En route to Sydney, Australia. Arrive 2-Feb.

Silversea announced their 2021 world cruises last night. “For the next few weeks only 2019 and 2020 world cruise guests are allowed to sign up!” I understand that for bars, restaurants and such it is your steady customers that keep you in business. The same thing works for videos games: for some games only 10% of the player base provides 90% of their income. I did not realize it was similar for world cruises.

A Different World

Here’s an example of the different types of folks I am sailing with. The other day there was an “enrichment lecture” about Salvador Dali – one of the traveling crew has a degree in art history. During the lecture he had long, involved conversations with one of the elderly guests while discussing several of Dali’s art. I asked someone near me why, and was told that particular guest actually physically owns those pieces.

! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !

I’m not traveling with the “super rich” – they would own their own personal yachts. But some of my fellow guests have over 2000 days of cruising with Silversea. That’s a bunch of available funds and time.

But I admit that I am attracted to the 2020 world cruise as I like its itinerary:

• I have never visited South America
• I have never visited Antarctica
• I have never visited Easter Island
• I have never visited India (my 2019 world cruise visits Sri Lanka, but not India)

However, while I budgeted this cruise when I ran the financial numbers for “can I retire in 2018”, I certainly did not include a second world cruise in one year.