On 12/21/23 00:42, Udhay Shankar N via Silklist wrote:
Bruce A. Metcalf wrote:
As I mentioned in my previous post, I'm about to embark on a
'round-the-world cruise. En route, my wife and I will be making
four stops in India, marking our first visit to the country.
I'm curious about your thoughts on the notion of spending all one's
time on board a cruise ship as a post retirement plan.
https://www.cntraveler.com/story/meet-the-retirees-who-live-on-cruise-ships
<https://www.cntraveler.com/story/meet-the-retirees-who-live-on-cruise-ships>
I would refer you to Randy Cassingham's blog on the topic at
<https://residentialcruising.com/>. He recently sold his house and
almost all of his belongings, toured the country in an RV passing out
items to friends and family, only to discover that his ship wasn't
ready. Good reading from the man behind <https://thisisture.com>.
Between the 78-night cruise I just got off Tuesday, and the 134-night
world cruise we expect to leave on 5 January, I'll be spending eight
months of the year aboard ship. I'm not terribly happy about it, but
it's what my wife wants to do (before her health deteriorates too far
for her to go).
I did find that I got a lot of work done with the reduced distractions
on board. Probably two to three times what I might have accomplished at
home. Of course, this was possible because most of my work for the
non-profit is online, or at least on computer.
What I wasn't able to do was to get work done on the house (which needs
it), or to enjoy my hobby of model building. (Customs agents get all
weird when you try bringing a box of knives, glues, and paints on board;
especially the spray paints.)
Yes, life on board is nice in that I don't have to cook, clean, do
laundry, or plan activities, and some of the guest speakers are
excellent; the last cruise had talks on quantum mechanics that was both
comical and accurate (as much as one can be certain of anything in that
field). OTOH, I don't get to cook or plan short trips, and the quality
of the laundry work isn't always good. It is a trade-off.
Left to myself, I might take one long cruise of perhaps a month or two
each year. They are an easy way to travel and see new places, especially
as my medical conditions make flying almost impossible. That said, you
can't get much of a feel for a place from a three-hour tour (a
three-hour tour), or even several. Mostly I try to get off, find some
local restaurant (one without a sandwich board with prices in US dollars
out from), and see what the locals eat. That or tour wineries. Best I
can do with this old body.
And while the comment at the top of this email referred to a trip
planned for 2022, cancelled by health issues, my upcoming cruise will
also include stops in India: Kochi on 30 March; Mangalore on 31 March;
Goa on 1 April; and Mumbai on 2-3 April. Happy to meet up with
silklisters at any of these.
Cheers,
/ Bruce /
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