Which wil be the deciding factor for you to stop cruising: Health/Wealth or Both?

[SmoothFlying]

As the years pile up on my wife and myself we both find it more difficult to walk for a long distance so we tend to take shorter walking excursions so for us it may come down to a physical problem. At this current time, money is not a pressing problem but IF health issues increase that could change.As we all know you health can change in the blink of the eye. One can have an impact on the other, which will affect future decisions considering our loved activity. What are your thoughts about the three selections.

 

Mac 

 

 

[chipmaster]

Health w/o wealth makes spending thousands for a week on a cruise a challenge, but at least you can do things that don't take money and still be happy with simple things in life.

 

All the wealth w/o health means nothing, can't buy mobility or happiness, once you are in the ground all the money in the bank, trust, house, car, or other won't matter to you personally, but I'm sure someone else may enjoy them, LOL

[sverigecruiser]

16 minutes ago, SmoothFlying said:

As the years pile up on my wife and myself we both find it more difficult to walk for a long distance so we tend to take shorter walking excursions so for us it may come down to a physical problem. At this current time, money is not a pressing problem but IF health issues increase that could change.As we all know you health can change in the blink of the eye. One can have an impact on the other, which will affect future decisions considering our loved activity. What are your thoughts about the three selections.

 

Mac 

 

 

 

I hope that our wealth will be enough to cruise as long as our health allows it so I hope that health will be the deciding factor.

[yorkshirephil]

1 minute ago, sverigecruiser said:

 

I hope that our wealth will be enough to cruise as long as our health allows it so I hope that health will be the deciding factor.

I like that idea. No one knows fully what the future will hold which is why we cruise as often as we can afford to and are trying to tick off as many places as possible. 

[lenquixote66]

26 minutes ago, SmoothFlying said:

As the years pile up on my wife and myself we both find it more difficult to walk for a long distance so we tend to take shorter walking excursions so for us it may come down to a physical problem. At this current time, money is not a pressing problem but IF health issues increase that could change.As we all know you health can change in the blink of the eye. One can have an impact on the other, which will affect future decisions considering our loved activity. What are your thoughts about the three selections.

 

Mac 

 

 

Ten years ago I could walk 15 miles a day. Today I cannot walk more than 10 feet .With assistance I can walk about a mile.

i cannot drive ,fly or take a train due to disabilities.Cruising is the only thing I can do and even that tends to be difficult.On my last cruise ,in 2018 I could barely walk off the ship in ports and had great difficulty walking on the ship.

I know that at some point ,possibly very soon I will not be able to cruise either.

Health can definitely change in “the blink of an eye”.

I have 2 cruises booked for this year.I shall endeavor to do both.

[LHT28]

flying to the port is getting to be a pain for us

 

[pris993]

At 72 and 87, we still have reasonably good health for our age, financially we have been able to cruise 2 times a year for past 20 years, have also traveled to Europe and the middle east on land trips every couple of years.  Made last trip to Israel in October 2018.  Trips like that are less enjoyable because air travel is less enjoyable for us.  So we have decided that most of our travel will be by cruise ship out of our home port of San Francisco.   I still work part time to add to our travel budget and will continue to do so as long as my health is good.  So for us it would be health more than anything that would change things for us.  

[iancal]

When and if our health starts to fail will actually be the time when we take more cruises and fewer land tours.

[cruisemom42]

It would be a complicated equation for me that would have to take into account health and wealth, of course, but also preferences for other types of travel, ability to still find the kind of experience I enjoy while cruising, perceived value of cruising versus other types of travel, etc.

 

I rarely cruise "just to cruise" -- my trips usually have a destination-specific slant. Also, I like small ships with enrichment activities and I am not a big fan of the "class system" approach that is becoming more and more prominent on some lines. Finally, traveling solo presents another challenge -- looking for solo-friendly pricing and solo-friendly options onboard ships. 

 

So for me -- no clear-cut answer; but I would expect health to be a limiting factor before wealth. 

[babs135]

Interesting question and one that probably doesn't have one clear answer.

This time last year DH and I had had 3 holidays (1 cruise and 2 land based ones) and had a Christmas and new year package of 3 cruises and 4 nights in New York booked. 

And then, completely out of the blue 6 weeks before we were due to go on holiday DH became ill and at the time of writing this post is still medically unfit to travel.

So for me the answer is simple : You can be the richest person in the world but if you haven't got your health then it means nothing.

[awhcruiser]

2 hours ago, lenquixote66 said:

Ten years ago I could walk 15 miles a day. Today I cannot walk more than 10 feet .With assistance I can walk about a mile.

i cannot drive ,fly or take a train due to disabilities.Cruising is the only thing I can do and even that tends to be difficult.On my last cruise ,in 2018 I could barely walk off the ship in ports and had great difficulty walking on the ship.

I know that at some point ,possibly very soon I will not be able to cruise either.

Health can definitely change in “the blink of an eye”.

I have 2 cruises booked for this year.I shall endeavor to do both.

Can you get a wheelchair/hoverround/walker etc to help you enjoy your cruises?

[Mike981]

We took our honeymoon cruise 10 years after we got married. We just didn't have the money to do anything when we got married. We went on this cruise with a couple close to our age. Three years later the wife died of cancer. Diagnosed and died six months later.
You just never know. Don't put yourself in financial peril. But don't keep thinking that there is always a tomorrow.

[LoriPhil]

Health would be our deciding factor, and the thing that is driving us to multiple cruises/year (after taking 2019 off as a transition year, having retired and moved in with my spunky 99yo mom).  With 3 cancers under my belt and DH with multiple joint surgeries,  our focus is building experiences and memories while we are mobile, have reasonable digestion and can comfortably be away from sophisticated medical care.  When travel becomes too tough, THEN we re-puppy and stay closer to home.  (Mike - you make an excellent point)

Edited August 25, 2019 by LoriPhil

[Kartgv]

I think very few mature people cruise frequently if they don't have the wealth or reliable income to allow it without jeopardizing their future needs and comfort .  Yes, there will always be some who over-extend themselves for a vacation and may later regret it, but probably not your average frequent cruiser.   

 

Health, however, is something that will eventually catch up with all of us.   We've been doing about 2 cruises a year for the last 9-10 years and usually have 2 booked for the future.     In the last 2 1/2 years, we had to cancel 3 cruise due to serious medical issues, but are now thankfully past those crises.   It has become much more difficult however - both the physical stress of walking substantial distances or standing in lines, and the stress of dealing with the inevitable many little (and sometimes big) issues that come with travel.    Physical demands have become a much bigger factor in deciding on a cruise than they ever used to be - number of ports, distance from ports to any attractions we'd really like to see, flying requirements (if we can't afford at least Business Class we don't do it), onboard comforts (example:  the uncomfortable seating on the newly renovated Celebrity ships and the Princess decision to only provide one chair in balcony cabins).    We know our limits and stress tolerance and factor those into travel decisions.    

 

The obvious answer to the original question is "Both" - though one or the other may be more important at different stages of our lives.    

 

 

[DarrenM]

3 hours ago, SmoothFlying said:

As the years pile up on my wife and myself we both find it more difficult to walk for a long distance so we tend to take shorter walking excursions so for us it may come down to a physical problem. At this current time, money is not a pressing problem but IF health issues increase that could change.As we all know you health can change in the blink of the eye. One can have an impact on the other, which will affect future decisions considering our loved activity. What are your thoughts about the three selections.

 

Mac 

 

 

Sorry to hear your issues.

 

We took the mother in law on edge as she used to cruise all over the world. She is 83 now.

 

It was a huge struggle for her. Too hot. Too much walking and she really struggled

 

We managed though. We got her a wheel chair and the staff on edge were amazing with her.

 

She has decided she has done her last cruise though.

 

If you can maybe go with younger relatives I would recommend it.

[navybankerteacher]

Perhaps both - as mobility diminishes and easy, nearby embarkation ports no longer offer worthwhile itineraries, first class flights, from airports to which we are driven, for high end cruises (why waste the effort for a mass-market cruise to uninteresting places)

will add the cost factor to the health problem.

[SmoothFlying]

THANK you all for your thoughtful and wonderfully sincere answers and I am so looking forward to hearing from others on this complex decision. Our intent in life drives us to GO ! Grab it w/both hands but as the old saying goes, ' The mind MAY be willing BUT the body...?'. Nobody ever said life was fair. That's the first thin I found out when I became an adult.

 

Mc 

[sverigecruiser]

2 hours ago, babs135 said:

 

So for me the answer is simple : You can be the richest person in the world but if you haven't got your health then it means nothing.

 

I agree with this, almost.

 

Health is absolutely the most important thing but with lots of money it's easier to travel if the health isn't very good. (Business air, big suites on the ship etc.)

[sverigecruiser]

1 hour ago, Kartgv said:

I think very few mature people cruise frequently if they don't have the wealth or reliable income to allow it without jeopardizing their future needs and comfort .  Yes, there will always be some who over-extend themselves for a vacation and may later regret it, but probably not your average frequent cruiser.   

 

 

I hope that the pension I get when I retire will be enough to survive but it will probably not be enough to cruise. My plan is to save enough money to be able to cruise at least once every year for 20 years after I retire!

 

[babs135]

5 minutes ago, sverigecruiser said:

 

I agree with this, almost.

 

Health is absolutely the most important thing but with lots of money it's easier to travel if the health isn't very good. (Business air, big suites on the ship etc.)

This is not totally true. Surely the nature of the ill health would dictate whether someone is able to travel regardless of wealth?

[sverigecruiser]

23 minutes ago, babs135 said:

This is not totally true. Surely the nature of the ill health would dictate whether someone is able to travel regardless of wealth?

 

The nature of the ill health would dictate whether someone is able to travel but some people may be able to travel if they can afford to pay more.

 

For example my mother who is 81 can fly for 10 hours if she fly in business class but the can not fly for 10 hours in economy.  

[ger_77]

We've never had a whole LOT of money, but were never in dire straits where we didn't know how to pay the bills, etc.  The one thing we always did was put money away into a vacation fund - it was to be used strictly for vacations, not for the new roof, or the car insurance; it was so we could have a family vacation every year.  Fast forward to retirement - we still make sure the money in our vacation fund stays there for that purpose and continue to cruise as often as we'd like (usually once or twice a year).

 

Friends of ours have worked all their lives (often at a couple of jobs at a time), squirreled their money away, and when they did cruise with us, always chose the least expensive cabin, flew economy, etc., and spent little onboard or on excursions, thus leaving the "pot of gold" for when they retired.  A few years ago, the wife was diagnosed with a dread disease (I won't mention which one), but they are no longer able to travel anywhere, as she can't sit long or stand much, and is generally unwell.  The husband has chosen to be her caregiver, and that,  is the end of their travels.  It doesn't matter how much money is in the bank, if you're not healthy, you can't travel.  We continue to toast to them on each and every cruise we take without them.

 

Smooth Sailing!  🙂🙂🙂

[lenquixote66]

2 hours ago, awhcruiser said:

Can you get a wheelchair/hoverround/walker etc to help you enjoy your cruises?

My wife helps me as much as possible. I use a cane.I have a walker as well.

[lenquixote66]

46 minutes ago, sverigecruiser said:

 

I hope that the pension I get when I retire will be enough to survive but it will probably not be enough to cruise. My plan is to save enough money to be able to cruise at least once every year for 20 years after I retire!

 

That was my goal as well.I am retired 21 years and have been doing one to three cruises since 2008 when my wife retired.

[DarrenM]

We found the wheelchair supplied by celebrity invaluable for my wife's mother.

 

It was quite funny watching me try to wheel her up the hill in monte carlo.

 

Even funnier on the trip back down.

 

But well worth it as she was overjoyed to see the casino.

 

I hope you find a way to keep cruising for as long as possible.