How much do you spend in a year cruising?

[Biker19]

We aim for 1-2 per year, but the CC effect (people post bargains on CC which are too good to pass up) will mean 6 this year.

[sjb317]

We probably average 2 cruises per year but this year we have done 4 and next year we have 4 booked so far!:D I look for bargains and itinerary.

 

We are both retired now but it's still difficult to find time to cruise as we have grandkids with soccer games, school events, etc. and, as much as I love cruising, I love being with them more:D so I plan our cruises around their stuff.

 

I figure after I'm gone, they won't remember Mimi went on a hundred cruises but will remember the time I spent with them.:D

 

Sherri:)

[rmf11699]

Not near enough :-(

[Paulette3028]

Since we have to fly everywhere to catch a cruise, we do longer cruises and B2Bs. We count days, so between 2003 and 2016 we've been at sea 440 days. Nothing in 2017 and probably none in the future. It's not the cost, we just don't enjoy it anymore. We refuse to accept the cutbacks and changes that have been made over the last few years. I would guess the total spend, including cruise, tips, air tours, hotels, etc., it would be a little over $100k.

 

I have a luxury living in Florida and the easier ability to cruise with basically 4 cruise ports within driving distance -- although 2 of them are over a 3 hour drive away (but many people still envy that drive). Between 2004 and today we haven't accumulated as many days at sea as you, but we are fast approaching reaching D+. Costs of everything has gone up in the past 13 years, at hotels, at land based restaurants -- everywhere.....and the value received could even be said to have gone down. I pay more for a meal at a restaurant, yet the portion has dramatically shrunk, as an example. The next question becomes 'did I enjoy it'? Enjoyment and cost are two different things. I enjoy the time spent on the cruise and that is separate and apart from its cost. If the dinner portions have shrunk, get another one (there isn't an extra charge).

 

Can we still get a good deal looking at the cost of a cruise? -- yes.

 

I guess it is all in the perception of things. We wish we could cruise more....but we still work -- one of us fulltime. But we still get in two cruises a year....and one year managed to get in 3.

[pcur]

It depends on what else is going on in our life, but we usually go twice a year, BUT we prefer longer cruises now. I'm a big bargain hunter, and first we decide where we want to go, then I start shopping our favorite cruise lines: RCCL, Celebrity, Princess, HAL, and now I've added NCL. I try to keep the net out-of-pocket to $5,000 - $8,000 a year.

 

For instance:

 

2016 we did 25 nights b2b Mexico and Hawaii on the Ruby Princess out of Los Angeles for around $5,800 cruise price. Since we drove to Los Angeles, there was no air cost.

 

2017 we cruised the Liberty from Galveston for 7 nights, and I went on an 11 night Mediterranean cruise with my best friend. Total cruise cost was $4,000, but there were LOTS of additional expenses for the Med cruise, so the total cost for the year was around $7,000.

 

2018 we are going for 28 nights on a b2b2b with NCL, HAL, and RCCL, all leaving back-to-back from Tampa. The total cost for those cruises is around $6,500. Air will be paid with points.

 

However, all these cruise costs are offset by the fact that we aren't home and spending our usual amount on utilities, gasoline, food, etc. So, the actual out of pocket is reduced by that amount. It's not what the cruises COST that matters, it's what you SPEND.

 

Then, we book with Costco and get additional obc or Costco cards, plus I try to book during the cruise lines' promos for more obc or a better price.

 

We always book ocean view cabins, unless on RCCL the balcony price with our D+ discount is near the same as an ocean view.

 

We don't buy pictures, shore excursions are usually DIY, and we have our happy hour drinks and soda for free on RCCL, and use obc or other promos for the other cruise lines. Example: HAL has a value soda card that can be purchased for $25 with a $50 value. We'll get 2 of those for the cruise next year, plus HAL lets you take soda onboard. On the NCL Med cruise last year, my friend and I had a $200 shore excursion credit that cut the cost of our tours a bit.

[oldguysandgalls]

Once every two years or so has been the norm for us.

We wish we could cruise more often but with one of us dealing with severe mobility issues makes it very difficult since we need a fully accessible HC cabin and which are hard to come by.

[KuffMUp]

I spend less on the cruise than the airfare! :mad:

[cruiser123!]

We are relatively new to cruise life, so it’s only one cruise a year. There are four of us and we are in MN so airfare ends up costing more than cruises usually :(. When we go, it’s usually a balcony but if a suite is a good deal, we’ll upgrade.

[Baowen]

At least two cruises a year. Now that I am moving back to the US from the UK I know vacation time will will be much less. Doing a TA next month while I can! Next year maybe only one cruise :(

[reallyitsmema]

It all depends on the year, the amount of travel my DH is doing for work and other things happening in our lives. Last year, we took two cruises, this year, we are getting ready to leave for our fourth. Next year, we have a cruise tour and an Alaska cruise booked, so will most likely only take one other cruise if I find a good rate.

 

We have no specific budget for cruises, we just look for good rates or an itinerary we haven't done that has a rate we are willing to book.

[maria1122]

Way too much. Usually 8 per year and always in a suite. We like 9 or more nights. If not it will be a B2B.

[pcur]

We are relatively new to cruise life, so it’s only one cruise a year. There are four of us and we are in MN so airfare ends up costing more than cruises usually :(. When we go, it’s usually a balcony but if a suite is a good deal, we’ll upgrade.

 

Look into getting a Chase Sapphire credit card. Pay for your cruise, hotel, and all your regular home expenses that you can with it. Travel and restaurants get double points, too. Chase has it's own travel booking tool, and you can combine your Sapphire points with $ to pay for air or hotel. I've used ours multiple times over the last 10 years for free, nearly free, or pay one with points/pay one with $ bookings. It has seriously cut down on our air costs.

[14Terry]

We cruise once per year. We also like to cruise in suites. However on our upcoming cruise we're in a balcony. I hope we survive :-) :-)! Happy cruising everyone!

[bob brown]

Over the past 16 years, I have taken 30 cruises...mostly between 6 and 16 days...average about 11 days or so.

31 days from today, I will be retired (but who's counting?:D).

Then I will probably take a whole lot more...even considering a full world cruise. I will occasionally book an 'exotic' cruise, (just did the 32 nightNorth West Passage on Crystal) but usually will look for a last minute bargain in an Inside cabin on a ship from my homeport of New York. I can even manage to get to and from the ship by riding the subway to within a 15 minute walk to the pier...:cool:

[Little Buddy's Mom]

Since we have to fly everywhere to catch a cruise, we do longer cruises and B2Bs. We count days, so between 2003 and 2016 we've been at sea 440 days. Nothing in 2017 and probably none in the future. It's not the cost, we just don't enjoy it anymore. We refuse to accept the cutbacks and changes that have been made over the last few years. I would guess the total spend, including cruise, tips, air tours, hotels, etc., it would be a little over $100k.

 

I guess it's called cruise burn-out.

 

We started cruising about 25 years ago, so I can relate to how you feel. Cruising has changed so much over the years, it just isn't the same, as it used to be. It used to be so special, I could hardly wait until the next one. We haven't cruised for over two years, although, I've booked several and cancelled them. It's really not about the money and I've never added up how much we've spent.

 

We have a cruise booked for next year but I don't know if we'll go. Flying is such a pain, it hardly seems worth it.:(:(

[grapau27]

I guess it's called cruise burn-out.

 

We started cruising about 25 years ago' date=' so I can relate to how you feel. Cruising has changed so much over the years, it just isn't the same, as it used to be. It used to be so special, I could hardly wait until the next one. We haven't cruised for over two years, although, I've booked several and cancelled them. It's really not about the money and I've never added up how much we've spent.

 

We have a cruise booked for next year but I don't know if we'll go. Flying is such a pain, it hardly seems worth it.:(:([/quote']

You can't put a price on happiness and enjoying your cruises and life in general and

as long as you have got your health thats wonderful.

[trev71]

Cruise once a year but this year we are going on two. Just cut back on another planned trip and tossed in a few extra bucks and did a cruise instead of nhl weekend . my wife was happy she doesn't like hockey :)

[buck7]

We usually cruise twice a year. Some years three, some years one depending on where else we vacation. If we find a deal we will book a suite or a Jr., but usually it's a balcony for us. Aft if we can get it.

[davekathy]

Looking forward to all our future cruises.

[Paulette3028]

Looking forward to all our future cruises.

 

I agree with this wholeheartedly!

[no1racefan1]

We try to take two 1-2 week trips per year, but cruises are only a small part of that. DH and I have a lot of trips on our bucket list, so we have to juggle our time and money. Once we retire--which won't be for a looooong time--we'll probably try to do 4 trips per year with at least one most likely being a cruise.

[MrsPete]

Not as much as I'd like to spend.

Two more years: my youngest will be finished with college -- then we'll have more travel money available.

Four more years: we'll be retired -- then we'll have more travel money AND more time available.

[mek]

We really don't have a "budget." If something comes up that we would like to do, we do it, but we never put any travel, or anything else for that matter, on revolving credit cards. I am a bargain hunter and really get the optimum bang for my buck - we're careful how we spend our money. I still work and while I have a very generous amount of vacation, it's difficult for me to take more than 2 weeks at a time. It's great to travel, but sometimes it's also nice just to stay home and relax.

 

As we have gotten older, we are happier with a couple of trips a year instead of 3 or 4 and it has nothing to do with money. We only took one cruise this year and I'm leaving for Africa in 2 weeks on a bucket list safari and we have a 15 night TA planned for next April. Not sure what we'll do after that.

[Ethelfleda]

I did it the first time by mistake.. my spouse realized (very close to a cruise) that she had a professional conference she neglected to put on the calendar so I went solo and Royal refunded her port fees and didn't change the pricing otherwise.

 

Now if I'm going to cruise solo I price it out both solo and as a pairing, and book whichever is cheapest. So far they haven't penalized me when the other person doesn't show up (one other time, and the third attempt is this trip in late November on the Indy).

 

The downside is I could have upgraded to a PR solo for about the same price as my interior for 2 (a week after I booked the pricing changed for a new sale) but I can't do it because I can't remove the second person without 50% penalty. The change for 2 people would be $125 more than I paid, so I can't justify changing it!

 

I haven't ever just not had the person show up, we told Royal a few days ahead and they were like, "oh well, enjoy your cruise".

 

I use a TA now and she also noted that no-show booking for the second party works for Royal, and she's done it for other clients.

 

Is that seriously a thing? Please more details!!

 

 

 

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[molsonschooner]

We look for bargains, and finding fewer, we are cruising less.

just curious Bob, how many cruises have you been on. I suspect quite a few as you have accumulated so much knowledge.