hrprof, (sorry I don't know/remember your real name!)
I think Margo and others have put it well. From what you've written you are much more active at home than we are with season ballet and symphony tickets and leading a very active home life. Our home life pales in comparison to yours. We don't have grandkids (yet) and our home life is more centered around our 5 pets and going out to dinner several times a month. (this past month of Go Go Go is an exception!) I do volunteer animal rescue work but this is on my time without any set commitment. Tom plays golf and "hold'em poker" at home (both of which he did on the ship too). The things you will miss and be disconected from are quite different than ours.

With this said, our ship life is quite a contrast to our home life with a lot more daily activities and socialization with fellow passengers. Although we are very seasoned travellers, I don't consider ourselves very good sightseers. We are more apt to enjoy taking in the local culture, food, strolling and people watching. The carefree ship life is very appealing to me. As much as we LOVED the port days, some of my favorite days and best memories were actually sea days!

For 5 years I took care of my Mom before she passed away so we were very tied to home (my siblings lived out of the area) so after my Mom passed away last year this was our first opportunity to really take advantage of lengthy trips. Prior to the WC the longest cruise we had been on was 11 days so this was a BIG LEAP and many would consider it taking a big risk. What I discovered is that we bonded with many (not all) fellow WCers and segment passengers and became a family in itself. Getting off the ship after close to 4 months was a "bitter sweet". I was so excited to come home to see our daughters and pets but it was tough saying good bye to my "new found family" of the past months and the daily life aboard I had grown to love.

I love my life at home, I really do but for me, it was a much tougher adjustment returning to my "real" life at home than living the life of a "princess" onboard a ship for 109 days.

Sorry, this ended up being so long! I may not have addressed any of your concerns so please feel free to ask me anything specific.