RobinKY

That is good advice, thanks. My plan is to look at apartments near Ft. Lauderdale in the next 2-4 years and look at 14-21 day cruises to take while working onboard a few hours each day. Treat it like "luxury living". Do 1 to 3 cruises each year until I retire. I prefer a slow, quiet pace and maybe the longer cruises (14+ days) allow for that. I have been blessed with a rewarding career, live frugally and I don't have any other expensive hobbies. My first retirement cruise I am thinking about the 110-day HAL pole to pole cruise but I maybe I need to ease into that with a 30-something day cruise. I also need to look at the benefits of establishing a Florida residence for tax purposes and cruising discounts.

I am 52 and plan on retiring in 2031. I am single and make a good living. My kids are almost out of college and I have grown accustomed to being alone. I really enjoy cruising but obviously family and work obligations limit how many cruises I can go on. My work schedule is becoming more flexible, especially since technology has allowed more remote working. In 3-4 years I am seriously thinking about taking several long duration cruises a year, maybe rent an apartment near a port for time on land as well as keep my home in Indiana (at least until my kids get settled). I am looking for advice on the questions below. How often do cruise lines give breaks to solo cruisers on traditional staterooms, including balconies? Any tips for cruise lines that offer solo cruisers staterooms? How feasible/expensive is connecting to the internet for several hours a day to get work done? How good are last minute deals? Which cruise lines have the best loyalty programs? Which cruise lines have self-service laundry? What advice to meet other solo cruiser to hang out on occasion or eat together? Any particular cruise line better for solo cruisers? What is the protocol if I have a family emergency during a long duration cruise?

Thanks that is good to know. I thought I was under the gun to book by end of April 30.

I had $2,400 FCC from cancelled cruise last summer. I have to book by April 30. I just booked a cruise with me in one cabin and my w kids in another cabin. Since my kids were under 21, that was story in itself. I had to call to book them in their own cabin. I finally got it booked over the phone and when I told them about the FCC the rep said I could apply it to my booking with some credit applied to my booking (I guess I could use it for excursion, alcohol, etc) or split it 50-50 and apply to my kids booking. I just said split it 50-50. The rep processed my FCC and said the other half will be on a new voucher and I need to call to redeem that when I receive the new voucher. Has anyone experienced something similar? I sure hope they don't send me a new voucher next week and then say it expired on the original April 30 expiry date.