How do people afford $20,000 suites?

[davekathy]

14 minutes ago, Pratique said:

You can't spend it when you're six feet under.

If I don't spend it, I'll tale it with me.🤪

[iuki]

On 3/30/2023 at 1:10 PM, njsmom said:

I cannot afford to spend $20K on a suite and have any travel money left over for the year. So if it was the only vacation I took all year, sure. But that wouldn't be any fun at all. And it would still be painfully expensive because it's not just the cost of the cabin but also airfare and excursions. From the way I read it on CC, some people do this 2-3x a year or more. 

 

I guess it's why I didn't see my original post as bragging. I'm saying that I CAN'T afford to do this. 

I believe you.  Most people wonder the same thing.  Because you are in the upper income bracket and are unable to cruise in suites, it is only natural to wonder what others do for a living that could afford such a lavish lifestyle.

[iuki]

On 3/30/2023 at 2:37 PM, Orsino said:

I happened to do my first suite experience earlier this month in a 20k room (anthem, royal loft, so the big one). It’s kind of crazy that we did it, but we took our moms and the great big space was perfect because they didn’t leave the room as much. So it was worth it for the views for them and I wanted to be in the same room so I could keep an eye on my mom. (We slept on the couch!)
 

We would not get this room for just the two of us, though having done it, it is very tempting. 
We also lucked out with the anthem engine troubles and skipped port canaveral and got about 3k back. Perfect for us since the whole point was to look at the ocean from the suite, so we got an extra day to enjoy the massive balcony and ocean views. 18k for 4 people. I can live with that. 

That was so thoughtful of you.  I’m sure they were very grateful.

[grandgeezer]

Affording it is no problem. Zero chance of booking it though. We make financial decisions based on our perceived value of the product. We didn’t see any value in cruising pre pandemic and have read or heard anything post pandemic to change our mind. 48cruises and 494 days at sea is more than enough. We have everything we want and have done about everything we want so we have no problems leaving what we have accumulated to our son, daughter in law and only grandson. In fact we have a better feeling with that than almost everything we have or done.

[Morecruisesplz]

8 hours ago, Ret MP said:

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.  

Count me in next time!

[pittnh]

My favorite motto about wealth comes from Texas, where the saying is big hat, no cattle.  Many people make very good incomes, think nothing about dropping 20K on a suite, and are probably pretty close to living paycheck to paycheck.

[ShazM]

Plenty can afford it though and choose to spend that. We did the transpacific last October from Honolulu back home to Sydney, we were in "just" a balcony for that one because the suites had gone before we booked. It was a 19 night cruise. Got talking to the family who stayed in the royal loft suite, really lovely people. It was the husband, wife, their daughter and they also took her best friend along. The cruise would have cost them well over $100,000 AUD.

We are doing the reverse trip in April 2024 but on Quantum this time from Brisbane. Those trips are cheaper than leaving from Sydney on Ovation for some reason. This one is a 15 night cruise, Ovation is 18 nights. Grand suites are already long gone so for now we are settling for a junior suite. For our 15 night cruise it is around $8500 AUD for 2 for the Quantum junior suite. For the 18 night Ovation a guaranteed junior suite is $16,000 AUD for 2. Still very curious as to the justification for the huge difference in price.

On quantum there is a grand loft suite available. For 2 people it would cost just over $30,000 AUD. The same room on Ovation is almost double that.

[BekkaW]

On 3/31/2023 at 12:30 AM, njsmom said:

 

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. 

You can afford to do it, you just choose not to because you prefer spending (or saving) the money elsewhere. Others make different choices 

[Cruise a holic]

On 3/30/2023 at 6:30 PM, 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. 

Many people are "super rich" in the world.  Including  our country.   They have so much money that they cannot possibly spend it all in one lifetime.  Also, some people might be terminally ill and say if not now never.  I know people who were "comfortable" but were so obsessed with saving for their retirement and unfortunately never reached retirement.  I believe you should enjoy your life when you can.  However do not be irresponsible as you might be a lucky person and live past retirement.  

[BND]

40 minutes ago, Cruise a holic said:

Many people are "super rich" in the world.  Including  our country.   They have so much money that they cannot possibly spend it all in one lifetime.  Also, some people might be terminally ill and say if not now never.  I know people who were "comfortable" but were so obsessed with saving for their retirement and unfortunately never reached retirement.  I believe you should enjoy your life when you can.  However do not be irresponsible as you might be a lucky person and live past retirement.  

And, we have friends who aren't exactly wealthy.  She makes good money and he's retired, but they gave so much to their kids before they retired that they had very little equity in their home when they sold it.  They don't own now as they are renting.  A few years ago, they took 20K out of their retirement account (we bit our tongues) and took the whole family on a cruise.    Was that a good financial decision?  Not particularly.  Do they regret it?  Not now.  Point is, you don't have to be wealthy to spend that kind of money.  As I said before, it's choices.  We used to only cruise in GS the first few years we cruised.  We moved to JS when they started requiring double deposit for GS and, on longer cruises which we were taking, meant $1800 was tied up for one cruise for over a year.  But, that was our choice as we could afford it, we just didn't like giving up that much for each of our 2-3 at a time booked cruises.  When we close on our previous home at the end of April (we just moved), we'll be paying off our new to us home so we'll only have taxes and insurance on it.  Our payments are currently both very large, so it will mean freeing up a lot of money.  A lot of seniors who had decent retirements set up have no mortgage so it's much easier to choose what's important to spend money on and can do so without worry.

 

 

Edited April 1, 2023 by BND

[Cruise a holic]

4 minutes ago, BND said:

And, we have friends who aren't exactly wealthy.  She makes good money and he's retired, but they gave so much to their kids before they retired that they had very little equity in their home when they sold it.  They don't own now as they are renting.  A few years ago, they took 20K out of their retirement account (we bit our tongues) and took the whole family on a cruise.    Was that a good financial decision?  Not particularly.  Do they regret it?  Not now.  Point is, you don't have to be wealthy to spend that kind of money.  As I said before, it's choices.  We used to only cruise in GS the first few years we cruised.  We moved to JS when they started requiring double deposit for GS and, on longer cruises which we were taking, meant $1800 was tied up for one cruise for over a year.  But, that was our choice as we could afford it, we just didn't like giving up that much for each of our 2-3 at a time booked cruises.  When we close on our previous home at the end of April (we just moved), we'll be paying off our new to us home so we'll only have taxes and insurance on it.  Our payments are currently both very large, so it will mean freeing up a lot of money.  A lot of seniors who had decent retirements set up have no mortgage so it's much easier to choose what's important to spend money on and can do so without worry.

 

 

So sad that they gave money to their kids!  Our kids make very good livings and support themselves and their families.  They wouldn't want to rob us of a comfortable future.  We give nice gifts to them and our grandchildren, but they are responsible for their own family.  So said that your friends gave away all of their money and sad that the kids accepted it.

[LXA350]

13 hours ago, orville99 said:

Ship was designed for the Oriental market, we found it to be sterile, cold (design wise), and poorly engineered to the point that you could not use any of the venues on the aft of the pool deck without risking ruining your clothes, could find few areas of the pool deck that you were able to see the ocean, let alone experience it. The 16th deck had glass walls that were so high that it was impossible to even get a sea breeze. The redesign of the WJ was completely dysfunctional, and they replaced open areas with specialty restaurants and dead ends. Quite literally, the only deck where you could walk completely around the ship without encountering a dead end was the running track on deck five. 

 

Even the gangway portals were designed 6-8 feet to high to be used by anyone with a walker or scooter in most of the ports we visited.

 

It was designed for the Chinese market not the Middle East 😉 The idea was to operate the ship year round out of China where weather gets cold during winter.

 

14 hours ago, cruisegirl1 said:

If I spent $20,000 or more for a week-long trip for 2, the last place I'd be was on a mass market cruise ship.

 

M

No matter if RCL or X the fares they are charging for their upper suites are absolutely not worth it for what you get at the end of the day. For that money you can go to the absolute best hotels in the world and you will get much more for your money maybe even for less.

[TheMastodon]

On 3/30/2023 at 6:30 PM, 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. 

 

Sky in the limit in this country.  Capitalism is a wonderful idea.  

 

$20,000 for a suite is only half the expense, what about the PJ costing $15k to Florida and $15k to return home? 🤣

[orville99]

 

14 minutes ago, LXA350 said:

Ship was designed for the Oriental market,

Isn't this exactly what I said? I never mentioned the Middle East.

14 minutes ago, LXA350 said:

It was designed for the Chinese market not the Middle East 😉 The idea was to operate the ship year round out of China where weather gets cold during winter.

[poocher]

34 minutes ago, Cruise a holic said:

So sad that they gave money to their kids!  Our kids make very good livings and support themselves and their families.  They wouldn't want to rob us of a comfortable future.  We give nice gifts to them and our grandchildren, but they are responsible for their own family.  So said that your friends gave away all of their money and sad that the kids accepted it.

Why is that choice any better or worse than any other?  I love spending/giving money to my kids.  One needs the help, one doesn’t.  I don’t care because it’s what makes me happy. I don’t care how old they are, they’re still my kids.  Hubby & I aren’t living under a bridge because of it.  Would we have more money?  Yes.  Do I care? No.

[ReneeFLL]

On 3/31/2023 at 8:52 AM, mandyleighflies said:

…We as airline employee's get massive discounts on last minute sailings….

Hmm, hubby flies 78’s so I’m guessing we get the same discounts as you not unless there is something else you get. There are 2 sites that I look at interline rates and I haven’t

seen any massive discounts lately. On one of the sites it will say “please call” when the cruise is a week or so out. Maybe that’s where the bigger discounts are. I have never called since we don’t book a week or so out.

 

Edited April 1, 2023 by ReneeFLL

[BecciBoo]

I don't begrudge anyone their money or their choices, but we learned a very valuable lesson early in our married life and swore we'd never make those mistakes again.  So for 27 years we've never once used our CCs to finance anything.  We use one card, AMEX and the only reason is so we can fly free.  We pay it off every month, they don't make much off us in interest.  After our big financial debacle, my favorite quote was, "If you don't have the cash to buy it now what makes you think you'll have it next month or the next or the next?"  Save your money, then buy it.  We book early, and put cash away in our fun account until final payment so we cruise without worrying about having to pay off a cruise on the CC.  I am naturally frugal, do my research and don't pull the plug on anything unless it's a bargain...so far...so good.  ICON is the only cruise that just about choked me to book.  But we have 2 years to save for it.  Just an inside though, nothing fancy.  If we were wealthy we'd probably book a loft or something, but the chances of that are nil at this point.  We are tent camping this weekend and scrounging around for deals on new cots today.  Ahhhh, the simple life!

[Ret MP]

3 minutes ago, PompeySailor said:

And there goes this thread off to a far away place 

I totally agree and I wish far more than you can imagine that I didn't have this Albatros around my neck.  I wish he'd just go away.  I can only point out his obvious stalking and hope the Mods notice.

 

I do apologize for his actions as they do revolve around me, for some reason.

 

Edited April 1, 2023 by Ret MP

[BND]

1 hour ago, poocher said:

Why is that choice any better or worse than any other?  I love spending/giving money to my kids.  One needs the help, one doesn’t.  I don’t care because it’s what makes me happy. I don’t care how old they are, they’re still my kids.  Hubby & I aren’t living under a bridge because of it.  Would we have more money?  Yes.  Do I care? No.

Fortunately both our "kids" make very good money.  Youngest DS (36) makes just over what my DH makes because he chose IT and is very good at it and managing people.  His wife can't work so he's their income. Oldest DS (39) is an engineer and makes just about as much and his wife is an RN so they're very comfortable.  Both boys have had good jobs since they finished school and both own single family homes.   They put the effort in.

 

My friends gave their kids down payments on houses which the kids never paid back (they should have).  They had families and jobs.  

 

We spend money on our kids but I'm not giving them our equity.  We did use some equity to help pay for college but never would I just give them the equity.  

 

But, as has been said, everyone has to make their own choices.  The green eyed monster always comes into play though.

Edited April 1, 2023 by BND

[Cruise a holic]

1 hour ago, poocher said:

Why is that choice any better or worse than any other?  I love spending/giving money to my kids.  One needs the help, one doesn’t.  I don’t care because it’s what makes me happy. I don’t care how old they are, they’re still my kids.  Hubby & I aren’t living under a bridge because of it.  Would we have more money?  Yes.  Do I care? No.

Depends on how big your nest egg is. We give gifts, but our children want us to have a great retirement 

[Ret MP]

2 minutes ago, BND said:

Fortunately both our "kids" make very good money.  Youngest DS (36) makes just over what my DH makes because he chose IT and is very good at it and managing people.  His wife can't work so he's their income. Oldest DS (39) is an engineer and makes just about as much and his wife is an RN so they're very comfortable.  Both boys have had good jobs since they finished school and both own single family homes.   They put the effort in.

 

My friends gave their kids down payments on houses which the kids never paid back (they should have).  They had families and jobs.  

 

We spend money on our kids but I'm not giving them our equity.  We did use some equity to help pay for college but never would I just give them the equity.  

Your pride is oozing out and should be.  My daughters did the same, both worked and fought their way to success without mom & dad's financial help (one with a 4-year degree (in finance) and the other at OJT/tech school as an EEG Tech, and her daughter following in her footsteps).  We sure were cheerleaders for them though.  

 

Happy for ya!

 

 

[A&L_Ont]

11 hours ago, fredmdcruisers said:

Count me in next time!

The Odd couple, at sea. 

[PompeySailor]

The original topic has been fascinating 

reading all the very personal journeys of individuals wealth and justification of how they got rich, to how they spend it or don’t spend it and  those people have been wiling to share to total strangers some very intimate data.

Bravo 👏🏻 

 

What amazes me is not why someone would spend $20k on a suite 

 

is why people spend $1600 on a phone 📱 (and take 3 years to pay it off)

 

or pay $42k for a car and pay $600 a month to lease it 

 

We could change the title of the thread for materialistic items and the discussion would be very similar 

Some people like to have something physical to show for their spend, others are happy to have memories for their spend.

 

 

YOLO

Happy Days!

[A&L_Ont]

10 minutes ago, Ret MP said:

I totally agree and I wish far more than you can imagine that I didn't have this Albatros around my neck.  I wish he'd just go away.  I can only point out his obvious stalking and hope the Mods notice.

 

I do apologize for his actions as they do revolve around me, for some reason.

 

Or take control yourself and block them and you will never see their posts.  It’s just a couple of clicks to relieve your suffering. It’s better than living the life of a martyr. 

[A&L_Ont]

2 minutes ago, PompeySailor said:

Some people like to have something physical to show for their spend, others are happy to have memories for their spend.

Once my father in-law looked at life differently he decided to go on a cruise VS stay at home.  He realized releasing the moths from his wallet and bank account was worth it to make memories. I mean just a small one got out 😉, but cruising the Panama Canal opened his eyes to the value of travelling.