Re: cruises now paid for

Now that is just being silly isn't it? at last my wife and I can enjoy our retirement a little can't we?

You have absolutely no idea of how much saving we have done- the long hours running our own business/ working for others and doing 5 jobs between us to start when we got engaged/ married- not even decent a honeymoon - and the so few holidays in our 43 year of marriage, I could count them on one hand.
Yes now we are retired we can afford a decent holiday once a year, a nice house and new car, and damn well proud of it. I will shout it from the rooftops if I want to.

No golden spoon for us, started married life with nothing ,owed money on our car and a big mortgage to pay for ( on a small 2 bed terrace house with 1 small room downstairs) -bring up 2 children as well. So don't ever get the idea we were born rich, far from it.

I was even ordered to ease up by my doctor as I was loosing too much weight down to 6 stone with hard manual work and little sleep, doing anything from 14 to 16 hours a day 7 days a week, but it fed us -paid the bills- kept a roof over our heads as wells , and buying a house to start with - and out of debt apart from mortgage


By the way look what hard work can bring you with saving hard.

A new car with personal number plates £34,000

not to mention a fairly new car for my wife as well

A large 4 bedroom house, not far off £1/2m, with a huge 24ftx 48ft garage

Also helped with a deposit on my youngest sons house. Now paying us back with trips to where he is in Brazil



Peter ( Purwell)
You could have the same if you put in the same effort as we did.

OOh and the 5 jobs between us? my wife worked as a typist and on saturdays in Boots
Me
in electronic engineering during the day and evenings weekends helping repair/service cars with a car mechanic and or working in a pub depending on when I had the time/ shifts etc
Then I went to work for BT as a switchboard fitter before buying our own business

Re: cruises now paid for

Good for you, realspeed. Take no notice of the green-eyed monsters. To be jealous of other people's hard earned pleasure is silly and petty.

We're off on our 12th cruise on the 28th - to New Zealand for two weeks from Sydney. We go to England and Europe for two months every year and make several trips to Melbourne and Sydney in between for shows and theatre.

I taught full time for 45 years and paid into my own super for 30 years so why should I be ashamed to say we can afford to do all these things.

Re: cruises now paid for

There's absolutely no shame in enjoying the fruits of your labours in your twilight years. There will always be those mean-spirited folk who begrudge others having what they haven't got.

Re: cruises now paid for

Too true Alan.

Though at times I feel guilty talking about holidays to my sister, I have to remember that she chose motherhood. I remained single through no fault of my own, not by choice, so don't see why I have to justify to anybody else how I got my savings (redundancy/savings plans/small investments/money from parents - which we all 4 benefited from).

Sister has 4 lovely children and 7 grandchildren...something I'll never have, and knows she'll never be well off, or even have a fiver to call savings. I often offer money but she says 'I can't take money off you to pay my bills' as she repeated yesterday.

But yet, I hope she doesn't begrudge me having the time of my life, because I can. And because I've worked all my life for it.

As I don't begrudge anyone here. You want a world cruise? I'm envious, deeply so. But good luck to you, and I know you'll enjoy it.

And to all of you booking those fab holidays. Have fun. We're all SKIs now, and have worked hard to get here!

Re: cruises now paid for

Sadly I have been roped into my daughter and her friends "I can't believe we're 30" cruise. Personally the idea of being stuck on a ship for days at a time sounds like hell on earth to me but we shall see. I like holidays looking at things not sitting around.

I have told them I am not baby sitting but apparently they have a creche for that. My cabin has a spa and a balcony looking out the stern so I expect to spend most of my time there or at the bar.

What really bugs me is that when I went to England on a ship in the 60s as soon as the ship was outside the 3 mile limit the cost of booze was peanuts but on these cruises they charge like wounded bulls; more than pub prices.

Perhaps I will enjoy it, I have booked on every excursion available when the ship is berthed. You never know I might enjoy it. I wish I could remember where we are supposed to be going but I think it is various islands in the Pacific. It is November so it should be warm.

Re: cruises now paid for

Guessing some of you cruise with P&O if you go from Southampton. I've done a fair bit of cruising. Might even have inadvertently bumped into some of you !

Re: cruises now paid for

I don"t think I would like to go a cruise.
Much prefer going to Mauritius for 2 weeks in February [ only 4 weeks now ]
Then 6 weeks in the States , in May and September [Driving a vehicle ourselves, so we can pick and choose where WE want to go].
Bliss.

Re: cruises now paid for

Jazzi and Apricot

I was the most anti cruise person you could wish to meet originally. The thought of being stuck on a cruise ship going from port to port I imagined was about the most boring thing on this earth.

So me being cautious , (as i can't swim) I opted first to do a river cruise as the banks were close by.

Silly now but that was my thoughts, so decided to do a River Nile trip in Egypt.

Docking for the night on the Nile




Ok not exactly a med cruise but it did give me a better idea of what cruising was like.

I soon changed my mind about cruising and decided to do a med cruise with Royal Caribbean. Well talk about did I enjoy it? you bet I did, great food anytime it seemed- great entertainment all free. Just one of the shows away from main stage

Splendour of the seas




and fantastic excursions. The accommodation and staff could not have been bettered and to top it all the cost per night was far below sticking in a hotel in the UK and having to go out in the pouring rain or whatever till feed time.

Next cruise was on this- Navigator of the seas, a much larger ship altogether

Inside the main corridor was like a high street shop

Yes definately well and truly hook now and try and stop me going on many others

Re: cruises now paid for

Gawd Bazza, when you said you thought about trying a river cruise first, I thought you meant up and down the Thames.


What an incredible ship that is. I have never been on anything like that. Nearest I'm ever likely to get is a dinghy on the lake at the park.

Re: cruises now paid for

WOW !!!!

You'll have to budge up Mups 'cos I think I'll be joining you