Those Who Take Lengthy Cruises....I'm Wondering.....

[sail7seas]

As it becomes almost time for those of you on the Maasdam 30+ day cruise, I'm wondering....

 

What do you do about all the mail that accumulates at home? Have the Post Office hold it or a neighbor/family bring it in.

 

How do you pay all your bills? Can all of them be paid on line? How do you know all of the balances due?

 

For those who require prescription meds, does your insurance company allow you to refill for adequate number of days? Some insist on thirty day supply only.

(Thankfully, mine does not.)

 

How many suitcases do you bring? For those from Boston, (RuthC and LizB etc) that is easy...take as much as you wish. For those who are flying, can you make do for that long a cruise with the amount the airlines limit us to?

Even if you leave your automatically billed tipping in place, won't you tip in increments throughout the cruise? Every two weeks? Once a Week?

 

 

I'm curious about these logistical type questions.

[obriendan]

Our cruise on the Maasdam is only the last 18 days, so maybe it does't qualify as "long". However, we will be away 28 days when you incdlude 10 days in Paris, Brugge, and Rotterdam.

 

We have the mail held at the post office. All of our bills are paid online and I can check my crdeit card and bank balance online. For the first time I will be bringing a laptop so doing these chores will be easier.

 

For prescription meds, our insurance allows for a 90 day "matainance" supply. We will carry two 26" suitcases and a hanging bag for formal cloths. We will also carry small carryons and hope to do a much better job of packing on this trip, particularly because we will be lugging it around Europe for 10 days.

[cdkempton]

S7S We have been on 2- 35 day cruises. We have had a neighbor hold the mail and we have had the post office hold it when she could not. We managed to take one 30" suitcase each and one smaller folding bag to check and we each had the max size carry-on. It was, of course, more than enough clothes. We were on the Ryndam for one cruise and they have the "do it yourself" laundry which I utilized on sea days and it worked out very well. I believe you'll have that available on the Maasdam as well.

The airline allows 2 checked bags each so we were still short a bag but didn't need it.

As far as the bills go, I doubled up on the usual bills a month ahead and determined any "extra" bills i.e. Visa, etc and had a check made up and ready to be mailed by a friend, house-sitter, etc for any others.

Our insurance allows us to pre-order for vacations if necessary but we have a 90 day order limit so it was really no problem. You just have to plan ahead.

Tipping was not included at the time we were on Ryndam and we tipped at the half-way point and at the end. We also tip individual bartenders and bar waiters from time to time when we really appreciate their services.

Take the time to plan ahead (budget, etc.) and you'll be ahead of the game. Once you've written up your to-do list you can enjoy the fun part of planning for your wonderful loooong cruise. They really are wonderful. :) :) :D

Bon Voyage.....Colette

[lougee1043]

How do you pay all your bills? Can all of them be paid on line? How do you know all of the balances due?>>

 

my bank allows me the option of receiving downloaded bills from each of my accts-- i just print off a copy of the bill and then pay them on line---make sure you subtract the paid amout from your checkbook balance so you are aware at all times of your actual balance

before oneline bill paying i used to leave signed checks made out to the gas company --elec --water etc etc and my sister in law would come by the house to check on it and pay those bills that she found in the mail box (we have a locking one so there is no problem of the mail disappearing)---she just filled in the amount due and mailed them for us----------never had a problem---would be a bit more involved on a 30 day cruise or longer because there could be overlapping bills and then you would have to leave 2 checks for certain accts

i also like the prepay system-- you should have a pretty good idea of what is owed on each acct and yoou just prepay for one month ahead

make sure to tell your credit card company that you are travelling and let them know where you are going so they can earmark your acct so you have on problem using it while in aruba

also i dont stop my daily newspaper because the delivery company marks the newspaper tube with a piece of colored tape and anyone driving by knows you are on vacation- i have a neighbor take the paper in and then recycle it--also light timers are a good idea and well asl having someone mow your lawn

[RuthC]

It takes planning, sail, but after a while going away for a longer cruise becomes easy.

 

My neighbor comes in twice a day to feed and water the cat (Cocoa gets more attention when I'm gone!:o ), so she brings in the mail, too. There is a pile when I get back to be sure, but it's amazing how fast it goes down when I open it next to the recycling bin.

Starting a month in advance I pay extra on the bills---I can estimate what the telephone, gas, electric, and gasoline bills are going to be; I throw on some extra $ to be sure. I know what's coming in on my credit cards and make sure there's enough on account to cover whatever's going to be due while I'm gone. The groundskeeper trusts me to pay him when I return (he knows where I live ;) ).

Timing's been good enough that I haven't had an annual bill that will come due, but hasn't been received before I leave.

My medical insurance company allows a "vacation supply". Put that order in today. The trick is counting up supply on hand 'til sail-away, adding in the length of the cruise, then building in a cushion "just in case".

Actually, just because I'm not flying doesn't make the suitcase issue any easier---I don't look like a packhorse! I have been over-packing and will bring two suitcases plus the carry-on full of meds, make-up, and jewelry.

On my first 34-day cruise in '95 I took one suitcase, but it was entirely hot weather. The clothes took up much less room than sweatshirts and a jacket.

I leave the auto-tip in place and tip extra at the end of the cruise. If someone special is leaving for his own vacation at the turn-around point I tip him then.

I do think that if I were ever able to take the 62-day Circle Pacific cruise some of this would need to be re-thought. The bills and meds especially would be different. Evening clothes would probably be the same; daytime might have fewer cold-weather clothes.

[Grumpy1]

Most of your questions were answered during during my saga of the Prinsendam 2005 world tour, but I'll summarize everything here:

 

Mail... The post office will hold mail for 30 days (longer if you know someone at the P. O.). Best is to have a local friend or relative pick up the mail if it's going to be longer than 30 days. Second best would be to have the mail forwarded to someone for that period. On our 113 night cruise, my sister, who lives 2 miles away picked it up every couple of days.

 

We have set up all utility bills to be paid automatically from our checking account, and have set up all credit cards for online viewing of statements. a couple of clicks of the mouse and the statements are paid. If there are bills that will come due that you don't know the amount, a check made out to the payee, signed abd dated can be left with the person handling the mail. They can fill in the amount and mail it at the appropriate time. Our bank offers online billpay, so I can set up accounts for things like our landscape service and they can Email me the amount due, or the person handling the mail can email you when the bill comes in.

 

We are fortunate that we do not require many prescription meds, but I did have one prescription that would need to be filled. My doctor wrote a second 90 day script and I had it filled at a different drugstore where I do not have my insuance information on file. It wasn't an expensive script, so I can either forget about it or turn it in directly to the insurance company for reimbursement.

 

We were traveling early in the year and there was no way to get all of the tax information and get a return filed before departure and we did not return until after the filing deadline. I did a quick runup using best guesses and filed for an extension along with a check for more than any tax that would be owed. Upon return, I filed the return and collected my refund.

 

Suitcases: We had nesting sets of three for each of us; I think they are 26", 24" and 22". Those with a couple of carryons got us ON the ship. By the time Slinkie got through shopping, we needed 4 more pieces to get OFF the ship. One of our dinner companions, a suite passenger, said her neighbor came on board with 28 pieces of luggage and left with 34. OUCH!

 

I hope that answers some of your questions. And enjoy your cruise!

 

Grumpy

[sail7seas]

Thanks everyone for your answers. Very interesting.

 

DH is not retired so we are not currently planning an extended cruise. I've 'been thinking ahead' to the not too distant future when hopefully, DH will allow himself to take more consecutive days away from his office. We vacation now about 65-70 days a year but not all at once.

[TedC]

This 35-dayer will be our longest cruise. The good news is that for the first time in our lives we can go abroad without flying! The bad news is that because we're driving to Boston I know we will bring far too much "stuff" - just because we can.

 

Bills, what bills? Oh, those. Well some come out automatically each month. Others are paid annually, and the rest we'll program to be paid when due. We'll check with the utility companies to get estimates of what'll be due and add 10 percent or so do make sure we're covered.

 

We stop our mail and newspaper delivery. A neighbor will keep an eye on the house ( it's a very safe neighborhood, but you never know) and water the house plants. We have someone to take care of the lawn.

 

And once we get on board we'll try to relax and just assume everything will go smoothly - it's now out of our hands.

[SueOverend]

I understand from our friends who recently did the Prisendam World Cruise, that their suitcases were sent ahead by freight (organised through HAL), so there was no problem with flight restrictions. They then just flew to LA, where they joined the cruise, with a small amount of last minute luggage.

[LizB1]

We do the same as almost everyone else.

 

The Post Office will hold our mail this time for the 35-days instead of the usual 30...per our postman. When we did the WC we had a neighbor pick it up every two weeks and hold it in his garage until we returned.

 

We pay utility bills ahead of time estimating how much they will be. As far as Visa bills we pay what we owe plus extra to cover a few weeks.

 

Unfortunately, we are not lucky like RuthC. We have to put our cat in the kennel for that length of time but she is used to it there, and the kennel is used to long-term boarders because of all the folks who go to FL in the winter from the Cape.

 

Neighbors watch the house and one has a key in case they need to get in for some reason.

 

As far as packing we are lucky this time as we are taking a limo to the pier. I guess I have over-packed with two large suitcases each plus we each have a carry-on, but it's nice to be able to take everything but the kitchen sink!

 

It's really all in the planning. The hard part is scheduling what has to be done before we leave as we also have a veggie garden and today will pick about 5-pounds of peas to freeze before we pull the plants.

[kryos]

What do you do about all the mail that accumulates at home? Have the Post Office hold it or a neighbor/family bring it in?

I've never been on a "lengthy" cruise ... at least not yet. But I will be going on one in January ... 30 days.

 

Mail is not an issue. Dad is home and brings it in. It will all be waiting for me when I arrive home in early February.

 

Bills are a tricky issue. I normally use online bill pay, so paying my bills can easily be done from the ship. However, getting my bills will be the problem. While dad could theoretically open them and pay them, he won't involve himself in anything on the computer. So, what I will do is pay estimated payments for the credit card bills I will be expecting while I am away. That will prevent me from getting late penalties. American Express is simple. They bill me online and I can pay them online. Regular utility bills dad will open and write his check for.

 

As for caring for dad, I make sure my brother phones him every couple of days to make sure he is okay. I also make sure both he and dad have instructions for how to reach me on the ship in case there is a major problem.

 

As for the job, I am very fortunate. Long gone are the days I had to stay in touch while on vacation. We've scaled back so much here that other supervisors can cover in my absence; as I do for them during their absence.

 

See! Not very complicated at all!

 

As for the number of suitcases ... LOL, I just won't pack formal clothes. That will save a lot of room. Instead, I'll just wear jeans to the dining room on formal night! :)

 

Blue skies ...

 

--rita

[Krazy Kruizers]

The longest we have cruised so far is 22 days - but - we always have to add on 3 - 4 days before a cruise and 1 or 2 at the end.

Mail - slot in garage door - goes right into a box. Whatever misses the box, our neighbor who checks the house, puts it in.

Newspapers - 2 of them - neighbor picks them up from the driveway each morning and organizes them for us in the game room.

Bills - I advance one month before on everything - do not pay on line. I do leave a couple of signed checks for our neighbor in case a bill comes in that we might have accidently missed.

Clothes - 4 large suitcases. Nice to have free laundry on the ship. Alaska - one extra suitcase to carry coats in - even though that makes 5 suitcases and 2 carry-ons, in the past we have not been charged for the extra suitcase. That will most likely change in the future.

House has an alarm system. Nieghbor still comes in and checks everything - always looks around the back yard as well. Only once did she accidently set off the system. Police were here at the house in a couple of minutes and since she is listed on the system - no problem.

Tipping - the repositioning cruises are one segment. We tip at the end of the 22 days (or whatever length).

Back-to-back cruises - we tip at the end of each segment.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Missed it - medications - if we aren't in the right "time" slot to get DH's prescriptions refilled according to his plan - we pay - and sometimes that is very costly. No choice - he has to take his prescriptions.

[babyher]

Have never been on a trip longer than 2 weeks YET :) (one of these days though)

 

But i do have a lot of experience "holding down the fort" for my mom who travels extensively for long periods of time to visit friends and family and also vacation.

 

MAIL: Strict orders from Mom*LOL* "Save the bills , pension checks, personal cards and letters and anything that looks official :)....Everything else DUMP *LOL*

 

She always cancels the newspaper.

 

 

PRESCRIPTIONS: Before she leaves she has her doctor write her a script for several extra refills. She goes to a nationwide chain so when she needs them she just calls the local branch and has it filled. Granted her really long trips are right here in the US so that is never a problem. Not sure if there are Walgreens in The Baltics *LOL*

 

 

Bills: My mom has her largest pension check direct deposited to her checking account which I am also on so I just write a check and pay them for her. (My mother has nothing to do with computers either *LOL*)

 

She has someone take care of the lawn.

 

Otherwise I just stop by every couple of days to make sure the place is still standing :) She doesn't have any pets, and only a few houseplants, so it isn't that big a deal.

[Druke I]

Our longest to date was 28 nights, San Francisco to Sydney, last voyage of Sky Princess as a Princess ship, 9-00.

 

Had Post Office hold mail and neighbor boy pick up newspapers (have to read local news and obits when I get home!)

 

Made sure all bills were paid before we left, and like poster above, paid more on all revolving accounts for a safety cushion. Worked for us.

 

Subsequently, we have changed a lot of our banking to on-line and auto-pay, should we take another extended cruise in the future. I'm still trying to talk my wife into one of P&O's spring 'round the world cruises, which usually are between 90 and 100 nights, depending on routing. She prefers crusies under 30 days.