How do you afford frequent cruises????

[Tink rules]

I'm adding here, but I'm admitting ahead of time...I'm a first timer...hopefully for October.

Will I like DCL???? Probably... I LOVE WDW!!!

I am not rich... I left the NY/NJ Metro area because I couldn't and or didn't want to spend $750,000 on a regular sized house my parents paid $19,000 for in 1959. I moved to upstate NY where noone really cares what kind of car I drive, how big my house is, what designer bag I carry and how many events my children (in my case all nieces and nephews) can cram into one day.

I chose quality of life.

I also find traveling more than just a leisure activity and think that it adds to my quality of life and my education (even when I don't realize I've probably learned something...)

For my first DCL I am taking my 75 year old mom with me. Neither of us have ever cruised before but we have had many adventures together and hope to in the future. We are going in a Cat 6 stateroom and we've spent the last few weeks talking over all the great stuff we will do together.

We have the Disney Visa and use the points that we get over the year or so. We did this for dining at WDW last time we went. I am a super planner and study everything I can find (thank you Dis-er's!!!) and I do what I can with what I"ve got.

I budget it all out and don't spend over what I have. I also budget travel into my monthly expenses. It may not be much. I may not be able to travel as often as I wish I could. I do get to do some with work (Why never near Orlando...I'll NEVER know!!! (I think they know me too well!!!))

But remember this... My mom won't be around in a few years. I hope it is a far time off. She is healthy now and I continue to remind her to take her pills every day so she stays so!!! My sister got to take her to Ireland last year (which was another dream of mom's) and I cherish every moment that I have with her.

Will we cruise again after Oct???

Probably...

 

[LisaTex]

Totally agree with above poster. No guarantees in life! Our ABD HAwaii trip last year was our last trip with dad - we knew it probably would be - and what cherished memories we have.

Unlike my cousins' family - uncle who worked, worked, worked - "no vacations until I retire" attitude. Diagnosed with CA and gone in a few months.

Family together time doesn't have to be a Disney cruise, but putting $, time aside to spend quality, relaxing time with family should be a priority I think. - even if it takes a credit card

 

[WDWLVR]

It is all about prioritites in life. We are DINKS and to us vacation is a priority. So I have a vacation fund set up in our Microsoft money that I put $$ to whenever I can. A lot of the people I work with question how we can afford to cruise every year.

Well for one thing we own a very small 2 bedroom home, but it is fully paid for. Yes we could afford a bigger one now but I don't want to go back into debt. We don't drive new cars. Both of our cars are 1999 Subaru's and doing quite well. We hardly ever eat out. In fact that is part of our vacation ritual is going out to dinner the night before we leave but really that is about the only time we do it.

I pay the cruise off in payments putting just enough on the credit card each month that I know I can pay off when it comes due. So I get the reward points for using the card but don't have to pay the interest of the credit card.

Everyone is different but you just have to figure out what is a priority to you and if vacation is it you'll find a way. Good luck!

 

[Turtletyson]

WOW!!!! You guys are awesome!!!!!

I was SO worried about posting this question originally because I thought people would be offended, and now it has 41 replies and 1,320 views!

Thank you so much for all the great advice & tips. DH & I have read all of them, and are trying to make some changes. Plus, we discussed how we can make a future trip cheaper.

Keep the suggestions coming!

Laurie

 

[mruhaak]

I think these kind of threads are great! They give you all kinds of ideas you may have not thought of yourself! I'm always up for ideas to save money!

 

[Tarabra]

I am the frugal queen. That is how we can afford so many cruises. For quite a few years in a row, before having our daughter, we would book on board, inside cabin, in May, and it was only $800/ person. 1/2 of what we paid the first cruise. That really makes a huge difference. We only have been in the inside cabins and last cruise went for Cat 12 and were bumped up to an 11. Cruised w/ DD21mos because she was free to cruise, fly and go to WDW. The only souvie we bought her was a $3.00 pirate duck. My mom, garage sale junkie, bought a Mickey bank, and Mickey shirt for a buck ea. at a gar. sale and we gave them to DD onboard. She loved them. We usually bring a case of beer, $15 vs. the $75 or more if we bought them individually onboard, we don't do excursions, we buy 1 or 2 pics, (try to avoid getting a bunch taken, then you won't be tempted), both of our cars are paid off, we have auto deductions for 401k's, and do save $1,000 yr. for college funds, I also save my Christmas money, b-day money, any rebates, dividend checks, rewards points, etc. That usually pays for our onboard bill. We look for free things to do the rest of the year, ie. concerts, winning tickets on the radio, or $5 fair shows, we bring our own water, don't buy $9 nachos, etc. On the other hand, my BIL NEVER travels, orders out at least 3 nights a week (roughly $60 x 4 = $240 x 12 = $2880 yr.), won't even go to a 'freebie' when we invite him because he says he will still end up spending $40. It's all about mental attitude and a little bit of willpower.

 

[tracyg]

We often cruise with a group of family members and I have found that Carnival, RCI and Princess sometimes offer previous guest discounts and/or senior citizen rates to anyone over the age of 55. So we book a grandparent or great-grandparent in each cabin and everyone in the cabin gets the senior citizen rate. Expedia shows what discounts are available. Also, Disney is not the only line to offer Florida resident rates, I think all of the cruise lines offer Florida resident rates. Some of the other cruiselines also offer special rates to residents of other states. Expedia will let you plug in your state to see if there is any special rate available.
We once traveled with a very large extended family group of distant relatives (116 people) and we were able to get a very good group rate. The organizer made up fliers and sent them out to all her friends and family (including distant relatives). I think the cruise lines also offer free cabins to the organizers of groups.
We always travel in the cheapest cabin available. As much as we would like to have a window or balcony, we are just thankful to be on a ship. Even if it is an inside cabin. We also don't buy many photos or alcoholic drinks and we search cruise critic for ideas for less expensive excursions and activities in port.
One other tip is to carefully check the charges on your on-board account. I was mistakenly charged for a $375 bottle of perfume on Caribbean Princess last year.

 

[mruhaak]

I have to echo the not buying many photos onboard. My husband is a professional photographer so he hates to see us spending money on photos by someone else!! Plus I haven't been really impressed with the quality (a far as professional photos go) of the photos I see taken on any of the cruises I've been on - for the price they are charging.

We bought 2 Shutters photos on our cruise, the "group boarding photo" and I bought one of my son with Goofy on Castaway Cay. Otherwise we just took our own. It's nice to have the digital files that way you can do all kinds of things with them!

 

[2Princes2Princesses]

We are still becoming frequent cruisers since I am hooked! But we are frequent visitors to WDW. AND we have 4 kids!

Like alot of other people said, for us, it is just making choices. We make decent $$, but not a huge income.

We live near Buffalo, and we rent our house. It is 1/2 of a duplex. Our landlord is a dairy farmer. I am looking out my back window as I type and seeing a barn full o' cows 25 feet away. We have a ton of bedrooms, 2 baths, and enough acres that the kids could literally mark out a NFL size football field! We chose to rent because we do want to move south eventually and friends are having trouble selling their homes in this area. And property taxes are crazy! We pay $550 per month and that includes electric. And our stove and dryer are both electric. That saves us a TON of money. Also, if the furnace breaks or the house needs a roof? We ask the landlord!

We only have 1 vehicle. I work at home, DH works nights, so we only need 1. It is a 1999 Expedition and fits all the kids. We are thinking about picking up a focus or something for cash and using that in the summer when our older kids are off doing their own thing to save on gas.

We don't do much of anything. We rarely go out to eat, don't go to the movies, and don't go to bars. We cook out in the summer, invite friends over, play games, etc. And the movies, for what it would cost for 6 of us, we can buy the DVD's! We sometimes do PPV. At 3.95 for a movie for the 6 of us, it is a bargain.

And we get fresh veggies for next to nothing out here in farm country!

My DH, my older kids and I have cell phones, so we dumped our land line service. We have Cingular for the rollover minutes. We also buy the kids clothes off season for basics. We buy jeans in June and shorts in Aug/Sept for the following year. My boys we have some trouble with cuz they both grow alot, but my DD14 stays the same and my DD3 is still wearing 2T's. I also do the same thing with my little ones I did with my older 2 when they were small. I buy plain Levi jeans for the bigger one (in this case, my younger son is bigger than his older sister). When he outgrows them, I will put the ones in great shape away for my DD.

The clothing thing is a little tougher now with DD14, as she likes to get the most up to date stuff for school in the fall. But, I know Buffalo is usually 6-12 months behind. So I page through Cosmo girl and we know what the kids in her school will be wearing in September.

DH and I also do not buy gifts for each other for Bdays, V day, Christmas, anniversary. This years Xmas present for both of us was the Chef's Table at V&A's on 2/6. His bday present this year is a 3 day cruise and 7 days at WDW. Mine was our addon DVC contract at BW.

Oh and we also belong to BJ's Wholesale and buy everything in bulk, including meat. Just an example, a package of diapers at the grocery store is about 10.99 here. We get a box, which is the equivalent of 4+ packs at BJ's for 27.99. Huggies. We are careful though to NOT buy things we wouldn't normally use. Y'know, 20 pounds of liver, cuz its cheap and noone eats it. I also try to keep a close eye on what we WILL be needing. Like my DS13, his sneakers look a little worn right now, which means by May or June he will need new ones for sure. I start looking now. If I find a deal, we will buy them early. It seems like things are always more expensive when you NEED them.

I sometimes wonder about us Disney addicts. We will spend a buttload on a 7 day cruise, but come home and clip out coupons for 20 cents off dishsoap! and I KNOW I am not the only one!!!!

 

[Anal Annie]

We are still becoming frequent cruisers since I am hooked! But we are frequent visitors to WDW. AND we have 4 kids!

Like alot of other people said, for us, it is just making choices. We make decent $$, but not a huge income.

We live near Buffalo, and we rent our house. It is 1/2 of a duplex. Our landlord is a dairy farmer. I am looking out my back window as I type and seeing a barn full o' cows 25 feet away. We have a ton of bedrooms, 2 baths, and enough acres that the kids could literally mark out a NFL size football field! We chose to rent because we do want to move south eventually and friends are having trouble selling their homes in this area. And property taxes are crazy! We pay $550 per month and that includes electric. And our stove and dryer are both electric. That saves us a TON of money. Also, if the furnace breaks or the house needs a roof? We ask the landlord!

We only have 1 vehicle. I work at home, DH works nights, so we only need 1. It is a 1999 Expedition and fits all the kids. We are thinking about picking up a focus or something for cash and using that in the summer when our older kids are off doing their own thing to save on gas.

We don't do much of anything. We rarely go out to eat, don't go to the movies, and don't go to bars. We cook out in the summer, invite friends over, play games, etc. And the movies, for what it would cost for 6 of us, we can buy the DVD's! We sometimes do PPV. At 3.95 for a movie for the 6 of us, it is a bargain.

And we get fresh veggies for next to nothing out here in farm country!

My DH, my older kids and I have cell phones, so we dumped our land line service. We have Cingular for the rollover minutes. We also buy the kids clothes off season for basics. We buy jeans in June and shorts in Aug/Sept for the following year. My boys we have some trouble with cuz they both grow alot, but my DD14 stays the same and my DD3 is still wearing 2T's. I also do the same thing with my little ones I did with my older 2 when they were small. I buy plain Levi jeans for the bigger one (in this case, my younger son is bigger than his older sister). When he outgrows them, I will put the ones in great shape away for my DD.

The clothing thing is a little tougher now with DD14, as she likes to get the most up to date stuff for school in the fall. But, I know Buffalo is usually 6-12 months behind. So I page through Cosmo girl and we know what the kids in her school will be wearing in September.

DH and I also do not buy gifts for each other for Bdays, V day, Christmas, anniversary. This years Xmas present for both of us was the Chef's Table at V&A's on 2/6. His bday present this year is a 3 day cruise and 7 days at WDW. Mine was our addon DVC contract at BW.

Oh and we also belong to BJ's Wholesale and buy everything in bulk, including meat. Just an example, a package of diapers at the grocery store is about 10.99 here. We get a box, which is the equivalent of 4+ packs at BJ's for 27.99. Huggies. We are careful though to NOT buy things we wouldn't normally use. Y'know, 20 pounds of liver, cuz its cheap and noone eats it. I also try to keep a close eye on what we WILL be needing. Like my DS13, his sneakers look a little worn right now, which means by May or June he will need new ones for sure. I start looking now. If I find a deal, we will buy them early. It seems like things are always more expensive when you NEED them.

I sometimes wonder about us Disney addicts. We will spend a buttload on a 7 day cruise, but come home and clip out coupons for 20 cents off dishsoap! and I KNOW I am not the only one!!!!

WHAT?! You can't get those kids to eat 20 lbs of liver before it gets freezer burn?!?! And don't you go somewhere that will DOUBLE your 20 cent coupons?!?! I'm laughing tho 'cuz I have SUCH a big box of spaghetti in the pantry from Costco right now...DH is like AGAIN?! Ordering pizza - ALWAYS have coupons hanging on the frig. for pizza...no coupons - no pizza!

I gotta say I loved your post! It's so true - we can all be tight when & where we want to be! We never go OUT to eat except on vacations (that's my thing - no cooking on vacation)! But we do a lot of take-out on Fri & Sat nites - it's much cheaper than going OUT - skip the appetizers, no drinks to pay for, share the salad & a couple bucks tip for whoever brings out the food - love that curbside-to-go thing! And usually our DS will eat something we have at home (he's a light eater & actually doesn't mind Easy Mac, Chef-Boy-R-Dee or those frozen Kid Cuisine dinners - it's his choice - he can order a cheeseburger or chix fingers if he wants but he usually doesn't!) And I pick that stuff up whenever it's on sale like 10 for $10 or whatever...

I do the same thing with shopping for the end of season clearance stuff - except I can't do jeans / pants very well as DS is tall & skinny...but coats, shorts & tops - always!

Movies - never - MAYBE a matinee once every 3-4 months - but it's always a kids movie. Actually, I think the last adult movie DH & I went to see was several years ago - "The Ring" maybe it was...I don't even remember! We never rent them either unless someone gives us a gift card! We have satellite (HBO etc) so we just wait for it to show up on that & if it never does then OH WELL!

Anyway, we live in the metro DC area - you can't rent someone's walk-in closet for $550 / month around here! We don't rent, but we bought 8 yrs ago before the housing market went BERSERK - if we hadn't done it then we surely wouldn't be able to now!

Anyway, just had to say you made me LOL!!

 

[ColoradoMom!!]

I really enjoyed your posts -- I am a frugal queen too. As a matter of fact, I am too cheap to subscribe to the newspaper for my coupons, so our neighboor drops her Sunday paper on my porch after she is done. Then two of my friend's and I do a coupon swap where you cut what you want out of your set, sharpie your name on the front (for being done) and give it to the next gal

Do any of you have trouble justifying your cruises to other family members? I am a SAHM, and my reputation for frugal-ness is well known, but I just cringe when my hubby's family says things like, "Well, they won't do this or that, but they'll go on a Disney Cruise."

 

[auntsue1]

We are getting ready to go on our third DIS Cruise. This time it's to the Med. We agree it is cheaper to travel off peak. However, Our first cruise was New Year's and our second was over Christmas. We were shocked at the price but wanted to do it. This year the cruise is 11 days. We don't
have a balcony but we do have an outside stateroom.

This year we were lucky. We were able to pay a lot of the cruise off with selling on E-bay. We were lucky and found that people were interested in a large collection of hand knit sweaters (Quacker and Story Book Knits) and several used but in good condition items.

 

[Anal Annie]

Do any of you have trouble justifying your cruises to other family members? I am a SAHM, and my reputation for frugal-ness is well known, but I just cringe when my hubby's family says things like, "Well, they won't do this or that, but they'll go on a Disney Cruise."

Not so much family as friends! I have to work but we live in a neighborhood with a lot of SAHMs...and who are also able to have a house cleaning service (I clean my own) and who go to the gym every day & Starbucks etc. We are the wannabes in our neighborhood. A few of them also take SEVERAL vacations a year... We pinch our pennies over this & that & I dream up creative ways to save & then they go & do stuff that I have to shake my head over & wrinkle up my nose. But here we usually only take 1 vacation / yr. so I don't appreciate it so much when we decline doing something 'cuz I'm saving for our one vacation when they take 4 or 5. Example - my next door neighbor really is a great friend & a good neighbor but she's a bit spoiled... She's a SAHM, her youngest is 10 so it's not like she NEEDS to be home any more, she has a house cleaner & they both drive BIG SUV's. They took a cruise over Christmas, went skiing in Jan., are going away for a few days over spring break to Williamsburg with the kids, they're going on an adults only vac. to Mexico in April, Vegas in May, they own a beach house in South Bethany, DE that they spend several weeks at during the summer, they're going to Nags Head or someplace in N.C. in Aug. and are planning 2 other trips for later (1 to St. Lucia & 1 to Greece). Uhhhhh. Hello?!

I'm like please don't look at me funny when I say I can't afford to get my nails done every week! OH! And just last week she mentioned trying to plan a girls weekend this fall for a bunch of us - to the Bahamas she says....and then the husbands can have a weekend in Vegas! Well, I don't think so! I love her to death - but she has NO CLUE what it's like over here! None... But yes, sometimes I feel like I have to explain my Disney obsession and the way I end up paying for our 1 trip a year...yet I won't go to the nail salon with her every week... My priorities must be screwy?!

 

[2Princes2Princesses]

I really enjoyed your posts -- I am a frugal queen too. As a matter of fact, I am too cheap to subscribe to the newspaper for my coupons, so our neighboor drops her Sunday paper on my porch after she is done. Then two of my friend's and I do a coupon swap where you cut what you want out of your set, sharpie your name on the front (for being done) and give it to the next gal

Do any of you have trouble justifying your cruises to other family members? I am a SAHM, and my reputation for frugal-ness is well known, but I just cringe when my hubby's family says things like, "Well, they won't do this or that, but they'll go on a Disney Cruise."

YES!!! I LOVE that you don't spend the $$ on the paper!!! You are truly a woman after my own heart. BTW-I get my coupons from my mother.

Some family members (my husband's) can be critical. But as he tells them, "what do you care what we spend money on?"

My sister says everyone has their "thing." We vacation. She wanted a custom built house, so they splurged on that. My brother and sister in law like to get new cars every year. My best friend likes designer clothes for her and her DD.

As my wise older sister says, "As long as you aren't starving or drowning in debt and the kids are dressed, fed, and happy, I could care less how much money you give Disney!"

We bust our butts and never use the CC's for any of our vacations. So we eat spaghetti a little more often and have generic chips and cereal in our pantry. The kids are happy with it and so are we.

 

[2Princes2Princesses]

WHAT?! You can't get those kids to eat 20 lbs of liver before it gets freezer burn?!?! And don't you go somewhere that will DOUBLE your 20 cent coupons?!?! I'm laughing tho 'cuz I have SUCH a big box of spaghetti in the pantry from Costco right now...DH is like AGAIN?! Ordering pizza - ALWAYS have coupons hanging on the frig. for pizza...no coupons - no pizza!

OMG, the grocery store had coupons that you could use to double your $1 coupons! I was in heaven.

Pizza we only get on Sunday, the lone pizzeria out here in the boonies has a discount on Sunday for the games!! If we want subs, Tuesday nights are 2 for 1!

We had chicken, then spaghetti, then chicken again last week. DS13 started to complain and DD14 told him "Don't bother, they probably bought like 100 pounds for 10 bucks or something." DH promised to switch things up better.

 

[Amlee]

Do any of you have trouble justifying your cruises to other family members? I am a SAHM, and my reputation for frugal-ness is well known, but I just cringe when my hubby's family says things like, "Well, they won't do this or that, but they'll go on a Disney Cruise."

Yes, an it's called them being jealous! Both myself and my parents have got were we don't even tell anyone around us we are going anywhere. What is funny the very people that make the rude remarks are the very ones that could afford to take a trip, if they wanted to. But they would rather sit on their money and pout!

 

[inkkognito]

Four jobs working our butts off + No kids + Cruising during hurricane season when possible + Occasional FL resident discounts = 60 Disney cruises by the end of 2006.

 

[twinmommyks]

I love reading about the coupon stories - I am the coupon Queen. That's what my family calls me. Love it when the store offers double coupons and they actually pay me to take an item.

When we eat out, we also go to wherever I have coupons or gifts cards that were given to me. My dh and kids laugh at me, but I remind them of all the things we can do because of my sacrifices!!!

I also buy clothes off-season for my kids. Part of my walk-in closet has all sorts of new name brand clothes that I paid almost nothing for. My dd6 already has her summer wardrobe, which is adorable and I maybe paid $40 for everything. It bugs me to pay full-price for something.

May 2008 will be our first cruise. But we flew to DL last year and WDW the year before. Last year my cashback bonus from CC paid for our airfare for 5. Haven't paid one penny in CC interest for almost 10 years but have gotten thousands of dollars of cashback bonuses. Anything I can put on my Disney Visa, Discover, or MC (that pays 5% for gas, pharmacy, groceries) I do.

We already have a OBC of $150 plus have over $200 in Disney Visa rewards with more to come. Hoping that Discover bonus will cover our airfare. I am hoping to be one of those people who can cruise every year or so. Any more tips would be appreciated.

 

[DisneyElf]

Well - I will admit - I use our tax refund to fund trips And I agree - we all spend money on what we want too

We love to have a family get together during the holidays - and towards that end - I look for every sale I can find. I tease my nephews girlfriend that her daughter's X-Mas presents are already up in the attic. Picked up the 5 piece doll play set for $ 23 on Disneyshopping (reg. $69), the doll for $8. (reg. $30), of course - no tax & no shipping charge. Also have sweatshirts, swimwear for the summer up there - etc. I think I have a couple of boxes up there

I've even managed to find the sale racks at WDW and on DCL - got a 1/2 price fleece - for $ 25 (reg. $50) have worn it all winter from DCL this last trip. Always look the first night for the sale rack.

On this trip we have $ 500 OBC - free tips (assuming great service - will put in extra) - and not sure with the Disney Visa reward dollars are .. but they will help.

 

[sasha]

It's great reading all of the answers because I've often wondered this myself. We're going on our 2nd Disney Cruise next year and along with saving our pennies over a year in advance, we're using our tax refund.