10 Year Anniversary Cruise Vacation - Spend on Travel or Stuff ???

[Nifty]

Okay, I never do this, but since it is a 10 year kinda decision I thought I'd cross post. I posted in the family section of BYC but I think it is also a good frugality discussion for here.

My wife and I went on a cruise for our honeymoon. It was super cheap and we could drive to the port so travel was basically free. We had a fantastic time and thought we'd always go on cruises. Well, 10 years later we haven't gone on another one since.

So, for our 10 year anniversary (in August) I'm planning another cruise during the off season (November or December) to get more bang for our buck. We're going to do it without kids so I thought we should take advantage and cruise somewhere new. The Caribbean cruises have some great deals, but when I factor in travel I almost faint. Even with the cheapest flights from California being around $300 per person round trip it almost doubles the cost of the trip. People say, "Just factor the price of the travel into the vacation" but unfortunately my brain doesn't work that way. The frugal part of my brain (which is huge) says, "Wow, you could go on another local cruise for the price of the flights!"

The other problem is that we'd probably have to fly into Ft. Lauderdale / Miami a day early and then get a hotel room... another expense I hate paying for.

We've been spoiled with LA cruises because they are drivable and I have family or friends that we could stay with.

So, my options:

1) Bite the bullet and do the Caribbean cruise knowing that I'll probably never be in the mindset to do it in the future with kids.
2) Forget the Caribbean and just do a nicer cruise out of LA and get more bang for the buck.

Another way to think about it: Say there is $x,xxx in the 10 year anniversary budget. Would you:

1) Travel somewhere new that you'll probably not have the opportunity to go to for 20 years but have less to spend on "fun stuff"
2) Stay local, maybe somewhere you've already been, but have more money to spend on "fun stuff"

What would you do?

 

[freemotion]

#1, for sure! Going somewhere new is "fun stuff!" Go now, while you can, just in case the kids all want to go to Harvard and you'll never be able to afford it again....

 

[Wildsky]

Hubby and I want to do an Alaskan Cruise. SO I say GO FOR IT, pick #1

(take lots of pictures - and you can thank us when you get back!)

 

[Nifty]

Hahaha.. Harvard!

Alaska? We're just not too excited about going up north... especially in the Winter... brrrrrrr.

 

[ORChick]

Hahaha.. Harvard!

Alaska? We're just not too excited about going up north... especially in the Winter... brrrrrrr.

Then put it off for six months and go in the summer . DH and I went on an Alaska cruise for our 20th, and both thought it was great! Well, with a few caveats. We are not cruise people, and will probably never go on another. But the inland passage through the islands was spectacular. And the side journeys, off the cruise ship, were also. We tacked on another week traveling through Alaska, and that was fantastic. A few more days in Denali Nat'l Park would have been extra nice, but we didn't have them, unfortunately. It is well worth the trip; I recommend it highly. We traveled with Princess Line, but I think there are also smaller ships that go that route, and they might be more fun, if you aren't into the "big ship" thing.

 

[Sunny]

I would say if you have the money, you should go. It may be the only chance before finances might change for the worse. Or the cruises get priced out of your reach.

How nice of you do think of a cruise on your anniversary. I dont do any thing at all for our anniversary, except for go about our normal day. No money to do any thing special. And we have been married 9 years..

Hope you have a wonderful Anniversary what ever you decide to do.

 

[tamlynn]

Where did you go on your first cruise?

We did the Mexican Riviera cruise out of LA for our 10th and it was in Dec. Lots of fun.

We'd also love to go to Alaska, but not in the middle of winter.

 

[Lady Henevere]

Do you do airline miles on your credit card? We just did a last minute trip across the country (coast to coast) for a grand total of $170 plus the miles I saved up -- for three people, round trip! Had I been buying only two tickets rather than three, we could have gone first class both ways. I had never used airline miles before and I was amazed at how easy and cheap it was. If you take out an airline credit card and buy everything on it--gas, groceries, cell phone payments, etc.--and just pay the card off rather than paying for stuff directly, you can build up miles pretty fast. Perhaps that would be a way around the high airfare?

Travel is priceless, in my opinion -- I have never once regretted taking a trip rather than getting more "stuff." And I would definitely choose a Caribbean cruise over an L.A.-based one. (I LOVE the Caribbean; not so fond of the parts of Mexico I've seen, but I haven't done a cruise to Mexico.)

Alternately, I think all-inclusive resorts are similar to cruises with respect to the fact that meals are paid for, entertainment is provided, etc. -- perhaps there is one in a location with better deals on airfare (such as Hawaii or Costa Rica)?

Whatever you choose, happy anniversary!

 

[Nifty]

Sunny, I've not been great at doing a lot for the last few anniversaries, so this is a good opportunity for a make up!

tamlynn, for the first cruise we did with Royal Caribbean from Long Beach - San Diego - Catelina Island - Ensenada - Long Beach.

Lady Henevere, nope, no credit card miles or anything. All our credit card rewards are cash back based.

I thought the hard part was done. Now trying to coordinate flights, hotels, etc. is making me want to rethink doing a longer Baja Mexico one!

 

[Javamama]

IF it was me - I would save the trip across the country for me and DH alone someday, and take the kids on a nice trip closer to home. Travel can do crazy things to young kids. Of course, I only have my kids to compare with and a one hour drive is almost more than we can accomplish with our sanity intact. We do not travel well.