Author Topic: Last-Minute Mustachian Vacation  (Read 7057 times)

DanBrewMan

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Last-Minute Mustachian Vacation
« on: July 31, 2013, 02:11:47 PM »
I will have a week off in between jobs next week and the SO and I would like to get away for a few days.  We're looking for something last minute (of course), beachy/outdoorsy, and cheap (max $1k all in).

Anyone have some suggestions?  We're in the Houston area.

shusherstache

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Re: Last-Minute Mustachian Vacation
« Reply #1 on: July 31, 2013, 02:32:47 PM »
How about Galveston?  Lots of options on those condo-rental sites for cheaper than a hotel would be, close to the water and cook your own food.

Zikoris

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Re: Last-Minute Mustachian Vacation
« Reply #2 on: July 31, 2013, 04:55:52 PM »
Last-minute cruise out of Galveston? They seem to start at $300-$400/person with Carnival.

jrhampt

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Re: Last-Minute Mustachian Vacation
« Reply #3 on: August 01, 2013, 08:55:14 AM »
What about a camping roadtrip through Colorado and Utah and up to Yellowstone?  We did that when we lived in Tulsa - you might be a bit farther away and could end the trip in Utah instead, maybe visit Arches. There are lots of really cool parks in the southwest and tons of places to camp.

corelli

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Re: Last-Minute Mustachian Vacation
« Reply #4 on: August 01, 2013, 09:54:38 AM »
I am from the northeast, and know nothing about Texas other than its huge, warm, and a good place to invest in real estate right now ;).

That said, I've used the website www.airbnb.com for really great deals on vacation rentals. Generally much better than hotels. Not sure how it would pan-out in your area but worth a look.

Hunny156

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Re: Last-Minute Mustachian Vacation
« Reply #5 on: August 01, 2013, 01:18:03 PM »
I second the cruise out of Galveston option.  As long as you are able to keep the incidental costs in check, you can easily do a relaxing one week beach vacation for under $1K.

I'm in Austin, & it's our go-to cheap vacation option!  We prefer Royal Caribbean over Carnival, but the Magic is a nice new ship w/tons of stuff to do.

Do some quick research, if you hop onto the message boards at cruise critic, you'll get a ton of info on the best stuff to do in each port.  We usually just mill around on our own, cheap and easy to do.

Eric

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Re: Last-Minute Mustachian Vacation
« Reply #6 on: August 01, 2013, 01:35:23 PM »
Are you guys serious?  A cruise is your idea of a Mustachian vacation?  Excuse me while I laugh my ass off at this idea.  A cruise?!?  Let me get this straight. 

You're herded onto a boat with about a million other people.
You eat every meal at a restaurant as there's no grocery on board.
You drink expensive drinks from the bar because you're not allowed to bring your own.
About 2-3 times during the trip, you can pay for excursions that are overpriced, or you can wander around shore for free for a predetermined amount of time before you're herded back onto the boat.
And if everything, absolutely everything goes right, you ONLY spend $1000.  Does that include a hotel before your 7am departure?  Parking for a week?

That's insane to me.  Dan -- load your tent and your cooler into your car and go camping for a week.  It's cheap, it's nature, and best of all, no herd mentality.

The thought of MMM on a cruise is laughable.

http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2011/12/20/money-mustache-vs-tourist-trap/

« Last Edit: August 01, 2013, 04:30:45 PM by Eric »

Hunny156

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Re: Last-Minute Mustachian Vacation
« Reply #7 on: August 01, 2013, 08:36:39 PM »
Are you guys serious?  A cruise is your idea of a Mustachian vacation?  Excuse me while I laugh my ass off at this idea.  A cruise?!?  Let me get this straight. 

You're herded onto a boat with about a million other people.
You eat every meal at a restaurant as there's no grocery on board.
You drink expensive drinks from the bar because you're not allowed to bring your own.
About 2-3 times during the trip, you can pay for excursions that are overpriced, or you can wander around shore for free for a predetermined amount of time before you're herded back onto the boat.
And if everything, absolutely everything goes right, you ONLY spend $1000.  Does that include a hotel before your 7am departure?  Parking for a week?

That's insane to me.  Dan -- load your tent and your cooler into your car and go camping for a week.  It's cheap, it's nature, and best of all, no herd mentality.

The thought of MMM on a cruise is laughable.

http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2011/12/20/money-mustache-vs-tourist-trap/

Wow, judgmental much?  One of the signatures of being mustachian is that there is no specific blueprint, and every person is different in what they will do on their journey to FI.  A cruise may not be mustachian for you, but it is VERY mustachian to me!

1. Cruises, especially out of ports like Galveston, tend to be on older, smaller ships.  Even the larger ones are designed so you don't feel like you are in the middle of a herd.

2. True, you do eat every meal at some sort of restaurant, but the food is included in the price of the cruise, so why would you want to spend extra money shopping for groceries and cooking?  Granted, there are plenty of people who will fork down "cover" charges to essentially eat the same food, but in a different environment than the regular dining rooms.  To each their own, and you certainly will never catch me at one of those specialty restaurants.

3. Again, not everyone drinks, so you certainly aren't required to spend ridiculous amounts of money at the bar.  If you know the tricks, there are also plenty of opportunities to get free drinks.  Not to mention that most cruise lines will allow you to bring a few bottles of your own wine.  Oh, and if you must have the hard stuff, seasoned cruisers will tell you to order a bottle delivered to your room - much cheaper than the bar.

4. Many cruisers know better than to buy the cruise line spiel about shore excursions.  If you chose not to get ripped off there, you are certainly not limited to walking around the shore for free.  The same excursion companies are easily found once you get off the ship, and they will discount at least 50% from the cruise line prices.  They also bargain, cash goes a long way.  Waiting until right before they depart is another trick, I've seen the price drop another 30% to fill the empty spots.

5. The ships depart around 4 PM, not 7 AM.  Houston is 60-90 minutes away from Galveston, so you can really drive in the day of.  Austin is 3.5 hours away, and we've just driven in many times before.  Worst case, if you must come in the night before, a good hotel can be had for $50, if you know how to find the deals.  I've gotten 3.5 star hotels in Houston for $40, and I do it all the time when visiting family for the weekend. 

6. Yes, that does include parking, and tipping the cruise staff, and a few incidentals too.  For two people for one full week.

Camping is not something I would ever do, I prefer comfort and being pampered a little when I'm getting away from it all.  But to each their own, right?

Sorry to get off topic, but I felt the need to address the common misconceptions listed about cruising.

Zikoris

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Re: Last-Minute Mustachian Vacation
« Reply #8 on: August 03, 2013, 07:57:37 PM »
Are you guys serious?  A cruise is your idea of a Mustachian vacation?  Excuse me while I laugh my ass off at this idea.  A cruise?!?  Let me get this straight. 

You're herded onto a boat with about a million other people.
You eat every meal at a restaurant as there's no grocery on board.
You drink expensive drinks from the bar because you're not allowed to bring your own.
About 2-3 times during the trip, you can pay for excursions that are overpriced, or you can wander around shore for free for a predetermined amount of time before you're herded back onto the boat.
And if everything, absolutely everything goes right, you ONLY spend $1000.  Does that include a hotel before your 7am departure?  Parking for a week?


I've tried cruising. It's not for everyone, but it can be a very affordable option - the food is included in the $400(or $300 or whatever) cruise fare, as are a lot of drinks(non-alcoholic, but I don't drink anyways and neither do a lot of mustachians), and virtually all the entertainment on board - we went to comedy shows, dance shows, music shows, everything. You definitely don't need to do excursions through the cruise company - you can wander around whatever town you're in, rent bikes, spend time on the beach, check out local attractions... We had a great time in Belize City just walking around taking pictures, going to local shops, and exploring, for example.

hybrid

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Re: Last-Minute Mustachian Vacation
« Reply #9 on: August 04, 2013, 03:55:43 AM »
Are you guys serious?  A cruise is your idea of a Mustachian vacation?  Excuse me while I laugh my ass off at this idea.  A cruise?!?  Let me get this straight. 

You're herded onto a boat with about a million other people.
You eat every meal at a restaurant as there's no grocery on board.
You drink expensive drinks from the bar because you're not allowed to bring your own.
About 2-3 times during the trip, you can pay for excursions that are overpriced, or you can wander around shore for free for a predetermined amount of time before you're herded back onto the boat.
And if everything, absolutely everything goes right, you ONLY spend $1000.  Does that include a hotel before your 7am departure?  Parking for a week?

That's insane to me.  Dan -- load your tent and your cooler into your car and go camping for a week.  It's cheap, it's nature, and best of all, no herd mentality.

The thought of MMM on a cruise is laughable.

http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2011/12/20/money-mustache-vs-tourist-trap/

Wow, judgmental much?  One of the signatures of being mustachian is that there is no specific blueprint, and every person is different in what they will do on their journey to FI.  A cruise may not be mustachian for you, but it is VERY mustachian to me!

+1.  To each their own.  If 1,000 is in your budget, who are others to judge.  Like almost anything recreational, cruising can be optimized and I know a couple who loves cruising and they do it much cheaper than most.  They do their homework, get the best deal, avoid the tourist traps, etc.  Off the high horse there Eric...

steveo

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Re: Last-Minute Mustachian Vacation
« Reply #10 on: August 04, 2013, 04:11:06 AM »
Are you guys serious?  A cruise is your idea of a Mustachian vacation?  Excuse me while I laugh my ass off at this idea.  A cruise?!?  Let me get this straight. 

You're herded onto a boat with about a million other people.
You eat every meal at a restaurant as there's no grocery on board.
You drink expensive drinks from the bar because you're not allowed to bring your own.
About 2-3 times during the trip, you can pay for excursions that are overpriced, or you can wander around shore for free for a predetermined amount of time before you're herded back onto the boat.
And if everything, absolutely everything goes right, you ONLY spend $1000.  Does that include a hotel before your 7am departure?  Parking for a week?

That's insane to me.  Dan -- load your tent and your cooler into your car and go camping for a week.  It's cheap, it's nature, and best of all, no herd mentality.

The thought of MMM on a cruise is laughable.

http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2011/12/20/money-mustache-vs-tourist-trap/

Or you could not drink and not pay for the on shore tours and get a reasonably priced holiday.

Albert

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Re: Last-Minute Mustachian Vacation
« Reply #11 on: August 04, 2013, 06:27:22 AM »
I wouldn't do cruises because I don't like being around other tourists all the time and not being able to set my own schedule, however as mentioned above it is a myth that cruising is necessarily very expensive.

hybrid

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Re: Last-Minute Mustachian Vacation
« Reply #12 on: August 04, 2013, 08:18:50 AM »
I wouldn't do cruises because I don't like being around other tourists all the time and not being able to set my own schedule, however as mentioned above it is a myth that cruising is necessarily very expensive.

Yep, and if this thread had been titled "FI MMMer wants to optimize cruising - tips appreciated" those suggestions are spot on.  Not to beat this horse, but the notion that everyone should follow some sort of MMM nature trail regimen regarding their vacation time - that to me is laughable.

swiper

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Re: Last-Minute Mustachian Vacation
« Reply #13 on: August 04, 2013, 11:33:37 AM »
I donno ... when i read "Mustachian Vacation" a typical big-boat Caribbean cruise is about the last thing that pops into mind. Is a bedpan part of the all inclusive deal ;P


capital

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Re: Last-Minute Mustachian Vacation
« Reply #14 on: August 04, 2013, 04:27:31 PM »
I took a bike tour from NYC to Vermont while in a similar situation. But that probably wouldn't be fun on Texas roads in the Texas summer.

Hunny156

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Re: Last-Minute Mustachian Vacation
« Reply #15 on: August 05, 2013, 11:07:01 AM »
I took a bike tour from NYC to Vermont while in a similar situation. But that probably wouldn't be fun on Texas roads in the Texas summer.

LOL, no way would that be fun to do right about now.  It's been 100+ for a while now - the only way to be outdoors from noon to 7 PM is if you are in a pool.  But after 9 PM, it gets to about 90, and it's a great time to go for a walk then!  ;)

 

Wow, a phone plan for fifteen bucks!