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How Can You Pay for A Cruise?
by Jacqueline Michaels

It's one thing to say that you are going to take a cruise, choose
the perfect package, and even get prices for your dream
vacation, but it is a whole different thing to actually save up the
money to pay for it and hand it over to your booking agent. It's
during this part of the vacation planning process that most
people give up on taking a sea voyage and end up taking a
short excursion inland.

When asked, many people admit that taking a cruise has
always been their dream vacation, but they have not been able
to quite pull it off. Why? While some simply just can't get the
time away from work and responsibilities, most people are
locked out of taking a sea vacation because they cannot afford
to pay for it.

If this sounds like you, don't worry. Cruises are more affordable
than you think, and there are ways that you can pay for the
vacation of your dreams without maxing out your credit cards or
taking out a second mortgage.

The first thing to consider when trying figuring out how to pay
for a cruise is the actual cost for the cruise. Many people take
one look at the fare pricing and view it the same way that they
would hotel pricing. (I write about this in a previous article: "Are
You Saying You Can't Afford A Cruise? Think Again!") In their
mind they are visualizing this as the base cost of the vacation
with extras like food, entertainment, and other expenses added
on. But the truth of the matter is that cruise packages include
all of these costs. This means that the vacation that you have
always wanted could be just as affordable as or even more
affordable than the land-based vacation that you have always
taken.

And if that's not enough, you can cut the cost of your cruise
vacation even further by cashing in on special promotions,
booking and paying for your trip well in advance, and taking
your cruise during the off-season. Booking passage on a
smaller ship rather than the largest, most luxurious ship will
also save you a great deal of money. You can even cut costs by
choosing a smaller stateroom located on the inside of the ship
over a room that faces outward and has a terrace or other
amenities.

Even after you take off all of the possible savings, you will still
have to come up with something to pay for your cruise. And just
how will you do that? Well the key to saving for anything is early
planning. If you save throughout the year rather than just for a
few weeks or months before your trip, you will be better able to
put something away toward your trip without having to let other
financial obligations slide.

You should never finance a holiday with credit. No matter
whether or not you get a great interest rate, funding vacations
with credit is never a good idea. This is because you will end
up paying much more for your vacation over a longer period of
time than you would have if you would have saved for your trip
before hand. Financing a vacation often makes it impossible to
take future vacations until the financed holiday is paid for, and it
may even create financial hardships. This can lead to
resentment and hard feelings over a time that was supposed
to only generate happy memories.

So unless you have a very generous aunt, paying for your
cruise is going to be all up to you. Don't worry, though. Paying
for a vacation is possible even on the stingiest income if you
know how to save.

The key to saving up for anything is consistency. You can't
simply say I'm going to put back any extra money that I have
until I have enough saved up to take a cruise. If you go about it
in this way, you will never save anything. When's the last time
you had "extra" money? And if you did have it, how long did it
stay in your pocket? To save you need a plan, and you need
discipline to stick to that plan.

The first step to making a savings plan is to decide when you
will be taking your vacation and how much it will cost. Divide
the amount of the vacation by the number of weeks you have
until you have to have your cruise passage paid in full. This will
tell you how much money you will have to put back each week
in order to pay for the holiday. If you cannot possibly afford the
amount that you need to tuck away each week, you may have to
postpone the date of your vacation or make some adjustments
to your living expenses.

Next, look at your budget. If you don't have one, make one.
Include everything that you spend money on each week. Don't
leave out extras. You would be surprised by how much income
slips through your fingers only to be spent on frivolous
purchases. Look for areas where you can cut expenses to free
up some income to put toward your trip. Do you stop for a latte
every morning or eat out frequently? By simply cutting out these
extras, you could free up enough income to pay for your trip and
then some.

Now that you have figured out where the money is going to
come from, you will need to decide on a safe place to put it.
This should be a place that you cannot raid if you feel the need
to splurge. A savings account is a great idea if you can deposit
money into it and forget about it. You and your significant other
can check up on each other. If you think that you may be
tempted to make withdraws from the account, you may want to
have a trusted friend or relative open an account for you with
the stipulations that they are not to withdraw any money for you
for any reason. If your vacation is going to be well into the
future, savings bonds are also a great idea.

Here's a simple saving tip: At the end of every day any change
PLUS any one dollar bills you have go into a jar for the cruise
fund. That's it, just be disciplined about it. $3 dollars a day for a
year is more than $1,000. Don't buy something everyday? Then
step it up a notch? Never pay for anything with dollar bills so
you will accumulate them throughout the day. If something is
$2.50, than you have to pay with a $5 or $10 and get $2.50 in
coin change and one dollar bill change that you will save. So
now every single purchase will contribute to your cruise fund!

But no matter where you decide to keep your holiday savings,
be sure that you make weekly deposits and stick to your
savings plan. Don't give up. The vacation of a lifetime is within
your grasp. It's up to you. Make the dream a reality.

About the Author
Make the dream a reality! http://www.cruiselinestips.com for
loads of information on Princess Cruise Lines and so many
things encompassing a cruise vacation

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