Cruising Guilt?

[tef43]

ANYONE else cruising without the kids????

We *NEVER* travelled *with* the kids.

[sixy-six]

Yes I have it. But I not going to let it stop me from going agine and agine.

[Karried]

Thank you everyone! I'm printing out these responses and referring to them anytime I start feeling 'guilty'. I appreciate the kind words and the wonderful perspective - family is so important and yes, life is short..

 

Conquest, Here I come! :rolleyes:

[ooulio]

I don't feel guilty at all anymore. Life is too short! One of my best friends died at 26 with ovarian cancer within a year of being diagnosed. Always did her tests too. Another best friend died at 50 from kidney problems. One of my friends fell down the stairs last month and cracked his skull open at 38. Healthy as a horse too. Just turned the wrong way on his way from the bedroom to the bathroom and slipped all the way down the stairs. Wasn't drinking either. I donate to some causes and do a big donation sheet on Cancer every year at work in May for one of my customers.. His wife died 2 years ago of cancer. I help as much as I can. We deserve to enjoy ourselves. Life is too short. Everyone that can afford it go and enjoy yourself. We never know what is around the corner.

[ooulio]

I don't feel guilty at all anymore. Life is too short! One of my best friends died at 26 with ovarian cancer within a year of being diagnosed. Always did her tests too. Another best friend died at 50 from kidney problems. One of my friends fell down the stairs last month and cracked his skull open at 38. Healthy as a horse too. Just turned the wrong way on his way from the bedroom to the bathroom and slipped all the way down the stairs. Wasn't drinking either. I donate to some causes and do a big donation sheet on Cancer every year at work in May for one of my customers.. His wife died 2 years ago of cancer. I help as much as I can. We deserve to enjoy ourselves. Life is too short. Everyone that can afford it go and enjoy yourself. We never know what is around the corner.

[Bramcruiser]

Can't feel guilty about living life. I felt some guilt recently when I booked the QM2 for a long dreamed-of vacation at around the same time my brother was losing his job and had to begin the search for a new one. However, I also felt I couldn't shut myself away and sacrifice just because he was in need. Fortunately he got a great job and he has since moved on but it was nerve racking for the family for a while.

 

As for Katrina and the tsunami problems I would figure the same. First we can help as much as we can with time and money but that doesn't translate to stop living. I take my vacations (including cruising) seriously as it extreme mental recovery. I have a high stress job that I really need that down time to feel alive once again. Managing other people one must get away and not think of others for a short while. Also in regards to those problem areas or even poor places on Earth its a two way streak. Yes, I understand the tourism industry takes advantage in some cases but it does create the spin off effects of jobs and flow of money into places already in need of such so its not necessarily evil.

 

Bottom line, there is no need to feel quilty. Yes, we can help out our fellow man but we don't have to always sacrific ourselves 24/7 either.

[cruzincurt]

Guilty, no, well perhaps for a few seconds when I total up the amount spent on 17 cruises, but as others have said, life can be shorter than we anticipated.

 

It would be sad to wait until one retires to start cruising, what if you can't afford it then or are sick? I see the plan is to diversify. Spend some here, save some there; spread it around. Make choices to balance out your life and expenses. Now what would be sad would be getting hit by a bus on the way to a cruise.

 

What started out as "Let's try a cruise" has turned into "How soon can we get to 30?" Cruises are the only vacation we take during the year. #18 coming up.

[duckman715]

I amof the philosophy, and live accordingly, that if I die with more than ten dollars to my name - I just haven't done it right. Cruising helps insure that I will attain this goal.