Can you afford a Backstreet Cruise?

Since they just announced the full pricing today, I thought it would be fitting to do a post on how much it REALLY costs to do a Backstreet Boy cruise. Let’s start with the 2011 pricing. You can view the full pricing here but here is a quick glimpse:

Interior rooms range from $699-$1499
Ocean view rooms range from $899-$2099
Suites range from $1949-$4000

Now don’t be fooled at these. That is just the start. When I decided to go on BSB cruise 2010, I saw the cost of the cabin I wanted was $849. Then I thought to myself “Yeah, I could totally swing that” But by the time I got home, unpacked, and calculated what I really spent on the trip, it was significantly more than what was posted on the website and I went waaaay beyond my budget.

Don’t get me wrong, it was totally worth every penny, and I clearly am getting ready to do it all over again. But I think it’s good to know what you’re getting into from the beginning before deciding to book the cruise. All in, the whole trip cost me just over $2,000 and I did it about as cheaply as you could do it. This was my trip a la frugal style:

• $849- Interior Room (4C) for roommate match program. I couldn’t justify an exterior room or suite for the extra cost.
• $239- Tax, Additional Rose Tour fees
• $214- New outfits and accessories for theme parties and the cruise in general.
• $210- Acoustic Show with meet & greet option
• $135- Merchandise on board
• $119- Beach Party Excursion
• $62- Manicure, Pedicure, Hair cut, Eyebrows before the trip.
• $50- Cruise DVD
• $40- Taxis to and from airport (Split 2 ways)
• $33- All food costs in Miami
• $32- Hotel room (After split 4 ways)
• $30- Airfare (I was able to use points so this saved major moola)
• $16- New memory card for camera
• $16- Rental car to get around Miami (had a free voucher and split remaining costs 4 ways)

Grand total: $2045

There are definitely areas that I could have scaled back on, but there are many areas that I didn’t splurge at all on. No alcohol, no excursions, no spa treatments, no fancy restaurants, no fancy cabin, no trip insurance. I also did not spend any money on my door decoration, but I realize many people did. I’m lucky that I was able to use my miles for the flight and that I was flying domestically in the US.

All in all, I don’t think I did too bad coming in around $2000 because I know some cabins STARTED at that price.

And just to make sure I don’t give anyone a misconception about the pricing, I averaged what people indicated they spent last year in the fan club. The average fan spent $3042. Costs ranged from $1800 on the low end, all the way up to $6868 on the high end. All things considering, I guess $2000 isn’t so bad.