Those That Take Longer Cruises

[Kenswing]

I'm still a few years away from retirement but one of the first things I want to do is the 49 day South American Grand Adventure.

 

Those of you that take 30 day or greater cruises what do you do with your house, bills, mail, pets...etc?

 

I can't even imagine my house still being here if we did a World Cruise.. LOL

[Treven]

Although the longest cruise I've taken has been only 15 days and I have a 23 day one coming up I can give you some idea. My money income goes directly to my checking account. All of my bills are automatically taken from my checking account - that includes all my utilities, credit cards, just everything. The amounts withheld are the same from month to month so I don't worry if one month my payment might be a little higher or lower. I board my dog at his vet's. They charge me $20/day, plus I provide his food. I stop my newspaper and my mail.

 

Hope this helps.

[paul929207]

We took the 49 day South America Grand Adventure this year and loved it. As to making arrangements.

 

We have a neighbor with several sons of employable age to take care of things. She checks the house every few days. We trust her to give her a key and the alarm code. Her youngest son collects the mail. Another mows the lawn as needed.

 

Bills - we have nearly all bills setup to either debit our bank account or be charged to a credit credit card. I use the internet to check the bank account activity and to pay the credit card.

 

Incoming money - All regular money coming in goes to our checking account. This includes US Social Security and Pensions.

 

No pets.

[windsor26]

I'm still a few years away from retirement but one of the first things I want to do is the 49 day South American Grand Adventure.

 

Those of you that take 30 day or greater cruises what do you do with your house, bills, mail, pets...etc?

 

I can't even imagine my house still being here if we did a World Cruise.. LOL

 

 

Depending on the way you pay bills

 

We organise every bill to be paid by direct debit either from our credit card or from the bank account. We also pay our credit card completely by direct debit but if this is not for you perhaps you could 'load' your credit card with cash before you sail.

 

Neighbours who like to pay in cash give some to their relative andf ask them to get their mail and pay their bills

 

Whatever is good for you or a mix of all three.

 

Of course you can use internet banking and paying as you go if you have internet time.

 

You will love the cruise we have just returned.

[Pam in CA]

I've taken a number of longer cruises, including 28 and 31 days. Income is direct-deposited to my bank account and I've used Quicken bill pay for many years. I can set up bills to be paid on a certain date no matter how far in advance I set it up. If I don't know the amounts, such as utilities, I send an estimated amount plus some extra. I have a bonded/insured pet sitter come 2x a day for my cats. They get the mail, put out the trash, leave different lights on, etc. My daughter checks my mail a couple of times a week to make sure something hasn't slipped through the cracks. It's more expensive to use a pet-sitting service but it's more reassuring to me. So far, after all these years, it's worked out OK.

[Kenswing]

Thank you for your replies.

 

I pay most of my bills online now but after following Pia's trip and the often less than stellar availability of the internet on board I like the idea of something like Quicken.

 

I might also consider having things auto payed with a credit card and just worry about paying that.

 

I think my biggest concern is the house. My nearest family is 1,200 miles away. And although I have great neighbors they are about 1/4 mile away.. Maybe I can con a niece into coming up and house sitting.. :D

 

Thanks again for your replies..

[kandagal1939]

We house/animal sit often for people who go off on trips overseas. So maybe you need to find a good/reliable sitter. At present we are minding a house until 15th May. Our next cruise (90 days) goes on 13th July

[Billy and Charlie's Mum]

We always have house sitters come in to stay. We came back last week from a 38 night cruise and six weeks away and our boys (dogs.... Billy and Charlie) were sadder to see them go than excited to see us return :eek: They get spoilt rotten by the house sitters. It is a free service and helps us by not having to put the boys into a kennel (which they would hate and probably wouldn't eat as a result) which in turn saves us $1000's of $ on kennel fees. They mow the lawns, collect the mail and keep the house clean all for getting free rent in return. It is a win - win situation. Maybe you could consider it for next time you have a long cruise. Our sitters are heading over to the US next month for a house sit of 8 weeks. We use Housesitters.com for our sitters.

 

All our bills are paid automatically as I set up a payment schedule with the bank.

[Billy and Charlie's Mum]

We house/animal sit often for people who go off on trips overseas. So maybe you need to find a good/reliable sitter. At present we are minding a house until 15th May. Our next cruise (90 days) goes on 13th July

 

Are you available in December?

[Wehwalt]

I also pay my bills electronically. I can check them online during the cruise if there's any issue. I lock up my house, put on my alarm system, and leave the rest of the security to my nosy neighbor. The mailbox is one of the big old fashioned ones, and who gets much of interest in the mail these days anyway?

 

I've never yet come home to a crisis.

[NSWP]

We have done around 16 cruises, 12 of them 30 days or more, we pay our bills by direct debit, pay a lawn mower bloke to do the lawns, lock up and go. No pets these days, they are a rope around your neck. We are often away for 2 or 3 months a year, long cruises combined with some land travel. I have been retired 10 years and spent a fortune, who cares, cannot take it with you.

 

Last year away for 3 months, 49 days cruise OZ to UK, then land travel in UK and USA. Next year away for 3 months, South American land travel and cruise BA to LA, maybe Hawaii on way home.

 

Enjoy your retirement, not a bad job, just that you need plenty of $$$$. Believe me !!

[PescadoAmarillo]

We only travel for long periods (over 14 days) during our winters. First, that's when we want to travel (we love being home during the spring, summer, fall) but it also make things easier as there is nothing that needs to be done outside. We have extensive flower and veggie gardens...we could pay someone to mow the grass but not to take the care we do in tending the gardens.

 

As for mail, a neighbor gets ours from our locked mailbox once a week or so. She dumps the junk mail and sends the first class to us on the ship. For the past two years we've done this once a month but we're considering getting it every three weeks next year. By the time we receive it, most of the bills and statements have been dealt with, either autocharged to a credit card or checking account or by using our iPhones. The things that still might need to be paid (generally just medical bills after working their way through our insurances) we can pay by phone as long as we are in the US (St. Thomas) or using Skype or Vonage.

 

We can carry with us medications for 90 days quite easily. I take one that I have I have bloodwork done for. Last year we did that on the ship and had it filled in Fort Lauderdale part way through the cruises.

 

For home security, we have a security system and webcams that monitor the furnace and water valve. We set the furnace at 45 degrees, turn off the water, the hot water tank and refrigerator. We unplug everything except a few lights, turn off gas to the dryer, range and fireplaces, disconnect car batteries, unplug the garage door, drop the collision and liability insurances from vehicles, take our three plants to a neighbors and leave. Three winters now, and we've not returned to any issues other than a kitchen light burned out.

 

Oh, and no pets since 2007. And no kids. We borrow both from neighbors while we're home. It's a good system.

[caribill]

Monthly bills (cable, water, electricty, gas) either automatically go to a credit card or we pay in advance enough to cover any possible usage.

 

Credit cards we pay using the Internet on the ship.

 

Items that come due at various times during the year (car insurance, house insurance, etc.) we give a credit card number to the agent and select what day it should be paid.

 

We have a cat, so a neighbor is in the house each day to feed it. If you do not have a pet, a neighbor should check the house every couple of days. Insurance will not cover a problem if nobody is in the house for a number of weeks.

[paul929207]

One other consideration is perscription drugs. Verify with your plan administrator that you can get enough to last the trip.

 

Oridinarily, ours are filled thru a mail order drug firm and we get a 3 month supplly for each. However, one of my wife's is for an expensive drug that they only give one month at a time. It is always a hassle getting them to approve two months when we are gone a while

[PescadoAmarillo]

Insurance will not cover a problem if nobody is in the house for a number of weeks.

Our home insurance is fine with a security system and use of webcams to spot, early on, issues with temperature, water or theft. We also have a maintenance man on standby in the event something does happen.

[Colo Cruiser]

. Insurance will not cover a problem if nobody is in the house for a number of weeks.

 

 

Our policy has no such disclaimer.

Have never heard that. :confused:

[Mom33]

We use electronic banking for all our bills and can schedule every bill ahead of time. A couple days before our trip to Sydney for a weeks visit and 30 day cruise, we scheduled the dates for payment to be made as income was deposited electronically. We check into online banking while on the cruise to keep an eye on the account and to be sure the bills are being paid on the specified dates.

 

We let our security guards (gated community) and neighbors know we would be gone. We stopped the mail for 30 days( the max allowed in one absence) and had a neighbor bring in the mail the rest of the vacation.

 

We have a mowing service for the lawn.

 

As for the insurance coverage on the house, we would have our son (he now lives 2 hours from us) spend a night for each 2 weeks we were gone.

[Kenswing]

Thanks for the great information, Everyone..

 

It sounds like the financial part will be easy enough to deal with. Now to look into finding a suitable house sitter..

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

Pets could be a problem...

[Kenswing]

Pets could be a problem...

 

The wife has a 19 yo cat. Not sure what the odds are that it will be around in a couple years.. :confused:

[SoBaycruiser]

I agree with the direct deposit and auto bill paying. However, I also keep a list of those odd once a year mailings or payments that need to be dealt with. For example, our boat is registered with the Coast Guard and every year we have to return a form saying we still own it. The form comes in Jan and has to be returned by Feb. The same is true with the yearly property tax we pay on the boat. It's at an odd time of year and can't be done with autopayment. So when we are leaving for a month or more, I always go to the list to see what once a year items are there that need to be dealt with before we leave. Start making the list now while you are working and home to deal with these things. Then when you retire, you won't have to worry about the details.

 

Oh, another important thing...check your credit card expiration date for those items paid automatically by credit card. You may get a new card before your trip but find that your insurance company doesn't have the new expiration date and the bill isn't paid.

[bugspost]

The wife has a 19 yo cat. Not sure what the odds are that it will be around in a couple years.. :confused:

 

We had 20 year old cat when we started cruising.......had pet sitter come twice a day to feed & tend to her............3 cruises later.......she was still with us...we lost her last year at age 23.........I must admit now w/no pets...cruising is a lot easier....so we will not get anymore pets till our cruising days are over(hopefully not for a long, long time...HA).....we have paper & mail held........I pay all our bills early enough but do get internet package on ship to check on my banking,bills,etc.

[PescadoAmarillo]

The wife has a 19 yo cat. Not sure what the odds are that it will be around in a couple years.. :confused:

We had a dwarf rabbit who was supposed to live 4-5 years. He lived almost 12 years. We used to leave a shoebox next to his cage "just in case" when we'd leave on cruises. I think it spurred him on. When he finally died (we were home) DH was two years away from retiring and we decided he had been our last. Our best, but our last.

 

These ideas are very helpful. We didn't have these when we started traveling longer periods of time (our longest were month long trips to South America in 2002 and Australia in 2004 and a 5 week trip to Australia in 2006 until DH retired). But it's gotten easier and easier, due, in large part to technology. The idea about credit card expiration dates is huge. Not only could it cause missed payment of bills but you don't want new credit cards to be sitting around undelivered either.

[ceba]

We have all our correspondence sent to an email acct, and I schedule bill ahead of time. Our greatest lifesaver is our pet/house sitter.We have 3 critters and its cheaper to have the sitter than using kennels. Our sitter lives in our house while we are gone. She knows the routine and takes care of the house, plants, and loves the critters! We couldn't travel without her. It's an added expense, but worth every dime.:)

[Billy and Charlie's Mum]

We have all our correspondence sent to an email acct, and I schedule bill ahead of time. Our greatest lifesaver is our pet/house sitter.We have 3 critters and its cheaper to have the sitter than using kennels. Our sitter lives in our house while we are gone. She knows the routine and takes care of the house, plants, and loves the critters! We couldn't travel without her. It's an added expense, but worth every dime.:)

 

Do you have to pay for her services? Our sitters are free.