Ah, it's so nice indeed. No job, no worries. One big long vacation.
Well, we'll see how long this lasts...financially that is. But for now it's just fine. Especially when I can take advantage of deals like the one coming up very shortly...
I'm going on a cruise!
And it's out of a port I'd wanted to sail from for years now. How awesome it'll be watching as I ride an enormous modern cruise ship down the Great Ole' Mississip! Yes, I'm cruising out of none other than my old stompin' ground, New Orleans!
I actually just read that the enormity of this all is in fact auspicious. The cruise ship, the Norwegian Cruise Line's Breakaway, is sailing out of New Orleans for the first time for my trip. Previously, its home port was New York City. And since this is one of the largest cruise ships in the world, a press release stated it's the largest cruise ship ever to homeport out of the Big Easy.
This 7-day cruise was the result of my desire to use my American Express Rewards points I'd earned after meeting the spending requirements when I opened up my Gold Card account. It amounted to 50,000 points plus the 3,000 I'd earned as a direct result outside of the promo on the purchases (2 ounces of gold, if you remember) I made.
About two weeks ago now, I again compared airfare rates and hotel charges using the AMEX Travel App and, as I discovered on previous searches, I just couldn't justify using my points when they didn't stretch very far. The airlines were only Grade A so they were expensive to begin with and even the Choice Hotel options after converting the AMEX points into Choice Rewards wouldn't have gone very far. Plus either way, using the points was such a hassle and the site was terrible in giving hints on how to use them effectively. So, I decided to check out what the cruises options would be and I guess AMEX Travel has pretty good deals from the cruise lines 'cause it wasn't long before I found the week I went and booked. I mean, the rates, even when factoring in the single supplement were better than what was offered through the discount cruise site I visit frequently.
Having to cruise from New Orleans wasn't my first choice of course, I would have liked a Florida port...any Florida port better since NOLA is much farther than even, say, Miami, but heck, it's New Orleans. It's a vacation destination in its own right. I haven't booked any hotel stays in New Orleans except for the night before disembarking since I want to gauge how much I'll have to spend after the expenses for the cruise are done with, but as it looks right now, I should be able to swing at least another night.
Speaking of expenses, here's the running tally so far:
Cruise cost through AMEX Travel $643.95 minus the cash equivalent of the Membership Rewards points used ($371.67) equaling $272.28
Cruise insurance $25
Cabin upgrade from inside to a large window ocean view $60
Mayan ruins tour excursion in Mexico $55
Total: $412.28
I'm expecting further charges being:
$45 gas. (Yes, I'm driving to New Orleans)
$140 parking (Yeah, I know!)
~$140 gratuities. (My plan is to hand out some of my silver rounds though, if the cabin steward wants them. I thought it'd be more interesting to them rather than just cash. They're worth $14.35 each right now and if he wanted to hold on to them they might go up in value. For me, it'd be less actual money I'd be spending and it'd be easier than selling them at a coin shop.)
~$60 in miscellaneous tips (bartenders, porters, tour guides, waiters, etc.)
~$400 in drinks (I figure around $10 average per drink, 6 drinks average per day (not counting the last since we arrive back in New Orleans at 7 am) and extra for specialty drinks and a corkage fee (I'm planning on bringing one bottle of wine but they charge a corkage fee of $15 a bottle even if you only drink it in your cabin. Also, I'm using some "rum runner" bags and smuggling the equivalent of a full 750 ml bottle of Sailor Jerry 92 proof in my luggage. We'll see if this works...)
~$50 souvenirs
Oh, BTW, the night I booked before the cruise in New Orleans (well, actually across the river in Harvey, Louisiana) was free since I used my accrued Choice Rewards.
So I'm budgeting the whole trip to cost around $1,250 or so. Weee!
Reminds me of the exuberant and animated young boy I was when I reveled in glee my grandma Rita conveyed after her extravagant cruise, tipping a pot of tea with my clumsy, flailing jazz hands. Whoopie!
EDIT POST TRIP: Actual Costs:
$412.28 pre-trip booking, insurance and upgrade
$71.74 gas
$0 parking (yeah!!!)
$101.50 auto charge daily gratuities
~$10 embarkation porters cash gratuities
~$20 bartender cash gratuities
~$20 maya tour staff cash gratuities
$15 corkage fee
$158.80 on-board drinks
$43.15 on-shore drinks and tip
$28.65 souvenir magnets
~$50.00 Uber and cab costs
Yes I was rather cheap. Yes I smooth-talked the desk clerk at the hotel into giving me the Park and Cruise deal. Yes the rum runners worked; I smuggled my booze on-board.
Extra expenses not counted: Food during drive to and from, food and drink for night in Louisiana and a whopping $3.65 loss at Harrah's in Biloxi. The cost of the bottle of wine and bottle of rum since I would have bought equivalent booze for the week if I'd stayed home.
GRAND TOTAL: $931.12