grandgeezer

2 hours ago, FirstCruise2331 said:

 

As you quoted me directly I wanted to clarify as you completely missed the point I was making. You also pretty much confirmed what I said about people not understanding what is like to have a limited budget. While it may be the case that cost is irrelevant for you, cost is very relevant to many people.

 

I was merely sharing my experience (which is echoed by many) that I have had great cruises staying in an interior and, for me, I don't share the opinion that not cruising is better than cruising in an interior. For others, like you, it's different .. the OP can weigh all this up and decide what's best for them. 

 

Ultimately we all are free to choose what works for us as individuals, based on the product being offered with free market economics determining price as a factor of the interaction of supply and demand. There seems to be plenty of sold out cruises so RC are filling the cabins, from suites all the way down to insides. 

 

 

I quoted you directly because you said, and I quote “ If money was no object, everybody would have a suite.” Money is no object to us and we no longer would book a suite unless it was too good of a deal to pass up, and I don’t see that happening anytime soon. So much for the everybody statement.

5 hours ago, FirstCruise2331 said:

Some of the answers on here are clearly from people who have no concept that not everyone has the same spending power as them! I have been on 5 cruises, 3 interiors and 2 ocean views and have a Central Park Balcony in 2 weeks on Harmony. For me a cruise in an interior cabin sure beats no cruise at all! 

 

Of course having a window (or balcony) is better than having no natural light. How much this effects your experience is going to be down to how much time you spend in the cabin and whether you are a negative nellie or someone with a positive mindset. Primarily for us the cabin is just to sleep and shower in. We see plenty of the sea on deck or  from the many windows on board (not so much the latter on Oasis class). 

 

If money was no object then everyone would be in a suite!  if your price point only allows interior you can still have a brilliant cruise. Ive never had a bad cruise! 

The cost is irrelevant to us, it’s the value of the product that is the deciding factor. we tried suites a few times, at really good prices (pre pandemic) and enjoyed it. We don’t think the current product, at the current pricing would give us the bang for the buck we desire. If, and when we decide to resume cruising, it would be in a balcony.

2 minutes ago, lenquixote66 said:

We booked an inside cabin once and said never again.

We need to see the sea.

Amen, not even for free.

1 hour ago, sandebeach said:

Miami was okay, just a ton of rain in and around Ft. Lauderdale. 

That number for Ft Lauderdale is about what we get here in the Phoenix area, in three years.

16 hours ago, Saab4444 said:

Best time is to wait for next global pandemic outbreak like in 2020 and then book fast 😀

If there is another global pandemic in the near future, with the massive debt taken on by all the cruise lines, there will be no cruising to worry about.

3 hours ago, firefly333 said:

And like me you probably got that $100 obc x many cruises. For me let's say 13 cruises or more so lets say $1300. .. I'm probably down but the obc makes up for the stock up and downs. Hopefully someday it will turn a profit again. 

It all depends on what you paid. The high for the past year is $26 higher than the last price. If you bought 100 shares at the high, that’s minus $2600. If you bout at thee all time high in early 2020, of $133.47, do the math.

5 hours ago, John&LaLa said:

 

I had $100 stockholder OBC on our March trip

 

Drank 50+ free beers and cocktails

 

Had a great time with 50+ new friends

 

Priceless

You got 50+ free beers and cocktails using just your $100 shareholder OBC? That’s the way it reads. If so, no need for a drink package. Or is this the 50+ drinks talking?

On 3/21/2023 at 5:29 PM, Seville2Cabo said:

Pretty sure I don't need your investing advice.  Should I sell my Apple stock I bought in 2004 or Microsoft in 2001?  I understand no profit until I sell, but I think RC will come back and be a good investment from today.  I sell stocks I think will not do well going forward.  Seems you made a mistake selling the utility stock.  BTW - Since I really don't need any invested money, ( I guess my kids should decide what I should sell) all dividend are reinvested.  

Where in my post did I give any investing advise? I just stated som facts and an example of what I did with the utility stock. You can do whatever you want with your money, I couldn’t care less.

If you had read the post correctly, you would have seen that I only sold enough to recover my initial investment, what I have left generates $300 a year in dividends. How can you say it was a mistake to sell the utility stock? You have no idea what I bought with the proceeds. There are three reasons I sell a stock, 1) I feel it has about to hit it’s peak based on the info available, 2) I feel there’s a better opportunity available, and 3) I need the money for something else (this hasn’t happened in over 30 years). 

On 3/22/2023 at 5:47 AM, nelblu said:

The individual does not appreciate the value of a $.😉

When you have so much of it, you lose perspective.

On 3/21/2023 at 5:31 PM, Starry Eyes said:

You must be in a low marginal tax bracket else you would not say that.

 

If 24% is the low tax bracket, then yes I am.

1 hour ago, topnole said:

Depends which ships.  

They were on the Allure, pre pandemic, as the suite lounge and CK are in the same area.

3 hours ago, A&L_Ont said:

The Grand Canyon in my usage was a euphemism. 😉🤪

This isn’t a euphemism, look up the word and try again.

3 hours ago, A&L_Ont said:

 

I could use this intel, as we are headed to Vegas today.  

 

I wonder how people can afford going to Vegas multiple times a year, stay in a high level suites and gamble. We won't be gambling. 

 

 

I wonder if I will see sand dunes in Vegas?  There is the Grand Canyon though.😂

The west rim of the Grand Canyon is about 130 miles from Las Vegas, in Arizona. Have to have pretty good eyes to see it.😳

4 hours ago, TMLAalum said:

Can I use choice air for flights even though I have booked with a BBTA?

It doesn’t matter who you book through, I’ve never booked through Celebrity, but we’ve used Choice Air at least a dozen time. All you need is the booking number.

1 hour ago, LoungerOnBalcony55 said:

Yeah you know the horrors of war....paying for a luxury cruise suite...same thing. What a weird comparison. 

The only comparison is not bringing up certain subjects but willing to talk about different subjects, if asked.

3 hours ago, Georgia_Peaches said:

DH is a veteran who saw combat.  He NEVER talks about it unless in the company of others who saw combat and even then, it's rare.  My experience has been that the people who truly have money are very much like combat veterans...they're not talking about it.

I am a Viet Nam veteran who has seen things and done things most people refuse to believe. I don’t normally talk about unless someone asks. Same thing goes with if someone ask how I could afford a big ticket item such as a $20,000 suite.

18 hours ago, The sea calls my name said:

My DH will have a sweat shirt on here in Florida in the summer if I turn the AC to 75. Daytime its set on 78-80 and at night 76-78. Ceiling fans on constantly though. We lived in Texas for 20 years and both grew up in Louisiana so heat and high humidity are normal to us. At least we get the nice breeze off of the ocean here. We recently bought a home dehumidifier and I think it is going to make a difference.

We live in AZ. AC set at 79 24/7 plus run ceiling fans, even when it hits 115+ degrees, low humidity.

2 hours ago, rimmit said:

My parents retired in 2015.  Up until the pandemic they were increasing spending year over year on some very exotic vacations.  Covid hit and they bought an RV.l with all the extra money from the cancelled vacations.  Didn't like the RV and sold it and bought an airstream instead.  Really went all out in 2022 on a couple vacations and now seems like 8 years later are slowing down a little mainly doing multi month trips in the Airstream, rather than exotic vacations.  Still have some bigger trips on the way, but to be honest they are running out of places they want to see as they have seen A LOT and enjoy the camper life.

 

But all the financial planners factor in decreasing expenditures as you get older just due to declining health and lack of interest as you run out your bucket list. 

We retired in 2001, I was 55 and my wife was 50. We started out being a little conservative, although we had a lot of money saved, my pension was about 20% of what I made. After a couple of years we realized that money wouldn’t be an issue so we started spending it like water. We found cruising and averaged about 42 days a year at sea. New car every three years, many home improvements, basically we had everything we wanted and did everything we wanted and the money kept growing thanks to the stock market. 
Fast forward to now. Cruising is history, current product, is average at best, and not worth it at any price. Even with the downturn in the stock market, the portfolio is worth 2 1/2 times it was in 2001.

With the mandatory withdrawal from my 401k, our 2022 gross was well into six figures, life is good for us and will be even better for our son, his wife, and our only grandson. The grandson starts college in the fall and with the AZ529 Savings Plan we funded for him, he should graduate in four years with zero debt. Best money ever spent.

6 hours ago, Ferry_Watcher said:

One possible explanation for some older folks traveling in $20K suites is the extra yearly use of retirement dollars from the RMDs (Required Minimum Distribution).  If you have to withdraw a sizeable amount of your retirement savings, spending it on a suite on a cruise ship is one way of using it.

 

I do check-in for cruises going to Alaska.  I remember pre Covid I would be checking in older passengers (mostly on HAL) who would be treating their adult children and grandkids to an Alaska cruise.  I remember one very unassuming grandmother telling me that she was treating her family to the cruise, which she told me was costing her $42K all in.  She was so happy, just loving the fact that she was treating her loved ones.  

 

 

In the last three years I was forced to take over $150,000 in RMD and not one penny went for cruising. Somebody else mentioned people using credit cards to pay and incurring interest to be paid. We haven’t paid one penny in any kind of interest since 1984 yet no money for cruising until they start again offering a product they we feel is worth the cost. Since we can’t spend it all, it’ll assure that our son and grand son will be able enjoy the rest of their time on earth. Might be the best thing we ever used our money for.

Affording it is no problem. Zero chance of booking it though. We make financial decisions based on our perceived value of the product. We didn’t see any value in cruising pre pandemic and have read or heard anything post pandemic to change our mind. 48cruises and 494 days at sea is more than enough. We have everything we want and have done about everything we want so we have no problems leaving what we have accumulated to our son, daughter in law and only grandson. In fact we have a better feeling with that than almost everything we have or done.

35 minutes ago, DaKahuna said:

 

 I have to disagree.  When you consider that the beverage package is good for things other than just beverages with alcohol, it can add up to quite a bit.  I have at least two, often three, bottles of Vitamin Water a day, I will have at least two Diet soda's, we prefer bottle water, sometimes spring and sometimes sparkling, with our meals.  Add to that a coffee or two at Cafe Al Bacio, we are having more than six drinks a day. 

 

Full disclosure we do sail in suites where we are paying for the DPB as part of our cruise fare so it seems more transparent to us than it does when paying for it separately but still, when we did not sail in suites in the past, I always purchased the beverage package.  

 

The question is, is this what you normally would drink or what you drink to get your moneys worth from the drink package?

The free drinks we get for being Elite Plus is actually more than we would normally drink. Years ago we had the drink package a couple of times and the number of extra drinks we had could be counted on one hand, for the whole week. Needless to say, no more packages.

A drink card and a five will get you two drinks too, especially if you’re sitting at the bar. Pretty regular occurrence, especially on Celebrity. Never even tried personally.

15 minutes ago, dunrobbin said:

What did they do with the extra 5%?

100% capacity is calculated by multiplying the total number of cabins times two persons per cabin. Many cabins will hold three or four, that’s the extra 5%.

You will be Diamond but with 0 points. To get to Diamond Plus you’ll have TA accumulate all the points required to that level.

7 hours ago, Seville2Cabo said:

13 years ago I bought RC stock and have gotten an annual return just over 9.5% with today's stock price.  PLUS, since we take longer cruises, have also gotten 100% of our original investment back in tax free OBC.  And will get another $700 in the next 24 months.  

 

As far as cost of items on the ship, really has no place in this discussion.   First, even with the OBC we still have a bill at the end - between wifi, UDP and other purchases that we would buy with or without the OBC and second, we really don't price shop on the cruise - if we want something we buy it.  If the price of a beer is $4 more than on land, too bad, I'm not on land.  And if you don't want to spend the on board prices, cruising may not be for you.  

A little tip, you haven’t realized one penny on your RCL stock, it’s all on paper until you sell it. I sold enough of my utility stock to get the original amount invested back in my pocket, about $7,000. The stock left over is generating $300 per year in dividends.

Tax free OBC an incentive, kidding right? How much tax would you pay on $100? 

We don’t price shop anything, if we need it we buy it, if we see value in it we buy it. Cruising no longer meets either one of those criteria so OBC is a nonissue. I mentioned beer as it’s the only thing we would buy on the ship. $100 OBC buys we about 9 beers, including tip. At home, when it’s on sale, like for St. Patricks Day I get 160+ including tax. That’s a value point.