Barefootwoman

I'm retired now and would like to cruise more often. Where can I sign up to receive information on last minute deals? As well, does anyone know of a cabin mate matching service? Thanks

Have any of you cruised with Norwegian in a studio cabin as a single? how was the experience, did you easily meet up with other solo or single cruisers? thanks

A friend and I are thinking of planning an Eastern Mediterranean Cruise for late spring 2019.

We are both in our late 50s and healthy, active, etc.

We are more interested in enrichment and spending time in port than comedy shows or hula hoop contests on board lol.

That said, we do enjoy having drinks and listening to music in the evening.

Could you suggest a cruise line that we should look into for 55+? thanks

I could retire now, at age 57, but waiting until the date I can leave and take my health insurance with me - next year 8/31/2019. I don't know how many days that is, 450? but I know it will come up fast as I have a lot of things to accomplish between now and then, to get ready. Sold my home a couple of years ago, in a rental with a lease that I am not renewing this summer, moving into an extended stay hotel in October after some travel, so I can enjoy these last months free of responsibilities.

Between now and my retirement date, I have about 400 hours of annual leave to take...so my semi-retirement begins soon - as soon as I am packed out and my things are in storage...yeah! some mini-vacations planned for between now and then.

My 33+ year career has been a niche field in the business world. I was never in love with the work, but it was very well suited to my personality, so I stuck with it, but now I am so done.

I think like many here have stated - after awhile, you've seen it all and done it all and pretty much know it all...so it becomes harder and harder to suffer fools. I have to deal with people much less experienced and I am tired of teaching & training...

I also have seen my career field change. When I started, I was hired to think, to problem solve, to produce. I was treated like a professional. Over the years, as computer and technology usage increases, in our field, we have become slaves to the technology - constant email reminders from "the system" of some data or tracking that needs to be entered....and of course, the admin staff was all done away with years ago. So, here I sit, a senior level person, in charge of big things, but spending time and getting paid to do petty things that rot my brain...most of the time.

I am done.

Let them have their bells and whistles and monitoring that robs us of our humanity.

I'll be raising a glass in my own honor.

Whew, that was a long one lol.

Hi thank you for the replies thus far. I've done 2 cruises previously. One was a Carnival Caribbean cruise and the other, an NCL themed cruise (music). I really enjoyed the themed cruise because I automatically had at least one thing in common with everyone on that cruise and was able to make friends easily. I have another one of those planned for this coming winter. These cruises are a week in length.

One of my main objectives now that my life is changing and I'll have more free time, is to be able to go farther, stay longer, see more....I want to experience ports that are unique for me. The typical cruise port experiences on these Mexican/Caribbean cruises are snorkeling or shopping ....bored by that to be honest.

I would like to visit more interesting ports in other parts of the world without such a time crunch, if possible.

Thank you again. I like the idea of a cruise that is longer than a week but shorter than 90 days for example, to get my feet wet. (oops bad fun! LOL). Maybe one of those HAL repositioning cruises is a good interim suggestion.

I'm retiring next year. It'll take me a couple of months to wrap up loose ends and put stuff in storage (house is sold, in a rental now). I literally will be living out of the proverbial suitcase after that.

I am debating whether to take a world cruise or do several back to back cruises.

I don't have much experience cruising, so I have no idea where to begin, but have started my research.

If anyone would like to share any disadvantages or advantages of either cruise style, I would love to hear them!

THANKS

I really appreciate all these comments and feedback.

Pullmantur looks interesting too....almost like a Club Med at sea. I love the casual vibe of the old style Club Med locations.

Are they popular? I have started training to be a certified sommelier - not because I want a full time job, but so that I can work as an independent contractor at tasting events.

It occurred to me that cruise shops may host wine events? thanks

I've started looking at singles cruises for booking.

I notice they are grouped by age range - many 20s, 30s,40s, then a few are 40+ and the others are "all age groups".

For those of you who have taken the 40+ and "all age group" cruises, what would you say the average age of the singles cruisers were? Thanks

I'm wondering about the comparison of full time cruising to renting a reasonably priced small apt near a major port, say in Florida for example, and then leaving when last minute bargains come up. My understanding is that they come up often.

I am more familiar with the hotel discount model - where you rack up points based on number of stays versus how much you actually spent on those stays.

I am not sure if cruise discounts work the same way? based on number of cruises or amount spent?

Thank you so much. I had not considered looking for companies that market outside the US.

Makes so much sense! Thanks again. I'd love to find a blog or book that outlines all the cruise lines and the demographics of who they generally serve......hmmm

enjoy! I've spent my career as a mediator (most of the time) hand holding clients, the rest of the time.

How did you come to choose that cruise in particular? I love to hear the stories of others.

I'm looking to retire next year and starting to make plans to become a mostly perpetual traveller - land and sea.

My husband passed, so it's just me, seeking the adventures I could never have while in my career and raising a child.

I want to take long cruises, but ones that are not prohibitively expensive, I don't need luxury, I just need to explore the parts of world I have never travelled to, particularly places that are not easy to reach by land.

I'm not interested in manufactured fun cruises. I like to exercise and dine well, but I don't need to be entertained on ship...I do well enough enjoying chats with others, reading, exercise, etc. I enjoy learning, so educational lectures are also of great interest to me.

I would prefer my fellow shipmates to be 40+ to share similar conversations, not necessarily focused on current school & kid topics, for example.

Should I look for a repositioning cruise, a world cruise, is there anything that fits what I am looking for? Would appreciate all suggestions. I can afford long cruises, just don't need to pay for the zing lol.

I made a decision today. After pulling together a holiday meal for a group of family members who weren't the least bit helpful....I've decided next year I am doing something for me.

Even if I can't find a friend who can go with me, I am determined to go anyway, so I am preparing to travel solo if that's how it turns out.

I am open to most any location. I love sun and swimming, but also, I've always wanted to see the European Christmas markets so this leaves a lot of options.

Would love recommendations from any who've travelled Christmas week - locations, cruise lines, etc.

Concerned about pay a large single supplement, so suggestions there appreciated too! Thank you!