We never expected to be going on a cruise!
When we set out on this trip, our plan was to spend a few years in South East Asia and the Indian Subcontinent. We worked out, based on the amount of money we had in the bank, we could last 4 years if we spent $41/day.
We’ve found that budget pretty OK, we’re probably spending more like $50/day plus the odd splurge when I make some money.
But life happens, we’ve ended up heading to the UK for Christmas for family reasons. We can be cheap there, no accommodation costs, that fits our budget fine.
But next year we blow our budget out of the water. We’re going on a cruise and then to the Americas!
Why Do We Want to go on a Cruise?
Mostly for the experience. We want to give the kids ( and ourselves) as many diverse experiences as we can. We saw this cruise advertised and it just looked like a great opportunity.
It’s the maiden voyage of a brand new cruise ship as it relocates from the European shipyards to its new home in Miami.
It’s what’s called a relocation cruise or repositioning cruise, these are the bargains of the cruising world. They usually happen when ships relocate with the changing seasons. They take you from A to B rather than in a loop, so you can use them as a form of transport.
We’re going from Southampton to New York.
At $700 each, it’s not that much more than flying across the Atlantic and food, drinks, accommodation and entertainment are generously covered for 10 days.
The ship looks AMAZING! It has everything from an ice bar to a huge nightly magic show in a purpose-built two story theatre. It has all the usual on-deck pools and slides, but in January I don’t think we’ll be using them.
There is loads for the children to do, their eyes lit up when they saw the computer games room with its giant screens. I’m just looking forward to something completely different, something I’ve never done before, or even considered doing.
I’ve been collecting pictures of the ship on a new Pinterest board, if you’d like to see. She’s vast, 5th biggest in the world.
My mum and dad go on cruises, they enjoy dinner dances and shows, but from what I can see, cruising doesn’t have to be like that. If you look at cruise sites such as Cruiseabout they can show you what cruising offers families like ours.
Fancy dressed-up dining isn’t our thing, good food is. I’ve posted before about how travel makes me thinner, I reckon all that is going to change, too. I have a feeling we’ll have to update our wardrobes and not just because of the cold.
After we pull into New York harbour, past the Statue of Liberty, we’re going to stay in the States. Probably for 3 months, as that is the length of the visa, and have ourselves a big old road trip! Then we have to fly out to somewhere more remote than Canada or Central America, those are the visa restrictions. We’re thinking maybe we’ll go to Peru and cuddle some alpacas.
Update: Read about how our cruise went here. We loved it! So much so that we’ve booked a return Atlantic crossing cruise in April. This time it’s only costing us $320 each, under $30/day, for a family cabin with balcony. Even more of a bargain!
What Will Our Budget be for the USA?
At the moment I have no idea, it will be a lot more. We’re not going to scrimp, we’re not missing out on all the big-ticket attractions although we will be very frugal with food and accommodation. We will most certainly be visiting Disney ( we managed to visit all 4 Disney parks in one day!) and Kennedy Space Centre again, they’re too good to miss. But we will do this thing as cheap as we can.
Update: We have now completed our USA road trip, that was also wonderful. Click the link to read more about it.
We won’t run out of money while we’re there, but by the end of next year we’ll have to come back to the UK and James will get a job. But that’s cool, it will only be for a few months, we can set off for India and Nepal after that and start living cheaply again. Or, who knows, another opportunity might present itself. That’s the beauty of having the total freedom that we have now.
So no, we’re not giving up on our extreme budget travel lifestyle, we haven’t had enough, it’s not a cop out , we’re just doing something a bit different for a while. We quit our old life to travel and to have our freedom. The freedom to bob about on the Atlantic for over a week is part of that.We think it will be fun!
Nicki says
Hi Alyson,
I have recently discovered your blog and am enjoying about your adventures immensely. Just wondering if anyone knows how best to locate the “repositioning” cruises – to grab a great deal?
alyson@worldtravelfamily says
Hi Nicki, Norwegian’s own website has good prices in the specials section. Or try vacationstogo.com or discountcruises.com. Did you find our post about how our cruise on Norwegian went? It was awesome it’s here http://worldtravelfamily.com/whats-trans-atlantic-cruise-like-atlantic-crossing-on-norwegian-getaway/
Nicki says
Hi Alyson,
Yes I read it today – im slowly working my way through your posts – very interesting reading – I only found your website last week. We are Gold Coasters and looking at heading off for 2 years next June so eagerly awaiting to hear about your experiences!
Elaine says
Awesome! When I read the title of your post I assumed that your husband had taken a job on a boat. Thanks for the tip on cheaper cruising. We just did a 2 day “cruise” in Halong Bay, Vietnam and it really got me thinking about the benefits of cruising as a holiday option, before we’ve always disregarded it as too expensive and too restrictive. Your post has come at an opportune moment for me!
chelsea hudson says
Hi there! Loved stumbling on your family blog. my dream is to travel around the world with our three kids at some point in the future! I would love to meet you guys in person if you are headed through the DC area! We live just north of DC and would love to connect! Cheers! chelsea hudson
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Stephanie says
Don’t forget to check when the 2014 Disney Homeschool days are or if there is a Disney Homeschool class (through Disney YES) going on for when you are in FL. We haven’t tried one of them yet but if you are enrolled in it then my understanding is that you can get discount tickets for the park.
We took our kids on their 1st cruise in Feb (went to the Caribbean) and they LOVED it. Such a fun vacation. It was such a different trip from taking them to Yellowstone over the summer.
Victoria says
Sounds great and just the thing to top up your experience of living abroad.
I went on a one week cruise in Egypt and I really liked it as it was quite small ( about 100 people) and being that the guests were mainly German, less of the “do this-do that” situation and as a result, we went on the tours we wanted and were respectfully left alone when we didn’t.
The cabins were cosy and we got to know the Egyptian staff pretty well who all wanted to practise their English on me as I’m a teacher!
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Tamara says
The cruise sounds like a really fun idea! We’ve looked into something similar to get us from US to Europe. It will be interesting to hear what you think of it.
alyson@worldtravelfamily says
Tam, that made me chuckle! Interesting to hear what I think of it…you know me well enough to know I won’t pull any punches! Love to you Ax
Coral says
You got me looking at cruise options for December, we have been offered a free apartment in central New York over Christmas, just need to get there. Sailing on the Queen Mary is one option at £600 for an inside cabin. Flights home are proving expensive though. Wish we had the option of staying in the US for longer. Post Christmas and post operation this will be a good break for you and a wonderful experience for the whole family. Have fun.
Jo Carroll says
Good for you – there’s times to save, and times to spend. I did a ‘cruise’ (big word for a little boat) down the Mekong from Siem Reap to Saigon, expensive but wonderful.
Thanks for the repositioning tip. It’s also possible to get a passage on some freight ships – I know of someone travelling from England to Australia that way.
Wheres Sharon? (Sharon) says
It sounds fabulous!! I have done a cruise before during a one year budget trip. I like to shake things up, and it was so nice getting a “holiday” from the holiday, if you know what I mean. Besides, what’s the point of travel if not to have new experiences? We are doing our first cruise next month with kids in the US. I am really looking forward to it, although I am also a bit apprehensive as they don’t seem to cater very well to one year olds. I’m sure our three year old will love it though! Anyway, off to check out your pinterest board to get very jealous 🙂
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