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9 hours ago, SpeedNoodles said:

No, I'm police dispatch/911.  Our PDs have very little mandated OT. We've been grossly understaffed (by 30% for the last 4  years).

My hats off to you. That’s one job I could never do. Wild that there is little mandated OT for your LEOs. It’s unbelievable, and unsustainable up here. 

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I fell in love with this "addiction" in 2016 after raising our son an paying off his student loans and a work accident that left me with a synthetic neck..  My wife is 48 and I'm 47.. Every extra dime that comes into our household goes to feed this cruising addiction we have.. While raising our son We couldn't afford to take a cruise.. and honestly I didn't have the desire.. 

This is the only vacation that you cannot do wrong.. Ill bust my ass 60-70 hours a week to pay for Jean and I to take a break and let us be ourselves..  We've seen Alaska, Cuba, and the western and eastern Caribbean itineraries. We're looking forward to the Southern Caribbean next year..

 

Ill bust my ass to make it work for us, I don't care if I have to work 70 hours a week to let my wife have one week of pleasure to be herself.. ?
 

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Interesting topic, I enjoyed reading everyone's background and learning about yall

I'm in the 1-2 cruise/year category because I live in Washington state and Airfare is my biggest enemy, but there are still strategies I have used to spend only what I want. When I was younger and didn't make as much I would book cruises out of the less desirable cruise ports and cheaper sailing season. The first couple cruises I went on, I probably spent less than $100 per 7 day cruise for 2 people(not including gratuities). I was just happy to be on vacation and would  only drink the free ice tea and lemonade, walk or find cheap transport to a free beach on port days ect... We actually had just as great of a time cruising that way.

I have a higher income now, but I also have 3 young children. Airfare is still our biggest enemy, if we lived in Florida we would easily be cruising twice as much.  I only like to take off 2 weeks a year for vacation, but I am not going to go when everyone else on earth is going. We pull our kids out of school(even though the school hates it) usually in February when we are sick of the wet winter weather and the rates are cheaper. We spend more onboard these days, but we still avoid paying a lot on booze,food and extras. We also book 1 cruise a year as far out as possible and stalk changes in pricing like a obsessed maniac even though booking so far out is usually the best deal. I'm an Electrical Forman who builds schools and my work is feast or famine so I try and keep money in the budget for a last minute cruise as well for when I finish a project. Schools are build on a fast paced schedule and I am usually super stressed out trying to get the job done. I have to keep a reward trip in my mind to keep my sanity. Also this blog keeps my eye on the prize when work gets stressful.

92 days until Liberty 

?? days until Alaska?

469 until Symphony

Happy Cruising

 

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My wife and I are still fairly new to cruising - we did one and have another booked.

We’ve known each other for 12 years, married the past 2. We started traveling internationally once we got married. We did Sandals Royal Caribbean (isn’t that a coincidence!) in Jamaica for our honeymoon and Sandals Royal Bahamaian for our 1-year anniversary.

These were fun but also started to get real expensive. Flights from NY airports only went to certain islands on certain days. Since then, we’ve bought a house and got ourselves a dog. So we decided to give cruising a try and went on Anthem to Bermuda last summer. We feel like it was a good value. It definitely was a good time but we had to shift mindsets of transitioning from adults-only all inclusive to a family-style cruise.

I am a high school science teacher and my wife works for a non-profit, working with people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD). We are able to pay for vacations because we each hold other part time jobs. In addition to teaching high school, I work as an adjunct professor at night, I am a union rep, I work at the local library as a librarian assistant during the summer and I proctor SAT exams on weekends. My wife does some side work as a respite provider as well.

We live in south jersey so Cape Liberty is only an hour and a half away. My wife can take time off of work with relative ease but for me, my overall work schedule doesn’t allow for me to take a week off at any given point during the school year. So our “sweet spot” of value and time has been and probably will always be the last week of August. It’s in the middle of hurricane season so prices are a little lower. I presume since most of the country’s school districts and colleges are back in session, that’s another reason why prices are lower. Luckily for us in the northeast, schools (including the college I teach at) doesn’t start until after Labor Day.

We both feel that the extra time working is well worth the one week of rest and relaxation. After the Bahamas cruise, we want to do NE/Canada and then the Caribbean (San Juan, Labadee, etc.) - both from Cape Liberty. After that, we’ll see!

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On 11/9/2019 at 5:33 AM, Dan Curtis said:

Cruising is awesome and this is an interesting read seeing how,everyone does it. I,wish we had started cruising earlier in life, my wife just couldn't get me on a cruise, but,once I cruised, like most I am hooked. I retired 10 years ago a little before,retirement age, I got a part time job at,the airport and that helps with flights. If you are in California, you have a long pricy trip to,even get to most Royal cruise ports, we met a couple from California on a cruise and have become good friends, we have visited them 4 times and they have come to visit us 3 times and they say the cost flying east is expensive. We use the Royal card for points and I but away a few dollars every week toward a cruise, book early and extend your payments out, we just booked our 21st cruise for January, we tend to take one shorter quick, cheaper,cruise in September and longer cruise in January or February to,get us out of the Midwest cold winters. We also,tend to stay in interior or,pramade rooms and that saves a lot compared to a suite or even a balcony, we just sleep in the room, I see no need to,pay up for a room I am rarely in. Enjoy your cruise.

That is just so wholesome how you can meet great people and stay connected with them even after the journey has ended.

I'm hoping to meet a couple similar to us that we can do the same as you!

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On 11/9/2019 at 5:04 PM, rtread said:

Believe me, I understand your questions. My wife and I took our first cruise when I retired....and loved it. We intended to plan more cruises but thanks to the stock market crash of 2008, we had to settle in to a low budget lifestyle....not complaining, we have been blessed in other ways. We talked about cruises and travel sometimes but the money just wasn't there.....but we held out hope. 

Thanks to agent orange exposure in Vietnam and a resulting VA disability, we were finally able to change our lifestyle drastically and began cruising. We recently went on a Hawaiian cruise (Pride of America, NCL) and we have a birthday/Christmas cruise on RCL next month, and a Greek Isles cruise out of Rome (RCL) next June. We are now talking about an Alaska cruise next August.

One year ago we did not imagine this kind of lifestyle change. So....things change, sometimes for the good, sometimes not. Like Forrest Gump said...."Life is like a box of chocolates, you never know just what you're going to get".

So....we are just taking it as it comes and always thankful. 

Love this. Seemed like just a rollercoaster of events and emotions, glad you're here now though!

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I receive a little over 5 weeks vacation and the wife has a job that allows flexible time off (single person office in a seasonal business). In the past the workaholic in me never took time off until the kids were out of college, married and gone. Now the wife and I enjoy 3 cruises (sometimes 4) in a year as we enjoy being "unplugged" from the world. We do not go for the expensive accommodations as we are rarely in them and make sure we take advantage of all the freebie or discounted items on the ship. We closely monitor the shore excursions and have favorites we like to visit. These are some with the cruise line and some via 3rd party depending on the location. Typical bill at the end of our cruises is about $200 for the occasional drink and specials (shore excursions not included). After cruising for a while we also receive "special" offers in the mail and usually arrange our schedule to match these discounted dates. On top of that we use a travel agent who usually gives us On Board Credit so it reduces the end bill. The other benefit is we are within driving distance of two ports so we save the expense of flying unless we find a super discounted air fare (last year to LAX $325 round trip for both of us).

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I started backpacking in the 70s...think of an adventure?? yep, that was me. Mammy trucks in West Africa, dodgy old Russian planes, a Taiwanese junk in the Sea of China, a day designed by Salvador Dali on a bus in China in the early 90’s, crawling through the tombs of nobles under people’s houses in Luxor’s west bank - I had some really fun decades of travel adventures. 

I never owned much (except for where I’ve lived), I studied long, worked hard & saved like crazy, but took long breaks to travel. If I can buy what I need second-hand, that lifelong habit never left me - that really nice Talbots dress that I’ll be wearing on my next cruise, I got it on eBay.

My body simply won’t co-operate anymore.
I can’t risk getting dengue again, that last one put me in hospital. I can’t walk/hike everywhere anymore, I now need a mobility device. Over the last 10 years, cruising has become an easier way to travel for us. Now my focus is spending time with family and, luckily, the grandkids are more taken with cruising than ‘exploring’ unfamiliar places and eating weird food.

Short extended-family cruises, mixed with longer b2b cruises (book-ended by some independent destination travel) is what our next 10 years of travel will be looking like.

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5 minutes ago, CrznTxn said:

I receive a little over 5 weeks vacation and the wife has a job that allows flexible time off (single person office in a seasonal business). In the past the workaholic in me never took time off until the kids were out of college, married and gone. Now the wife and I enjoy 3 cruises (sometimes 4) in a year as we enjoy being "unplugged" from the world. We do not go for the expensive accommodations as we are rarely in them and make sure we take advantage of all the freebie or discounted items on the ship. We closely monitor the shore excursions and have favorites we like to visit. These are some with the cruise line and some via 3rd party depending on the location. Typical bill at the end of our cruises is about $200 for the occasional drink and specials (shore excursions not included). After cruising for a while we also receive "special" offers in the mail and usually arrange our schedule to match these discounted dates. On top of that we use a travel agent who usually gives us On Board Credit so it reduces the end bill. The other benefit is we are within driving distance of two ports so we save the expense of flying unless we find a super discounted air fare (last year to LAX $325 round trip for both of us).

I avoid LAX with all my existence! We were lucky to get flights out of ONT or john wayne.

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I own my own business and my wife gets ~4 weeks of PTO per year.  We prioritize that time off for cruises.  We are firmly in the "experiences" vs. "stuff" camp, so we put our money towards cruising.  Part of why we opened our own business was so that we can have more time to take off and cruise.  My old job had me very limited with how and when I could take time off.  While not the only reason we started our company, it definitely played a large role.  Soon our daughter will be in school, which will somewhat limit when we can take time off.  

Luckily for us, we live about 15 minutes from Lambert Airport in St. Louis.  With this being a large SWA hub, we can fly to cruise ports relatively inexpensively.  So while we don't have the luxury of living in FL like a lot on the boards, it's pretty easy to find cheaper non-stop flights to MCO, FLL, etc.

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You know what's frustrating?  

We live about 10 minutes from the Charleston terminal, yet all that sails from here is the tugbo....I mean, Carnival.

It's like the Howard Jones song - "you can dip your foot in the pool, but you can't have a swim..." as I drive across 

the bridge or am downtown and see that hulk docked.

 

April will be our 5th cruise, all with RC.  I LOVE this company, and unless someone comes along (not CCL, though) with 

an offer just too good to be true, I will only ever sail with RC.  We have only sailed out of Port Canaveral, since it's right

at the edge of my driving comfort zone (6 or so hours).  We stay overnight (so far, only at the Radisson) so if anything

happens on the way down, we have flexibility.

 

The hard thing for me is booking so far out from the cruise.  So much can happen in life that might preclude the trip

from coming true.  Not to mention the severe bouts of "OMG when will embarkation day ever get here?"!!

 

Great topic, and enjoyable replies.

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11 minutes ago, SteveinSC said:

This reminds me of the best advice I ever received, and my wife and I try to live by: Own memories, not things. Spend your money of experiences, and not material objects. 

Similar to being able to take memories/experiences to the grave with you but not your materialistic items.

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On 11/9/2019 at 6:59 PM, MinnesotaCruiser said:

I recently discovered that I can do conferences through work on cruise lines (mostly paid for through work).  Otherwise cruising has never been on my radar.  I have a feeling this is going to become an addiction and we will start saving for self-funded Cruises.  

If you are in Minnesota you really need winter vacations with the weather you get, and it will become an addiction.

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We took 4 cruises before we had kids (1989-1993) when we were in our 20’s. All were RCI. (I took 2 booze cruise type cruises for college spring breaks on an old military supply ship turned cruise ship lol) 

We took a very long break while our kids were young plus we live on a horse farm and it’s not easy (or cheap) to find farm sitters. 

In 2011 we came back with our kids and did Oasis. Super fun! We wouldn’t cruise again until 2017. I was diagnosed with stage 4b cancer in 2015 and that cruise in 2017 (again on Oasis) was to celebrate 6 months of NED (no evidence of disease) and my 50th birthday.

Since then we sailed Oasis a third time in 2018, Freedom in 2019, Mariner 3 weeks ago and have Symphony booked for May 2020.

After our Freedom cruise, we achieved Diamond status. 

I’m now down to 2 horses. Our oldest is 26 and engaged and out on her own. Our youngest is sophomore in college. 

Hubby sold our business back in 2012 and now is semi retired. I have learned the hard way that life can be taken very quickly. I’m not as picky about farm sitters and have let go of my anal retentiveness when it comes to my animals. They are still alive when I get home! Lol 

Getting ready to book 2 cruises (another quick Mariner next October and a Mediterranean probably for 2021) over Black Friday. 

We have a wedding now to pay for so the Mediterranean may have to be pushed to 2022. 

Paying off my car this month and youngest daughter’s last month freed up a nice sum that we are putting some towards wedding and some towards us. I also may take in an additional boarded horse to help fund the addiction. 

Through my cancer journey I also found out I have a hereditary cancer gene (Lynch Syndrome) and have an 80% chance of developing another cancer so we are YOLO’ing as much as we can. 
 

**edited to add that we do live in Florida and can drive to ports although Miami is a bit far. (5 hours). When we flew to San Juan for our Freedom cruise we drove 2 hours to Orlando and flew Southwest. About $650 total. 

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@TJ! if I were you.....I’d get a credit card that has airline miles. Go to Clark Howard.com and see what he suggests as the best card for miles. He’s a former travel agent who is now a multimillionaire that has a radio show for consumers. 
 

Id also consider doing b2b out of Florida to get a good bang for your buck. Catch a ship that is changing itinerary so you get 2 different itineraries on one ship (eastern Caribbean first week/western second week). 

Also if you book a suite, you get double points for Crown and Anchor so if you book super early in a Junior Suite, you’ll get double points and move up more quickly. We’ve never done a suite, but just upgraded our May Symphony to a Junior Suite for about $900. That now gives us access to Coastal Kitchen for dinner which is like specialty dining. 

So book early and get a credit card for miles. 

Which Symphony are you on? We’re May 2. 

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56 minutes ago, Jill said:

I was diagnosed with stage 4b cancer in 2015 and that cruise in 2017 (again on Oasis) was to celebrate 6 months of NED (no evidence of disease) and my 50th birthday.

WTG on your NED!  My cancer surgery was Jan. 2017 and my oncologist keeps giving me good reports. Wishing you the best!

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On 11/8/2019 at 1:22 PM, melmar02 said:

I home school our kids and don't work a 9-5 job. I do live in a state that has a generous cottage food law though, and I make wedding cakes from my home kitchen. I've been in business for 10 years now, and while I don't produce what a commercial bakery does, I generally have a wedding 3 weekends of every month and run my business like a business. DH's salary covers the ordinary expenses (bills and savings), so we can use my business profits for fun stuff like cruising. Since I set my own schedule (and the kids for that matter) we can cruise when it's cheapest. We took a long 9 year break from cruising and started back just this past September. We want to cruise twice a year now that we've started again, and we like to stay in suites, so I don't see me closing shop in the foreseeable future. Right now we have a 5 day booked for February,  a 7 day in November 2020, and are for sure doing Alaska in 2022 for DH's 50th birthday. We want to save for flights, excursions, and a land tour in Alaska, so we think will do just do a 5 day sometime in the spring of 2021 as well. If those plans all hold, we'll be diamond after the Alaska cruise so we can take advantage of greater discounts too. 

Fellow homeschooling family too! I don't work a 9-5 either. I do transcription work at night a few hours a week for fun money. We live below our means so we can spend life doing things and experiencing life and adventure with our three boys! Because we home school our vacation time is not restricted and we can find some great deals not only with  cruising but with vacationing in general (ie hotel rates, theme parks, flights) So we tend to vacation on the off season or shoulder seasons. So we like to chose times such as second/third week of September (when most people are in traditional school and back to work after labor day) , first week of December (just after thanksgiving rush and just before Christmas craziness) and this next cruise will be in January (well after new years but before spring break crowds). 

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18 hours ago, Jill said:

@TJ! if I were you.....I’d get a credit card that has airline miles. Go to Clark Howard.com and see what he suggests as the best card for miles. He’s a former travel agent who is now a multimillionaire that has a radio show for consumers. 
 

Id also consider doing b2b out of Florida to get a good bang for your buck. Catch a ship that is changing itinerary so you get 2 different itineraries on one ship (eastern Caribbean first week/western second week). 

Also if you book a suite, you get double points for Crown and Anchor so if you book super early in a Junior Suite, you’ll get double points and move up more quickly. We’ve never done a suite, but just upgraded our May Symphony to a Junior Suite for about $900. That now gives us access to Coastal Kitchen for dinner which is like specialty dining. 

So book early and get a credit card for miles. 

Which Symphony are you on? We’re May 2. 

Those are definitely some very helpful advice i'm going to do some research on, thank you!

We're on Jan 4th!!!! Which will come extremely quick since thanksgiving and christmas are right behind!

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