Exciting but...how to afford it all?

[luv2sleep]

I love the new itineraries but the cost of airfare from the US is prohibitive just by itself. How can a family on a tight budget afford to do these? What budget conscious tips are out there for taking one of these European/Baltic/Norway, etc. cruises? If you won't have airline miles how do you make the airfare more affordable? Do you do your own self guided excursions? Fly in the night before to save on hotel costs even though you've traveled so far (seems like a waste)? What have you done to help your family afford it?

Of course the obvious answer is just not to go! Haha! Just seeing if there are realistic tips/tricks out there.

 

[Narnian_Princess]

I'd like to know, too! DH and I don't have kids, so that keeps the price down a bit, but we are young (25 and 30) and I have student loans, so I just know that the 11-night Norway/Iceland I have my eye on will be completely out of our price range. Even with 2 years to save. Oh, if I could but dream about making that cost reasonable enough to afford it...

 

[Gigi22]

We are taking a transatlantic cruise on DCL. For a change, since we booked early the DCL price on the cruise was comparatively cheap Flying to Port Canaveral was -- not so cheap. Flying one way from Europe home was a real killer. Since our airline doesn't consider our two flights to be return flights, I booked them separately, using my points-accumulating credit card for the less expensive trip and our airline points for the flight home. My tip would be to price out the cost of air fare and use your points to the greatest advantage. Also monitor air fare before buying.

Depending on the itinerary, shore excursion prices vary a lot. The shore excursions on a TA cruise are inexpensive. The Facebook group for our cruise has organized a couple of tours for a cheaper cost than DCL.

 

[luv2sleep]

I have a card that offers points but I don't use my credit card enough to accumulate many. I try to live on a cash basis out of frugal habit. It would be uncomfortable to constantly charge everything.

 

[tweis]

We could probably afford the cruise but the airfare would be a budget killer. We have credit cards but none of them offer airline points because we rarely fly. We have cards that offer cash back and of course the Disney Visa so none of those would help.

 

[ksucats]

I have a card that offers points but I don't use my credit card enough to accumulate many. I try to live on a cash basis out of frugal habit. It would be uncomfortable to constantly charge everything.

We use credit cards for everything and pay it off each month. If you are disciplined enough, just treat your credit card like cash and balance it daily.

I travel some for work, but also combine that travel with what I am able to get from credit cards. I am also not shy about signing up for new cards when great promos are offered. In fact, this morning I canceled my United credit card and opened one with Hilton. So now I have open Hilton, Marriott, Priority Club, American Airlines & Disney. I treat them all as one large cash account and just use whichever one gives me the most bang for the buck for each purchase.

By doing this, I almost never pay for hotels and get free flights for the family frequently. Of course, they wouldn't add up quite so fast without the work travel mixed in, but the signup bonuses alone are worth a free night or more.

 

[lanejudy]

We could probably afford the cruise but the airfare would be a budget killer. We have credit cards but none of them offer airline points because we rarely fly. We have cards that offer cash back and of course the Disney Visa so none of those would help.

If you have the Disney Premier Visa, points can be used for airline travel. I don't know the details, or how many points are needed, but you can probably find the basics on the Disney Rewards website.

Alternatively, use your Disney Rewards points to help offset the cost of the cruise, thus freeing up cash for the flights.

But...I'm nowhere near able to afford the European cruises + airfare either Maybe someday.

Enjoy your cruise!

 

[JOANNEL]

Delta also offered 50000 points for an Amex card. Bought my ticket to Hawaii!!! So far we have used miles for Vancouver and Hawaii!

 

[luv2sleep]

Yeah we don't travel that much. That kind of credit card juggling gives me a headache. It's great that people can do that. That's a great way to afford it all.

 

[98slowbra]

We understand air fare is a ton of money, we are thinking about the Europe cruises and the air fare for all 4 of us are like $8800. We put this in a credit card to get points but pay it off after the cruise is over. Air Fare always puts a pinch on you that is for sure.

 

[quinnc19]

I have a second job, income from which I earmark for travel. Despite that, DCL cruises plus airfare = EXPENSIVE I am really excited about the northern European cruises and am coming to grips with the fact that I probably won't be able to swing the verandah cabin that I had in Alaska and this year's Med. Will also probably need to rent out some of my DVC points. I am also hoping airfare to/from Copenhagen/Dover will not be substantially more than Barcelona.

 

[lanejudy]

Yeah we don't travel that much. That kind of credit card juggling gives me a headache. It's great that people can do that. That's a great way to afford it all.

I've played that game, but agree it gives me a headache!

However, we do use our Disney Visa for most expenses and pay it in full each month. If I won't be able to pay the balance in full, I don't make the purchase. Similar to cash, just using the credit card as a tool to pay the "cash" all at once instead of piecemeal throughout the month. Same premise.

Maybe try for a US-based itinerary first and then work into the others. Personally, it would suck all my vacation time for a year to do a 15-night cruise, leaving me none for holidays or other time off; I keep hoping for "someday" when I have more time and money to do those long cruises!

Good luck and enjoy your cruise!

 

[ksucats]

Yeah we don't travel that much. That kind of credit card juggling gives me a headache. It's great that people can do that. That's a great way to afford it all.

I don't find it to be that much of a bother. I only change once or twice a year. Heck, last year when I decided to open the Marriott card and cancel the American card, the credit card company made me an offer I couldn't refuse on the American card, so I kept it open as well.

 

[jenf22]

We're planning for the Norway fjord cruise next summer. Our plan is to use frequent flyer miles and to start earning them now. My husband applied for the United card a couple of weeks ago and we got 50,000 points if $2000 is charged in the first 2 months, 5,000 points when an "authorized user" makes a charge, and the first year fee waived. So after 2 months, that should give us 57,000 miles. A round-trip saver fare to Europe is 60,000. After the 2 months, I'm planning to open one in my name and do the same. We should have enough miles for 2 of the 3 tickets we'll need. And with the United card, you get trip insurance if your trip is put on the card and a bag free. Not bad. We'll see if we can actually find flights for 60,000 when the time comes.

We've also got a reservation on NCL for the fjords cruise. It was $4800 for 2 adults and 1 child in a family suite with concierge. Based on someone's guesstimate, the DCL cruise will be about $5800 for a verandah room for the 3 of us. I'm still planning to price DCL, but the itineraries are basically the same just 1 day apart.

I'm hoping we can pull this off! I really want to go!

 

[DisneySisters]

I look on Kayak every day, and set up price alerts for the airfares I am interested in. Usually deals come up, but they go fast.

 

[ksucats]

Maybe try for a US-based itinerary first and then work into the others. Personally, it would suck all my vacation time for a year to do a 15-night cruise, leaving me none for holidays or other time off; I keep hoping for "someday" when I have more time and money to do those long cruises!

Not only would it suck most of my vacation time, but I am not sure I would want to be away from work or home that long. My wife and I were just discussing that last night. We just got back from a week in Curacao. Some of the friends that we met while down there were spending two weeks there. Yesterday for me at work was crazy, trying to get caught up from being gone for a week. We are also very involved in activities and organizations in our community. I think one week (9 days including both weekends) is all we will ever want to be away from home at once until we retire.

 

[luv2sleep]

We're planning for the Norway fjord cruise next summer. Our plan is to use frequent flyer miles and to start earning them now. My husband applied for the United card a couple of weeks ago and we got 50,000 points if $2000 is charged in the first 2 months, 5,000 points when an "authorized user" makes a charge, and the first year fee waived. So after 2 months, that should give us 57,000 miles. A round-trip saver fare to Europe is 60,000. After the 2 months, I'm planning to open one in my name and do the same. We should have enough miles for 2 of the 3 tickets we'll need. And with the United card, you get trip insurance if your trip is put on the card and a bag free. Not bad. We'll see if we can actually find flights for 60,000 when the time comes. We've also got a reservation on NCL for the fjords cruise. It was $4800 for 2 adults and 1 child in a family suite with concierge. Based on someone's guesstimate, the DCL cruise will be about $5800 for a verandah room for the 3 of us. I'm still planning to price DCL, but the itineraries are basically the same just 1 day apart. I'm hoping we can pull this off! I really want to go!

For how many nights?

I just looked at these cruises again. For summer when our schools are out the ones that interest me are over $5000 in an 11C for just 2. That's not doable. I think eventually we will end up on a non-Disney ship when he's older. At his age now (would be 8) Disney would have been perfect. Oh well. They do look fun! So exciting for those that can afford it! Happy for you all!

 

[ksucats]

We're planning for the Norway fjord cruise next summer. Our plan is to use frequent flyer miles and to start earning them now. My husband applied for the United card a couple of weeks ago and we got 50,000 points if $2000 is charged in the first 2 months, 5,000 points when an "authorized user" makes a charge, and the first year fee waived. So after 2 months, that should give us 57,000 miles. A round-trip saver fare to Europe is 60,000. After the 2 months, I'm planning to open one in my name and do the same. We should have enough miles for 2 of the 3 tickets we'll need. And with the United card, you get trip insurance if your trip is put on the card and a bag free. Not bad. We'll see if we can actually find flights for 60,000 when the time comes.

We've also got a reservation on NCL for the fjords cruise. It was $4800 for 2 adults and 1 child in a family suite with concierge. Based on someone's guesstimate, the DCL cruise will be about $5800 for a verandah room for the 3 of us. I'm still planning to price DCL, but the itineraries are basically the same just 1 day apart.

I'm hoping we can pull this off! I really want to go!

I haven't checked with United as I don't have enough miles, but I know with American I have been checking the last two years and there were no saver trips available at all during the summer months to anywhere in Europe for us. Hopefully you have better luck with United.

 

[NancyIL]

I have been to Europe 9 times since 2000 (and returning in June for #10), and all of my airfare has been booked using American Airlines miles. My DH used to travel quite a bit for work, but he rarely flies these days. Now most of our miles are earned from credit card purchases (Citibank AAdvantage Visa and Starwood American Express). However, the fact is that many families on a tight budget probably can't afford a Disney cruise anywhere - especially in Europe.

 

[NancyIL]

I haven't checked with United as I don't have enough miles, but I know with American I have been checking the last two years and there were no saver trips available at all during the summer months to anywhere in Europe for us. Hopefully you have better luck with United.

I have always booked coach to Europe on American or their partners, and always gotten the lowest mileage (30K miles each way) awards. This summer I am flying to Copenhagen in mid-June, and home from Dublin in early July. Not all award seats are available to book 330 days out, and so I check almost every day until something that will work becomes available. Fortunately, AA still allows changes to dates & flights without a change fee - as long as the beginning and ending airports don't change.