Cruises are for old people, aren't they?
The more I research this idea, the more I like it. I, like many people, had previously held the idea that cruises were all about food, gambling, and elderly couples waltzing on the dancefloor to the music of a fairly average band.
Food, yes. Everything else, not really.
Gambling doesn't interest me, so whilst the ship has a casino I think we can avoid it altogether. I'd rather spend my money on massages at the health spa. Shore trips and wine appreciation lessons aside, I can see the trip being sessions of activity, such as the gym or circus classes, broken up with sessions of eating. M and I are foodies in a big way.
M is however somewhat disappointed at the prospect of formal nights. Not because he dislikes dressing up (he loves it), but because he'd developed the notion that we would only need one suitcase between the two of us and this killed it. He was even less impressed by the idea of theme nights. Again, we're both medieval reenactors so it's not due to any dislike of costumes, but both of us cringe at the thought of a night of cowboy hats and line dancing.
Both of us value our space and privacy, things which may be hard to come by on a ship carrying 2000 people. For this reason, M has chosen a cabin with a balcony. They're not much more expensive than a standard cabin but much cheaper than a suite, and will allow us to have a private outside area to get away from it all when we need to.
Sounds like fun to me.
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Meet Stitch
We'd like to introduce you to Stitch, the newest member of our family. He came with the name, but so far he's proving very quiet and non-destructive, at least as much as a puppy can be. The animal shelter tells us he's a 4-month-old mastiff cross. We accept the four months old bit but we think he's the least likely mastiff we've ever seen. There's definitely some Jack Russell in there, but for the rest we really don't know.
He's very affectionate, and loves his Sheepie toy (it goes "baaa" when squeezed). He is also exceptionally intelligent, and is making really good progress with training for a dog who has been with us only 2 days. The downside of this is that he has magical powers of opening the back door, even when it's locked.
That reminds me, must ask Nan if she can house-sit when we go away. She's been making quite a business of it recently, should be fine if we book her and her elderly kelpie far enough in advance.
He's very affectionate, and loves his Sheepie toy (it goes "baaa" when squeezed). He is also exceptionally intelligent, and is making really good progress with training for a dog who has been with us only 2 days. The downside of this is that he has magical powers of opening the back door, even when it's locked.
That reminds me, must ask Nan if she can house-sit when we go away. She's been making quite a business of it recently, should be fine if we book her and her elderly kelpie far enough in advance.
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Change #2
The planning shifts direction once again...
It seems my budgeting went astray in my last lot of plans. I had anticipated that flights near Christmas would cost extra. I hand't anticipated how much extra. I was thinking maybe $500 per person, but Emirates have started releasing December fares, and the moment December 1st rolls in, they go up by $2000/person. And that's not even for the ones near Christmas!
Europe for Christmas -- no longer achievable :(.
This leaves us with two options -- travel at a different time, or go somewhere else. Since I'm still into the idea of going away in December, this leaves us with the somewhere else option.
This in turn led me to remember plans my mother and I had a few years back, in the messy aftermath of my parent's divorce when anything family was all a bit too awkward. We saw a Christmas cruise of the Pacific islands and decided that was definitely the way to go. All the food and cheer of the holiday season, without the cooking and cleaning. We never ended up going (she took me to Bali for my 21st instead, an equally unpopular move with the rest of my family, but it was what I wanted) but the idea stuck in my mind.
So when Europe became impractical, I suggested the cruise to M. He loves the idea.
It is a very different kind of holiday, both from what we were planning and from what we're used to. I'm accustomed to ambitious, planning-heavy adventures, where this is something that requires virtually no independent input from the traveller. We tell them what we want, and they do the rest. It seems quite a novelty, but I think at the end of what is already shaping up as an eventful year, it will be just what we need.
It seems my budgeting went astray in my last lot of plans. I had anticipated that flights near Christmas would cost extra. I hand't anticipated how much extra. I was thinking maybe $500 per person, but Emirates have started releasing December fares, and the moment December 1st rolls in, they go up by $2000/person. And that's not even for the ones near Christmas!
Europe for Christmas -- no longer achievable :(.
This leaves us with two options -- travel at a different time, or go somewhere else. Since I'm still into the idea of going away in December, this leaves us with the somewhere else option.
This in turn led me to remember plans my mother and I had a few years back, in the messy aftermath of my parent's divorce when anything family was all a bit too awkward. We saw a Christmas cruise of the Pacific islands and decided that was definitely the way to go. All the food and cheer of the holiday season, without the cooking and cleaning. We never ended up going (she took me to Bali for my 21st instead, an equally unpopular move with the rest of my family, but it was what I wanted) but the idea stuck in my mind.
So when Europe became impractical, I suggested the cruise to M. He loves the idea.
It is a very different kind of holiday, both from what we were planning and from what we're used to. I'm accustomed to ambitious, planning-heavy adventures, where this is something that requires virtually no independent input from the traveller. We tell them what we want, and they do the rest. It seems quite a novelty, but I think at the end of what is already shaping up as an eventful year, it will be just what we need.
Monday, January 11, 2010
Travel writer
I'm feeling very proud -- I've now officially been paid for travel writing.
For a few years now I've written articles for a stock content website, Helium. A few days ago, I received an email from them informing me that someone had purchased one of my articles on Airport Security. This is the first article I've ever sold, and to have sold a travel piece feels particularly good.
I got $5 for it, but it's a start.
For a few years now I've written articles for a stock content website, Helium. A few days ago, I received an email from them informing me that someone had purchased one of my articles on Airport Security. This is the first article I've ever sold, and to have sold a travel piece feels particularly good.
I got $5 for it, but it's a start.
Monday, January 4, 2010
Gadget Geek
The holiday season has been and gone, and with it comes new toys. I used a bit of my christmas money to buy two new travel trinkets:
Credit Card Swiss Army Knife
These brilliantly compact devices have all the functionality of a basic swiss army knife (except the corkscrew), but are much lighter and easier to carry, being the same size as and only slightly thicker than a credit card. I had one of these a few yers ago, and in addition to being tremendously useful, they're worth it purely for the shocked looks you get when you pluck a knife out of your purse. I don't know why the swiss army knife has such as reputation as a man's tool though. Really, when you think about it, it's just a modern-day chatelaine. No handbag should be complete without one.
The only downside they have is that they can be a little too well-concealed. I lost my last one when I attempted to board a plane without realising it was still in my wallet. I may not have seen it, but an x-ray machine certainly did. Put these in your checked luggage instead.
USB Wristband
Looks like one of those rubber bracelets all the kids seem to be wearing nowdays, except...
... it conceals a USB drive.
Not that I'd advocate trying to hide anything on it, of course. I just like to keep my data close.
A USB drive can be useful thing to have with you. They can carry photos you want to want to show to friends overseas, store information you wrote or downloaded on a shared computer, and keep backup scans of your important documents. They can also be used to view pictures and documents on the personal screens in some aircraft, although I'm unsure on the exact functionality offered. Finally, they make for good backup space if you're travelling with a laptop computer, which always carries a risk of being lost/stolen/destroyed.
Plenty more travel gadgets to come.
Credit Card Swiss Army Knife
These brilliantly compact devices have all the functionality of a basic swiss army knife (except the corkscrew), but are much lighter and easier to carry, being the same size as and only slightly thicker than a credit card. I had one of these a few yers ago, and in addition to being tremendously useful, they're worth it purely for the shocked looks you get when you pluck a knife out of your purse. I don't know why the swiss army knife has such as reputation as a man's tool though. Really, when you think about it, it's just a modern-day chatelaine. No handbag should be complete without one.
The only downside they have is that they can be a little too well-concealed. I lost my last one when I attempted to board a plane without realising it was still in my wallet. I may not have seen it, but an x-ray machine certainly did. Put these in your checked luggage instead.
USB Wristband
Looks like one of those rubber bracelets all the kids seem to be wearing nowdays, except...
... it conceals a USB drive.
Not that I'd advocate trying to hide anything on it, of course. I just like to keep my data close.
A USB drive can be useful thing to have with you. They can carry photos you want to want to show to friends overseas, store information you wrote or downloaded on a shared computer, and keep backup scans of your important documents. They can also be used to view pictures and documents on the personal screens in some aircraft, although I'm unsure on the exact functionality offered. Finally, they make for good backup space if you're travelling with a laptop computer, which always carries a risk of being lost/stolen/destroyed.
Plenty more travel gadgets to come.
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