Marcie - I'm Ted.

Your thoughtful words remind me again of the wide range of diversity among the universe of dedicated travelers - differences in motivation, interests, expectations - all of which influence the choice of and assessment of travel experiences. When the heroic responsibilty of caring for your mother was completed, a WC was the perfect expression of freedom - the timing must have been perfect as well! Your description of travel expectations is suited to what an extended cruise offers.
Our travel focus, historically, has been split between our interest in the arts and our fascination with the natural world - our perfect day would be to observe behavior of African wildlife in tthe morning and spend the evening at the Vienna Musikverien - not too likely!

We are new to cruising and have discovered that it is truly magical to settle into a suite and sense that we are on a floating flying carpet that will take us on a "tasting menu" of wonderful places - both new and previously visited. We have come to appreciate sea days - at first, we viewed them as a waste of time! But, 53 is a bunch!

We have decided to do this as a capstone, of sorts, of travel experiences - of great variety and breadth. And assuming that our requirements of a suite can be met (that should be soon) we will start looking forward to it. The city of Charleston will just have to get along without us!

One further question: How many on the WC are repeats? Is that a closed society?

Thanks again for your insights.

Ted