Jump to content

What did you do to celebrate you retirement?


theminnow
 Share

Recommended Posts

My sister and I both retired within weeks of each other in 2010. She from Wilford Hall at Lackland AFB and I from the Lafayette Parish School System's Administrative Offices. To celebrate we took our first B2B. she paid for the first week and I paid for the second. And, we were lucky enough to have the same cabin. It really was a great retirement gift to each other.

 

Now we are both working (?) again and enjoying it again because it is on our terms. We are full time volunteers at our Catholic church where we are the Safe Environment Coordinators, keep tract of our church census, count and deposit the monies from our weekend church donations, keep tract of the cemetery funds, annual church fair and whatever else is needed. But since we are volunteers we can take off whoever we want and hop on a cruise ship if we want. No more worrying about using vacation days.

 

Life is really good.

Edited by lady_cruiser
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 4 weeks later...

I retired a little early (last year)(too young for social security). June lst I was free.

Husband officially retired January lst (got a good deal). Anyway spent two months between heading south and back up. Took the slow route. Did St. Augustine, Daytona, Disney, Destin, etc. Did some sightseeing going back north. It was nice.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

DH's retirement coincided with a milestone high school reunion for me, so we traveled by car from our home in North Carolina to New Orleans for my festivities, Then headed to Pensacola to visit long-time friends for a couple of days, then down to Miami for a short Cruise on Victory to Cozumel. Post cruise we drove down to Key West and spent a few days there, then a leisurely drive back home, visiting with family along the way. We enjoy car trips as long as we can take our time and of course we LOVE cruising and visiting family and friends, so is trip was the perfect combination for us.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

My retirement cruise was on Royal Caribbean from Vancouver to Hawaii. I had just retired do to a disability and was somewhat uncertain about our economic future. It was a great cruise and everything has worked out well with the exception of my disability worsening.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...
  • 3 weeks later...

Our retirement celebration and 40th wedding anniversary was celebrated with something so very new for us. We flew from Houston to Paris to Florence Italy. Toured Italy with a group of 7 other couples (all unknown to us) for a 10 day "Walking Tour of Italy", followed by a fabulous 12 night Mediterranean cruise out of Civitivecchia, on the (almost brand new) Celebrity Silhouette. WE LOVED IT ALL. It was our first time to Italy and our first cruise. I long to go back, but so much to see and do elsewhere!

Time has flown by ... it really seems as if we retired last year!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Our retirement celebration and 40th wedding anniversary was celebrated with something so very new for us. We flew from Houston to Paris to Florence Italy. Toured Italy with a group of 7 other couples (all unknown to us) for a 10 day "Walking Tour of Italy", followed by a fabulous 12 night Mediterranean cruise out of Civitivecchia, on the (almost brand new) Celebrity Silhouette. WE LOVED IT ALL. It was our first time to Italy and our first cruise. I long to go back, but so much to see and do elsewhere!

Time has flown by ... it really seems as if we retired last year!

 

Hi Barb And Randy congratulation on your retirement and Anniversary trip, just a ? was the walking tour through Celebrity? we like to do land tours before or after our cruises.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...
  • 3 weeks later...

Oct. 31st will be our 4 year anniversary of retirement.

 

I retired on Oct. 31, 2012. We sold everything, home, autos, no storage.

We left MN that day, Then left the USA on Jan. 3, 2013.

Been traveling the world ever since renting vacation homes.

 

Our updated itinerary for the next 669 days.

http://www.worldwidewaftage.com/2016/10/at-last-our-new-upcoming-updated-669_14.html

 

Tom,

Edited by tomworldwidewaftage
Link to comment
Share on other sites

It has been four years for us. We celebrate retirement every day that we wake up. And we intend to keep celebrating.

 

We keep travelling. About six months a year. Came back from Ireland last month, just book a South American cruise and land trip for January thru March. Why stay home?

 

Biggest change besides downsizing was getting in shape and down to our recommended weights and discovering that we enjoy travelling with carry on only for extended periods of time. So liberating and it makes this travel possible for us.

 

I have no intention of being the wealthiest person in the retirement home nor do I want to be that person who waits too long to travel. Do it now...why stay home!

Edited by iancal
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Not retired, but can help with the walking tours question. We used this company for walking tours in both Rome (two tours) and Florence. Highly recommend.

https://www.walksofitaly.com/?gclid=Cj0KEQjwp4fABRCer93Klpaki94BEiQAsXJMGqTltiQJ_MCNA-sXtFzQleYgs7jsofLVp6Yrto1_eqwaAsd18P8HAQ

Edited by 3CanadianBears
Link to comment
Share on other sites

We won't get a chance to celebrate my husband's retirement. After 41 years and 5 months with the same company he got laid off 18 months before he was scheduled to retire. In fact we canceled an Azamara cruise we were scheduled to take in November and scaled back a land based trip to an all inclusive that was planned and under deposit long before they dropped the hammer. Luckily, we were able to downgrade the hotel to save several thousand dollars.

 

So, while you enjoy cheap gas think about the over 200,000+ people worldwide who have been laid off in the oil and gas segment.

 

Deb I am sorry about your husband that is terrible!

However no need to try to guilt people into feeling bad about cheap gas.

Leave the blame where it belongs, on the greedy companies!

 

I on the other hand will probably never be able to retire and I am 58:eek:

 

I am happy for those that can.

 

Good luck

Reader

Edited by Reader0108598
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

A re-positioning cruise on the Volendam from Vancouver to Fort Lauderdale, a cruise that I had been looking forward to for some time. And, in fact, had booked the cruise for the previous year only to cancel it because I decided to delay my retirement for one more year.

 

A great cruise with many new ports mixed with some favorites of past cruises. Only negative was a couple days prior to arrival at FLL, I bit on a whole Peppercorn and broke a tooth! Ow! Painful and really painful during my flight home.

 

Just one more cruise memory!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...

Just got back from a last minute AI in Puerto Vallarta. Picked the right price buy wrong week. Came back to snow and -20C.

 

This one thing that we really enjoy about retirement. Being able to cherry pick last minute deals and having the ability to leave on a days notice.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We will be taking a B2B from Singapore to Abu Dhabi and then Abu Dhabi to Rome. We will be following that with 4 days in Venice and 5 in Vienna.

 

Can't wait as it will be the first time we have had enough time off to do a B2B.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 months later...

We went on a Viking river cruise Amsterdam to Budapest with 3 days in Amsterdam before, our one complaint what my husband called the basement room it had a window, not a fench balcony ,at the end of April for the last queens day the whole trip we only had 3 days of no rain,take a light to med coat for April it might get a little cold some days ,great food rooms very comfortable,shower worked great ,I researched all our stops before we left helped a lot ,take comfortable shoes you walk lots ,

We retired in 07 he had 32 years at Chrysler I got a buyout my pension comes at 62 , he wanted to stay in Missouri till the grandkids were older in 2018 they will be 18 and 25 and we are off to Florida with maybe a lil place in the u p of Michigan

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...
Deb I am sorry about your husband that is terrible!

 

However no need to try to guilt people into feeling bad about cheap gas.

 

Leave the blame where it belongs, on the greedy companies!

 

 

 

I on the other hand will probably never be able to retire and I am 58:eek:

 

 

 

I am happy for those that can.

 

 

 

Good luck

 

Reader

 

 

That's what happens when you work for someone else. Yes it sucks after I was laid of by a large corp I said never again and started my own company I'm 71 and retired at 62 and have an income of over 100k screw working for the man!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Well, let's see. I "retired" at 54. Found that I did like having a set schedule, but did not have to "work". Went back into law enforcement until my heart retired me at 64. Now I get up at the crack of 9:00am each and every day? :D Have been in timeshares (two in Florida, and two in South Africa) for the last 20 years and we really enjoyed all the vacations we have had. Get into resales, DON'T EVER BUY RETAIL! If anyone has a timeshare question; go to TUG, Timeshare Users Group. It's free, and like CC has a ton of great information.

 

We still go to Daytona Beach each year for Biketoberfest. Now we are starting on cruising and looking forward to the experience. First trip to Alaska on Star Princess.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...

Please sign in to comment

You will be able to leave a comment after signing in



Sign In Now
 Share

  • Forum Jump
    • Categories
      • Welcome to Cruise Critic
      • New Cruisers
      • Cruise Lines “A – O”
      • Cruise Lines “P – Z”
      • River Cruising
      • ROLL CALLS
      • Digital Photography & Cruise Technology
      • Special Interest Cruising
      • Cruise Discussion Topics
      • UK Cruising
      • Australia & New Zealand Cruisers
      • Canadian Cruisers
      • North American Homeports
      • Ports of Call
      • Cruise Conversations
×
×
  • Create New...