Cruising Costs for a Cruising Couple

[Davie J.]

With the economy doing what it is currently doing, my wife and I have decided to accelerate our retirement and go cruising. I have substantial sailing experience, but am at a loss when my wife asks "what will it cost us to cruise each month?"

Aside from routine boat maintenance and the occasional big expense, what do you folks out there consider "reasonable expenses" for a cruising budget? We own our boat and will have about $3,000 per month to live on. Can we live comfortably on that income? What are others spending??

[heyniceguy]

the rule of thumb that is parroted here is "it costs what you have".

it all comes down to what you (and your wife) can live without. you may be ok with a spartan lifestyle, but your wife (just like most of ours) may be looking for the 4 Seasons on the 7 Seas.

my advice is this: if you've got $3k/month to spend, budget $1.5k-2k. Use the surplus as an emergency fund (which you will need), and if you never use it, use it to extend your cruise should you wish to do so. (most cruisers here will tell you they originally planned a 2-year cruise, which inevitably turned into 3, 4, 6+ years).

fyi: me and my family of 3 could live very comfortably on $3k a month.

[downunder]

Originally Posted by Davie J.

With the economy doing what it is currently doing, my wife and I have decided to accelerate our retirement and go cruising. I have substantial sailing experience, but am at a loss when my wife asks "what will it cost us to cruise each month?"

Aside from routine boat maintenance and the occasional big expense, what do you folks out there consider "reasonable expenses" for a cruising budget? We own our boat and will have about $3,000 per month to live on. Can we live comfortably on that income? What are others spending??

For most its doable. Depends a lot on size and condition of your vessel.

[boatman61]

Hell...on that budget you could spend the year round in a marina on the Algarve and have 2k to spare...
or 9months and have 2.5k to spare... cruise for the 3 hot months

[sailorboy1]

Originally Posted by Davie J.

We own our boat and will have about $3,000 per month to live on. Can we live comfortably on that income? ??

from my years of collecting info on the "budget", but never having done it; my vote is YES!

If not someone better tell me now so I stop spending money of sailboat stuff!

[jostalli]

Luckily this has already been compiled here: SV Estrellita 5.10b: The Cost of Cruising

[bobconnie]

The wife and I cruise a Power boat, and live well on less then that ! but Im able and have tools to repair almost anything aboard, from engines to refrigeration,ect ect.we dont use marinas much, or moorings, we like to anchor in out of the way places if possible, we don't eat out much as I cook better then most LOL. I guess you could say we are a little cheap! but we still live well just my 2 cents Bob and Connie

[WaywardWench]

Owning your boat and having it in good working order, will be a big plus on planning your cruising budget. The size of your boat, where you are going to go, and the lifestyle you want, all account for how much you will spend.
We cruise in a small boat, so we probably aren't as comfortable as others are in a larger boat. But, we have everything that we need and we eat well.
We cruised down the west coast this past summer and it cost us about $1000-$1200 a month. We had to stay in harbors longer than we wanted, because of the gale warnings. Every time you have to go into harbor, it will cost money.
If we had $3000 a month to cruise on, I don't think we could spend it all.
Hope this helps.

[wingNwing]

Really, asking how much does it cost to cruise is a lot like asking "How much does a car cost?" I'm thinking, Audi Quattro while you're thinking Chevy beater from Craigslist.

We budgeted $2500/month for US east coast & bahamas, and never managed to spend that much. We own the boat free and clear, and our $2500 does not include health care. Here's how the rest divvied up: $150 boat insurance; $200 communications (internet, 2 phones, mail-forwarding service); $400 food; $100 booze; $500 maintenance; $1000 marinas + fuel + entertainment (during the months we were really making miles, we could spend $400 on fuel, but then at night, we were too tired to look for entertainment, etc) $150 miscellaneous.

[LauderBoy]

Originally Posted by wingNwing

$100 booze

Woah woah there, for 2 people, for a month!?

That's crazy talk.

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by LauderBoy

Woah woah there, for 2 people, for a month!?

That's crazy talk.

I don't know... thats 20+ litres of rum in Guadalupe...
probably why its crazy talk...

[MacG]

We have here a 500 US$ a month thread. Look at that one and decide for yourself.

[Amapola]

As others have said, cruising bugdets vary greatly between size, type of boat, lifestyle, whether you intend to anchor or live in a marina, etc. A good place to start is to record every cent you spend for a couple of months. Next, determine which expenses would transfer to everyday cruising and which would be eliminated afloat. You will probably have a high initial cash outlay for stores and equipment. Also, it's a good idea to set aside about 6 month's of $$$ to cover living expenses in the event of an emergency.

[WaywardWench]

Well David J........
What are you thinking about doing now? Alot of information has been given. Just wondering what your conclusion is?

[impi]

We have only been cruising a few months now ... South Africa - Brazil -Tobago - Grenada.
We are insured with Panetanius, Use the best cleaning products, maintain our boat religiously, never worry to conserve electricity so run genset often, Only use marinas when necessary ... Our Cost ... so far about US$ 3000/month.. but then we do go out often, eat at restaurants, rent a car from time to time etc.