For those who cruise a LOT - how do you do it?

[wassup4565]

Booking on board has usually been good for us - we usually get a good price and OBC on RCI. Still, gotta check for price drops...

 

We are very frugal about all the extras on board. Unless there's a really good reason, no ship's photos, no specialty restaurants, no trinkets and trash, no spa.

 

We almost always opt for no-cost or low-cost DIY in ports - local bus, walking around, local ferry, etc. Never ship excursions, which are the highest priced of all.

 

We have to fly, and therefore book as early as possible, as the closer to the date, the more you pay. Same with hotels. And we don't need a luxury hotel. All we do is sleep there, so it just has to be clean and safe.

 

Great bargains if you can arrange to cruise the Caribbean between American Thanksgiving and Christmas. Sure, the weather may not be perfect, but the prices are really low (not much demand since people are busy) and we do our Christmas shopping with unique items and cheap knock-offs in ports.

 

And as others have said, between cruises we don't go out for pricey dinners, make our own wine, drive old but serviceable vehicles, shop stingily, grow half the year's food in our garden, and reduce, re-use and re-cycle.

[2ndhoney]

We try to go on one cruise (sometimes 2) and a land trip a year.

 

They way we look at it is, do I want a new bedroom set for $3,000 or go on a cruise instead & deal with the mis-matched furniture.

 

Cruise wins every time!:D

 

We are by no means loaded, but we do make a decent buck. We live in NY with hefty taxes, a mortgage and car loans. We rarely eat out or go to the movies and tend to spend our leisure time with each other, friends or family.

 

We also plan ahead, way ahead. We have a spreadsheet of where we would like to visit in our lives, do cost projections and see what we can afford at what time. I also get 3 wks vacation, but my husband get 4 wks, so it's a bit tricky at times.

 

Since we are in our 40s, we figure to hit all the most expensive trips before we retire (while still mobile and able to pay for it!;))

 

We have already planned on paper to do Alaska in 2016 and Australia.NZ in 2017 (I finally get 4 wks vacation then).

 

Our way to keep costs manageable is book the cruise we want when the dates first come out, check for price drops, etc. By doing that it gives us time to pay it all off before the trip.

 

Travel is my hobby (expensive I know) but it's what makes me happy!:D

[Pansy2014]

I've enjoyed this post a lot! As a 38 year old single mom who started my career in teaching (not teaching to get rich!), I always wonder if I'll get to travel much in my lifetime.

I have bought a smaller home, making sometimes double payments to pay it off early. Most of my friends live in nicer neighborhoods, but I like my older neighborhood. I have an old car that still runs. I have yet to start investing as I haven't a clue where to start, nor do I think I am ready financially to begin investing.

I hope there are many cruises for me to come!

[CheckersMidwest]

We are actually quite different than most of the posts here. We'll be taking our 3rd cruise next week, but we take a nice vacation of some kind every year. We've been to Disney World 5 times (6-8 days on property), land vacations in the Bahamas (week x3 times), Jamaica, Mexico, as well as other destinations.

 

We work full time, have 2 kids....one in college & one in high school. We do have a huge house and several cars.

 

We are NOT wealthy and we do have debt. With that being said, I am self employed so when I take off work, it's without pay. We limit our vacations to about a week. Living in northern Missouri & only a week to vacation, means we usually have to fly, adding to the expense of the trip. We also pay for all 4 of us to travel.

 

How do we do it? We plan where we want to go , figure out what it will cost and then save the money. Our first trip to Disney was a big deal for us, had to save a lot each month for a year. When it came down to it, we had to switch to a standard view room (cheaper) and took one day off the trip. I'm pretty good at planning too and finding good prices. I watch airfare diligently - checking several times a day so I know when it's at the best price it's going to be, etc.

[MrsPete]

Most comments on this thread can be boiled down to three general ideas:

 

- Spend according to your values /priorities. If you value travel, spend on that. Everything cannot be a priority, so if you're planning to spend big on travel, accept that you're probably going to live in a small house and cook at home most of the time.

- If your priority is traveling, find ways to do it cheaply: Inside rooms, off-season, whatever.

- Plan and invest, and in time you'll build up a financial portfolio that'll allow you to do the things that matter to you.

 

I totally agree with these ideas!

 

However, I do know people who are simply spending money they don't have . . . because they want to cruise today, and they just figure that tomorrow will take care of itself.

 

Example: I have a co-worker who cruises 4-5 times a year (and we're not high wage earners). She jokes that she and her husband are able to do it because they have chosen NOT to save for retirement. Yes, seriously -- they're in their 40s, haven't saved a dime for retirement and don't plan to start on that project! They figure they'd rather cruise frequently NOW and work 'til the day they die. I doubt they're alone in that plan.

[sail7seas]

In U.S.,

One person can afford a 'McMansion' and some else struggles to pay the rent on a small apartment.

 

Someone drives a sparkling new Mercedes and someone else is grateful to have an old beat up car that barely starts.

 

Some people pay no U.S. income taxes and others pay 60+ % in taxes on their annual income.

 

But this is the land of opportunity and 'Only in America' (as the song goes) can someone become who/what they want to be if they work hard, put their mind to it and have a bit of luck. :)