How can I become a frequent cruiser?

[happy cruisers 2]

I don't know if this will get many responses, but I've been wanting to ask it.  And I know it might seem too personal to ask, but I'll do so anyway.  If you choose to reply, great.  If not, I completely understand.  What are some ways others are able to do so many cruises in a year?  I can imagine that if someone has so much money they will never be able to spend it all, that would be one way.  I know that not owning a home would free up money and time, and perhaps cruising could actually cost less than homeownership.  I would think that being retired, or able to work from anywhere, would be two helpful things.  I guess I'm looking for tips from the high-volume cruisers that might help us become more frequent too.  Live near a cruise terminal?  Stay in the lower-cost cabins?  Focus on shorter cruises?  Become a biggie in the casinos?  Find a travel agent who can search for the best bargains?  If anyone has some kind of secret formula, or even not so secret, for doing LOTS of cruises annually, I would love to get your input!  Thanks, in advance, for any suggestions.

[smokeybandit]

You got them all I think.

[Mikei31]

Pay…

[Keanoknick]

I don't know that you'd consider us frequent cruisers.   We try to cruise 3-4 times a year (wish we could afford more).

I use all of my PTO for cruises, and try to get one in between Christmas and New Years when my office is closed for the Holidays.

A big key for us, is booking way in advance, usually as soon as bookings become available, to get the best prices, and working with a good TA that often has great group rates available.    I've recently started getting casino comps after making prime on my last cruise, so will be taking my first comped cruise in February. 

[Lovetocruise2002]

Retire. Move to Florida. At least that is my plan

[Bazza]

Winning the lottery is still my plan!

[CrimsonCruiser]

I really do think living near a terminal is the biggest key. A lot of the cruise lines have low last minute pricing, especially on short 3 or 4 night sailings. If you're a even a 4 hour drive from a port, that's doable. Take 1 day off from work (if you can't work remotely), pack a bag, hop in the car and boom, you're there. Where as for those who have to fly, last minute flights are not nearly as kind on the wallet as last minute cruises. Then factor in that you have to get there a day in advance (so additional PTO used if you can't work remotely) and lodging for that one night and that costs and time outweigh the benefits.

Choosing lower cost cabins definitely help as well. Because we can only make a cruise once a year we sail in Grand Suites almost all the time - to really feel like we're splurging - but for that cost we could get at least 2 sailings in interiors depending on the ship.

[Bazza]

Then there is always getting a job on the ship!

[Matt]

30 minutes ago, happy cruisers 2 said:

What are some ways others are able to do so many cruises in a year?

Move to Florida

[OCSC Mike]

6 minutes ago, Lovetocruise2002 said:

Retire. Move to Florida. At least that is my plan

Just now, Matt said:

Move to Florida

One of the few good things I have to say about moving here... living near a port(s).

Gonna go back to paying my electric bill after what feels like 100 straight days of 90+ heat now.

[WAAAYTOOO]

1 hour ago, Lovetocruise2002 said:

Retire. Move to Florida. At least that is my plan

Worked for us !!

[brdjnr]

We arent what I would call 'frequent' cruisers (2 last year, this year, 3 next year). The things you mention are certainly applicable.

- I watch my amex for offers. The last few years I have gotten $500 back on $1500 spend with RC and 25k Membership rewards points on $1000 spend. This is fairly esoteric and maybe not an answer to your question but it mitigates the expense for us

- Live 'near' cruise port. Canaveral is a 5.5 hour drive for us. We stay near MCO night before cruise. It seems each drive gets longer fwiw (which probably has more to do with age than anything)

- Focus on older ships for our itinerary. We have Allure and Utopia booked, but mostly we go on Voyager and Freedom class ships

- Think through on board spending. We have always gotten DBP and UDP, but starting next year we will start analyzing that closer. They are pricing us out of some things.

- We 'replaced' land based vacations. I used to take 3+ trips to vegas yearly along with multiple Biloxi trips and another land based trip a year. Ironically enough, I got priced out of that and with what I am seeing from RC there is a decent chance I get priced out of this after next year. 

- I have tons of PTO that I will never use, and I can work remotely so long as I have decent internet. Starlink really helped with this.

It's a very valid question. Seeing others who do double digit cruises a year and I wonder how they manage. These are some of the things we have done to support our comparatively light cruise schedule.

[EM1016]

I think it's a great question. I'm not sure that we're "frequent" cruisers in the past, but we do have several cruises planned for the upcoming year. We do opt to stay in "cheaper" cabins because we just want to be on the ship. We have never spent a lot of time in our room. We also are able to travel at times when cruises are a bit cheaper. We don't have kids and we work at a university, so we can avoid the crowded times when others are constrained by kids' calendars.

We have good jobs, but don't make a ton by any means. We live no where near a port, we're not retired. We do get a decent amount of PTO where we work. We make a lot of decisions in our everyday lives to save money because we want to spend it on vacations. We do not eat out often, don't go out to movies, etc. We're very happy and don't feel like we deny ourselves anything, but I'm sure our friends think we're too frugal. But, when I'm on a cruise (or other vacation), I'm not really worried about what they think. 

I guess it's all about priorities.

[WAAAYTOOO]

I'd say living near the cruise ports is the big #1.  When we lived in VA we had to fly to every port except for Bayonne.  Not only was it expensive but these days I think it would be extremely stressful and somewhat unreliable.  We moved to FL specifically so that we could cruise more often without flying.  It's working !!!

[Zacharius]

[Ampurp85]

I average between 5-8 cruises a year. Which would make me a frequent cruiser and I don't live near a port. It is a combination of the casino, being remote for over 75% of schedule and when I can take vacation. I get three weeks in Jan and two in October. So I usually do between 4-6 cruises during that time. I am big on S2S and occasionally a B2B. Plus I take a couple of 4/5N casino comps.

I used to do Vegas around 3 times a year but now I just gamble on the cruises. So even with the gambling I am doing those 6-8 cruises under $10k for the year with flights, hotels and packages included. It will be any combination of interiors, balconies and suites. This year I will only have 5 cruises but my expenses aren't high,so you don't have to be retired or rich to cruise frequently. I am middle class and a couple of years shy of 40, but I budget well and prefer cruises. I use to take a big foreign vacation in October and easily shell out $10k for Italy, Egypt,  etc. But now I get more vacation by cruising.

[teddy]

tl;dr 

We’re frugal and are reaping the benefits of decades of planning   

My wife is going on five cruises in 2024.  I’m with her on four of them.  In addition, we’ve already booked an 11 night in January 2025 on Odyssey.  We are waiting for the rest of 2025 to be released to book a few more.  

This is how we do it:

We are firmly middle class, mid-50s.  I have 6 weeks pto and my wife technically has unlimited, but I’m reality takes 4-4 1/2 weeks a year. 
 

While not “rich” as typically defined, we have no debt…none, zero, nada. We own our home outright.  Neither of us drink or smoke, and I can’t remember the last time we ate out other than on a cruise.  We do have an off-grid camp and land in northern Maine that we go to as much as possible, but we always seem to end up working when we go there. 
 

We worked our asses off for 30 years to get to the point where we are now.  Our plan was always to raise the kids (now 23, 30, and 32) then enjoy life as much as we can while still funding our retirement (I’m retiring in 6 years when I turn 60). 
 

We typically book interior cabins and usually disembark with a zero balance because we don’t pay for anything extra. ….although we did reserve Chops on our cruise on Explorer next month because my wife is turning 56 that day.  

We’ve changed cruises from Florida to New Jersey because even after eating the change fee, it’s cheaper than flying to Florida.  
 

So that’s how we do it…..well…in addition I’ve been working 70 hours a week since April, and my wife has a second job.  That helps. 
 

 

[WAYNO]

We are long retired.  All of our cruises are casino and/or C&A comps.  That still doesn't make it free.  Our biggest expense is airfare and hotels at the embarkation port.  Used to be, we cruised 2 or 3 times a year.  Since we've discovered Los Angeles, this year will be 7 cruises.  That's the live near the port part of this equation.  L.A. is an easy and cheap plane ride for us, and it's easy to leave home the same morning we get on the ship, negating the need for a hotel.  Of course, cruising from L.A. means the ship and scenery never changes.  I am envious of the folks that live near the cruise ports in Florida.  They can cruise easily and cheaply, and have many different ships and itineraries to choose from. 

[EM1016]

42 minutes ago, teddy said:

tl;dr 

We’re frugal and are reaping the benefits of decades of planning   

My wife is going on five cruises in 2024.  I’m with her on four of them.  In addition, we’ve already booked an 11 night in January 2025 on Odyssey.  We are waiting for the rest of 2025 to be released to book a few more.  

This is how we do it:

We are firmly middle class, mid-50s.  I have 6 weeks pto and my wife technically has unlimited, but I’m reality takes 4-4 1/2 weeks a year. 
 

While not “rich” as typically defined, we have no debt…none, zero, nada. We own our home outright.  Neither of us drink or smoke, and I can’t remember the last time we ate out other than on a cruise.  We do have an off-grid camp and land in northern Maine that we go to as much as possible, but we always seem to end up working when we go there. 
 

We worked our asses off for 30 years to get to the point where we are now.  Our plan was always to raise the kids (now 23, 30, and 32) then enjoy life as much as we can while still funding our retirement (I’m retiring in 6 years when I turn 60). 
 

We typically book interior cabins and usually disembark with a zero balance because we don’t pay for anything extra. ….although we did reserve Chops on our cruise on Explorer next month because my wife is turning 56 that day.  

We’ve changed cruises from Florida to New Jersey because even after eating the change fee, it’s cheaper than flying to Florida.  
 

So that’s how we do it…..well…in addition I’ve been working 70 hours a week since April, and my wife has a second job.  That helps. 
 

 

This sounds a lot like us...minus the vacation property and the kids. But we also work side hustles and don't spend any extra on our trips. We also have zero debt - student loans, house and cars are all paid off. We're mid-40's and solid middle class as well.

[twangster]

I'm a less frequent cruiser now because pricing has gone way up while service quality has gone in the other direction.  

If you are looking at current rates and wondering how anyone is a frequent cruiser I'm right there with you. 

[teddy]

45 minutes ago, EM1016 said:

But we also work side hustles

I fixed cars for 25 years as my side hustle until the pandemic.  Since then, I’ve had more overtime than I ever wanted at my real job.  Working at my real job puts more in my 401(k) and earns me more pto in addition to what I earn based on years of service, so in the long run, it’s more lucrative for me. On the other hand, my wife has been working from home since 2020 and loves to get out of the house for 20-30 hours a week. 

[steverk]

I did it by practicing good money management when I was young.  I avoided debt, maxed out my 401k and IRA.

Now that I'm retired,  the dream has come true, but I still keep an eye on what I spend. Manage to average 1 cruise per month now.

[EM1016]

On 9/15/2023 at 2:19 PM, teddy said:

I fixed cars for 25 years as my side hustle until the pandemic.  Since then, I’ve had more overtime than I ever wanted at my real job.  Working at my real job puts more in my 401(k) and earns me more pto in addition to what I earn based on years of service, so in the long run, it’s more lucrative for me. On the other hand, my wife has been working from home since 2020 and loves to get out of the house for 20-30 hours a week. 

We work at a university and my husband used to be in athletics. We both work at many athletic events doing stats (and some other things), so we stay busy with that in addition to our regular jobs. We don't really have athe opportunity for overtime, but if we did, I'm sure my husband would take it! 

[VeronicaS1970]

We are doing 4 cruises this year. 3 next year because one is "The Alaska Extravaganza" that is costing me a small fortune.

How do we do it? Well this is the first time we have done more than 2 in a year. Being only 2.5 hours from Bayonne helps. We try to fly only once per year. We book a year in advance. We generally stay in balcony cabins, but have tried some different cabins recently. Have a central park window booked next month on Oasis. Have never stayed in anything higher than junior suite. If I can cruise more, I will stay in an inside.

That being said, we just booked our first MSC cruise yesterday. Royal's pricing is out of hand at the moment, and I got far more for less with MSC. And since we are D+ but FAR away from pinnacle, we are trying some new things

Our baby is grown and on her own, no mortgage, only 1 car payment. We don't eat out or do much of anything else, so we sock away money to cruise. DH gets 6 weeks vacation, I get 4 so this is what we do. 

[happy cruisers 2]

It's great to see all of these replies.  Thanks everyone!  I can see where living near multiple ports would help immensely.  We live within a few hours drive of only one.  We retired just a few years ago, so maybe I'm still in that "cautious spending" mindset, although we did well at the hard work part and investing and living below our means.  No debt.  Almost no eating out or movies.  We keep a car about 10 years.  We feel that now is the time to spend some of the money we are fortunate to have.  Actually, I suppose our travel tastes are maybe too grand when it comes to cruising.  We like the Owner's Suites and the Suite Lounge, among other things!  I'll work on possibly implementing some of your suggestions though, so thank you for your input.

[deButler]

#1 Retiring 

#2 Disciplined spending on trips/bookings

#3 Wife who likes the slots enough to get constant interior 4/5 night offers that we’ve combined for B2Bs to justify required airfare. (if not going from Galveston)

[RCIfan1912]

Living near a port is a great suggestion and probably the biggest key but it's really a Florida port because we live 30 minutes from Cape Liberty but there aren't any short cheap cruises from here. 

Bermuda is typically 5 days but very expensive. So Florida is key. I don't know about L.A. and how long or expensive those cruises are. Check out on YouTube "the weekend traveler". He goes on mostly short weekend cruises and is pinnacle for god sakes. 

 

 

[GaryAA]

We usually cruise 4 times per year and stay in a Junior Suite or Grand Suite. I’ve had a side job in real estate appraising that has funded our cruises over the years. Our future cruises are S2S or B2B to help cut down on airfare from Ohio. 

[steverk]

8 hours ago, happy cruisers 2 said:

It's great to see all of these replies.  Thanks everyone!  I can see where living near multiple ports would help immensely.  We live within a few hours drive of only one.  We retired just a few years ago, so maybe I'm still in that "cautious spending" mindset, although we did well at the hard work part and investing and living below our means.  No debt.  Almost no eating out or movies.  We keep a car about 10 years.  We feel that now is the time to spend some of the money we are fortunate to have.  Actually, I suppose our travel tastes are maybe too grand when it comes to cruising.  We like the Owner's Suites and the Suite Lounge, among other things!  I'll work on possibly implementing some of your suggestions though, so thank you for your input.

You're welcome.  I understand about cautious spending. Figuring out how much to spend is difficult and critical to a successful retirement.  Spend too little and you don't enjoy what you could. Too much and you run out. 

According tho 6the "Holy Schmidt" YouTube channel,  there are 3 phases to retirement.  The go-go years of the first 10 years or so. Expenses tend to be high during this time as you are doing what you love.

This is followed by the slow go years. Spending naturally slows down.

Last you have the no go years. Medical spending goes up a lot.

Based on this, I have a long term spending target. I've increased it slightly during the go-go years. 

I hope this is helpful. Retirement is great, but takes a real shift in thinking. 

[ChessE4]

All good replies, but we think the travel secret is where you cruise, not how often. Living near Baltimore gave us access, but how many times do you need to visit Nassau? We were enthralled by Auatralia/NZ, the Canaries, the Med, and even Curacao. Looking forward to Tahiti. So the secret is understanding why you travel before maximizing the travel. But agree with all the suggestions.

[happy cruisers 2]

steverk, I can tell that we probably read and hear some of the same financial stuff.  My wife and I talked about the go-go years last night as we were thinking about travel costs.  We know that there will come a time when we won't want to, or can't, travel like we want to now.  I hope our go-go years last a long time, but you never know.  We don't want to die with a huge amount of money left unspent!  But we also want enough to last our lifetimes.  

I looked at several cruises we have done recently, or having coming up soon, and figure we spend in the ballpark of $1,000 per day just for the cruise (suites), taxes and pre-paid tips.  I didn't factor in the other costs associated with each cruise.  I looked at some group land-travel packages we have available to us, some in the US and some overseas, and many of them average anywhere from about $900-$1,000 per day too (and that doesn't include every meal each day).  I found some articles online that talk about cruise costs increasing post-COVID, now that demand is so strong.  I know that a cruise includes unlimited food, great entertainment, a less structured day, lots of extras when compared to other means of travel.

We concluded our talk last night by deciding that, yes, we'll book the B2B cruises we've been looking at, but we'll also look for ways to cut the cost of cruising at some point.

Thanks for your perspective.

[happy cruisers 2]

Great advice, ChessE4.  Wife and I also talked about increasing the quality of cruises vs. the quantity.  One of our favorites was Scandinavia and St. Petersburg in 2009.  Some of our cruises lately are more for the ship experience than the ports, but I agree that where you go and why you go are very important.  Enjoy your trip to Tahiti.  We're looking forward to Greenland next year --  that one will be about ports and ship experience.

[steverk]

2 hours ago, happy cruisers 2 said:

I found some articles online that talk about cruise costs increasing post-COVID, now that demand is so strong.  I know that a cruise includes unlimited food, great entertainment, a less structured day, lots of extras when compared to other means of travel.

We usually stay in standard rooms to control costs, but we frequently treat our adult children to join us, so it probably balances out. 

I agree that prices have increased, but they've increased on land as well. To me the alternative to a cruise is a road trip to a national park. At this point, I find a cruise in standard cabin is still cost competitive and much easier.

[OCSC Mike]

8 minutes ago, steverk said:

We usually stay in standard rooms to control costs, but we frequently treat our adult children to join us, so it probably balances out. 

I agree that prices have increased, but they've increased on land as well. To me the alternative to a cruise is a road trip to a national park. At this point, I find a cruise in standard cabin is still cost competitive and much easier.

I love my cruises and am a creature of habit so I haven't even considered alternatives... personal preference of course.

As far as price, I'm paying a bit more (for interiors, which we have been booking for a long time now) but not so much more for most of my cruises that I haven't even considered changing anything. Using a TA with group rates and booking earlier than I used to has helped with that (although there are still some good last minute deals in the sale fliers, our schedule just isn't flexible enough to take advantage of them).

Sometimes all the negativity on the forums makes me feel like an oddball for still enjoying cruising as much as I did last year or 5 years ago... and I'm OK with that.

[tonyfsu21]

Move to Florida and connect with a good travel agent who focuses on RC cruises. We get on Freedom of the seas for quick weekends all the time and I am back at the office before the lights turn on Monday morning. 

[Stephanie]

I don't have personal experience with this, but it is a goal of mine. On our latest cruise on Navigator, we met a handful of older, single ladies who were all Pinnacle members. One of the ladies - we'll call her Sharon for anonymity - was greeted by name everywhere she went on the ship, so naturally, we couldn't resist asking them a similar question - not how they afford the multiple cruises, but how they became Pinnacle. Sharon said she takes at least 1 cruise every month. Another lady said she was going on 24 cruises this year!! Now, obviously I didn't ask them how they could afford it, but they did say they all live in California. Sharon almost exclusively sails on Navigator and just does the B2B cruises. They also said RC gives them good rates for being single cruisers (vs the other cruise lines). And, of course, at Pinnacle status, there's comps & perks there - like booking an interior room, but still having all the perks of a suite guest.

[tonyfsu21]

36 minutes ago, Stephanie said:

I don't have personal experience with this, but it is a goal of mine. On our latest cruise on Navigator, we met a handful of older, single ladies who were all Pinnacle members. One of the ladies - we'll call her Sharon for anonymity - was greeted by name everywhere she went on the ship, so naturally, we couldn't resist asking them a similar question - not how they afford the multiple cruises, but how they became Pinnacle. Sharon said she takes at least 1 cruise every month. Another lady said she was going on 24 cruises this year!! Now, obviously I didn't ask them how they could afford it, but they did say they all live in California. Sharon almost exclusively sails on Navigator and just does the B2B cruises. They also said RC gives them good rates for being single cruisers (vs the other cruise lines). And, of course, at Pinnacle status, there's comps & perks there - like booking an interior room, but still having all the perks of a suite guest.

“Sharon” has been at it a long long time. I’ve been cruising on RC for 31 years and can’t seem to make it out of the Diamond + black hole. 

[DunkelBierJay]

become a monetized cruise vlogger with 100,000+ subscriber. sound simple.

[Ampurp85]

3 hours ago, Stephanie said:

I don't have personal experience with this, but it is a goal of mine. On our latest cruise on Navigator, we met a handful of older, single ladies who were all Pinnacle members. One of the ladies - we'll call her Sharon for anonymity - was greeted by name everywhere she went on the ship, so naturally, we couldn't resist asking them a similar question - not how they afford the multiple cruises, but how they became Pinnacle. Sharon said she takes at least 1 cruise every month. Another lady said she was going on 24 cruises this year!! Now, obviously I didn't ask them how they could afford it, but they did say they all live in California. Sharon almost exclusively sails on Navigator and just does the B2B cruises. They also said RC gives them good rates for being single cruisers (vs the other cruise lines). And, of course, at Pinnacle status, there's comps & perks there - like booking an interior room, but still having all the perks of a suite guest.

Once you reach pinnacle, you are getting 6 drinks a day, internet on one device, laundry, etc. If you are pinnacle and prime or higher in the casino, you get even more. So "Sharon" is probably only paying taxes on her cruise in a lot of cases. 

[EM1016]

On 9/16/2023 at 10:50 PM, happy cruisers 2 said:

It's great to see all of these replies.  Thanks everyone!  I can see where living near multiple ports would help immensely.  We live within a few hours drive of only one.  We retired just a few years ago, so maybe I'm still in that "cautious spending" mindset, although we did well at the hard work part and investing and living below our means.  No debt.  Almost no eating out or movies.  We keep a car about 10 years.  We feel that now is the time to spend some of the money we are fortunate to have.  Actually, I suppose our travel tastes are maybe too grand when it comes to cruising.  We like the Owner's Suites and the Suite Lounge, among other things!  I'll work on possibly implementing some of your suggestions though, so thank you for your input.

It was a really great question and I also enjoyed reading responses. We're still a ways from retirement, but my husband is a saver. Even with our travels, we'll be ready (hopefully). It's funny how you mention the challenge of switching from that "cautious spending" to being ready to spend some. Our financial advisor is often advising my husband of this already - because he thinks my husband will struggle to "enjoy" the fruits of his labors.