Our Second Cruise

Many of you will recall that last year my family took a cruise to the Caribbean. Well, we did it again this year!!!

Instead of going through the cruise day by day as I did last year, I'll write a few posts that cover enough of the details to let you know what happened (and keep things interesting), but not so much that you start getting bored (hopefully). :) If I miss something or you wonder about it, just ask a question in the comments and I'll respond.

Today I will detail how we decided to take the cruise we did. Then over the next couple weeks I'll share details of the trip.

Deciding to Cruise Again

The seeds for this year's trip were planted during last year's cruise. We had a GREAT time and almost immediately when we got home we started talking about going again.

The conversation initially revolved around whether to take a cruise again or simply pick one island, fly there, and stay for several days. At first we concentrated on the "one island" plan (knowing that we could go from island to island even if we flew in), but ultimately we decided the cruise was a better option. It allowed us to see several islands rather easily plus gave us options for various excursions, travel, and entertainment that would be hard to duplicate doing it on our own (at least without a TON of time, effort, and planning on our parts.)

Selecting the Cruise

Once we decided on the cruise route, I started searching. I had a few criteria that helped me identify good options:

• The trip needed to last at least 10 days (7 days just didn't seem like enough)
• We wanted at least half of the days to be island stops
• We wanted an upscale, balcony suite room like we had last time (see pics of it here)
• The trip should be in the January/early February time period
• We wanted to leave from a warm-weather port

We also wanted a ship experience that was not a wild party scene. We also wanted it to be relatively affordable (which eliminated many of the smaller, upscale ships.) So I concentrated my efforts on three cruise lines: Norwegian (who we used last time), Royal Caribbean, and Disney.

After applying my above criteria at the cruise websites, the pickings were pretty slim. In general (I know there are exceptions, so don't say, "Yeah, but what about ---"), Royal Caribbean didn't have the sort of suites we wanted (due to the ships they had that met our criteria.) And Disney seemed both too "kid-focused" and expensive compared to the others. So NCL (Norwegian Cruise Lines) it was.

NCL had a few cruises that COULD work if we relaxed our criteria a bit, but nothing that was a dead-on match. Then we decided we would look at the trip a bit differently.

A few years ago my wife and I developed a short-list of where we wanted to take our kids before they went to college. We've already been to Disney, Chicago, and Washington, DC, but one place on the list we hadn't visited was New York City. We had initially planned to take a trip to the Big Apple in 2014, but since I had stumbled upon an NCL cruise that left from NYC and met all our other criteria, we decided to go for it and turn the two trips into one. We decided we would take a couple days to visit New York just to give the kids a "taste" of it, then we'd board a cruise headed to the Caribbean.

At this point the trip took another turn. We had talked to my parents about maybe taking a cruise with us. They loved the idea, but weren't sold on it 100%. In addition they weren't sure about the cost. So we talked it over and decided we would pay for their cruise if they wanted to go with us. They did! So now the hunt was on for the best deal.

Here are the details on the cruise we selected:

• Ship: Norwegian Jewel
• Days of trip (including travel): 15
• Cruise days: 12
• Room category purchased (for those of you interested): SC (same type as last year)
• Room details: Suite, two bedrooms, two bathrooms, living room/dining area, balcony
• Room location: 11th floor, forward, right side (room 11006 to be exact)
• Extras: Butler and concierge service, "free" meals at restaurants others had to pay for

The itinerary:

• Friday, January 18 - Fly to New York City and spend day sightseeing (our flight arrived at 11 am so we had most of the day)
• Saturday, January 19 - Sightseeing in New York
• Sunday, January 20 - Get on ship at noon and set sail at 4 pm
• Monday, January 21 - At Sea     
• Tuesday, January 22 - At Sea     
• Wednesday, January 23 - San Juan, Puerto Rico
• Thursday, January 24 - St. Thomas
• Friday, January 25 - Philipsburg, St. Maarten
• Saturday, January 26 - St. Lucia
• Sunday, January 27 - Bridgetown, Barbados
• Monday, January 28 - St. John’s, Antigua
• Tuesday, January 29 - At Sea     
• Wednesday, January 30 - At Sea     
• Thursday, January 31 - At Sea     
• Friday, February 1 - Arrive in New York City (8 am). Fly home. 

Getting a Decent Deal

I did much less shopping around for the cruise this year than I did last year and good thing -- otherwise I may have missed out on getting us what we wanted.

With my parents now going we added one more requirement -- we wanted their room to be joined to ours. Since there were only a handful of rooms like ours (10, I think -- 5 on each side of the ship) and even fewer that had joined rooms to them (4, I think) and even fewer that didn't have one or the other room booked (1, I think), I needed to move quickly.

My first stop was Costco, the best price option out of all the places I looked last year. They had our cruise priced at $171.48 per person per day for the cruise. Since we paid $167.50 per person per day last year and thought we got a good deal, that was close enough for me.

I called Costco and asked if I could book the rooms for both us and my parents (even though my parents weren't Costco members). They said I could. I also asked if they could get us adjoining rooms. They checked, and they could. So I whipped out my 2% cash back Fidelity Amex and booked the rooms in August (I booked in October last year.) I made the down payment and the rest would be billed to me in October.

Good thing I booked when I did. The cruise this year from NYC was more popular than the one last year from Miami. By the time the cruise industry had its "greatest sale event" in October (when we booked last year), the only cabins available on our ship were either inside or large suites costing the big, big bucks.

Costs

To round out this first post, I wanted to list our costs for the trip. For perspective, here are the costs from last year. This year's costs were as follows listed in order of expense:

• Cruise - $8,231
• Excursions - $1,417
• Airfare - $1,242
• Auto Tips - $576
• Travel Insurance - $400
• Tips - $192
• Transportation - $173
• Souvenirs - $165
• Misc - $84
• Food - $76
• Hotels - $0
• On board credit - ($300)

Total Cost - $12,256

In addition to this, we paid $4,025 for my parents to go with us.

Cost Specifics

A few comments on the costs:

• Obviously, this is not a bargain basement vacation. I choose to spend more on vacations as part of my moderate but selective frugality spending habits. I want to be relaxed, comfortable (and not cramped -- that's why we got a larger suite room -- see pics of it here), and pampered on vacation. Otherwise, I do not want to take the trip. I know that people who had 4th floor inside cabins on my ship paid a FRACTION of what I did. If that worked for them, then great. But that arrangement wouldn't feel like a vacation to me. (For instance, we spent hours just as a family on our balcony talking and visiting -- something I would have missed greatly if we hadn't had the room we did.) In short, I'd rather take one "pampered" vacation then three where I had to make so many sacrifices that it felt more like work than vacation.
• That said, we looked to save money wherever we could. My experience is that Costco usually has very good prices on cruises. Not the best, probably, but very good. So we bought from them. We also used our 2% cash back credit card on every purchase, netting us $250 in rewards. We used Hilton points I accumulated from work to pay for the Hampton Inn we stayed at near Times Square. We ate big breakfasts at Hampton Inn and only needed one other meal for the rest of the day (we brought some snacks and purchased more from the Rite Aid on the corner). We negotiated for purchases on the islands (easy to do when several vendors were selling the same thing). And on and on. We saved money where we could, but we didn't sacrifice the quality of our vacation trying to save a dollar here and a dollar there.
• We took four excursions in total -- all purchased from the ship. I'll detail what we did, what they cost, why we got them from NCL, and our thoughts on each on a future post.
• We took a direct flight from Grand Rapids to NYC. It was $40 more per person than flying from Detroit, but the advantages outweighed the costs in our minds: 1) we didn't have to drive to and from Detroit (2 hours each way), 2) we didn't have to pay to park our car (friends took us to the airport), and 3) we didn't have to worry about missing connections (like we did last year) and if our plane never left (because of weather, for instance), we would at least be "stranded" at home. It is also worth mentioning that we left two days early not only to see NYC but also to give us a cushion in case we got hit by a snowstorm and couldn't make it out on Friday. That still gave us time to make the cruise by 4 pm Sunday.
• The "auto tips" are charges by NCL. They are $12 per person per day ($48 for my family, parents paid for their own). These go to all the servers on the ship (it's part of their salary) and the costs are automatically added to your bill each day.
• We didn't buy travel insurance last year, but we did this year because there seemed to be several factors that could work to halt our trip: 1) my aunt was having heart issues and we weren't sure whether she would make it or have to have surgery (she's much better now), 2) the flu (two of the top flu cities in the US at that time were NYC and Grand Rapids), and 3) the weather (always an issue when you live in Michigan.) The insurance covered a whole host of issues (including if you got sick while on the ship, they compensated you for vacation days lost). We didn't need the insurance so the money could be viewed as "wasted", but we felt it was a worthwhile cost given the circumstances.
• The tips list is for the ship's crew that served us personally. Given we had a penthouse suite, we had a concierge, butler, and personal housekeeper. Our kids also attended several youth group events headed by a ship employee. We tipped all these people extra. We also tipped the porter at the pier, the hotel maid, and so forth.
• Transportation costs were mostly cabs into and out of NYC, around NYC, and back home from the airport. We also spent $28 on a water taxi in St. Maarten (more on that in a future post).
• Souvenirs were mostly t-shirts. :)
• Miscellaneous includes a Jet Ski rental in St. Maarten, a beach chair "deal" (more on this later) in St. Maarten, and a fort tour in San Juan.
• Food was our NYC food costs. Obviously the food on the cruise was "free". :)
• Costco offered a $150 onboard credit with purchase of a cruise, but we received $300 of credit. I'm guessing that's because we booked for four people in our cabin (my parents got their own $150 credit from my booking for them) and not just two.

That's enough for now. In future posts I'll give some details on the days/islands/excursions as well as some tips to save money (or make your vacation smoother) if you ever plan to visit any of the islands we went to.

Comments

[WiseDollar]

It sounds like a great vacation! I need to get planning on our annual carribean vacation which lately has been either Grand Cayman (expensive)or Isla de Mujeres Mexico (very reasoanable and our favorite).

[Mike Collins]

Wow, that's a pretty busy itinerary! I have yet to be on a cruise but it's something my wife and I have talked about. I live in NJ, so if I did a cruise like yours I'd at least save on the airfare!

[EDW]

Better to invest it next time

[FMF]

EDW --

I'm fully maxing out my 401k plus buying rental real estate. You can't take it all with you! :)

[Michelle]

Sounds like fun! I've never been on a cruise but want to go on one.

[John S @ Frugal Rules]

Sounds like an awesome cruise! Our last one was about 18 months ago for our tenth anniversary leaving out of San Juan. We're definitely planning on one in the future. I'll have to keep Costco in mind as I've never thought about them for something like this.

[Mike Hunt]

FMF,

It is a bit expensive (when comparing to events like weddings, etc) but sounded like it was worth it. Also it was very generous to pay for your parents. I'm sure you all made some great memories with 3 generations cruising together.

Also as a percentage of your net worth, it is perfectly reasonable :-)

-Mike

[Jonathan]

FMF - Sounds great! We also go for "selective frugality," though maybe with a little less selectivity than you...for example, while I wouldn't be against Rite-Aid snacks to tide me over til dinner in NY, I also wouldn't think twice about the cost of purchasing a meal (while on a major trip like this, that is). My pursestrings tend to open when I'm on vacation, and I'm fine with that! That's why we live well below our means the rest of the year!

[minimalist]

Wow, I spend $13.5k in a whole year, including cross country travel 3x a year (individual expenses + gifts). There was a flash sale in late January for flights from NYC to St. Maartin in February for $180 RT on JetBlue, but I decided not to go.

[Grayson @ Debt Roundup]

Cruising is awesome. I have been on one and would love to do it again. They are not inexpensive trips, but full of things to do. Thanks for breaking it down.

[Old Limey]

FMF
Much later on in your life you may want to take a look at River Cruises, they are very popular with seniors, and we have been on many of them. The company we went with was Grand Circle Travel out of Boston. Our favorite was a cruise on the Volga from Moscow to St. Petersburg where we found the locals very friendly everywhere we went. Our next favorite was a visit to the D-Day beaches in Normandy and then a trip up the Seine to Paris. Another that we enjoyed so much we went on it twice was a trip down the Rhine and Mosel rivers from Basle, Switzerland, through Germany ending in Antwerp, Belgium. This particular trip has gorgeous scenery and passes through a major wine growing region and often stops at some wonderful medieval villages.

The boats typically hold between 120 and 150 passengers and tie up every night in one of the small towns along the way. These trips are not for children and not for young people, they are geared to the slower pace that retirees prefer, as is the evening entertainment.

[JTS]

Sounds like a great trip! And thanks for the breakdown of expenses. My wife and I have considered going on a cruise in the near future, and the breakdown of expenses is definitely helpful. She has been several times with her parents, but I'm a cruising newbie, so I'm researching as much as possible.

Also glad that something like this didn't happen on your trip. Nothing like an unwanted extended vacation:
http://www.cnn.com/2013/02/12/travel/cruise-ship-fire/index.html

-Jon

[FMF]

Jon --

A couple days before our last cruise was when the ship went down over near Italy. Yikes!

[FMF]

Old Limey --

We have had several friends take river cruises and they all seem to have a great time.

[Apex]

EDW:

http://www.gamers-association.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/scrooge-mcduck.png

[FMF]

That's funny, Apex!

[Marko]

Sitting on a boat for some many days at sea is boring. On our 7-day cruise, we were actually in port 5 days, which is good in that it gave us plenty to see and get off the ship, but even 2 days at sea gets to be too much. Price didn't sound that great. Two years ago, we went to Australia and spent 12 days there and even flew across the country for uner $5K. Plus, the Caribbean is quite poor, and you're always having to watch your back.

[FMF]

Marko --

1. We can take about two days at sea in a row before getting board. We were prepared this time (having done it before) and brought books to read, ipads, etc.

2. It is cheaper to travel to a place and be there (we looked at just going to an island, as we noted.) Also, we took 4 people -- not sure how many your numbers count.

3. We did not try to save money. We wanted a first class vacation, as I noted.

4. In most of the Caribbean islands you certainly don't need to "watch your back", but in some (the poorer ones) you do -- just like you would need to in poorer parts of the US.

[Shannon @ The Heavy Purse]

Sounds fantastic! Our family save goal is a Disney Cruise. Our daughters are so excited (and yes, Disney cruises are definitely kid-oriented) and we are too. We've been saving for 18 months for the trip but it's going to be worth every penny.

[StumbleForward]

I've been thinking about surprising my wife with a cruise for our 10 year wedding anniversary but I'm not quite sure about the pricing. I've heard that cruise ships will charge extra for the meals and drinks. I figure for being a captive crowd it's going to get expensive. Do you happen to know what kind of prices cruise lines will charge for meals an drinks?

[FMF]

Stumble --

On NCL you can eat free (it's part of the purchase price) in the buffet and at certain restaurants. Room service is free as well. If you want to go to a specialty restaurant, you'll pay $15 to $25 per person. We have never paid a single cent for any food (above and beyond our fare) on our two cruises.

If you drink alcohol or soda, you pay for it. We don't drink either, so it's no problem. The excursions we take often offer alcohol, soda, and juice as part of the excursion cost. Since our kids like soda, they get their fill during these times.

[Paul]

Glad you weren't on the boat out of Galveston that drifted without power in the Gulf of Mexico recently.

[kitty]

Stumble - to add to what FMF said - as far as I know most if not all cruses include food in main restaurant(s). As far as I am concerned - and I've been on few cruises (NCL, RCL, my friend was on Cunard), just two on NCL last year - Alaska in July and the Caribbean in December. Specialty restaurants and alcohol are extra, but you really don't need specialty restaurants, the "free" food is just fine. Alcohol drinks costs money if you really want it, but stuff like tea, coffee, some juice drinks e.g. at breakfast like orange or cranberry are free. I can do without soda, and I don't care much about alcohol - can get it or can do without it - so I rarely if ever buy it. One way to get free champagne is to go to the art auctions, they give free glasses of champagne there, I guess so you get drunk and buy some paintings.

In general, I found cruises to be the most economical way of travel (depends on the room you choose of course) because you get transportation except to get to the cruise, lodging and food for the same one very reasonable price. I live near NYC, so I don't even need to buy a plane ticket if the cruise leaves from NYC, just $20 for a train ticket and taxi from Grand Central; on my way back last time I felt I needed the exercise after all that eating, so I walked from the pier to the Grand Central - I only had one luggage on wheels.

During my last cruise I got a balcony, and I think I paid about $1600 for a 9-day cruise (similar to the FMF's, also NCL and same ship, but a little shorter - 4 stops instead of 6) but as I didn't have anybody to share a room (my friend was with her aunt, my other friend with her mother), I had to pay twice the price i.e. the full cabin cost for 2 people. I only got one excursion for $70, in San Juan we just explored it ourselves, in other places we grabbed a taxi ($14 per person round trip in one place, $20 if I remember correctly in another) to go to the beach.

Just an example of how economical a cruise can be, a couple of years ago I went with friends (again, they were a couple, but I was alone, but I think then I paid 150% of the price) to a trans-Atlantic cruise on Celebrity. This was in December. It was a two-week cruise from Rome (Civitavecchia) to San Juan, Puerto Rico. We also spent a couple of days in Rome. We were lucky with air - got a ticket to Rome for $400, and one from Puerto Rico for $150, but as I calculated at the end, the total cost of a cruise (cheapest room, but I got free upgrade to window) with air fare, excursions (not everywhere, in some places like Gibraltar we just walked - climbed to the top of the rock - by ourselves), hotel in Rome was a little over $2000. Now, this is for 2 weeks vacation that included Rome, and stops in Spain (I think 3 stops) and Canary Islands (3 stops), and transportation across the Atlantic on the way back.

So overall, I found cruises to be a great deal.

FMF - have a nice trip, I am sure you'll enjoy it.

[Old Limey]

This is just what Carnival Cruise lines didn't need.

The Carnival Triumph was about 150 miles off the coast of Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula, heading back Sunday morning to Galveston, Texas -- where it had departed Thursday on a four-day trip -- when a fire broke out in an engine room, according to Carnival Cruise Lines.

The ship's automatic fire extinguishing system kicked in and soon contained the flames, and no injuries were reported, Carnival reported.

Yet this fire left the ship -- and its 3,143 passengers and 1,086 crew members -- adrift without propulsion, the cruise line said, halting its trip back to port.

The first of two tugboats that will tow the ship to Mobile, Alabama, arrived on Monday evening, the cruise line said in a statement. The ship should arrive in the Gulf city some time Thursday.

Stranded ship running out of hot food Not being able to sail, though, is just one of the problems. Issues with running water, scarce electricity and more contributed to headaches big and small, according to passengers and their loved ones.

Toby Barlow's wife Ann told him there was "sewage running down the walls and floors" with passengers being asked to defecate in bags and urinate in showers due to a lack of functioning toilets. Food lines ran 3½ hours long and some, like herself, slept outside to keep cool.

"Elderly and handicap(ped people) are struggling," she texted her husband. "The smells are gross."