DH is Dropping New Rules

[AUTigerFan]

I asked my wife about joining and she said I should look into solo memberships!

 

[Jennifer777]

I asked my wife about joining and she said I should look into solo memberships!

 

[summerskye]

Yep

We aren't currently card-carrying members of that club....but we do have a verandah on our upcoming Bahamas cruise.....

I understand the situation. Our cruise is not until July.

Out on the verandah getting ready

 

[summerskye]

I asked my wife about joining and she said I should look into solo memberships!

That is just wrong....

 

[Disneyteachers]

DH and I had a "discussion" today about verandas (all hypothetical since we've never been on a cruise and are doing OV in Aug for our 1st) and he thinks it's just a waste of money. He says he only plans to sleep in the stateroom. This is very true of our regular vacations, with Animal Kingdom Lodge as the one exception where we did use the balcony a bit.

 

[Ofinn]

DH and I had a "discussion" today about verandas (all hypothetical since we've never been on a cruise and are doing OV in Aug for our 1st) and he thinks it's just a waste of money. He says he only plans to sleep in the stateroom. This is very true of our regular vacations, with Animal Kingdom Lodge as the one exception where we did use the balcony a bit.

When I first started cruising I thought a verandah was a must. The more we cruise the less important it becomes. We book a lot a last minute discounts, and sometimes the only rooms discounted are the Ocean views and insides. Our upcoming Iceland cruise will be our first time in an inside, and honestly I'm just so happy to be on the ship. We really didn't use the verandah at all, but it was nice opening up the door to get fresh air.

It was also great for putting my teens smelly shoes out on the balcony. I honestly never knew how bad his shoes smelled until our first cruise in an ocean view, and I had to spend 7 days in a enclosed room with them. On our upcoming cruise I'm buying him new shoes the day before we leave, hopefully they don't start stinking until the end of the cruise. Any of you that have teenage boys probably know all about the body odor issues.

 

[Jennifer777]

When I first started cruising I thought a verandah was a must. The more we cruise the less important it becomes. We book a lot a last minute discounts, and sometimes the only rooms discounted are the Ocean views and insides. Our upcoming Iceland cruise will be our first time in an inside, and honestly I'm just so happy to be on the ship. We really didn't use the verandah at all, but it was nice opening up the door to get fresh air.

It was also great for putting my teens smelly shoes out on the balcony. I honestly never knew how bad his shoes smelled until our first cruise in an ocean view, and I had to spend 7 days in a enclosed room with them. On our upcoming cruise I'm buying him new shoes the day before we leave, hopefully they don't start stinking until the end of the cruise. Any of you that have teenage boys probably know all about the body odor issues.

As the mother of a pre-teen boy myself, I suggest bringing along an extra large 10 gallon ziplock storage bag to store the shoes (and socks) in each night.

We use our verandah a lot. In fact we spend more time out there than we do up on the pool deck so it's a must for me. Sipping coffee out there in my PJs and watching the ocean go by is one of my favorite parts of the cruise. I will cruise less if I have to so I can afford a room with a verandah. However, I can definitely see how it would have little to no value for the cruisers who spend most of their time hanging out by the pool or exploring the ship.

 

[OrcaPotter]

With the prices jumping every year, clearly Disney thinks they'll get it. Look at the parks: prices go up yearly and yet the resort is as packed as ever. We've gone from "slow season" to simply "not as crowded" days. I'm frustrated that as a teacher, I can only sail during peak times. My administration no longer looks favorably at teachers who take a week off; I had to move my much cheaper January cruise to June, which will take me much longer to pay off. I was thrilled to hear DCL was doing different itineraries out of PC next summer when I have the time off, but those prices are insane! I did a week at Aulani for cheaper last summer! Yet the ships fill up! I'll be gold after my June cruise, and I'm afraid it'll be my last DCL for a while. I don't think Disney will miss me, though.

 

[Jennifer777]

With the prices jumping every year, clearly Disney thinks they'll get it. Look at the parks: prices go up yearly and yet the resort is as packed as ever. We've gone from "slow season" to simply "not as crowded" days. I'm frustrated that as a teacher, I can only sail during peak times. My administration no longer looks favorably at teachers who take a week off; I had to move my much cheaper January cruise to June, which will take me much longer to pay off. I was thrilled to hear DCL was doing different itineraries out of PC next summer when I have the time off, but those prices are insane! I did a week at Aulani for cheaper last summer! Yet the ships fill up! I'll be gold after my June cruise, and I'm afraid it'll be my last DCL for a while. I don't think Disney will miss me, though.

I have a feeling once the PIF date comes for these longer southern caribbean cruises, a fair number will cancel. It's easy to get excited and make a reservation but coming up with $14,000 for a family of four isn't an easy task for many families. Plus add in all the other costs like airfare and hotel the night before, transportation and on board spending and you could buy an ok car for that. I will be watching closely for VGT rates after the PIF date.

As for having to cruise in the summer, if I were you I'd kindly tell your administration where to go. You have vacation days you're entitled to as part of your contract and they can frown all they want while you're laying on the beach in January.

 

[summerskye]

It's easy to get excited and make a reservation but coming up with $14,000 for a family of four isn't an easy task for many families. Plus add in all the other costs like airfare and hotel the night before, transportation and on board spending and you could buy an ok car for that. I will be watching closely for VGT rates after the PIF date.

Good point and very true

As for having to cruise in the summer, if I were you I'd kindly tell your administration where to go. .

Unfortunately, that makes it difficult to move up in the real world. And moving up looks to be the only way to try and keep up the Disney price increases.

 

[Jennifer777]

Unfortunately, that makes it difficult to move up in the real world. And moving up looks to be the only way to try and keep up the Disney price increases.

Ha! True, but I don't understand the concept of negotiated PTO that school employees are then not expected to use. Either let them take the PTO that is part of their salary/benefit package or be honest when negotiating the contract and take that "benefit" away and replace it with something else, like maybe higher pay or at least a payout for unused PTO so they can cover the higher cost of vacationing only in the summer.

 

[Ofinn]

We may spend 14-20k a year traveling, but it's spread out over 3 or 4 vacations. 14k is a lot of money for a Caribbean cruise. We paid around 3,500 for the 4 of us in a Verandah on the Magic SC cruise in Sept 2014. I loved the cruise, but honestly if you've seen one Caribbean island you've seen them all. 14k may be pocket change for some families...if that's the case why not do it. This is not a cruise I would want to spend a year saving up for.

 

[summerskye]

Ha! True, but I don't understand the concept of negotiated PTO that school employees are then not expected to use. Either let them take the PTO that is part of their salary/benefit package or be honest when negotiating the contract and take that "benefit" away and replace it with something else, like maybe higher pay or at least a payout for unused PTO so they can cover the higher cost of vacationing only in the summer.

I could not agree more. My wife has spent her life working in the teaching industry. Our vacations have always had to be based on the the school's schedule. Holidays, Spring Break, and the summer. A time when everything is higher in cost. In fact, all of our DisneyWorld trips have been arournd the Thanksgiving break.

 

[sweetpee_1993]

I like the husband's thinking. I refused to buy my teenagers even cheap used cars. And with 1 preparing to go off to a big school 500+ miles away I may need to buy a cheap used car yet. And a 2nd kid about to start college......yeah.....sometimes that verandah club just has to wait. But, there's a light at the end of the tunnel. Can't wait to start all the adventures on our post-children list!

 

[briarwolf]

Ok, looks like I have a new goal for our next cruise...

Concerning the OP's comments, I love my DCL and I love being on a verandah, but I am not sure I could justify spending $14,000 on a cruise. Of course I may be in a different social-economic tier then you. To me it all comes down to budget and percentages, and that is over what OUR budget can afford without making cuts elsewhere. As long as everything else (bills, etc) are getting paid, and you aren't using credit to pay for the cruise, then you can't really put a price on happiness, right? At least that is the angle my wife would use on me.

 

[NancyIL]

Once you balcony, you don't go back

Not true for us! I'd love to have a balcony every cruise, but when the price difference between an inside and a balcony is $1000 pp on longer cruises, I'd much rather have a longer trip or another trip. We upgraded from an inside to a balcony for a 12-night Med cruise on Celebrity when the price difference was only $200 pp, but the difference in price is usually far more.

 

[TiggerBouncy]

Not just the cruise... We booked one of the southerns on our last cruise. The cruise is pricey, but the trip to San Juan via plane is over 1K each.

that said, both of us love DCL. So we both are angry with each other for agreeing to spend the money since neither one stopped the other.

 

[sunshinemelody]

See that's what I'm saying, you can't get a "decent" car for $14,000, so that's a green light, right?

I did. Just bought a Certified Pre-Owned 2013 Nissan Altima with all the bells and whistles for $13.9K, so, it's definitely not impossible at all.

But your husband trying to overrule you like some overlord was only putting fuel on the fire (as we can tell!) and you've every right to leave him at home if you want.

 

[Jennifer777]

I did. Just bought a Certified Pre-Owned 2013 Nissan Altima with all the bells and whistles for $13.9K, so, it's definitely not impossible at all.

But your husband trying to overrule you like some overlord was only putting fuel on the fire (as we can tell!) and you've every right to leave him at home if you want.

Leaving him home would drop the price a few thousand, now you've got me thinking...

 

[summerskye]

I asked my wife about joining and she said I should look into solo memberships!

Leaving him home would drop the price a few thousand, now you've got me thinking...

Just remember it works both ways (actually, I guess it really can't work)