Wayfairers

On 10/25/2022 at 8:35 PM, LEppedio said:

In February we are going on a cruise that visit the islands of Guam and Saipan.  What are interesting things to do on each island?  Is it easy to get around the islands?

What did you do in Guam and Saipan?  Any suggestions?

Rachid with Admire Morocco

Layers - we experienced all 4 seasons in one day while hiking at Geiranger - snow/sleet, high wind, rain, hot sun, comfortable sun - multiple times.   Felt like we were constantly pulling on or taking off clothes/coats.  Definitely take rain gear - a coat would be better than a throw away poncho since you could take it off and on.  A backpack to put all the extra layers in when you aren’t wearing them.  

We will be in Tobago in January and looking at maybe taking a cab to a beach for the day.  Would like a swimming beach with palm trees and a local bar.  Any suggestions from someone that has recently done that?

Did you ever get any information? 

14 hours ago, bup1224 said:

I live in . Busses are on a very limited schedule here on holidays.

Shops (at least some of them) in our downtown of Punda will be open, perhaps with limited hours.

Most beaches are open.

 

Thank you so much!  Sounds like we need to return to Jaanchie’s on another trip.  

Our cruise is stopping in Curacao on December 26.  Our plan was to take a local bus to Westpunt and eat at Jaanchie’s - we did that in 2019 and want to go again.  I know Christmas is a 2 day celebration in Curacao and the 26th tends to be spent with family and close friends.  Has anyone been there on the 26th?  Was anything open?  Were the buses running?

3 minutes ago, CruiserBruce said:

Did it once...it was seamless. We used the drink package (soft drink) at 11:30.

Thanks for the info!

15 minutes ago, CruiserBruce said:

The package starts when you board on that segment...so imagine by noon on turnaround day. It ends at midnight the night before the end of the segment.

Have you done this?  Do you remember when you first used the HIA?

We stay on board in FLL for the turnaround - I’ve read sometimes you just stay on board but have to go to a specific room until the ship is cleared in FLL.  I’m wondering….at that point the new cruise should officially start thus the HIA starts.

We’ve done B2B2B before, but we had the HIA on all 3 cruises.  This time we only have HIA on the 2nd cruise.  Anyone done this before and know when the HIA package starts and ends?  I know it usually starts when you board and ends when you disembark, but we won’t be officially embarking/disembarking.

58 minutes ago, cruisemom42 said:

 

To me they look like tennis clothing, but... if you like them, go for it.

 

Keep in mind that for churches in some European countries, knees must be covered to enter churches (e.g., Italy, Greece, not sure about Spain but probably in smaller towns). Same for mosques (e.g., Istanbul).

 

In Istanbul I was wearing cropped pants and was told my ankles needed to be covered to go in the mosque.  So…..I pulled my pants lower on my waist and covered those ankles…..It felt weird and my pants were definitely sagging, but….my ankles were covered!  Luckily I had a long top on so my waist/hips were covered by the top.

5 hours ago, crewsgirl said:

Okay, here's another thought for you ladies. How do we feel about SKORTS for casual wear while traveling/touring in the hot months? 

 

Love Love Love Skorts!  I usually wear a skort rather than a pair of shorts.  Looks nicer and so comfortable and I think cooler feeling than shorts (which really doesn’t make sense when you think you now have on 2 layers!)

1 hour ago, crewsgirl said:

All of the examples posted above are actually Cropped pants in my book. This is what a pair of capris look like

 

I agree - that is what I’ve heard for years now.  And cropped wide leg pants are very much in style - for any age.

I’m thinking I will talk to the spa once I’m on board - should have made that clear.  I’ve never seen a pre cruise offer on mani/pedi.  Never seen on onboard either, but then I haven’t paid attention to mani/pedi on board because I usually do my own nails.  Got my first on board pedi last fall and they did a good job so thinking rather than taking nail polish and polish remover I may just let them do it.  

I asked the question here instead of the world cruise roll calls because there are long cruises other than the world and I wanted to reach everyone, not just those currently on the 2023 world cruise or on the 2024 world with me.

Has anyone been on a longer cruise and asked about a package for mani/pedis every 4-6 weeks during the voyage?

1 hour ago, bob brown said:

The USPS will only hold mail deliveries for one month.  You could have mail forwarded to another address such as a private mail box store, but having mail forwarded, and then having it not forwarded when you return is sometimes a hassle, as some mail can’t be forwarded and is returned to sender, etc.

Best to have a neighbor or house sitter collect it and hold for you.

We don’t use USPS.  We use a mail service wagon will hold it as long we need it held or forward it if we request.  They will also watch for specific letters and forward those.  It is a locally owned business and we’ve used them for over 10 years.  
 

As I said since we will be gone so loony this time we will ask a friend to pick it up periodically.  The mail service is already used to us not getting the mail for 3-4 month at a time. 

XCVI has great clothes including wide leg crops.  Most are linen and I’ve never had a problem with wrinkles.  I am 5’4” and their longer crops are pants on me.  Everything I have bought from them is extremely comfortable.

https://www.xcvi.com/

12 hours ago, bob brown said:

I am on my second 6 month ATW cruise…actually, this one is almost 7 months.

If you’ve done a 3 month one, it should be fairly easy to adjust to a 7 month one.

For me, the biggest issues were the need to file an income tax extension, arranging for collecting my mail, prepping my car for storage, obtaining an extended supply of prescription medications, having someone periodically check my home, etc.

I have long since went to electronic billing and auto bill paying for all my accounts, so that is not an issue.

I have also seen all of my health providers just prior to sailing.

Obtaining toiletries and such is never a problem.

Taxes will be interesting.  My husband’s plan is to attempt to do them online.  99% of our paperwork is electronic for taxes and we always file online.  

All our bills have been electronic for a while except for property taxes - sad that the government is behind on that.

We will have someone picking up our mail from our mail service.  Normally they hold it for us, but 7 months is a long time to hold mail.  

On 3/30/2023 at 5:27 PM, JanR said:

 

A world cruise is a great experience.  It's funny that on day 83, our feeling is one of almost disappointment as we only have 35 days left.  That's NOT what we thought would be the case.  Good luck and let us know what you decide!

Looking forward to our first world cruise next year as the last cruise B2B2B being on board 7 months continuously.  Longest we have been on is 90 days and I have felt how you are feeling now on every cruise and I expect to feel that at the end of the 7 months too.  Enjoy the rest of your cruise!

4 hours ago, Joebucks said:

I absolutely love cruising, but fear I would get bored of the same things for 7 months. However, if the itinerary was packed enough, I'm quite sure I would manage.

I would get bored of the same thing for 7 months too. I couldn’t do this if it was a bunch of 7 day cruises or if the cruises went to the same places - that would get boring quickly.   Two are long cruises so there will be lectures, arts & crafts, tastings and many other activities available on sea days - usually so many that we have to choose between two or more things we want to do at the same time.    There are a variety of ports with most of them new for us - the 3 cruises are a circumnavigation of Africa, Panama Canal/Caribbean and a world cruise.   Only one repeat port during the 7 months and we will skip that one the first time we are there because we will be off ship on a land trip - amazing that it worked out that way.  

2 hours ago, LHT28 said:

I know  some of the cruisers  from Oceania  did a blog  of their  RTW cruise  it was 6 mths  & one lady stayed on for a few more weeks

It would be an adventure  just packing for that long 😉

 

 

Packing should be fairly easy.  We get free laundry on board so that helps - maybe 2 outfits for dressy nights onboard and probably will take our normal 12 mix and match outfits - a combo of skirts and pants for me and shorts and pants for husband with a few layers to add for cooler days and a jacket for rain.  We won’t be going to very cold climates but will probably have days in the 50s or 60s.  This packing strategy works well for all our trips.  Most likely will be carrying our luggage onto the ship.  We overpacked once and it was a pain - wasted time unpacking and packing instead of having fun and had to find places in the room to store everything. 

1 hour ago, LHT28 said:

Maybe check on the World cruise forum often they are up to 6 mth cruises or longer

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/674-world-cruising/

One of the cruises is a world cruise.  

1 hour ago, ColeThornton said:

I doubt there are many, if any, people on this site who have done a 7 month cruise that can answer your question.  You've already done a 3 month cruise so it kind of seems like you should know what to expect.

 

Enjoy your cruise.

I do know what to expect for the first 3 months.   I know some may have done the 3 cruises I’m doing last year and this year so never hurts to ask if they have advice.   I love learning from others…keeps me from making the same errors. 

 The longest we’ve spent onboard one cruise ship is 90 days (~3 months).  Had no issues with that and was ready to stay longer at the end of that cruise.  Starting this fall through late next spring/early summer we will be on one cruise ship for 7 months doing a B2B2B.  

We’ve travelled by land for 6 months multiple times so are familiar with the ins and outs of long term travel and with things like having to restock toiletries while on the road (at one point I think each item in my toiletries bag came from a different country!)

Wondering if anyone who has stayed onboard for 7 months or longer has any advice to share concerning long term cruise ship travel.

Thanks so much for taking the time to do this  blog.  I haven’t read it yet.   I’ve enjoyed your posts and have benefitted from your knowledge in the past and I’m looking forward to reading this as I start research for the Japan portion of the 2024WC.