Travel in a Pandemic World

 November 16, 2021

Preparing to Cruise after 19 months

Wow it just cant be real- I'm going to cruise again! Two nights until I fly to Ft. Lauderdale. Thanks to Michelle the dogs are at their vacation resort in Honeycreek. I've spent the night doing laundry and trying to remember how to pack for a cruise. I've had a trip to Vegas in March and a flight to Chicago overnight but that's it since the last cruise March 7, 2020. The world has so changed! I have of course joined the RV world and will continue that travel May-October- but winter will bring cruising again. The isolation in winter last year was rough-focusing only on where we would RV with warm weather. This winter is filled with 2 cruises, a work trip to San Diego, LA, and Nashville. 

Tomorrow is a required travel covid test. You need to do it two days before boarding- and that is tomorrow! I'll be in Florida when the results come and will have to print them at the hotel. I have all 3 vaccines and proof has already been uploaded. As I understand it we wear masks in the terminal but since 97% of people are vaccinated we do not have to on board. We shall see.

The cruise is "free" because I clearly gamble too much. This time I get a balcony- on the "hump" which is bigger. Going on my favorite ship Celebrity "Equinox". I've taken this ship three times including Hawaii and a Transatlantic. I was also lucky to have several cruise points built up given we couldn't cruise all these months- so all my excursions, internet, and laundry are also free. Add in my American Airlines discount courtesy of my daughter and the dog bill is the biggest cost lol. 

I'm excited to be going with my friend Judy. We go way back, working together in my early days at Heartland in St. Joseph, Mo. I guess it must have been 1985-or so. We have stayed in touch some over the years and when her husband died 5 years ago we became travel buddies. We first cruised to Hawaii together, a wonderful trip. Two years ago- pre-pandemic we did a land tour of the national parks from Las Vegas, another interesting and fun journey. So here we go again and hit the seas. What a great way to try and start cruising again. 

Let the countdown begin!! Follow along and see what cruising in 2021 looks like. Enjoy Aruba, Bonaire, and Curaco Islands for a 9 day journey. Discover cruising in a new way. Forgive my typos- just sit back and enjoy- we are one step closer to what we used to know!