September 12, 2024

Resident origins demographics - by Basia

One of my favorite residents is Basia I love her BLOG and she has some great content. I am sharing the work she recently put together on where all the Residents are joining the Ship from. This data reflects the 306 Residents that were signed up, as of the end of August 2024.  VVR just announced once we set sail, we will actually be sold out or rooms! I'm excited to see how the data below changes.  My number one concern when deciding to do this was how I would mesh with the other residents, since I am doing this totally on my own. I can happily say to date, I am very happy with the mix of people and pleasantly surprised at the larger number of solo travelers over couples. The common travel dreams, we all share is our bonding element. The comradery I have already experienced, in our brief trips to the Canaries and Liverpool, has reinforced that I made the right choice for my retirement dreams.

MAGNETIC ISLAND - KOALA'S

By Patricia Patrick • February 15, 2026
We got up at 6:45am to get to National Park Forts Walk trail in the hope of seeing koalas . Prior walkers mark trails with tree branches pointing in the direction of their sighting and we were luck enough to see 3 markers in our first hour of hiking. It is so stinking hot and humid the success we had made it bearable. The koala population on the island started with 20 brought over in 1930, to escape fur hunters. Today, the island boast 800 to 1000, and they are so cute and drowsy. They need 20 hours of sleep a day! The early morning is when they are the most active.

MAGNETIC ISLAND, AUSTRALIA

By Patricia Patrick • February 14, 2026
Just off the coast of Townsville, Australia is a special little island (that used to be part of mainland, hundreds of thousands years ago). The island was formed by molten granite that was pushed to the earth's surface with volcanic force.Over time the volcanic overlay weathered away leaving an extraordinary landscape of rounded domes and boulders, many as big as a house and spectcularly perched. Over Seventy Percent of the center of the Island is a National Park. There is lots of wildlife here too - koalas, rock wallabies, snakes & birds.

CAIRNS, AUSTRALIA

By Patricia Patrick • February 14, 2026
This is my third time in CAIRNS, AUSTRALIA and I really enjoy how walkable, clean and charming it is. The waterfront esplanade and lagoon area is a nice walk day or night. We had 2 nights here in the waterfront Shangri La Marina Hotel while waiting for the Ship to arrive and then 2 additional days in Port.