I do both cruises and land based travel, did Vietnam, Cambodia in January /February of this year, cruised the Panama Canal last January, cruised Alaska last September, going to South Africa in May on a land based trip, Japan for Cherry Blossom season on Princess Cruises next spring and looking for a Galapagos trip in the near future. You are 100% right you can only afford to travel in retirement (or anytime) if you are debt free. People always ask how I can afford to travel so much, I say points and no debt
@@30AndAWakeUp I would travel more but my husband doesn't travel and started complaining that I was away as much as I am at home. So I have agreed to only 4 months of travel per year for now
Always good advice Kevin. I spend a lot of time in cruise ships as well. Not as much as you! I have travel medical insurance for about 420 Canadian Dollars per year. It’s a yearly policy with a caveat that I have to go back to Canada every 60 days. Not the best but it works for me now.
Hi Kevin-Heads up on returning to partial RV/ camping -conditions have changed radically since you were doing vanlife. Now at 5yrs full time vanlife, I’m looking to give it up. Issues are SAFETY & theft, increased cost of fuel & campgrounds, dangerous driving on interstates, closure of many dry camping options: BLM/ Walmart / Cracker Barrel & stealth due to ordinances. Hope this provides insight & love your vids! BTW, thanks again for being my first subscriber ❤
Yep! Good news though - You qualify for free/ or disctd Military pass for National Parks & NP CGs if that’s what you’re interested in. Please note, that with climate change, just in the past 2yrs, I’ve run from more wildfires, tornadoes & hurricanes than I wish. Canadian fires made summers miserable in Michigan & Maine 😩 I’m considering climate & financial arbitrage to Panama, Argentina & Malaysia. 🎉 Your thoughts?!?!
Super thanks on Malaysia creator! Hey, do you want any tips on NP CGs? I have a list of favorites around the US. Only thing about NPs is you can’t video an NP without a permit. They’ve been aggressive with fining some RU-vid creators who didn’t get permits.
I've often wondered if you;d prefer cruising or van life more - good answer! Hope you're enjoying Princess - gorgeous cruise product to choose for a longer cruise like this! Also, WHAT A BACKDROP - that water is just what I needed to see - certainly beats the wintery grey here in England!
Kevin, thank you for the chapters! I was saving my question hoping to catch your live Q&A, but you sort of answered the planning cruises question. How did you manage to put together the cruises so that you did not have to move ships? Do you sort by the ship’s name?
I really love your q&a since you have travelled so extensively you have wealth of experience to share. I am looking to travel more and am eapecially drawn to cruising to see the world. I tend to be kind of timid in places I am unfamiliar with and cruising seems a safe way to see places I probably would not visit otherwise!
I might miss you from time to time, but I'll definitely respond!😊 I like all of the answers to the many great questions out there-very helpful! I would have asked the question of if or not of your returning to van life, and I like your answer to that!Alright, take care/ catch ya later and enjoy!🤗🛳🌺🌤🌄
Dumb questions: #1. Has you military experience helped you with a unruly person on a cruise ship? #2. Has any kids ran up to you and hugged your leg with no fear? #3. Have you ever camped out in one of those Inn train's?
Thanks for answering my question. Texas Medical Ranger comes from my time with the Texas State Guard's medical battalion, aka The Texas Medical Rangers.
Thanks for your service. I was drawn to your channel because of the vanlife content. Haven’t made it to the answer for which is better, but I am chuckling that the vanlifers are still here. Even though cruising isn’t my thing, I’m glad to see you happy, healthy and putting out content. And who knows, I may take a cruise in the future.
haha well thanks 🙏 i think the van life / cruisers have a pretty good overlap in audience that my international travel really doesn’t have. thanks so much for continuing to watch and comment 🙏🙏😎
@@lifesabeach5405 Yeah, I mean, I’d probably trade that pension for the 20 years of my youth I gave up including 6 years in combat zones and the loss of a few close friends but yeah…Im grateful people pay their taxes (including myself).
Thanks for another grreat, informative video. I have no plans to cruise but I'm still watching! I just subscribed too (re-subscribed). I was subscribed efore and I didn't unsubscribe, but just realized I was no longer subscribed.
Are you open to having a traveling companion? Not me, haha I already have one, but someone who loves to travel, a buddy, or a friend...not full time, but for part of a leg of your planned journey?
I’m retired and travel full time and don’t have insurance. I have found that the best care to be as follows: In Asia I do Medical in Malaysia. In Europe I do it in Ireland. In Africa I do it in South Africa, South America I do it in Chile and in North America I do it in Canada.
We have been watching your channel since you were traveling in the Travato. My husband is retired Navy. We also have Tricare insurance. Have you submitted any claims for medical care on a ship to Tricare? Was it covered?
We have the same medicine travel cooler, we also have the plug in unit that we can plug into a battery backup pack or usb port/charging block with ac power. Was great for our Alaska interior trip when we were on the train, bus and at the Princess lodges, they don't have refrigerators in the rooms
Good post. You’re not down by the river in a van. You’re a lawyer down by the ocean in a cruise ship. I want to go on more cruises in my future. I also expect to retire and live off my life savings in 4 years. I have a sick mother who needs me around so I can’t leave for longer than a month at a time. So these things get more complicated as we get older.
The Honda Element is nice but there are a lot of other vehicles that work great as micro campers. The CRVs and pilots are nice. I prefer the Toyotas, and like the minivan as well as the RAV4 and Highlander. I would stay away from Jeep, just because they have higher maintenance costs over their life. Best wishes on finding your perfect home on wheels.
Hi Kevin . I want to thank you for tip about credit for military retirees . I called Princess and they will give me on board credit for my upcoming cruise Ruby Princess 23 March Panama Canal . See you there .
I ran into some Vanlife folks here in Phuket awhile back, I believe they came from Portugal. Vanlife traveling Thailand maybe a very cool adventure. Again, great content Brother! Thank you for sharing! 🐸🔱
Is TriCare your sole source of insurance while traveling? Heading to Europe via Iceland this fall on NCL and contemplating a travel insurance policy in addition to TriCare.
ING will be a great choice for you if you are planning on traveling in Asia. When I was a kid, we always stayed at the Siam Intercontinental when passing through Bangkok. So many amazing ING properties in Asia at reasonable rates.
When teaching online English, how many hours a week are you having work in order to make $2,000 - $3,000 a month? Would like to know if most of my time would be in the airbnb teaching or if I would have a lot of free time to actually explore when traveling if I went this route.
Happy St.Paddy's Day to you,Kevin!🍀🤗We'll see if I make it for the live chat(just letting you know, in advance).If I do make it on your live chat, it will be for a very short few minutes.😢I would stay, otherwise, and enjoy the conversations, of your locations, regardless of the weather, and the Q&A's that prepare you for cruising! I hope that I can make it to your chat soon-take care!🤗🛳🌅🌄
Awesome! Thank you for the carry on recommendation. Would you return to backpack if, in the future, your travels include more hiking, motorcycling than cruising/airports?
Great video. If we heard you correctly we are likely on that Singapore to LA cruise you mentioned. We are really looking forward to it. Perhaps we will see you aboard.
I worked onboard for several contracts. Quit over a decade now. Time has gone by so fast. I always miss it though. I miss seeing a different city or country everyday and being around a strong bond of friends. Some I’m still in touch with. Now I have to pay to go onboard 😂. Just wondering as a full time RU-vidr, are you able to write off your vacations? (Only if you’re comfortable answering)
I use the IHG card as well but beware their travel insurance. I booked a non-refundable hotel room for a weekend but then my husband came down with Covid so I had to cancel our weekend plans. I sent the travel insurance people all the paperwork for the dr, the reservation that clearly said non-refundable which is why I was making a claim and they kept asking me for paperwork I didn't have because I booked it myself not through a travel agent. Long story short, never got refunded but they left my case open just sitting there and no one knows what to do. Ridiculous! Now I buy travel insurance from outside not bothering with the credit card insurance.
15:30 Kevin, Add Sri Lanka to your list! I returned from a 7-day trip and thoroughly enjoyed it. From beautiful temples to secluded beaches, it has everything. People are welcoming, nearly all of them speak English and it is cheaper than most Asian countries.
Great video! I like your tips. I started watching your vanlife videos, but... just subscribed today. I'm wanting to travel full time in retirement -- so the tips on how to make it affordable are most interesting to me. I would want to combine cruising with vanlife and traveling by rail. I'm not a fan of the heat, so probably not going to Asia or the Caribbean!
Thanks for the good info! Also thinking of going the micro camper route, something that can easily be a daily driver too. I love the Solis Pocket but I found it is more van than I need. And I have been doing more plane travel. Have you heard any rumors about points rewards going away? It came up on my last trip but no one seemed to have good source on that. I feel about shoes the way you feel about pants.
LoL I retored from military 9 yrs ago and sold my engineering business 3 urs ago. I probably haven't had long pants or jeans on but maybe 10 times. Except for snow skiing of course. Love the videos!
I am curious, when you get comped a cruise on your casino play, you get a room to yourself with no solo penalty? If so, what if you wanted to bring someone else with you to share that room? Do they get on for just port fees and taxes as well?
Nope, no penalty for being solo. Im not sure if you brought someone else but I’d assume it’d be 2 port fees and taxes since that stuff is based on the individual not the room
Yeah for sure. The biggest issue with world cruise packages is they don’t really have any kind of solo discount. So it usually cost twice as much as the sticker price for me.
Hello, Kevin. Regarding credit cards and points. If much of your cruises are free due to casino deals, a portion of your dinning is included on the ship, how do you also earn enough points to never pay for flights and hotels? Thanks in advance.
So if you check out my expense vids, they cruises aren’t free. I have to pay port fees, taxes and gratuities most times. Those are coded as travel, so I get 3x the points. So last month I spent around 2500 on my cruises and travel, so that is 7500 points. That adds up to a free flight after a couple months. I also just paid my taxes with a points card, so that got me a ton of points as well. So while the cruise fare is free at the moment, it’s not totally free. Also, I’ve been banking points for almost 8 years now. So i have LOTS of points with Chase and a bunch of airlines.
I did watch the last expense vid. However, missed connecting the dots! Thank you for the great explanation and information! I love your videos and am excited for the possibility of more van/camp travel!
Kevin, I have a Honda Element that I am going to sell this summer. It's old (2003) but only has 116K on it. I bought it from the original owner. I am near Astoria, OR but currently in Buenos Aires with Remote Year. Off to Brazil next month then back the the PNW by May. I don't want to put my email here but I'm unsure how to converse with you if you want to talk about the Element.
Yeah, I know that seems hefty, but $300 comes back in travel credit. So it’s really $250. Highly recommend you watch Ask Sebby to figure out the value to you. It’s worth way more than that a year for me but might not be for others. There is also the Preferred version that is only $95 a year.
Based on you being on the same ship for a long period of time does it ever feel like ground hogs day? Like you are repeating the same day over and over (oh wait, thats my life here at home) But seriously, is the trivia the same questions each week? Lol.
Not really, especially with the varied itinerary where I wake up somewhere new almost every day. Some people might get bored on sea days but I like to use that time to make and edit videos. So, I stay busy. I play trivia all the time and have never seen a question repeated.
@@30AndAWakeUp we all need our eccentricities. 😁 As for luggage, when in Asia look for a hardside top open case. They save so much space when open. Then again you're not traveling with a wife and her clamshell opening suitcase. 😂
Kevin, you as a lawyer should know never make a suggestion, where someone could hold you liable. I was told by my pharmacist to be VERY careful about getting any RX from any other county because not all countries have the same high quality of purification of the meds. I have know Americans who live near the boarder with Mexico or Canada & travel over to buy their medicines there.
Why do all this travelling when The Experts tell us we're in a Global Boiling crisis? It would appear that we should all "Stay Home" (and throw soup and paint on paintings and statues) in order to flatten the curve of climate change!
I’ve actually reduced my carbon footprint by only owning things that fit in my carry on only, not having a car. I walk every where except my plane or cruise travel. I consume almost nothing. Im sure, staying home would actually increase my carbon footprint not reduce it.
