“A lot of people are saying they can't afford to go at this time,” said Donna Cambridge, an agent with Chesterfield Cruise and Travel.

Some can't afford their holiday trip to the Caribbean. Others can't even stretch the dollar far enough to go to grandma's house. Donna Cambridge is seeing proof at her travel agency. In 33 years, she's never seen it this slow.

“It's because of the economy,” she said.

As a result, the skies are looking a little less friendly. AAA predicts holiday travel will falter for the first time since 2002. And all indications point toward the trend hanging on long after the decorations have come down.

"We had a cruise out of Miami that would sail all the way around South America,” said Alan Klein.

Klein and his wife, Nancy, had scheduled the trip of a lifetime for this spring -- a cruise of 40-plus days. Retired 12 years, Klein says virtually all of his retirement funds are in the stock market.

"When the market started going downhill, we started watching. The more it went down, the more we decided it was time to find something more economical,” he said.

Klein and his wife found something a bit shorter, which Cambridge says is common right now for those who don't flat out cancel their trips.

There is a silver lining, however.

"We're seeing deep discounts. We saw a five-night cruise the other day for $50,” said Cambridge.

Some couples say they are spending their holidays apart because they can only afford one ticket home for the holidays.