How will you cruise next year due to the economy?

[AFuncruiser]

Hmmm..If I was worried about money I would consider:

No photos, no gambling, no ships excursions, no specialty restaurant, no spa services, drink lots of free tea, do laundry in the sink, no wine with dinner, severely limit on board drinks, and most importaint only book deeply discounted cruises.

Dennis

[Parrot Mom]

We already booked our 2009 cruise when the prices were announced on the Equinox for their first trans-atlantic at bargain rates.. Thats the good news!! Bad news is that Im not

happy with itinerary.. Have found another line with better itinerary and more $$ and Im waiting for prices to come down hopefully in February (cruise sale month) and so far rep has told me it has come down $400.00.. and its 16 days not 14... So, we already have reservations... but looking to change lines if the price is right... Right now have a CC1 cabin, but as long as I have cabin with veranda and the price is right....... Now the airfare to Rome will be a killer...

[pbxtech]

We would like to go on cruise next year. My problem is Iam working more hours. only time off we get is in Feb. but everytime we fly into a port city, we usually get sick on return trip, due to somebody being sick on the plane

[Parrot Mom]

For many years I would come back to work with bronchitis... finally got smart.. now, a few days before flying back I start on Biaxin... havent been sick since.. the air quality on planes is terrible

[richnot]

Our next cruise isn't until next August in Europe. We'll wait and see what has happened by next May when payment is due. If the situation remains as it is now and does not worsen too much, we will probably go ahead as planned but cut down on pre and post cruise stays in Europe and watch on board spending.

[Live4cruises]

For several cruises, we have ignored the cruiseline-offered air and booked our own air travel independently. Cruiseline air is now a very attractive alternative, even if we have to pay a deviation charge. Cruises remain a reasonably good way to spend vacation money, but air fares are off the charts!

[Megnolia]

I've been watching the exchange rate to make payments when the dollar is at its' highest. Thank goodness Christmas cruise was paid for before the dollar tanked. I also booked excursions when our dollar was on par and paid on my credit card, which overall saved probably $200. I am watching the prices like a hawk, and trying for OBC whenever I can. There were a couple excursions we've decided to forego - two of us doing something privately for $60 each rather than $120 with Carnival can make a difference. We'll pass on the fountain fun card and other little things like that. No Christmas gifts since we're on vacation... etc. (just me and DH anyway).

[Firefighterhoop]

The part that makes me so angry is the outrageuos airfares. We're booked on a New Years cruise and we're paying almost as much to get to Miami on a crammed airplane as we are for the 7 day cruise (room and board!!!).

 

 

I agree, with the deals out there right now, Airfare can be as much as the cruise!:mad:

[ERTHDOG]

we are limited to cruising when school is out, so what we did was sacrifice our new years cruise for the exact same cruise in the exact same cabin during spring break...to the tune of $1400 savings on the final payment:D

 

as of now we are not planning to cruise in 2010:(but i may try to scrape up funds for a shorty, so i dont go cruise crazy;)

 

but....2011 i am planning a big one:)

 

dave

[dragonflymy2000]

I work in the medical field which hasn't been hit by the ecomony and basically when I want to cruise I snap up all the OT i can manage. That way my job pay for life but the OT pays to have a life

[DeepWaterMariner]

We plan on taking advantage of last minute deals and bargain pricing. Heck, that's what we've been doing for years.

[neatokimmo]

My investments have tanked too but I don't pay for cruises out of that money so I'll just wait for it to go back up. I'll continue booking inside cheap cabins in the off season when they go on sale, hope for an upgrade and limit my on board spending.

[G'ma]

Instead of taking 3/4 a year, I'll cut down to 1, maybe 2.

 

I find cruise rates to be so low - if you can wait to book closer in to the cruise date. I'm fortunate to be retired and flexible. I'm able to drop everything and go when "the price is right".

 

My small retirement fund has taken such a terrible hit - like others. I'd rather spend it down having a great time than watching it disappear to investment hogs and speculators in the stock market. I've transfered almost all of it to a more safe environment away from stocks. It won't earn as much money as "the old days" but, for sure won't lose anymore.

 

Life is short...and, I'm not getting any younger......darned if I'm going to sit around protecting "money".;)

 

I feel so bad for those who are still raising a family, holding a mortgage and trying to make ends meet. My daughter is a single Mom and she has a good job, for which we are thankful, but I watch her tighten the reins to make it all work for her son. I'm concerned about the economy in general but my concern is for all of us who live day-to-day.....frankly, don't give a rats about General Motors or Fannie Mae or the banks. The fact is, they will all get a nice handout from our tax dollars and be bailed out. Most of those "failing" do so because of bad financial decisions, bad investments and a host of other self-serving actions. But, those of us who bail their butts out struggle.....makes me mad.

[johninwpa]

We booked a 14 day Alaska cruise last spring. No intention on changing. Looking for a 5-7 day cruise for late winter, as long as we go somewhere sunny and warm. This is the only way to make it through winter anymore.

[travelqueen101]

With the economy in a major slump, job losses and people watching their pocketbooks, we'd like to know what your plans are next year when it comes to cruising. Many people, now more than ever, are paying close attention to their budgets regarding leisure and entertainment and scaling back on the non-necessities. So how will you cruise in 2009? Take our poll and post your opinion!

Kimberly - already booked on a sept, 09 rrcl cruise (brilliance of the seas) - booked in april, 08. this is a long awaited saved for cruise of a lifetime.

travelqueen101

[dchang]

We have already saved the money for our first cruise and do not plan to change our plans. If we are lucky there may be a decrease in price that we may benefit from.

[cruisinlibrarian]

The part that makes me so angry is the outrageuos airfares. We're booked on a New Years cruise and we're paying almost as much to get to Miami on a crammed airplane as we are for the 7 day cruise (room and board!!!).

 

I agree with Topekacruiser. Booked a cruise for March 2009 and for the first time did not go with NCL arranged airfare. After much searching, I found non-stop airfare to Miami for almost half the cruiseline's airfare. Still expensive - more than I'm paying to fly to Palm Springs, CA next month. That doesn't make sense:confused:

[Krazy Kruizers]

Our cruises are already booked for next year -- no change in plans for us.

 

We are retired and have not been hit that hard by the econmy.

 

Also have no choice but to fly to embarkation ports and home.

[2bobs]

From Kween Karen to dchang above, we think many have the "right" idea -- cruise planned, money saved (or "sort of" saved) -- just do it. We're booked on a simple 2 weeks from Copenhagen to Stockholm via North Cape and Spitsbergen, an itinerary we've wanted to do for years. Granted good health, we intend to go and have a wonderful time. Even if we had planned a 4-day round trip from Galveston, we would go and have a wonderful time because we'd be on a ship! Bobs

[NCSUSEE5]

We will wait and see what kind of deals pop up. We are just in a holding pattern to see where this all goes.

[Katie333]

We're already booked/paid on our 2009 cruise so we're going to go and try to enjoy ourselves. However, while we typically book cruises many months out, it's very safe to say that we won't be booking another one any time soon. :(

[SheltieLady]

We enjoy cruising so much that we cut back all year long, as necessary, to continue to cruise. I would rather skip going out to dinner and a movie and save my 10 day voyage in paradise with my husband and family.

 

 

Sue I think your countdown clock might be off we are also sailing on the Emerald Princess and it sails March 10th 2009.:D

 

 

Christine

[SheltieLady]

We have are cruise on the Emerald Princess leaving March 10, 2009 we went ahead and made final payment on that about 3 weeks ago, air is paid for and so is hotel and I noticed that the hotel is a lot cheaper and they are refunding me over $400.00, we are doing a 3 night pre-cruise at the Hyatt Regency Pier 66.

 

I'm getting a new show puppy picking her up right after we return from this cruise so it's back on the dog show circuit for us in the Intermountain region on weekends. So I'm going to enjoy this cruise alot.

 

 

Christine

[Thurston Howell lll]

We will wait for last 45 day prior to sailing bargins in all cases. Hold out, things will open up when the ships are not filling up.

We live in Southern California and we will only use San Diego and Los Angeles port based ships to reduce costs. This will allow us to try other cruise lines, new experiences are fun!

[M&D4laughs]

We are booked for a 5-night cruise in February. We were planning to book something when Celebrity came out with a 3-day sale that included a cruise that fit into our plans. The economic situation means that more deals will be offered. Watch for those, and see what works. Then relax and enjoy!