How Do You Save Up For A Cruise?

[beebowleye]

:eek:

 

LOL I didn't even think of it like that! Maybe I should rename it!

[mrsd912]

Like most people we just tighten our budget some. Go out to dinner less, don't buy coffee out, stay home instead of go out, etc.

DH and I accumulate a lot of change, he gets tips at his job and I do at my second job. All the change goes into a burgundy jug, and it adds up quick!

We also book when we have good chunk of change, like income tax season, and make faithful weekly payments until the cruise is paid off. It makes it much easier to budget for.

I also work for a heating oil company in Maine, and we work A LOT of overtime in the winter, and every penny of it goes right into savings.

[tampabrat22]

We cruise 1 or 2 times per year, along with 2-4 short Disney or beach trips. Our kids are getting older now so the Disney trips are slowing down (and my wallet is so thankful)! Here are the basics of my travel/cruise saving strategy:

 

Deposit paid with tax refund

On payday- deposit to online account @ ING (after bills & emergency savings)

Earn extra money throughout year to payoff vacation & to use for spending

We only cruise from ports within driving distance for now (yay FL residents)!

Drive old cars, limit eating out, keep debt low & try not to buy unnecessary junk

 

We both work full time but I also do a lot to earn extra $$ throughout the year (do taxes Jan-Apr, make & sell jewelry, small photography biz on the side and sell at kids consignment sales twice a year). Needless to say, I stay very busy which is why vacation time with my family is very important to me.;)

[bonnys]

Our vacations are just a part of our budget. We put a certain amount each paycheck in a vacation account at the credit union. Any extra or surprise money gets split...half into savings (that doesn't get touched at all) and the other half into our vacay account.

 

DH travels (via plane) every week for work and earns hotel, air, car rental, and credit card rewards that we use for pre and post cruise expenses. We are using hotel points to pay for our pre-cruise hotel stay and our excursion to Atlantis for the day on our upcoming cruise.

 

I do have a change jar (that I have to hide from DH or he raids it ;)lol) that I keep. The only coins I use for payment at a store are pennies, otherwise it all gets stashed when I get home. The same goes for cash. Ones and fives get put in the jar. It adds up very quickly and we never miss it. For vacations DH does not want to fly since he is on a plane twice a week 40-45 weeks/yr., so whenever possible we like to travel via train. I paid for our Amtrak tickets (sleeper car accommodations round trip) for our upcoming cruise with my jar money, and I didn't spend it all. And since we get a sleeper all our meals are included, so no extra food expenses, even our dinner will be covered because of the time we will arrive in Miami. The last time I raided it was for our December cruises.

 

The only thing that competes with cruising is motorcycle cruising. We have one and love it so we split vacation time each year. 1/2 for cruising and 1/2 for bike trips.

[clambert1273]

Well... I quit smoking :D so the money we would have spent on cigs every week goes into a savings account.

 

Talk about adding up ;)

 

 

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[Budget Queen]

I love a cruise bargain, and always go in a cheap inside cabin. :) (but I do not compromise on where I want to go). I have in the past, suggested "paying yourself". IF you brown bag it, forego a movie etc, put that money in a specific travel fund. IF your family happens to ask what you may want for a holiday/birthday etc, then TELL them. IF you happen to want a specific excursion, extra night etc, mention it (NO I am not referring to anyone asking for themselves, UNLESS, first asked by the other party). I am one, who does ask, and would always rather give someone something they really want, vs some useless item that sits in a closet.

 

I am fortunate, my husband is a retire airline employee, the world is small when you don't pay for any air. I've been traveling all my adult life, which is pretty rare with a lot of people having limited time off. I get 8 weeks of paid vacation, I swap any of the rest I want. (from May this year, I'm going on 7 cruises).

 

So the bottom line, I think is, IF travel is what you want, then maybe you will have to skimp elsewhere, but time slips away and is unpredictable. IF you don't have to, don't put places off until you "retire" etc.

[Scrapnana]

Before I retired, I had the money come out of my paycheck before I saw it. I had some money going into my savings account and the majority into a 403b account. Each year when I got a pay raise, the extra would be added to the 403b account. Now that I am retired, I can live on the money I get from my pension and the money from Social Security goes into savings.

Edited August 8, 2013 by Scrapnana

[IMKTDQT810]

Thank you to everyone that posted. I'm glad to know that you guys are like us and live within our means. I can't tell you how many of our friends go out to dinner 5 times a week, or big weekend shopping trips to the mall to buy things they really didn't need. I'm glad we live the way we live and are not digging a hole for ourselves. I mentioned that I don't have a credit card...I have very bad credit from years past. So I normally get turned down for a CC or have a crazy APR. My goal is to research a few good cards, decide on one (only one) and then TRY to apply for it. If I get one then I WILL be paying it off prior to seeing the statement...but get points along the way. It seems like a lot of you guys do very well with the CC perks, I would like to do that also (if I can).

[WetToes]

Good luck!

[antique sailor]

AHOY SHIPMATE,

one of many suggestions you will receive; apply for a CC from one of the cruise lines that you are likely to sail on. Be sure that you get some perks for getting it. Use it for everything you spend on that cruise line. Set it up for AUTO pay electronically from your Credit Union or bank and pay off total EVERY month. Be sure to know the cut- off

date from the company and plan to make any big purchases after that date. Then you will have almost two months before the payment is due. After a few months call and ask for a raise in your credit limit on the card. NEVER use card for cash advance or ATM, don't even get a pin number for it.... All this will help you get a better number on your credit report. After a yr. apply for another card from a second source that gives a bonus on your first purchase etc. Always cash in your accumulated pts. for CASH credit on the account when they reach the best amt. ratio. Don't be afraid to ASK questions when you are not sure.

[gr8life]

Didn't know if you knew this but if you own shares of Carnival Corporation you can receive up to $250 OBC for each cruise you take. For example Alan and I cruised both Carnival and Holland America last year and sent in our info to the link below and received credit for both. If you cruise 4x per year you will receive four benefits etc.

 

 

"The shares of stock you purchase are in Carnival Corporation & PLC not Carnival Cruise Lines which is one of many cruise lines that Carnival Corp. owns and operates. These include : Holland America, Princess, Cunard, Seabourn, etc.

 

 

Carnival has a portfolio of the world’s most widely recognized cruise brands, which complement each other by geography, serve nearly every segment of the cruise industry and provide our guests with virtually endless holiday choices—so many, in fact, that they need to look no further than the Carnival family when selecting a cruise vacation. The cruise lines within our portfolio include the most-recognized brands in North America, the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, and Australia—areas that account for 85 percent of the world’s cruise passengers"

 

 

Carnival is the only company in the world to be included in both the S&P 500 index in the US and the FTSE 100 index in the UK.

 

 

click on this link for shareholder benefits instructions:

 

http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=140690&p=irol-sharebenefit

[roomba920]

Never spend a nickel till you have dime. We live by this philosophy always.

[My335iTT]

Sell drugs

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

No jk I work 7 to 3 and save part of my paycheck then look for a good price on a cruise and book it.

Edited September 13, 2013 by My335iTT

[melody hounddog]

Ahh...savings, schmavings...we have plenty of money...so we just go when we want.....

 

I think you are on the wrong thread.

[springfire]

At home piggy bank that we all put money into it.

[puppycanducruise]

MY suggestion if for fellow Canucks - save toonies! It's amazing how quickly they add up.

[Hozhoni]

We are not wealthy by any means and have two in college now...we make payments and evevryone has to cut back...no movies, pizzas for awhile. It is also cheaper to take the kids on a cruise then to take them to Disney for the weekend..... :) we live very simply while we are making cruise payments..I drive an older mini van, bc I know if I have a car payment I can forget our cruises. Besides our cruises are the only trips we take as a family, sometimes it is the Christmas gift with just small items from Santa...living near the ports help....I couldn't afford to fly 6 of us to the cruise port too....the sacrifices are well worth it...

 

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[ISLABONITA]

We travel, not just cruise, excessively as family, ( 2teens) as a couple married 20 years, or by ourselves. Credit card points and sign-up bonus have been a major part of our travel. I churn credit card, so we both get the card, use it for the benefit and then close it. We pay off the card each month, since items purchased are usually gas, groceries, phone, cable, insurance- home and car, some utilities and co-pay on doctor bills. This year, we had a high end trip to Hawaii (Mau and Kauai), one first class ticket to Jamaica, and 2 r/t ticket to Houston for our cruise, majority covered by points valued at about $7,000. Right now with Southwest, you each get 2 free tickets for getting their card, a value of up to $880 times 2. I decide where I want to go and what card to get for the best value. Next year I am going to UK and Switzerland so I am using one of the Chase cards with a sign up bonus of 60K (target offer, the ones in the mail) or $775 toward any travel. In a year I should easily have enough for the ticket or to book a cruise. The credit card company rewards us for purchasing everyday, needed items, and paying off the bill at the end of the month. I just used points to get gift cards for Starbucks, Chilli and Red Robin = $75.

 

 

THIS!!! We retirees just started a couple of years back aggressively as before I would just get a cc for a hotel stay or an airline cc for airfare.

We traveled to CR in 2011 quite inexpensively with airfare and hotels covered for a 2 week stay.

 

This year we were able to get to SF in F class by getting AirTran cc and hotel cc like SPG, Priority ( now called IHG), Citi and Amex Hilton for 7 days.

 

And now in Jan. we have again airfare covered and hotels to Hawaii for 7 days.

 

We have a cruise booked for next year and am working on getting the Barclay's World Arrival card which gives you $400 towards any traveling expenses multiply that times 2 and we will have $800 covered .

Already have the points for rt airfare and hotel stays pre and post cruise.

 

Whichever way you save, it feels good not to have to pay very much for it once the cruise ends. ( bills)

Edited September 20, 2013 by ISLABONITA

[Cruisin Broad]

Interesting reading. My husband and I also live within our means and pay our credit card balance each month. He, however, doesn't like to vacation on cruise ships. I love it and cruise with two female friends. My husband enjoys a cocktail each evening and he loves expensive wine. I'm not much of a drinker, so whenever he buys alcohol of any type, I put the same amount away in my cruise fund. It's fun and works for us.

[Barlee126]

My husband and I have given each other "cruise fund" money instead of gifts for our birthdays and anniversary every year since we got married 6 years ago. We probably could have done a cruise after a couple years this way, but we had babies instead lol - our youngest is finally old enough to stay with grandma for a week so we cashed in on our "cruise fund" this year!

 

We definitely aren't one of those who can do multiple cruises in a year, for more reasons than money, but we found it pretty easy to save up just by replacing gifts to each other.

 

We did something similar one year. We had planned a family reunion/vacation cruise but things ended up tighter than excepted. So we decided to forgo all holidays, birthdays, and anniversaries. I still gave out cards, but everyone focused on saving for the cruise. It worked out and it was a cruise to remember! :)

[Mksgrl]

We have cruised as many as 10 times in one year but there are things we do to be as conservative as possible.

 

We cruise during the off season.

We book an OV (an interior if it is on a Fantasy class ship, because they are big enough for 3 comfortably).

We do not drink a lot or gamble.

We own Stock...so we get the Stockholders OBC.

We do not spend a lot on excursions at every port.

We use our Chase Sapphire credit card to book the cruise because they give us free travel insurance. It is not the best in the world but it is fine for inexpensive cruises.

 

It also helps that we are 7 hours from a port, so we do not have a lot of airfare.

 

Next month we are flying to Alaska, but that is using points from hubby's travel for free airfare...and our hotels are usually free the same way using his points.

 

 

I read that the CCL stock is only good on Princess cruises and not Carnival, is that correct? And if so, why can you not use Carnival stock OBC on a Carnival cruise. Keep in mind I'm a new cruiser.

[melody hounddog]

I read that the CCL stock is only good on Princess cruises and not Carnival, is that correct? And if so, why can you not use Carnival stock OBC on a Carnival cruise. Keep in mind I'm a new cruiser.

 

The shareholder benefit is good on all Carnival brands: Carnival, Princess, HAL, Seabourn, Cunard, Costa,Aida, Ibero and P&O.

[My335iTT]

Oh and my one bonus a year also goes straight toward a cruise :D

[misty57]

We don't typically save up for a cruise but pay final payment with funds out of regular savings. I usually have OBC from my Visa and purchase a next cruise certificate with open booking for only $100 deposit. With that I only have to pay another $100 for DH at booking and get $100 OBC. We usually leave the ship with a balance due back to our CC. That helps the cash flow for a while, but for next year I am kind of "backed up". We have one booked for Feb because we have not been to Belize before, plus the ship will be fresh out of an update. In the meantime we booked and sailed on another 7 night on Oasis. In planning DH's birthday for next year decided to do Alaska. YIKES! I am signing up for every extra call slot I can manage at work, and pulling out all the frugal tricks I have up my sleeve. It's so much work! Then I think about Christmas gifts to purchase for 7 kids and in-laws and 3 little granddaughters.(DH is getting an excursion for his gift!)

I think I truly am a "cruiseaholic". But I can stop at any time right?

[EatPrayCruise]

Well... I quit smoking :D so the money we would have spent on cigs every week goes into a savings account.

 

Talk about adding up ;)

 

 

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Congratulations to you! I hope that the quitting and savings go well for you!

 

:)