Ultimate retirement trip

[romnan]

As my wife and I have reached retirement age and have been fortunate to survive the economic downturn The discussion of a retirement trip has come up. We will have been on 9 cruises and these have always been in the Carribbean :)

 

Need help in selecting that "Ultimate Retirement Trip" need thoughts and opinions from those folks that have cruised Europe both on regular ship and river cruises as I think this might be the source for our retirement trip:confused:

[Bakincakes]

As my wife and I have reached retirement age and have been fortunate to survive the economic downturn The discussion of a retirement trip has come up. We will have been on 9 cruises and these have always been in the Carribbean :)

 

Need help in selecting that "Ultimate Retirement Trip" need thoughts and opinions from those folks that have cruised Europe both on regular ship and river cruises as I think this might be the source for our retirement trip:confused:

 

 

Ultimate?

 

A World Cruise on Holland America.:)

[cruiserking]

As my wife and I have reached retirement age and have been fortunate to survive the economic downturn The discussion of a retirement trip has come up. We will have been on 9 cruises and these have always been in the Carribbean :)

 

Need help in selecting that "Ultimate Retirement Trip" need thoughts and opinions from those folks that have cruised Europe both on regular ship and river cruises as I think this might be the source for our retirement trip:confused:

 

World cruise on the QM2, Queen Victoria or either of the Crystal Ships.

 

Jonathan

[thinfool]

As my wife and I have reached retirement age and have been fortunate to survive the economic downturn The discussion of a retirement trip has come up. We will have been on 9 cruises and these have always been in the Carribbean :)

 

Need help in selecting that "Ultimate Retirement Trip" need thoughts and opinions from those folks that have cruised Europe both on regular ship and river cruises as I think this might be the source for our retirement trip:confused:

 

We are close to the situation that you describe and have considered the same issue.

 

Our conclusion: There is no "ultimate" trip. There are several trips.

 

Northern Europe (again)

Black Sea

Eastern Med (again)

Western Med

Australia/New Zealand

Tahiti

Hawaii

Alaska (again)

Cape Horn/Antarctica

 

Final issue: Will money or health give out first? Stay tuned.... :)

[paul929207]

Definitely a round the world cruise.

[MedicKen]

Hello Romnan,

 

Think of you two when I'm in a Freedom mood. Just saw Jan and Elvis on the boards. My best to you two for "making it" to constant cruise status. The folks and babies of FL will be missing two great people.

 

BUT you DESERVE it.

 

Ken

[navybankerteacher]

If a world cruise is a bit too much, HAL has a number of 30to 70 day cruises - around the Pacific, round trip North Atlantic from Bosdton, around South America, etc.; however I would hold out for one of the round the world cruises -- say, January to May.

[Cruiseship16]

A transatlantic cruise on Queen mary 2

[Shorex]

If your focus is on Europe I'd combine a river cruise on the Premicon Queen with an ocean cruise (either Med, Black Sea, Baltic, UK, or North Cape) on one of the luxury lines (Crystal, Seabourn, Regent, Silversea). Add a land stay on either end in one or two of the great cities of Europe.

 

If your thinking expands beyond Europe, you could take a

combined with a stay in one of the great cities of Asia, Singapore or Hong Kong.

 

Or there's South America -- and Antarctica where you can walk among the penguins.

 

Rather than one "ultimate" trip, maybe several penultimate trips?

[lady_cruiser]

My retirement cruise I am planning in two years is boring compare to what I have been reading here. My idea of "my ultimate" cruise is leaving Florida, going through the Panama Canal to San Diego and then staying on the ship and head back to Florida. I guess when you are like us and have two cockatiels to worry about a round-the-world trip is out of the question. And no way, no how will we give up our babies just so we can cruise. Giving them up for a month so we can do a Panama Canal cruise will be bad enough.

 

Anyway Romnan I think that a transatlantic cruise to the Europe might be just what you are looking for. And since it sounds like you are finanical secured maybe you can take a cruise, get a flat in Italy for a month and then take another cruise back home.

[paul929207]

Romnan,

 

You might want to limit your question a little bit. You will probably get more useful answer that way.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Definitely a world cruise.

 

But -- if you can't do that -- we have loved our Baltic and Med cruises (both eastern and western).

[Travelcat2]

I agree with celebrating with a luxury cruise. You'll be well taken care of -- it is all-inclusive so there is no worries about being nickled and dimed every minute. Just relaxation (or not -- plenty of things to do) and luxury.

[jocap]

Oh, what a lovely thought! :D

My cruise would be on a small ship, going round the Greek Isles and possibly Croatia, with beach stops for OH and cultural half days only for me.

But my ultimate cruise, when the pennies from somewhere fall, will always be The Hebridean Princess out of Mull, round the Scottish Islands.

We met a travel journalist at last week's naming of Azura, and he said there was nothing in the cruising world to equal it. The Queen books it for her family, and is using the whole ship this July.

Dream on......:D

Jo.

[odblnt]

I would go for a Trans-Atlantic immediately followed by a river cruise from Amsterdam to Budapest.

 

After reading a day-by-day log about a year ago from someone on a Princess RTW, it lost some of the luster for me.

[donaldsc]

Pick up a cruise in New Zealand that goes to and circumnavigates Antarctica; then goes to South Georgia Island; then the Falklands. Hope that you have a lot of money for that one.

 

I would follow it with one of the cruises that do the Northwest Passage.

 

DON

[donaldsc]

As my wife and I have reached retirement age and have been fortunate to survive the economic downturn The discussion of a retirement trip has come up. We will have been on 9 cruises and these have always been in the Carribbean :)

 

Need help in selecting that "Ultimate Retirement Trip" need thoughts and opinions from those folks that have cruised Europe both on regular ship and river cruises as I think this might be the source for our retirement trip:confused:

 

9 cruises and only in the Caribbean. There is a whole lot more of the world out there.

 

DON

[Silvery Seas Cruiser]

I woudln't go for the long, long cruises so much as a shorter one with more luxury. A dream cruise for me would be in nothing less than a Grand Suite and preferably even better accommodations.

 

Hubby dreams of a cruise around the tip of South America, such as Rio de Janeiro, Brazil to Lima, Peru or even up to San Diego. I dream of sailing to Hawaii from the US, seeing all the islands and sailing back. My son wants to sail the Mediterranean including seeing the pyramids of Egypt. His girlfreind wants to see Italy, France, and Spain.

[Bookish Angel]

Best place I have ever been, hands down. Cold, but not bitter, and to me, that beats heat any day. No one is aggressively hawking anything at the ports, almost no buildings to spoil the view and the wildlike alone is worth the trip. Also, the opportunity to be made to feel small by nature is a gift.

 

Second only to Antarctica is South Africa. That would require some planning to do by ship, but well woth the effort. I did a land trip there and it is one of the highlights of my life.

[Grumpy100]

Trip to South America around the Horn. Trip to Australia/New Zealand.

Trip to Mediterrean. Trip to British Isles. Trip to Hawaii. Trip to Alaska.

All the above by cruise.

Since you have done the Caribbean there is so much more to see.

[ailuro]

You mention Europe...

 

 

so I'd go for a Nile cruise with a few days in Cairo, followed by a cruise round the mediterranean visiting Rome, Venice, etc.

 

Then stop off for a few days in Paris, sail up to Rosyth from Holland and spend a few weeks touring / playing golf round Scotland (or just seeing the wonderful scenery and sampling the local beverages) Then fly home from Edinburgh, Glasgow or Aberdeen.

[romnan]

Hello Romnan,

 

Think of you two when I'm in a Freedom mood. Just saw Jan and Elvis on the boards. My best to you two for "making it" to constant cruise status. The folks and babies of FL will be missing two great people.

 

BUT you DESERVE it.

 

Ken

Good to hear from an old friend. We have fond memories of our cruise,so much that we have booked anoth on Nancy's Birthday 03/20/11 I see you booked on the Oasis and had to cancel sometime back??

 

Are you doing much cruising?? I assume you are still in the same line of work. We are still working for the same employers but things are changing so much that we both realize each of us will one day wake up and say enough is enough.

 

Hope some day to be on a cruise with you again,but for now its off to work I go

[paul929207]

Good to hear from an old friend. We have fond memories of our cruise,so much that we have booked anoth on Nancy's Birthday 03/20/11 I see you booked on the Oasis and had to cancel sometime back??

 

Are you doing much cruising?? I assume you are still in the same line of work. We are still working for the same employers but things are changing so much that we both realize each of us will one day wake up and say enough is enough.

 

Hope some day to be on a cruise with you again,but for now its off to work I go

Have we given you enough suggestions?

[romnan]

Have we given you enough suggestions?

Yes Paul as I sit here at work reading all the replies,some of the suggestions are very appealing and I would much rather be on a cruise now than here. I known in my heart one day I will walk in and call it quits Thanks for the help

[okgirl]

When I retire next year I was planning on doing an extended 16 week B2B from each of the ports in Florida. 2 weeks on each ship then drive to the next port, 2 more weeks etc.......

 

But I want to go back to Europe so bad and I've never done a Transatlantic, so now our plan is to spend a week in London then another in Venice, make our way to Barcelona and board the Carnival Magic for her TA sometime in late October 2011.