Dang... I could have booked...

[VentureMan_2000]

Dang... anyone else feel this pain...?

 

 

 

I could have booked half of a 7 day cruise for what I just spent on groceries... over $500. Anyone else have three hungry teens who compete in High School sports, and whose practices are 3 1/2 hours each day, plus meets?

 

They're eating me out of cruise and home... :eek:

[becky48417]

Dang... anyone else feel this pain...?

 

 

 

I could have booked half of a 7 day cruise for what I just spent on groceries... over $500. Anyone else have three hungry teens who compete in High School sports, and whose practices are 3 1/2 hours each day, plus meets?

 

They're eating me out of cruise and home... :eek:

 

I feel your pain!:eek: We have 3 sons of our own(6, 9 and 8 months) and we also inherited 3 additional kids a few years ago who are 11,15, and 19. I buy milk 8 gallons at a time and 1 gallon of juice. It doesn't last through a full week before I have to get more!!

[3boysvus]

i have two boys 17 and 14, both play multiple sports, ad to that a grazing 4 year old and yes, I too know your pain...my grocery bill averages about $350 a week, I use coupons and actually shop multiple stores to get discounts, but they still know me by name at Publix and Wal-Mart not to mention the "Hey Kim" I get at the butcher, add to that "game" food and "practice" snacks and I bet we're good for about $450 a week...tack on gas:eek: for three cars, OMG - I can't think about it...boat drinks someone please....:eek: ....:( ......:eek:

 

Everytime I think about I realize how good a deal a cruise really is...can you imagine what our teenagers eat in pizza per cruise.:eek:

[Wags67]

Dang... anyone else feel this pain...?

 

 

 

I could have booked half of a 7 day cruise for what I just spent on groceries... over $500. Anyone else have three hungry teens who compete in High School sports, and whose practices are 3 1/2 hours each day, plus meets?

 

They're eating me out of cruise and home... :eek:

 

I was just saying the same thing today. Spent $250 on new tires; would have rather put that on a deposit for a cruise:D

[Grayce]

We have had over a 2 year hiatus from cruising because my DD was in braces, $200 a month, forever!

[DqALEX]

Dang... anyone else feel this pain...?

 

 

 

I could have booked half of a 7 day cruise for what I just spent on groceries... over $500. Anyone else have three hungry teens who compete in High School sports, and whose practices are 3 1/2 hours each day, plus meets?

 

They're eating me out of cruise and home... :eek:

Just think about what a great deal a cruise is for the price. And it comes with all the food you can eat for a week

[Mikel1733]

Its been a value in the past. With airfares skyrocketing and the surcharges along with increasing cruise prices that will change. Those that are fortunate to live close to a port will be in a better position to continue cruising. Cruising for the masses is going to change. Choices will have to be made about many things from now on.

[Handsome58]

I have one son, 17...he eats for 3.....I mean if it is to be ate...he will eat it.....throw in practice....and he eats before....then after he eats 3 times as much.............but now I do not feel bad...if I had 2 or 3 or 4 of him..........I would be overtime king.........

[VentureMan_2000]

We have had over a 2 year hiatus from cruising because my DD was in braces, $200 a month, forever!

 

 

Dang... I know the feeling. I'm already in for over $15,000 for my three kids. My yougest already had two years of braces and finished a couple years ago... and now she has started phase two... :eek: I know that "Forever" feeling all too well.

 

Our cruise this year will be in our cars... we spent over $3,000 on repairs during the last 12 months. My car is over 15 years old... and my wife's is 10 years old, and it was the only large maintanence we've ever had to do on our cars, so I'm OK with it.

 

I still want to book a cruise on Carnival so badly, however... :(

[nybumpkin]

Just think about what a great deal a cruise is for the price. And it comes with all the food you can eat for a week

That's what I look at! Three boys, 16 (almost 17), 12 and 8. I think Carnival loses money on them in food.:p

[sixy-six]

Oh I know that feeling. I have it everytime we go to the grocerie, After rasieing two boys and a Girl. Once they became adults moved out ypou would think that bill would go down.... But Nooooooooo Now there are Grandkids coming and going, Two of them are here everyday after school until Mom gets off work.

 

Oh well I love the Grandkids...

[ShedQueen77]

My 11 year old son is bad enough, but his 6 and 4 year old sisters can out-eat him! :) My 6 year old eats like a hog but is thin as a rail. Must be nice! ;)

[SheriNtexas]

My 6 year old eats like a hog but is thin as a rail. Must be nice! ;)

 

 

THAT won't last forever!!:D ;)

[ShedQueen77]

THAT won't last forever!!:D ;)

 

Ain't that the truth! I know how that rolls! :)

 

It might last for her though, because she only has half of my genetics. Her Dad is 6'1" and only weighs 150 lbs soaking wet. He eats like a hog too.

[pe4all]

LOL- it never ends. Thought we made it thru with "just" braces. Then came SAT review course (omg- how did dh and I ever make it thru without one?) Now comes "worries" about upcoming driver's license in June and a possible car. (again - dh and I went to the same h.s. as dd - no car till we each purchased our own when we graduated) And the "C" word - college!! And of course, we are still the "kool-aid" house where all the teens gather, so each weekend we "feed" 10-20 or more teens on a Friday or Sat. nite. (better my house where I know they are supervised, and THEY know they are supervised!) Sodas and snacks for that many teens? They eat me out of house and home! And dd16 is just a jr. I think sr. year will be worse! But, when it comes down to it, I'd rather cut corners on myself now, cause nothing - and I mean nothing - will stand in the way of my cruise vacations!

[gail811]

Five sons, 3 did braces, three through college, one in college, one going to college next year :eek: .....and I can relate to the food bill too! The last one home wrestles during the fall/winter and does not eat, then starts soccer in the spring and all he does is eat! Wish I had a little of his metabolism left in me! But.....WE WILL CONTINUE TO CRUISE....isn't that why they have student loans? :D

[Sandi149]

Dang... anyone else feel this pain...?

 

 

 

I could have booked half of a 7 day cruise for what I just spent on groceries... over $500. Anyone else have three hungry teens who compete in High School sports, and whose practices are 3 1/2 hours each day, plus meets?

 

They're eating me out of cruise and home... :eek:

 

I sure know that feeling.

 

I have 2 hungry teens. Younger one will be 15 next month and the older one is almost out of his teens, he will be 20 in the summer and is away at college, and my grocery bill gets larger every week.:(

[doodlefan]

I feel the pain also

 

We have 5 kids ranging from 18 yr to 10 yrs. 4 of them are boys, My DD is 16. Wow, can they eat, and where do they put it all?

 

I have had 3 in braces and #4 will start this summer. Between, paino lessons and guitar lessons, soccer and hockey, I"m surprised we can cruise at all.

 

But like you, for some reason it's the consumables, like food and toilet paper that kills me to spend so much money on. When I drop $300 for groceries, I too think, geez that's half a cruise:eek:

 

Oh well, they will grow up and move out right? Please someone say YES! :D

[rdrseller]

My DS is 21 and eats for 4. He trains everyday in martial arts and doesn't eat junk food. Healthy food is expensive, but I am proud of him. He leaves at the end of April for boot camp "MARINES!!" and he said the thing he will miss the most is cruising. First break he gets, I see a cruise on our calendar. DD 16, eats like her mother and we like food alot ;) .

 

Even with fuel surcharges, I think a cruise is still the cheapest vacation out there. Not to mention you pay it over time and you don't have to come up with it all at once, like a traditional land vacation. Even if we could only cruise every other year, we would keep one booked and making payments.

 

Nope, I will continue to cruise no matter what!

[MamaParrotHead]

I do inhome childcare and the rising cost of EVERYTHING is making a dent in what I had PLANNED on socking away for our cruise. Even McDONALD'S here has gone up. It was over $32 for 2 kids meals, 2 value meals and 2 sandwiches last night there.

 

Plus, living in the midwest, airfare is usually almost as much as our cruise fare. And with the price of fuel skyrocketing, I'm panicked. ALTHOUGH, I have been keeping track of the fare for the '08 rates for week we want to book for '09, and it was a bit under $200 pp for a few days earlier this month. I'm hoping by tracking the airfare for a full year, I can make an educated guess on when we should book it, when it becomes available.

[gail811]

I feel the pain also

 

We have 5 kids ranging from 18 yr to 10 yrs. 4 of them are boys, My DD is 16. Wow, can they eat, and where do they put it all?

 

I have had 3 in braces and #4 will start this summer. Between, paino lessons and guitar lessons, soccer and hockey, I"m surprised we can cruise at all.

 

But like you, for some reason it's the consumables, like food and toilet paper that kills me to spend so much money on. When I drop $300 for groceries, I too think, geez that's half a cruise:eek:

 

Oh well, they will grow up and move out right? Please someone say YES! :D

 

Yes, they will grow up, move out (some move back in!:p ) , get married, bless us with grandchildren (we are up to four!) and then it starts all over again!

[firefly333]

I think the cost of the cruise is just the beginning. By the time you get to the cruise, park or get a hotel, pay tips and then of course we have to buy junks. The other stuff adds up to more than the price of the cruise.

 

It fools ya.

[MamaParrotHead]

I think the cost of the cruise is just the beginning. By the time you get to the cruise, park or get a hotel, pay tips and then of course we have to buy junks. The other stuff adds up to more than the price of the cruise.

 

It fools ya.

 

Lots of ways to minimize that stuff. For instance, when we started cruising, we just got hotels on priceline (still better than paying the going rates). Now we get hotels with frequent stay points and stay for free. We don't do rental cars, we do shuttles or cabs (that's just because of the hassle factor). Prepay on our S&S (to cover tips and everything else and to limit the amount of cash or TC's we need to bring) and each time we cruise we seem to drink less and less (we're usually so tired from the active excursions and sun, the last thing we feel like doing is drinking and staying up in the bars and clubs, LOL).

 

And each time I've cruised I've whittled down the amount of STUFF I bring home. The first cruise I think I blew a few hundred dollars in the ship shops alone. A few bottles of liquor (which I just finished off last week, 3 years later, and almost ALL of it was used in cooking, LOL). Souvenirs for the kids (that they'd play with for a week and then get lost or banished to the bottom of the toy box/es). Now I strictly spend on things that will be lasting memories to me. I ALWAYS get a ton of pictures. On our first cruise I bought each of my kids' birthstones in St. Thomas and had them set into my own custom-made "mothers ring" here at home. We also get Christmas ornaments from each port, and maybe a tshirt of hat from the ship (I don't even waste my $ on tshirts in port anymore, those cheapy shirts can be worn like half a dozen times before they make it to "dust rag" status).

[alwaysmomof1]

I have a son who is 14 and when he is home alone he eats everything! When I buy apples for an after school snack he eats everyone of them in one sitting! He out eats me and my DH. He plays sports and when football season is here.......wow. Grocerys are going up and up in cost and it is not going down. I always buy what is on sale and work around that. I try to skimp on the grocerys so I can save money for cruises!:D It is not the cost of cruises that gets me it is the airfare from Phoenix to Florida. The other cost is Kennel hotel fees for my two babys:( . Their cost is more than what I paid for the cruise! I am trying to plan a cruise for 2010 to Alaska for the three of us. I can cut the cost on grocerys and use it for our cruise. We can make up eating while we are on the cruise:D

[Sandi149]

I have a son who is 14 and when he is home alone he eats everything! When I buy apples for an after school snack he eats everyone of them in one sitting! He out eats me and my DH. He plays sports and when football season is here.......wow. Grocerys are going up and up in cost and it is not going down. I always buy what is on sale and work around that. I try to skimp on the grocerys so I can save money for cruises!:D It is not the cost of cruises that gets me it is the airfare from Phoenix to Florida. The other cost is Kennel hotel fees for my two babys:( . Their cost is more than what I paid for the cruise! I am trying to plan a cruise for 2010 to Alaska for the three of us. I can cut the cost on grocerys and use it for our cruise. We can make up eating while we are on the cruise:D

 

Your son sounds like my 15 year old......he could eat everything in site too.:p