We are on our way back to the ship after 15 days ashore. The “why” is an example of one of the options for how to do routine medical care when you live a Residential Cruising life.
Though we also had another reason to go “home” to Colorado: Good friends had been kind enough to store a few things for us that we couldn’t fly with when we headed out to join our ship, including some artwork.
We jumped ship in Maui because we wanted to spend some money in Lahaina, where there was a devastating fire two years ago that killed over 100 residents; others escaped only by diving into the sea to escape the flames.
While Kit was looking for lodging, it suddenly occurred to her that she had recently received an email from Hyatt to say she had some points expiring soon. She checked her balance, looked at the Hyatt resort just outside Lahaina, and realized she had enough points for us to get quite a nice room for two nights …for free.
That windfall meant we could afford to splurge a bit with the budget we had in mind, and I said I had never gone to a Lūʻau, a feast so grand that they are pretty expensive. Well, part of our budget was intended to support the economy of the locals, and that’s who cook, serve, and perform in a Lūʻau, so …perfect!
It was a great time, a good cultural event, and we ate entirely too much.
Routine Medical Care
Still, it was way past time to get routine medical checks and renew prescriptions, so we booked appointments with our doctors, dentist, favorite chiropractors, and vision specialists. For me the dentist was much more than a cleaning: just before Belfast, I had two teeth break (top and bottom in the same spot). No idea as to why: I was eating pizza, not a jawbreaker!
By planning ahead I got an appointment with a dentist in St. Kitts, a Carribean island nation, and she said she could fix one with a filling, but the other needed a crown, which she couldn’t do on the spot. Kit similarly planned ahead: she made sure our dentist had the machines needed to make crowns on site; he did, and we booked.
The good news is, he did a great job. The bad news was, he wasn’t satisfied with the repair of the island dentist and said I needed the other tooth crowned too. He made room in his schedule to do it a couple days later.
My chiropractor, who does very advanced work and has specialty devices to help, pretty much cured a nagging rotator cuff problem I’ve been having for months. The routine doctor checks got us both thumbs up and refills, and as I write this we’re on our way to the west coast in a one-way rental car* loaded with our stored stuff, plus a bunch of misc. supplies from Costco and Amazon.
*(One-way rental cars are expensive! Especially when you have to use their liability insurance because we let ours go when we sold our cars.)
The Point
Yes, there is a doctor with emergency-room experience on the ship. Plus two nurses. But they have yet to really figure out how to get us prescription renewals at a reasonable cost. I’ve been able to get some meds refreshed simply by taking a prescription bottle to a pharmacy, especially on island nations, and they will hand over the same drug, often at amazingly good prices. But some drugs can be very hard to find.
We’ve been able to get some drugs shipped to us, but doctors are often reluctant to refill prescriptions when they can’t see you in front of them, or have results from reliable labs to tests they want to see. Thus, one way to do it is to return to your home country from time to time for medical visits. The cheapest way for us to do that, this time at least, was to fly from a U.S. state to another U.S. state and see physicians we know.
Others on the ship have done that too, especially if they need specific care from specialists.
Yet there are clinics that provide excellent care in other countries that welcome foreigners and their sweet, sweet cash. Our next checkups will probably be in Thailand. I have a friend who actually flies there from the U.S. for his annual physicals, an all-day affair where, when indicated, you are routed directly to in-house specialists and advanced screenings when indicated.
That friend says that is actually more cost-effective for him, even including the airline ticket to get there and back. He’s very satisfied with the care: the doctors are U.S.-trained, and have the latest high-tech equipment to support their work. I’ll be getting a referral from him as we get closer to Thailand.
So there are two examples of how routine care can be done when Residential Cruising.
Was it “Weird” to “Go Home”?
It takes a couple-few days to drive from Colorado to the northwest coast, but we’re taking advantage of the trip to schedule a couple of business meetings along the way too.
Still, one common question we’ve had from friends is, was it “weird” being back?
Familiar, fun? Sure. “Weird”? Well… yes. In his 1940 novel You Can’t Go Home Again *, Thomas Wolfe said that once you’ve left a place, particularly your home town, you can never truly return to it in the same way. The people, places, and ourselves have changed, and trying to relive or reclaim the past is prone to disappointment.
While we weren’t trying to reclaim the past, and it hasn’t even quite been two years, we did leave it “for good” in large part because I was literally, but slowly, dying there (from severe environmental allergies that even a specialist couldn’t get under control). We had left Colorado behind “forever.”
So yes, it was weird to go back even though we had delightful visits with quite a few friends, including running into the undersheriff, leaving her almost speechless. And yes, I was quickly back on heavy antihistamines soon after arrival.
Kit said it felt more sad to leave this time than it was when we drove away from our house for the last time, mostly because we probably will never go back there again.
It was good seeing you, Colorado …and goodbye. It was a great 27 years — 52, for Kit.
Originally Published June 20, 2025 — Last Updated June 20, 2025- About the Author
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Yes, medical care in Bangkok (& even in Singapore) is much cheaper than in the US. I had an ER visit in Bangkok (Samitivej Hospital) with overnight stay in a private room (complete with a comfy couch for my cousin to sleep on) for about 600USD. Meds & bill were delivered to my room upon discharge. Meanwhile, 13 years before that, I had an ER visit in the Central Coast, CA. Had a bed in the hallway, was left there for several hours, husband had to go get meds & bill upon discharge. Bill over over 2kUSD. 🙄
Keyhole surgery in Singapore, 24 hrs stay in a private room, meds delivered to your room upon discharge, private car drives you home upon discharge, was about 25kUSD. Only ding in the service was I had to go to the counter to pay my bill.
Anyway, I highly recommend Bumrungrad in Bangkok for medical care. Really good care & service. If you’re stuck in Singapore for medical care, Gleneagles & Mt Elizabeth are good hospitals.
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Thanks! -rc
Oh! I wish I had known you were on Maui! I had contacted Angela & Steve, Chris & Michael, Johan & Lanette, Maui Jim, Kona Jim & Maui Dianna hoping to meet them, and show them around Maui (I’ve lived here 35 years). None of the youtubers or Kona Jim came to Maui. Maui Jim & Maui Diana are here, but too busy to meet up. I took a tour of the ship. Was hoping those that I feel I know would help me decide whether to take the plunge!
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Well, consider all of us who are loving it, and that will probably give you the answer. (For others: the people Dawn named are all residents, who of course we know well.) Sorry we missed you! -rc
Having been around the world several times and being cruisers for over 40 years, my wife and I have found many of the med issues you mention can, indeed, be handled along the way. Not all, but many.
Specifically, refills for Rx are amazingly easy to get almost anywhere in Europe. I know you are on the other side of the world at the moment, but it has never been a problem to go to a local pharmacy (or chemist …) and review your Rx list. Sometimes, the script is sold under a different name, but all of the foreign pharmicists I have encountered have shown me that the formulary is identical. I might add that they are also much less expensive overseas than in the US — even less than some co-pays.
Always enjoy your writing. Keep on keepin’ on.
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I never provide the pharmacists brand names: everything I take, and it’s not that many, have generics available, and all but one are on the WHO List of Essential Medicines. I simply give the generic name, and they know what I’m talking about. (When they don’t speak English, I have it written down, including the dosage level.) It’s always good to understand what it is you’re taking, at what dose, whether you’re going around the world or staying in your birthplace. -rc
I’m curious which Bloom County cartoon you have. Breathed was the cartoonist at the Daily Texan (UT-Austin) when I attended 1975-79. Many of the future Bloom County characters were featured in his cartoons, The Academia Waltz.
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I knew I’d get this question! Especially considering my audience. 😀 This one. -rc
Actually replying to Randy’s response. I seldom laugh while reading things on my computer, but I absolutely laughed out loud for a minute for the Bloom County cartoon.
So true — so hilarious. Thanks for sharing the giggle.
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You can see why it’s my favorite, and why I jumped right on owning a limited edition, signed print! -rc
One of my favorites too. So manly. So glorious. 😊
Thanks for asking, Richard. Randy’s link gave me another belly laugh over a Breathed I had enjoyed years ago!
Sounds like your US travels were wonderful! Can’t go “home” again? Yes. Although, you did get a great rainbow to share! Thank you.
Looks like you missed seeing the CA coast from the sea. I am sure that you will have another chance at that sometime. Safe travels.
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Yes, it would have been interesting to see it from that angle, but… next time! -rc
I am so happy that this big leap of faith for the sake of your health has worked out so well for both you and Kit. Enjoy the next leg of life at sea.
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Next step is to write my allergist to let him know it’s working, and the results of my experiment of returning to Colorado for a bit. And it’s fun to see you are following along! -rc
That was a long shore excursion and several good opportunities. We’re certain your friends in CO enjoyed seeing “the boat people” and hope to again. 😉 :-]. Thanks!
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Well, I hope you enjoyed getting together for dinner! It took 3 hours! -rc
Very much so. We had a wonderful time visiting with you two and listening to Marti. We hope for more boat people visits.
I’m surprised you found 1-way rentals very expensive. On a recent trip I had 3 (Sarasota -> Tampa FL, Las Vegas -> Kansas City, Tampa -> Sarasota) and they were all quite reasonable. In particular, the 1-way rentals between Sarasota and Tampa were cheaper than Uber or competitors.
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I’m not surprised intra-state one-ways are great. But yes, $156/day is pricey in my book, and that’s with using Costco to compare process and get a discount. -rc
I’ve found that in many cases if you have a pair of airports moderately nearby each other, the one-way “fee” can be quite low, even zero. Sarasota and Tampa would qualify; we’ve used Orlando and Daytona Beach more than once. But I’m surprised at Las Vegas and Kansas City. Possibly the franchise at both ends was operated by the same fanchisee and they needed vehicles moved.
“You can’t go home again.” I’ve noticed that with a much simpler move from New Jersey to Florida 6½ years ago. Sure, I can return, and I do every so often, and while the geographic knowledge never leaves, it’s simply not home anymore. As I told a friend recently, “I go back there and I’m a stranger in a strange land.”
Thanks for the Lūʻau recommendation. It wasn’t necessarily in my thoughts, but I do plan to visit Maui (and several other Hawaiian islands) in a year and a half, and I appreciate the suggestion!
Great article, great write-up.
We left the ship in Hilo, spent 4 more (glorious) nights in Kona, then flew back to Colorado.
Within a day of being in Colorado, my allergies were in full swing. It’s now a borderline sinus infection and chest cold.
I had zero allergies on the ship or in the Hawaiian Islands. It was glorious!
We also had a good bout of land sickness for the first few days off the ship. Never had sea sickness, but definitely land sickness.
We are back in Indiana now.
It was great meeting you all on the Odyssey. I hope that we can re-join you all again one day.
Enjoy the travels!
Not quite the same as “going home again,” but…I worked at a nuclear power plant for over 23 years, starting while it was still under construction. Started out in instrument maintenance, moved to training, then shifted over to helping plan maintenance/troubleshooting jobs and plant modifications. I took an early retirement offer when I was 55 and the plant got sold. About 2 years later I came back as a contractor doing the maintenance planning for work during refueling outages.
I did this for about a dozen years, but realized the way they were doing things (dropping paper instructions for tablets, newer plant equipment, etc.) was evolving and I didn’t feel comfortable that I was doing this correctly. It took a year to convince them I didn’t want to come back to help out. I would rather be remembered as a guy who did good work that they missed than as the guy who really screwed things up.
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Smart! -rc
I’d say I was sorry that we missed you when you were in CO, but we were having so much fun in Copenhagen… well… 😉
I was so happy to get to have coffee with you two! And others! Love y’all!