How flexible am I willing to be?

Flexible about what I spend onboard.

Flexible about where the ship is going.

And, thanks to hurricane season, flexible about whether the ship goes there at all.

If you missed an issue or meant to return to one later, here is everything we talked about this month.

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Cruise ships are very good at giving us opportunities to spend money.

Photos.

Specialty meals.

Souvenirs.

Beverage packages.

The list can grow quickly, along with the final balance on your cruise account.

In this issue, I shared seven things I no longer feel the need to pay for. Not because nobody should ever buy them, but because they do not add enough to my own vacation to justify the cost.

I would rather save that money for something I genuinely enjoy.

Or, even better, put it toward another cruise.

See the seven things I skip.

This issue started with a Reddit post about a 12-day Caribbean cruise advertised with a $29 fare.

There were also $590 in taxes and port fees, so it was not exactly a $29 vacation.

Still, it raised an interesting question:

At what price would you stop caring where the ship was going?

If the ship itself is part of the vacation, an unexpected destination might not be a deal breaker. A cruise that looks uninteresting at $1,500 can suddenly become fascinating at $600.

Of course, the total trip cost still matters. A cheap cruise is not much of a bargain if getting to the departure port costs more than the sailing.

But if the dates, ship and overall cost worked?

I might become remarkably flexible.

You can choose the ship.

You can select the itinerary.

You can plan your excursions.

Unfortunately, you cannot schedule the weather.

In this issue, we looked at what could happen when a hurricane interferes with a cruise. Ports may be changed, cancelled or visited in a different order. An unexpected sea day might appear, or the ship could head toward a different part of the Caribbean.

That can be disappointing, especially when one particular destination was the reason you booked.

Still, a changed itinerary does not automatically mean a ruined vacation. The ship, food and entertainment are still there. You may even end up somewhere you would never have chosen yourself.

Sometimes the most useful thing you can pack is flexibility.

Well, that and a rain poncho.

A cruise is one of the few vacations where sitting somewhere quiet and doing absolutely nothing can feel like a perfectly reasonable plan.

Add a good book, and suddenly you have an entire sea day figured out.

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Instead of filling your suitcase with several books, you can carry an entire reading list in one slim device.

The only difficult part might be deciding whether to read another chapter or stare at the ocean for a while.

It is a tough life at sea.

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That was September.

We skipped a few unnecessary expenses, questioned whether the destination really matters and prepared for the possibility that the weather might make the decision for us anyway.

Have a great week!

Tara

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