The Cheapskate Abroad?

During my last cruise on one of our excursions we were in a van with two couples who were probably in their 60's.  They were from Canada and once the one man started to get over his noro-virus, they became somewhat talkative.  We all began to discuss various trips that we had taken in the past as well as future trips.  They were in the process of planning a Panama Canal cruise that would take them out of New Orleans, a place that they had never been and were seeking information on NOLA.  They, had previously been on a multiple week journey through China which intrigued my travel buddy and myself.  If we mentioned a place that we had been or wanted to go, they had already been there or had already booked it and were just waiting to leave on the trip.  There was practically no place you could bring up that they hadn't already been to or or didn't have booked.  I thought to myself, Wow!  How do you get to the point that you can travel as much as they do when you are retired?

As the conversation continued we found out that they were staying in cabins on board our Voyager class ship that look out over the Promenade deck.  These cabins are priced just slightly higher than an inside cabin.  So if an inside cabin on the ship you are on is $749 per person, the price of the Promenade view cabins would probably be in the $799 range.  Meanwhile, on that same ship the oceanview cabin would be around $1,200 and a balcony would be $1,500 or more per person.  It's a huge difference but still a luxury that I have never considered doing without on a cruise ship.  I've always had a balcony and I like them.  I like it because I like to sit on my balcony and watch the ocean go by.  I understand that this same thing can be done on deck, but not in my pajamas while I sip coffee before brushing my teeth.  I mean, maybe I could do it, but people would probably begin to complain about the crazy woman in her pajamas on the pool deck.

But as we talked to these couples one of the ladies told us that they were staying in the Promenade view cabins because it allows them to take two cruises for the price of one if they did a balcony.  While they didn't seem to be struggling for funds at all, it seemed really smart.  After all, perhaps they aren't struggling for funds because they are willing to stay in a Promenade view cabin and brush their teeth and change out of their pajamas before going outside.  One of the ladies said that they could hear no noise from the Promenade coming in through the window which was a concern of mine and having the window made the cabin not feel so closed in.  Additionally, she said it was fun to open the curtains and people watch from her window.

I have never suffered from claustrophobia, but if it was ever going to be an issue, I think I would find out in one of those inside cabins.  When you close the door to one of those cabins at night there is absolutely no light coming from anywhere.  From what I understand you can lose track of whether or not it is night or day.  Also a big cabin on a cruise ship is 170 square feet.  Imagine 170 square feet with one or two or three other people in it and no windows.  I would go insane.  But I hadn't considered the Promenade cabins as an alternative before.  So I began to think about it.  The seed, as it were, had been planted.

I have a niece graduating from high school next month.  I have a tradition.  My graduation gift to each of my nephews and my niece is a trip for the two of us together to anyplace that we mutually agree on in the US, Canada or on a cruise.  I like this for a number of reasons.  Mostly, it is an opportunity for me to spend time alone with them as they embark on adulthood.  One of the things that I have discovered as they have grown up is that once they go away to college although you continue to love each other as much as always, you no longer spend the time together that you once did.  They have lives of their own, they start families and you drift apart.  So that final week that I get to spend with them before they go away has become completely precious to me.  I think it is a pretty big deal for them too.  I also like that 20 years later they will look back and remember that trip.  They might not remember what many others gave them for graduation, but they will always remember that week we spent together.

So this year, as I am starting a new business and watching every penny I have had to take budget while planning my nieces trip into consideration much more seriously than in the past.  I don't mind telling you that I've blown some serious dough on these trips in the past.  I'm okay with that.  The memories have been worth every penny I have spent and then some.  I think that Rebecca and I have settled on a trip although the timing is still in question so it hasn't been booked yet.  But we will be following the sage advice of the 60ish couples from Canada on that last cruise and booking a Promenade view cabin on board a Royal Caribbean cruise ship.  Ours however, will be on board Freedom of the Seas out of Port Canaveral.  I've also chosen to take the extra time away from work and drive to Florida rather than fly to save even more money.  I can get inexpensive hotel rooms for one night going each way and the price of gas and meals along with those hotel rooms still won't cost as much as two roundtrip tickets to Orlando combined with ground transportation to Port Canaveral.

We'll be visiting St. Thomas, St. Maartin, and Coco Cay which is one of RCI's private islands in the Bahamas.  I've only been to St. Thomas and St. Maartin one time each.  I've never been to Coco Cay.  So I am very excited.  I hope that Rebecca is getting as excited as me.  I'm pretty excited to see what it will be like to stay in a Promenade view cabin.  Maybe it will open up a whole new world for me and allow me to do twice as much traveling as I could otherwise.  Over the years I have unfortunately gotten away from any sort of frugality while traveling.  I don't stay in the cheapest hotels, I have been known to pay a little more for more convenient timing on flights.  I don't like shared transfers much, so I'm inclined to pay for a taxi instead.  If I am in a location and there is an opportunity to do an activity that I couldn't do at home and I'm interested, I'll probably pay whatever is necessary to go ahead and do it (like paying $300+  for a trip to the Big Island of Hawaii during a trip to Oahu for a visit to Volcanoes National Park - after all, how many times in your life do you get to see an active volcano????  It had to be done!)

Maybe I can become The Cheapskate Abroad and begin to write books or host a Travel Channel show.  I would be the go to person for advice on getting the most out of your trip on the least amount of money.  Is it possible to spend a week in Europe for less than $1,000 per person including air when a flight to Paris yesterday from DFW was $1,064?  We'd find out together.  Is it frowned upon to go "couponing" in Asia?  We'll see.  I can see my name in lights now.  Susan Meyers as The Cheapskate Abroad!!!!!  Does it have a ring to it?  I was going to call myself The Frugal Traveler but apparently that has already been taken.  (Damn the New York Times!)

Well, I suppose I had better get moving.  I've got a day to get done.  Make it a good Thursday and say a quick prayer for all those people in the bus crash in Irving.