How to you afford to cruise?

[jzcruiser57]

:o

 

lol......outed!

 

Or, not a very busy lawyer. lol. Thus wondering how everyone else affords to cruise so often. My wife and I do it the old fashion way. We live below our means, have zero debt, have gone thru life not paying interest except on our mortgage when we had one, paid that off early and spend on only what we need, not what we want. Our payoff is we treat ourselves to cruises and other vacations.

[Perfect Stranger]

Haven't really seen any of his other posts so I cannot say he is or isn't strange; however, I do have to say that the pictures make perfect sense to me.

 

I have never taken a picture while on vacation...actually I don't think I have ever owned a camera. shocks people I know, but I don't see a need to. It could be that both him and his wife are the same way.

 

This poster seems to love attention so it's hard to believe SHE wouldn't want any photos of HERself on vacation.

[bumorgan]

Good Job no wife or kids. What else is there to do. :D

 

Seriously though I am a born saver, no debt, house paid in full And my favorite things come together on a cruise. Gambling, sailing, eating, socializing, and drinking.:o

 

Dan

[hoop4321]

we also live below our means:) We have no debt! We use points from our card, we have a travel savings account. We used to save change and dollar bills, but as everything is on the card for points, cash in this house is a rarity. DH also gets a nice sized bonus each year that we often use for a vacation or home improvement.....but this year, we are buying a truck with it. We have a small bar bill for the week, like $100, but we do spend a ton on excursions. We only have one child (who has a raging appetite). We save where we can, but we want to live. I don't want to be in a hospital bed dying, wishing i would have done more with my family. Budgeting for vacations/memories is a priority.

[AlycLiz]

I'm confused...just because the poster referred to their partner as their wife why do you all assume that they mean they are a man? Then criticize and berate them saying that they are a woman? Is it not entirely possible that the poster IS a woman with a wife? If nothing else with a civil union wife?

 

Just trying to play devil's advocate here. Personally, I don't understand why it's a big deal - I never saw where OP referred to themselves as "he"..why is everyone else making that assumption?

 

Talk about frivolous?

[Pollensalta]

25, not married, no kids, full-time student, full-time employee.

 

I cruise every few months. I don't have kids and never will, so all the money I would have spent on them can go to other things. I just work hard. I deserve the vacations I take and can afford them, so why not?

[okgirl]

Yup - that's what we're thinking as well. Save the best for last!;)

 

Part of what motivates me NOT to wait is my mother getting breast cancer at 47 and dying at 53........I was just talking to my older sister who turned 60 yesterday......it's hard to realise that all 4 of us siblings are older than Mom ever got to be.........So, no.......we don't save the best for last cause we may not get a last........Having said that....

 

My younger sister (who is now retired) and I always cruise together and we've been averaging 3 per year.......we both work(ed) for a large corporation as managers where we have a fully company funded pension, generous 401K plans and 6 weeks of vacation per year.

 

When sister was still working we could pretty much cruise when ever and from where ever we wanted to.......but now I'm retiring in November, so our perspective has changed.......in the 2 years that Donna has been retired we've paid off all of our debts, our cars are 2002 models with very low mileage and we're able to cruise several times a year and have a week at the beach every summer.....

 

In 2012, we will be on a very fixed income and we will have to have the money to pay for the cruise and most of the additional expenses at the time of booking........We'll drive to most if not all of our cruise embarkation ports.....and even though we always go in a day early, we'll be looking at dinner at Subway instead of Willie G's.......If we need to suplement our retirement income, I may reinstate my nursing license and work a couple of 12's on the weekends.

 

It's good that after 23 cruises the ship is the destination rather than needing to go on a lot of excursions.......we've pretty much quit playing bingo and we're working on cutting back on the other S&S charges that typically come out to 3+ pages.

[truchattycathy]

OP, I use to look for a great deal, put down the deposit and pay the final payment when it was due. No more. Now I look for a great deal, put down the deposit and send $50 a paycheck to Carnival to pay off the balance. It adds up fast. I currently have two cruises booked and one is pd for and another is fast on the way. When I get both pd. off, I will continue to send $50 a month for OBC. I guess that's kind of my vacation fund. lol I also use a credit card where I earn points. I almost always pay 2/3 of my deposit if not all with points, and occasionally I use points for OBC. I have also started buying FCC's. I guess I am addicted to cruising and have figured out how to feed my addiction. :D

[angel2wyld2]

We raised our children, put them through college and paid for weddings.

It's our turn now. We are spending their inheritance!

 

Amen! Same here. I'm frugal, very frugal LOL. We buy slightly used cars. Did not get a mortgage above our means. We sacrificed when our kids were little so they could do more. Like no b-day presents or valentines, anniversary, mothers day etc etc for DH or I. Saved that money for the kids. Now we save that money for our cruises! But I'm still frugal and always looking for a great deal on a cruise and got several. Heck I'm going on 5 this year, 2 were unplanned but Carnival had a great deal so why not. :D

[Name Of The Game]

I'm confused...just because the poster referred to their partner as their wife why do you all assume that they mean they are a man?

 

When someone says they have a wife and kids (older post) wouldn't you logically think it's a man?

[kyrisong1]

When someone says they have a wife and kids (older post) wouldn't you logically think it's a man?

Not really, lots of same sex marriages out there and many adopt or IV for their children. Was going to make the same comment. However I made a Pickle comment about this one ages back and got thwaped for it cause some thought I was rude. <shrug>

Don't really care one way or another, but this one posts a little odd, like Pickle does. And it wasn't an insult, we are what we are, and if people don't like it they can use the "be gone" button.

We cruise when we can afford it. Sometimes twice a year, sometimes every other year. We've had two deaths of young people in our family in the past year and have not had a chance or even desire to cruise, but getting ready for October now.

Cheers, Carole

[Unknown Survivor]

I try to plan and budget for one cruise per year. I also take my mom and pay for her cruise as well. Like some of the other posters I sacrifice shopping sprees, going out to eat, I limit my Starbucks to once a week, my car is paid off and my rent in minimal, and like ‘cruisingluver2009’ I buy generic brands at the grocery store whenever possible. Any extra money goes into a savings account for vacations, specifically cruising.

Some of the things that help lower the cost of cruising is traveling at non-peak times, and booking early. My mother and I live in Utah so round trip airfare to LAX or San Diego is very reasonable. The one thing mom and I must have is a balcony, so I don’t mind splurging for that extra. We are not big drinkers or gamblers so that helps save money on the cruise. I would love to try another cruise line; however, Carnival is always the most reasonably priced and they do a really good job.

I agree with ‘Norcal2’ - a land vacation requires budgeting for hotel, airfare, food, transportation to get around, and shopping. I have priced both and I like cruising better – I love relaxing on my balcony at night with a book or just visiting with mom.

As ‘lhanson38’ so wonderfully pointed out – life is short and I want to make as many memories as I can with my mom and family. I am not going into debt for these cruises, I am merely sacrificing thing I just don’t need (like Starbuck coffees every day – LOL). The last cruise I went on included my mom, sister, niece and nephew – it was awesome and we made some wonderful memories. On April 13, 2012 - mom and I are taking a 15 day Hawaii cruise. Every time we talk it comes up…I can hear her excitement already.

I have simply discovered that one needs to prioritize what is most important: For me that is making memories with the family and having a relaxing vacation – cruises do both.

Cindy

[Duckie26]

A couple years ago, I started a vacation fund at my Credit Union. I have money taken directly from my pay check and direct deposited in to this account. I don't have an ATM card for this account and the branch is a good distance from my house so it's not easily accessible to me. I also try to up the amount every 6 months...even if it's only $20. If you start with small increments you never really miss it.

 

I also save all loose change and single bills in a "piggy bank" and then try to slip a $20 in here once a month. It's amazing how much this adds up to by the end of the year.

 

If I need to, I'll use that year's tax refund money towards it as well.

 

I also book my cruise a year in advanced so I have time to save and plan. The count downs are long but definitely worth the wait.

 

I am now paying on my third cruise. I can't freaking wait! :D

[T. Advisor King]

Money

Get away

You get a good job with good pay and you're okay

 

 

[cortneyward]

As I've only cruised twice, over the course of 6 years (the second being recently), I can't say I cruise that often...but I plan to from here out. I work ALOT. I had a quite expensive divorce that put me way under for a few years. I worked my way back to daylight and got used to all the extra hours. I don't have to work as much as I do but after that, it's nice to have just a little extra to fall back on, plus savings. I now budget for 200 to put into savings a month, plus any extra I make (part time job is as a server and unpredictable). I am 6 hours from New Orleans, ten from Galveston, Charleston, and Jacksonville. I can easily drive to port. I don't mind staying in a cheap hotel room as long as it's clean. I don't even really care where I go, just who I go with. I've had both ocean view and balconies and can honestly say I couldn't care less.

 

And for the poster that threw out the Christmas account idea, it's an amazing thing to have. I put 30 in mine, twice a month. The first week in November, I will have over 700 for Christmas. As a single person with no children, that's more than I will need for all gifts plus holiday baking.

[nytraveller53]

You're a man?

 

And a lawyer?

 

:confused:

Uhh...yeah. Why?

[nytraveller53]

Because she writes and gets into petty arguments like a woman. This is not the style of a male lawyer. :rolleyes:

I save the formal, backed up arguments for the courtroom. I like to have fun here on Cruise Critic.

[gtalum]

(we don't actually have a budget...)

 

Well there's your problem right there. ;)

 

Seriously, no matter how much you make if you don't have a budget you'll likely end up spending it all.

 

We are two professionals, bringing home a solid income. We don't really have to budget, but we do. We track every penny that comes in and goes out. That doesn't mean we don't do what we want, it just means we know where every dollar that we bring in goes. One of our large budget items (third largest, after mortgage and long-term savings) is vacation savings. We set aside about 10% of our income for two weeks of annual vacation. That covers two week-long vacations (sometimes both cruises, though that's not as likely now that our daughter is older and we can do more adventurous travel) every year or one big vacation and several long weekends.

 

For what it's worth, I think you can cruise for less money per day than you'd spend on a comparable land vacation, especially if you can drive to your cruise and would otherwise fly to go on vacation.

 

Before we learned to budget, we felt broke all the time. Now that we keep track, it's much easier to find the money to do the things we want to do and still set aside money for long-term goals.

[nytraveller53]

The "my grandma is paying for our Oasis cruise" and the type of posts made me think YOUNG. and I was indignantly told 30s.

 

i guess hard times fall on lawyers too that they have to budget.

I am 35 --- and in law practice, you have to work your way up. In this industry, I'm still a "newcomer".

 

And what's wrong with someone else paying for my cruise...even if I was a billionaire?

[nytraveller53]

You know what else was somewhat odd? If you review his/her review of the Valor, he/she didn't say who went on the trip or never referred to a "wife"....everything was just "We" and "I". When someone commented asking about pictures, he/she said "too excited to take any". Riiiight. It's only your second cruise, first on Carnival, and neither you or your "wife" would take any pictures? Me thinks this alleged "attorney" doesn't know how to upload photos. :rolleyes::D

I am "too excited" to take pictures...I don't care about my review while I'm on vacation. I do the review as an afterthought, I don't "plan it out" with pictures.

 

I hope you know that not all reviews have pictures.

And even if I did take pictures, I am by no means obligated to put the online, in the public. :rolleyes:

[blondietink]

We are a family of 4 ... all adults .... and took our first cruise last month. It cost us $1300.00. We drove 23 hours to the port (extra $500.00 RT). Used hotel points to stay on our trip to the port and back for free. Food my DH never counts because in his mind, if we stayed home we would have to buy food also. Compare what we paid to a possible Disney World vacation and it would have cost us A LOT more for sure for lodging, entertainment, and tickets for the same amount of time. We have already booked another cruise! You can't beat the price for what you get.

 

We met a couple in the elevator on our cruise. We discussed briefly the great deal we got. They said, "We could cruise every week for a year and spend less than $50,000." It is all in what you value. We live in a modest home that is paid for, we drive used cars, my DH is retired, our two DS's are both developmentally disabled and we live very frugally. We rarely go out to eat at home, we freeze and can our own fruits and vegetables and we heat with wood in the winter. We value time spent making memories, instead of having fancy cars, clothes, house, etc.

[nytraveller53]

I'm confused...just because the poster referred to their partner as their wife why do you all assume that they mean they are a man? Then criticize and berate them saying that they are a woman? Is it not entirely possible that the poster IS a woman with a wife? If nothing else with a civil union wife?

 

Just trying to play devil's advocate here. Personally, I don't understand why it's a big deal - I never saw where OP referred to themselves as "he"..why is everyone else making that assumption?

 

Talk about frivolous?

Thanks! I don't understand why "certain" members here have such a big problem with me (and lots of other people, as well).

 

As for the time comment...I generally am on Cruise Critic EARLY in the morning, before work (~5:30-6), or at night. I also check (and post) for Cruise Critic using my lovely smartphone.

 

To the few people who are insulting me: I'm slightly flattered that people take the time to track down how many posts I make...but it's also a little freaky...:eek: There are many members who post much more than I do in a given timeframe. What makes you think that lawyers have no time for anything other than work? Seems like you have some preconceived notions.

 

Look - I use Cruise Critic for the fun of it (and I enjoy giving my, albeit little, knowledge about cruising to others), and I like {most} of the people here. :):):):)

[MissDiva1]

How do I afford to cruise? I work. Odd question IMO....

[nytraveller53]

Because she writes and gets into petty arguments like a woman. This is not the style of a male lawyer. :rolleyes:

It seems like you are a bit sexist, no?:confused:

[AlycLiz]

I am "too excited" to take pictures...I don't care about my review while I'm on vacation. I do the review as an afterthought, I don't "plan it out" with pictures.

 

I hope you know that not all reviews have pictures.

 

 

I can understand your not taking pictures. Actually - I can completely understand how this may sound but I have two children and a husband and I don't have a single picture on the walls in my house.

 

I *have* pictures of my children and a very few family pictures..all on my computer though. I also do not take pictures during vacations. I just don't see the sense in it. I don't need material things to preserve my memories. My memories are in my mind :-)

 

With that being said - this cruse in June will be our first cruise and I have made a conscious decision to TRY to take as many pictures as I can simply because my kids are so excited about this trip. Otherwise, I wouldn't bother.