Alaska or paying off a car loan?

[Rambler5678]

Family is selling some land that would allow me to do a Alaska cruise. Do I do a once in a lifetime cruise or pay off one of the family cars? What do you think?

 

[AndreAggie]

I think this is only a decision you can make based on your current financial situation. Do you need to pay off the car to free up money that needs to be used eleswhere? Can you pay off the car, but continue making a "payment" to a savings to pay for a cruise later? Can you use some of the proceeds to pay for a cruise and do a principal payment on the car loan? I think it it all dependent on what you need.

 

[professorandmom]

Great question...if this were only a financial decision, it'd be a no brainer...but let me share this:
When my niece died from Leukemia after a 3 year battle, our family agreed that "experiences" were so very important....family vacations can have a value...
that said, only you know what makes the most sense for your situation

 

[Rambler5678]

Financially wouldn't be a problem to continue monthly payments, We live 5 hours north of Port Canaveral so we could make a big principal payment on the car and go on a 7 night thanksgiving cruise so our girls wouldn't miss any school, or we could make a small principal payment, continue with monthly payments and possible go on a trip of a lifetime lol.

 

[ldo]

I posted last week about DCL vs. other CL for Alaska and got good viewpoints. One question might be whether you would consider Alaska on another CL that cost much less. But, from the east cost, airfare can be $$$. My boss, family of 4 did Alaska last year and it was $20K, when they added up airfare, excursions, etc. So, I would price out potential airfare, extra lodging, and what excursions you might take to see what the real total is. It also depends on the ages of your kids. Are they in HS and leaving for college soon? Or are they younger, whereby you could start saving for Alaska for a few years from now. We are still debating DCL vs. other CL for Alaska next year ourselves.
Personally, IMHO, if your kids are not in HS yet, if you have a very low car loan rate, like 2% or less, I wouldn't put a large downpayment on a car, but would instead put the $$$ into a college savings account.

 

[gumbypee]

with a port intensive trip like Alaska, maybe a different line? that way you can see the awesomeness of Alaska and still pay a chunk towards car. if it was just a caribbean trip and the ship is more the focus that is when I would definitely lean towards DCL. i hope that makes sense

 

[gumbypee]

I posted last week about DCL vs. other CL for Alaska and got good viewpoints. One question might be whether it's Alaska one another CL that cost much less. My boss, family of 4 did Alaska last year and it was $20K, when they added up airfare, excursions, etc. So, I would price out potential airfare, extra lodging, and what excursions you might take to see what the real total is. It also depends on the ages of your kids. Are they in HS and leaving for college soon? Or are they younger, whereby you could start saving for Alaska for a few years from now. We are still debating DCL vs. other CL for Alaska next year ourselves.

$20k for a family of 4?!?!?!?! Mine was probably just over $1k only about 4-5 years ago, granted I shared a room but still (this was on Princess)

 

[bumbershoot]

I don't believe in once in a lifetime trips. If I like something I need to have the ability to do it again. And if someone gets sick...

Pay off the loan, look into less expensive ways to cruise Alaska.

I cannot possibly see what DCL does for Alaska that makes them so expensive. Especially when the cruise itself they provide is less special than what some other lines offer (given where they can go).

And stalk airline prices. If I can get from Seattle to the east coast for a good deal you can do the reverse. (Then you find your way to Vancouver)

 

[ldo]

Excursions in Alaska can be $$$$. Zipline, dog sled, helicopter ride, verrandah cabin, airfare from east coast. It adds up. Now 4 in a OV cabin without $$$ excursions would be less, but still likely $12K+.

 

[DLgal]

I wouldn't consider an Alaska cruise a "once in a lifetime" trip. It's a great cruise but I would NEVER pay DCL prices to go there. I went on an Alaska cruise on Princess when I was 15.I definitely want to do another in my lifetime with my husband and kids but seeing Glacier Bay was the absolute highlight of my first Alaska cruise and unless DCL gets a permit to go there, I would stick with a line that does. Then the prices are not out of control.

I would say in your situation, price out the Thanksgiving cruise and then see if you can find an Alaska cruise next summer on a different line than DCL for a similar price and if so, book it. And make a principal payment on your car loan too. Win win.

 

[purfectlyweird]

Financially wouldn't be a problem to continue monthly payments, We live 5 hours north of Port Canaveral so we could make a big principal payment on the car and go on a 7 night thanksgiving cruise so our girls wouldn't miss any school, or we could make a small principal payment, continue with monthly payments and possible go on a trip of a lifetime lol.

Why would you want to continue to make payments when you can have it paid in full???

 

[BuzzLightyearInTampa]

It's "found money" so my advice is go for Alaska, but don't go crazy with all the bells and whistles. That way you might be able to put more toward the car than you think. We did Alaska on DCL and it was not ridiculously expensive like others suggest. We had an inside cabin and I don't feel like I missed anything by it. There are fantastic views from all over the ship, including Deck 4, Decks 9 & 10, heck even the gym and Palo. I saw a humpback whale from Palo during brunch (it was spotted by one of the waiters) and a pod of porpoises and a killer whale from the gym while riding the exercise bike. Also, at ~$2K extra for a balcony, I did not want to be tied to my stateroom to "get my money's worth".

 

[MunFam]

So my perspective is this...we have gap insurance on our car, so if it gets totaled and we owe more than they total it for, the insurance covers the difference. Our truck does not have gap insurance, so if it gets totaled and we owe more than they pay us, we have to come up with that money AND get a new truck.

What does this have to do with your question? I think that paying off a car that is depreciating faster than what you still owe needs to be paid off or sold. If you have gap insurance or it is worth more than you owe, a vacation is manageable.

If you were to go on this trip, then get home to a totaled car and they give you say $6,000 and you still owe $15,000, you have to pay that $9,000 difference AND get yourself a new car. Will you be wishing you had your "vacation money"?

One of our financial policies is that we live well below our means, carry zero debt and we travel often. BUT bills/debt are always first. Yes, you are making memories and having great experiences, but I grew up very poor and I know what paycheck to paycheck feels like. I know what it feels like to watch your mom and dad stress out about buying groceries or paying a medical bill, so I would always opt for being debt free before a vacation/memories/experiences.

On the flip side, my aunt and uncle traveled the world when they were in their 40s and 50s. They saw it all. They spent their savings to do this...my uncle was diagnosed with throat cancer 20 years ago. His late 50s and 60s have been miserable and he could not travel if he wanted to. All the money in the world would not give him that opportunity, so they have seen the world and live in a single wide in a rough neighborhood because they chose to spend every spare dime seeing the world and have no regrets.

 

[Foxygrl]

i say take the trip maybe on another cruise line like others have said. im sure your interest is not that much on the car loan.

 

[MUN]

Family is selling some land that would allow me to do a Alaska cruise. Do I do a once in a lifetime cruise or pay off one of the family cars? What do you think?

What is the interest rate on the car loan?

 

[jeepnjudy]

Pay off the car to get rid of the interest and continue to make those payments to a savings account to earn interest and take the cruise in the future.

 

[Rambler5678]

Car rate 2.75%. We live in GA so yes the trip would be very expensive with airfare, cruise, excursions etc. It would be over 20K for our family of four staying in a ocean view room. Princess actually is a little more after figuring in the 10% discount, Disney OBC, and using our Disney Visa Rewards toward the cruise/excursions etc. We can go on a 7 night thanksgiving cruise out of port Canaveral for 10k in a veranda thanksgiving week and do nice excursions but been there done that before.

 

[RedSox68]

We picked taking an Alaskan cruisetour over redoing our kitchen -- which it is in major need of. But that will always be there -- going to Alaska was a once in a lifetime trip (for us). I don't regret it for a minute.

 

[mevelandry]

Huh... The answer seems obvious to me.

Pay off your car loan. DCL charges way too much for the mouse. You could have a once in a lifetime cruise in Alaska with another cruise line for 50% less.

 

[RedSox68]

Huh... The answer seems obvious to me.

Pay off your car loan. DCL charges way too much for the mouse. You could have a once in a lifetime cruise in Alaska with another cruise line for 50% less.

Yeah, I should have mentioned that we took our cruise with HAL -- a 7-day cruise and 12-days on land tour in a verandah room and it costs us less for the 20 days than Disney charges for a 7-day cruise. If you did a line other than Disney, you could probably do both!