Age has its perks

[Ms Ann]

We have reached the age where we go only with what is important to us. It may be bigger, better or more expensive. It may be budget, burgers or top of the line. Just want what ever makes us comfortable and brings us pleasure.

[Can'tstopcruising]

Everyone has an interesting story!

I could relate to Susie V, because I, too, lost a parent at around the same age. So, when I turned 50, I told my DH it was time to start doing Europe (my passion!). Until then, the BIG trips we took were with the kids at Xmas time to the Caribbean. (Very expensive. Too expensive, in retrospect, but we did enjoy it).

We have been to Europe almost every year since. At first, we would go for 2 weeks and stay in 4,5 & 6 star hotels. Now that we go for 3 weeks, we have lowered our standards. And guess what? We have just as good a time! The deluxe hotels don't make the trip.

DH is still working and as long as he is healthy he will continue. Now, we do take a 3 week vacation twice a year and some weekends in between. Unlike some of you, I would rather spend less on each trip, so that I could do more. We are both happy with inside cabins!!! I would love to fly business class, but would never spend that much on a flight!

I do have a Bucket list and if I can continue to take interesting trips, I will be happy.

An aside. We never went to Asia when we were younger. Now that I would like to go, I find that the flights are too long! I checked out the Celebrity Asia cruises and the flights are about 27 hours. Too long for us.

Oops! The sad face was meant to go at the end of "too long for us" Sorry!

[4774Papa]

[quote name='Bridge Maven']There have been a few studies recently which suggest that money spent on experiences, such as a vacation, brings more happiness than money spent on "things". The theory is that people may feel very happy when they buy something new but that feeling usually doesn't last very long, while an individual experience might be relatively short but it can provide wonderful memories that last a lifetime.[/quote]
At our age (60s) we have all the things we want. Sure, we replace our cars about every ten years, but at some point more stuff is a problem.

[FM]

[quote name='In Range']Thanks so much for this thread. I'll be 65 next month and gave notice yesterday to my wonderful boss who has been a great friend as well for almost 50 years. After working 42 years and watching friends die way too young, I'm not going to spend my remaining years at my desk. Too many places to see and things to do!

We love business class air travel, great hotels and spectacular cruise cabins, but part of the fun for me in planning the trip is to find the best for the least. I always figure if I poke around long enough I'll find a deal and it usually works out.

Thanks everyone for helping me extinguish whatever anxiety I was feeling for taking the big step yesterday!:)[/QUOTE]

I agree ... part of the fun for me is planning and finding the best deals!

The reality is that when we travel now, I have to take into account my DW's health needs ... business class seats when flying, nice amenities in the hotel room etc ... as travel takes more out of her now than before and she requires more rest. We never ever expected her health to take the turn as it has now and we're still a LONG ways from even considering retirement!

We both have strived hard in our lives and have benefitted from all that hard work - I loved the backpacking and staying in hostels and walking miles when I was travelling in my younger days - but now I love staying in a balcony room as opposed to an inside cabin and having the occassional opportunity not to fly in "cattle car" :D

Reflecting back, I am glad that we went on all those trips when we were younger - yes, that $$ could have gone to paying off our mortgage earlier and so forth. But now, there is no way we could have done 1/2 the things now that we did back then. I am glad I have those memories now as the future is uncertain at best.


[quote name='4774Papa']At our age (60s) we have all the things we want. Sure, we replace our cars about every ten years, but at some point more stuff is a problem.[/QUOTE]
Stuff is that ... just stuff - we want to experience life instead ;)

[phoenix_dream]

We usually book balcony or CC cabins now, whereas we used to book outside (and once or twice an inside). While I am quite a bit older than when I first started cruising, I think the real reason is that the pricing is so much better these days. I enjoy the luxuries more I think, but will be a little more particular about trying to find bargains to be able to afford them. Without young kids at home anymore, we have the luxury of being able to be more flexible about timeframes so can look for cruises where we get a bigger bang for our dollar. I am also very willing to avoid the brand new ships to have better accomodations on the older ones, which are just as nice IMHO.

[Onessa]

[quote name='PartyAllDaTyme']The central part!:D

Sorry, for safety, I don't like to give out more than that. Never know who's watching the boards and figuring out who we are and when we'll be out of town.[/quote]

note to self - avoid friendly gestures (and lock doors now that P-A-D-T knows that I live somewhere near GB)

[Miss SeaBee]

I'm 45, not all THAT old, but I cruise each year with my mother, who is 78. She took me on my first cruise ever. Now that I am old and educated enough to have enough disposable income, I take my mom and daughter on an annual cruise, and I splurge for the suite, Celebrity or above. That way, the 3 of us are together but have lots of room, my mom feels pampered, and if my daughter and I go out for activities, I know that if Mom needs anything, all she has to do is call the butler, and she will be taken care of. (And no, I don't mean help getting dressed or bathed, apropo a previous thread, lol! I mean like getting her something to eat from room service, etc.)

By the way, all of us spend a lot of time in the suite and on the big balcony, so the extra real estate is worth it to us. I love spoiling my mom (and myself) and I know she would not be able to afford such a splurge herself.

[Happy Cruiser 6143]

[quote name='In Range']Thanks so much for this thread. I'll be 65 next month and gave notice yesterday to my wonderful boss who has been a great friend as well for almost 50 years. After working 42 years and watching friends die way too young, I'm not going to spend my remaining years at my desk. Too many places to see and things to do!

We love business class air travel, great hotels and spectacular cruise cabins, but part of the fun for me in planning the trip is to find the best for the least. I always figure if I poke around long enough I'll find a deal and it usually works out.

Thanks everyone for helping me extinguish whatever anxiety I was feeling for taking the big step yesterday!:)[/QUOTE]

[FONT="Verdana"]Enjoy your retirement!

I too like looking for deals and spending my money as wisely as possible. My business class ticket to Europe was relatively free as I used frequent flyer miles and just had to pay the taxes (which are considerable for Heathrow). Having flown business class to Europe now, however, I can't imagine going back to steerage! I might even be willing to pay for the ticket. It made that much of a difference for me.

I agree with what most people are saying--we spend on what is important to us. Good that we have options!

Great thread![/FONT]

[disneydave]

[quote name='gracecarmo']Agree: spend it all...if we don't, our kids will![/QUOTE]

ROCK CHALK fron Topeka.

[tispwisp]

Yes! Unfortunately, we have had several family members and close friends pass away in the last five years and came to realize that although we have to plan for the future, we still have to live for the day. We began to cruise more and we do splurge a little more than we did when we first started cruising 10 years ago.

[happygran]

Until 4 years ago, holidays were always with the family (kids and grandkids). We were both working, and earning good salaries so we treated the family to a holiday, in great villas around the med, every year.

Then I was diagnosed with the 'big C'. Had chemo etc etc. I was 'only' 56. I was offered a great early retirement package which I snatched with both hands.

It's amazing how your priorities change. We now do what we want to do, go where we want to go and as often as we can.

Bought an apartment in Spain, which we go to for 3 or 4 months a year, love to cruise BUT our money supply isn't endless and we try to get as much as we can for our money. Balcony - yes that's a must. Drinks package - no. We enjoy ourselves but limit the drinks. Cruise excursions - no. We do our own thing.

The kids aren't missing out. They're grown now with good jobs so whilst we still have a holiday with them, they pay their own way.

Off on the Equinox next week and it will be our first time cruising the Caribbean, and our first time on Celebrity. Sooooooooooooo looking forward to it.

The bottom line is - we're only here once and you never know what is round the corner. So make the most of it.

[PartyAllDaTyme]

[quote name='Onessa']note to self - avoid friendly gestures (and lock doors now that P-A-D-T knows that I live somewhere near GB)[/quote]

I certainly did not intend to reject your friendly gesture, and did not mean to imply that I was concerned that you asked where I live because I thought you intended to burgle me, or worse. But anyone can browse these boards, and not everyone has the best intentions. From the [URL="http://boards.cruisecritic.com/faq.php?faq=guidelines"]forum guidelines[/URL]--

[quote]It is best not to post your real name, address or phone number publicly on the boards. [COLOR=Red][I]Also, keeping as much information about yourself private should be your first priority.[/I][/COLOR] Think carefully before posting too much other personal data on any public message board forum, such as your stateroom number or your real name, city, state and dates of cruising![/quote]I realize you didn't ask for my real name, address or phone number, but since I come from a small community, revealing the name of the community would probably be too much information. "Central Wisconsin" is what I'm comfortable with.

[shoelover536]

[quote name='SusieV']I'm not by any means worried about my age (I'm 29), but life is for living now. So while I can't afford to fly business class or stay in a suite, travelling is important to me because no matter how old you are, you never know how much time you have left. You can always get more money, but memories are priceless.

My father died at 57 years old. He never got to retire or see all the places he wanted to see. I remember when I was a teenager and he took me on Monarch of the Seas and I saw how much everything cost and was so surprised- he told me that was not the important part- how much I would enjoy it was.[/quote]


Well said. I'm just a few years older than you. My mom died last year at 58. When I look back at the trips I took with her, they are priceless.

[Hawaiidan]

My wife and I traveled a lot for the past 30 years and I did a lot of business travel to, much of it on expense account in Business or first class.. world wide.
We took luxury cruises and did all that ( Regent/Royal Viking etc) even had once a penthouse on Regent for over a month. Sort of been there done that, long before retirement.

By some estimates I should have become used to the "good life" and once up there could not go back. ( Remember Seinfeld, flying first class?);)

Well, I am here to say we both decided we didn't need all that glitz, and that the comfort level in a regular inside cabin was just as comfortable as a suite to us. The casual dinner in the lido just as fun as in the hot- restauraunt.
One line upgraded us, at no charge, to a balcony cabin from our inside, we trided it and requested to be moved back... we did not enjoy that much. Just us we liked the location and comfort of the Inside way better!!! :cool:
The older we get, the less we really think we need. We drive older cars that are practical, not fancy and enjoy more experiences than things.

The one exception is we still do any flight over 5 hours in Business and over 9 hours in First ( I do like being in a lie flat full bed on a plane on a long flight.)

[hcat]

we enjoy AQ/Blu and recently decided to take fewer cruises per yr (to cut airfare expenses) but longer ones to maximize the experience......that way we can still enjoy the spa, extra perks etc....

sometimes the short cruises work out well in between--esp. if we get a good rate..not sure how airfares will impact that in the future! they seem to be going UP!

[Happy Cruiser 6143]

Think carefully before posting too much other personal data on any public message board forum, such as your stateroom number or your real name, city, state and dates of cruising!

[FONT="Verdana"][SIZE="3"]I've never quite understood why people don't want to post their cabin number on their roll calls. It's not like you live there. You're only there for the cruise. And if people don't know what cabin you're in, they can't contact you to invite you to spontaneous events.[/SIZE][/FONT]

[PartyAllDaTyme]

[quote name='Happy Cruiser 6143']Think carefully before posting too much other personal data on any public message board forum, such as your stateroom number or your real name, city, state and dates of cruising!

[FONT=Verdana][SIZE=3]I've never quite understood why people don't want to post their cabin number on their roll calls. It's not like you live there. You're only there for the cruise. And if people don't know what cabin you're in, they can't contact you to invite you to spontaneous events.[/SIZE][/FONT][/quote]

I think it would primarily be privacy-- some will attend a couple of roll call activities and the Connections party, but then want to be left alone. When I was organizing a cabin crawl, I gathered information on an email account I set up just for communicating privately with roll call members. I made it clear I would keep cabin numbers private, unless my fellow cruisers said it was okay to share that information. Most did not.

If you've been posting about what shore excursions you're taking, someone of a larcenous nature could figure out when you'll be out of the cabin. Pretty difficult to gain access without a SeaPass card, but someone might sneak in while the steward has the door open for cleaning.

[Happy Cruiser 6143]

[quote name='PartyAllDaTyme']I think it would primarily be privacy-- some will attend a couple of roll call activities and the Connections party, but then want to be left alone. When I was organizing a cabin crawl, I gathered information on an email account I set up just for communicating privately with roll call members. I made it clear I would keep cabin numbers private, unless my fellow cruisers said it was okay to share that information. Most did not.

If you've been posting about what shore excursions you're taking, someone of a larcenous nature could figure out when you'll be out of the cabin. Pretty difficult to gain access without a SeaPass card, but someone might sneak in while the steward has the door open for cleaning.[/QUOTE]

[FONT="Verdana"][SIZE="3"]Well, I choose to think better of my fellow cruisers and the people on my roll call. We've had plenty of cabin crawls and never a problem. And lots of spontaneous fun as well. In my view, it would take away half the fun of cruising not to socialize with others on the roll call. I'm actually going on my next cruise with a bunch of people I met on a cruise in 2010--this will be the third time we're cruising together.

But I understand that not everyone feels the same way. I don't believe in forcing participation on anyone who doesn't want to participate.[/SIZE][/FONT]

[phinn]

Had an uncle that lived long enough to collect one SS check. That was a wake up call for me way back when, however, life got in the way. Single mom raising two girls meant luxuries had to wait. Kids grown and more life got in the way. Then last year suddenly found an opportunity to fulfill that dream vacation. Our ultimate cruise to Alaska we took a CC cabin which was plenty for us, but I insisted since I had to fly cross country it was going to be first class. Worth every penny for me as our whole day was flying. Even booked and completed excursions I never thought I'd get to do. Still cruising and would not hesitate to take cheaper cabin or spend less on it since for me, cruising IS my luxury. As far as getting older, ah.... never mind, I forget

[Can'tstopcruising]

Since we are veering off the topic, I'll just add that I post as little information about myself as possible. Although I don't suppose it makes a difference who know the cabin number unless you also post that you are taking lots of cash or valuables. Why would a crook decide to enter your cabin? Any cabin door is open while being cleaned. Why choose yours.?

Having said that, I, too, have a special e-mail account just for this purpose.

Back to topic. I fully understand posters' feelings of Time is Running Out. I feel that too! However, it is necessary to balance so that if time doesn't run out for a long time (hopefully!!), we will still have money to live!!!! It's one thing to say you are spending your children's inheritance, but not knowing how many years you will live, how can you figure on having enough til the end? It's a catch 22. If you spend it and live to a ripe old age, you can end up poor. On the other hand, if you don't spend it and die too soon, your kids will end up rich!!!

My question to those who feel that they are now deserving of the BEST, do you still create a dollar ceiling for yourself for annual vacations?

[CT New-Cruiser]

[quote name='Bridge Maven']Do you find as you are getting older that you are more willing to spend money on perks when you cruise that you once considered to be a waste of money - such as better cabins, two cabins for three people instead of just one, more upscale pre-cruise hotels, upscale restaurants in a port, a more convenient flight that costs more, etc.[/QUOTE]

Agree with others, this is a very interesting post. Have enjoyed reading what others have to say - thank you to all for sharing.

While DH and I aren't old (late 40s), we are older than we once were (aren't we all? :)). We like to say we're not old, we're aging - hopefully slowly and gracefully.....

Without going into all the boring details, we have had enough life experiences (deaths, illnesses, children, etc) to give us a little perspective on [B][I]what is important in life to us.[/I][/B]

For us, we often do choose to spend more on things we wouldn't have in the past. We are more willing to splurge a little on better cabins, hotels, flights, etc. But, we also keep in mind that we aren't the Rockefellers or Hiltons, etc. We choose to spend our money on experiences or things that we think will make us happy, but never spend money we don't have or money that is needed for something else.

So, to the OP's original question, isn't the answer a matter of individual choices? ;) What is important to one person may not be to another.

[Can'tstopcruising]

[quote name='CT New-Cruiser']Agree with others, this is a very interesting post. Have enjoyed reading what others have to say - thank you to all for sharing.

While DH and I aren't old (late 40s), we are older than we once were (aren't we all? :)). We like to say we're not old, we're aging - hopefully slowly and gracefully.....

Without going into all the boring details, we have had enough life experiences (deaths, illnesses, children, etc) to give us a little perspective on [B][I]what is important in life to us.[/I][/B]

For us, we often do choose to spend more on things we wouldn't have in the past. We are more willing to splurge a little on better cabins, hotels, flights, etc. But, we also keep in mind that we aren't the Rockefellers or Hiltons, etc. We choose to spend our money on experiences or things that we think will make us happy, but never spend money we don't have or money that is needed for something else.

So, to the OP's original question, isn't the answer a matter of individual choices? ;) What is important to one person may not be to another.[/quote]

Just want to tell you that you are still Very Young. You can trust me on that!

[63galaxie]

[quote name='In Range']Thanks so much for this thread. I'll be 65 next month and gave notice yesterday to my wonderful boss who has been a great friend as well for almost 50 years. After working 42 years and watching friends die way too young, I'm not going to spend my remaining years at my desk. Too many places to see and things to do!

We love business class air travel, great hotels and spectacular cruise cabins, but part of the fun for me in planning the trip is to find the best for the least. I always figure if I poke around long enough I'll find a deal and it usually works out.

Thanks everyone for helping me extinguish whatever anxiety I was feeling for taking the big step yesterday!:)[/quote]
Happy Retirement to you! I'm ten years away, and looking forward to it!

[Bridge Maven]

[QUOTE=Can'tstopcruising;32277238]Since we are veering off the topic, I'll just add that I post as little information about myself as possible. Although I don't suppose it makes a difference who know the cabin number unless you also post that you are taking lots of cash or valuables. Why would a crook decide to enter your cabin? Any cabin door is open while being cleaned. Why choose yours.?

Having said that, I, too, have a special e-mail account just for this purpose.

Back to topic. I fully understand posters' feelings of Time is Running Out. I feel that too! However, it is necessary to balance so that if time doesn't run out for a long time (hopefully!!), we will still have money to live!!!! It's one thing to say you are spending your children's inheritance, but not knowing how many years you will live, how can you figure on having enough til the end? It's a catch 22. If you spend it and live to a ripe old age, you can end up poor. On the other hand, if you don't spend it and die too soon, your kids will end up rich!!!

My question to those who feel that they are now deserving of the BEST, do you still create a dollar ceiling for yourself for annual vacations?[/QUOTE]

Can't stop cruising, I agree with everything you have said. Since my husband and I made the decision not to buy long term care/nursing home insurance, we also have to plan for the possibility that one of us might need to pay for a nursing home while the other one still has all the expenses of living in the community.

To answer your question - We don't have a specific dollar ceiling for what we will spend on a vacation but will only use current income to do so. Even after my husband retires, we will only use investment income and not touch our principal to pay for a vacation. Since we paid off the mortgage on our house years ago and didn't finance our cars, we have more disposable income to use for vacations than someone who has these ongoing expenses.

I am, also, reluctant to post personal information on a public message board, and anyone who has a question that I won't answer on cruise critic can contact me privately at my e-mail address that appears at the bottom of my posts. .

[CT New-Cruiser]

[QUOTE=Can'tstopcruising;32277694]Just want to tell you that you are still Very Young. You can trust me on that![/QUOTE]

The gray hair and wrinkles would suggest otherwise....however, I did say "DH and I aren't old"....."we're aging!":)