Always Want To Go

Steve and I recently completed the most magnificently fabulous cruise ever—a 23-day transpacific journey on the Carnival Splendor from Seattle, Washington, to Sydney, Australia. It was just amazing!

For some of you, cruising may be a special once-a-year treat or even a series of back-to-back cruises throughout the year, but I feel like cruising is undoubtedly something on many people’s minds. Cruising is very popular again, and I guess many of you have more than one cruise planned.

I have also discovered, however, that cruising is not everyone’s cup of tea. Two of my sisters, for example, are not fans of cruise vacations, not even a little bit. I’ve just moved one sister over to the dark side, and we had a marvelous cruise together, didn’t we, Marsha?

Here is how Steve and I prepared for the marvelous 23-day transpacific journey that would take us away from home for more than a month.

Different cruises, different preparations

Of course, different cruises require different preparations. For us, a Caribbean cruise is effortless because the port is almost in our backyard. We pack a few clothes, obtain safe dog care, find a ride, and go. Also, these cruises are typically between four and seven days.

Caribbean cruise port

International cruises, such as the transatlantic ones we have taken, require more preparation and thought. Passports, of course, are necessary, as are travel insurance, climate-appropriate clothing, and longer-term preparations for our home and pets—a bit of work.

Transatlantic cruise

However, this particular cruise is the longest cruise we had ever taken at the time of this post. We now have taken more than one transpacific and more than one transatlantic cruise. This cruise began in slightly chilly Seattle, moved across the Pacific Ocean to the tropical climates of Hawaii and Figi, and ended up in what turned out to be cold and rainy Sydney, Australia.

Incidentally, I am not complaining about the weather—I am not complaining about a single moment of this incredible adventure.

Housekeeping details

• Ensure our regular bill payments are automated
• Inform credit card companies we are traveling out of the country
• Put a hold on our mail service if no one is staying in our house
• Purchase travel insurance, in addition to cruise line insurance
• Provide itineraries to our immediate family

Pet care

We were so amazingly fortunate to find the perfect person to stay at our house and care for our Shih-Tzu Tank while we were away. I subscribe to the TrustedHousesitters service, which matches potential sitters with house/pet sits in its membership base.

Our TrustedHousesitters Listing Cover Photo

We submitted an invitation online at the TrustedHousesitters website, including information about our pets, home, requirements, and the dates we needed assistance. I received multiple responses from people all over the world! Then, the selection and matching process began.

Since we would be traveling during hurricane season, it was essential to find a person who lives within a few hours of our home in case of an evacuation. We found just the right person, Angi, who took outstanding care of our pets and is now a forever friend.

Our wonderful dogs, Tank and Lilly Bean

I cannot recommend this subscription service, TrustedHousesitters, enough. It was the perfect solution for our petsitting needs. Please comment or email me about this service if you have questions, but look at their website for any petsitting needs for upcoming trips.

Packing

Packing the right clothes is almost as important as packing light. We have not mastered the minimal packing scenario yet, but we are improving. We left home with a large suitcase apiece, each at maximum airline weight, and a backpack each. Not very light.

Overpacked suitcase

We will realize we do not have to have all that stuff one day!

Flights and hotels

Steve and I decided to fly into Seattle the day before the cruise. This gave us a day to sort out a missed flight or possibly lost luggage. Of course, we had to obtain flights from home to Seattle, transportation to a hotel, hotel reservations, and transportation to the cruise terminal the following day.

Almost every trip we take involves some kind of miracle. This one is amazing. I left my cell phone in its nice little wallet case containing my credit cards and driver’s license on the seat in our Uber from the airport! The driver (up for sainthood) returned it to us at the hotel within 15 minutes! WHEW!

Laundry

Thank goodness laundry facilities are available for guests’ use on this particular ship. We were able to take advantage of this amenity more than once. The ship staff will also do laundry at a cost, but we chose not to go that route.

Neverending laundry!

I am too short to reach the clothes in the bottom of the cruise ship’s washers or the clothes in the dryers stacked above them. Steve did all the laundry—yay! If only I’d had my trusty step stool with me, huh?

Extraordinary protocols unique to this cruise only

There were a few other requirements for this particular cruise because it was one of the first cruise ships back to Hawaii, the first to Figi, and also the first Carnival cruise to sail into Sydney since our friend Covid-19 had put a stop to transpacific cruising two and a half years ago.

About 20 days before the cruise began, we received an email notification about the special protocol requirements all guests would have. Vaccine protocols were in place at the time of this cruise.

Protocols

1. All guests aged 12 and older had to be fully vaccinated. Adults who were vaccinated more than six months from the sail date were required to have boosters. Carnival offered refunds to guests who could not comply with this requirement.
2. A negative COVID-19 test taken three days before embarkation was also required. This requirement was unique to this cruise, and guests failing to meet it would not be permitted to board and would not be issued refunds.
3. All guests, except Australian citizens, were required to apply for and have an Australian visa to enter Australia.
4. Fiji did not require a visa, but guests were required to have proof of medical travel insurance for the entire cruise, specifically for Fiji as a destination.
5. We were required to wear face masks during embarkation and debarkation, both indoors and in large groups outdoors, until we reached Honolulu. Carnival was pretty strict about enforcing the mask requirement.
6. Last but not least, every guest was required to take mandatory COVID-19 self-tests not once but three times during the cruise!

These protocols were in place because of the length of our cruise, and although it may sound like a lot, these requirements did not diminish or negatively impact our cruise experience.

I have no idea how many people on our cruise contracted COVID-19, but I believe it was a relatively small number. These requirements went a long way toward keeping most of us healthy. This is the new world we must live in now, huh?

The most amazing sunsets and sunrises every single day

Our most wonderfully memorable cruise yet

Steve and I enjoy longer cruises, and this one was our most extended sailing yet. We had very many firsts on this cruise. We crossed the international date line and the equator and finally reached Hawaii and Fiji, too! Please check back next week to read about our adventures on board.