How long is too long?

[auntlynne]

Getting out of the habit is a good wording.

After going on way more vacations than a “reasonable” person would, ie, than the majority of the world could afford, I stopped for over four years.

Sudden onset of an auto immune disease and the only trips were to the hospital and doctor’s office. August 2015.

Planned and cancelled plans for a couple of cruises. Finally, last fall, made land and air reservations for St Thomas in December 2019. It was a success. Ot completely back to normal, but capable enough for a first trip.

Then WDW in January (did the 12 hour drive by myself).

SuperBowl weekend (Jan/Feb) - drove to Mobile for Carnival cruise to Cozumel (1st and probably last).

March - Two weeks in Hawaii. They shut the doors as I was leaving.

... Time off from vacationing; first chance I got, I returned to old habits. But it has left me wondering if they aren’t just that - habits.

I went to Orlando for the last two weeks and realized I was ready to be home early in the first week. Used to be I missed my dog when gone, but he had passed the day I went to WDW in January. I stayed a second week and had fun attempting to see a rocket launch which didn’t happen (3 different rockets attempting).

I had a great time in the planning for this trip, which is often as much fun as the actual vacation. But its possible I have saturated my travel memory needs. I have been blessed with visiting 5 of the continents (I thought New Zealand counted as Australia continent; found out its just islands, not on a continental plate.).

... So you might have filled your cruise “bucket.” Worse things could happen. And maybe better or different ones - like visiting those National Parks.

I still have a few key ones I’d like to see - Yellowstone, Grand Tetons, Crater Lake. San Juan Islands off Washington state.

Well, maybe my travel bucket is not totally full. Just needs some destination tweaking.

Happy Trails...

 

[MomOTwins]

Getting out of the habit is a good wording.

After going on way more vacations than a “reasonable” person would, ie, than the majority of the world could afford, I stopped for over four years.

Sudden onset of an auto immune disease and the only trips were to the hospital and doctor’s office. August 2015.

Planned and cancelled plans for a couple of cruises. Finally, last fall, made land and air reservations for St Thomas in December 2019. It was a success. Ot completely back to normal, but capable enough for a first trip.

Then WDW in January (did the 12 hour drive by myself).

SuperBowl weekend (Jan/Feb) - drove to Mobile for Carnival cruise to Cozumel (1st and probably last).

March - Two weeks in Hawaii. They shut the doors as I was leaving.

... Time off from vacationing; first chance I got, I returned to old habits. But it has left me wondering if they aren’t just that - habits.

I went to Orlando for the last two weeks and realized I was ready to be home early in the first week. Used to be I missed my dog when gone, but he had passed the day I went to WDW in January. I stayed a second week and had fun attempting to see a rocket launch which didn’t happen (3 different rockets attempting).

I had a great time in the planning for this trip, which is often as much fun as the actual vacation. But its possible I have saturated my travel memory needs. I have been blessed with visiting 5 of the continents (I thought New Zealand counted as Australia continent; found out its just islands, not on a continental plate.).

... So you might have filled your cruise “bucket.” Worse things could happen. And maybe better or different ones - like visiting those National Parks.

I still have a few key ones I’d like to see - Yellowstone, Grand Tetons, Crater Lake. San Juan Islands off Washington state.

Well, maybe my travel bucket is not totally full. Just needs some destination tweaking.

Happy Trails...

A lot of truth in this. We have gotten so used to Disney World and Disney Cruise that when we tried to plan a different kind of vacation this fall (airbnb on the beach) I felt so confused and overwhelmed. Kept obsessing finding an airbnb with no negative reviews, scrutinizing photos of the place to spot safety hazards for the kids or cleanliness issues, worried about the bed configurations for our family of five, trying to find nearby restaurants that are kid friendly, worried about what car rental options would work (e.g., is midsize enough room with a car seat and suitcases?). My DH kept rolling his eyes at me as I obsessed over the planning, but he agreed for the sake of my sanity to split the trip up into a few resort days at Yacht Club before the stay at the airbnb, so that I won't have to worry that the vacation will be a total bust.

The fact is I have just gotten so used to Disney vacations that it really has become a habit and I get a lot of peace of mind out of that--I know where we like to stay and what we like to eat, and how we're going to be transported from point A to B, and I know there will be lifeguards and floaties at the pools and beaches so I won't have to worry. I think my DH is hoping the airbnb half of this trip will "cure" me and make me more comfortable trying new vacation choices. I guess we'll find out soon (leaving in two weeks)!

 

[jane01jp]

Getting out of the habit is a good wording.

After going on way more vacations than a “reasonable” person would, ie, than the majority of the world could afford, I stopped for over four years.

Sudden onset of an auto immune disease and the only trips were to the hospital and doctor’s office. August 2015.

Planned and cancelled plans for a couple of cruises. Finally, last fall, made land and air reservations for St Thomas in December 2019. It was a success. Ot completely back to normal, but capable enough for a first trip.

Then WDW in January (did the 12 hour drive by myself).

SuperBowl weekend (Jan/Feb) - drove to Mobile for Carnival cruise to Cozumel (1st and probably last).

March - Two weeks in Hawaii. They shut the doors as I was leaving.

... Time off from vacationing; first chance I got, I returned to old habits. But it has left me wondering if they aren’t just that - habits.

I went to Orlando for the last two weeks and realized I was ready to be home early in the first week. Used to be I missed my dog when gone, but he had passed the day I went to WDW in January. I stayed a second week and had fun attempting to see a rocket launch which didn’t happen (3 different rockets attempting).

I had a great time in the planning for this trip, which is often as much fun as the actual vacation. But its possible I have saturated my travel memory needs. I have been blessed with visiting 5 of the continents (I thought New Zealand counted as Australia continent; found out its just islands, not on a continental plate.).

... So you might have filled your cruise “bucket.” Worse things could happen. And maybe better or different ones - like visiting those National Parks.

I still have a few key ones I’d like to see - Yellowstone, Grand Tetons, Crater Lake. San Juan Islands off Washington state.

Well, maybe my travel bucket is not totally full. Just needs some destination tweaking.

Happy Trails...

I'm sorry to hear about your dog. Ours passed away in early July, after 15 1/2 years. It sounds like you have had some great trips! We have been to 21 national parks, including St. John and Channel Islands. Our favorites are Grand Canyon and Bryce Canyon.

 

[auntlynne]

I'm sorry to hear about your dog. Ours passed away in early July, after 15 1/2 years. It sounds like you have had some great trips! We have been to 21 national parks, including St. John and Channel Islands. Our favorites are Grand Canyon and Bryce Canyon.

Thank you. losing the dog has been harder than my parents, but his was sudden. I had my parents so much longer, with clues when they were coming to the end.

I guess it is Teddy Roosevelt we have to thank for the great system of parks; and Lawrence? Rockefeller for St John. I can see why people get in an RV and drive around the country. Probably a pretty smart way to travel these days.

... The Big 5 in Utah look pretty good in pictures - and Monument Valley as seen in Soarin’ at EPCOT is fascinating.

I don’t think my dream of visiting places will pass; just the actual doing Is doubtful.

 

[Spiffy MacSpiff]

We are starting to ask ourselves, if we get out of the habit of cruising, due to extended shutdowns or restrictions that are deal-killers for us (such as mandatory face coverings), will we ever go back to cruising? Ditto for Disney/Universal parks.

Is anyone else out there having those same kinds of thoughts?

We are. We love cruising DCL, but having our cruise cancelled this year has done wonders for Ye Olde Savings Account and was sort of a wake-up call about the other kinds of travel that we've been missing out on because we're always saving up for a cruise. Our kids are aging up and out of the DCL clubs, and we had so much fun this summer / fall doing other, quieter things as our own little family unit. Mr. MacSpiff and I may do a DCL cruise by ourselves one of these days but to be honest I don't see another family cruise happening until the grandkids start arriving.

 

[jane01jp]

We are. We love cruising DCL, but having our cruise cancelled this year has done wonders for Ye Olde Savings Account and was sort of a wake-up call about the other kinds of travel that we've been missing out on because we're always saving up for a cruise. Our kids are aging up and out of the DCL clubs, and we had so much fun this summer / fall doing other, quieter things as our own little family unit. Mr. MacSpiff and I may do a DCL cruise by ourselves one of these days but to be honest I don't see another family cruise happening until the grandkids start arriving.

Our kids are grown, and we have been on several cruises without them. But, I'm a little bit OCD, and once I change vacation habits, it will be hard for me to change back.

 

[Joe Brig]

If you really don't like face coverings maybe you just haven't found the right ones. There are some made that are more breathable than others.

 

[DisneyConvert]

We . . . are big DCL fans (21 cruises so far). . . . and have scheduled the Magic Canada cruise for October 2021.

We are also booked on Oct24th, 2020 NYC--Canada. We loved cruising out of NYC (Bermuda in 2019).
Insh'allah (as our Arabic brethren might say).

 

[Chrissy-Mickey]

My type of vacation changes along with my life changes. I've done road trips, city trips, international air travel, and cruising... and these usually rotate depending on personal interest, finances, international influences (politics, pandemics), family situations, and vacation time. I've yet to say "I don't see us doing that anymore" to any of these (I'm not near the retirement age), but sometimes we take a 'break' for a few years before traveling that method again.

 

[jane01jp]

We are also booked on Oct24th, 2020 NYC--Canada. We loved cruising out of NYC (Bermuda in 2019).
Insh'allah (as our Arabic brethren might say).

I hope to see you on board the Canada cruise!

 

[jane01jp]

My type of vacation changes along with my life changes. I've done road trips, city trips, international air travel, and cruising... and these usually rotate depending on personal interest, finances, international influences (politics, pandemics), family situations, and vacation time. I've yet to say "I don't see us doing that anymore" to any of these (I'm not near the retirement age), but sometimes we take a 'break' for a few years before traveling that method again.

We waited for 7 years between our second and third cruises, and then started going reasonably frequently. I tended to like vacations with non-stop activities. But, we have gotten used to just hanging out over the last few months, and even though it feels like we're in a rut, it's actually hard to envision actually getting to go on a cruise ever again.