Confessions of a Cheap Cruiser

8:00 AM~70 degrees heading for high of 92 this afternoon. We've had the Dog Days of August for the last two months! 

I always claim to be the Anti-Shopper and I am...with most things. One exception is looking for cruise bargains. Back in 2017, I'd been watching prices on world cruises for some time when suddenly there was a drop that looked so good, I was sure it must be a typo. But it turned out not to be! That's how we ended up in a balcony cabin on the Pacific Princess in 2018 "all in" (fare, taxes, port fees, airfare, hotels, excursions & incidentals) for less than the price of the "all-the-bells-and-whistles" pick-up the DH was eyeing with longing at the time. (Now don't start feeling sorry for him. He has a perfectly good pick up in our Big Red! You'd never know it was a 2014, would you?)

Then when we decided to splurge on our Viking 2022 WC, even that extravagance came with some savings as well. We booked early enough that Viking bumped us up from the lowest cabin Veranda 1 to a Deluxe Verandah 5 (about a $3000 savings each had we actually paid for that class of stateroom). Then Viking offered us a $5000 savings if we'd pay in full several months before the due date. Since the cash was sitting in a savings account and wasn't earning that much to begin with, we opted to pay in November of 2020 for our trip in January 2022. And because we allowed Viking to debit our account instead of using a credit option, we got another 3.3% off. So I figure we saved about $14K on the world cruise compared to what we'd have spent if we'd originally bought and paid for the DV5 cabin. 

Then once we were on the Star, Viking offered us all a $10,000 credit toward another trip with them. That's how we're paying for the In Search of the Northern Lights cruise next February. Basically, we're getting a 12 day adventure for the price of the flights because we'll use points from our CC for our pre-flight hotel. 

Another way I like to save on cruises is by signing up for special deals or private fares with the individual cruise lines. That's how I found out about our upcoming Holland America trip. When we were offered the 21 day Panama Canal cruise for about $95 a piece per day for a balcony cabin, it was a no-brainer. 

BUT HERE'S THE BEST DEAL YET!

I'm always lurking around cruise sites to see if another typo-style drop in prices has happened. I ran across this one the other day and as I type this, it's still showing as available on Princess.com. 

It's a lower price than the "no-frills fare" on their 2023 WC from LA-FLL!!!

It involves booking the 97 days in two segments: 55 days LA to Dubai for $10,551.00 and 42 days Dubai to FLL for $8,949.00 for a total of $19,500.00 per passenger, $39,000.00 for two. This is a $14,598.00 savings over the lowest base fare for the 97 day trip. 

Of course, you have to allow for port fees, taxes, excursions, airfare, pre-cruise hotels and incidentals, but that's the same for any cruise.

Part of me wants to call up Teresa Skeim at CruiseSpecialists, our excellent travel agent, and book this today. Another part of me is imagining our family and church's reaction if we skedaddle for another three months starting next January, after having been gone for four months in the beginning of this year and another 21 days this October.

And if Princess were still using the Pacific Princess instead of the Island Princess, I'd be lobbying the DH for reprise of our 2018 trip. But it's not really a reprise of that trip. 23 ports are "new-to-us" stops.   

But one of the features we dearly loved on the Pacific Princess was the Horizon Court on the fantail. Breakfasting while enjoying that incredible wake view was a pleasure to revel in. The Island Princess doesn't have a comparable space. At least I haven't found it on the deck plans. 

Then there's the way the stock market has been rocking and rolling. Our finances need to find its sea legs before we take out another big chunk. 

And besides, it would be a shame to miss an Ozark spring two years in a row...

 So anyway, if anyone hops on this incredible 2023 WC offer, let me know. I'm still sorely tempted...