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How has becoming a senior changed the way you travel?


delily
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I am a retired educator, so now I can cruise when I want rather than when the school breaks are. We live in Florida, so we usually travel in the fall and winter. Also, we always used to just book inside cabins, which I never minded. We booked a balcony once 14 years ago. For our September cruise, we booked a balcony, and I am thinking I may start always getting balconys. Since we have been on a lot of cruises now, I now longer feel the need to do everything. So I just do what I feel like. We also tend to eat more at the buffets onboard - mainly because that is what my husband prefers. I prefer the main dining room, so we still do that a few times during a cruise.

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The biggest change for us since retirement?

 

The first is we travel more frequently and for longer periods of time. Anywhere from 7-15 weeks at a time. We now view cruises as a respite from independent land tours.

 

The second change, and perhaps the best for us, was switching our mindset and going with carry on bags only. We both have a 20 inch roller. Packed weight is anywhere from 8-10KG. It is what we can each physically handle with ease and with a high degree of independence. It has made our travel, especially land travel, easier and more enjoyable.

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Since becoming a senior and being retired we have changed the way we vacation, we look for longer cruises, i book 1 to 3 years in advance easy to pay off the 2 to 3 cruises a year we take. I do not cruise for Beaches we look for excursions that tell us about where we are the people and culture if a beach stop is included all the better. I will be doing our first BTB on the new Horizon cruise ship to the Mediterranean, I love being at a point in my life where we can do the things we love

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  • 3 weeks later...

We only fly business or first class, book suites on ship stay in 5 star hotels take mostly private tours not ship tours do lots of specialty dining take longer cruises and enjoy the good life!

I realize not everyone can afford doing this but if you can, why not?

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Edited by goldenrod
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I turned 65 a week or so ago. YEAH - finally seniors' discounts!

 

Things that we now do:

 

  • Fly business class - we think it's worth the extra money for the comfort.
  • Wheeled suitcases and packing lighter - we'll wash clothes instead.
  • Take a list of my medications in addition to the containers that they are in.
  • We watch the health insurance coverage as the insurance companies could refuse coverage in situations where they consider you to be "unstable" medically. Consequently no changes in medications for 90 days before we depart just to be sure.
  • Take excursions that are no more than 1/2 day.

Otherwise we have not had to make too many changes so far.

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Learned the hard way on a snorkeling trip last year... it had been several years and the trip was to say the least, challenging! I thought I was going to drown to keep up with the guide. I realized that I was no longer 30 but more like nearly 60.

 

Now booking trips with that in mind.. not ready to really slow down but looking at the tours with a little more realistic eye!.;)

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  • 1 month later...

I just found this thread. I turn 55 this month. I still work but I have muscular dystrophy. I can still walk but have various challenges in getting around now.

 

Cruising and long flights are too challenging for me so I am starting to think about a lot less cruising and more land vacations in an RV. There is so much of the USA I haven't seen and I tend to want to stay onboard now & enjoy an empty ship vs going out on excursions. I'm also resting more. My cruises lately have been more R&R focused. We love the beach days and aren't into the bus tour style. It seems an RV lifestyle is more my cup of tea but maybe that will change once I no longer work and have more time to spend. Limited vacation days doesn't allow for anything more than 7 days at sea and I physically can't handle long flights anymore.

 

Don't get me wrong, I love cruising and once I'm onboard, it's all about the cruise and not the destination. If I had an RV, I could go as far as I could on one day and not move for a few days if I choose.

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I just found this thread. I turn 55 this month. I still work but I have muscular dystrophy. I can still walk but have various challenges in getting around now.

 

Cruising and long flights are too challenging for me so I am starting to think about a lot less cruising and more land vacations in an RV. There is so much of the USA I haven't seen and I tend to want to stay onboard now & enjoy an empty ship vs going out on excursions. I'm also resting more. My cruises lately have been more R&R focused. We love the beach days and aren't into the bus tour style. It seems an RV lifestyle is more my cup of tea but maybe that will change once I no longer work and have more time to spend. Limited vacation days doesn't allow for anything more than 7 days at sea and I physically can't handle long flights anymore.

 

Don't get me wrong, I love cruising and once I'm onboard, it's all about the cruise and not the destination. If I had an RV, I could go as far as I could on one day and not move for a few days if I choose.

Hi Lisa, speaking as a Brit who has travelled quite a bit in your country, I certainly agree that you have so much on your own 'door step'. I have especially enjoyed Arizona, which I have visited several times. The highlight of course being the Grand Canyon. It literally brought tears to my eyes the first time I saw it. I also loved Death Valley, California, an 'other worldly' landscape. The old town area of Savanna, Georgia, is beautiful, with stunning architecture and a colourful (not always good) history. As for major cities, I preferred San Francisco to New York, but I understand there are some lovely rural areas outside NY (I haven't had the opportunity to visit them). The drive down the Pacific Coast Highway from SFC is very special, with Monteray and Big Sur, the highlights. I hope you find things easier when you finally stop working. In the meantime, you have a feast of wonderful places to visit 'at home'.

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@AZ Girl,

As owners of a travel trailer, may I suggest you try renting a "camper"/RV of some sort before you invest in one. El Monte is one ?franchise? that rents from various locations. There are physical requirements to RV'ing too. Maybe less if you have a motorhome or camper-van: you don't have so much to do to unhook and set up as with a trailer... on the other hand, unless you tow a vehicle (another procedure to memorize), you have to batten everything down every time you want to use the "car".

 

Not trying to rain on your parade. There is surely a lot to see in the US. But just (as expensive as a rental RV may seem) -- trying one out before making the commitment is a possibility.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Big change...we can now take advantage of great offers. Saw a $700. air deal from Canada to Singapore, return Manilla to Canada. This will be our fourth winter in five spent in SE Asia. We don't even think about Florida or Hawaii any more.

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  • 1 month later...
We travel more often and take more time to see the sights. We entertain ourselves rather than our children (which we did when they were young and life focused on them). We eat when and what we want to eat. We do not complain about the food, nor cut up anyone else's food. We think late night is 10 pm. We know the value of elastic waist pants, especially at the end of the cruise. We are not sure why anyone would listen to rap. We need quieter dining areas because DH cannot hear as well as he used to. We put a night light in the bathroom for those late night trips.

 

We take ourselves less seriously because we have lost loved ones and realize what really is important in life. We have patience for those with limited mobility and envy those with grandchildren. We like seeing others enjoy themselves and move away from people who irritate us so they can enjoy themselves and we don't have to get irritated or complain.

 

We do not travel during spring break time because we don't have to. We can go whenever we want. We drink an occasional drink because drinking to excess was so 40 years ago. We hate the next morning headache and grogginess because getting going in the morning is tough enough without the hangover.

 

I actually love being this age. I hold onto every minute and wish I could slow life down.

Well said!

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We travel more often and take more time to see the sights. We entertain ourselves rather than our children (which we did when they were young and life focused on them). We eat when and what we want to eat. We do not complain about the food, nor cut up anyone else's food. We think late night is 10 pm. We know the value of elastic waist pants, especially at the end of the cruise. We are not sure why anyone would listen to rap. We need quieter dining areas because DH cannot hear as well as he used to. We put a night light in the bathroom for those late night trips.

 

We take ourselves less seriously because we have lost loved ones and realize what really is important in life. We have patience for those with limited mobility and envy those with grandchildren. We like seeing others enjoy themselves and move away from people who irritate us so they can enjoy themselves and we don't have to get irritated or complain.

 

We do not travel during spring break time because we don't have to. We can go whenever we want. We drink an occasional drink because drinking to excess was so 40 years ago. We hate the next morning headache and grogginess because getting going in the morning is tough enough without the hangover.

 

I actually love being this age. I hold onto every minute and wish I could slow life down.

Well said

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  • 3 months later...

I've been retired almost 3 years. My wife will retire in the few months. We are from Canada and flying to the US to get on a cruise ship get's quite expensive. Flying in the early morning doesn't bother us, but I prefer flight's that are either direct or only have one stop. We have one more cruise booked for March 2018 where we will have to fly. After that, we will take more time by driving to our destination (Florida) spending more of the winter months there and look for the last minute cruises. It will be nice to get away from the deep freeze for more than two weeks at a time.

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I retired a little over three years ago and we are Canadian as well. Flights can be a nuisance but we have great connections from our home in Calgary to most of the ports where cruises start or end. I think cruises have become more attractive because everything is taken care once onboard and there are lots of variety of itineraries so no boredom. We are looking for longer cruises so that we reduce the travel to and from the ports and we might be able to get one or two cruises in per year.

 

We have a time share in Las Vegas for 2 weeks per year. Since retiring I am driving more to get there and taking my time as well.

 

My partner is still working and we have pets so 2 weeks away from home is about right at the moment.

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Hi Randy & Gus,

 

We're from Winnipeg. So, direct flights are rare. When going south, we usually wind up with layovers in Toronto, Minneapolis or Chicago depending on airline. We also fly Allegiant if we drive 3 hours to North Dakota and if the schedule works.

The other crucial factor is the currency exchange from CDN to US.

My wife is a banker. So, we get a small advantage in the rate, but when your talking 30+%, it still has an impact on some choices.

When your on a cruise, what it costs us for an inside stateroom is what it may cost others for deluxe balcony or suite.

That said, we'll pay more just to get away from the -30F winter weather for a little while.

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  • 1 year later...

First a “thank you” to remind me to pack light...we are in our mid seventies, taking our 30 th cruise, a World Cruise to finish off a few ports on my bucket list. Our first cruise was three days from Southern Calif. to Baja. Those three days changed my life! We both fell in love with cruising. We love being pampered while  

sailing the oceans of the world, enjoying tales from dinner mates, hearing different music, we’ve taken several jazz themed cruises, seeing wonderful museums and examining art!

 

What has changed since we first started cruising, well naturally ourselves, we are no longer the first off the gangway and last on.  Now we enjoy a leisurely breakfast, take a half day tour, then back for a late lunch, a nap then out again. Finally dinner and a movie onboard.   We’ve never favored ships tours, preferring to book locally, still do. 

 

The World Cruise will challenge our packing habits as to fit in with “theme nights”,

which seems to be part of the WC culture. 

 

We've never zip-lined, but the need to ride a camel, seems important. Seeing lions feeding not so much. Preferring to seeing people feeding on exotic meals.

 

I digress. Like others, comfortable shoes and light weight clothes are important. Buying souvenirs doesn’t happen. We still take photos, but not with heavy expensive cameras. 

 

We have taken our family members on cruises as a way to get us all in one place. However now as great grandparents the size of our family makes it prohibitive to find a time for everyone to join us and of course the cost. Thus we are taking the World Cruise.

 

The date is July of 2019, what disturbs me most about changes in cruising is our political environment. Unfortunately some folks refuse to edit their conversations.

What happened to the almost guaranteed friendships acquired while sailing. 

 

A

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2 hours ago, rtdiva said:

I digress. Like others, comfortable shoes and light weight clothes are important. Buying souvenirs doesn’t happen. We still take photos, but not with heavy expensive cameras. 

You can bring home a few carefully curated souvenirs in the space of hopefully disposable theme-night additions!

 

Over the years we have down-sized our packing dimensions, partly for the fun of it, but also keeping it within what we can handle without assistance. We took it one degree too far when we travelled to Ecuador, with only the shoes on our feet. My shoe's heel fell off on the gangway (off) and we spent our first "free" afternoon looking for shoes that would fit my large American feet!

 

Then we down-packed to keep to Norwegian Air's 10kg total carry on -- and found out that we spent more than a checked bag's price in laundry and giftshop's tee-shirts. Cute tee-shirts tho'!

 

For gifts to others we are partial to magnets (keep away from electronics). Nobody really has space for nicknacks anyway! 

 

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7 hours ago, crystalspin said:

You can bring home a few carefully curated souvenirs in the space of hopefully disposable theme-night additions!

 

Over the years we have down-sized our packing dimensions, partly for the fun of it, but also keeping it within what we can handle without assistance. We took it one degree too far when we travelled to Ecuador, with only the shoes on our feet. My shoe's heel fell off on the gangway (off) and we spent our first "free" afternoon looking for shoes that would fit my large American feet!

 

Then we down-packed to keep to Norwegian Air's 10kg total carry on -- and found out that we spent more than a checked bag's price in laundry and giftshop's tee-shirts. Cute tee-shirts tho'!

 

For gifts to others we are partial to magnets (keep away from electronics). Nobody really has space for nicknacks anyway! 

 

 

Since becoming a senior and retired I like cruising more and for longer periods. driving has gone by the wayside now I leave that to tour guides while I enjoy the sights around me, splurge on things I would not do or have when my kids traveled with us, still working on my packing and gifts but I love being a senior.

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Much of our travel is spontaneous.  So far, with the exception of one safari, it has all been independent. We just last week booked a flight to Athens in Sept, and a flight home from London in late Oct.

 

The only thing we know for certain is that we will fly to Ioannina from Athens, spend a few days and then go to Corfu.   Then travel down the Ionian islands.  Nothing booked other than a hotel the night we arrive and the night before we fly home from Gatwick.   We have been to Greece a number of times.  We may stop on some islands on the way to Crete.  Then to Cyprus.  After that, depending on how much time is left, if any, we may fly to Israel, Morocco, or France for a few days prior to going to London to catch our ride home.  It may depend on religious holidays in Israel,  what flights are attractive, or what the weather f'cast is.  Or....we could score a last minute cruise with on a Greek or Turkish ship and bounce around for a week or two.  Crazy, but that is how we do it since retirement.  We are doing this at least twice a year now-mostly for 7-9 weeks at a time. 

 

Also looking at options for a winter trip.  Looks like back either to Thailand, etc, or the Pacific coast of Mexico for a month and then Costa Rica and Panama.  Maybe.  We won't decide until November/December.

Edited by iancal
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When you're in your 20's, you can stay up all night, and still function the next day. As you age, things change.    Being a "senior" isn't an age....never really understood the "55" designation.....at 55, I was still a party-animal...albeit, a bit tamed.   I still like to party, but I don't want to wait until 10pm to start!

 

I don't see why anyone should try to adhere to some unspoken "rule" about age.  Do what you want, on your timeline, while vacationing!

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Exactly.  And the great thing about retirement and travel is that, subject to health and finances, you can go where you want and stay as long as you want.  And take advantage of some great shoulder season last minute specials at heavily discounted prices.

We have been doing this since we retired eight years ago.  To the point where when we decided to downsize we moved to a home that was essentially 'lock and leave"  No pets, no plants.

Edited by iancal
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We travel more depending upon the destination and cost. Our finances are comfortable, but not rich. We use our Bluegreen time share where possible...50+ destinations within the corporation itself. We like to use then especially before and after cruising when possible. We are going on the Harmony of the Seas in October. Bluegreen timeshares are booked in Daytona Beach prior to the cruise and St. Augustine after the cruise. We are probably in the minority in that we like our time shares and we know how to effectively use them....many people don't....it is what you might call self inflicted wounds.

 

Two years ago I added up what the lowest rack rate for a rental at the places we stayed against the annual maintenance fee. We saved 40% over the rental rates. So this has been a good deal since we retired. The savings have now paid off our original purchase cost...notice I did not say investment. Since last year, we have been travelling in 'black' as far as costs.

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On 7/14/2019 at 10:43 PM, crystalspin said:

You can bring home a few carefully curated souvenirs in the space of hopefully disposable theme-night additions!

 

Over the years we have down-sized our packing dimensions, partly for the fun of it, but also keeping it within what we can handle without assistance. We took it one degree too far when we travelled to Ecuador, with only the shoes on our feet. My shoe's heel fell off on the gangway (off) and we spent our first "free" afternoon looking for shoes that would fit my large American feet!

 

Then we down-packed to keep to Norwegian Air's 10kg total carry on -- and found out that we spent more than a checked bag's price in laundry and giftshop's tee-shirts. Cute tee-shirts tho'!

 

For gifts to others we are partial to magnets (keep away from electronics). Nobody really has space for nicknacks anyway! 

 

\

We like magnets too!  Compact. Cheap. Easy to pack.  And great reminders of all the places we've been.  At this time we may need to buy an additional refrigerator to hold more magnets!

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I love this thread and it has me really thinking about our last cruise in June.  We went on the 14 day Baltic cruise out of Southampton on Sapphire Princess.  We spent time in London before and after the cruise.  I am 66 and retired but with a part time job.  My dh is 68 and still works full time.  We are quite active but I have been rethinking excursions since our Baltic cruise.  With such a port intensive cruise I think we were both worn out.  I booked full day excursions in every port with lots and lots of walking.  By the end of the third port we were starting to fade.  We are booking another European cruise for next year and I think we will alternate full day and half day.  I also think I may not do quite as many walking tours....maybe a few canal boat tours.  Overall though the cruise was outstanding.  

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When we retired 6 yrs ago we have joined a gym and do at least 2 miles a day walking just to keep in shape for the European cruises we like to do, on the Horizon last year 23 days excursions at every port has paid off, now we are getting ready for the Mardi Gras 23 days.

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