Tom Stieghorst
The truism that people are putting more value on experiences than things has been cited by several cruise executives lately as a tailwind for the industry's fortunes, a reason to believe the future is bright.
I think the theory is pretty sound. The first part of it feels right, that people of all generations are seeking out experiences.
Are they diverting money from buying Cadillacs and Rolex watches to take cruises? I'm less sure about that part, and think it may even be a false choice. I'm not sure that things represent competition for the vacation dollar.
In my household, there are at least three non-things that consume a disproportionate share of income and keep us from devoting more money to travel and vacations. I suspect in many other households, these items represent competition for the vacation budget.
The first is the high cost of childcare and higher education. Any two-earner household with kids in it has to contend with the prospect of first earmarking thousands of dollars a year for childcare, and then accumulating tens of thousands more in college costs to further their kids' quest for knowledge.
Those households aren't buying cars and watches instead of a cruise, but they may be making college fund donations instead.
A second non-thing that looms large in our budget is the cost of insurance. The triple threat of health, auto and home insurance is the largest cost we have, easily exceeding the principal and interest on our mortgage.
Teens that became drivers several years ago doubled our auto premiums. And the cost of a quality policy for our modest house in South Florida is now approaching $10,000 a year, even with an outsized deductible.
Reduce the cost of insurance and we would have more money to cruise.
A third area that competes for the cruise dollar is an alternate type of experience: Live entertainment. I recently paid a breathtaking amount to reserve two tickets to a professional sports event.
And tickets to see a legendary rock musician recently set me back more than $250.
I'm not complaining. It was the kind of event cruise leaders have in mind when they say people value experiences over things.
But the budget has room for only so many expenditures of that kind. And vacations in my mind compete in that arena for household funds. So be it music, sport, theater or any other variation, live entertainment is a more potent threat to vacation spending than the things that we're supposedly not collecting anymore.