Gardening Grandma
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Post by Gardening Grandma on Jan 25, 2019 23:17:21 GMT -5
My goals (financial) for 2019 are conflicting. I want to dial back the spending and I want to go to India.
DH wants a new truck (and tbere are some good reasons to buy one)
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dannylion
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Post by dannylion on Jan 25, 2019 23:17:40 GMT -5
When I remodel my master bath, the existing soaker tub, or as I call it, the death trap, will go away. A nice hot soak is a wonderful luxury, but the tub is so tall that getting in and out is treacherous. I hope you can find a safe one or devise a placement that makes it safe to use. I'm just going to have a giant shower with a nice bench and lots of different water-delivery options. Not as soothing as a nice soaky bath, but less likely to kill me. You are younger and likely considerably more agile than me, though, so maybe it's not an issue. I am going to build in a shower chair that folds up to the wall when it's not in use and have the safety bars. I already have a double shower head. I'm incorporating the best of both. That sounds like an excellent solution. I hope you will post pictures when it's all done!
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justme
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Post by justme on Jan 25, 2019 23:21:05 GMT -5
Europe!!! I really want to finally go. It's daunting to plan by myself though. If you’ve never been to Europe and find it a bit daunting, I suggest looking at Rick Steves tours. We aren’t “tour people”, but did one a few years ago. There were several solo women in the group and they were great fans. Thanks. Though a quick look seems really expensive!! Did you do a fully guided one or their My Ways?
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laterbloomer
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Post by laterbloomer on Jan 25, 2019 23:23:07 GMT -5
I am going to build in a shower chair that folds up to the wall when it's not in use and have the safety bars. I already have a double shower head. I'm incorporating the best of both. That sounds like an excellent solution. I hope you will post pictures when it's all done! ISO has an autoimmune disease that messes with his legs so I have to have these features for him now. I have a few months to wait for my contractor to be available but I will post pics.
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weltschmerz
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Post by weltschmerz on Jan 25, 2019 23:24:39 GMT -5
Get my car, which is stuck in the ice, out before spring. A trip to Cuba in November. Solo.
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Gardening Grandma
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Post by Gardening Grandma on Jan 25, 2019 23:25:02 GMT -5
Yes. It isn’t super cheap, BUT a lot is included that is extra with other tours. The group size is about half of the cheaper tours. On the cheaoer tours, you need to add tips, extra side trips and other expenses that are included in the RS tours. You’ll find the northern Europe tours are more expensive (because northern Europe IS more expensive) So you might want to consider southern (or eastern) Europe.
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justme
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Post by justme on Jan 25, 2019 23:41:17 GMT -5
Yes. It isn’t super cheap, BUT a lot is included that is extra with other tours. The group size is about half of the cheaper tours. On the cheaoer tours, you need to add tips, extra side trips and other expenses that are included in the RS tours. You’ll find the northern Europe tours are more expensive (because northern Europe IS more expensive) So you might want to consider southern (or eastern) Europe. This is my problem!!! Too many choices! That and I can't really find any tours that just go to my narrowed focus so I'm undoubtedly looking at adding more. Prob need to start my own thread so I don't derail Debt's more....
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tskeeter
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Post by tskeeter on Jan 26, 2019 0:34:38 GMT -5
If you’ve never been to Europe and find it a bit daunting, I suggest looking at Rick Steves tours. We aren’t “tour people”, but did one a few years ago. There were several solo women in the group and they were great fans. Thanks. Though a quick look seems really expensive!! Did you do a fully guided one or their My Ways? Justme, I know guided tours are costly, but I think the Rick Steves tours would provide a great value. We’ve normally done diy tours. Decided to go guided tour for a trip to Normandy, using the guy who now does Normandy for the Rick Steves tours. Wow, what a tour! We all got so much more out of the tour than we would have if we had done it on our own. The first morning my younger brother was hanging on the fringe of our group. By the next day, bro was glued to the guide so he didn’t miss anything and so he could ask our guide questions. Given the value we got from having a guide, what we got out of that trip was well worth the additional cost. We’ll be using more guides on our future trips, and will most likely be adding guided tours to our travel plans.
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justme
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Post by justme on Jan 26, 2019 0:58:38 GMT -5
Thanks. Though a quick look seems really expensive!! Did you do a fully guided one or their My Ways? Justme, I know guided tours are costly, but I think the Rick Steves tours would provide a great value. We’ve normally done diy tours. Decided to go guided tour for a trip to Normandy, using the guy who now does Normandy for the Rick Steves tours. Wow, what a tour! We all got so much more out of the tour than we would have if we had done it on our own. The first morning my younger brother was hanging on the fringe of our group. By the next day, bro was glued to the guide so he didn’t miss anything and so he could ask our guide questions. Given the value we got from having a guide, what we got out of that trip was well worth the additional cost. We’ll be using more guides on our future trips, and will most likely be adding guided tours to our travel plans. It's more that my travel style is less structured. For example, when I went to San Francisco I did a bus tour the first day to get a feel for where everything was, and then besides a tour to Napa (had to see Napa, but my friend had to work so that was my best bet) everything else was either wandering wherever my feet took me or was revisiting places I saw on the bus tour that didn't do it justice. Though it's also why part of me is looking at the Rick Steves 21 day Europe tour now. $6220 for solo (not including air) but it gives me 8 days in Italy (which is where I really want to go) and 2 in Paris (and could add an extra night as they end on a Saturday - or 2 extra if I just want to use 3 full weeks of vacation - yay labor day). And then go back another time to meander. It's a thought - but I'd still have to pay for 21 lunches and 10 dinners - so prob $7k plus air. Gah, that's then like $8k min. Holy crap...I only paid $13k total for my car.
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Gardening Grandma
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Post by Gardening Grandma on Jan 26, 2019 1:19:34 GMT -5
Justme, I know guided tours are costly, but I think the Rick Steves tours would provide a great value. We’ve normally done diy tours. Decided to go guided tour for a trip to Normandy, using the guy who now does Normandy for the Rick Steves tours. Wow, what a tour! We all got so much more out of the tour than we would have if we had done it on our own. The first morning my younger brother was hanging on the fringe of our group. By the next day, bro was glued to the guide so he didn’t miss anything and so he could ask our guide questions. Given the value we got from having a guide, what we got out of that trip was well worth the additional cost. We’ll be using more guides on our future trips, and will most likely be adding guided tours to our travel plans. It's more that my travel style is less structured. For example, when I went to San Francisco I did a bus tour the first day to get a feel for where everything was, and then besides a tour to Napa (had to see Napa, but my friend had to work so that was my best bet) everything else was either wandering wherever my feet took me or was revisiting places I saw on the bus tour that didn't do it justice. Though it's also why part of me is looking at the Rick Steves 21 day Europe tour now. $6220 for solo (not including air) but it gives me 8 days in Italy (which is where I really want to go) and 2 in Paris (and could add an extra night as they end on a Saturday - or 2 extra if I just want to use 3 full weeks of vacation - yay labor day). And then go back another time to meander. It's a thought - but I'd still have to pay for 21 lunches and 10 dinners - so prob $7k plus air. Gah, that's then like $8k min. Holy crap...I only paid $13k total for my car. If Italy is your first choice, why not plan to go there? One mistake (imo) people make is to try and see everything their first time to Europe. We’ve gone 6 times (5 times on our own) and we still haven’t seen “everything”. We loved Italy. It’s not difficult to get around. It’s nice to learn how to say “hello” and “thank you”, but on the tourist track, English is widely spoken. If you don’t want to go on a tour, take a half day tour in each city ir town (book afteryou get there), then go back on your own to the places that interest you. You’ll meet other travellers - one of the fun aspects is chatting with a Brit or a German. Give yourself enough time in each place to get familiar with it. Allow “down” time with nothing planned. Just wander around. My minimum is two nights in one place (that is one full day). I prefer 3-4 nights (for 2-3 days).
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tskeeter
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Post by tskeeter on Jan 26, 2019 1:23:31 GMT -5
Justme, I know guided tours are costly, but I think the Rick Steves tours would provide a great value. We’ve normally done diy tours. Decided to go guided tour for a trip to Normandy, using the guy who now does Normandy for the Rick Steves tours. Wow, what a tour! We all got so much more out of the tour than we would have if we had done it on our own. The first morning my younger brother was hanging on the fringe of our group. By the next day, bro was glued to the guide so he didn’t miss anything and so he could ask our guide questions. Given the value we got from having a guide, what we got out of that trip was well worth the additional cost. We’ll be using more guides on our future trips, and will most likely be adding guided tours to our travel plans. It's more that my travel style is less structured. For example, when I went to San Francisco I did a bus tour the first day to get a feel for where everything was, and then besides a tour to Napa (had to see Napa, but my friend had to work so that was my best bet) everything else was either wandering wherever my feet took me or was revisiting places I saw on the bus tour that didn't do it justice. Though it's also why part of me is looking at the Rick Steves 21 day Europe tour now. $6220 for solo (not including air) but it gives me 8 days in Italy (which is where I really want to go) and 2 in Paris (and could add an extra night as they end on a Saturday - or 2 extra if I just want to use 3 full weeks of vacation - yay labor day). And then go back another time to meander. It's a thought - but I'd still have to pay for 21 lunches and 10 dinners - so prob $7k plus air. Gah, that's then like $8k min. Holy crap...I only paid $13k total for my car. Consider that your car will last maybe 10-15 years. The memories of your travels will last the rest of your life. Hopefully that will be longer than the car lasts.
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Gardening Grandma
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Post by Gardening Grandma on Jan 26, 2019 1:29:10 GMT -5
RS has a 10 day “Best of” tour of Venice, Florence and Rome for $2400-$3400..... Add a few days at the beginning (to recover from jet lag) and the end (to meander about on your own. I guarantee you’ll have the confidence to do so)
As tskeeter pointed out, you’ll have the memories forever
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justme
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Post by justme on Jan 26, 2019 1:33:27 GMT -5
It's more that my travel style is less structured. For example, when I went to San Francisco I did a bus tour the first day to get a feel for where everything was, and then besides a tour to Napa (had to see Napa, but my friend had to work so that was my best bet) everything else was either wandering wherever my feet took me or was revisiting places I saw on the bus tour that didn't do it justice. Though it's also why part of me is looking at the Rick Steves 21 day Europe tour now. $6220 for solo (not including air) but it gives me 8 days in Italy (which is where I really want to go) and 2 in Paris (and could add an extra night as they end on a Saturday - or 2 extra if I just want to use 3 full weeks of vacation - yay labor day). And then go back another time to meander. It's a thought - but I'd still have to pay for 21 lunches and 10 dinners - so prob $7k plus air. Gah, that's then like $8k min. Holy crap...I only paid $13k total for my car. If Italy is your first choice, why not plan to go there? One mistake (imo) people make is to try and see everything their first time to Europe. We’ve gone 6 times (5 times on our own) and we still haven’t seen “everything”. We loved Italy. It’s not difficult to get around. It’s nice to learn how to say “hello” and “thank you”, but on the tourist track, English is widely spoken. If you don’t want to go on a tour, take a half day tour in each city ir town (book afteryou get there), then go back on your own to the places that interest you. You’ll meet other travellers - one of the fun aspects is chatting with a Brit or a German. Give yourself enough time in each place to get familiar with it. Allow “down” time with nothing planned. Just wander around. My minimum is two nights in one place (that is one full day). I prefer 3-4 nights (for 2-3 days). Yeah, I didn't want to do everything. I really just want Paris and then Italy....there's just not really any tours that do that unless they 1) add a lot of other cities or 2) are a lot shorter than I was looking to be in Europe for so I then have to figure out my extra days. The 21 day tour is 11 cities with all but 2 cities being 2 nights. With 10 nights directly in my want area and 1 night in France but wine country so I can't say that doesn't appeal to me. www.ricksteves.com/tours/europe/europe-21-days Italy is the big question mark. I want to do Italy - and Rome and Venice are two cities I want to go to (Rome thanks to taking Latin in high school and Venice because I love the idea of spending time in a canal city). I know no matter what I do I'm going to have to come back and just take like a wine & food tour in Italy.
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Gardening Grandma
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Post by Gardening Grandma on Jan 26, 2019 2:18:50 GMT -5
If Italy is your first choice, why not plan to go there? One mistake (imo) people make is to try and see everything their first time to Europe. We’ve gone 6 times (5 times on our own) and we still haven’t seen “everything”. We loved Italy. It’s not difficult to get around. It’s nice to learn how to say “hello” and “thank you”, but on the tourist track, English is widely spoken. If you don’t want to go on a tour, take a half day tour in each city ir town (book afteryou get there), then go back on your own to the places that interest you. You’ll meet other travellers - one of the fun aspects is chatting with a Brit or a German. Give yourself enough time in each place to get familiar with it. Allow “down” time with nothing planned. Just wander around. My minimum is two nights in one place (that is one full day). I prefer 3-4 nights (for 2-3 days). Yeah, I didn't want to do everything. I really just want Paris and then Italy....there's just not really any tours that do that unless they 1) add a lot of other cities or 2) are a lot shorter than I was looking to be in Europe for so I then have to figure out my extra days. The 21 day tour is 11 cities with all but 2 cities being 2 nights. With 10 nights directly in my want area and 1 night in France but wine country so I can't say that doesn't appeal to me. www.ricksteves.com/tours/europe/europe-21-days Italy is the big question mark. I want to do Italy - and Rome and Venice are two cities I want to go to (Rome thanks to taking Latin in high school and Venice because I love the idea of spending time in a canal city). I know no matter what I do I'm going to have to come back and just take like a wine & food tour in Italy. The last time we went to Italy, we flew into Paris. Spent a few days there then took thenight train to Venice. (I love trains). Got on tne train about 6 or 7 pm (packed a dinner with wine from a deli). Woke up the next morning just outside of Venice. Walked out of the station, walked down a few steps to the vaporetto station (water bus) and purchased a 3 day vaporetto pass. Took the vaporetto to the stop where I had booked an apartment on VRBO (HomeAway). It really was pretty easy.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jan 26, 2019 8:50:47 GMT -5
Italy is the big question mark. I want to do Italy - and Rome and Venice are two cities I want to go to (Rome thanks to taking Latin in high school and Venice because I love the idea of spending time in a canal city). I know no matter what I do I'm going to have to come back and just take like a wine & food tour in Italy. What I did last October that worked very well was get an Airbnb place in Edinburgh and then make a 2-night trip to Paris using Marriott points for the hotel, keeping the place in Edinburgh. The RT to Paris was only $185 and I needed only my large computer bag and a backpack for the side trip. Two places in 8 days was about right. I took a guided tour in India and Nepal and was grateful for it, but in Europe I just don't feel a need to pay extra for someone to handle my bags, find me a place to eat, drive me around in a bus, etc. You also lose flexibility- if you're fascinated by a museum and want to go there again after lunch but the group is moving on, you can't. Same with the weather- if you're scheduled to visit someplace that's better experienced on a sunny day and it's raining, you may have to see it from the bus. On your own, you find a good museum on a rainy day. One of my best day trips was chosen that morning- had planned to go to Dunblane, saw the entry below it for Dundee, and when I found that the ship Discovery, which had been used in an early Antarctic expedition, was in port at Dundee, refurbished with a great musume attached, I went. The only thing (IMO) that you lose is the expertise of a guide who can tell you what you're seeing. I'm sure I've missed a lot of stuff but, as I mentioned, there are private tours. Airbnb is now advertising "experiences" at destinations- basically locals who will show you around, give you a cooking class, etc. That may be a good substitute.
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buystoys
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Post by buystoys on Jan 26, 2019 9:15:40 GMT -5
Goals for this year: 1. Apply maintenance free material to the eaves and gables of the house. It's in the budget so we should be able to get it done. 2. Sand the walls and paint my hobby hole. We've said for two years we're going to do it and we have some of the furniture that will go into it. I need to sand and paint the two Air Force lockers we bought to put in there. 3. Go on a vacation. We're really limited with my back issues and the dog. I don't mind boarding the dog for a few days, but DH feels bad about doing that. I'd like to go back to San Antonio, but I know I can't do the necessary walking to really enjoy it.
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Cookies Galore
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Post by Cookies Galore on Jan 26, 2019 10:20:34 GMT -5
debthaven Technically it was only 1 if you're counting while I've been an adult. My dad doesn't really want to do Europe. My mom maybe, but 1) that time frame is when they normally head up north 2) not sure she'd want to throw that much cash towards it 3) she doesn't drink and is more of an early morning than late night where as I am the opposite. I'm not totally against it, but not thinking it'll work out either. @athena53 I don't want to let it stop me, and it won't at some point. I'm to the point where the money isn't the big hold back like it used to be. It's not the solo part (besides that just meaning a lot more $$$) I've definitely traveled solo and liked it. It's the logistics of having to figure it all out. Every other trip I've done was either one city or a cruise - which are both way easier logistics. For this I have to decide on what cities I'm going to and probably what order and how many days....which is a lot of decisions for someone who can be quite indecisive!! I've looked at tours but I think they do too much. Have you thought about doing a European cruise? Either ocean or river. That lets you see a little of several places, so maybe it’s not as overwhelming if you want to try a trip all alone next time. And since you aren’t packing and changing hotels constantly it’s less of the “21 countries in 6 days” feeling. Might even be something your mom could be interested in... My dad and stepmom have done two European river cruises with Viking. They have nothing but good to say. It's on my list of things to do when hubby finally has decent vacation time.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 26, 2019 10:34:19 GMT -5
My only wish for this year is to snap out of this funk that's been consuming me for several years. I don't know if the root cause is physical or mental, but they're all intertwined now. If I could do that, any other goals would be a piece of cake.
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geenamercile
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Post by geenamercile on Jan 26, 2019 10:53:54 GMT -5
We are planning to travel more too, but closer to home. The main goal is to get either a pop up camper, or a travel trailer. We did get a SUV that pulls up to 8,500 so have a bit of wiggle room in what we get. The camp site for Myrtle Beach is already reserved for a week in July, so there is a bit of a time limit. Besides that looking at different campgrounds that are around 4-5 hours away for longer weekend trips. I want to get the up to the one of the dark camp grounds in September or October, there is one in PA that looks like it would be good. Not sure about how all these government shut downs will play into that.
My summer break will be shorter this year as the school district is changing start dates from Sep to Aug, but I should have a contract over lap so two checks in one month.
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steph08
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Post by steph08 on Jan 26, 2019 12:15:46 GMT -5
Redo our master bath - paint, floor, vanity
Pay off DH's student loan (almost $11k)
Pay $7k off our HELOC
Determine if building a house is in our budget or not. If yes, build within two years. If not, sell land (which eliminates the HELOC).
Take a family vacation
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jan 26, 2019 12:38:53 GMT -5
My dad and stepmom have done two European river cruises with Viking. They have nothing but good to say. It's on my list of things to do when hubby finally has decent vacation time. I've also heard very good things about Viking but sadly, Singles pay through the nose. Many cruise lines are like this. I checked a random cruise on their site and their cheapest Standard room is $3,200 per person double occupancy for 170 square feet. A Single room is 150 square feet and costs $5,000. I suppose you could find a travel companion but I don't know anyone else whose travel budget is as lavish as mine and even if I did they'd have to be someone with whom I was willing to share a stateroom. I used Overseas Adventure Travel for India and Nepal- no single supplement. If I get to the Galapagos next year, I'll be taking them.
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justme
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Post by justme on Jan 26, 2019 12:53:26 GMT -5
Have you thought about doing a European cruise? Either ocean or river. That lets you see a little of several places, so maybe it’s not as overwhelming if you want to try a trip all alone next time. And since you aren’t packing and changing hotels constantly it’s less of the “21 countries in 6 days” feeling. Might even be something your mom could be interested in... My dad and stepmom have done two European river cruises with Viking. They have nothing but good to say. It's on my list of things to do when hubby finally has decent vacation time. Fwiw - from the research I've done while viking is the most well known they are also the company that has to bus people around the most due to water levels as their boats have bigger draughts than other companies. There are other companies with shallow draughts that can still sail in the low water levels and just pass the viking boats by. And neither viking nor insurance does anything if your river boat cruise ends up being 75% bus.
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Post by The Walk of the Penguin Mich on Jan 26, 2019 13:07:43 GMT -5
Yes. It isn’t super cheap, BUT a lot is included that is extra with other tours. The group size is about half of the cheaper tours. On the cheaoer tours, you need to add tips, extra side trips and other expenses that are included in the RS tours. You’ll find the northern Europe tours are more expensive (because northern Europe IS more expensive) So you might want to consider southern (or eastern) Europe. This is my problem!!! Too many choices! That and I can't really find any tours that just go to my narrowed focus so I'm undoubtedly looking at adding more. Prob need to start my own thread so I don't derail Debt's more.... I have traveled in Europe solo, no tours. What I prefer to do it stay put for a few days and see everything within the area. The biggest expense you’ll have is hotels, especially solo, as the cost discrepancy between single and couple is nominal. There really is no way to see everything in one trip. We just got back from Lisbon, and I was pleasantly surprised as to how inexpensive it was. We were there only 4 days and between the 2 of us, all inclusive, we probably spent no more than 600€, including hotel (which was about 420€). Another thing you might want to consider is Tauck tours. They are also high end river cruises but they are the choice of my widowed neighbor. The advantage there is apparently there is no single supplement. I can’t vouch for them, but she likes them.
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geenamercile
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Post by geenamercile on Jan 26, 2019 13:12:42 GMT -5
I do want to get us all pass ports this year so out of country trips will become possible. Mine is 10 years expired and DH and the girls have never had any. DH hasn't even been on a plane before, or a train.
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Post by The Walk of the Penguin Mich on Jan 26, 2019 13:22:16 GMT -5
My dad and stepmom have done two European river cruises with Viking. They have nothing but good to say. It's on my list of things to do when hubby finally has decent vacation time. I've also heard very good things about Viking but sadly, Singles pay through the nose. Many cruise lines are like this. I checked a random cruise on their site and their cheapest Standard room is $3,200 per person double occupancy for 170 square feet. A Single room is 150 square feet and costs $5,000. I suppose you could find a travel companion but I don't know anyone else whose travel budget is as lavish as mine and even if I did they'd have to be someone with whom I was willing to share a stateroom. I used Overseas Adventure Travel for India and Nepal- no single supplement. If I get to the Galapagos next year, I'll be taking them. We just got back from a Viking ocean cruise. We did a transatlantic crossing in Dec. There IS a single supplement there (which is the price of a second person). All rooms had a veranda (which I did spend quite a bit of time on when we got further south), and are 270 sq ft. The rooms are good sized (we have stayed in much smaller hotel rooms), and the bathrooms nice (with heated floors). The one thing I can say is that the service is phenomenal. The food is excellent and everything is made on board (breads, desserts....and they even have one person who only makes gelato). We ate in almost every option, and the only complaint I would have is that the wines are pretty variable. We didn’t bother with the drink package (which would have been about $400 for both of us), just paying a la carte for anything other than the wines served at dinner. I don’t think our bill was $100. Wine, beer and soft drinks are included at mealtime. You have a fridge in your room that is stocked daily with soda, water and snacks. We did the 11 day Lisbon to Miami crossing. I am just about ready to pull the trigger on the 15 day Bergen to Barcelona trip this Oct. The age group is much older than the standard cruise. I’m 59, TD 60 and while we weren’t the youngest, we were at the bottom of the scale. The one thing I really liked is when I went somewhere by myself, I always found someone to talk to. I’d have absolutely no problem doing one of these cruises alone.
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Post by The Walk of the Penguin Mich on Jan 26, 2019 13:33:55 GMT -5
My dad and stepmom have done two European river cruises with Viking. They have nothing but good to say. It's on my list of things to do when hubby finally has decent vacation time. Fwiw - from the research I've done while viking is the most well known they are also the company that has to bus people around the most due to water levels as their boats have bigger draughts than other companies. There are other companies with shallow draughts that can still sail in the low water levels and just pass the viking boats by. And neither viking nor insurance does anything if your river boat cruise ends up being 75% bus. I heard this after we got back. Apparently the Danube and Rhine rivers were at historically low levels this past summer, not letting the longboats pass. How Viking dealt with this was really crappy, but it wasn’t their fault it happened. Friends of mine did the Bordeaux river cruise in Aug. and were incredibly happy. We compared notes.
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wvugurl26
Distinguished Associate
Joined: Dec 19, 2010 15:25:30 GMT -5
Posts: 21,696
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Post by wvugurl26 on Jan 26, 2019 14:10:02 GMT -5
My in laws took a trip to Italy through Tauck. They loved it. They are doing another trip through them this year either to Scotland or Spain/Portugal. The accommodations are excellent, some meals included and they got into some attractions after hours when there were no crowds.
They were supposed to go to France and do the beaches of Normandy but it's sold out when they wanted to go due to it being the 75th anniversary this year. They will go though.
FIL still emails with one guy from their Italy trip. They are in their early 70s, they would never go to Europe alone. This allows them to travel without worry.
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Cookies Galore
Senior Associate
I don't need no instructions to know how to rock
Joined: Dec 19, 2010 18:08:13 GMT -5
Posts: 10,730
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Post by Cookies Galore on Jan 26, 2019 14:26:07 GMT -5
My dad and stepmom have done two European river cruises with Viking. They have nothing but good to say. It's on my list of things to do when hubby finally has decent vacation time. Fwiw - from the research I've done while viking is the most well known they are also the company that has to bus people around the most due to water levels as their boats have bigger draughts than other companies. There are other companies with shallow draughts that can still sail in the low water levels and just pass the viking boats by. And neither viking nor insurance does anything if your river boat cruise ends up being 75% bus. Good to know! I have done exactly zero research!
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Cookies Galore
Senior Associate
I don't need no instructions to know how to rock
Joined: Dec 19, 2010 18:08:13 GMT -5
Posts: 10,730
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Post by Cookies Galore on Jan 26, 2019 14:29:07 GMT -5
I do want to get us all pass ports this year so out of country trips will become possible. Mine is 10 years expired and DH and the girls have never had any. DH hasn't even been on a plane before, or a train. Ooh, you could at least do an Amtrak trip somewhere! Hubs and I taking the train whenever we go to DC; one of these days we want to do a longer rail trip.
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tcu2003
Senior Member
Joined: Dec 31, 2010 15:24:01 GMT -5
Posts: 4,942
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Post by tcu2003 on Jan 26, 2019 17:54:42 GMT -5
Family vacation to Disney World in June. I have a meeting in Orlando then, so going to piggyback a family vacation to Disney. Of course, I should probably start booking hotels and buying park passes at some point.
Clear more clutter out of my house. It’s a very sloooooooowww process for me, but I keep working at it.
Family vacation somewhere else- likely late July or early August. We’re thinking Colorado to visit one of my BFFs and her family, and DH’s uncle and aunt. We can drive there, so as long as we don’t end up with an unexpected work trip elsewhere that we want to piggyback a family vacation into, this will probably be where we end up.
I want to do a girls weekend with three of my high school girlfriends. We did one last year at a lake house with our families, so I’d be game for that again, or a girls only trip. One of the ladies just remarried last fall, and has been pretty distant, so we’ll see if it happens. Or maybe 3 of us will do something instead of 4 of us.
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