annual cost of crusing Carib 2012?

[maru657]

Costs variables, wow, that's big. I've had friends who managed on as little as 300/month average.

[capta]

Honestly, not to be rude, but why don't you get an annuity from an aaa rated institution?
Return from your 800g's would be about $5000.00 a month for the rest of your life!. Deposit 2g's a month and there's your $100.00 a day left, with a really nice emergency kitty.
But, as to your question; if you can do most of your own maintenance and minor repairs you'll be thousands ahead. The type of boat you pick will determine your expenses in that area. Air conditioning, watermakers, washer/dryer/, refrigeration, engine and generators, etc. all require regular maintenance.
Cost of living expenses will directly relate to your life style. If you want to eat steak and exorbitant specialty items, it'll cost you plenty down here. If you eat as the locals do, obviously it's pretty reasonable. If you eat in fancy 4 star restaurants versus local eateries; you get the idea.
On $100.00 a day you will be some of the richer cruisers; many survive very well on a quarter of that or less (see the $500.00 a month cruiser posts). We like to travel on the local buses; we meet the locals and see things and places not on a high priced taxi tour, though we do those, too, from time to time.
You can pretty much live as you choose with that kind of money, so it boils down to how adventurous your adventure will be.
Have a great time and Nikki and I will buy y'all a brew when we meet.

[wind_magic]

It's all about attitude and how bad you want it.

Rice costs about 1$us/pound.

[MarkofSeaLife]

Restaurants in the Caribbean can be more expensive than home.

I bumped into the prices of a place in Grenada that cruises go... This is a very average pub style place with a band on Fridays, 5/10 pizzas and I would prefer Maccas for burgers.... But look at the prices!

Sandwiches and wraps
(All served with a choice of french-fries or traditional chips, garden fresh vegeta- bles or garden salad)
#1 Beef burger $25
Six ounces of freshly ground beef made with our secret mix of black pepper, rock salt and local herbs. Served open on a fresh, soft bap with
crisp lettuce, tomato, onion rings, dill pickles and a choice of toppings.
#1 Fish burger $25
Six ounces of freshly ground fish made with our secret mix of black pepper, rock salt and local herbs. Served open on a fresh, soft bap with crisp lettuce, tomato, onion rings, dill pickles and a choice of toppings.
B.L.T. Sandwich $20
Crispy fried bacon, fresh tomatoes and lettuce served between two layers of perfectly toasted bread
Club sandwich $28
Triple decker, brimming with chicken, bacon and salad.
Vegetable wrap $18
Warm wrap packed with freshly cooked garden vegetables. Chicken add $8
Prickly Bay Marina > Restaurant-Bar

In the USA you are getting a pretty good restaurant for those sort of dollars.
That's in Grenada, not St Barths!

[Irideon]

If ou intend to sail away and never work again and 800k is all you have, no social security benefits to look forward to, no health insurance especialy, I would say it is not enough to live on for two 55 year old people until ...maybe 85? That is a total of 60 man years. As a nurse I see daily what happens to seniors that did not plan for their old age. Contrary to what people say...it is very rare for someone to live to an old age and not need some kind of health insurance. We all need it unless we die first.

800 K is not alot of money these days. Figure for a couple making $25 an hour each(before taxes), that is roughly 8 years wages? To last 30 years for two people that is something like
13K a year each?

Someone posted about investing first and living off the returns. That is a great idea... possibly.

[kwaltersmi]

Cruising costs is a popular and controversial topic. The best answer I've seen so far is that cruising costs whatever you have. That may be an oversimplification, but it drives home the point that you can make it work with whatever you have if you want it bad enough.

I just blogged about cruising costs and included some real world examples from some well-known and experienced cruisers. Check it out here: What does it Cost to go Cruising?

[wind_magic]

It really does vary all over the place.

It is like asking how much it costs to live in a house in the Carib in 2012.

Depends!

If your wife is trying to complete her "Diamonds of the Carib" jewelry collection, probably quite a bit!

[daydream sailor]

In the caribbean the people there see foreign tourist as a shaky moeny tree, and those with sailboats and big super yacht as trees with the money falling off even when i go home the prices goes up when they look at u ,stay away from those restaurants where the waiters are well dressed,eat at a local little place,when you go to the markets listen for the item price the vender give to the locals and don't pay no more than that, pretend you're not really interested in buying the price will drop right there, there are hustlers everywhere wanting to make you a deal,pretend you dont care and just brush them off because if you seemed a little bit interested you'll be hooked,pretend to be broke at all times, pinch. pinch. pinch. be a scrooge, u'll be amazed how cheap u can buy stuff,and cook your own meals,catch fish ,buy dried or salted goods,they are safer than fresh meat at the stalls at the markets, minims your wants of needless items and you'll do just fine.

[smurphny]

Once you have the boat, no house, no mortgage, no one to support, and especially no debt, the only variables would be unexpected repairs. You're independent and free. That sounds un-
American! You can budget within a few bucks what the other expenses will be: Normal boat maintenance (figure everything, from bottom paint to depreciation on stuff like engine and sails), food, entertainment, fuel, dockage/mooring fees, insurances, misc. This establishes a baseline that you can deviate from. If you plan your movements well, the prices of things are very predictable with all the info. now available. You can avoid the $25 burgers by just not going there. Without a good budget, costs could really get out of hand but doing one ahead of time can really give you the confidence to do it. Open a new Excel spreadsheet and lay it ALL out, month by month, a couple of years into the future. In reality 800k should yield a reliable and fairly safe 5%. That's 40k/yr. Plenty unless you go for the $25 burger every night.

[Minnewaska]

Originally Posted by smurphny

....In reality 800k should yield a reliable and fairly safe 5%. That's 40k/yr.

What fairly safe investment yields 5% these days, not to mention after taxes?