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How has becoming a senior changed the way you travel?


delily
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Just wondering if others also do things differently now than the way they did them in their younger years. For the first time I'm booking ship's tours. I just don't want to be bothered this year with all the DIY navigating. And I'm also a cruise ship this year instead of renting a car and lugging things from one hotel to another!

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DH used to like more active tours. Now the sightseeing tours are more his speed as long as they are not too educational:D. A few years ago I booked a speed boat excursion in Cozumel. It started out fine, but when the "speed" part came about we were both wishing we hadn't signed up for it!

We have always schlepped our luggage around in the terminal at debarkation. This year we decided that next trip we would hire a porter to do it for us or use the luggage valet service. It's too exhausting!

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We no longer need to "see it all"

We still book private tours but we try for shorter tours

We have the AWD luggage, which really helps

We upgrade to the larger seats on flights when we can, hang the expense;)

We do not book early morning flights anymore ..I am not a morning person & getting to the airport at 4-6am is not my idea of a good time

If I cannot get a mid day or later flight ..I am not going

Some ports we just wander around the town or stay on the ship

 

Seems as I age some things are just not as important as they use to be :)

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*no more "if it's Tuesday, this must be Belgium" coach tours

*if I travel solo I pay the extra and do not try to find a roommate

*upgrade to Premium Economy for flights

*more cruising

*hire a driver rather than renting a car (airport to cruise terminal)

*tip a porter instead of schlepping my own stuff

Edited by Scrapnana
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But it does have some advantages too:

 

we take longer cruises to more exotic locations

we never fly steerage

I spend a lot more time catching up on my reading while at sea

we still take active excursions, just not as active

I too don't have to see it all anymore

I find the odd afternoon nap refreshing

I still drink beer almost exclusivly, a good red wine for dinner

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We no longer need to "see it all"

We still book private tours but we try for shorter tours

We have the AWD luggage, which really helps

We upgrade to the larger seats on flights when we can, hang the expense;)

We do not book early morning flights anymore ..I am not a morning person & getting to the airport at 4-6am is not my idea of a good time

If I cannot get a mid day or later flight ..I am not going

Some ports we just wander around the town or stay on the ship

 

Seems as I age some things are just not as important as they use to be :)

 

Love these tips, I too am doing the same thing now that I am a Senior. I travel alone and pay the double fare for my own cabin - don't want to share - figured I've earned it by now! :) I also avoid early morning at all costs - have always been a night owl. I am curious - what is AWD luggage? I tip the porters now but it is a real hassle wrestling luggage and I've cut back to the basics.

 

Sue

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I am curious - what is AWD luggage?

 

Sue

Luggage with wheels that turn 360 degrees .you can push, pull or I walk with it at my side with my carry-on on top ...just do not let go of it on a slope ;)

 

They are called spinners as well.... I have the Heys brand

http://shop.heys.ca/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=PortalSmartLuggage26

Edited by LHT28
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Luggage with wheels that turn 360 degrees .you can push, pull or I walk with it at my side with my carry-on on top ...just do not let go of it on a slope ;)

 

They are called spinners as well.... I have the Heys brand

http://shop.heys.ca/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=PortalSmartLuggage26

 

Well Duhhh! All wheel drive, should have figured that out! :D I checked out the Heys website and will be ordering one, have to figure out which one. They look very practical and the price is right. Thanks so much for the tip. :)

 

Has anyone ever tried the service (not sure what it's called - FedEx or someone like that- that picks up your luggage from your home and delivers it to your hotel? If so, how did you like it? Since I travel solo, I'm thinking that might be the way to go on a longer cruise.

 

Sue

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Has anyone ever tried the service (not sure what it's called - FedEx or someone like that- that picks up your luggage from your home and delivers it to your hotel? If so, how did you like it? Since I travel solo, I'm thinking that might be the way to go on a longer cruise.

 

Sue

 

I looked into doing it for my next cruise but internationally it was going to cost close to $300 a bag. I'll pay the airline and give my porter a generous tip and still come out ahead.

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Looked into it from where I live in Canada. The cost for us is more than the upgrade to business class air in most cases where we can take 2 70lb bags each for free, not that they are ever that heavy. We do however each take two so we have room to bring the stuff we pick up along the way. I enjoy sitting in the front of the plane far more than having a stranger take my bags and praying they make it to the ship half a contenent away.

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Well Duhhh! All wheel drive, should have figured that out! :D I checked out the Heys website and will be ordering one, have to figure out which one. They look very practical and the price is right. Thanks so much for the tip. :)

 

 

Sue

We have 2 of the 26" hard side cases & seem to work for us

Plus I bought a 22 " soft side with the hard bottom AWD for short trips

 

I love them :D

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We travel more often and take more time to see the sights. We entertain ourselves rather than our children (which we did when they were young and life focused on them). We eat when and what we want to eat. We do not complain about the food, nor cut up anyone else's food. We think late night is 10 pm. We know the value of elastic waist pants, especially at the end of the cruise. We are not sure why anyone would listen to rap. We need quieter dining areas because DH cannot hear as well as he used to. We put a night light in the bathroom for those late night trips.

 

We take ourselves less seriously because we have lost loved ones and realize what really is important in life. We have patience for those with limited mobility and envy those with grandchildren. We like seeing others enjoy themselves and move away from people who irritate us so they can enjoy themselves and we don't have to get irritated or complain.

 

We do not travel during spring break time because we don't have to. We can go whenever we want. We drink an occasional drink because drinking to excess was so 40 years ago. We hate the next morning headache and grogginess because getting going in the morning is tough enough without the hangover.

 

I actually love being this age. I hold onto every minute and wish I could slow life down.

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Not that I like early morning flights, I definitely need a nap that day when I get where I'm going . But I just can't fly a red eye if I have to function during the next couple of days. Fortunately, we now have time to take longer, more leisurely trips.

 

This didn't happen at 55, more like when I started getting Soc Sec :)

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We travel more often and take more time to see the sights. We entertain ourselves rather than our children (which we did when they were young and life focused on them). We eat when and what we want to eat. We do not complain about the food, nor cut up anyone else's food. We think late night is 10 pm. We know the value of elastic waist pants, especially at the end of the cruise. We are not sure why anyone would listen to rap. We need quieter dining areas because DH cannot hear as well as he used to. We put a night light in the bathroom for those late night trips.

 

We take ourselves less seriously because we have lost loved ones and realize what really is important in life. We have patience for those with limited mobility and envy those with grandchildren. We like seeing others enjoy themselves and move away from people who irritate us so they can enjoy themselves and we don't have to get irritated or complain.

 

We do not travel during spring break time because we don't have to. We can go whenever we want. We drink an occasional drink because drinking to excess was so 40 years ago. We hate the next morning headache and grogginess because getting going in the morning is tough enough without the hangover.

 

I actually love being this age. I hold onto every minute and wish I could slow life down.

I absolutely love this!

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We travel more often and take more time to see the sights. We entertain ourselves rather than our children (which we did when they were young and life focused on them). We eat when and what we want to eat. We do not complain about the food, nor cut up anyone else's food. We think late night is 10 pm. We know the value of elastic waist pants, especially at the end of the cruise. We are not sure why anyone would listen to rap. We need quieter dining areas because DH cannot hear as well as he used to. We put a night light in the bathroom for those late night trips.

 

We take ourselves less seriously because we have lost loved ones and realize what really is important in life. We have patience for those with limited mobility and envy those with grandchildren. We like seeing others enjoy themselves and move away from people who irritate us so they can enjoy themselves and we don't have to get irritated or complain.

 

We do not travel during spring break time because we don't have to. We can go whenever we want. We drink an occasional drink because drinking to excess was so 40 years ago. We hate the next morning headache and grogginess because getting going in the morning is tough enough without the hangover.

 

I actually love being this age. I hold onto every minute and wish I could slow life down.

 

I love it too, it really says it all!!

 

Sue

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We travel more often and take more time to see the sights. We entertain ourselves rather than our children (which we did when they were young and life focused on them). We eat when and what we want to eat. We do not complain about the food, nor cut up anyone else's food. We think late night is 10 pm. We know the value of elastic waist pants, especially at the end of the cruise. We are not sure why anyone would listen to rap. We need quieter dining areas because DH cannot hear as well as he used to. We put a night light in the bathroom for those late night trips.

 

We take ourselves less seriously because we have lost loved ones and realize what really is important in life. We have patience for those with limited mobility and envy those with grandchildren. We like seeing others enjoy themselves and move away from people who irritate us so they can enjoy themselves and we don't have to get irritated or complain.

 

We do not travel during spring break time because we don't have to. We can go whenever we want. We drink an occasional drink because drinking to excess was so 40 years ago. We hate the next morning headache and grogginess because getting going in the morning is tough enough without the hangover.

 

I actually love being this age. I hold onto every minute and wish I could slow life down.

 

KINKO THAT!

You have summed it up for most of us in this age group.

Once I hit 50, I started tipping more, and schlepping less.

It's worth a little extra out of pocket, to not be a pack mule, and risk hurting my back or twisting my knees.:D

 

Great Post!

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  • 2 weeks later...
  • 4 weeks later...
We travel more often and take more time to see the sights. We entertain ourselves rather than our children (which we did when they were young and life focused on them). We eat when and what we want to eat. We do not complain about the food, nor cut up anyone else's food. We think late night is 10 pm. We know the value of elastic waist pants, especially at the end of the cruise. We are not sure why anyone would listen to rap. We need quieter dining areas because DH cannot hear as well as he used to. We put a night light in the bathroom for those late night trips.

 

We take ourselves less seriously because we have lost loved ones and realize what really is important in life. We have patience for those with limited mobility and envy those with grandchildren. We like seeing others enjoy themselves and move away from people who irritate us so they can enjoy themselves and we don't have to get irritated or complain.

 

We do not travel during spring break time because we don't have to. We can go whenever we want. We drink an occasional drink because drinking to excess was so 40 years ago. We hate the next morning headache and grogginess because getting going in the morning is tough enough without the hangover.

 

I actually love being this age. I hold onto every minute and wish I could slow life down.

 

Well said! Love it!

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  • Now we've both retired we go away during the school term so we don't meet lots of families. Love kids ... but not on holiday.
  • We take longer cruises to more exotic locations.
  • We have a couple of hours resting before we get ready for dinner each night so we can enjoy the nightlife aboard the ship.
  • We join our ship in the UK instead of having the extra effort of travelling to Barcelona or Venice or Rome.
  • We try to take less luggage!!
  • If we want to do something, we just do it and don't just say we'l do it "sometime"- because none of us knows what the future holds.

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Amen to so many of the posters here!

 

What do I do differently? I fly business on longhaul (over 10 hours) whenever I can, at the very least Prem Economy.

 

I look for hotels that are small and friendly/boutique rather than huge global brands (unless my points get me a free stay!)

 

I pack only what I feel good in, and don't care about dress codes - unless I want to!

 

Wear comfy shoes!

 

Love the poster that said elastic waist pants! Amen to that too

 

Take travel wash and half the underwear, especially on long trips. The only time that failed me was on a month-long trip to aus after 4 days of one nighters...I had to go BUY some knickers!

 

Travel with someone that doesn't care what you look like first thing in the morning - or travel alone.

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We are learning to slow down and enjoy traveling instead of go, go, go. We used to get home more exhausted than when we left. We also will stay on the ship in some ports and just relax. Now, if I can just convince my better half to not take so much luggage. Better yet, start hiring a porter more.

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