Question for Super cruisers... Like Firefly

[firefly333]

It sounds good to me. Of course, I'll have to start small...wont be getting all Rockerfellerish about it for a while.:)

 

You need 100 shares. If nothing else, with the way the market has been crashing on Europe's news, its relatively cheap compared to what it has sold for in the past.

 

Lots of fear right now. People fear that Europe could just blow up. Spain sold bonds at twice the interest rate they could sell them for only one month ago. The German bunds today were disasterous, and on and on.

 

buy them carefully.

[btrbill]

Wow!!

 

Thanks everyone for the great tips! I cut and pasted several to review more in depth.

 

As for the FCC, they will not help me because I can book using interline rates, and in talking with my TA, she said the ES rates are very rarely within $100 of the interline, except on shorter cruises... Well, I guess I could actually use them on the 4 or 5 day trips out of NOLA. Just have to watch the prices.:rolleyes:

 

I live about 45 minutes from the NOLA port so almost always have alternate parking or someone who could drop/pick up. 4 hours to Galveston gives me 2 other ships, but the same itenaries...:eek:

 

I do like to drink a little, but I don't like getting drunk. My one cruise the RR did great, so that will help.

 

Does anyone know if the Stockholder OBC is given for interline rates as well? I need to check on that because that could certainly help. At $30.47 a share, I would need $3047 to get the OBC. So after 31 cruises it would pay for itself!! What a bargain!:rolleyes:

 

Thanks for all the tips!! Hopefully I will bump into some of you guys along the way!!

[hillbillycruisers]

You need 100 shares. If nothing else, with the way the market has been crashing on Europe's news, its relatively cheap compared to what it has sold for in the past.

 

Lots of fear right now. People fear that Europe could just blow up. Spain sold bonds at twice the interest rate they could sell them for only one month ago. The German bunds today were disasterous, and on and on.

 

buy them carefully.

I dont dally a lot in the stock market, but do have some in the company I work for....may have to do a switcheroo!!:)

[golfadj]

I dont dally a lot in the stock market, but do have some in the company I work for....may have to do a switcheroo!!:)

 

You need 100 shares but remember it is an investment and prices in the market goup and down.

[PAPERBKWRITER]

Great advice from everyone but I'd like to add that since you are retired (and flexible)watch for ships that aren't selling, there are a lot of last minute discounts. I have no idea where Northshore is but if you can drive to a port all the better. Another thing, Halloween week is a good time to book since many folks don't want to leave their home unattended.

[LRene]

A couple of weeks ago, our S&S bill was $2.34 and I had to work to get it in the positive! I will admit that in over 30 cruises, that was my lowest bill.

 

I also use a FCC and stockholder credit ($200 for 7 day). I have my tips added at time of booking so those are paid long in advance. We also pre-pay for any hotels (usually Priceline or Hotwire). I buy a bottle of booze from Bon Voyage (also paid in advance). You have 2 free cocktail parties on a 5 day or longer, the past guest party and the farewell party.

 

I don't buy anything in the gift shops and never buy the overpriced photos. In fact, I usually dodge every photographer any more. We occasionally take some cash for the casino but lately we have only played in the slot tournament and never set foot in there otherwise.

 

We will eat in the Specialty restaurants but normally have on board credit to cover it all. We never ever play bingo or buy raffle tickets. Ick....

 

We book ONLY private excursions and set the cash aside for those long before we go. We pay cash for meals, etc. while in port to avoid a bill when we get home. We both deduct a vacation budget from both of our paychecks and NEVER touch it for anything else. We use a Delta Amex for everything at home and pay it off every month so we have tons of miles for flying. We also use a Marriott Visa so get some free nights out of that.

 

Since the kids are grown and we have no debt, it's pretty easy to travel more economically. Once retired, we'll have to re-think the strategy but we've been budgeting travel into our retirement funds for years and hopefully won't have to change much.