Cruise decisions…

Posted by worldwide-admin on December 4, 2012 with 2 Comments

As the date for our first cruise inches closer, we find we must make some decisions about our upcoming cruising experiences.

Our first cruise, on Celebrity Century, has had a price increase since we booked it many months ago. We paid $2199 plus tips and taxes for a balcony cabin, for a total of $5545 for the two of us, a locked-in price. If purchased now, the total for two would be around the $9500 range (at $4199 each) with tips and taxes, $4000 more.

Here’s the current pricing information directly from our cruise booking company Vacations to Go.

15 nights departing January 3, 2013 on
Celebrity’s Celebrity Century

Brochure Inside	$1,449
The Inside	$1,049
You Save	28%

Brochure Oceanview	$2,449
The Oceanview	$2,449
You Save	0%

Brochure Balcony	$4,199
The Balcony	$4,199
You Save	0%

Thu

Jan

San Diego, CA

4:00pm

Fri

Jan

At Sea

Sat

Jan

Cabo San Lucas, Mexico

11:00am

6:00pm

Sun

Jan

Puerto Vallarta, Mexico

12:30pm

7:30pm

Mon

Jan

At Sea

Tue

Jan

At Sea

Wed

Jan

Puerto Quetzal, Guatemala

7:00am

6:00pm

Thu

Jan

At Sea

Fri

Jan

Puntarenas, Costa Rica

7:00am

6:00pm

Sat

Jan

At Sea

Sun

Jan

Panama Canal (Full Transit)

6:00am

6:00pm

Mon

Jan

Colon, Panama

6:00am

4:00pm

Tue

Jan

Cartagena, Colombia

9:00 am

4:00pm

Wed

Jan

At Sea

Thu

Jan

At Sea

Fri

Jan

Fort Lauderdale, FL

7:00 am

We decided when booking this first cruise that we would exercise our right to “buyer beware” by educating ourselves to the possible “up” charges that inevitably exist on cruises. After reading reviews over these past several months, talking to experienced cruisers, and more recently calling the cruise line and asking questions, we feel satisfied that we have an idea as to potential additional charges. Over and again, we’ve heard from experienced cruisers as to the shock of seeing their “tab” at the end of their cruise, always backed up by a credit card, leaving no margin for negotiations or adjustments.

One big point of discussion for us has been as to whether or not to purchase a “beverage package” for Tom. I seldom drink alcohol. Mostly, I drink copious amounts of iced tea or hot tea which is provided at no additional cost. Tom, when socializing, may enjoy a few cocktails, otherwise, he doesn’t drink at all. His drink of choice is Courvoisier, a pricey cognac, which we discovered would be $8 per cocktail plus a 15% tip.

The beverage package that works for his cocktail of choice is $810 (just for him!) for the length of the cruise, allowing him to drink all he wants and includes tips. For one second we considered this. He feels he cannot justify the expense since he doesn’t want to feel like he is pressured into getting his money’s worth.

On the other hand, I don’t want him to feel he can’t have a cocktail when he wants one so we went to work and did the math.

If he has three cocktails a night (highly unlikely he’ll drink every night), the total would be $27.60 per night x 15 nights for a total of $414. Considering that some nights he won’t drink any alcohol but instead may have a non-included soda, we feel comfortable that the drink bill won’t exceed $400.

Then, there’s the question of dining in any of the non-included restaurants. It’s unlikely we’ll choose to dine in these extra-charge restaurants due to our limited low carb, grain, sugar, and starch free diet. The exception to this would be a social situation whereby fellow travelers we’ve befriended invite us to join them at one of these restaurants. We’ll decide at the time if it makes sense to bear the added expense. We aren’t “tightwads.” We’re world travelers with a desire to continue traveling for as long as our health holds out and that we stay within the budget we’ve established for our travels.

We’ve allowed ourselves an average of $75 per day for extras on cruises. If our alcohol beverage budget is $27.60 per day, that leaves us $47.40 per day in other extras.

The next expense we’ll most certainly incur is the cost of Internet access on the cruise. At a cost of $395 for the 15 days, we will each be allowed 60 minutes of Internet access per day. (There were other less costly packages available but, cost per minute increased with lower minute packages).

As a result, I will write the blog offline then go online for posting, editing, and adding photos. This amount uses up $26.33 per day leaving us $21.00 per day average for incidentals which is enough for us to go on two excursions if we so choose.

Our habits of researching our travels, mindless reading online will literally be metered while we’re on a cruise. Odd? Yes, but do-able. We’ll have plenty to do to keep us occupied leaving us ample time to read one of many pre-downloaded books.

Oops, there’s another task we must complete before the month ends…download books to the Kindle app on our phones and laptops, all of which may be read offline. It’s easy for me to imagine sitting in a lounge chair on the deck of the ship reading, “NeanderThin: Eat to Achieve a Lean, Strong, Healthy Body” while Tom peruses, “The Family Tree Problem Solver: Tried-and-True Tactics for Tracing Elusive Ancestors.” Ah, nice.

P.S. Please excuse gaps in editing. When copying and pasting from other websites, spacing becomes an issue in Blogger.

Big Itinerary change!…Part 2…

Posted by worldwide-admin on November 14, 2012 with 0 Comment

Here is the fabulous condo we will be renting for 13 nights, after arriving by cruise ship (as listed in the last post on November 12, 2012) in Dubai on May 21, 2013.

With only six months until our arrival date, we felt it was imperative to lock in a location, having noticed that many of the properties we’ve chosen thus far seem to get snapped up quickly as vacations are planned all over the world.

Prices are high in Dubai. When we began looking at our favorite vacation rentals sites (before we booked the cruise to ensure it would be an affordable month), Vacation Home Rentals and Home Away, we became discouraged that maybe this cruise wasn’t right for us at this time.

Many of the properties, in great locations close to the notorious Palm Island as shown on the map, were $300-$500 a night or more, way out of our budget. As always, a little negotiating and perseverance prevailed. We found this ideal property at the newer Elite Residence Tower, the 2nd tallest residential tower in the world at 91 stories.

Here is the link to the rental property. Notice the location of this property on the map in relation to Palm Jumiera, the world famous man made island represented with palm fronds of exclusive properties.

The owner writes, in describing the location:

“This location is in the middle of most of the tourist attractions of Dubai. Such as Palm Jumeira, Atlantis Hotel, JBR Walk, beach, Mall of Emirates, indoor ski resort, Wild Wadi, Burj Al Arab, Dubai Marina Mall, etc. There are an array of restaurants serving multi-national cuisines such as Chinese, Italian, Indian, Persian, Lebenese, Japanese, Pakistani, Mexican, Continental, etc.

Read more at http://www.homeaway.com/vacation-rental/p3484936#rkgAyAl7uPtKmT9l.99 ”

Need I say we are pleased with our “home body selves” for taking on this added adventure. “What’s happening here,” some family members ask? “Have you gone completely mad in your advancing age?”

No, not at all. Each day while living in Scottsdale until the end of the year, we complete paperwork, taxes, digital equipment needs, Nevada residency, new driver’s licenses and our 2nd passports (will explain that soon), we stretch to challenge ourselves in little ways we never attempted in the past, such as:

Attending a Windows 8 computer class. Stubborn that we were, we always took more time to teach ourselves, rather than go out to a class.
Going to a sports bar in the morning to watch the Vikings Game. Only once in our years together, did we ever go to a bar to watch a game.
Dining out and trying new foods (that comply with our way of eating, of course).
Jess, drinking beer when we’ve gone out to dinner. Getting drunk after one beer I’ve hesitated to drink. What the heck? Live it up! So what if Tom has to carry me out to the car after drinking one Michelob Ultra (low carb)!
Walking, actually going for a structured walk. All these years I asked Tom to go for a walk with me. Never did he walk further down the road than to our friends Chip and Sue’s home for happy hour or dinner, only four doors away. Now we go for walks in our temporary neighborhood. After all, when we’re traveling, we won’t have a car most of the time. Walk, we shall! (Tom can’t believe he’s walking. I knew he eventually would!)
Shopping together. I can count on one hand how many times over the years that Tom has gone into a grocery store, let alone a department store. Yep, we do both together now. That’s change.

Some of our family members ask, “Are you doing anything different than you did before?” (Which meant for us, staying home and enjoying every minute of our lives). Yes, we are family!

Yes, we are sitting at our new computers in our temporary home, fast and furiously doing tons of preparation necessary to travel the world without a home for the next 5-10 years. It’s a daunting task.

We spend about two hours each day doing research for upcoming trips, locations and cruises, one hour of paperwork, two more hours setting up and learning our new laptops (Windows 8), two hours in household tasks (laundry, cleaning, doing dishes, etc.), two hours out and about shopping and researching our digital equipment, one hour walking, two hours a day dining, and one hour of happy hour commiserating over the previous 13 hours, totaling 14 hours plus…

Yes, family, at night after dinner, pooped from the days activities, we do the dreaded, sit in a chair (definitely not comfy as our old chairs) and “veg out” snacking on sugar free candy, nuts and low carb protein bars and…the most awful…watching mindless drivel on TV, all the while with a smile on our faces, often looking at one another with a new found intrigue while excited, grateful and in love.

Belize; get your lawn chairs ready. Egypt, we’ll ride camels on the way to see your Great Pyramids and Dubai, we’ll research your history. Tuscany, we’re ready to walk your open markets, living amongst your citizens for an entire summer. Africa, we’ll live with your animals in Marloth/Kruger Park, we’ll go to see the Great Migration as it crosses the land to the Masai Mara, perhaps in a hot air balloon.

The south of France: we’ll drive along your coast to Cannes, staying overnight in a fancy hotel and then, we’ll live in a little stone house in Cajarc where there are few tourists. The island of Madeira, Portugal; we’ll live in a huge contemporary house overlooking your sea for the an entire summer and ride bicycles in to your town filled with history. Hey Europe, we’ll spend five months roaming around without a plan until we leave for our five scheduled months in Hawaii.

Chill out, family. We’re not bored for a second and don’t think for a minute, that we’re sitting here doing a thing

Big itinerary change!…Part 1…

Posted by worldwide-admin on November 12, 2012 with 0 Comment

Without a doubt, an itinerary change was inevitable. When we began this process, we decided that any major changes would not be on our part unless an unforeseen health issue or misrepresentation of the situation occurred.

If we found a better “deal” elsewhere after paying a deposit on a vacation home or cruise, we agreed that we would stand behind our original decision. Good health providing, we decided that if we arrived at a vacation home, finding it dirty or in ill repair or, not as represented, we would never force ourselves to stay for what could prove to be uncomfortable, dangerous in any manner or unbearable.

In the past, I was the person that would check out the hotel room to ensure it was to our liking before committing. If it wasn’t, I would gently and kindly request an alternative, rather than ask for a price adjustment.

At times, this resulted in an upgrade. This was never intended to be a case of whining to “see what one could get” but more a situation of exercising the privilege of getting that which one pays for. Fairness.

Over the past several years, finally maturing in my 60’s, I became less picky, expending my energy on more important issues. With Tom at my side, I could live in a tent. Of course, the cotton inside the sleeping bag would be 600 pt. Egyptian cotton and the tea would be loose leaf Pouchong from Taiwan.

Our original plan had been to spend from May 4, 2013, after a cruise from Barcelona to Mallorca, staying until June 4, 2013 in the lovely property, high on a hill overlooking the sea, the beautiful historic island of Mallorca, Spain (also spelled, Majorca).

It was a good plan, to be followed by a Mediterranean cruise from June 5th to June 16th which would end in Venice, Italy, where we’d take a train to Florence, spending the remainder of the summer in a renovated 17th century farmhouse in Tuscany. Ah, what a plan!

Shortly before we left Minnesota 12 days ago, we were informed that the property in Mallorca may be sold. Rather than leave the owner, a dear friend and neighbor in Minnesota, in a tough position we graciously agreed to bow out and find other accommodations for this time period while leaving all of our other plans in place.

The new challenge, to fill this odd time period from May 4th to June 4th with something especially daring and exiting, rather than filling the spot with a
month in a residence hotel. Compared to our planned two to three month stays in various locations, this to us, was a short period to fill.

And fill it, we did. This weekend we wrapped up our plans:

May 5, 2013 – May 21, 2013- Aboard this 15 day cruise from Barcelona to Dubai:

10789

15 nights departing May 6, 2013 on
Royal Caribbean Mariner of the Seas

Cheapest Inside

Cheapest Oceanview

Cheapest Balcony

Cheapest Suite

$$$ Early booking bonus! Book now and receive a FREE $50 per cabin on board credit on select categories.

Royal Caribbean – Mariner of the Seas, departs 5/6/13, 15 nights

Mon May 6 Barcelona, Spain 5:00pm

Tue May 7 At Sea

Wed May 8 At Sea

Thu May 9 At Sea

Fri May 10 Cairo / Giza (Alexandria), Egypt 7:00am

Sat May 11 Cairo / Giza (Alexandria), Egypt 3:00pm

Sun May 12 Suez Canal, Egypt (Cruising)

Mon May 13 Luxor (Safaga), Egypt 7:00am 10:00pm Tue May 14 Petra (Aqaba), Jordan 9:00am 10:00pm Wed May 15 At Sea
Thu May 16 At Sea
Fri May 17 At Sea
Sat May 18 At Sea
Sun May 19 At Sea
Mon May 20 At Sea
Tue May 21 Dubai, United Arab Emirates 6:00am

With taxes the total was $3900, averaging at $260 per day for both of us, higher than our preferred $200 per day including meals. Plus, another $900 total for our return flight to Barcelona on June 4, 2013, yet to be booked.

We realized this month long trip was higher than our budget allowed for any one month. But, averaging our total daily budget over the extended period of 945 days booked thus far, we’re still within our daily budget of under $200 per day including every known expense: health insurance, emergency evacuation, personal insurance, XCom Global for MiFi Internet, incidentals, my lipstick, haircuts, booze aboard ship, tips, taxis, ferries, planes, car rentals, boat rides and on and on).

Giza and the Suez Canal become a dream come true only a short four months after we’ve experienced the Panama Canal on our cruise beginning on January 3, 2013, the date we first leave the US. Tom loves the idea of seeing two of the largest waterways in the world, history buff that he is.

Yes, we may ride a camel to see the Great Pyramids of Giza and the Sphinx. And yes, photos will follow.

Please read this about Giza from Vacations to Go’s website:

“Highlights in Cairo include the Ibn Tulun Mosque, which dates to the ninth century, and the Citadel, a medieval fortress. Many passengers choose to visit the Great Pyramids of Giza, considered one of the Seven Wonders of the World; the Sphinx is nearby. Tours of these sites are offered on foot, horseback or camel. The port city of Alexandria is set on a strip of land between the Mediterranean Sea and Lake Mareotis, and serves as the gateway to Cairo and Giza. In Alexandria, a tour of the harbor and Montaza Palace or lounging on the beach are favorite activities.”And this about the Suez Canal:

“The Suez Canal runs 100 miles between the sand dunes of the Sinai Peninsula and the Nile River delta. Cruise ships often dock toward the canal’s north end at Port Said, a gateway to Cairo. From the port of Safaga at the south end, passengers are offered shore excursions to the ancient city of Luxor, where Tutankhamen was entombed.”

And this about Luxor:

“This small port city on the western shore of the Red Sea is a gateway to Luxor and all of the splendid Egyptian temples, tombs and ruins found there. After experiencing the sights on the east bank (including Karnak and the Luxor temples and Luxor Museum) cruise across the Nile to the west bank (where sights include the Valley of the Kings and the Temple of Queen Hashepsut). Although most people head straight to the ancient architectural treasures, scuba diving and windsurfing are popular activities in Safaga itself. “

As on our previously booked seven cruises (this being the eight cruise), we once again chose a Balcony Cabin with the assistance of our fabulous cruise professional, Joaquin Contreras from Vacations to Go, truly the king of cruise planning himself! Thanks, Joaquin!

Here’s the link to the actual cruise with more details.

Next post, we’ll share with you how we ‘ve booked the remaining 13 nights in Dubai from May 21st to June 3rd, after which we’ll fly back to Barcelona for the next cruise in our itinerary, the following day.

There is never a moment that we don’t marvel in our willingness to take the risk of selling everything we owned, leaving everyone we love behind to embark on this adventure, in this perfect time in the economy, in this particular time in our lives; with one another, full of love, full of joy, full of wonder and full of gratitude.

X-Ray views of our travel jackets…

Posted by worldwide-admin on September 25, 2012 with 0 Comment

It would be no exaggeration to say that I have spent no less than 20 hours searching online for travel jackets for both Tom and me. Our goals were simple: functional, all weather, comfortable, affordable and attractive.

After the first 10 hours, I threw “affordable” and possibly “attractive” out the window. When buying coats and jackets for us over the years, I’ve always relished in the search for the $500 jacket on sale for $195, throwing a 20% coupon in the mix for a great jacket purchased for a grand total of $156.

With no sales tax on clothing in Minnesota, we’d be thrilled with the total acquisition cost, wearing the jacket over several years. As a good “laundress” I’d be able to wash and dry them each year in order for them to look like new for the following year.

Tiring of our jacket years later, long before they’d wear out, we’d donate them pleased to know that the recipient could enjoy many more years of wear. On occasion, a treasured well-fitting, good looking jacket would remain in the closet for years to come. We struggled to let it go. Would we ever wear it again? Probably not. But the attachment remained.

In frigid Minnesota, one becomes particularly attracted to warm, comfortable, functional jackets that when donned, provide us with a feeling of who we really are, or in some cases, who we’d really like to be. Funny how an article of clothing, an inanimate object, can do that.

When the search for jackets began months ago, I took it quite seriously. Tom poo pooed jacket after jacket that I had sent to his inbox. At night after work, as he’d peruse upwards of 100 email jokes that had filtered in throughout the day, he’d see a subject line from me, reading, “Honey, I found your jacket! Look at this one!”

My heart sank each time he shook his head saying, “Naw, not this one.” After awhile, I gave up asking why he didn’t like my most recent find. His answer never brought me one step closer to finding what he would like.

I suppose it’s not unlike falling in love we just do. It’s the way that wispy chunk of silky hair falls over their right eye, the flash of white teeth in a winsome smile, or the laugh, so frequent, so sincere, that makes us fall in love. Over time, the wisp of hair becomes dull and gray, the teeth yellowed but that laugh endures, and we stay in love. I speak from experience.

Finding him a jacket he’d love “matters” to me, as he “matters” to me. Patiently the search continued. Somehow I felt that once I found a jacket for Tom, one for me would naturally follow.

Early on in the search, I discovered Scottevest, a travel wear company dedicated to quality and function, offering jackets with “zillions” of hidden pockets. This concept appealed to both of us, especially during the times we have no alternative but to fly.

With multiple pockets suited to technological gear, there are hidden plackets for headsets, chargers and devices. Very interesting!

Tom didn’t like the “look” of the available lightweight options for him, although I was drawn to The Molly in black. From time to time I’d send him information about the Standard Jacket to no response.

Signing up at the Scottevest website to receive daily email on discounted items, last month he reluctantly agreed to the Windbreaker. I purchased a size large for him in olive along with a size small for me in blue. With the then 20% off discount, these unisex 17 pocket jackets would serve us well most of the time, at only $60 each.

Folding inside themselves for easy packing was an appealing feature that unfortunately requires an engineering degree. At this point we haven’t taken the time to figure this out. Other fish to fry.

Thus remained the task of finding a slightly heavier jacket for those cool days at sea and chilly mornings in Africa on safari.

As the search continued off and on, often days in between, an email popped into my inbox last week, offering a number of jackets at 40% off. (If interested in this sale click this link which was extended until midnight tonight but doesn’t allow for returns. BTW, we have nothing to do with the promotion or marketing of this company or their products).

And wouldn’t you know, The Molly and the Standard Jacket were both included in the sale. At last, Tom relented, finally realizing that the look may not be perfect, but the function of this 20 pocket jacket would serve him well in many ways. I ordered black for both of us in each of our chosen styles.

Fearful they wouldn’t fit, resulting in having to resell them on eBay, I anxiously awaited their arrival. Two days later, the package arrived. Tom, exhausted from work and distracted, didn’t try his on until Friday night when I did the same. His recent weight loss made the size consideration tricky as this was a more fitted jacket than the Windbreaker that we had previously purchased.

Alas! We were both thrilled with the perfect fit in each of our jackets and at last, Tom seemed content with this decision, partially due to price, partly due to practicality, partly due to the 20 pockets and perhaps, a tiny piece, to end my relentless search freeing me to attend to other tasks, only one month and six days from departure.

Laundry around the world…

Posted by worldwide-admin on September 21, 2012 with 2 Comments

Peculiarly, caring for our clothing is somewhat of a hobby of mine. Perhaps, I was a laundress in another lifetime (not to say there is such a thing as another lifetime). Perhaps, I slept in a laundry basket as a baby.

It began when I was quite young, this fascination with laundry. The middle of three sisters, I was assigned the task of washing, folding and ironing the family’s wardrobe when I was 10 years old. I didn’t mind at all.

In grade school I attended a “girls only” home economics class (remember that, babyboomers?) where I learned to iron a man’s 100% cotton long sleeved dress shirt from the inside out in two minutes flat. Failure to do a perfect job resulted in a brisk slap on the hands with a wooden ruler. (Can you imagine what would happen to that teacher in this day and age?)

Over many months, my hands were red and bruised every Thursday after the class. I didn’t cry or complain to my parents. Determined to get it right, I practiced at home, night after night with a clunky old Sunbeam iron and a wobbly ironing board, often leaving rusty iron stains on my father’s old white dress shirt.

In time, I became the best “ironer” in the class. By the end of the school year I was presented with a pink and white certificate. Not only were my shirts the most neatly ironed in class, but I was able to accomplish the feat in 90 seconds flat. I’d make a good housewife someday. This was 1958.

Over the years, my ironing skills honed as irons improved and I could iron a dress shirt in 60 seconds, still doing so today.

Folding is also quite enjoyable. I love laundry. Putting away? Not so much.

In this old house, the laundry is located in our creepy, cobwebbed basement, a full flight of stairs and long walk away. I don’t mind. The exercise is good, up and down, six times a day, to accomplish a mere two loads of wash.

Six flights a day, on average, over the past 26 years and I’ve run up or down, 56,940 flights of stairs! I’d probably weight 100 more pounds had our laundry room been on the main floor. I like laundry.

Of course, as time marches on toward the beginning of our year’s long world travels, I can’t help but think about laundry.

Here are my concerns while living in vacation homes:

Will the washers and dryers work efficiently in each of our rental homes?
Will there be a nearby laundromat in the event one or both doesn’t work or in the case of the Stone House in Cajarc, France with no washer or dryer in the house at all?
Will I be able to remove wrinkles with our new dual voltage steam iron?

After considerable research, I have discovered that most cruise ships, on which we’ll spend almost one third of our time during the first five months, have no self service laundry facilities. This was both surprising and disappointing to me, far beyond my personal pleasure in doing our laundry, for the following reasons:

Sending out a single tee shirt to be laundered by the ship’s staff may cost upwards of $4! Can you imagine the cost of an entire load of laundry? Including the tips payable for the staff person returning the items to the cabin and two loads of laundry may cost $100!
Irons are not allowed on cruise ships and are confiscated upon entry, an obvious safety hazard (I get this). Thus, one must “send out a dress, shirt or suit coat” to be ironed, costing more than $15 each. Ouch! Hopefully, we can depend on that steamer.
Piling up dirty underwear, socks, tee shirts and daily wear to repack in one’s suitcase is rather unappealing. Some of our cruises two weeks or longer. How many pairs of dirty underpants will we accumulate between the two of us and how much space will they take in our otherwise stuffed bags? No, we won’t turn our underpants inside out and wear them again the next day! No, thank you! Dirty socks? Yuck!!!

My little brain went to work on these realities. As for the vacation homes, we’ll just have to wing it, unaware of what we are up against until we arrive. If the facilities are not manageable, we’ll plan a weekly outing, doubled up with other activities when we’re already renting a car and make the trip to the local laundromat a fun experience, playing cards or reading aloud while we wait.

I’d more than be willing to go to the laundromat without Tom, laundress that I am, but Tom insists that he’ll join me. In certain areas one won’t be safe alone at the laundromat. Daily laundry as I have known, most likely will be a thing of the past. Also, I surrender the fact that I will not be ironing unless an iron is provided.

As for the cruises, my fingers went flying across the keyboard searching for a solution. In reading reviews at varying cruise websites, I noticed a common comment: many cruises purposely don’t have bathroom sinks with a closing drain. Here is our solution to washing our own underwear, tee shirts, and small items, purchased from Amazon.com:

Laundry Pack w/ Sink Stopper Price $16

(4 customer reviews) | Like(0)

Travelon Laundry Soap Sheets, 50-Count

by Travelon

(39 customer reviews) | Like(12)

List Price:	$7.19
Price:	$4.42 ($0.28 / oz) & eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. Details
You Save:	$2.77 (39%)

I purchased four of the above laundry packets which fit into the palm of my hand weighing only a few ounces. These will provide us with 200 sinks-full of wash. With the above clothes line that suctions inside the shower walls plus soap for my delicate items, we’ll save $100’s while cruising, leaving instead with a small load to deal with at our next vacation home.

Traveling the world for several years with no home, no place to return to repack, restock and replenish, all of these items will save us money, frustration and most of all, precious time doing that which we love, for me; a lot of love and laughter, a touch of adventure, and a little bit of laundry; for Tom, a lot of love and laughter, a touch of adventure and a smile while watching me do laundry. Ah, life is good.

We’ll have bug bites, we’ll be hot and sweaty, the bed will be lumpy, our feet will be tired, we’ll leave a shoe behind, a flight will be cancelled and a vacation home won’t be as described online. But, in any case, our clothes will be clean.

Aboard ship for 59 days in the first 5 months…

Posted by worldwide-admin on September 13, 2012 with 0 Comment

On January 3, 2013 we’ll leave the US to embark on our first cruise. Over the next five months we’ll experience a total of seven cruises totaling 59 days at sea. Later, we’ll post more details about these upcoming cruises and house rentals.

First 5 months after leaving the US:

Cruises #Days Start Date End Date
San Diego to Panama to Miami 15 01/03/13        01/18/13
Fort Lauderdale to Belize Cruise 8 01/21/13        01/29/13
Belize to Miami Cruise 3 04/09/13        04/13/13
Miami to the Caribbean                7 04/13/13       04/20/13
Miami to Barcelona   11 04/20/13        05/01/13
Barcelona to Mallorca   3 05/01/13       05/04/13
Barcelona to Venice 12 06/04/13        06/16/13
Total cruise days 59

Homes included in above dates:
Placencia, Belize 60 01/29/13 03/29/13
Ambergris Caye, Belize 9 03/29/13 04/09/13
Majorca, Spain 30 05/04/13 06/04/13We’ll spend November and December, 2012 living in a lovely first floor condo overlooking the pool in Scottsdale Arizona, a commitment we’d made long before we decided to travel the world. That commitment created extra expense and inconvenience but we chose to honor our agreement.

We’ve decided to utilize these two months in Scottsdale to purchase and set up our new laptops (awaiting Windows 8 release soon), our new unlocked smart phones (being released into the market in November) and other technological devices that we’ll describe later upon purchase.

To take advantage of these two months we’ll prepare as much as we can of our 2012 taxes, forwarding everything to our accountant in Minnesota. We’ll get new passport photos taken (outdated after six months), apply for our second passports and visas, download 100 or more movies onto our portable external hard drive and get Tom’s new eyeglasses at Costco (great deal).

With the condo only 25 minutes from the Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale, we’ve decided to follow our doctor’s orders and arrange appointment for Tom in gastroenterology for one last check (as recommended every few years) when one has IBS and Celiac Disease. Although he is symptom free due to our diet these two tests can confirm provide us with peace of mind; a colonoscopy and an endoscopy.

Tom’s sisters spend the winters in Arizona, about an hour’s drive and we’ll visit them. In the first half of November we’ll drive to Nevada to establish residency, apply for NV driver’s licenses and visit family, later to spend eight days at Christmas in a house we’ve rented in Henderson to be close to family and friends for one last time.

We’ll celebrate Thanksgiving in Arizona. In Nevada, on December 20th we’ll have our teeth cleaned. We’ll observe the Mayan Calendar’s End of Time on December 21st (hopefully, not really the end!), Tom’s 60th birthday on December 23rd, and of course, Christmas, away from “home,” the first time as true vagabonds.

A year ago, we would have laughed aloud at the thought of leaving behind everyone we love and everything we own, except for a gaggle of suitcases and hearts full of memories.

Here we are, packed to the gills, totes filled with memorabilia currently scattered about the house for our kids to store for us. Our paperwork and photos are scanned, our documents and spreadsheets bursting with pertinent data stored in Dropbox for safekeeping, accessible from anywhere in the world.

Yesterday I spent an entire hour scanning a lengthy booklet from our well known national bank on wire transfer procedures, accounts which we’ve set up in both of our names. I inquired as to whether this booklet was online to be downloaded. “No, not yet,” they say. “Gee…kind of behind the times,” I thought.

It’s this little tasks that fill up substantial portions of my everyday. As I sit here in my comfy chair, writing this today, I tapped my Android smart phone (on its last days) to take yet another peek at the handy app on my home screen, Retirement Countdown Free and today, it reads: “1 Month 18 Days.”

One month and eighteen days from today we close the door to our home one last time. We leave behind our loved ones, the lives that we’ve known, our three little dogs buried in the yard, the friends on the peninsula, the eagle swooping in the trees in the summer, the coyotes hovering hungrily in the winter and the gentle fluttering call of the loons.

On a lighter note, we joyfully leave behind six foot snow drifts often trapping us for days and, mountains of goose poop. Yes, mountains of goose poop!

He liked his shoes!…He liked my shoes!…

Posted by worldwide-admin on June 18, 2012 with 0 Comment

Buying gifts for Tom has always been a dilemma. His hobby is ancestry. What does one buy for a person obsessed with their ancestry? He recently purchased another year of his annual dues for Ancestry.com. Only a week ago, he purchased his DNA test from Ancestry.com to discover yet more about his roots.

I could have presented him with a trip to Ireland to look for his ancestors, but duh, our travel plans are set for the next three years or more and, he’s already traveled to Ireland twice, BJ (before Jess).

In the past, I have presented him with books, tools, electronic gadgets and household “fix-it” paraphernalia and, every other year, swim shorts with matching, colorful tee-shirts. This year I was at a loss. I couldn’t buy him anything other than that which he could put into his suitcases.

In an effort to ensure he had a nicely wrapped gift to open for Father’s Day, I reviewed the remaining items he needed for our adventure, deciding on the double duty aspect of giving him gifts while fine tuning his packing. Ah!

Yesterday morning after a breakfast of low carb, gluten free coconut flour pancakes, eggs and meaty bacon, I presented him with his gift, neatly wrapped in one big box with Happy Birthday paper (have to use that up) adorned with a matching black “guy” bow. We were celebrating the last Father’s Day we’ll spend in our Minnesota home.

For Father’s Day I purchased three swim short sets for our travels.

When Tom left for a few hours yesterday morning for a traditional Father’s Day activity with some of our kids and grandchildren, I decided to do the unthinkable; go to a mall!! His enthusiasm over his water shoes piqued my interest while I had visions of fancy high heels floating around my head for the many formal nights on the seven (so far) cruises we have booked.

Tom has always loved seeing me wear high heels, mainly pumps, no toes showing. Over the years, I have worn them less and less, fearful of falling and injuring myself. As the fashion trend to wear high heels (over 3″) has escalated (no pun intended) these past several years, I kept convincing myself that wearing high heeled shoes is bad.

One pair “water” shoes on left, dress sandals on the right and “insect guard” long sleeve shirt and, what Tom refers to as the “French Foreign Legion” type hat with a neck protector that also has been treated with “insect guard”

Generally speaking, high heels aren’t comfortable. They pinch. They cause blisters. They cause corns and bunions neither of which I surprisingly don’t have, after years of wearing heels in the 70’s and 80’s.

Adventuresome spirit possessing me lately (zip line still a maybe), I decided to do whatever I could to find a few comfortable pairs of three or four inch heels to wear with my dressy dresses on the formal nights aboard ship. Comfortable heels? Oxymoron?

I decided to put my shoe size vanity aside (81/2) and buy a wider width of my otherwise normal width feet to see if this would reduce the discomfort. Don’t get me wrong, I can easily walk in high heels after much experience, but comfort seems to be more of a need than a want once a person hits their 60’s.

While at the shoe store, I only grabbed the 81/2 W. Amazing! I found these two pairs of perfect styled shoes, albeit not the pumps Tom prefers, that will be divine matches for two of my three fancy dresses, but I had to order the third pair when they didn’t have them in stock. Not only were they comfortable, I could almost jog in these heels.

Rather pleased with myself after the successful trip to the mall, I reveled in spending a grand total of only $73 for the four comfortable pairs of shoes.

Note that my new “water” shoes on the right are almost identical to Tom’s (although mine were less than 1/2 the price of his)! Imagine, we’ll match!

Returning home in the early afternoon, I began preparing his choice of dinner, a repeat from only two weeks ago: low carb, gluten free, sugar free, wheat free, grain free homemade pizza.

When Tom arrived home, I rushed him off to the bedroom to see the shoes. He giggled that the water shoes matched his and he liked the bargain price of $73. But his eyes narrowed as he contemplated the strappy high heels sitting on the bed, as opposed to a closed, no-toes-showing, pump.

One solution to those narrowed eyes; I put on the most strappy of the two pairs and began prancing around the room awaiting a reaction. He waited for me to wobble. I didn’t. He breathed a little sigh of relief.

And then, that appealing toothy smile came across his face along with the crinkling of the little lines around his blue eyes. He liked the shoes.

Clothes, clothes and more clothes…mostly mine…

Posted by worldwide-admin on June 3, 2012 with 0 Comment

As a “girlie girl” all of my life, with an affinity for the feminine flair, as far removed from “Tom Boyishness” as a female can be, I unabashedly admit to being the female stereotype when it comes to clothes.

Although, annoyed by the process of purchasing clothing and its varying accouterments, there is a certain sense of glee when finding a bargain on an item I am particularly interested in acquiring. Not an impulse shopper, I rarely purchase items I don’t need or want. There isn’t a single unworn, still price- tagged item in my closet (less the items we are purchasing for our journey).

It’s all about “the hunt” and in some cases, “the negotiation” that get my shopping juices flowing and then, the subsequent acquisition of a high-quality, well-priced, properly fitting item to add to my repertoire of varying taste and style.

Not a fashion maven, I possess an uncertainty of my “personal style” as encouraged by an endless pouring of style and fashion shows on TV which I seldom watch.

Moderately comfortable Easy Spirit fashion flats
Shall I say good-bye to these?

From time to time, I peruse a current fashion magazine in a genuine effort to become familiar with current hemlines, popular colors and shoe styles, always hoping they are befitting my body type, relevant to my age and commensurate with my comfort needs.

As a result, my current wardrobe consists of a mishmash of layering pieces which I tend to wear without layering, with either a comfy pair of jeans or more often, not so comfy pair of jeans, the comfort factor based on what I had to eat in the past two days. Sound familiar?

Shoes? Not so much. Yes, I have some high heels (seldom worn), fashion flats, (most often hurt my feet), sandals (no flip flops when I can’t stand to wear anything in between my toes), boots and those staples you’ll see me wearing in the grocery store; workout shoes, Keds slip-ons, Easy Spirit anything and Aerosoles. (In the 70’s, I could wear Candie’s high heeled shoes for 18 hours straight. Not now.)

Comfy old Keds slip-on shoes. Are these worthy of taking along?

Assessing mine and Tom’s current wardrobes some months ago, realizing how long we’ll be traveling, we both made the decision to sell all of our old clothing at our upcoming estate sale on the weekend of October 27, 2012 and to bring only new appropriate clothing with us.

There’s no sense in bringing lots of jeans and sweaters to Belize, Africa, Italy (in summer), Madeira and Hawaii and other warm climates.

Old, worn, favorite comfy Dexter’s flats. Shall I make room for these? Here again, probably not, based on worn condition.

Here’s my list. I posted Tom’s clothing list on Thursday’s post, May 31, 2012. Hold onto your shorts! I said that I’m not a “clothes horse” but, I do like having choices:

15 casual dresses, for everyday wear, easy to dress up or down, roll in a ball in a suitcase
4 dressy dresses, for formal nights on cruises
5 pairs jeans
5 pairs Capri pants
9 pairs shorts, mostly Bermuda length (acceptable to wear in public on hot days)
1 black maxi skirt
16 tee shirts
12 various tops
4 cardigan sweaters, 4 shrug cover ups (for breezy nights aboard ship, matching dressy dresses)
2 light weight jackets (1 blazer, 1 rain coat)
1 hoodie sweater
3 sets of workout clothing
Exofficio BugsAway: 2 pair convertible pants, 2 long sleeve tee shirts, 2 hats, 4 socks
2 belts for dresses
2 scarfs to dress up outfits
4 bathing suits, 2 bathing suit cover up dresses, 1 black pareo
6 sets sleepwear, mostly tanks and shorts, 1 lightweight robe
1 pair workout shoes, 2 dress shoes, 2 pair walking shoes, 3 pair sandals, 2 casual shoes
5 bras, 12 panties, 2 shape wear items for those formfitting dressy dresses
Various costume jewelry to match outfits – We will be selling all of our “real” jewelry prior to leaving due to the high risk of exposing oneself to theft while traveling
3 handbags; 1 large, 2 small

Undoubtedly, I am unknowingly leaving out some items at this point. As the packing begins, I’ll post photos of our packed goods and post a list of all the non-clothing items we will find necessary to pack.

Most certainly, frequent travelers will laugh when they see our extensive lists.

I would only ask them this one question, “When have you traveled when you are never going home to repack, carrying everything you own for a period of no less than 3 years?” Now, tell me we’re taking too much!

Clothes, clothes, and more clothes…

Posted by worldwide-admin on May 31, 2012 with 0 Comment

We take our clothes for granted.

They hang in our closets patiently waiting to be selected as a means of covering our bodies for purposes of modesty or warmth while defining our personalities and our mood for the day.

Some days they fit tightly based on the size of last night’s scrumptious dinner or mind blowing dessert. Some days they fit loosely after 24-hour bout with the flu, only to become tight again after a new day’s meals. Some days they fit just fine.

Our blue jeans are particularly vulnerable to this phenomenon which at times, require us to lay on the bed to zip them using a mighty pelvis thrust followed by a hefty hike or two while we’re dancing on our toes trying to stuff in very last bit.

We all have favorite clothes. Favorites make us look good, remind us of a sentimental occasion with their worn and comfortable feeling seemingly timeless.

We save some of our clothes for decades, neatly tucked away in the attic, hoping they will come back in style. Ironically, when they do, there is a distinct trendy update, rendering them subject to stares from strangers and criticism from those we love, who refuse to allow us to embarrass them in public.

Some of us have no interest in their clothes, grabbing them mindlessly off the hanger with little regard for color, coordinating an outfit or the current style. Others of us are filled with angst, painstakingly trying on item after item in a futile effort to achieve that perfect combination that will magically make us look and feel good.

Lately, I have been thinking about our clothes. Honestly, in the past, I seldom “thought” about my clothes other than their purchase (usually online), their washing (frequently after one wearing), their necessity of being ironed (love to iron!), then deciding on what to wear and the occasional annoyance of a “wardrobe malfunction.”

Thinking about clothes has become a necessary element of traveling about the world for the next three years or more, with two suitcases and one carry-on each. We have read numerous websites with packing suggestions. No, not much help there when most suggestions are for vacations, not carrying everything owned at the time, never going “home” to repack.

I’ve always rotated my clothing not only for variety, but to take advantage of what fashionable items I had at the time.

Tom tends to wear the same clothes day after day. I currently do laundry every day. Whatever he wore today will be back in his drawer within a few hours of his taking them off being “first up” to be worn again the next day, rather than rummaging through the drawers to find something different.

This past weekend, when we started accessing his wardrobe needs, the top two or three items in each drawer were old and worn. Everything underneath these items, was nearly new. We found 20 short sleeve button down shirts in his closet that he had never worn, from either lack of looking through them or from them not fitting him until now with him 25 pounds lighter from his recent diet, low carb, wheat free, grain free, starch free and sugar free. With his 20 shirts neatly folded and ready for packing, we are purchasing the following items to round out his wardrobe:

16 pairs of shorts: khaki, taupe, brown, white, bluejeans, navy, beige
2 pairs dress pants: khaki, black
1 sport coat (for dressy cruise nights)
2 dress shirts + 3 ties (for dressy cruise nights)
3 pairs jeans
1 pair lightweight sweatpants & hoodie
20 button down shirts: solids, checks, Hawaiian print (Tommy Bahama)
16 tee shirts: all solids
4 swim trunks
1 lightweight robe
20 pair briefs (to avoid paying for laundry service on cruises)
20 pairs white socks
3 pair dress socks
1 pair tennis shoes
1 pair heavy duty sports shoes
1 pair casual sandals
1 pair dress shoes
2 belts
1 lightweight rain jacket
BugsAway clothing: 2 pair pants (pants to shorts via zipper), 2 long sleeve shirts, 2 tee shirts, 4 pairs socks, 1 baseball cap, 1 full coverage hat all treated with Permethrin, effective through 70 washings against, mosquitoes, ticks, ants, flies, chiggers and midges.

Yes, 127 items seem overwhelming. However, they will fit into his two suitcases. We may have to pay for additional or overweight baggage. But, Tom will have enough clothing to accommodate our longest cruises without paying for laundry service fees instead, waiting until we arrive at our next location at which time we will be able to do our own laundry for the cost of laundry soap.

Based on Royal Caribbean’s attached laundry fee schedule, we would easily spend a combined $400 on laundry fees on each cruise. With seven cruises booked thus far while awaiting four more to post, we could be looking at about $2800 in laundry fees.

After considerable research, it appears that most international flights will accept two bags each or may charge additional fees. At this point, we will take our chances and bring plenty of clothes, hand washing a few items as necessary along the way.

Our next post on Saturday, June 2 will be the dilemma of the other half of this packing equation: the clothing of a color coordinated freak, overly picky, somewhat fashion conscientious, moderately trendy, shoe loving, variety seeking individual who refuses to ever wear the same clothing two days in a row: ME!

Changed the look of our WorldWideWaftage blog…

Posted by worldwide-admin on May 16, 2012 with 0 Comment

Web design is not my forte. Last night I changed the design of this blog more out of my boredom with the prior design, than anything.

If you find this is difficult to read, please comment here. Our readership is growing rapidly…where are all of you coming from??? We want this blog to be reader friendly so please offer any suggestions.

In time, when we move along on our travels, I will have more time to work on the design and maybe, once and for all, learn web design. Duh, while I am learning to speak Italian and Spanish?

Thank you all so much for sharing this experience with us. Have a happy day!

Tag: cruises

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