Cruisers Who Love to RV & RVers Who Love to Cruise

[Blizzard54]

9 hours ago, Von & John said:

@Blizzard54
I've done both drives...
SEA to AK wins hands down!!!!

Have a fantastic time exploring in the trips you take!

I would tend to agree.  I believe I will be more comfortable doing some longer ones in the lower 48 first.  I am a little concerned about being out in the middle of nowhere if something goes wrong.  We are still learning what extra things we need to have onboard.  

[Greg4502]

My first camping trip was when I was 15 months old. Our family has been camping ever since. Back then it was camping. Now they call it dry camping or boondocking. I have done tent camping while touring on a motorcycle and a lot of backpacking. Now days, I rough it in a 40ft Fifth Wheel with all the comforts. When I retired, I planned to cruise at sea one year and the next on land. Well it did not work out that way. Got hooked on cruising, so now it is a cruise at sea and a cruise on land each year. Have been to a lot of wonderful places.

[MamaFej]

Welcome, Greg4502!

[#55worktoplay]

On 11/13/2020 at 8:21 AM, Greg4502 said:

My first camping trip was when I was 15 months old. Our family has been camping ever since. Back then it was camping. Now they call it dry camping or boondocking. I have done tent camping while touring on a motorcycle and a lot of backpacking. Now days, I rough it in a 40ft Fifth Wheel with all the comforts. When I retired, I planned to cruise at sea one year and the next on land. Well it did not work out that way. Got hooked on cruising, so now it is a cruise at sea and a cruise on land each year. Have been to a lot of wonderful places.

Beautiful pictures. So many places to see        When will we be able to get out there again??? 
 

 

[lobsternight]

Twenty years ago if you asked me, the two things I would never do is cruise or RV camp.  Now I sit here in frustration waiting to see if my 2021 sailings will take place, and my RV is stuck in storage in the US as the border remains closed to car travel.  Ugh.

[MamaFej]

14 minutes ago, lobsternight said:

Twenty years ago if you asked me, the two things I would never do is cruise or RV camp.  Now I sit here in frustration waiting to see if my 2021 sailings will take place, and my RV is stuck in storage in the US as the border remains closed to car travel.  Ugh.

Ouch! That would break my heart!

Here's hoping you get to your RV soon. 

[bennybear]

15 minutes ago, lobsternight said:

Twenty years ago if you asked me, the two things I would never do is cruise or RV camp.  Now I sit here in frustration waiting to see if my 2021 sailings will take place, and my RV is stuck in storage in the US as the border remains closed to car travel.  Ugh.

I am giggling,  because you have to try things.  I have several friends adamantly opposed to cruises,   One of them loves bus tours,  go figure!   I think cruises are the best darn bus tour going,  you don’t have to sit on the bus!  

[MamaFej]

We've had our RV onsite at a club we belong to (actually we are "Adult Cardholders" on PapaFej's parents' membership) for almost three weeks. We've gone back and forth to home a few times, including for Christmas, but have mostly been here. We have to pull out tomorrow, for at least 10 days, and we have reservations in both Palm Springs and again on a Ventura County beach. The two college kids living at home joined us for a couple of nights, including New Years Eve. They were very happy to be away from all the illegal fireworks at home. We had a wonderful speakerphone call with our oldest in Montana, and read our Memory Jar memories together. I had sent a few notes up to the oldest with his Christmas gifts, and we enjoyed the tradition, although there were certainly far fewer happy memories for 2020  than we usually have. 

 

We had Ventura County beach reservations that we made in September, but we were not able to go. The county shut down all their campgrounds the day before we were to arrive, when a new safer at home order came into effect. Apparently, it is inherently dangerous for us to be fully self-contained with wheels below us, but it's not dangerous to be in our home without wheels. I understand shutting down tent camping with shared facilities, but this is literally a parking spot next to the beach, with no hookups. We would definitely not come into contact with other humans. This is the same county where a certain Hollywood has-been has gathered hundreds of mask-less singers, spewing their mouth rain over each other in the name of "freedom" multiple times. The hypocrisy is palpable. Our next reservations are for after the current closure, but I expect them to be canceled as well. 

 

We still have reservations for five weeks near Washington, DC in the spring, and to get some warranty and custom work done on the coach at/near the Tiffin factory in Red Bay, Alabama. However, we may cancel, depending on vaccine availability. We definitely do not want to miss our chance at home, and would not want to take doses away from locals in another state. 

 

Since we still can't get on a cruise ship for the foreseeable future, I certainly am grateful to have our RV!

[cb at sea]

Being in an RV isn't unlike being in a ship's cabin.....and you get to go WHERE YOU want to go!  It's a win-win!

 

[Von & John]

On 1/3/2021 at 1:41 PM, MamaFej said:

...We had a wonderful speakerphone call with our oldest in Montana, and read our Memory Jar memories together. I had sent a few notes up to the oldest with his Christmas gifts, and we enjoyed the tradition, although there were certainly far fewer happy memories for 2020  than we usually have. 

 

 

@MamaFej
Sounds like you are having a wonderful time enjoying your RV...
Love the option of going back & forth as needed!

The Memory Jar sounds wonderful - can you explain how it works?

I believe it would be great to do with our Families 🙂

[TheSweetPotatoQueen]

I'm going to chime in here. I grew up camping and always wanted to get back to my roots. My husband and I are semi-retired educators, so we bought a new 5th wheel in 2019. It's a Keystone Half-ton Cougar. 

When, Covid shut school down, we headed to Gulf Shores, Alabama, in May and stayed for 3 months. 

We do camp close to home, too. Right now, our camper is in storage. Our first trip is Spring Break in March. Then, we're off to Gulf Shores again, May 1 - August 1. 

Buying this camper has been one of the best decisions we've ever made. It's our 'condo on wheels.'

We still cruise. Unfortunately, our cruise is cancelled this month. I did book us one for Jan., 2022, a 9-nighter on Radiance out of Miami. I miss cruising terribly and will be beyond ready to step on a ship again!

 

[MamaFej]

On 1/8/2021 at 2:05 PM, Von & John said:

 

@MamaFej
Sounds like you are having a wonderful time enjoying your RV...
Love the option of going back & forth as needed!

The Memory Jar sounds wonderful - can you explain how it works?

I believe it would be great to do with our Families 🙂

Sure! We have a one quart mason jar on the kitchen counter. Whenever we have something fun or special happen, we write it down on a small slip of paper (usually a 3"x3" Post-It), fold it, and put it in the jar. On New Year's Eve, we gather and dump out all the memory slips and take turns reading them. It sparks great conversations, lots of laughter, and a few "Oh, wow! I had forgotten about that!" exclamations. We've been doing it since 2016, and I have kept all of the papers. We are thinking that we might start doing the current year, and then re-read the memories from a previous years as well. 

 

Generally, the jar is much more full than it was in 2020, but it was still fun to do. I hope you'll give it a try.

[TheSweetPotatoQueen]

On 1/13/2021 at 10:51 AM, MamaFej said:

Sure! We have a one quart mason jar on the kitchen counter. Whenever we have something fun or special happen, we write it down on a small slip of paper (usually a 3"x3" Post-It), fold it, and put it in the jar. On New Year's Eve, we gather and dump out all the memory slips and take turns reading them. It sparks great conversations, lots of laughter, and a few "Oh, wow! I had forgotten about that!" exclamations. We've been doing it since 2016, and I have kept all of the papers. We are thinking that we might start doing the current year, and then re-read the memories from a previous years as well. 

 

Generally, the jar is much more full than it was in 2020, but it was still fun to do. I hope you'll give it a try.

You've inspired me to start my own tradition. I started a Memory Notebook to jot down ours.

Thanks for the inspiration-such an awesome way to see positives when there's so much negativity.

[Blizzard54]

We took our rig in for servicing and a through check up.  Our 20 year old Tiffin only has 23k on it and was garaged for most of it's life.  I had the engine and generator serviced.  I was having some issues with the steps and had them install a new motor and updated control panel.  Then came the big one.  They told me that the roof should be resealed.  It was not a surprise I had seen that some of the seals we not in the best shape.  It is something that I could probably do myself but I just did not have the motivation to do it.  I had them do it.   All told I spent as much as a couple cruises but it is worth it to have it all done.  all other systems check out good.

 

I install a convection/microwave combination to replace the old microwave.  I had to enlarge the cabinet opening and improve the venting.  Not too difficult and it works well.

 

I do not want to tow car but we want some mobility so I ordered a pair of E-bikes. Now I need to find a suitable carrier to put on the hitch.  So far all of the bike racks that I have found that can carry the weight are not authorized for use on motorhomes.  The bikes I ordered are foldable and I may need modify a cargo carrier.  

 

As for our plans...  We have not had 3 Alaska sailings on the Quantum canceled and we have 2 on the Ovation that are pending cancelation.  That opens us up until October.  We well take the rig out as soon as it warms up a bit.  We woke up this morning to 7" of snow.  I expect it will be mid-March we will take in a couple State Parks.  In April I hope to head the Bay Area and travel up the coast all the way back to Washington.  Then in the Summer I would like to take it to at Least Ohio and possibly to the east coast.  We will not set schedules and plan to stay 1 or 2 days at a tile along the way.  We will look first for Federal and State Parks and use whatever else we find on the way.  We are capable of boondocking if necessary.      

[ROCruiser]

Wow! This is exactly for us! Read all the previous posts and wanted to chime in.

 

Our very first cruise was in 1993 when our parents introduced us to cruising, fell in love but did not have the time and money to do it often. A few years later we purchased a Class C to make short trips.

 

Then I retired in 2011 and since then we were able to take advantage of the lower cruise rates offered off season and have done mostly international traveling. We figured cruising would probably be THE way we would travel from now on and sold the RV in 2019 which is starting to give us problems anyway, especially with the leaky roof. Went on our last cruise October 2019, MSC Divina Transatlantic, then the pandemic hit with all cruising and international travel halted.

 

May 2020, after being stuck at home for a couple of months, DH made the smart decision to purchase another RV from a young couple who just wanted to pay off their loan on the Class C. An older model but with excellent mileage.  We beat the other buyers with an offer to pay cash right on the spot and brought the RV home two days later. Since then, we have made some short trips to Death Valley, Central California Coast, and the western part of Route 66 up to Flagstaff, AZ. We still look forward to cruising around the world but for now, this RV is the next best thing that kept us going. We will go on a week-end trip to Cachuma Lake in two weeks after attending my nephew's outdoor wedding in Santa Barbara. Can't wait to be able to take the RV trip up to Seattle to visit family there! We are fully vaccinated but not our 30-year old son yet. Our next cruise is for October 2021 Genoa to Miami on MSC Seashore, but I am not optimistic.

 

During these last few months staying home, I have taught myself to edit videos that my husband took on our most recent cruises on MSC Seaview and Divina in 2019. If you are interested you are welcome to check out these videos here. 

 

I also keep a travel blog on our trips since 2012, you may click below my signature for all our other adventures. Thank you for starting this thread, MamaFej! Good to meet you all here!

[MamaFej]

I made this sticker for the back of our RV. I thought you all might get a kick out of it. 

[Blizzard54]

Very nice.  I am guessing by the picture that your Tiffin Allegro is both newer and bigger than ours.  I am glad mine is not any bigger than it is.  I would not be able to keep it at my house.  The start of our season is probably going to be delayed.  Minor issue with cataracts. 

[MamaFej]

2 minutes ago, Blizzard54 said:

Very nice.  I am guessing by the picture that your Tiffin Allegro is both newer and bigger than ours.  I am glad mine is not any bigger than it is.  I would not be able to keep it at my house.  The start of our season is probably going to be delayed.  Minor issue with cataracts. 

Yeah, it’s a 2021, that we bought last summer. It replaced a 20 year-old Fleetwood Southwind that we had bought as a very used rental 15 years prior. We drove that one to 49 states and some Canadian territories and provinces. 
 

I hope your cataract issue is resolved soon! 

[Blizzard54]

7 hours ago, MamaFej said:

Yeah, it’s a 2021, that we bought last summer. It replaced a 20 year-old Fleetwood Southwind that we had bought as a very used rental 15 years prior. We drove that one to 49 states and some Canadian territories and provinces. 
 

I hope your cataract issue is resolved soon! 

Our Tiffin is 2000 with only 22k miles on it.  We bought it last summer to replace cruising.  I am hoping to drive it cross country this summer.  First we will do a trip to NorCal. 

I should be see the specialist in a couple weeks to schedule the eye procedure.     

[Peace2U]

Hi. Hubby and I rented a 20' RV a few years ago and loved it. We are not sure if we want to buy an RV or just rent. What are some advantages/disadvantages to buying vs renting. I definitely want to do some heavy duty traveling. He'd rather buy an airplane instead, so I need some bargaining chips.

Edited March 28, 2021 by Peace2U

[IRMO12HD]

@Peace2U, that's great that you've rented an RV and enjoyed it!  We now have a 31' Class C -- we've owned just about every other type (Class A, Class C, 5th Wheel, 5th Wheel Toyhauler, Travel Trailer, PopUp Camper) except for a Class B.  My preference is the Class C or the Travel Trailer, mainly because both my DH and I can drive them.  My suggestion would be to figure out how you want to use it (i.e., short trips vs extended cross-country) and who you foresee driving it.  The reason I mention that is that the long haul driving (or even traveling for several weeks at a time) can be tiring, and it's nice to be able to share the burden/task.  Personally, being a fledgling Class C driver (with a toad), I find that my limit is about 1 hour of driving.  It doesn't seem to bother my DH as much, but he grew up driving trucks on a Montana ranch.  If "heavy duty" driving is in your future, I'd look at something you both will feel comfortable driving.  Renting different types would give you that exposure.  Just my $0.02.

[Blizzard54]

On 3/28/2021 at 3:18 PM, Peace2U said:

Hi. Hubby and I rented a 20' RV a few years ago and loved it. We are not sure if we want to buy an RV or just rent. What are some advantages/disadvantages to buying vs renting. I definitely want to do some heavy duty traveling. He'd rather buy an airplane instead, so I need some bargaining chips.

For sure you have a lot more flexibility with an RV.  In our case, I was looking for older low millage RV. I was leaning towards a class C but could not find one in decent shape.  DW does not even like driving a car anymore so going with a class A was not a problem.  We found a nice A and went with it.  It is a bit wide on the road but I have adjusted to driving it.  That should even be easier when I get my cataracts taken care of. 

So far we have only used it instate but plan on longer trips this summer.  Our plan is to not just go from point A to point B but to explorer as we go.  We do not plan on driving more that 200 to 300 miles in a day.  We will not have a tow car.  We have purchased e-bikes to give us some extra mobility.  Neither of us been on a bike in about 30 years. So far we are enjoying mine as we wait for delivery of hers.

Before the shutdown we were cruising an average of 160 nights a year.  We have 142 booked if we ever start again.   We are probably going to cut back on cruising a bit in favor of RV'ing.  Another plus for us is that our DD and SIL have a trailer and we have met up with them.  The 1 year old grandson is also a reason to cut back on cruising.

[Noodles84]

Hi, I had my first birthday on a ship going from Britain to Canada as my parents were immigrating to Canada.  My dad was in the RCAF, so whenever we were transferred to Europe, it was by ship and I was not a good sailor, keeping to my bunk  across the Atlantic, so I was not a fan when my hubby suggested a cruise for our 25th Anniversary.  I finally conceded and told him I would try one but if I didn't like it he was not to ask again.  He booked a 21 day cruise through the Panama canal and I loved every minute of it.  I was truly hooked and 35 or so cruises since then, I can't wait to get back to it.  We also have both camped since children, and continued it during our marriage from tents to pop-ups,  B class, C class, and lastly a Sprinter van.  We also camped by tent all through Australia and South Africa, enjoying it very much (these were our retirements trips). I feel we have done so much, but still have so much travelling to do.! Nicole

[Blizzard54]

Our RV'ing has been put on hold.  I am scheduled for cataract surgery next week.  They said I should be able to drive the big rig about a month later so that is when we will hit the road. 

[Noodles84]

1 hour ago, Blizzard54 said:

Our RV'ing has been put on hold.  I am scheduled for cataract surgery next week.  They said I should be able to drive the big rig about a month later so that is when we will hit the road. 

Good luck with the surgery!