No post today…Booked with activities all day…Photo of us…

Posted by worldwide-admin on September 4, 2014 with 0 Comment

Here we are in front of the Blarney Castle in Cork, Ireland. We had an amazing day with new friends exploring several areas in and around Cork. We’ll share more photos in tomorrow’s post.

Dear Readers,

We’ll be back tomorrow and on all the following days of the cruise. We are having too much fun to allow me time to write a full post. We’ve met some wonderful people and have planned activities that will keep us going all day today.

But, we’ll be back tomorrow as always and each day through the remainder of the cruise. We have some amazing photos we’re excited to share.

Warmest regards to all,

Jess & Tom
__________________________________________

Photo from one year ago today, November 4, 2013:

No photo was posted on this date.

Part 1, Stonehenge…

Posted by worldwide-admin on September 3, 2014 with 0 Comment

Stonehenge…

After yesterday’s ship WiFi fiasco, I’m still struggling with getting online on the ship’s WiFi. Hopefully, these issues will not impede getting online to post daily as usual. I spent over a half-hour with the ship’s tech guy and he suggested I download Firefox which hopefully will solve the issues. We’ll keep you updated through Tom’s connection.

Here is a link for detailed information about Stonehenge’s history and preservations.

Alternate view of Stonehenge.

As for Tuesday’s tour to Stonehenge, we couldn’t have enjoyed it more. We’d wondered if we’d find a visit to a collection of large rocks as appealing as it proved to be. Stonehenge remains to be a mystery, although, over the past few centuries, many scientists and researchers have speculated as to its origins.

Additional rock was discovered.

However, scientists do know that Stonehenge is an ancient temple aligned with the sun’s movements. Over 4500 years ago, intelligent prehistoric people designed and raised the stones to their present configuration as a memorial to their dead where many remains are buried.

Tom, at Stonehenge.

Me, at Stonehenge.

An “English Heritage” designation exists to protect and promote England’s historic treasures and England makes every effort to ensure that these treasures are researched and revered to the utmost. In the case of Stonehenge, located in North Amesbury, Wiltshire, England, the project has continued for years to maintain a sense of dignity to this wonder of human endeavor.

Birds at Stonehenge.

Stonehenge is surrounded by well maintained green lawns with cordoned off areas to prevent erosion of this mysterious ancient burial ground created as a tribute to the ancestors of the creative designers, builders, and people of the region.

Alternate view.

At first glance, one may easily ascertain that this seeming, unorganized arrangement of ancient rocks is mere folly. But, as we made our way along the long walkway surrounding Stonehenge while listening to the presentations on the headset we each were each given upon entry it was easy to grasp and understand the powerful nature of this unusual display that most of first became aware of in grade school or middle school.

Another view as we walked around the stones on a designated path.

Yearly, over 5 million visitors visit Stonehenge, many seeking healing from its mystical energy and others visiting out of curiosity. We were somewhere in the middle. To our surprise, the hour-long walk around the display was never boring or leaving one feeling as if they’d had enough.

View from the opposite side.

There are hundreds, if not thousands, of theories regarding Stonehenge. We don’t profess to have formulated an opinion as to its complex origins. All we can say is that we’re grateful for the opportunity to see Stonehenge by the small eight-person tour meticulously arranged by our tour mates, Carolyn and Ron, each half of a couple that toured along with us with their spouses and another couple.

Large stone recovered from the area to illustrate the massive size of the stones.

One could pull this rope hanging from the left on this stone to determine how many workers it would have taken to move this stone, based on one’s strength.

The eight of us got along tremendously and the conversation was lively and animated during our three-plus hours riding in the comfortable 18 person van. Our tour guide, Steven, was knowledgeable and helpful ensuring we were able to easily navigate the day’s points of interest which also included an unexpected visit to the village of Salisbury to explore the renowned Salisbury Cathedral.

Zoom in to read this text of the skeletal remains of a man found in Stonehenge.

In Part 2, Stonehenge, which we’ll present in a few days, we’ll share our photos of the massive ancient Salisbury Cathedral, built beginning in the year 1220. We had to good fortune to explore this stunning Cathedral which contained one of three worldwide copies of the Magna Carta.

More skeletal remains found in Stonehenge.

Please check back as we continue to share our photos of these enjoyable private day-long small group tours. Having experienced these past two days in eight-person tours, we’re convinced that we’ll have little interest in the 60-people-on-a-bus tours in the future. Today, we’re off to Cork, Ireland, and the Blarney Castle.

Once again, we apologize for missing a few days of posting due to both our tight touring schedule and constant WiFi issues.

Photo from one year ago today, September 3, 2013:

The outdoor living where we spend considerable time during our three months in Kenya. For details, please click here.

Part 1…Stonehenge, England…Available tomorrow…

Posted by worldwide-admin on September 2, 2014 with 0 Comment

Error correction: Yesterday’s post stated we were going to Cork, Ireland to the Blarney Castle today, Tuesday, when in fact we went to Stonehenge. Tomorrow’s post will include Part 1 of Barley Castle in Cork, Ireland. We apologize for the inconvenience.

At the moment, only minutes before the ship sails to Ireland, I’m awaiting a call from the ship’s tech support. Apparently, their system is unable to connect to my newer computer due to its “advanced” technology.

As a result, I am unable to complete a post for today’s tour of the amazing Stonehenge. In moments, our MiFi will lose the signal.

After waiting at guest services desk for a half-hour, the rep asked, “Why can’t you use your husband’s computer?”

When it takes me three to four hours to post, I can expect Tom to sit there with nothing to do while I use his computer. Plus, he always does research for the posts I’m writing at the same time. It’s a two-person operation.

Thus, there’s no post today other than this notice. But, we look forward to being in port early tomorrow morning when I can use the MiFi once again, or hopefully, on the ship’s WiFi if my computer connectivity issues have been resolved.

Frustrating to say the least. Tomorrow morning, we’ll post Part 1 of the extraordinary day in Stonehenge and the village of Salisbury in England. Unbelievable experience!

See you tomorrow with photos!

Photo from one year ago today, September 2, 2013:
There was no photo posted on this date one year ago. We were experiencing a 34-hour travel day.

Leaving London…Heading to Harwich to the pier…We’ll be posting later today…Cruise itinerary here today…

Posted by worldwide-admin on August 31, 2014 with 0 Comment

Our usual photo post for today will be online 6 to 8 hours later than usual, which will contain photos of our ship and our cabin. If we spot anything special on the 2.5-hour drive to the pier, we’ll certainly include those photos as well.

We both look forward to sharing our exciting adventures on our upcoming transatlantic cruise on Royal Caribbean’s Brilliance of the Seas over 14 nights.

Over the next several mornings we’ll be leaving the ship on private tours to the following locations with more to follow:

1. Monday: Normandy, France – American beaches and cemeteries from World War II.
2. Tuesday: Portland, England – Stonehenge
3. Wednesday: Cork, Ireland – Blarney Castle

On these three days, we’ll make every effort to post late in the day when we return with photos from the tours. On each of these three days, we’ll be leaving the ship at 8:00 am, not returning until 6:00 or 7:00 pm with a mad rush to the dining room for dinner.

In the worst case, we’ll upload a short post explaining when we’ll be back with full posts on each of these experiences, including photos of our upcoming tour in Iceland to see the Northern Lights. We’ll be out to sea for several days and we’ll have plenty of time to upload complete posts of these experiences.

Here’s the actual ship’s itinerary:

DAY	DATE		PORT	ARRIVE	DEPART
Sun	Aug	31	London (Harwich), England		5:00pm
Mon	Sep	1	Paris (Le Havre), France	7:00am	9:00pm
Tue	Sep	2	Portland, England	7:00am	4:00pm
Wed	Sep	3	Cork (Cobh), Ireland	10:00am	4:30pm
Thu	Sep	4	At Sea
Fri	Sep	5	Klaksvik, Faroe Islands	9:00am	6:00pm
Sat	Sep	6	At Sea
Sun	Sep	7	Reykjavik, Iceland	Noon
Mon	Sep	8	Reykjavik, Iceland		5:00pm
Tue	Sep	9	At Sea
Wed	Sep	10	At Sea
Thu	Sep	11	At Sea
Fri	Sep	12	At Sea
Sat	Sep	13	At Sea
Sun	Sep	14	Boston, MA	6:00am

If for any reason, we don’t have a post later today, it will be due to WiFi connectivity issues. We’ll have access to both the ship’s signal and XCOM Global’s MiFi. Hopefully, we won’t have issues with either.

We look forward to sharing our experiences with you in these exciting locations. Thank you to each and every one of our readers worldwide. We always feel as if you are traveling along with us.

There was no post from one year ago on this date:

A second booking in Fiji…Keeping it all straight…A year ago, puffy clouds in the mountains…

Posted by worldwide-admin on July 9, 2014 with 0 Comment

Photo of beach at our second Fiji house.

After booking the house on the island of Savusavu, Fiji for 89 days ending on December 6, 2015, as described in this previous post (click here), we had a month “to kill” before our upcoming cruise as described in our posts of a few days ago, leaving Sydney, Australia on January 5, 2016.

Originally, we thought that the easiest thing to do was to stay in Sydney for the month over the holidays. After considerable checking for one-month vacation rentals near Sydney, we had little luck. With the holiday season in full force, the rentals were either already booked or too expensive.

Veranda overlooking the pool. The average year-round temperature in Fiji is in the 80F, 30C range with little variances from month to month.

Staying in a hotel in Sydney for a month was another option but proved to be prohibitive when hotel rates were high and we’d have no choice but to dine out for every meal. (Although, next month we’ll be in hotels for a month split between Paris and London, in both cities we were able to get excellent rates and, most importantly, we’d budgeted for these expenses).

However, we hadn’t planned for an expensive month in Sydney, no doubt a beautiful city. Most likely, we’ll have an opportunity to see the sights of Sydney when we are on any of our three cruises in Australia.

The kitchen appears to have everything we’ll need. Many of these photos were taken at night. We’ll be taking plenty of photos during daylight.

At this point, we discussed our options. We had to get back to Sydney by January 4th for the upcoming cruise the next day.

With Fiji’s 120 day visas for US citizens, we had the option of staying another month in our booking in Savusavu, a separate island in Fiji with challenging transportation, or, as Tom suggested, fly to the main island of Fiji to ease the flying back to Sydney on January 4th. We both agreed this was a better plan.

Most likely we’ll find a table somewhere in the house to use as a coffee table.

While I was busy logging all the data for our recent multiple bookings, Tom went to work to find something suitable on the main island of Fiji. Much to our surprise, in only one day, he found the house which we’re sharing today.

We booked this house from December 6, 2015 to January 4, 2016 when we’ll fly to Sydney, spend one night in a hotel and board the cruise the next day. Whew! Lots of monkeying around!

We love having a pool!

After contacting the owner, we worked out an equitable rental amount, paid the deposit, and took a deep breath, knowing this leg of our journey was handled.

Here’s the link to our second house in Fiji, on the main island:
http://www.homeaway.com/vacation-rental/p3665385

When the January 5th cruise ends in Auckland, New Zealand on January 19, 2016, we’ll rent a car and make our way to the Alpaca Farm as posted here.

Side yard. The ocean is beyond the bushes.

With our comprehensive record-keeping, it’s easy to keep track of the “holes” in our itinerary. At this point in time, we have only a few one-night hotel bookings and a few flights yet to book, all the way to the last booking ending on June 26, 2016, almost two years away. It’s too soon to book anything beyond that date.

Knowing that we’ve booked two years out with deposits paid and rental agreements, in hand we can now sit back and enjoy ourselves knowing that we don’t have to think about future bookings for another year.

Yesterday, Tom and I were giggling over how much we both enjoyed this process over the past month. The anticipation and the hope of working out equitable rental amounts and deposits left us flush with excitement as we waited to hear back from owners of the various bookings.

Over the past month, I was often so excited that I awoke early in the morning to see if we’d heard back from an owner overnight. In many cases, there was as much as an 11 hour time difference making communicating online tricky. We’d jump for joy when we’d see that our proposal, or a workable alternative to our proposal, was accepted by the owner.

Settled down and content with the outcome of our hard work, we can’t stop smiling. Yes, we know that there will be mosquitoes, no screens (we have no screens now), creepy-crawly, and flying things but we’re tougher now.

On both islands in Fiji we’ll have several hours of driving on scary bumpy roads from the airport to our homes, one as long as the four-hour drive in Belize. Here again, we’re tougher now and give it nary a thought.

We continue on, dear readers, fine-tuning our skills and our psyches as we grow and learn more each day as we live as nomads exploring the many treasures our world has to offer.

Tomorrow we’ll share our most exciting booking since we began our travels. Please check back!

Photo from one year ago today, July 9, 2013:

It’s ironic that here we are in Madeira, Portugal one year later and we have similar puffy clouds as we watched in the mountains in Boveglio, Lucca, Tuscany, Italy. Although close to the ocean in Madeira, the clouds are much denser. A year ago, we wrote the story of living life without cell phone service when no SIM cards were available. For details, please click here.

Another cruise itinerary, prices and details for a new booking on Royal Caribbean’s Explorer of the Seas…A year ago…a recipe…

Posted by worldwide-admin on July 8, 2014 with 0 Comment

Royal Caribbean’s Explorer of the Seas is a larger capacity ship with cabins for 3835 passengers than yesterday’s posted Celebrity Solstice’s at 2850. We prefer smaller ships but its not always possible to find both the preferred size, itinerary and dates. The ship’s size is near the bottom of the list of our criteria.

Here’s is the total price (for two) we paid for an upgraded cabin category not shown on the various cabin categories as listed prices below. Vacations to Go, as well as other cruise agencies, tend to list the lowest priced cabin in a category to attract passengers, later fine-tuning the price to include specific preferences

Cruise (includes port charges)	$4,283.00
Government Taxes*	431.20
Pre-Paid Gratuities	384.00
Pre Paid Gratuities	-384.00

Total US	$ 4,714.20

Overall, we saved approximately US $500, EU $367.57, off the lowest posted price for this cruise, comparable to the savings on yesterday’s posted cruise on the Celebrity Solstice.

16 nights departing April 12, 2016 on
Royal Caribbean’s Explorer of the Seas

Cheapest Inside

Cheapest Oceanview

Cheapest Balcony

Cheapest Suite

No brochure rates were provided by Royal Caribbean. The prices shown are US dollars per person, based on double occupancy, and subject to availability. They include port charges but do not include airfare or (where applicable) airport or government taxes or fees.

Important Note: Visas are required for this itinerary.

ITINERARY

DAY	DATE		PORT	ARRIVE	DEPART
Tue	Apr	12	Sydney, Australia		9:00pm
Wed	Apr	13	At Sea
Thu	Apr	14	At Sea
Fri	Apr	15	Wellington, New Zealand	3:00pm	10:00pm
Sat	Apr	16	Picton, New Zealand	8:00am	6:00pm
Sun	Apr	17	At Sea
Mon	Apr	18	Dunedin (Port Chalmers), New Zealand	7:00am	5:00pm
Tue	Apr	19	Dusky Sound, New Zealand (Cruising)	9:00am	10:00am
Tue	Apr	19	Doubtful Sound, New Zealand (Cruising)	Noon	1:00pm
Tue	Apr	19	Milford Sound, New Zealand (Cruising)	4:30pm	5:30pm
Wed	Apr	20	At Sea
Thu	Apr	21	At Sea
Fri	Apr	22	Melbourne, Australia	8:00am	7:00pm
Sat	Apr	23	At Sea
Sun	Apr	24	Adelaide, Australia	8:00am	7:00pm
Mon	Apr	25	At Sea
Tue	Apr	26	At Sea
Wed	Apr	27	At Sea
Thu	Apr	28	Perth (Fremantle), Australia	6:00am

800-338-4962

With these two new cruises booked along with the cruise we’ll be taking from Hawaii to Australia on May 24, 2015 plus, the two upcoming cruises over the next several months, we now have a total of five booked cruises over a period of fewer than two years.

Although this may seem self-indulgent, we’ve made a point of choosing affordable vacation rentals to ensure we’re always able to incorporate cruising into our itinerary and stay within the strict constraints of our budget.

Sure, at times, we’re tempted to step outside the confines of the budget and “go for it!” But, we don’t. Knowing full well that doing so simply results in forcing ourselves to further tighten our belts in the future, sacrificing some of the comforts that bring us such pleasure; good food; great surroundings; and amazing views.

Each rental we choose, each cruise we book, every meal we eat, each necessary flight we take all draw from the bottom line. There’s no room or reason to push ourselves to a point of stress and worry for added luxury.

This particular ship is rated 4.5 stars due to its age, built in 2000, refurbished in 2010 which will again be refurbished again in 2015 and completed one year prior to our sailing on May 24, 2016. We’ll be anxious to see if it’s rating increases after the renovations. In any case, we have found that we favor some of the older ships with their “Hollywood” flair.

VacationsToGo

(If interested in booking a cruise with Anna Urban at Vacations to Go,
please click the above blue link for her email address. We are not affiliated with VTG
other than as a customer).

Explorer of the Seas

Ship Rating:

The 138,000-ton Explorer of the Seas is loaded with recreational amenities: an ice-skating rink, in-line skating track, rock-climbing wall, television studio and full-size, open-air basketball court. The Royal Promenade, which runs through the center of the ship, is longer than a football field and wide enough to accommodate three lanes of traffic. Here you’ll find restaurants, shops, entertainment and street performers. The basketball court converts to a volleyball court, and there’s also a golf simulator, nine-hole miniature golf course and jogging track. Adventure Beach, just for families, has its own pool. Spots for socializing include a champagne bar, cigar club, sports bar, jazz club, dance club and a cocktail lounge at the top of the ship. Hungry? There’s a casual grill, ice-cream parlor, the Windjammer Cafe and Johnny Rocket’s, modeled after an authentic 1950s diner (complete with jukebox). Portofino, an intimate reservations-only restaurant serving Italian fare, complements three main dining rooms.

Ship Statistics
Year Built	2000
Last Refurbished	2010
Tonnage	138,000 tons
Registry	Bahamas
Length	1,020 feet
Beam	158 feet
Passenger Capacity	3,835
Crew Size	1,185
Total Inside Cabins	618
Total Outside Cabins	939
Cabins & Suites w/ verandas	757
Suites	119
Maximum Occupancy per room	8
Age Restrictions	One person must be 21 or older
Dinner Seatings	2
Seating Assignments in Main Dining Room	Assigned
Dining Hours	6:00 p.m. & 8:30 p.m.
Dining Room Dress Code	Dining
Tipping Recommended?	Yes
Tipping Guidelines	Royal Caribbean will automatically add a $12.00 USD gratuity ($14.25 USD for Suite guests) to each guest’s onboard SeaPass® account on a daily basis. 15% tip included on beverage orders.
Onboard Currency	US Dollar

Services & Amenities
Bars/Lounges	12
Beauty Salon/Barber Shop	Yes
Casino	Yes
Chapel	Yes
Disco/Dancing	Yes
Elevators	4
Hot Tub	6
Cell Phone Service	Yes
Internet Center	Yes
Wireless Internet Access	Yes
Note: Available in certain areas
Laundry/Dry Cleaning	Yes
Library	Yes
Movie Theatre	Yes
Outdoor Movie Screen	No
Onboard Weddings	Yes
Self Serve Laundromats	No
Shops	Yes
Showroom	Yes
Spa	Yes
Video Arcade	Yes
Fitness & Sports Facilities
Basketball Court	Yes
Fitness Center	Yes
Golf Driving Net	No
Golf Simulator	Yes
Ice Skating Rink	Yes
Jogging Track	Yes
Mini-Golf Course	Yes
Rock Climbing Wall	Yes
Swimming Pool	3
Note: 1 Heated
Tennis Court	No
Water Slide	No
Water Sports Platform	No
Cabin Features & Amenities
24-Hour Room Service	Yes
Hair Dryer	Yes
Safe	Yes
Telephone	Yes
Television	Yes
Kids Facilities
Babysitting	Yes
Children’s Playroom	Yes
Kiddie Pool	Yes
Supervised Youth Program	Yes
Teen Center	Yes
Special Needs & Requests
Adjoining Cabins (private connecting doors)	Yes
Kosher Meals	Yes
Single Occupancy Cabins	No
Single Share Program	No
Wheelchair-Accessible Cabins	26

Then again, there’s a certain degree of “safari luck” which allows us to rent superior properties at reasonable negotiated prices when we find vacation rentals that appear more expensive and out of our reach.

In the next few days, we’ll be sharing a few more of these; two more booked vacation homes in the South Pacific that we’ve yet to mention, that literally make us jump for joy. Keep an eye out over the next few days.

The cruise described here today is a long way off, 21 months to be exact. We booked these two cruises early when we noticed online that some of their better cabins were fast being booked.

Please scroll to the right to see the full deck plan. We’ve chosen a cabin on this level at the “bump-out” area for enhanced viewing. As always, we checked the itinerary to ensure we will be on the better side of the ship for viewing as we sail past land. Note the deck plan indicates the location of cabins after the renovations are complete on 4/24/2015, one year before we sail.

Explorer of the Seas Deck 8 (starts 4-24-15)

Click for Ship Deck Plan Listing

Royal Family Suite with Balcony

Category FS

Two bedrooms with two twin beds that convert to a Royal King, measuring 72.5 inches wide by 82 inches long (one room with third and fourth Pullman beds), two bathrooms (one with shower, one with bathtub), living area with double sofa bed, private balcony, and concierge service. Stateroom can accommodate up to 8 guests. (561 sq. ft., balcony 246 sq. ft.)

Superior Ocean View Stateroom with Balcony

Category D1

Category D2

Two twin beds that convert to a Royal King, measuring 72.5 inches wide by 82 inches long, private balcony, sitting area and a private bathroom. Rates vary from deck to deck. (179 sq. ft., balcony 52 sq. ft.)

Deluxe Ocean View Stateroom with Balcony

Category E1

Category E2

Category E3

Two twin beds that convert to a Royal King, measuring 72.5 inches wide by 82 inches long, private balcony sitting area with sofa and a private bathroom. Rates vary from deck to deck. (164 sq. ft., balcony 51 sq. ft.)

Family Ocean View Stateroom

Category FO

Two twin beds that convert to a Royal King, measuring 72.5 inches wide by 82 inches long, additional bunk beds in separate area, separate sitting area with sofa bed, and a private bathroom with shower. Stateroom can accommodate up to 6 guests. (265 sq. ft.)

Large Ocean View Stateroom

Category F

Two twin beds that convert to a Royal King, measuring 72.5 inches wide by 82 inches long, sitting area with sofa, vanity area and a private bathroom. (178 sq. ft.)

Promenade Stateroom

Category PR

Bowed windows with a view of the Royal Promenade, two twin beds that convert to a Royal King, measuring 72.5 inches wide by 82 inches long, sitting area with sofa, vanity area, and a private bathroom. (160 sq. ft.)

Interior Stateroom

Category K

Category M

Two twin beds that convert to a Royal King, measuring 72.5 inches wide by 82 inches long, sitting area, vanity area, and a private bathroom. (150 sq. ft.)

Legend:
	Stateroom with sofa bed.
	Stateroom has third Pullman bed available.
	Stateroom has third and fourth Pullman bed available.
	Connecting staterooms.
	Indicates accessible staterooms.
	Stateroom with sofa bed and third Pullman bed available.
	Stateroom has four additional Pullman beds available.

Another important factor we must mention is the “bill” we’ll receive on the last night of any cruise which includes charges for WiFi (no refunds for unused data), beverages if not included in a pre-purchased beverage package, gratuities if not included in original costs such as for our personal cabin steward, favorite bartender or a special server in a restaurant, specialty restaurants, spa services and any purchases made in any of the ship’s shops all of which offer overpriced merchandise.

We always ensure that we have plenty of toiletries to last throughout the cruise. The cost of a tube of toothpaste, razors, or a bottle of Tylenol can be outrageous. All charges are charged to the credit card kept on file which is charged periodically to the card. One must ascertain that they have plenty of “room” on their card or another credit card on hand as these expenses add up quickly.

There are expensive ATMs aboard ship and a bank where one can exchange currency. But, the fees for these services may be higher than expected. We don’t gamble on ships or otherwise, although we’ve seen many passengers hovering at an ATM when their gambling isn’t going well. Casinos on ships are less likely than land casinos to produce winners.

Checking on daily cruise updates has always been a “Tom task” when I’m busy updating the spreadsheets with our ongoing expenses and related tasks. Besides, he enjoys doing it where I have little interest in watching the status of cruises until it actually applies to us. It’s through Tom’s diligent research that we’ve been able to secure great pricing and cabins.

At the moment, all of our cruises and vacation homes are booked with required deposits paid. Today, after writing here and a trip to the little local market to have our skilled butcher cut meat for us, I’ll start logging our latest bookings that have been wrapped up over the past several days.

Please check back tomorrow and Thursday for two very exciting updates to our itinerary with many photos. In the interim, we revel in the excitement of these two cruises, one highlighted today and the other in yesterday’s post.

Stay tuned.

Photo from one year ago today, July 8, 2013:

We posted our favorite low carb, sugar-free coleslaw recipe and how we’ve had to cut the cabbage by hand when we can’t ever find bagged shredded cabbage and carrots. For the recipe and detail from that day, please click here.

Cruise itinerary, prices and details for a new booking on the Celebrity Solstice…

Posted by worldwide-admin on July 7, 2014 with 0 Comment

Celebrity is our favorite cruise line. This is the ship we’ll sail on for 14 nights beginning on January 5, 2016, ending on January 19, 2016. Built in 2008, it’s rated 5.5 stars, of a possible 6 stars We love the smaller size of 2850 passengers as opposed to many of the larger ships with a capacity with upwards of 5000 passengers.

In 18 months, on January 4, 2016, we’ll be departing Fiji to arrive in Sydney, Australia, spending one night in a hotel.

The following day, we’ll make our way to the Port of Sydney to board this 14 night cruise on the Celebrity Solstice as listed below which ends in Auckland, New Zealand on January 19, 2016 when we’ll make our way to New Plymouth, New Zealand to live on the on the Alpaca Farm for 83 days.

Please refer to Part 1 and Part 2 posts from the past two days to see all the criteria and factors that come into play when pricing a cruise. Please click these links below in the event you missed them over the weekend:
Part 1, Booking cruises
Part 2, Booking cruises

When reviewing the prices below it appears that our total cost for two would be US $4498 EU $3676.69. Not so fast. Based on the addition of taxes, fees, and gratuities and the upgraded category for our preferred cabin number, the cost had jumped to a total of US $5340.32, EU $3928.51.

By researching prices for our choices. we were able to find an all-inclusive total for US $4771, EU $3509.70 through the free site, Cruise Compete.

By doing so, we then asked Anna at Vacations to Go to match this best price. She was able to match the price after sending her the link as to where we found the best pricing. In other words, many cruise agencies have the ability to “match the best price found.” However, proof in writing that the best price is always required when asking for the best price discount.

14 nights departing January 5, 2016 on
Celebrity’s Celebrity Solstice

Brochure Inside	$3,298
Our Inside	$1,649
You Save	50%

Brochure Oceanview	$3,998
Our Oceanview	$1,999
You Save	50%

Brochure Balcony	$4,498
Our Balcony	$2,249
You Save	50%

Brochure Suite	$8,298
Our Suite	$4,149
You Save	50%

$$$ Book now and receive a FREE US$100 per cabin onboard credit on select categories plus choose one of the following offers on select oceanview, balcony, and suite categories: an additional US$300 per cabin onboard credit (for a total per cabin onboard credit of US$400), FREE pre-paid gratuities (a per cabin value of US$336 to US$434), or a FREE beverage package for two, which includes select alcoholic or non-alcoholic beverages onboard (a per cabin value of US$1,372).

Promotions may not be combinable with all fares.

The prices shown are US dollars per person, based on double occupancy, and subject to availability. They include port charges but do not include airfare or (where applicable) airport or government taxes or fees.

Important Note: Visas are required for this itinerary.

ITINERARY

DAY	DATE		PORT	ARRIVE	DEPART
Tue	Jan	5	Sydney, Australia		6:30pm
Wed	Jan	6	At Sea
Thu	Jan	7	Melbourne, Australia	8:00am	6:00pm
Fri	Jan	8	At Sea
Sat	Jan	9	Hobart, Tasmania, Australia	8:00am	6:00pm
Sun	Jan	10	At Sea
Mon	Jan	11	At Sea
Tue	Jan	12	Milford Sound, New Zealand (Cruising)	8:00am	9:00am
Tue	Jan	12	Doubtful Sound, New Zealand (Cruising)	1:30pm	2:30pm
Tue	Jan	12	Dusky Sound, New Zealand (Cruising)	4:30pm	6:00pm
Wed	Jan	13	Dunedin (Port Chalmers), New Zealand	9:00am	7:00pm
Thu	Jan	14	Akaroa, New Zealand	8:00am	6:00pm
Fri	Jan	15	Wellington, New Zealand	8:00am	6:00pm
Sat	Jan	16	At Sea
Sun	Jan	17	Tauranga, New Zealand	8:00am	6:00pm
Mon	Jan	18	Bay of Islands, New Zealand	7:00am	6:00pm
Tue	Jan	19	Auckland, New Zealand	6:00am

Here are the details of the ship, the Celebrity Solstice, rated a 5.5 stars (out of a possible 6 stars):

VacationsToGo.com

Celebrity Solstice

Ship Rating:

The first ship to be a part of Celebrity’s Solstice class, the Celebrity Solstice features many of the personal amenities passengers have come to expect from Celebrity while carrying 2,850 passengers. Each of the ships in the Solstice class feature wireless Internet throughout, larger staterooms with flat screen televisions, spacious bathrooms, more storage space and plush European bedding. Balconies are available in 85% of the ship’s staterooms, and the Solstice-class ships include an exceptional range of guest-inspired services and amenities made possible due to the ships’ larger size. Spa-enthusiasts aboard the Celebrity Solstice can enjoy the 130 “AquaClass” veranda staterooms, with unlimited access to the Aqua Spa relaxation room and the Persian Garden, and exotic aromatherapy and steam room. AquaClass guests also receive exclusive complimentary dining in Blu, an intimate 130-seat specialty restaurant.

Ship Statistics
Year Built	2008
Tonnage	122,000 tons
Registry	Malta
Length	1,033 feet
Beam	121 feet
Passenger Capacity	2,850
Crew Size	999
Total Inside Cabins	102
Total Outside Cabins	1,323
Cabins & Suites w/ verandas	1,177
Suites	56
Maximum Occupancy per room	5
Age Restrictions	One person must be 21 or older
Dinner Seatings	2
Seating Assignments in Main Dining Room	Assigned
Dining Hours	6:15 p.m. & 8:30 p.m.
Dining Room Dress Code	Dining
Tipping Recommended?	Yes
Tipping Guidelines	Added to onboard account. $12.00 per person, per day in staterooms, $12.50 per person, per day for Concierge/Aqua class, $15.50 per person, per day for Suites. 15% tip included on beverage orders.
Onboard Currency	US Dollar

Services & Amenities
Bars/Lounges	14
Beauty Salon/Barber Shop	Yes
Casino	Yes
Chapel	No
Disco/Dancing	Yes
Elevators	Yes
Hot Tub	10
Cell Phone Service	Yes
Internet Center	Yes
Wireless Internet Access	Yes
Note: Available in certain areas
Laundry/Dry Cleaning	Yes
Library	Yes
Movie Theatre	Yes
Outdoor Movie Screen	No
Onboard Weddings	Yes
Self Serve Laundromats	No
Shops	Yes
Showroom	Yes
Spa	Yes
Video Arcade	Yes
Fitness & Sports Facilities
Basketball Court	Yes
Fitness Center	Yes
Golf Driving Net	No
Golf Simulator	No
Water Slide	No
Water Sports Platform	No
Ice Skating Rink	No
Jogging Track	Yes
Mini-Golf Course	No
Rock Climbing Wall	No
Swimming Pool	3
Tennis Court	No
Cabin Features & Amenities
Hair Dryer	Yes
Safe	Yes
Telephone	Yes
Television	Yes
24-Hour Room Service	Yes
Kids Facilities
Babysitting	Yes
Children’s Playroom	Yes
Kiddie Pool	No
Supervised Youth Program	Yes
Teen Center	Yes
Special Needs & Requests
Adjoining Cabins (private connecting doors)	Yes
Kosher Meals	Yes
Single Occupancy Cabins	No
Single Share Program	No
Wheelchair-Accessible Cabins	30

Speak to a Cruise Specialist

800-180-095
Call toll free from Portugal to our US offices

Open Mon 12am-4am, 12:30pm-12am, Tue-Fri 12am-8am, 12:30pm-12am,
Sat 12am-8am, 3pm – 12am, Sun 12am-2am, 4pm-12am

Here is the deck plan for the Celebrity Solstice from which we chose our preferred cabin on this level in Category 2B. Please scroll to the right to see the far right of the entire deck plan.

Celebrity Solstice Deck 7 – Sunrise

Click for Ship Deck Plan Listing

Sky Suite

Category S1

Features include floor-to-ceiling sliding glass doors, two beds convertible to queen-size, bathroom with shower/tub combination and washbasin, living room with sofa queen sleeper and vanity, mini refrigerator, 40″ LCD TV, and veranda with lounge seating. (stateroom: 300 sq. ft., veranda: 79 sq. ft.)

Family Ocean View Stateroom with Veranda

Category FV

Features include floor-to-ceiling sliding glass doors, master bedroom with two beds convertible to queen-size, second bedroom with one twin bed, sitting area with sofa convertible to trundle bed, vanity, privacy partition, 32″ LCD TV and veranda. (stateroom: 575 sq. ft., veranda: 53 to 105 sq. ft.)

Sunset Veranda

Category SV

Features include floor-to-ceiling sliding glass doors, sitting area with sofa, two beds convertible to queen-size, vanity, 32″ LCD TV and veranda. Some staterooms may have a trundle bed. (stateroom: 194 sq. ft., veranda: 54 sq. ft.)

Deluxe Ocean View Stateroom with Veranda

Category 1A

Category 2A

Category 2B

Features include floor-to-ceiling sliding glass doors, two beds convertible to queen-size, sitting area with sofa, vanity, 32″ LCD TV and veranda. Some staterooms may have a trundle bed. (stateroom: 194 sq. ft., veranda: 54 sq. ft.)

Ocean View Stateroom

Category 07

Features include an ocean view window, two beds convertible to queen-size, vanity, 32″ LCD TV and a sitting area with sofa. Some cabins may have a trundle bed. (177 sq. ft.)

Inside Stateroom

Category 11

Features include two beds convertible to queen-size, vanity, 32″ LCD TV and sitting area with sofa. Some cabins may have a trundle bed.(183 to 200 sq. ft.)

Legend:
	Convertible Sofa Bed
	Inside Stateroom Door Location
	One Upper Berth
	Triple Occupancy
	Quadruple Occupancy
	Two Upper Berths
	Connecting Staterooms
	Wheelchair Accessible Stateroom Featuring Roll-In Showers

In all, we’re thrilled with the price, our cabin selection and of course, the itinerary as shown above. As with all of our cruises, we’ll be sharing details and photos of the ship, the ports of call, the excursions we choose and the meals.

More follows tomorrow with details of the second cruise we booked in the past few days on Royal Caribbean’s Explorer of the Seas.

Have a wonderful Monday!

Photo from one year ago today, July 7, 2013:

A year ago, we wrote about mechanical issues and nuances of living in a 300-year-old house in Boveglio, Tuscany, Italy. his photo of Tom standing in the hallway, at 6 feet, 1.83 meters, his head almost reaches the ceiling. If he didn’t walk down the hall straight and centered, he’d bang his head. also note, the upcoming doorway at eye level in which he had to duck to enter. For more details about the old stone house, please click here.

Part 1…Booking cruises and competitive pricing… How do we book our cruises for the best pricing?…

Posted by worldwide-admin on July 5, 2014 with 0 Comment

The fact that I was standing on a steep hill is evidenced in this lopsided photo of this steeple in the hills in Sao Vincente. Certainly, I could have straightened the camera to adjust, but I was distracted by the views.

Currently, we have four cruises booked with more we hope to book over the next several months. Yesterday, we posted our upcoming itinerary from July 31, 2014, through April 11, 2016. f you’d like to see it, please click here.

The vineyards, the sparse trees, and the mountains in the background create a pretty scene.

Finding the best possible prices for cruises is tricky and time-consuming. Since we began our travels outside the US 18 months ago, we’ve been on 10 cruises, all of them booked through Vacations to Go where we received the best pricing.

The rich soil in the hills is ideal for gardens and farms in this scene from Sao Vincente.

Now, as time marches on, we’re finding competitive pricing at other sites for the cruises we’re yet to book. Booking cruises is not as easy a task as one might think.

The well-utilized hills illustrate the creativity of the people of Madeira in using their surroundings.

There are several factors that determine the starting prices of the cruises:

Rating of the ship: Rated from one to five stars
Cruise itinerary: Certain itineraries are always more expensive than others
Length of the cruise: Longer doesn’t necessarily equate to a lower price
The popularity of the cruise: Supply and demand
Time of the year: Often the best time of year to cruise is often between Christmas and New Year’s due to lack of demand and in the first two weeks of January when the public is experiencing holiday withdrawal. Or, if one prefers a cruise can be booked during hurricane season in the Caribbean for a better price.
Taxes, fees, including gratuities (which is seldom shown in the advertised price but often is required to be paid to paid at final payment), special promotions, discounts for past customers, coupons, or discounts for special categories such as AARP and others.

More beautiful farming in Sao Vincent.

The following personal preferences determine the final costs for a cruise:

Cabin selection: Inside cabin (no windows), Oceanview (from a small to large window depending on the ship), Balcony (includes a varying in size balcony accessed through sliding doors from inside the cabin), and Suite
Category selection: In each of the above cabin selections, there are Categories with varying pricing which may double the price or more, as in the case of Suites, which can be from a Mini-Suite (extra amenities, slightly larger) all the way to a “Grand or Royal” Suites (apartment/penthouse type suites). Some cabins may have an obstructed or partially obstructed view or be above or below a noisy venue which may or may not have a bearing on the price.
Location of the cabin on the ship: The deck number, proximity to areas customer favors, easy access to stairs or elevators, etc.
Side of the ship on which the cabin is located for best viewing when sailing past points of interest.
Packages and excursions preferred: Beverages package (multiple categories as much as USD $59, EU $43.40 per person/per day!), specialty dining (not all meals are included on cruises. There are often multiple restaurants each with a “fixed price” that can be booked. Excursions at varying ports of call from private tours to bus tours.
Internet: Internet fees are outrageous on cruises, usually at US $.75, EU $.55, per minute to prepaid packages bringing the cost down as much as 50%.
Spa and salon services, personal trainers, specialty training in various categories, personal purchases, photos (often taken without your permission and later offered to you at high prices), casino, art auctions, etc.
Beverages not included in either a pre-purchased beverage package or if no beverage package is purchased, the cost of drinks not included with meals (coffee or tea) or provided at complimentary coffee/tea stations located in the pool and casual dining areas; bottled water, soda, specialty coffees, and alcoholic beverages. These can add to as much as a 25% increase in the overall cost of the cruise plus an added 15% gratuity on both beverage packages and individual beverage purchases.
On many cruises, there are special activities and events that may impose additional costs if the customer chooses to partake such as bingo and other games with cash prices, dance lessons, etc.
Travel insurance: This may be as much as US $50 per person/per day of the cruise. (We never purchase travel insurance on specific cruises. We each have an annual travel insurance policy that provides this type of coverage at a considerably lower price).

As we approached the ocean in Sao Vincente. The road was too narrow to stop. I took this photo while the car was moving.

All of the above come into play when we decide to book a cruise. We have no delusions as to these costs and luckily did our research before booking our first cruise. Having an experienced cruise agent is also a factor which incurs no obvious additional cost.

This was the first swimming pool we’ve seen on the island of Madeira. With the cool climate, a pool, unless heated, wouldn’t be enjoyable. This may be a small hotel or B & B.

Tomorrow, we’ll describe the cabins we typically choose and why, the amenities we prefer, the extras we willingly include and, the cost of a few of our upcoming cruises as listed in yesterday’s itinerary.

Please check back.

Photo from one year ago today, July 5, 2013:

Driving through Collodi, Italy, the village where the author of Pinocchio lived, we spotted the Villa Garzoni, a restored mansion which we believe is now a hotel. For details from that date, please click here.

Plans for the future revealed!…A new continent…From Hawaii May, 2015 to ????

Posted by worldwide-admin on May 28, 2014 with 0 Comment

Yesterday, we’d planned for dinner in Ribeira Brava, a 20-minute drive through tunnels and mountains. With my equilibrium still whacked from the recent illness, I had to back out of our dinner plans and head back home, to dine in. However, we managed to make it to this beautiful garden in Campanario.

In the past year, we’ve spent many hours looking at the world map trying to decide where we’d ideally like to travel after our last booking in Kauai, Hawaii ending on May 15, 2015.

After tiring of long flights and thinking back to our original plans of cruising to destinations, first, we picked a country or continent we’d like to visit. Then, we began the search for possible cruises that could take us to our chosen continent/country, even if it meant a fight in between.

How handy that a Honey Bee stopped by.

We worked on this premise for a while as we contemplated our options. The problem needed to be revolved due to the fact that we had more than one possible preferred location. Over these past months we had three options:

Our choices included:
1. Alaska
2. South America
3. Australia/New Zealand

The beauty of the terraced hills and garden in Madeira. Astounding!

A huge factor in the location we’d ultimately choose is the cost of living including the rent for vacation homes. As it turned out, as hard as we tried, we couldn’t make Alaska work in the summer and there was no way we’d consider Alaska during at any other time of the year.

For a decent house, condo, apartment, resort, or lodge, the lowest rent for a property we’d find suitable started at US $5000, EU $3668.91 a month. Let’s face it, living in a less expensive run down the basic cabin for months in Alaska was not our cup of tea. Plus, Internet accessibility is an issue in many areas of Alaska.

We were unable to get a clear shot of the worn verbiage on this sign which we’d hoped to later translate.

With the size of Alaska, we’d have to move no less than three times to get a fair sampling of the huge state. With only three months of good weather, we’d feel rushed.

Through our travels, we’ve determined that our goal is to rent a house with a lake or an ocean view if possible. Doing so in Alaska made it all the more unaffordable.

Love these!

Based on our lengthy research these past few years, so far Alaska and Switzerland were the two locations in the world that we found to be the most expensive in which to live.

A month ago, we decided to let go of our hopes for Alaska at this time, which continues to have much appeal for us with its considerable wildlife. We’ve decided to save Alaska for the future when we hope to eventually tour the US and Canada.

It is surprising that cactus can grow in this cool climate that rarely tops 78F, 25C at the hottest point of summer in August and September.

Next, we went to work on South America, starting in Ecuador in order to visit the Galapagos Islands to see the wildlife, eventually settling in Ecuador for three months after discovering that many US ex-pats live in certain areas.

We were able to find affordable housing in Ecuador on the ocean that fit our criteria. At one point, we’d also considered a trip to Machu Picchu in Peru but with the masses of tourists now traipsing through the lengthy trek, we lost interest.

Oh, that I wish I knew names of flowers to share here. Never the gardener, always the admirer, we’ve never learned the names of many flowers. To research each of these and to post them here, is not a task I care to undertake with “other fish to fry.”

After Ecuador, we’d move to another South American country, staying up to three months in each of several locations over perhaps a period of a year. Of course, a cruise on the Amazon River has definitely been on our list of desired future experiences.

No matter how hard we’ve tried, we couldn’t get excited about South America at this time in our travels. At some point, we will. Also, we hope to return to Africa to visit Victoria Falls, go on another safari, see the gorillas in Rwanda and return to Marloth/Kruger Park, South Africa. (My heart sings as I write about returning to South Africa).

We do know this is a rose. Wow!

In reality, we only have so much time. I’m 66 years old, Tom is 61. Will our health hold out? We can reasonably envision another 10 years of traveling Beyond that, who knows?

So folks, with much enthusiasm, we’ve decided on Australia and then later, off to New Zealand! Last night, we booked an 18-day cruise from Honolulu, Hawaii on May 24, 2015, heading to Sydney, Australia arriving on June 11, 2015, where we’ll stay for a few days (very pricey big city) and then move to the first of several homes we plan to rent on the continent.

Could this be a poinsettia?

We’ll have an extra nine days “to kill” in Oahu, Hawaii, most likely in a hotel while we wait for the cruise to depart from Honolulu.

Now, we’re excited! Wildlife, the outback, the ocean, the friendly Aussies, and with many affordable houses by the sea in the smaller communities, we couldn’t be more thrilled.

Tom, overlooking the sea. Nice shot of him wearing the same shirt he often wears in an attempt to wear it out. No such luck!

Checking out the weather, possible safaris, and vacation rentals, we’ll soon continue our search for where we’ll live, locking them up with deposits as we make our selections.

We’ve already found several excellent options. However, this is a time-consuming process that will take months to accomplish. As we book each property, we’ll list them here with details and photos.

The warmth of the sun made it possible to take off my jacket as we perused the garden. I’ve been wearing my warmest long-sleeved BugAway shirts while feeling cold since we arrived.

Traveling the world is comparable to having a “job” requiring diligent research and planning. As anyone with a “job” we have free time to enjoy spending time where we are living at the moment. Mix it all together and we love all the parts; the research, the planning, and most of all, the living.

Having this decision resolved for the moment, we can sit back and “love the one we’re with,” the beautiful island of Madeira!

Tomorrow, we’ll post the details of the cruise to Australia, the ports of call, the cost for our balcony cabin, and the details as to how and why we chose our cabin. With eight cruises under our belts since January 3, 2013, we now have three more cruises to anticipate over the next 12 months. Stay tuned.
______________________________________________________

Photo from approximately one year ago today, May 28, 2013:

A side view of AIDer HQ, an office building in Dubai, UAE. This photo was posted on May 30, 2013, when we toured Dubai and Abu Dhabi the prior day. For the story for that day, please click here.

One week and counting…A year ago today, pirate drills commenced aboard our ship…Adventures of a lifetime…

Posted by worldwide-admin on May 8, 2014 with 0 Comment

A pleasing display inside of a restaurant we frequent, Le Jardin.

Each morning as I begin to work on the post of the day, the first thing I do is look back to one year ago to the date, to see where we were at that time, saving a photo, copying the link to post, and rereading our story.

Of course, it frustrates me when I see errors but overall, it is as exciting to us now as it was at the time. Over the next several days we’ll share photos and stories from a year ago when we’ll have experienced the most stunning adventures of our lives on the cruise of a lifetime through the Middle East.

The post of one year ago depicts the concern and precautions that Royal Caribbean cruise line exercised as we were about to sail through the Gulf of Aden, some of the most dangerous waters in the world. At first, we read the letter with a bit of trepidation. Later, we felt safe and at ease. More will be posted in the next few days at the end of each day’s “year ago” section at the end of the daily posting.

Our ship had sailed from Barcelona, Spain to Dubai, UAE during which time we sailed through the Suez Canal, the Gulf of Aden, and the Red Sea. Sailing on we traveled through Egypt, the Gulf of Aqaba, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Jordan, Yemen, Oman, Iran, Somalia. As one can see by these locations, it wasn’t surprising that the ship took special precautions to ensure the safety of passengers. We stopped in many countries along the way. Stories of the experiences we had in some of these countries will be mentioned at the bottom of each post over the next several days.

It is these types of experiences that make our travels exciting. It’s not the massive historical buildings that accomplish this for us. It’s the opportunities to be a part of experiences that shape who’ve we continue to become as we strive to stretch ourselves, emotionally, spiritually, intellectually, and at times, physically.

More will follow over the next few days, including the most amazing adventure of our lives, up until that point, the visit to Petra, Jordan to see the Lost City and the Treasury. Amazing.

For those of you who have faithfully followed along with us from long ago (we started posting in March 2012), we apologize for the redundancy. For our newer readers of one year or less, this may all be new to you.

For us, it all rolls into one extraordinary ongoing experience, the journey of a lifetime, stepping outside the box to stretch ourselves outside of our comfort zone to attain new heights, beyond our wildest dreams.

Of course, over this last week in Marrakech, Morocco we’ll continue to venture out, taking photos to share with you each day over the upcoming seven days until we depart on May 15th to travel to Madeira, Portugal.

Yes, there are many days where our lives are mundane and uneventful, staying in, living a simple daily life. But for us, beating each other at a game of Gin producing a tirade of whoops, hollers and an occasional rash of swear words is exciting in itself. Tom has beaten me in three countries. If I can maintain my current lead, I may finally win in Morocco!
_________________________________________

Photo from one year ago today, May 8, 2013:

After dinner on May 7, 2013, this letter was sitting on our bed when we returned to our cabin. Taking a photo of the letter, we posted it the next day and the pirate drills began. For details of that story, please click here.

Tag: Cruise Ships and Itinerary

Explorer of the Seas

Explorer of the Seas Deck 8 (starts 4-24-15)

Celebrity Solstice

Celebrity Solstice Deck 7 – Sunrise