I don’t think it has truly set in that we’re doing this. And I’m not sure others can believe it’s happening either when we tell them we’re taking an around-the-world cruise. We’re literally visiting close to 40 different countries on five continents. The entire trip is 196 days, departing from Miami, Florida on Friday, January 29th and arriving in New York City on Friday, July 12th. We’ll be spending New Year’s Eve in Cayman Islands, Valentine’s Day in Tauranga, New Zealand, our wedding anniversary cruising the Coral Sea, Matthew’s 15th birthday in Shanghai, John’s birthday in Rome, and Ryan’s 14th birthday in Bilbao, Spain. Our Spring Break (when Rook and Audrey will join us) will include Japan, China, South Korea, and Hong Kong. We’ll see jumping crocodiles in Australia, marvel at Komodo dragons in their natural habitat, send wishes into the sky in a lantern ceremony in Taiwan, ride a Tuk Tuk in Bangkok, visit the ruins of Pompeii, and sip wine in a châteaux in Bordeaux.
It’s seriously hard to believe we’re doing this. And so I want to share how we’re able to do it. In part because it might make it seem more real.
The first and perhaps most obvious question is how we can afford – financially – to do this trip. As you can imagine, it’s not cheap. First, let’s talk savings before we say how we paid the balance. With Oceania, we got 2 for 1 cruise fares with free roundtrip airfare. We also had a certain number of excursions included, free unlimited WiFi, and the costs of our visas included. The hotel we’re staying at in Miami is also included, as is our luggage shipping costs. Like all cruises, meals and basic drinks (including sodas, specialty coffees, and smoothies) are also included. Even with the 2 for 1 cruises, etc., the price was still outlandish. We had to talk ourselves into it being reasonable by doing some price comparisons. For example, we deducted from the price what we would likely have spent on things like food, gym membership, etc. at home since those would be a wash. We also looked at what our typical entertainment costs are and deducted those since that’s basically covered on the trip. We did some more math acrobats and came up with what we considered the “actual” cost of the cruise. With that number, we looked at what we’d likely spend if we were to travel without the cruise – to include our own flights, trains, Airbnbs, hostels, food, etc. Honestly, the cruise was a far better deal when you look at all the places we’re going. No doubt. Nevertheless, it’s still pricey. So how did we do it?
We’ll, my dad died. Plain and simple, my dad passed away rather unexpectedly following some acute medical things. At just shy of 64 years old, his death was needless-to-say premature. He (and we) thought he’d be around a lot longer, and he always said he wasn’t going to leave us a lot. He was going to spend his money and have fun and live life to the fullest in his retirement. He joined us on family cruises, and when we’d stay in lowly interior cabins, he’d stay in suites with a balcony, blasting his music loudly as only he would. And, somehow he never ticked off his neighbors when doing so, probably because he really was that person who made friends everywhere he went.
Anyway, when my dad died, we suddenly were left with more than we ever thought we’d get from him. And we never expected anything. Not because he was being rude or anything when he said he wasn’t leave us much. That was as we thought it should be. We are grownups and have made financially responsible decisions so we’re set for retirement and for our children’s college costs, etc. We, too, believe you can’t take it with you, and so you should spend your money and live life. Yes, make sure your debts are paid. Make sure your kids are okay. But there’s no need to leave money on the table, so to speak. Sadly, my dad did leave money behind – the stuff he planned to use for fun.
So, I looked at the life insurance money we received, and the money we made off our portion of the sale of his house and whatnot, and decided we’d use it for what he always wanted to use it for – fun. He loved traveling with us. He went on several cruises with us, and talked about doing many more in the years to come. In many ways, there doesn’t seem to be a better way to use his money than for a trip like this. We’ll offer many toasts along the way to my parents, make no mistake.
I have told some individuals that this is how we’re financially able to do this trip, and I’ve had a couple people comment that we should save the money for our own kids. All I can say to this is that this trip is for the kids as much as it is for us. They are taken care of with respect to their everyday living, their colleges, etc. Again, we are responsible adults and have worked hard to ensure that our children have what they need. This trip is a different way of providing for them – one we never thought imaginable. They get to see the world, explore different cultures, and experience a once-in-a-lifetime trip. Saving money and buying them ‘stuff’ won’t do for them what I genuinely believe this trip will.
That’s the main logistics issue – the cost. But there are certainly other costs associated with the trip and other logistical issues we had to overcome. The next biggest one is time. How can we afford to go timewise? How can we take this much time off from work or school? Well, we’re not, exactly. I’ll be on sabbatical leave. So while I don’t have to stick around and attend meetings or teach classes, I’m still expected to work on my research and get some writing done. Thankfully, I can write from anywhere and navigate time zones well enough to figure out how to attend research meetings from afar. John is also taking a sabbatical from work, and will use the time on this trip to figure out his next steps in his career. As for the boys, we learned a lot through the COVID-19 pandemic, one of which was that kids are resilient and able to learn remotely. Matthew and Ryan will have their remaining classes for the school year online through our regular school district. Some of their classes have already been online for a variety of reasons, so they’re used to managing their time and know how to handle the learning system. We’ll have plenty of opportunities to work on school and work during our downtime aboard the ship. I’m genuinely not too worried about this, and actually welcome the challenge. They boys aren’t too worried either. We’ve gotten into a rhythm with online classes and I think they can see how this is going to be possible without being overwhelming.
So, that’s money, time, and school-related questions. To answer some other queries I’ve received: We don’t have to worry about laundry. The ship will take care of that for us. We each had doctor, dental, and vision appointments so we don’t need to worry about those (and there is a medical center on board if we should need it). We are able to get enough of our medications to take with us while we’re away. Our pets and house will be cared for by a lovely family (that we found through House Sitters America) who will stay in our place while we’re away. Essentially, in exchange for rent, they’ll take care of our animals and make sure our house doesn’t blow away or burn down. They’ll also manage our mail while we’re gone so we don’t need to worry about that. We’ll likely just do an extension on our taxes.
Lastly, an expression that I use every time we’re packing to go somewhere and I’m lamenting that I’m going to forget something is “we’re not going to a third world country.” Basically, I say this because we’re usually not heading to such a destination, which means that if we forget something we can always just buy it there. Most places we’re heading will have whatever we might need, and if it’s not in one port it will be in another. We’ll have constant contact with people during our trip and this site will be a way for us to share our experiences – both good and bad.
That’s really about it. We’ve been planning this trip for a long time, and although we think we’ve thought of everything there is bound to be dozens of things that pop up unexpectedly. That’s part of the once-in-a-lifetime adventure, right?