Hurry Up and Wait

All that frenzied activity getting clothes and supplies ready for a 4-month voyage has ended – no more fittings, no more washing, no more ironing, no more folding carefully (no more stuffing last-minute items in later J).  The bags were packed, locked, and tagged and are now out of the house.  The checked bag and carry-ons are all packed and tagged and are sitting by the back door just waiting for Wednesday’s flight to Fort Lauderdale.

The holidays are over, the presents unwrapped and the paper in recycling, the tree is down, and the house is (almost) clean.  There are a few pieces of homemade fudge and some cookies to eat, but basically, the refrigerator is empty.  I need to gas up the car and put in some gas stabilizer to keep things okay for the duration once I’ve completed my last-minute errands Monday and Tuesday.  My housemate will be here, so there is no need to stop the mail or have neighbors check on the house periodically.

Relatives have been notified of the ship’s phone number; my cell phone has the global plan added; the voicemail message has been changed to “don’t even think of calling me!”

I have nothing to do.   So, here I sit with the “Tropical Music” station on the TV as freezing rain patters on the rear deck.  If I close my eyes, I can picture the island musicians banging their steel drums, palm trees swaying, waves lapping against a sparkling beach, the turquoise waters of the Caribbean swirling in the ship’s wake.

 I have been to our two first stops on this cruise – Dominica and Barbados.  After that, it’s all new territory for me.  I’ve read enough books and watched enough movies, Discovery/National Geographic programs to be able to visualize “Happy Feet” in Antarctica; the Easter Island statutes;  Oprah at the Opera House in Sydney and the “Mutant Message Down Under”;  how Komodo dragons like white meat so don’t wear light-colored clothing on their island; and so on.

 I have the full trip in my head, so it will be interesting to see if the actual experience meets or exceeds my expectations.  So often, travelers are disappointed in the reality of a place.  Nature fascinates me, so I’m looking forward to seeing Iguazu Falls and Uluru and the Great Wall of China and the Taj Mahal, just to name a few of the places we’ll visit. 

All too often, travelers on a whirlwind trip are driven to a sightseeing spot, get out, snap a few photos, and go on to the next place, leaving only a ghostly impression of what they’ve seen and done.   And, when they return home, exhausted, with suitcases full of dirty clothes and photo cards filled to capacity, they pick up their “old lives” as though they’d never been away.   They’ve overloaded their brains and their bodies. 

That’s why I like the idea of this cruise.  We will have multiple days at sea to recharge between ports, to review our experiences, to check the photos, and to write the blogs.  Days with nothing to do except eat, attend seminars, eat, go to classes, eat, play games, eat, watch live entertainment, haha.  Surely, doesn’t sound like a life of leisure, does it?

Wednesday will be here soon enough; but for now, I will wait and enjoy the serenity and solitude as warm calypso and reggae music inside compete with snow and freezing rain outside.

Countdown

This year, Hallmark presented a Christmas ornament with a “countdown” clock to hang on the tree.  The TV ads showed a young girl constantly reminding her parents that there were only “18 days, 4 hours, and 6 minutes before Christmas”; “11 days, 2 hours, and 3 minutes”; “8 days, 8 hours, and 8 minutes” and so on throughout the commercial.

Even though Christmas has come and gone, my “countdown” continues.  Luggage will be picked up tomorrow afternoon – hopefully the snowstorm that is predicted for tomorrow night and throughout Wednesday will abate enough for the FedEx plane to fly from Burlington, VT to Fort Lauderdale, FL, where my luggage will rest in warmth for about a week before being loaded onto the ship.  Actually, the luggage will probably be shuffled around, moved around, and tossed hither and yon in an attempt by the workers to sort everyone’s luggage into a logical pattern to facilitate loading.  I envision something like chain-link enclosures with each stateroom number on the door, keeping everyone’s luggage separated.  In all reality, the luggage is probably dropped into a large open warehouse, and then fork-lifted into piles.  I should ask.

With only my one checked bag and two carry-ons left in the house, it will certainly feel a little empty, for which my housemate will certainly be very glad.  After all, he gets to have the house all to himself for four months (again).  I think I will be pacing the empty rooms, looking for anything I might have forgotten to pack – although how that is possible, I don’t know, since I packed EVERYTHING! J

The Cruise Critic board provides a countdown clock that can be inserted into the signature lines of each person posting a comment about the upcoming cruise.  Some folks have two or three countdown clocks because they are taking multiple cruises.  But, as of a few minutes ago, my countdown clock reads: 

10 Days, 13 Hours, 44 Minutes, and 31 Seconds

to departure of the MS Amsterdam on her 2012 World Cruise.

And, I will be flying to Florida two days earlier, on January 4, to await the sailing on January 6.  Whew! It's almost time!

Other World Cruise Blogs

I’m not the only one who is writing about our around-the-world voyage.  Several others have their own blogs:

www.amazingvoyages2.blogspot.com  World Adventures –  has awesome photos of his travels

www.bet410.blogspot.com  Snapshots from Around the World

www.pictureperfectplaces.blogspot.com Picture Perfect Places

www.janeandbarry.blogspot.com Grand World Voyage – Around the World in 112 Days

www.rmtaussig2.blogspot.com – Roberta Gets Around

There are at least two couples I have found who write their “blogs” directly onto the Cruise Critic website.  Best place to check is www.cruisecritic.com  Click on Boards; click on Holland America Roll Calls under Roll Calls; click on Amsterdam Roll Calls; click on World Cruise January 6, 2012.  Go to the last page or to “first unread”.  There are approximately 110 pages of postings already and we haven’t even sailed yet!

I’m happy to report that the blog by “legally blonde” was reinstated.  She had some wonderful information and a great sense of humor and unfortunately deleted her blog at one time.  Now she's back - hooray!  Here is the link to her blog:  http://www.worldcruise2012-legallyblonde.blogspot.com/

So, happy reading – getting different perspectives of the same trip! 

Formal Night

Some people who take cruises hate the thought of dressing up for formal night; many don’t even go on cruises because of this “requirement”.  Some don’t bother to dress up and just go up to the Lido Bar for dinner that night.  Some show up in the Main Dining Room dressed “inappropriately” and scorn the fact that others “play by the rules”.  I go by the theory that it’s part of the allure of cruising – getting to dress up and play Cinderella at the ball for one night.  I don’t get to do that at home.

On a “normal” (7-day) cruise, there is usually one formal night.  It’s easy to pack one formal dress.  It’s easy to plan a wardrobe for 7 days.  I should say “easier” for some people.  I think I would still tend to over-pack for a 7-day cruise.   Which is why this 4-month cruise was giving me such fits.   I’m not sure I could get 7 days worth of cruising clothes into one small carry-on; maybe a carry-on plus a checked bag – that might be doable.  But, 4- months – no way!!

After months of asking Holland America what to expect in the way of formal attire, I did hear that there would be approximately 16+ formal nights, and some themes were repeated annually – Valentine’s Day, St. Patrick’s Day, something white for Antarctica, something Indian (sari), sometimes Black and White, or Black and Silver, or Black and Gold, and Mardi Gras. 

As I was looking at formal dresses throughout the spring and summer, these were the colors I hoped to find – red, green, white, black, and purple.  I  had great luck at Fiori Bridal, at David’s Bridal, at Needleman’s – all close to home – but did not have good luck ordering dresses online.

It was not until we finally received our final packet of information late November/early December that the following list was included.  

It turns out there are 18 formal nights on this cruise.  Yikes!

Since each formal dress I purchased needed alterations, it would have been nice to know this list earlier to focus my search on specific colors or styles and to allow time for the seamstress and fittings.   Too late – what I had hanging on the clothes rack would have to suffice! 

For example, I had been told “White” for Antarctica; however, the Winter Ball this year is entitled “Ice Blue”.  So much for the short white dress I bought – unreturnable, of course, as is all formal wear  I found out – but at least I did have a long blue dress.  Hooray!

Needless to say, I don’t have the personality to wear the same black dress or black pants every week.   And while the prevailing theory is to pack for one or possibly two weeks and then rotate, I don’t tend to do anything in small measures.  If I have it in my closet, it goes into the suitcase.  Simple. 

My zodiac sign should have been a peacock, I think.

 I do have one suitcase full of formal dresses.  Just one!   A BIG suitcase, to be sure, but just one!   It’s because I put tissue and plastic wrap and hangers and used a special folding method that the dresses take up a whole suitcase. 

And, in matching up colors and the list, I think I’m going to be okay.  Pictures will posted on the blog.

Do I get points for picking up a couple of Halloween eye masks without knowing there would be a masquerade ball?

8-Jan		Captain's Welcome Reception (formal night, traditional event with on-stage staff introductions by the Captain
14-Jan		Black & Silver Ball (formal night, the first Grand Ball in the Queen's Lounge)
21-Jan		Copacabana Samba (formal night, enjoy this borough's root-style of rhythm, spectacular clothes, food, and culture)
26-Jan		Viva Las Vegas (formal night fun-raiser)
31-Jan		Ice Blue Winter Ball (formal night, Antarctica's splendor dance on board)
7-Feb		Captain Bligh's   Dinner (festive formal night of bounty served by many "Ole Men"
14-Feb		Valentine's Day Hearts & Flowers Ball (formal night to celebrate love at this time-honored Queen's Lounge Ball)
21-Feb		Mardi Gras (Fat Tuesday's revival of a whole different kind)
27-Feb		Many Leagues Under The Sea (formal night, dining cornucopia with seafood delicacies)
4-Mar		Chef's Dinner (formal night, culinary excellence in the La Fontaine Dining Room)
9-Mar		Indonesian Formal Night (colonial style formal night with indigenous culinary specialties)
17-Mar		St. Patrick's Day (formal night, partake in "the wearing of the green" and look for that pot of gold)
22-Mar		Oriental Night (formal night, time-honored theme to match your oriental wardrobe for this evening)
31-Mar		Maharadja & Maharani (formal night, don your Indian finery and feast like royalty)
7-Apr		1,001 Arabian Nights (formal night, relive the romance and passion of Scheherazade)
14-Apr		A Classic Formal Night (formal night, a chance to dress in near-bygone style)
22-Apr		Celebration Night & Dessert Extravaganza (formal night, the perfect chance to create memorable moments, concluded with our Pastry Chef's sweetest Grand Buffet imaginable)
26-Apr		Black & Gold Masked Ball (our final formal night of the cruise, join us for this classic Grand Ball in the Queen's Lounge - masks to be provided, or wear your own "maskerpiece")

Packing for a World Cruise

Just in case one has never traveled before, there are websites containing “Travel Packing Lists”, some of which are configured specifically toward cruising.  I googled and read and googled and read and printed.

 It’s not like I have never traveled before – I was just looking for specific items that I might not think of bringing.   Alas!  These lists and packing advice all seem to be for much shorter trips.  Many folks wrote that they could travel on a cruise with only carry-on bags.  Holy Cow!  How is that possible??  Maybe I could - for a one-week cruise - but four months – never!!

I have a major character flaw – I confess.  I don’t know how to pack properly.

So, that’s why I haven’t written any blogs lately.  Been too busy packing.  Those who know me can attest to my inability to pack lightly.  And, packing for this cruise is no exception.  Arrgghhh!

When I traveled in the motor home, I knew I was ready to leave when my house was empty.  Seriously.  Empty.  After a while, I had purchased enough items to have duplicates.  Which became a problem when it was time to clean out the camper for winter storage – then my garage would be full of “duplicates”.  I had to sell a camper once when, after removing everything (I thought!) for the winter,  unbeknownst to me, a package of spaghetti noodles had fallen behind the door and a mouse got inside and when I tried to trap it, it bled all over the electronics under the fridge and still escaped.  What a mess!  Solved that problem by full-timing – no winter storage fees because I was camped out, in a new camper, in the Arizona desert, having a grand time, during the winter months.

Once a friend and I traveled six weeks on VIA Rail Canada – taking all but two spurs on the entire Via Rail line.  We had set out to explore Canada and the famous Canadian National Hotels, staying at least 3-5 days in each place, from a period spanning late summer into early autumn.  Montreal, Halifax, Quebec City, Ottawa, Toronto, Jasper, Vancouver  and more – what an amazing trip.  At the train station in Montreal the first day, my biggest suitcase burst open.  Seriously overloaded!  So, in Halifax, I had to purchase a 200 lb capacity luggage cart.  At Percé on the Gaspé Peninsula a couple of weeks later, I managed to ship home 12 pounds of clothes I wouldn’t need as we headed westward into cooler weather.   And, we managed to do hand laundry at each hotel – clothes strewn over chairs, shower rods, etc.  The best one was in Jasper where we had a ceiling fan – bras and socks rotating like fair-goers on the swings.  So, it’s not like I couldn’t have traveled with fewer belongings, maybe.

For an around-the-world cruise spanning four months with (a) at least a week or so in colder temperatures of South America/Antarctica, (b) 18 formal nights, (c) 94 nights of casual smart dinners, (d) swimming gear, (e) exercise gear, (f) electronics, (g) PJs and underwear and nylons, (h) dressy and casual shoes, (i) exercise gear, (j) sightseeing gear, (k) shorts and t-shirts, (l) toiletries and makeup……the list was endless.

Helpful tips included, “bring one black skirt or pants and 18 different tops”, or “bring one black dress and 18 scarves”.  Ahhh, thanks, but I don’t think so!

Knowing how small my cabin would be (see the photos on an earlier blog), I decided the best way would be to pack in collapsible duffles that would fit under the bed when empty.  That was all fine and good until I ran out of duffles.  And, I really didn’t want my formal dresses to be so squashed, so in they went into a big suitcase.  I set up a couple of clothes racks and a table in the bedroom to accumulate “stuff”.   One clothes rack fell over from the weight of all the dresses I hung there!

I started a list in early summer to track how many days it took me to go through a tube of toothpaste, a bar of Dove, etc.  I know Holland America provides shampoo and conditioner and body lotion and some soaps, but sometimes I can’t use those (allergic to fragrances).   Better to bring my own.

Anyway, the deadline to call Holland America was December 5 for the luggage service.  FedEx would pick up the bags at my house, and when I stepped into my stateroom on January 6, all my luggage (theoretically) would be waiting there.  No touching the bags once they left my house.  Cool!  All for a fee, though.  Small bags (1-30 lbs) = $70; standard bags (31-50 lbs) = $115; oversize bags (51-75 lbs) = $140, not to mention insurance at $25 per $1000 worth of coverage.  That’s one-way.  Once the cruise was almost over, these bags to be shipped home would be subject to another “one-way” fee.  But, again, once the bags were placed outside the stateroom door, I wouldn’t have to see or touch them until they arrived back at my house a week after the cruise ends – come to think of it, it will probably take me a week or two just to “repack” – oh no!

That leaves me with one checked bag and the two carry-ons to bring on the plane with me, which would have to include jewelry, medicines, electronics, cameras, and something to wear while at the hotel prior to the cruise and also on board that first night, and whatever else I might need just in case the shipped bags didn’t arrive (not likely!).

I had a miserable time packing those last two weeks of November.  The pressure was on to pack and make the lists and call in the number of bags and the weights of each by December 5.  And, once called in, the bags would sit until December 27 when FedEx would arrive on my doorstep.  Do you know how hard it is to see luggage and not try to get into it to rearrange or add or delete stuff?  For me, anyway!  My usual packing strategy is to put everything I own into suitcases, which then I can’t push or pull  or carry.  So, I unpack everything and start over, deleting items and adding others until I “get it right”.  I didn’t have that luxury this time – the deadline was fast approaching!

So, here I sit, looking at the mounds of luggage, ashamed to even tell anyone how many bags there are.  More than most people will bring, maybe not as many as some? 

Perhaps I should go bake some cookies for the poor FedEx guy – or get him a box of Wheaties.

Visas and Immunizations

I ordered Chinese food the other night.  The fortune in the first cookie read,  “You are one of the people who goes places in life.”  Still hungry, I opened a second cookie.  It had no fortune inside it!  Therefore, I can conclude:

(a)     I may go places, but when I return all my “fortune” will be gone; or

(b)   I may go places, but I can’t go without Visas and Immunizations, which cost a fortune.

The around-the-world trip comes with the frustrating process of obtaining visas.  Thankfully, I already had most of the immunizations required.  There is a University Hospital Travel Medicine Clinic right in Burlington, VT where I was able to call and give them a list of the countries we will visit, and they were able to schedule some updates for me – my Yellow Fever expired after 10 years, I needed a Polio booster,  and I also received a Typhoid shot. 

(1)    Hepatitis A - DONE

(2)    Hepatitis B - DONE

(3)    Typhoid - DONE

(4)    Yellow Fever - DONE

(5)    Tetanus (Tdap) - DONE

(6)    Polio - DONE

(7)    Flu Shot/Pneumonia - TO DO

So, with that done (except the Flu Shot, which I got the first of December), I turned my attention to the visa requirements.

When my cruise-mate and I met in late July, I printed off all the information pages for countries we will visit from a visa service firm, A. Briggs Passport & Visa Expeditors.  Holland America recommends and has a direct link for Zierer Visa Service, but according to information on the Cruise Critic website, the other company does a nice (better?) job.   We put all the pages into a 3-ring binder as I prepared a spreadsheet of the requirements and costs. 

I needed to send my passport away to get more pages inserted – that was also stressful, but the form and process were easy, and the passport came back in a timely manner.  Whew!

We had heard that Holland America would send out a letter approximately 90 days prior to the cruise with the updated visa and immunization information.  So, we waited and waited and waited.  I kept checking the Zierer website weekly to see when our cruise would be listed. 

When the letter finally arrived, it contained very little helpful information, and the Zierer website contained one line for combined Brazil and India visas and three more lines for just the Brazil visa, so I began to panic – what was I supposed to do, and how was I supposed to fill in all the applications correctly? 

I finally decided to sit down, call the two visa service firms, and get an idea of how to proceed.  I know I needed about six or seven visas, and it was now the middle of October with our sailing date the sixth of January!  Tick, tock, tick, tock.

Holland America was quite clear in their letter that if we did not have the proper visas, we would not be allowed to board and there would be no refund.  Talk about pressure!

Here are the visas I figured I would need:

Brazil                     India                      China

Australia              Vietnam               Indonesia

Jordan                  Egypt

One woman on the Cruise Critic website (Holland America/Roll Call/Amsterdam/World Cruise 2012) had researched visas and found that Australia was easy – just click on the website and fill in a couple of blanks and put the $20 AUS charge on a credit card.  Done, easy!  Thank you, “legally blonde”!

Oh, If they could all be that simple….

With Australia out of the way, it was time to tackle the others.  I chose to go with A Briggs Co. since they were the most helpful on the phone; I had already printed out all their instruction pages; and they seemed to have fewer “hidden” costs.

We were told that the Vietnam and Indonesia visas could be obtained on board for a small fee (if you call $50 small).  Since the processing time was so long and the cost higher for Vietnam, I didn’t add that one.  Indonesia was less money upon arrival in person, but I would have to go with Holland America on that one even if the cost was higher.  Holland America would issue an Egypt stamp, but since I was doing an overland excursion and would be in Cairo before the ship even docked at Safaga, I thought I had better get te Egyptian visa in advance. 

What I had not taken into account was the processing times for each consulate – Brazil: 10-12 days, Egypt: 12 days; India: 3-7 days; China: 4-5 days; Jordan: 5 days.  This being the middle of October already, I was looking at late December before my passport would arrive back with all the proper stamps (processing times means business days only, not counting weekends or the Thanksgiving/Black Friday holiday).  Arrgghhh! 

Had I known there would be so little information in the Holland America letter, I would have started the process several months ago!

I sat down at the computer early one Monday morning (Oct 17) and worked my way through the on-line applications and order forms.  By Tuesday (Oct 18), I was ready to send the packet overnight  to A. Briggs in Washington, DC.  I received a phone call from a representative in Boston a day later, and he explained their process of sending the passport – first to Washington, then to New York City, then to him in Boston - to more efficiently process the visas.  I had to pay an extra fee for the Jordan visa because I was arriving in late March – there are complicated (to me!) types of visas –1 entry, multiple entries, 3 months, 10 --years.  But, the passport and all the copies were out of my house and in the hands of A. Briggs Expeditors, so I had to stop worrying.

……………………………

I am glad to say that my passport arrived safely back home the last day of November with all the visas stamped and entered – almost a month earlier than I had anticipated.  I will bring the Australian confirmation page and will also bring a couple of left-over passport photos for the onboard visas of Vietnam and Indonesia – just in case they are needed.

My advice to all who decide to travel to a foreign country – make sure you get your visas well in advance of travel.  If there is a choice of times (3 months, 1 year, etc.), pay the extra for the longer time.  My Brazil visa is good for 10 years - who knows, I might just have to go back to that country another time.