 66 and also a number of national parks. We chose an RV because we have dogs and did not want to leave them with a sitter for an extended period of time. We don't look at it as an inexpensive vacation but a way to travel with fewer concerns.

When we take a traditional vacation and stay in a hotel or even on a cruise ship, after about a week I am ready for my bed, my stuff, and being in control of my meals. I actually get tired of restaurant food.

I just returned home yesterday from 10 days in Orlando - I was so ready to get home! I was tired of hotel and restaurant food and being around 100's of people almost all the time. This will sound terrible - but after sharing a hotel room (even a suite) I get tired of being nice 24/7. :D

From a pretty early age (30), we have always vacationed once a year to somewhere pretty special. We always took 2 weeks, and it started out as cruises for us. We've taken 4 TA's, 5th one planned for October 2015 on the Allure. We've done 2 Panama cruises and a Hawaii, Alaska and one from Brazil to FLL. A myriad of Carribean cruises, but unlike others, that would never be our chosen itinerary, no matter what ship we are on. Too many places to visit in the world.

But I started traveling for work about 13 years ago and had a great teacher to help me maximize point earrings. As a result, we've been on quite a few land vacations, paying only for airfare. We'd pick 2 neighboring countries and figure out how to get from one to the other...which was often an adventure in and of itself.

Free hotels in Budapest, then over to Amsterdam. Ireland, then over to London. Paris over to Vienna. Rome then over to Sorrento. Australia (Brisbane) over to Sydney. Kauai over to Big Island. Maui over to Oahu. Cusco (Macchu Pichu) over to Lima. Rio de Janeiro then on to cruise ship. Barbados (entire 2 weeks). We've been able to stay a few times at one of my favorite Hilton properties in Cabo San Lucas, which I always forget because it's such an easy vacation to plan and about a 3 hour flight. This fall will be two weeks in Puerto Vallarta, free at all AI Hilton (it is a surprise that it is an AI, hubby doesn't like AI, so I'm not even going to tell him. Breakfast is always free for us because I have status with Hilton and Marriott, and if he doesn't want to eat dinner at hotel, it won't matter....we always like exploring the countries anyway in rental car), and a week at the PV Marriott....free also.

So.....because I have always been very busy with planning vacations every year (we've been taking 2 a year for the last 10 years or so), we've always known that if we bought a timeshare or a motor home, we would not be able to justify still vacationing above and beyond the cost and expenses involved in ownership.

This was especially true when 11th hour.com was operating. You used to be able to book condos for $461 (total) for 7 nights....all over the world. We booked a week online at Pali Ke Kua near Princeville in Kauai and it was amazing. We booked it 9 months out, so the 11th hour was just the name of the website.

Still, after all these years, we incorporate cruising because it's so relaxing. I want to do a Mediterranean Cruise, but they are too darn port intensive, which is something neither of us enjoy.

Next stop....Africa. I would love a cruise though....but they are usually too long.

:)

We like a break from the New England cold in March when we cruise in the Caribbean. What a great vacation.

We have the cottage in the summer but it's not winterized so we cruise to the Caribbean in January or February. Best of both worlds.

Not everyone wants to stand around and wait in lines, eat "honey stung chicken", play bingo, trivia, sit around in the hot humid Caribbean sun, or be entertained by some "tribute to Broadway show"..

Many like to Hunt, fish, hike, camp, or just do nothing.

We have had a beach condo, vacation home, sold that and bought a big motor coach and traveled in it for a while.

This is us. We bought a big coach last year and now we don't even go anywhere in it anymore. We rent it out to pay for our cruises and other trips! It is far more cost effective, especially with the cost of gas. At 7 mpg, not cheap to go too far.

We like to sub-rent places; has worked well for getaways in the FL Keys. Also have done well traveling to regions by renting timeshares from people who could not use their weeks and otherwise would get nothing. I get the use of their timeshare without the yearly maintenance, deed for life (noose on neck), etc.

Some buddies and I do weekend fishing trips, etc. Have driven cross country and back. Used to have a boat but only overnight trips, never ventured as far as I would have liked. Have not done a cold weather trip in years. Would like to do a T/A crossing. Cruising out of So FL is convenient and relatively cheap for us.

I Love to cruise too, but there is another cost-effective (often cheaper) form of vacation:

 

Rent a condo/vacation home on your favourite island (or other destination).

 

If you travel with more than 2 people, it's almost always cheaper than cruising.

 

Our example:

Family vacation Summer 2016 - 6 people.

 

Option 1 - Cruise (7 days)

Drive to Florida from Canada (hotels, gas, meals, etc): $1,600

2 Cabins - total cost approx $6,000 including gratuities/fees.

Total cost before "misc spending": $7,600

 

 

Option 2 - Land Vacation to Playa Del Carmen (7 days)

Flights: $3,000

Vacation Home Rental: $1,400 (with private pool)

Rental Car: $200

Food (prep breakfast, but eat dinner out): $1,400

Total cost before "misc spending": $6,000

 

note: If we flew to our cruise, the cost would be considerably higher.

 

My point is that for families - that vacation rental home is an excellent option.

I agree that for a family, a vacation rental can be a less expensive option, but if you have only 2 people you can deduct $3,000 so the numbers change and now cruising is significantly less expensive. As a matter of fact, most of us might get a cabin with fees for only $2,000.

We like to do different types of vacations. our last vacation was a 2 week transatlantic, a 2 day stay in London and then a 10 day land tour. Whatever you do, enjoy!

Not everyone wants to stand around and wait in lines, eat "honey stung chicken", play bingo, trivia, sit around in the hot humid Caribbean sun, or be entertained by some "tribute to Broadway show"..

Many like to Hunt, fish, hike, camp, or just do nothing.

I have no clue what this post is referring to...?

I don't like to hunt, fish, or camp, nor do I like to stand around and wait in lines, or eat honey stung chicken. We don't play bingo, or trivia, and I don't like to lay in sun. We haven't been to a Broadway Show on a cruise ship for over 15 years.

Not sure what you were replying to or trying to say.

Likewise +2

You have it all when cruising.

Now if I could afford one of those nice cottages(apartments) on the "The World"

Then would have the best of both worlds..

Shame smallest apartment with 90 year lease is $800k:eek:

 

Can dream;)

Hey, I'll go in with you on a "cottage" on The World. All we have to do is get 14 other people to chip in and we could do a sort of time-share thing for only $50 grand apiece! Sound like a plan?

I have no clue what this post is referring to...?

 

I don't like to hunt, fish, or camp, nor do I like to stand around and wait in lines, or eat honey stung chicken. We don't play bingo, or trivia, and I don't like to lay in sun. We haven't been to a Broadway Show on a cruise ship for over 15 years.

 

Not sure what you were replying to or trying to say.

Mass market cruising is not the "end all vacation".

Most people like to do regular stuff.

Hey, I'll go in with you on a "cottage" on The World. All we have to do is get 14 other people to chip in and we could do a sort of time-share thing for only $50 grand apiece! Sound like a plan?

I have a friend that worked a few stints on The World. He was a sub-contractor hired to teach people basic PC computing, email, sending photos, basics of how to use an iPad; etc. Few hours of work per week, getting paid, traveled to many exotic destinations.

Do you perhaps know how to use a digital camera or work a cell phone? You may qualify for a job :D