will the economic situation affect your travel?

[cookingchick]

We don't look at just the cruise price but all the expenses. You have air fare is going higher for Europe, and anything on shore in Europe right now is high with the declining dollar. It used to be you could always use dollars where you went, but now I read that in some countries vendors are wanting their own currencies or Euros but not dollars. We will compare our So. America trip next month to what it was 2 years ago.

 

I'm glad we took our Med cruise when we did...we won't be visiting Europe again for a while (which makes me sad). We always do land trips in Europe but, in my opinion, it just doesn't make good financial sense right now. But...when the time is right we'll be spending a big chunk of time exploring Italy...the cruise just wet my whistle for that fabulous country!

 

We'll be sticking closer to home this year...a week in Mexico, a week in CA, a short cruise to Cozumel, and then a 10 day cruise to the Caribbean next Spring. Beyond that, who knows? We'll have to see what changes the election brings (if any).

[jpg1747]

It's affecting my travel. I'm using my rebate check to pay for my May 4 cruise. Otherwise, I probably wouldn't have taken it.

[Cruise Junky]

I'm glad we took our Med cruise when we did...we won't be visiting Europe again for a while (which makes me sad). We always do land trips in Europe but, in my opinion, it just doesn't make good financial sense right now. But...when the time is right we'll be spending a big chunk of time exploring Italy...the cruise just wet my whistle for that fabulous country!

 

 

Don't give up on Europe because of the $$$. There's a lot of B&B owners who are suffering because of the drop off of American Tourists. Some are offering really good discounts and some are charging in US $.

[fllady]

The stock market is killing our plans. Being retired and just using our profits for cruising, has already made us cancel a cruise. Now will wait till the summer hand hopefully the stock market will recover and we can get another cruise booked. Have those "future" cruises just burning a hole in our pocket!

[land lover]

They'll take anything over their own currency in any way they can get it. :) If you have Euros left over from a previous trip, they will have held their value whereas your $ won't have gone as far. That's why I never worry about getting too much in Euros because I can always use them elsewhere and they will hold their value.

 

Good point regarding the Euro, sad for the US dollar. This summer I was so pleasantly surprised that someone actually was interested in US dollars.

I had been spoiled by so many years of going to Europe before the Euro and not having to worry about having much of the local currency for dealing with the local tourist vendors.

[cookingchick]

Don't give up on Europe because of the $$$. There's a lot of B&B owners who are suffering because of the drop off of American Tourists. Some are offering really good discounts and some are charging in US $.

 

We can afford to go...we just don't think it's a wise use of the dollar right now. We'll be back...but there are still plenty of other places to go in the meantime. :)

 

I hate that the B & B owners are suffering, though...the state of the U.S. economy has far reaching effects. :(

[Tatka]

Well, my experince has been a little bit different we took our children on land trips to Europe in 2001,2004,2006.....the EU street vendors preferred our dollars in 2001(pre Euro) 2004 either was fine, 2006...Euro only.

 

In Russia St. Pete's and Moscow in summer of 2007 .....US dollar still was #1. Israel and Turkey as well in the fall of 2007.

 

We were in Europe in 1998, 1999, 2001, 2003, 2004 ( Italy, Spain, France, Monaco, Belgium, Germany, Netherlands, Luxemburg etc).. always used countries' currency or Euro.

 

I remember that before switching to Euro it was very inconvenient to travel through European countries as we always had to change dollars to other currencies.

 

In Russia, where many of my friends live (I am from Ukraine) while still getting paid in dollars, many people switched to Euro. My relatieves in Israel are saying that they've switched to Euros long time ago.

[ala-kat]

will the economic situation affect your travel?

 

Not near as much as the loss of my job of 26 years.

[Tatka]

They'll take anything over their own currency in any way they can get it. :) If you have Euros left over from a previous trip, they will have held their value whereas your $ won't have gone as far. That's why I never worry about getting too much in Euros because I can always use them elsewhere and they will hold their value.

 

Russian ruble is more stable now than $, and there are talks that Russia will be selling natural gas and oil in rubles, to prevent even larger inflation.

 

Israel's shekel is becoming stronger and stronger, also it's now can be converted.

[jean s]

We cruise once a year and we are planning for 2009. We did however cancel our trip to Europe this spring. I just can't rationalize spending that much money. For now we will travel in the U.S., Canada, and on cruise ships. When planning our trips we have scaled back our travel with more affordable lodgings and shorter trips. My 81 year old father's reflection on the worldwide economy puts it all in perspective, "We've been in this position before. It will bounce back."

[Coastaljen]

I will probably retire in 22 years, and then I will have to cut back. However, then I will also be able to travel outside peak times, so that will help with cost I hope.

 

Right now the economy is not affecting my travel. At times I think it is outrageous and frivolous because I am going solo on 99% of the cruises, but it is probably less expensive to be single and travel solo than having a husband and kids. ;)

[mpwarder]

Before I took my first cruise I would have answered this differently. I am on a pretty tight budget and attacking debt built up after about two years of unfortunate circumstance and there is not a chance in hell that I will cut back on my plans to cruise this year. The worse the economy gets the more I need that week to "escape completely". I don't care if I need to work more to do it, I will continue to take nice vacations.

[newmexicoNita]

With three out of four Americans believing that a recession is at hand (per a USA Today poll), the cruise industry is bound to take a heavy hit in future bookings. I think many people will wait a bit to see how the economy fares before putting their committment on paper. This, of course, will benefit the cruisers waiting for lower prices befoe booking, like me.

The cruise industry will take a hit if there is a major recession, but I don't put too much stock into polls, especially ones in USA Today.

 

As a travel agent, so far, I haven't seen much decline in the industry. Personally, I think we may be listening to much to the media who loves to preach "gloom and Doom" there will always be ups and downs and yes, some sort of a recession is bound to appear before long. Will it be enough to affect most of our lives? Probably not. I am much more concerned about inflation and the price of groceries. of course our dollar compared to everywhere else is a joke, but that too will pass. I can well remember when our money bought nothing in Japan (about 30 years ago) For years our dollar was even weak in Canada, then that turned around and now is back to weak.

Now my lecture for the day, just relax!!!!!!

 

Nita

[Queenston]

For once, cruising is more affordable for us Canadians. During my first cruise ten years ago, our dollar was worth 50 cents and today it is at par. If the U.S. economy goes under, eventually ours will too. I live for my yearly cruise and I will find ways to cut other things, i.e. less eating out, theatre, etc, but will not give up my cruising holiday. It is the only way I can totally relax.

 

Absolutely agree with my Canadian confrere (or soeur)! Just spend what the next generation thought they would be getting and there is really no problem from a money perspective. (No need to tell the kids that you have changed your mind about the will, after all!). Just joking--they will probably notice your continual absence on a ship--a bit of a giveaway, isn't it? But if you want to, you can always invite them along for the occasional trip. Then they will totally appreciate why you are spending their inheritance! Whether or not they will appreciate your choice, well . . . . . . depends on the family and the degree of their sincere affection for good old mom and dad! But I am sure they will want the best for you and send you champagne and flowers every time you leave on a cruise. I am confident that all Canadian adult children will be doing that for their parents! (Collapsing in laughter while writing this!).

[willysgrandma]

The cruise surcharge means nothing to me. But the current airfare prices DO affect me. I thank God we are cruising out of NY in September so I don't have to worry about flying and thankfully I booked our San Diego flights when they first came out - the prices have doubled since we booked.

 

I have usualy booked my next years cruis eby this time of year. Not this year - I just don't know what is going to happen with air, so I can't make plans that early.

[mikeythemars]

I fly frequently on business (20+ trips a year) and my family usually takes two vacations a year (one in the winter and one in the summer). A few observations:

 

• If the economy is hurting air travel, I'm not seeing any evidence. For the last two years just about every flight I've taken (across a wide range of seasons, destinations and times) has been packed. I just flew to and from Chicago earlier today, and as usual the planes were full each way - and no, not just with businesspeople (several families with younger kids were aboard both ways). And no, this is not just the result of schedule cutbacks - I've been booking my own business travel for years and on average there are more flights available now to any given destination than there were 5-10 years ago. How else do you explain all the departure and arrival delays at most major airports?
   
  
• We were ay Disney world three weeks ago, for nine nights during President's week. Jammed as usual with the northeastern school break crowd. Thank god we used our Disney Vacation Club membership to book our villa 11 months earlier and made all our dining reservations 180 days out (we repeatedly saw walk-ups at restaurants being turned away).
   
  
• Last mid August, we stayed or week at a Marriott resort in Williamsburg, VA. It was full and busy, as were the local attractions (Busch Gardens, Jamestown, etc.)

Granted, as far as the vacation references above go, I'm talking peak seasons - but the point again is that if there's "vacation belt-tightening" going on, it's happening somewhere outside the popular destinations and times we frequent.:cool:

[kellyinkentucky]

my husband & i are travel agents ...... we have booked more cruises this year b/c it is such an easy vacation to budget - you know all your food will be included and you can budget easily for excursions too based on your financial situation, or just hang out at the beach ....... i think cruising is really the way to go right now!!

[Cruzman]

We almost always drive to our cruise ports. That being said, the only changes we plan is to lean toward those cruise ports closest to us in order to reduce the driving costs.

[vannagreen]

I'd be looking for ways to cut un-needed driving trips around on a day to day basis...try to walk and bike more.... makes more sence to me than cutting out vacations....

[Toto2Kansas]

It isn't OUR economic situation that is keeping us from going, it is the change in the airlines schedules, baggage limitations, and hotel charges that are starting to get to us.

Well, I guess that all has to do with economics, but the getting there is actually worse than the cruise prices.

 

Even our airline of choice has cut their schedules way down to several plane changes just to get to our destination (even in Florida). Kind of puts a damper on immediate plans for us right now until we find a better way to get there. Have spent the last couple of days trying to find flights that weren't taking an entire day to get to our destination and home again. Why in the world would I want to fly to Wisconsin from Kansas to get to Florida? Or to Chicago? Or Washington DC? Our choices are getting very slim here, not sure what we are going to do????

Lots of cruises I want to book, but can't find a way to get to the cruise port within reason..............but still looking.

[leeuwarden]

thanks all for your insight in this matter, we have a few fc, but will see how things go before we book for december.

 

christina

[dforeigner]

With three out of four Americans believing that a recession is at hand (per a USA Today poll), the cruise industry is bound to take a heavy hit in future bookings. I think many people will wait a bit to see how the economy fares before putting their committment on paper. This, of course, will benefit the cruisers waiting for lower prices befoe booking, like me.

 

And four out of five Americans who do not know the actual definition of a recession.:rolleyes:

[Cruise Junky]

 

Even our airline of choice has cut their schedules way down to several plane changes just to get to our destination (even in Florida). Kind of puts a damper on immediate plans for us right now until we find a better way to get there. Have spent the last couple of days trying to find flights that weren't taking an entire day to get to our destination and home again. Why in the world would I want to fly to Wisconsin from Kansas to get to Florida? Or to Chicago? Or Washington DC? Our choices are getting very slim here, not sure what we are going to do????

Lots of cruises I want to book, but can't find a way to get to the cruise port within reason..............but still looking.

 

Feel your pain on that one. The fact that I can get to London or Paris quicker than Ft. Lauderdale or San Juan is nuts. Whatever happened to nice direct flights? the poster above mentioned all flights being packed, well no wonder they only offer half of what they used to and you have to make two transfers just to get there. No Thanks!!!

[Pam in CA]

And four out of five Americans who do not know the actual definition of a recession.:rolleyes:

Exactly. But then they have the media telling them that we are and we have politicians saying we are and presto! It might become a self-fulfilling prophecy. Just because the media and politicians are fueling the bandwagen doesn't make it true.

[Tatka]

It isn't OUR economic situation that is keeping us from going, it is the change in the airlines schedules, baggage limitations, and hotel charges that are starting to get to us.

Well, I guess that all has to do with economics, but the getting there is actually worse than the cruise prices..

 

This is why we are driving to our Ruby cruise in November. :) Kind of long drive, but makes a lot of sense...