Two weeks from today we will be winging our way to Los Angeles to spend the night before boarding the ms Silver Whisper for our around-the-world trip.

I thought I might share some of the pre-trip logistics for this long adventure, so here are a few of the things we have had to research and prepare before we leave:

• One of the first things we did this fall was to see the travel doctor to make sure our shots are up to date and get the necessary boosters. We also had to get our prescriptions for anti-malaria, antibiotics, and anti-fungal woes.
• We are still going through the ship’s shore excursion catalog and trolling the internet to find private guides and comparing costs, details, reviews, and timing to make sure we get the biggest bang for the buck for a lot of places that we probably won’t ever have an opportunity to return to. We actually began this item almost a year ago when we first booked the cruise. We needed to become familiar with both the itinerary and the timing of the port calls so we could begin to hone in on whether to use the ship’s tours or really spend the time to find a private guide. We have been very fortunate over the years in finding private guides – and many of these have been on a par cost-wise with the ships tours, or better yet, even less expensive and more personalized. We really don’t like to do a lot of bus trips.
• We have also been shopping and putting away new clothes for the trip. While we are not completely re-outfitting, we do want to have some newer shirts, pants, blouses, etc. For both the days at sea and the dining room at night. Plus, it’s a good excuse to rotate stuff out of the closet and get rid of that shirt or pants that I haven’t worn for a couple of years.
• We are fortunate in having the cruise line handle most of our luggage. They will pick up four of our large suitcases, via FedEx, on Friday, Dec. 26 and have them on board when we embark on Jan. 5th. We can then fly to LAX with only our carry-ons (and perhaps one checked bag). However, that means that we need to begin packing next weekend. There are items that you don’t think about on a day-to-day basis that you have to think about when you may not be near a CVS or Walgreen’s (or Costco) for four months. For instance, I need to stock up on hearing aid batteries and razor blades and shaving cream. Bonnie needs to stock up on shampoo and other girly toiletries (of which I am blissfully ignorant). Of course we could hope to replenish along the way, but we discovered on our South America and Antarctic trip last year that stuff we take for granted may be very, very scarce outside the US.
• Electronics are another issue. I will need to take my laptop for the blog, email, and any web surfing I want to do. I also need a reader and I am not fond of my ancient (by today’s standards) Kindle – it’s about four years old. Bonnie loves hers and will use that, but I have a small laptop/tablet (a laptop with a detachable keyboard) that I have been using for about six months as a reader and will bring that as well. There is also the iPhone. Because we need to keep communications open for Bonnie’s Mother at Moorings Park, I need to bring that (That’s no chore since I am an iPhone addict…).So…there are power blocks, cords, adapters, curling irons, accessories, etc. that have to be packed in the carry-ons. The good news is that most of the electronics are dual power, so they can charge from either a 110/115 or 220/240 socket. We just need to bring along the 220/240 socket adapters. We will still need a converter for those items that are not dual capable.
• A number of years ago, we found that having a “just in case” bag (plastic baggie) with Band-Aids, ointments, cold pills, etc. is another must-have travel accessory. This time we are also going to have a “just-in-case” bag for a few minor office supplies (paper clips, a sticky note pad, extra pens, etc.) since we found that not every ship can bail you out if you need such mundane items. I will also be including a small sewing kit and a few feet of man’s universal solution – duct tape.
• We also have to take care of the house and the cars. We have a house-sitter that will come in once a week, so that should fend off any long-term issues. We usually do this when we plan to be away for more than a couple of weeks. We have made arrangements with our neighbor to have our mail forward to them One can never know how comforting it is to have neighbors that make that kind of offer. I can't imagine how the mail might either pile up or begin getting returned to sender. We also have to make sure that both cars are "vacationized" since they won't be driven much for four months. Then there is making sure that both the refrigerator and freezer(s) do not have any perishables and can be left for a while.
• Finally, I always make up a notebook consisting of those clear plastic open-top document holders that can be placed in a three-ring binder. I use one for air tix and info, one for the ship’s boarding info, one for each major stop along the way, one for car rentals, etc. For this trip, I will probably have a three-ring notebook about 2” thick loaded with these holders. I learned this trick from one of our good friends with whom we have travel over the years. She and her husband are very organized and after fumbling for some misplaced air tickets once when we were with them, she showed me her system and I've used it ever since.

I have rambled along with some of our prep work and I probably forgot a few things, but I hope you get the idea that there is more than a little work involved in longer-term vacations. At the end, though, it is still fun, exciting, adventuresome, and we wouldn't give it up for anything!

More to follow, stay tuned…

Hello to all!

It is one month until we set sail (figuratively...) for our newest adventure. We will spend an overnight in Los Angeles prior to sailing. 

We decided to begin this blog to document our around-the-world cruise - mainly so I can remember a lot of what we did for more than a few weeks after our return (getting older is not for sissies...).

Bonnie and I hope you all enjoy following along with our travels. We have some exciting places to visit and exciting things to discover and to do.

I chose this blog engine because it appears to offer more flexibility than the one I used for our South America, Antarctica, and the Amazon trip last year. I hope I chose well. There is a place below for comments on any of the posts or just to drop us a note to say hello. Please feel free to do so. Our normal email addresses are also in use and available to us.

Speaking of email, since we will be on a ship for most of the journey, we are certain to get flaky Internet service - usually sloooow and often sporadic. We will brace up and do our best to make do. Perhaps we will be surprised and find that the new cruise line we are using has better Internet, but that is our hope.

Many of you know that we have become fond of Holland America Lines ships over the past years and their great food and service; however, we could not find an itinerary that we liked from among their offerings the past few years, so this year we opted for something new - Silversea Cruise Lines and the ms Silver Whisper.

The itinerary gets us around the Cape of Good Hope and southern Africa. Before the Ebola crisis we were going to come up the west coast of Africa, but about a month ago the cruise line made the decision to break off of Africa after we visit Namibia (a wise move, we think) and pick up additional ports in the Atlantic and the Caribbean. We are disappointed that we won't get to some of the African countries that helped us choose this itinerary, but we are not disappointed to away from the Ebola-stricken areas. Our hearts go out to those people, but it is what it is and we applaud the cruise line for taking that step to protect its passengers.

We had originally booked this trip based on NOT going through the Suez Canal since we have spent so much time in the Mediterranean. We wanted to see more of Africa and thought this would be a way to do it. Well, best laid plans and all that... but we are just as happy that we can avoid the dicey areas and still claim an around-the-world trip.

I found a way to get a picture of our cruise itinerary in a format that will give you some idea of where we will be traveling to.

Here it is:



Los Angeles  and west to Australia, Malaysia, Indonesia, China, Singapore, and continuing west to the east coast of Africa, then around Cape Horn and across the Atlantic and the Caribbean to Fort Lauderdale and home.

You can see by the red line how the Ebola crisis has changed our itinerary. Here is a link to the actual itinerary, if you are interested:

Ed and Bonnie's Around-the-World Itinerary

More to follow as we get closer to lift-off. Stay tuned...