Economy Crisis and Vacationing...

The economy has turned to crap...
My 401K is down...
Country is talking about depression...

How the heck am I supposed to keep focused on CRUISING!
I keep thinking...maybe I should be staying home...not out spending thousands of dollars!

I would think...people would be canceling cruises/vacations right and left recently. I would think current prices on cruises would drop.
Any TA's out there seeing this happen???
Even the price of gasoline is plummenting!

Anyone feel funny about cruising in these current times?

I'm in our family business which is construction - not exactly the best industry to be in at the moment given the state of the economy, the fact that people are having much tougher times getting loans and, the continuation of falling housing prices. However, we survived the 80s, we will survive this too.

Is this different? Certainly, on many, many levels. However, coming from a sensible family that taught me to save for rainy days - even those days it's raining cats and dogs - I am positive this is not going to effect my vacation plans all that much.

We will cut back in many ways - instead of eating out 3 or 4 times a week, we've only been going out once a week. And, I thank my lucky stars to be living in the New York City area where there is always a need for construction. I can't imagine being in a smaller metropolitan area trying to make a living in construction.

True, I'm in a much better position than many people out there and, I feel for those who are really hurting. And, I understand many people cannot focus on taking vacation when they might not even make this month's rent or mortgage - I'm just saying for me, personally, it's an issue, just not a major issue. We will be taking our vacations, but, we might be in a balcony cabin or even an inside instead of a suite.

When under stress, people need vacations more than ever, and when cutting expenses they resist completely cancelling their trips - but they may change their spending habits (on vacations and in other ways).

I keep knocking on wood to the point where my knuckles are raw ... but this is my best year in the travel industry thus far (insert "knock on wood") ... I am getting clients asking about more "local" cruises (out of US ports instead of Europe, or out of a port they can drive to instead of fly to) ... some clients are "downsizing" their vacations (instead of 2 weeks, maybe 1 week; or instead of Europe they go to Mexico; or instead of a suite they book an ocean view room; or squeezing the family into one stateroom instead of spreading out in 2 staterooms) ... I have not had any economy-related cancellations yet (again, knocking on wood) but I know other TAs that have started getting such cancellations ... I imagine some clients are waiting (and holding their breath) until it gets closer to when final payments are due, at which time they will have to make the tough decisions.

Personally I am not effected and neither is anyone in my family. While I feel bad for those who have suffered job losses, I find it hard to have sympathy for anyone who bought over their heads with this mortgage mess. And, I saw a lot of that happen here in Southeast Florida.

Everyone thought that real estate was the best and newest get rich scheme and, it was just a matter of time before the illusion was broken. Florida is one of the hardest hit states with this mess and I blame GREED.

Bottom line, this is not effecting my vacation decisions at all. I didn't get caught up in this mess and therefore, outside of higher prices on certain items, it really doesn't effect me.

We have a cruise scheduled for Nov 3-8 which we booked a year ago as part of a group that my dh belongs to. We got to the final cancellation date & decided to go with it. We only had another $150 to go in the payment plan worked out by the group....we'll just forgo big Christmas gifts for each other. (Not going to dampen the holidays for the kids....but won't be going crazy either!)

I work in retail for a craft chain. We have noticed a marked decline in that industry. Crafting is something people do for fun & it can be cut from the budget relatively easily. No one is signing up for classes either...again not something that people need to survive, so let go of the fun things you might want to try.

DH is an audio-visual manager for an area University. He is also a DJ as our own business. People are booking for their weddings, etc at the last moment instead of a year or more out like they have in the past.

Towanda

This is beyond affecting people that over extended themselves on mortgages, took out too much equity, etc. It's impacting anyone that relies on 401ks or IRAs for their retirement income.

Those of us with retirement well over 20 years away can recover. But people, llike my parents, that are reitred or close to retiring, they are in a tail spin. They are tightening their belts as much as (or more than) those affected by the mortgage crisis.

Ivanova wrote:

This is beyond affecting people that over extended themselves on mortgages, took out too much equity, etc. It's impacting anyone that relies on 401ks or IRAs for their retirement income.

I totally agree. This landslide will effect most everyone (globally) in one way or another for some time to come.

Yes, you're right, everyone will feel this - what worries me is that inflation is sure to follow... Hang on tight, it's going to be a bumpy ride.