2024 Regal Princess Cruise – Galveston, Cozumel, Belize, Roatan

We decided to take a Caribbean Cruise out of Galveston. This was our second cruise but our first in several years.

Cruise Planning – picking a cruise, selecting a room

After spending a lot of time researching forums and checking out prices from various sources online, we decided the Regal Princess would fit the bill! We had a few specifics in mind. We wanted:
1. a balcony room
2. mid-ship and on one of the lower decks
3. an unobstructed view
4. to visit places aside from Mexico (just for the fun of adding a couple of new countries to our “visited” list)

After shopping around, I phoned Princess and spoke to a booking agent. We were slightly less than 90 days before cruising, so, in the cruising world we were booking last minute. On the Princess website I had picked a cabin slightly forward of mid-ships. When I told him what we are looking for he typed away at the computer for a while and offered us a “premier balcony” right in the middle of the ship on deck 9, which is the second lowest level with cabins. The cost was only slightly higher than the standard balcony I had found so we took it on the spot.

A note on the different balcony cabins: the premiers have a love seat couch that makes into a small bed in them that the regular cabins do not. We really liked having that love seat as it gave us a place to sit rather than on the bed.

The balconies aren’t very big on these ships. While it was interesting to go out on the balcony while in port or to go out for a few minutes while at sea, we actually didn’t use our balcony nearly as much as we thought we might. Of course, your mileage will vary. On the Regal Princess there are no window rooms – it’s either balcony or interior, but for future reference, I’d be satisfied with a window cabin rather than a balcony. After all, there are places to sit and enjoy the ocean views everywhere on the ship.

Ports of Call

We aren’t as physical as we used to be, so our focus was on sightseeing rather than adventuring (although I kind of wish I’d gone snorkeling). At Cozumel we walked off the ship and checked out the shops in the area. We then returned to the ship and enjoyed the quieter atmosphere on board for the afternoon. I know people don’t want to miss anything, but I think everyone should experience having the ship “to yourself” somewhere along the journey.

At Belize we took an excursion to the Altun Ha Mayan site followed by a wildlife spotting river tour. Just leaving the ship at Belize City is an adventure. Ships anchor about 5 miles out and passengers board tenders to the port. From there we were ushered onto a nice bus that traveled about an hour to Altrun Ha. It’s an interesting place. You can climb up on top of some of the pyramids. We learned a bit about the culture and took photos. After a short ride to a place where lunch was served we got on a boat for the Belize River excursion. We saw lots of iguanas, a few howler monkeys, some crocodiles, and just the snouts of some manatees. We had a bit more of an adventure that we expected when one of the engines of our boat died. Another boat was sent for us and we changed boats out in the middle of the river – a bit of a challenge for several! Our trip back to the ship was an ordeal because the line to get on a tender was over an hour long! I think there were four cruise ships there and that stretched the resources of the port to the limit. We thought Belize was a neat place to visit, but because of the tender situation we’d likely pass on a shore trip there in the future. Even better, I’d pick a cruise that offered a different set of ports all together.

Roatan, Honduras, though, is a Caribbean visitor’s dream. Mahogany Bay is private to Carnival and Princess ships. You walk off the ship to a nice shopping area, then can either ride a chair lift or walk a few minutes to a beautiful private beach. We strolled down to that beach, found some beach chairs and watched all the people. Then we took a nature path back to the ship. There are a lot of fun excursions available, but that beach is great and in walking distance of the ship. If you ever wanted to skip excursions and just enjoy the beach, Mahogany Bay is the place to do it.

On Board

Our journey had four sea days. As did most everyone else, we spent time exploring the ship – and there’s a lot to see! There are many comfortable seating areas. In the big four-story plaza area at the center of the ship there’s often someone playing, singing, or hosting a public game. There are plenty of places to get refreshments. There’s no need for me to try to describe everything as the internet is full of videos of the ship.

We ate most of our meals at the Horizon food court, although we also ate in one of the main dining rooms on some evenings. We tried the hamburger place, and it was okay. We also splurged at the Gelato place for some very good ice cream.

We attended a few of the big productions in the theater and heard some talented singers and musicians and saw some impressive dancers in the shows. There are also smaller productions in Princess Live. We watched an ice sculpting demonstration and checked out over activities. Depending on your tastes, during sea days you could literally go from one thing to the next all day long. We aren’t gamblers, so can’t tell you a thing about the casino.

The ship, itself, is an entertaining experience. On the last day of the cruise, we were still discovering areas we’d missed.

If you can’t find a thing to do you can always go to your cabin and watch movies on TV. Or follow my example and take a nice nap.

Odds and Ends

We had a bit of rocking the first night and second day of the cruise. Then, as we traveled back to Galveston the ship rocked a little. We never felt ill but did use Sea Bands. Not sure, but I think they did help. I took a Bonine the second evening. Slept like a log, then, the next day at Cozumel between sightseeing and exploring the ship I took not one, but two naps. In the future I’ll save taking the pills for more extreme conditions.

We made reservations for evening dining but each evening they moved us to a different table, so we never experienced the “the waiter knows us” dining experience. Then, later on, we decided we liked the buffet and settled on eating there most of the time. I do suggest eating breakfast at one of the main dining rooms at least once. It’s a different sort of dining experience. Here’s a tip: you can order off menu if you want. No promises, but we were happily served.

Our cabin steward took good care of us and cheerfully responded to all requests.

One cabin irritation is the motion sensor light just outside the cabin bathroom. We mentioned it to our steward, and she applied some silver tape to the sensor. The tape didn’t stick very well, so we kept reapplying it. Still, it lasted most nights and that’s all we needed.

The cruise offered such a variety of experiences that I’m sure you can read someone else’s cruise story and it would sound as if they were on a completely different trip!

One option when disembarking the ship is “express.” That means you are taking your own luggage off rather than checking it. If you use that option, you get the earliest departure window and can basically leave whenever you are ready. However, there were hundreds of people doing the “express” walk off and we ended up waiting in line about 45 minutes to get off the ship. Once across the gangway, things went much faster with no issues.

Overall

We had a good time on the cruise. The food was abundant and good. It was nice having people taking such good care of us and the mixture of being on a luxurious ship and then doing port excursions is a nice combination. I know some people basically go from one cruise to the next. That’s probably not my cup of tea. No doubt, that is due in part to our years of independent travel in the RV and then in Europe. Still, a cruise is a lot of fun. I think it would be even more fun to travel with a group of friends and family. Who knows? That might be in our future.

2023 – Amsterdam, Netherlands

The primary purpose of our visit to Amsterdam, Netherlands was to see Keukenhof gardens, but, of course, we wanted to see a bit of the city too. We took the train into the city center where we hopped onto one of the many canal cruises that are available. It was a good choice for us as we got to see many of the historic sights of the city while riding on a canal, something Amsterdam is famous for. It was a relaxing trip and we recommend it. Afterwards, we just looked around – visiting the “flower market” where all kinds of touristy things are sold. Jackie did a bit of shopping. Afterward, we headed for the Palace and Dam Square. This huge town square was full of people. It is surrounded by government buildings and shops. For lunch we boarded a tram and worked our way to the Foodhallen – a unique food court in a big mall. We wandered the city, enjoying the sights.

Obviously, our short trip didn’t give us time to visit some of the famous museums. We opted for getting a general overview instead.

A few observations. We felt that public transportation, which was quite good, was rather expensive there. It may be that we’ve just been spoiled by the prices in Manchester which are less than half what they are in Amsterdam. Our hotel, the Airport Intercity Hotel, was very nice. We especially appreciated the full, complimentary breakfast that came with our senior adult rates. I will mention that the 10 minute walk from the bus/train station was complicated by several steps up and over a dike – something we weren’t prepared for.

It was, all things considered, a fun, but short, get-away. We’re constantly amazed at how close things are in this part of the world. Our flight from Manchester to Amsterdam was just over one hour. The negative was that we were supposed to arrive at the airport around two hours early. It seems strange to sit in the airport for twice as long as we sat on the plane!

2023 – Italy-Switzerland wrapup

2023 – Zermatt, Switzerland – the Matterhorn – Scott and Jackie

We arrived back “home” in Manchester a bit weary but more than satisfied with our trip to Italy and Switzerland.  Here are some random thoughts as we wrap up our trip.

It was an all-public transportation trip.  Over the last 10 days we traveled by bus, plane, subway, trolley, boat, Uber, and, of course, train.  It is quite an experience for Americans who are fully immersed in the car culture to travel totally as passengers on public transport.  It certainly is nice to look out the window or read a book while someone else handles the trip!

This journey was, of course, all about the trains.  Jackie and I enjoyed the Italian high-speed trains.  They are big and roomy; smooth and quiet.  Our Swiss trains, of course were all about the view.

The trains we traveled on in Switzerland were all narrow gauge.  That means the tracks and, therefore, the cars are narrower.   Most of the time it didn’t make much difference but, on the Bernina Express it did.  We were in second class where the seats face one another in groups of four.  Jackie and I decided it would be better to spend the four-hour trip looking at one another (and with both of us having window seats).  That meant two other passengers on the full train sat beside of us.  They were nice people, but they didn’t speak much English, so we spent those hours listening to them speaking French to one another and to several other family members on the other side of the train car.  While traveling in second class worked great on all the other journeys we took, I think we’d opt spend the extra money and go for first class if we were ever to take that excursion again.  The first-class cars have two seats on one side and one seat on the other.  Much more room.

I confess that photography on the train was a challenge.  The train keeps moving and there are reflections in the windows.  I just took lots of photos and then deleted most of them, leaving only the ones I thought looked best.

If you ever plan on traveling by train in Europe, check out this web site – I got tons of great information there: https://www.seat61.com/ is a great resource.

Jackie and I were really blessed with the weather.  Not only was it unseasonably warm, but it also didn’t rain or snow on us the entire trip.  We couldn’t have ordered better weather for a January in the Alps!

My biggest budget miss was the cost of food.  Switzerland, in particular, was very expensive.  Just a hamburger and fries were over $20 a person.  When traveling, we generally try to eat one nicer meal each day, and then, in the evening, eat a sandwich, etc.   Even that approach was a challenge.  We often went to a grocery store and bought ready-made sandwiches with chips to take back to the hotel for supper.  Those sandwiches usually ran $7-8 each.  Two of the “best” deals were German Doner Kebab restaurants (lots of meat!) and many pizzerias.  I do like pizza, but not as a daily staple!

I researched hotels on Google, trying to find highly rated ones, for reasonable prices, that were close to train stations.  We were satisfied with all of them.  All but one offered breakfast with the stay.  The breakfasts were pretty good.

I’ll close out my writing with this.  Thanks to all who have read along.  Comments are always welcome and encourage me to keep writing.  All of the posts in this series can be easily found in our travel blog: http://localhost/pastorscott/travel/tag/italy-switzerland/

2023 – Chur, Switzerland

Our Switzerland train journey continued with a ride through the high country between Brig and Chur.  Once again we climbed up above the snow line.  Rather than traveling on an express train we journeyed on local trains, needing to transfer to other trains a couple of times as we continued our trip.  Our train was full of skiers out for a day on the slopes.  A few stops were high in the mountains right at ski resorts with no town close by.  We lost count of all the cable lifts we saw.  We passed miles of cross-country skiers following a route through a valley and along the train tracks.  As we looked out at the mountains we could see people off in the distance skiing down.  Some train riders had snow sleds for their kids.  Honestly, if I headed out to the slopes, that would be about my speed!

We took lots of photos and I confess that, after a while, they start to look alike.  After all, when you’ve seen one amazing, beautiful, snowy mountain you’ve seen them all, right?

We arrived in Chur (pronounced “Coor”) and found our hotel a short distance from the big train station.  Chur has a very long history, dating back 3500 years before Christ.  This makes it one of the oldest settlements in all of Switzerland.

Our hotel is in a vehicle-free portion of the city, adjacent to the old town section of the city which is filled with narrow cobblestone walkways lined with shops and housing.  We explored the area and took photos but took full advantage of our planned off day in which we had no major sightseeing planned.

One nice thing we have found about the hotels in this part of the world is that most have electric plug adapters available if you ask for them.  Apparently, Switzerland uses a plug that is a bit different than other European countries.  The voltage is the same, just the plug is different.  Because of that, hotels keep adapters available.

In case you don’t know it, our US electric is different than that in most of the world.  Because of that, you can’t use any device with a motor in it, like a hair dryer.  However, almost any electronic device like a cell phone or laptop will charge up just fine if you have the right plug adapter.  To be sure, just look at the charger that plugs into the wall.  On the small print it will have something like: “input 100-240v.”  That means the charger will work fine on US voltage of 110 and European voltage of 220.  All you need is a plug adapter.  Also, our phones and IPad can be charged from the USB ports built into many electric plugins here.

By early afternoon we settled into our hotel room to relax and prepare for tomorrow’s train trip on a major excursion train higher up into the Alps than we have gone yet.

2022 – American in the UK – random observations

  • Apparently, all overcoats zip on the woman’s side
  • Even if you think you are a fast walker you’re still likely to be passed by young mother pushing a stroller
  • Dogs are almost universally well behaved even when off leash
  • Even though people usually ignore others when they meet on a sidewalk (called “pavement”) if you’re a couple in your 70s holding hands they will smile
  • No outlets in bathrooms
  • Public bathrooms are called toilets… Or the loo, or gents – but not bathrooms unless you can take a bath (or shower) in them
  • Just because it is raining it doesn’t mean the sun won’t be out in a minute or two… Or the reverse
  • Americans tend to be louder than Brits in public settings
  • Because of TV Brits know most American ways of speaking, but at first, they may have to ask you to repeat so they can adjust their listening for an American accent (which is okay, I often have to ask for a repeat too)
  • From what I can see Brits like coffee better than tea
  • People in the UK like lots of milk (not cream or creamer) in their coffee
  • UK bus drivers are amazing
  • Brits have no idea what side of the pavement to walk on – most every time you meet an oncoming walker you have a moment of figuring out which side is correct for this specific encounter
  • When an ESL student from Asia doesn’t understand you repeating it in Spanish doesn’t help
  • Nazarenes in the UK sing with more enthusiasm than we sing in the United States
  • At any given time you will see people wearing tee shirts and shorts and others in heavy hooded coats – over the next 30 minutes or so, both will be properly dressed for the weather
  • Tylenol is paracetamol here, it is cheap, but you can only buy small packages of bubble cards of them, and no more than two packs at a time. Prescription meds come the same way
  • $13 will buy enough Chinese food to feed two people for two meals each
  • You never have change in your pocket because everyone everywhere does credit card tap and go, my smallest charge so far was 60 cents – I think this might be especially tough on street people asking for change
  • Using grocery delivery makes all kinds of sense when you would otherwise have to carry it all home about a third of a mile

Checking out our Didsbury, Manchester neighborhood

We’re now in the second week of our UK Adventure.  Jackie has started volunteering in the Library.  My involvement begins with some minor stuff later on.  We’ve either been busy trying to get settled in or laying low, resting up from it all.  I generally do a lot of walking for exercise but today was the first time I’ve actually gone out exploring just for the fun of it.  The weather is perfect for a walk, in the 60’s and a bit overcast – a typical summer day in Manchester.

Our neighborhood is a nice one.  Lots of driveways with gated drives, small and often paved front yards, and beautiful homes.  Just down the street there’s a house gate with the Batman logo on it.  One of the cars is also branded with the logo.  Apparently, we’re well protected!

The main street (main streets are often called “high street” here) is less than 10 minutes away.  There are lots of shops ranging from restaurants to two butchers to a green grocer.  So far our favorite place to eat is the carry out (“take away”) fish and chips place.  But we’re still very early in our time here and there are plenty of eating places to check out.  Our main place to catch the bus is in front of the fish place but depending on where we are headed, we might want to walk a different direction to catch other busses going to different areas of the city.

People are walking everywhere.  From what I can tell, this has little to do with the excellent weather.  In spite of all the cars and traffic, the great public transit encourages people to walk rather than drive.  A surprising number of people don’t own a car or even have a driver’s license.

Of course, the biggest difference so far as the roadways are concerned is that people drive on the left side of the road.  You’d think that since we are walking that that wouldn’t matter to us.  However, every time we cross the road we have to be sure to check the traffic in the right direction.  In fact, “right direction” is just the way to think about it!  Look to the right for traffic.  Honestly, I feel like a 6 year old being given permission to cross the street alone.  I look back and forth about 4 times before I hurry across the street.

Aside from the number of people walking and having to be aware of traffic the other thing we’ve noticed is the presence of sidewalks on both sides of the road just about everywhere.  Sidewalks are called “the pavement” here, and it is unusual for a roadway to not have sidewalks on both sides.  Judging by the number of pedestrians it makes perfect sense.

As I mentioned, we’re in a nice area here so I’m sure that things aren’t just like our neighborhood everywhere.

Settling into our UK Adventure

2021 – Our “home” at NTC

Here’s our new “house.” This is student housing; however, it has four flats with a bedroom/living room, kitchen, and bathroom. One interesting thing is that we were told that our flat was on the second floor. However, at some point, prior to arrival, I remembered that in the UK the first floor of a building is called the “ground floor.” The second floor is called the “first floor” (first above ground), and the third floor is called the “second floor.” In other words, we’re on the third level rather than the second one. And, no, there isn’t a “lift” in the building. Hopefully, we’ll benefit from the extra exercise!

Jet lag is a real deal. That, and a sleepless night on the plane, left us very tired once the adrenalin began to wear off. By Wednesday afternoon we needed a nap! We slept like logs for two hours and only woke up when the alarm on my phone went off. We were then able to stay awake until around 10:30 local time. That’s 4:30 in the afternoon in Texas and according to our body clocks! However, that two hours of sleep didn’t come close to leaving us rested so we went to bed and slept hard for most of the night. We’ll see how day two works for us.

Our biggest chore of the day was going back to the grocery store. We actually went to the store soon after we arrived to get enough food to last us a day or two.  The one we went to was in more-or-less reasonable walking distance. What a disaster! We were very tired, walked farther than we expected, and when we got there everything that was refrigerated had been lost due to the terribly hot days preceding our arrival! The coolers just couldn’t keep up with the heat and all the food in them was lost. Today’s trip was to a bigger store (Tesco), and they were well stocked except for a couple of empty coolers which had signs on them apologizing that due to the hot weather their units had failed.  Happily, the temps are back to the normal summer 60s and 70s now.

Our journey to the store included our first Manchester bus rides. The busses are all double decker versions. The story is that that particular road hosts the busiest bus route in Europe. You’ll see a bus every few minutes, so no schedule is necessary. We got a day rider pass costing us about $6.35 (USD) each.  We only rode to the store and back, but two one-way tickets would have cost a bit more than one day rider pass.

Obviously, I’m not going to do a long post every day, but everything is fresh and interesting to us right now and I want to share while stuff like this is on my mind.

The job no RVer likes to do: dumping the black water

“Honey, I think the black water needs to be dumped.” Ah – the fun part of RVing.  Here are my tips.

One key is to always use plenty of water when flushing. That helps liquefy waste. Scott’s single ply toilet paper breaks down immediately (almost too fast if you get my meaning) so it is a good and cheap choice.  Another key is to dump only when you have a half tank or more to dump. You want a good “woosh” when you pull the lever. Generally, I dump black water once a week. Our tank sensors stopped working long ago (it is probably the number one RV part to fail). When flushing we can hear when the tank is getting full – also, right at clear full the toilet will “burp” an air bubble when we flush. That means right now it is time to dump. For us, once a week works out just the same – so for us Friday is dump day. Your mileage will vary.

Note: see this post for my sewer hose security tip pictured above.

Some people like to close the grey water tank the day before they dump black water.  Then, before they pull the black water valve they open the gray tank valve just long enough to be sure all the connections are tight.  This is a good way to avoid doing the infamous “black water dance” and making enemies out of your fellow campers and the campground staff.  Also, if you are breaking camp, having plenty of grey water to dump right after finishing the black water helps clean the hose a bit before you put it in storage.

Now, the black water:

I start the tank rinse, and immediately open the valve and dump. Then, leaving the rinse on, I close the valve for about 7 minutes (how long depends on the size of your tank, water flow, etc. – again you want a half tank or more), then open it again. Warning: if you get distracted and forget you left the water running the results will be a real mess!  I set a quick alarm timer on my phone.  Once the tank empties, repeat the process. Now, close the valve, let the rinse run one more minute to get some water back in the bottom of the tank, turn the water off and call it good for another week.

Some people wear disposable gloves.  Since I’m not putting my fingers into the hose, I just wash my hands afterwards.  I also keep hand sanitizer in the wet bay so I can use it as I clean up.

A bonus tip is to get a clear sewer hose fitting that lets you see what is going on when you dump. Once the water runs clear you know you have cleaned the tank as good as you are going to get it.

I’ve often seen people suggest putting ice cubes down the toilet to “scrub” it as you drive.  However, you are probably wasting good ice that could be used in your tea.  The ice in the black tank doesn’t last very long and unless you drive like the Dukes of Hazard it doesn’t do much scrubbing at all.  You might enjoy this great video on the topic.

Some people put strong perfume treatments in the tank. Not only do we think that causes a “stink” of its own, we have found that using lots of water works just fine. If you want to put a treatment in try Happy Campers – not a perfume, but an enzyme treatment that actually helps break down the solids. Some people report that it also cleaned their tank sensors – didn’t work for us but I think it does break down solids.

One more tip: don’t run the exhaust when flushing the toilet. The fan will pull smells up out of the black tank and into the camper! Flush first, then turn on the fan as needed!

Dumping the black water is no one’s favorite part of camping, but it’s not all that bad either.

Why we mark a RV Park off our campground list

Here are seven reasons we mark a campground or RV Park off our list as a potential camping location.  These are listed in decreasing order of importance to us:

  1. We feel unsafe: Uncared for trailers with lots of people hanging around them, late night yelling and roaring car engines, etc. We’ll leave ASAP and not be back.  BTW, in all our years of travels we’ve only experienced this once.
  2. Flakey electricity: We run an electric monitoring system all the time.  It monitors and protects the RV from damaging voltages (high or low) plus other electrical issues.  If the campground electric is flakey we might try moving to a different spot, but if the problem persists we’ll likely give up on that campground for good.  I’ll add that the same kind of thinking to some extent applies to all utilities.  Of course, we sometimes stay in places with limited utilities, most of the time, though we have full hookups that we expect to work as they should.
  3. Unlevel campsites: We have a leveling system and also carry a variety of leveling blocks with us. I’d say it is more common than not that we have to do some minor leveling.  However, if we have to do some major leveling effort we will try a different site if possible.  If a significant number of sites are the same we will camp elsewhere in the future.
  4. Too expensive: Again, location matters. Nice parks in popular areas can charge more and we will pay it. However, we have found that paying more doesn’t necessarily mean getting more.  If we think a place is overpriced we shop around.
  5. Hard to navigate: Our rig is big enough that we sometimes have trouble driving it through a campground with narrow, twisting roads. We also need room to back in to a site without having other RVs, trees, etc. complicating the process.  We’ve owned all kinds of camping gear – from tents up to our current motorhome and I know how to park a RV.  At the same time, I don’t like having to fight my way into a spot.  In some cases this is campsite specific, if not, I’ll mark that RV Park off my list.
  6. Neighbors too close: I know that urban, private RV Parks tend to pack people in as close as possible. It may be that, because of location I’ll put up with tight quarters for a week or so.  However, we generally avoid “parking lot campgrounds.”
  7. Noisy location: For some reason RV Parks seem to end up near active railroad tracks or nestled up against busy Interstates and Freeways. Again, for shorter stays we will grin and bear it.  For longer stays, no thanks.

By and large, we are happy campers who love the RV lifestyle.  We don’t need to stay in high dollar resorts to be happy and we generally roll with the punches.  Still, we’ve stayed in a few places that we aren’t likely to visit again.

How about you?  What would you add to this list?

 

Researching, planning, reserving


I’ve always mostly enjoyed the planning part of fulltiming. If others prefer free lancing it is fine with me, but that’s not my thing. I get a kick out of searching the web for the best campgrounds in interesting places and within our budget. As has been reported on many fronts, one unexpected impact of Covid has been a surge in the popularity of RVing. Sales reached record highs and campgrounds began to experience record occupancy.

Our 2021 Adventure has been delayed a bit as we prepare to celebrate a family event but we are looking forward to getting underway in a bit over a month. Knowing that campgrounds are filling up, I have spent time researching campgrounds and destinations, planning our route, and then reserving camp sites.

I’ve written before about planning: here and here.

For instance, this coming winter we want to spend some time in Arizona. There are an amazing number of places there that cater to winter RVers. I spent considerable time checking the information on websites and reading reviews. Once I narrowed my choice down and actually called about vacancies (still 7-8 months out!) I found that many places I had marked as good possibilities reported no room in the inn! Now, if I wanted to spend $1000 a month I would have no problem finding a spot (well, probably not, since our rig isn’t new enough), but trying to stay within a reasonable budget puts us in competition with lots of other RVing retirees.

We finally settled on a spot and made our deposit. As of right now, we are booked up for practically every night the rest of the year. For even me this level of planning is a bit over the top, but it sure beats landing in an area for a week or two and being told that there are no vacancies.

Personally, I think this is just how it is going to be from now on. Not only are many discovering RVing but many campgrounds are selling sites for long term use. Like it or lump it planning is going to be a part of the fulltime RV lifestyle.