Wayfairers

We will have enough days for 5* during a grand cruise. Will I need to go to the front desk and request a new room key and the 5* perks?

I haven’t heard as much about flight issues lately….is it getting better or am I just not as aware since I’m not flying soon.

I’m mid 50s now and have been cruising with HAL since I was 40. HAL is my favorite line (see my signature for cruises). I cruise for the itinerary and I’ve never cruised the Caribbean or Alaska on HAL. Every HAL cruise I’ve been on has had a wide variety of ages including children. The average age is probably mid to upper 70s but we’ve had maybe 10% in the 40s and 50s with at least a third in their 60s. The most active couple on one cruise were in their mid 90s and on their honeymoon! On our South America cruise there were 3 pub crawls, all very well attended and we were out past midnight several nights in a crowded Crow’s Nest. I’ve never been bored on a sea day…lectures, watercolor classes, craft classes, wine/beer/whiskey/port tastings, mixology classes, book club, movies, happy hours, etc.

EHealth webpage has several different insurance options. We retired at 40 and had good reasonably priced insurance options until Obamacare. Then it became so expensive we changed to catastrophic insurance. That is when we started using eHealth. Very helpful when you call…I usually call to renew.

We travel carry on only and never had issues. Most trips are multiple climates and 3 months or longer. Always good read what others take. Thanks for sharing.

After moving to Florida and spending more time at the beach I realized the best coverup for me is a casual dress. Looks nice for stops on the way home after the beach….a restaurant, bar or grocery store. Also simple to change from wet swimsuit bottoms to dry underwear. And when we are traveling I’m not taking an item that has only one use.

Great information! Thanks so much for taking the time to provide the info. Once you get your detailed review written, I would love to read it if you wouldn’t mind posting a link.

Haven’t taken a world cruise yet, but have taken several longer cruises - 89 days is the longest so far. I rarely gain more than a couple of pounds. Take the stairs, never the elevator. Walk a few miles while in port and workout in the gym on sea days. Eat like I do at home - only favorite desserts and not every day and rarely eat the entire dessert. Also, pay attention to portion sizes. Drink like I do at home - 1 to 2 drinks most days and more some days. I agree, the biggest risk is that final week when you know you won’t have another chance to try something.

That is an easy worry to figure out. Look at costs for a world cruise with the cruise line you are interested in and the room category you want. Add costs for excursions, drinks on board, tips,, travel to and from the embarkation/debarkation port (don’t forget hotels), Then you have an idea of your cost. Figure out how much you need to save per month to get that much money and do it. It is amazing how many daily “necessities” aren’t needed when you start thinking about it. Is your money better spent on a daily coffee or clothes or shoes or tattoos or whatever or is it better to save it for your dream - a world cruise. Makes a bigger difference when you look at vehicles, houses, etc. Believe me…as a couple who decided to retire at 55 when we were 22….setting a goal and thinking of it whenever you want to buy something makes a big difference on how you spend your money. When our friends were buying newer bigger houses and cars, we were dreaming of retirement and saving money. By the way,, we saved so much money that we were able to retire at 40, not 55!

We had google fi for a couple of months while overseas this summer. Put our normal ATT phones on suspend. Bought a new android phone, got a new number for that phone through google. Fi. When we got back home, we cancelled google fi and sold the new phone to friend. It worked perfectly. Planning to do that again for WC2024. Looked at T Mobile but google fi was a better option for us. I cannot remember specifically why, but I remember that T Mobile would work better for us if we switched our phones from ATT to T Mobile. We cannot do that because we also travel throughout the US in areas where T Mobile doesn’t have coverage.

Is there a beach within walking distance to the port? Is there a shuttle to any beaches from the port area or do we have to take a bus or taxi? I’m just starting to research and having some difficulty finding a beach close to the port.

Thank you. Ama is one of the cruise lines I was looking at.

We are looking at a Mekong River cruise next spring. What line did you cruise with and got any pointers on booking or for the cruise? It looks like Viking cruise is full.

First cruise with HAL I was 40. I didn’t keep up with how old I was for each of the star increases. Currently 57 and 4*. Probably 5* before 60.

Loving the discussion on Brooklyn pants. I’ve looked at them in the past but didn’t need pants. Now I need a pair and will start poking at options when we return home in a few weeks. How is the material on the Brooklyns?

I’ve been very happy with solid shampoos and conditioners. We’ve been on the road 7 weeks now and I’ve used them when the place we are staying hasn’t provided it. I cannot remember the brand but they came in round tins. I decided to leave the tins at home and put the bars in ziplocks room save room. The shampoo bar broke but is still usable. I am using Ethique solid face moisturizer and it has worked well although it is thick and I’ve learned to put it on and let it soak in before putting on my powder makeup. Otherwise the makeup cakes on and looks awful. I am using a Nivea shaving stick and absolutely love it. It says it is made for men but the scent isn’t strong at all. Both me and my husband are using it so I brought 2….one in the shower and one by the sink. I also brought clothes detergent sheets and have been very happy with them. I throw in a color guard sheet so I can wash colors and whites together.

Thanks so much for the in transit letter photo. We are doing our first B2B, we’ll really a B2B2B (VoV, Boston-Montreal, Montreal-Boston) and I had wondered how it was going to be handled.

I’ve been wondering how comfortable Olukai sneakers are. Thanks for the review!

I agree it does sound like the same type of route. Thanks for the info!

Thank you for the link.

Thanks for posting all the info! And the pics are great!

This will work for the required cruise ship test?! Can we use the Covid test we got free from the US government?

My TA recommended emed tests. We can get 2 at $35 each then use wifi to do the test. Has anyone used these?

Thank you. That is a good option. And a good price compared to the $60 HAL charges at the pier. Only downside is we will have to walk from the airport to the hotel then back to the train station. We are walkers and traveling with a backpack and a carry on rolling bag each so that shouldn’t be too bad.

Our 3 B2B2B cruises are Rotterdam to Boston, Boston to Montreal and Montreal to Boston. On my earlier post, I was saying the country of Canada requires a negative test to enter by cruise ship. (Saw that online this morning at https://travel.gc.ca/travel-covid/travel-restrictions/cruise)