How do people afford $20,000 suites?

[PompeySailor]

3 minutes ago, orville99 said:

This has been our experience as well. We currently have 24 cruises booked through April 2025 - 16 in GS; 4 in JS; and 4 in Balcony. With the exception of two of the balcony cruises that we booked late (Round trip Westbound/Eastbound Panama Canal crossing this November), all of the others were booked when the itineraries were first released. If we were to attempt to book any of those same categories today, the prices overall would more than doubled.

For once we agree

I booked a Royal Suite 3 weeks ago checked price yesterday and an Owners Suite is $1800 more expensive.

Being early is the BEST way to save money 

[reallyitsmema]

30 minutes ago, PompeySailor said:

Are Hot tubs safe topic then on to how much money people on here have to spend 

 

You sound like you have too much free time on your hands 🤣

come on people, no need to brag or share your financials on a public forum..

 

here is my social 888-09-4188

Chase sort code 122200044 A/c 004433571289 

wire router AWB # 000445634423

Swift code 344445

 

mynaddress 

2034 Scamme Drive

Imnot in

Florida

23456

 

We have two Rottweiler”s called Nasty and Butch

 

It amazes me the amount of people who are willing to share their financial situations on an open forum, sign up on a roll call basically telling the world how rich they are and when they won’t be home 

 

stay vigilant people

 

We try to cruise every month in a suite and seeing as last suite we booked was only $13k, I don’t qualify for this discussion 

BTW that was the Top suite on a brand new ship sailing in a few years time and deposit was $398 and we paid using a Capitol One credit card 

4342-7834-2145-8876 exp 4-26 CVC 223 zip code 23456

 

Suite Hack formula

book the day sailings are released (2-3 years out 

pay deposit 

pay remaining week before final payment (cash)

Free drinks 

 

Happy Days!

 

 

 

Great information, I was just able to book the largest suite on Icon for all the remaining available dates.  Good thing you have a high credit limit! 😱😄😇

[PompeySailor]

3 minutes ago, reallyitsmema said:

 

Great information, I was just able to book the largest suite on Icon for all the remaining available dates.  Good thing you have a high credit limit! 😱😄😇

Just got an alert that you used my card

 

now tha we are practically related as you used my money, here is my password for my banking app login

thatwaswaytooeasy101

 

You are welcome 🤣😂🤣

Please remember to pay my monthly fee for me 😉

Edited March 31, 2023 by PompeySailor

[PompeySailor]

All joking apart

 

We have booked suites from $500 up to $15k overr a space of 22 years, but that’s all your getting.

See my Penthouse suite video in my signature, worth every penny 😎

How someone is able to afford something is their business

 

If they wish to share their business on a world wide public forum, that’s also their choice.

 

YMMV

The hot tub thread is way more fun 🤩 

 

Happy Days!

 

I am surprised that the personal information train slowed down rapidly 🤪

 

[Tree_skier]

7 minutes ago, PompeySailor said:

All joking apart

 

We have booked suites from $500 up to $15k overr a space of 22 years, but that’s all your getting.

See my Penthouse suite video in my signature, worth every penny 😎

How someone is able to afford something is their business

 

If they wish to share their business on a world wide public forum, that’s also their choice.

 

YMMV

The hot tub thread is way more fun 🤩 

 

Happy Days!

 

I am surprised that the personal information train slowed down rapidly 🤪

 

That Penthouse suite on X looked amazing!

[neverbeenhere]

Remember: It's only money.

[PompeySailor]

8 minutes ago, Tree_skier said:

That Penthouse suite on X looked amazing!

Here is the funny thing

lets say it cost $15k for 5 nights 

Booked 2-3 years out

 

If we had booked let’s say 4 months out it would have been $32k

 

Figures are just examples not exact amounts charged to my Platinum Amex

BOOK EARLY

Thats how people afford it 

 

[orville99]

1 minute ago, neverbeenhere said:

Remember: It's only money.

Money and Memories both start with the same letter, but only one has any lasting value. Keep calm and cruise on😇

[John&LaLa]

17 hours ago, njsmom said:

I keep trying to figure this out. Who is it paying $15,000 and $20,000 for suites on cruise ships and going multiple times a year? Are they putting it on credit or are they paying cash? 

 

Since this is an anonymous board, I can say that my spouse and I are very successful without sounding like I am bragging. No one knows me here. 🙂 

 

We each make well over six figures and our income easily places us in the top 3-4% of all households in our state. I am a vice president at my company, and my husband is quite successful as well. And it's not just our annual income. We have over $2 million already saved for retirement and we're still many years away from that time in our lives.Yet, I can't fathom spending $20,000 on a suite.  It's not that we're against spending. We love fancy things. We live in a lovely home, we drive luxury cars and we have taken our three kids to Europe and we go regularly to Napa and drop $600 a night for a 4-5 night stay, and do $300 dinners. But again, $20,000 on a suite? That is another realm of spending. 

 

Who is it spending this much on a suite? If my husband and I can't afford to do it, who can? There's not that many people who make more than us, to be frank. I just don't get it. 

 

We spent $12K on a Star Suite in 2020, but I won't spend $6 on a 12 pack of Coke if I can help it😉

[PompeySailor]

1 minute ago, John&LaLa said:

 

We spent $12K on a Star Suite in 2020, but I won't spend $6 on a 12 pack of Coke if I can help it😉

If I were a betting man, I bet you don’t pay for drinks on a cruise either 

 

Coke is expensive man 🤪

[Donsyb]

17 hours ago, ARandomTraveler said:

Every single one of my clients at work could easily afford this. It blows my mind the amount of money some people have. Most of my clients have $1billion or more, and got it from being owners of huge mega corporations, inventors of popular products, or investors in major real estate and tech companies.

 

3 of my current clients are single men with no wives and no children, and they're happy as can be 😂. One of them owns a mansion and a yacht on the coast of Italy (as a 3rd home) that he spends several months on, but has never been on a cruise ship. But his "regular" house is just 20 minutes down the road from mine, it's a tiny 1500sqft ranch house that only cost him $1.5mil, and you'd never know a billionaire lived there. 
 

It's crazy to me how many people have that kind of money. 

If you’re a billionaire you’re more likely to go yachting than in a cruise I would have thought? For privacy if nothing else.

[flyguyjake]

One name. Warren Buffet. He doesn't live his life like a billionaire and has pledged to leave his money to charity. His choice.

 

This topic can apply to all aspects of life. Humans make choices, some good, some bad.

Some people don't drink at all. Some drink in excess.

Some people remain monogamous. Some cheat around every corner.

Some cook meals. Some buy out every meal.

Some don't use drugs. Some use them all.

Some don't have kids. Some have 20!

Some don't marry. Some marry 4 at once!

Some are born with a banana and change it to a peach.

 

Some save every penny they earn until death. Some blow it all. Isn't life grand!

[PompeySailor]

23 minutes ago, flyguyjake said:

One name. Warren Buffet. He doesn't live his life like a billionaire and has pledged to leave his money to charity. His choice.

 

This topic can apply to all aspects of life. Humans make choices, some good, some bad.

Some people don't drink at all. Some drink in excess.

Some people remain monogamous. Some cheat around every corner.

Some cook meals. Some buy out every meal.

Some don't use drugs. Some use them all.

Some don't have kids. Some have 20!

Some don't marry. Some marry 4 at once!

Some are born with a banana and change it to a peach.

 

Some save every penny they earn until death. Some blow it all. Isn't life grand!

Loving the fruit 🍌 🍑 analogy, that ain’t cheap either 😉

 

peach cheap (coincidence?)

[BecciBoo]

3 hours ago, resetjet said:

Most of these people made or inherited alot of money and are old and some have no kids to leave it to.

And some have 10 maxed out CCs too.  We have been debt free except for what little is left on our truck for several years and cruise now more than we did back when we first discovered cruising and could only afford an inside.  Worked our way up to balconies but still hop on an inside when it's really a good deal.  We built our retirement home 2 years ago and paid cash.  My car is a 2012 Prius that we bought to save gas money, not the planet.  I do my shopping at Wally World and our biggest splurge is a cruise once and sometimes if we're lucky 2 per year.  We charge every penny to AMEX, pay it off every month and we fly to Florida to catch our ships free on AMEX partner Delta flights.  My grown kids cruise with us sometimes but they pay their way.  They were grown before we started.  But as I said, we wouldn't spend that kind of money even if we had it on a $20k suite.  Yep.....priorities all right.

[BecciBoo]

Some day when you have time, read The Millionaire Next Door...great book.

[MommaBear55]

I have wondered the same thing. For some it's a once a year/5 ,year/lifetime splurge. For me, I'm happy in a balcony. Others like inside cabins. I can tell you if I spent that much, it would be on something other than a Royal Caribbean week. We are spending about $15,000 for a 3 week land vacation and 28 days on a cruise ship. We are having a blast! We did hot air ballooning this am.

 

[Tapi]

22 minutes ago, BecciBoo said:

And some have 10 maxed out CCs too. 

Back in my younger years, I worked for one of the major cruise lines in sales. It boggled my mind how many requests from guests we’d get, asking for an extension on their final payment because they were waiting on a new credit card that they had just applied for, or a credit line increase, or pay day, etc. Often, the balance due wasn’t much, maybe a couple hundred dollars, but they still couldn’t meet the final payment deadline. 

 

It wasn’t any of my business but I’d wonder: “Why is this person going on a cruise when they can’t even afford to charge a couple hundred dollars to a credit card??”

Edited March 31, 2023 by Tapi

[Ret MP]

Just my experience:  We cruise on average, once a year because we didn't cruise for a year or two before the COVID debacle. We try to cruise Star Class every other cruise.  I'm only a retired soldier, retired from an electric utility company, and have a small 401K that I don't touch.  How do we do it with limited resources like that?  We cruise as a group in the same suite as the suite can hold.  For example:  On our Symphony cruise back in 2018 or 2019 we had 13 people total in the 4-bedroom Family Villa, which holds up to 14.  The cost of the cruise was a little north of $32,000.00.  Divide that by 13, it is about $2,500 per person.  So, for my wife and I, we paid about 5k. Throw in ALL the amenities that are included, and we use all of them, it's not a bad price.  More expensive than a balcony cabin, yes.  But, add it all up, including the amenities that you don't pay extra for, and it isn't way too much more.  

 

Now, when it is just my wife and I, we cruise in a balcony cabin and don't buy an alcohol package, meal packages, and so on.  We do the Refreshment Package as we drink a lot of the JR shakes and I like a lot of sparking water.  We may go to Chop's on our own dime, once per non-Star Cruise.  Star cruises are usually booked between 1.5 to 2 years out, plenty of time to save up.  Non-Star cruises are usually spontaneous.  Oh, and we live well below our means.  

[graphicguy]

I’d venture to say anyone who pays $20K for a Suite on any cruise ship answers the question of the wealth (or lack thereof) of the person who booked it.

[mac_tlc]

This one was for eight of us and worth every single penny. Having the kids and grandkids all together is priceless, and won’t be possible forever. 
 

 

[Blur]

7 hours ago, njsmom said:

I get that. My ex-husband died young, leaving our son without a dad. I believe in living life to its fullest, and not saving money for my kids to inherit. But also being sure I have enough for a nice retirement, and retiring young enough so that I can enjoy it. 

It's definitely about setting priorities and what matters. I told our financial advisor that I'm happy as long as I have a nice house, a newer model car, a long weekend trip to Napa every year and a longer vacation each year, too, and the ability to go to Europe every couple of years. He laughed. It's the simple things, amiright? 😂

Newer model car... Depreciating asset.  Choices you make.  Don't get me wrong I do the same.

 

I could spend the money on 20k suites but why when I can take a bunch solo in an interior or a Jr suite when my wife comes along for the double points.  Why waste the money... Now if your net worth was over 5mil... Then it's an easier decision.

[reallyitsmema]

2 minutes ago, mac_tlc said:

This one was for eight of us and worth every single penny. Having the kids and grandkids all together is priceless, and won’t be possible forever. 
 

 

If you can get star class for eight people for $20k, that is worth it.  We don't find star class worth it for the two of us, we are happy with sky class.  I am sure having a genie coordinate a group that size makes is very helpful!

[Ret MP]

12 minutes ago, Blur said:

Why waste the money...

While I'm not trying to say you are wrong, argue, or anything else, I think that is a matter of perspective and very subjective.  What's worth it for me may not be worth it for you.  Star Class, on occasion, is well, and I do mean well worth it to us.

 

Why?  Well many reasons. But, the big one is I feel my wife deserves the luxury every now and then.  She raised two very good kids basically by herself while I was out playing in the woods while in the Amy for over 20 years.  She sacrificed a lot for this family.  When we go on land based vacations, she never stops working for us/me.  So, Star it is when we can afford it.  

 

BTW, RCCL isn't making it any easier to afford these days. The price is getting crazy, seriously crazy.

Edited March 31, 2023 by Ret MP

[mac_tlc]

5 minutes ago, reallyitsmema said:

 

If you can get star class for eight people for $20k, that is worth it.  We don't find star class worth it for the two of us, we are happy with sky class.  I am sure having a genie coordinate a group that size makes is very helpful!

I agree. We have only done it when it’s for 8. This was the four bedroom Villa suite on Harmony last year, booked a while ago and was less than $20K. When the new itineraries came out , I priced it on Harmony and Symphony and it was over $35K most weeks. Glad we did it once. 

Mac_tlc

[PompeySailor]

HOW people can afford to spend $20k on a suite.

and WHY people spend $20k on a suite 

Two completely different personal choices that can be flogged to death in public forever.

 

I am more amazed why it bothers people so much what other people do with their money and also amazed how many people want to let everyone else know about their personal finances 

 

I am enjoying reading about how some got rich and how some are maxed out on credit cards, any hacks on booking cheaper suites I’m in for that 👍🏻

 

Some people waste money on material items, some waste money on vacations

Thats the joys of humans we don’t have to worry about what others do.

 

Some people have a car payment, I don’t understand this logic, doesn’t mean I think it is wrong for the right person in the right circumstance.

 

 

We went on a cruise recently with a big bunch of folk, not once did anyone talk about how much they paid for the cruise or how much they earned 

Or how much money they had in their bank account or how many credit cards they owned

 

Just sayin 😎