Long Cruises

[damiross]

I've wanted to take a long cruise which I define as at least 5-6 weeks.  I'm curious those of you who do take long cruises manage stuff like bills and your home.

 

Are many of you long cruisers retired or have a lot of vacation time?

 

What do you do about your home?  Do you rent it out (for those who take multiple month cruises) or have someone watching it while you're gone?  Are your bills taken care of through automatic payments?

 

Finally, do you ever get "home sick" while out on the sea for months at a time?

 

Just curious....

 

[JoRoy218]

I would recommend you check out Pescado Amarillo blog, she nicely answers those questions since they are lengthy cruisers annually. Very enjoyable! 

[idahospud]

18 minutes ago, JoRoy218 said:

I would recommend you check out Pescado Amarillo blog, she nicely answers those questions since they are lengthy cruisers annually. Very enjoyable! 

I agree! Thanks to her advice (and FAQ sections) we do weeks at a time now, too.

[suzyed]

1 hour ago, damiross said:

I've wanted to take a long cruise which I define as at least 5-6 weeks.  I'm curious those of you who do take long cruises manage stuff like bills and your home.

 

Are many of you long cruisers retired or have a lot of vacation time?

 

What do you do about your home?  Do you rent it out (for those who take multiple month cruises) or have someone watching it while you're gone?  Are your bills taken care of through automatic payments?

 

Finally, do you ever get "home sick" while out on the sea for months at a time?

 

Just curious....

 

I have my bills on auto pay.  I do have someone watch our home most times, but we also have a security system and live in a gated community.  We're retired, so can go whenever.  
Nope, don't get homesick, but the longest we're done so far is 29 day cruises with a few days on either end.

[waltd]

11 minutes ago, suzyed said:

I have my bills on auto pay.  I do have someone watch our home most times, but we also have a security system and live in a gated community.  We're retired, so can go whenever.  
Nope, don't get homesick, but the longest we're done so far is 29 day cruises with a few days on either end.

Just curious,   have you found any more cruises where you could combine Princess and Cunard.   I believe the two of you were on the Caribbean  Princess out of Houston a few years ago and also the QM2 returning to NYC.    We would love to do something like that again but nothing seems to line up.   That was a great 30 days.   😁

Joe

[suzyed]

4 minutes ago, waltd said:

Just curious,   have you found any more cruises where you could combine Princess and Cunard.   I believe the two of you were on the Caribbean  Princess out of Houston a few years ago and also the QM2 returning to NYC.    We would love to do something like that again but nothing seems to line up.   That was a great 30 days.   😁

Joe

Indeed it was a great 30 days!!   Yes, we were on that cruise and sailed home on Cunard.  Haven't see any others like that lately and I agree it's difficult to find two that line up as those did...especially on the two different lines!
However, in the fall, we are doing a 12 day sailing out of Southampton to Norway and then flying from London to Barcelona for a 14 day sailing with ends with a TA back to FLL. Both are Princess.

[waltd]

Sounds great but there was something to be said  for sailing on QM2 going home.     Have fun on your cruise.

[Shmoo here]

1 hour ago, damiross said:

I've wanted to take a long cruise which I define as at least 5-6 weeks.  I'm curious those of you who do take long cruises manage stuff like bills and your home.

 

Are many of you long cruisers retired or have a lot of vacation time?

 

What do you do about your home?  Do you rent it out (for those who take multiple month cruises) or have someone watching it while you're gone?  Are your bills taken care of through automatic payments?

 

Finally, do you ever get "home sick" while out on the sea for months at a time?

 

Just curious....

 

While the longest we've done on a cruise was 30 days, we have done a 2 month RV trip.  And we've done several 3-4 week cruises.  Most of our bills are auto pay. 

 

We still have 2 kids (well, OK, .....adults) at home, and one of them is designated to pay the bills that we're still manually paying, and the other takes care of the yard work.

 

Don't really get "home sick" as such.  But I get real tired of having to figure out what I want to order off the menu for dinner every night by about day 20.  We don't typically eat 3-4 course dinners every night at home, so it's a lot of food.

 

 

Edited May 11, 2019 by Shmoo here

[OzKiwiJJ]

We have friends who housesit for us and look after our cat. Bills are either auto-pay or paid in advance.

 

Our longest trip has been a seven week land trip of Ireland and the UK. Our longest cruise will be the 35 night Hawaii/Tahiti cruise we are doing in August.

[Thrak]

We've never cruised longer than 28 days but didn't get homesick. We did take a 7 week camping trip up through Canada to Fairbanks, Alaska. No homesickness at all. We do have our mail held. Our house is watched and checked by others and our neighbors keep a watch as well. We have good neighbors. My cat Bob had to be fed while we were gone but, after almost 17 years, he has left us so that won't be a concern anymore.

[satxdiver]

Longest we have been on a cruise is 28 days and we about to do it again.  Luckily all our bills can be paid online and scheduled.  We usually schedule all the bills to be paid before leaving and then for those that cannot we use the internet on the ship and our PC.  We have one person that takes care of the yard and another to maintain the pool year round.  Luckily we have great neighbors that watch the house.  Being retired we can go anytime we want which has been great.   Sometimes we do have a house sitter to watch things. 

[kate59]

3 hours ago, damiross said:

I've wanted to take a long cruise which I define as at least 5-6 weeks.  I'm curious those of you who do take long cruises manage stuff like bills and your home. We are retired and like to do 40 or more night cruises - 56 nights next year. We have all our bills on direct debit from 1 bank account, which we can access anywhere in the world.

 

Are many of you long cruisers retired or have a lot of vacation time?

 

What do you do about your home?  Do you rent it out (for those who take multiple month cruises) or have someone watching it while you're gone?  Are your bills taken care of through automatic payments? We tried having someone stay over which was ok when one of the kids needed help however they all now have their own homes. We are lucky enough to live in a great neighbourhood and several of the neighbours have our children's contact details should something go wrong, one of them sorts things out. We usually have email access at least once a day.

 

Finally, do you ever get "home sick" while out on the sea for months at a time? NO but we have traveled in Australia for many years before retirement. We love our kids and grandkids but appreciate they have their own lives. With email Skyp etc we are never far away and can still catch up on their lives.

 

Just curious.... The main thing is to relax and enjoy the time with your other half.

 

 

[GUT2407]

3 hours ago, damiross said:

I've wanted to take a long cruise which I define as at least 5-6 weeks.  I'm curious those of you who do take long cruises manage stuff like bills and your home.

 

Are many of you long cruisers retired or have a lot of vacation time?

 

What do you do about your home?  Do you rent it out (for those who take multiple month cruises) or have someone watching it while you're gone?  Are your bills taken care of through automatic payments?

 

Finally, do you ever get "home sick" while out on the sea for months at a time?

 

Just curious....

 

Wit the internet bells aren’t a problem, but on the whole we started planning 33 years back and get Miss Gut to look after it.

 

my biggest problem now is that I miss my dog, Maxy, too much.

[GUT2407]

Re time I am self employed and Mrs Gut has plenty of Long Service Leave built up.

[Ombud]

4 hours ago, GUT2407 said:

Wit the internet bells aren’t a problem, but on the whole we started planning 33 years back and get Miss Gut to look after it.

 

my biggest problem now is that I miss my dog, Maxy, too much.

Who takes care of the dog? 

[paul929207]

Our longest has been 49 days earlier this year (around South America most recently). 

 

All bills are paid automatically. 

We have a neighbor who is kind enough to keep an eye on the house. She checks the inside every two or three days. She has a key and the code for the alarm system.

We don't get bored or homesick.

[skynight]

9 hours ago, damiross said:

I've wanted to take a long cruise which I define as at least 5-6 weeks.  I'm curious those of you who do take long cruises manage stuff like bills and your home.

Are many of you long cruisers retired or have a lot of vacation time?

Retired

What do you do about your home?  Do you rent it out (for those who take multiple month cruises) or have someone watching it while you're gone?  Are your bills taken care of through automatic payments?

Most bills are on auto pay. A few that are not we pre-pay. We determine if we will be home  to take care of credit card cut off dates. If not we over pay the credit card so there will not be a balance until we return.

We have a handy man to keep a check on our home. It's common where we live where there are lots of snowbirds. He also picks up the mail. We have central mailboxes. He gets his and ours at the same time. You can only stop mail for 30 days.

Finally, do you ever get "home sick" while out on the sea for months at a time?

Not yet. Once on board the ship and the daily routines feel very comfortable. Don't think about home much at all.

Just curious....

We also have extensive tried and tested clothing packing lists. Packing enough OTC medicine for colds, headaches and other becomes difficult. We have a detailed list. Common OTC medicine is expensive to purchase on board, and can be hard to find close to ports of call. We also have to pack our prescription meds. We are careful with this and always carry them in our carry ons. Even though we take common widely used generic meds. they may be hard to replace in a port of call or on board.

See above. Since 2011 the shortest voyage we have done is 14 days.

[flamomo]

The  most days in a row onboard for  me is 35. It doesn't matter how many days I am on a ship, It's never long enough, and I do not get homesick. I stay in touch with my family via email from the ship. I haven't have any pets since I started traveling multiple times a year. For me, it's just easier not to.

 

Like others, most of my bills are on auto-pay, and those that aren't are things that I can schedule in advance.

 

I always include extra doses of prescription meds and supplements for at least a week beyond the length of the cruise. Once time I somehow forgot to pack one of my meds on a Mediterranean cruise and had to see the ship's doc to get a supply, as it was one I could not be without. If the needed med is not available on the ship, I was told they could obtain it at a pharmacy at the next port for me. Fortunately, the one I needed was a pretty common one and available in the med center's stock.  The charge for the visit to the doc and the cost of the med were both reimbursed to me by Princess insurance.

 

I bring OTC meds for GI upset, respiratory infection, etc. Also a tube of Neosporin and some bandaids in case I get a boo boo. Usually the meds, etc.  can be bought onboard in the gift shop, but are way overpriced and only a few doses. Also, I'm reluctant to buy meds in many foreign countries, not knowing how their cleanliness and manufacturing standards are as compared to the US.

 

In my dreams I'd love to do a world cruise, and would,  in a heartbeat, if my travel budget allowed for it. Meanwhile, I'll keep on seeing the world, one cruise at a time.

 

[lhsail]

8 hours ago, waltd said:

Just curious,   have you found any more cruises where you could combine Princess and Cunard.   I believe the two of you were on the Caribbean  Princess out of Houston a few years ago and also the QM2 returning to NYC.    We would love to do something like that again but nothing seems to line up.   That was a great 30 days.   😁

Joe

Last August/September we took the QM2 to Southampton. Spent three nights in London and three nights in Copenhagen. Caught the Regal for 14 nights through the British Isles and back across. Our only regret of the trip is that we wish we had spent more time in London. 

[BabySarge]

Our longest cruise so far has been 62 days with 8 days pre and post cruise. 

 

We are retired so can go as long as the budget allows.

 

Pay for premium forwarding with the USPS and have all mail sent to one of my sisters. 

 

All but one of our bills is electronic/paperless so am able to rcv the bill via e-mail and pay via electronic transaction with my bank.  (Electronic bill pay works great whilst at sea until you miss putting the decimal point in the right place and make a $10000 payment to the electric company instead of a $100 payment.)

 

We have someone come in once a week to water the plants, flush the toilets, run the water in the sinks and tub, and just check the house in general with instructions on who to call if there is a problem.  We do turn the thermostat down, shut off the automatic ice maker, unplug the electronics, make sure the smoke alarms all have fresh backup batteries (learned that lesson when we came home to every single one in the house going off because of low backup batteries and learned from a neighbor they had been doing that for a while - also got new person for watering plants and checking house).

 

We get prescription medication from our provider under what we call vacation meds - call them and tell them how long we will be gone for and they send us advance refills so we have enough for the trip and when we return home.  Pack our own mini-medicine kit with band aids, cold medicines, Tylenol/advil/aspirin, etc.  

 

And finally, we park the cars in the garage, set the house alarm, lock the doors, cross our fingers and send up many a silent prayer that all will be well while we are gone and then we get in the hire car and don't look back.  Never, never, never get bored on a cruise.  My Kindle is loaded with 200plus books, the ships carry lots of wine, and there are always interesting and fun people to meet and talk to.

[Husky61]

A 14 day cruise is long enough for us. At the end of the cruise I am ready to depart the ship.😃

[Kartgv]

Lots of great advice here - only one addition:   Check your home insurance policy.    Some will invalidate your insurance if the home is unoccupied for more than 30 days.   If that's the case on yours, you might want to consider a house sitter.    

[ggprincess2004]

Just back from 80 days, almost all on Princess ships, a few on land. Retired. Housesitter, pet sitter, handyman on call. Direct deposit,  electronic banking, schedule payment  of bills before we leave with (over)estimated amounts, get either email from most billers, or sent electronically to bank with amount. We never allow automatic debits to the accounts. Also use the email notice from USPS to see the outside of the envelopes in our mail each day - this alerts us to anything unexpected and we can have the house/pet sitter open it and let us know what is going on with that particular item. We didn't get homesick this time, we didn't really want to have to come home, with the exception of missing the cat, but we knew he was well cared for. 

We always carry, in addition to our basic prescription meds, OTC painkillers, antihistamines, decongestants, bandaids, lotions, potions, and Z Pacs. We now also always carry Tamiflu - we have found it to be amazing. 

We do get the currency we need ahead of time - it takes our bank about a week max to get it to our local branch. We have at least a starter amount in any currency that we are going to be using. We also make sure to check any visa requirements, vaccination recommendations or requirements, and restrictions on items that cannot be brought into a country we are flying into (meds in Japan for instance). Asking a question on these boards can alert you to some of those issues. 

We have a standard list of "stuff" that goes, to make the room much more manageable for the long haul - strong wall magnets with hooks, clips for stacks of paper than can be hung on the wall magnets, our outlet expanders, mini extension cords, adapters for international outlets, a charging station for electronics, extra batteries for gadgets, one laptop (his), 2 tablets (more versatile than a kindle), cell phones, camera, and some full size, some multiple travel size of toiletries. Almost none of the unused liquid toiletries will travel home with us. A laundry kit, with foldable plastic hangers, loop over little plastic clothes hangers, shout, tide to go little sticks, detergent pods, dryer sheets, as I am brand fussy. We also pack those things in gallon sized zip lock bags, some double bagged, and when unpacking can easily see what is what and organize the cabin quickly, or just pop out what we for a night or two in a hotel room. 

While I was never a fan of over the door organizers when we took shorter trips, they have been great when we are staying in a balcony cabin on longer cruises. They are fairly compact, and quick to install. We have left 2 behind, one on our 42 day Japan cruise, and one this time. We had 42 days in a balcony on Sea Princess and needed it, but left it there when flying down to Sydney to catch the Golden for our 30 day float home in a suite (plenty of space to stay organized there). 

GOES has been priceless, because homesick or not, if you have flights back into the US coming home, you just want to get through immigration and customs and be on your way. 

 

[bvm49]

Some great advice above.

 

We are retired and have no pets. As we now live in a condo, it's easy to shut the door and go. With emails we don't have as much mail as before.

 

As we usually have to fly a long way from our home in Australia, we spend 9-10 weeks on overseas holidays. Our longest cruise is 49 nights with several others near this length. I never want the cruise to finish but MDW does get a bit homesick.

 

We direct debit all the bills (it's perfectly safe) but have to watch out for the annual ones.

 

Brian

[MissP22]

On 5/10/2019 at 11:17 PM, damiross said:

Do you rent it out (for those who take multiple month cruises) or have someone watching it while you're gone? 

You're joking of course? 😉

The last thing I would want is to return to my spotless house after a nice vacation only to have to start cleaning up after renters who couldn't care less about leaving it a mess.