Author: donhall930

Dateline: Fort Lauderdale 

The somewhat nebulous seafaring accommodations of a certain couple have finally been secured. An email arrived just yesterday informing them that they had been awarded an upgrade in their stateroom selection and it was at no extra charge! 

The couple, Don Hall and Paula McCarthy, had been waiting patiently (?) for the fine folks at Princess Cruises to sort out the mess that was created when two almost fully booked voyages were combined due to the cancellation of the first Covid Containment Cruise. 

They had been informed on many an occasion (whenever they called Princess) that they were not to worry, that they were in the “Guaranteed” status of bookings and that a stateroom assignment would be forthcoming as soon as possible. The ranges of “As soon as possible” varied greatly as the first Voyage Voyeur informed them that it would be by September (last) and as the timeline progressed, the prognostication was pushed to the breaking point of, “You’ll find out upon Embarkation,” which translates into something like arriving at the gangplank, suitcases in hand, and asking Captain Stubing, Julie the Cruise Director, and Gopher….. “Hi, we’re Paula and Don, could you please inform us as to where we will be living for the next four months?” and then having Isaac the Bartender show us the way to our stateroom. 

In a momentous random checking of email yesterday, one fairly jumped off of the screen as it was entitled “Upgrade” and it was from Princess! Visions of palatial Suites ran rampantly through their feeble brains as they searched the diagrams of deck plans when they logged onto the Princess Cruises website. 

A re-examination of the categories of compartments within the existing types of staterooms bears some further explanation here. Mind you, it involves just a tad of physics, albeit it of the “playground” variety, so here goes….. 

These ships, even as good as the modern ones are, still have a certain amount of movement to them as they charge forward through all kinds of seas. Mill ponds to tempests, these modern marvels of hotels at sea, use every bit of technology available to them in order to further ensure a somewhat stable voyage for their passengers, which hopefully, negates the possibility of running to the rail in order to help “chum the waters” for any fishermen aboard, if you get my ‘drift’. 

But physics being what it is, and boats being what they are, and water being the fluid medium that it is, makes for some uncertain bedfellows when it comes to guaranteeing a perfectly smooth sailing. So, back to our playground and the see-saw. If you want a fun ride, you clamper aboard one of the ends so that you can swing up and down with reckless abandon, laughing all the way. If you desire to have a smooth ride and still be part of the fun, you sit in the middle, the fulcrum as it were, and watch your playmates from a more stable platform. Now, let’s add another element to our see-saw and give it another axis from which to rotate on and that would be from side to side. Again, here you are still in the middle, but the effect of the side-to-side movement is enhanced when you try and stand up and get further away from your best friend, that center of gravity, the fulcrum, which coincidently, on a ship, is situated more towards the center of the ship or ‘midships’ in the vernacular of the maritime folks. 

Now let’s reboard our big hotel-on-the-sea and assign categories to staterooms, throwing into this confusing algorithm other variables such as distance from the elevators, proximity to possible ‘noisier’ locations, and levels (or decks) of the ship itself. While some of this process is relatively straightforward, some of it is also obviously very subjective. 

Let’s take the level or deck to which you may be assigned. The higher you go, the more ‘prestigious’ it may be considered? No one ever built the castle way down low when that very enticing hill was nearby, right? We never played ‘King of the Valley’ did we? It was always ‘King of the Hill’ or (Queen of the Hill in more modern times😊) 

So, on a ship, the more desirable locations are the elevated ones, the ones furthest away from the Galley Slaves and their oars, further away from the Bilge Rats, and other stinky aspects of a seafaring life. 

So, these variables all get tossed into the mix and we end up with levels within each type of stateroom. Suites are always the best and vary very little as they are always in a good location. Strangely these locations are often at the forward and rear ends on the ships where “Corner Views” may be had. “Damn the See-Saw” has been heard from many a veranda of these many-roomed, incredibly expensive, envy of all on board, accommodations.  

So, let’s get to the more plentiful, average staterooms that Mr. and Mrs. Regular Peeps can afford, namely the Balcony, Ocean View, and Inside cabins. These are the ones that are the most plentiful and get most of the gradations by category. We were originally assigned an I (Inside) E. Now these gradations range from A to F and when located on board it was mostly difficult to ascertain why one stateroom enjoyed a status that its neighbor did not. But I guess that’s where that Algorithm comes in. It’s kind of like trying to understand exactly what goes into what makes up your credit score. Too much available credit is scary to lenders, too little is a sign that no one trusts you. Not having any balances to pay off doesn’t give them enough information to which evaluate you while having a lot of payments (all on time) makes you a bad guy. So, where’s the middle ground. No one knows! And so, it goes with these categories of staterooms.  

Now for the exciting part! 

We had been given an upgrade (at no extra charge) which means that they were not able to find an unoccupied cabin in our category (that someone was willing to give up) and therefore, they needed to find somewhere to stow us and all our baggage. We were luckily able to vault all the way up in category status to a…… (Drum roll please!)……… 

An I-C! 

 Which means we jumped all the way over the peons assigned the hovels in I-D! We frantically searched our assigned deck, Aloha (A), way up on top, looking down on all the other losers. Well, not really, because since we have an inside cabin, there is no way to look down on anything! We may as well be down rowing with the aforementioned Galley Slaves! 

But at least we will be able to announce when boarding one of the elevators, “Aloha Deck please” and leave all the others behind as they exit before we do and sneak down the companionway to dive into A-423! 

It looks like we are going to have a Private Tour of Venice as well as Jerusalem.  

The backstory. 

Venice was originally on the itinerary, and we could not have been more excited. I had been there about twenty years ago, and it is on Paula’s ‘Bucket List”, so the anticipation began. 

Until. 

Until we received an email from Princess announcing that Venice was being replaced with Ravenna, a very nice old coastal town about a hundred miles south of Venice. 

Boo! 

We waited an inordinately long time for “Excursions” to be posted for this port. No one could shed any light on what was going on or why it was taking so long. We figured that they were trying their best to figure out a way to get us from Ravenna to Venice. We are scheduled to be in this Port two days so we figured that it would be easy, at least for the first day, as we could arrive back at the ship later in the evening without risking delaying any departure. 

Well, we were wrong. 

The Excursions finally got posted and not one of them came anywhere near Venice. While Ravenna has some very nice sites of its own, it would be a mistake to classify it in the same category as Venice. Emphasis on Category. 

It is here that we discovered what the rub was. 

Venice is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, having had this honor bestowed on it back in 1987. It was this very distinction and title that was at risk if the City did not demonstrate that it was serious about keeping the City safe from being overrun with too many people and creating more damage to its fragile lagoon (to which the Cruise Ships added). 

So, the obvious, and immediate, solution was to ban Cruise Ships from docking at Venice. If you’ve ever been to Venice, you know how small it really is and can imagine it being overrun with boatloads of folks on any given day. The Town Fathers took all this Economic Consternation into account and decided that the long-term effect was what they were looking for and safeguarding their Hometown Treasure was paramount. And besides…. there was enough terrestrial traffic to more than support their local economy and the sidebar of their decision was that everyone from townspeople to tourists actually had a better experience. 

But, what’s a Tourist to do that REALLY wanted to visit? 

Yup! Another call to Tour’s by Locals was placed and we are now safely in the capable hands of Isabella and her driver who will pick us up in Ravenna and safely deposit us back there later that same evening. The plan is to find a nice Venetian Restaurant and have dinner.  

While originally being slightly miffed that the Cruise Line did not schedule any excursions to Venice, I understood a tad better after speaking to one of the Excursion Experts. It seems that the Cruise Industry is not going to go out of its way to give any additional business to a City that has effectively banned them. 

Ok, I can see that point. 

But, wouldn’t it have been better to fully explain the factors that led to all of this? I did not understand it all until I had an email exchange with Isabella, who eloquently explained the whole situation. Then I understood completely and wished that I had known more to begin with. 

I now side with Venice and their attempt to preserve their World Heritage Site designation for all those in the future. 

So, we now know what we will be doing for Venice and cannot wait to finally meet Isabella and have her introduce us to her hometown! 

Meanwhile back at the Ranch…. (I’ve always wanted to use that phrase!)  Paula and I are trying to walk 10 miles every day so that we will be able to trek around without collapsing. 

  Oops! Did I say 10? I meant 1! Those pesky zeros get in the way all the time! Seriously, we do not have any long hikes scheduled but as the aforementioned Venice excursion is an example of, there will be plenty of walking around cities! 

Our time now is spent honing down the Preparedness Lists and double-checking things.  

And waiting. 

Around here, things go on. Last night we went to the local (Brenham) town parade. Madison was on one of the floats along with the rest of her little dance troupe, waving to the crowds of folks lining the downtown area.  

This is a big damn deal! 

My guess is there were close to 10,000 folks there supporting friends and family that were in the Parade of over seventy floats or just sitting with their families and watching the festivities! Any local organization is welcome to participate so all the usual suspects were there, especially the local churches. 

In this unabashedly Christian locale, there were no shortage of floats depicting the Nativity and other aspects of the Christmas Season 🙂 

So Don, If the title of this Post has to do with packing for the trip, why then are you showing us random photos?

          Because….. I’m still practicing with the lenses and setting on my new-fangled camera, and these are a few examples of what I’ve done!

          Anyway, the packing is FINISHED!

          Well, almost finished.

          Really, not actually, finished, but in the grand scheme of things we have gotten a lot closer to the finish line than we’ve been so far.

          We decided to get those big-sucker-out-the-air packing bags. For those of you that have used these things, you know what I speak of.  For those of you that have not had the opportunity to use these apparati, the only thing that I can tell you is if you are ever worried about fitting everything into your suitcases….

          Fear Not!

          After sucking out all of the available air you are left with something that looks like those vacuum-packed packages of beef jerky found in the checkout lane. It will save you over half of your available capacity!

          We saved so much room that we are now going out to purchase tons more clothes to bring with us!

There are just a few updates to the subject of our upcoming Cruise that bear reporting. None of these are earth-shattering, and after reading them you may wonder why I even reported them.

          The answer is easy,

          It’s 4:30 AM and I’m bored, so it’s time to write!

          I find that I need answers to questions that the Cruise Help Desk has difficulty answering. This may be because since that industry took it on the chin that they lost a good portion of their staff, and the newer folks just don’t have the requisite experience to satisfy my need for an answer.

          Or it may be that I ask questions that most folks don’t give a hoot about, therefore, they don’t get asked with any regularity.

          Probably a combination of the two is the answer.

          But it doesn’t stop me from calling!

          I am now an expert at navigating through the Menu that Miss Princess Electronic Answering Voice has waiting for me when I dial the 800 number. One of my favorite parts of the call is identifying our Booking Number.

          I inform the Cruise Answer person, “Our Booking Number is 6 Victor Golf Victor Golf Tango.”

          Or,,,, 6VGVGT

          The way of identifying the alpha part of the sequence with the appropriate nomenclature is an old hold-out from my days flying out of Sussex Airport. In both military and commercial aviation, the name that a letter is given is quite specific. Someone who is not familiar with this sequence would do the same thing, but say something like this, “B as in Boy”, “H as in Hat” and so on. There is a correct way to do this, but you need to know the correct crossover in order to communicate successfully.

          I flew mainly in two different Cherokee 140’s when I was learning to fly. They were identified by the last three alpha-numeric “N” numbers on the fuselage. My favorite plane was “13 Fox”(short for “Foxtrot” which obviously represents the letter ‘F’) So when on the Unicom/radio, it went something like this, “Sussex Unicom, this is Cherokee 13 Fox entering downwind, Runway 3 Sussex”

          I’ll bet that all of us would say  “F as in Frank, D as in Dog” and so on. We would all be laughed out of the Control Tower if we tried that!

          After we get through the Cruise Number Identification Procedure and some additional “Identifying Questions”, we get to the part where I try and unintentionally stump them. Really, I do not ask questions just to see if they have the answer, I/we really want/need to know the answers! Some questions are strictly for convenience. Others are quite important.

          Examples:

                   Convenience Question – “Do you know if among the provided bath accessories if there is a body wash or are there bars of soap?”

          See? Not that important, just wondering, do we want/need to bring body wash with us? It’s a good thing that this is not an important question that needs answering because apparently no one has asked it before so nowhere is it indicated which one it is!

          The suspense is killing us.

                   Important Question – “Is the ‘one device’ per wi-fi package needed to be used for your phone so that you can effectively use the ‘Medallion App’ (that I explained previously) or is there a stand-alone network for the App?” (Thus, freeing up that ‘One Device per package’ for a laptop needed to be used for writing and posting to this blog!)

          That answer was quite nebulous, depending on who we spoke to. I was finally able to ascertain that answer myself by digging up some instructions on how to use the App, that identified which wi-fi network to use for the App (available in Airplane Mode) which means that it is strictly a local network, not needing the wi-fi package.) This answer was quite important because even though an additional wi-fi package could be purchased on board, it would have been an additional $1000 + for a voyage of this length. I would have need to find “$$$ponsors” for the blog!

          One of the “Hanging Chads” of our Excursion Booking Dilemma was Jerusalem. Way back in the beginning I told Paula that Jerusalem was way too important a city to be shuffled around with forty of our new best friends. I decided that we needed a Private Tour and that I would be happy to incur the extra expense since it was my unwillingness to experience it any other way that led us to book an excursion this way.

          This is somewhat of a gamble as since it is not through Princess. They make it quite clear that they have zero responsibility when it comes to getting you back on board in time for departure. I did use an organization that they ‘recommended’ called Tours by Locals and judging by their ratings and comments, we are in good hands.  The first time that I tried to book something though, I hit a wall as the guides were all strictly based in Jerusalem. We arrive in Ashod, a port on the coast which is about an hour away. These guys do not pick folks up at the port. Ouch! I put that one down for a while fully intending to pick it back up more sooner than later. Well, sooner turned into later and it was just this past week that I finally called their headquarters and spoke to a Help Desk person who successfully put me in touch with several Shore Excursion tour guides! These guys are equipped to pick up their clients at the ports and start and end their days accordingly.

          The procedure is that you list the day, port, time, and anything else that may be of importance and the Tours by Locals folks put it out to the appropriate Local Tour Guides who then get back to you with their availability. You then get a chance to sift through each guides specialties, languages, reviews, etc. and pick one that will suit your needs.

          I picked one.

          His name is Aladdin S.

          We are expecting quite the tour!

Over the last two years I have from time to time alluded to what it was like to live in Texas. From its vastness to its unabashed patriotism, both for our country and the State, it is quite the experience.

          I need to be careful here because no matter how much I’ve traveled around this great country, I’ve found that you really can’t get to get a “feel” for a place until you’ve spent a decent amount of time there (I don’t want to leave anywhere else out, it’s just that this is what I’ve found here).

          That’s no surprise, the Immersion Factor has been around for as long as folks have been traveling. So, I will just go on with my observations and say that the level of the aforementioned Patriotism, adding in a good, down home, genteel, country way of life, is probably unsurpassed anywhere else in the USA. That’s not to say that there may be some places equal to Texas, but I’m fairly sure that there are probably none better at exhibiting this.

          Especially when it comes to the State of Texas.

          I’ve made this observation before and it bears repeating, the Lone Star Flag is flown EVERYWHERE!

           Sometimes all by itself.

          That Star of Texas is EVERYWHERE, homes, barns, chicken coops, big ranch gates, municipal buildings, floral gardens, you name it, it’s there.

          So Don, what brings about this latest re-observation?

          Well, it is this…. We had the opportunity to be at a local quilting club “meeting” this past week. The Friendship Quilt Guild of Brenham is a thirty-odd year-old organization that started with a handful of members and now boasts close to fifty quilters that meet monthly in order to make quilts for members of the community, especially Veterans. It was for this reason that we attended the meeting as both Dan and Kaitie are Veterans. Dan had four Tours of Duty (two in Iraq and two in Afghanistan) while Kaitie had one Tour in Iraq. They were being presented with the quilts that were made just for them during a ceremony that included several other Veterans, two from Korea and two others from Iraq and Afghanistan. Each Vet was brought up front where their active duty was explained, and their medals and awards were listed.  They were then presented with their very own “work of art” (aka, “quilt”) and were wrapped up in it to the delight, respect, and appreciation of all that were there.

          It was quite the experience.

          Another rather unique Texas character is of the four-legged, two -horned variety, and that is the Texas Longhorn. This breed is the oldest one in the United States, coming from the south more than five-hundred years ago. It is the ubiquitous symbol of the Old West, with the horns and skulls decorating everything from the hoods of Cadillacs to the doorways of barns.

          They are so cool to see!

          And….. apparently one of the easier breeds to raise. They are very adapting, hardy, and they look great on your ranch or front lawn! Imagine having a herd of these in Sussex County….. yes, they will survive the winter and how much fun would it be to have traffic jams, cars lined up for miles with Tourons taking photos!

          Just ask us and we’ll bring a few back with us next year!

          So, we finally took a good look a representative diagram of our stateroom. I say representative because these rooms are very similar, most are identical, but due to their possible location on board, they may differ slightly. Ships today are built in modules and then welded together. This method needs to have a certain amount of conformity, hence the rooms being somewhat modules themselves. Anyway, we went onto the website and really took a good look. We used the “Virtual Tour” video thing where you can “walk “ through the room by clicking your mouse on the arrow and advancing your way through the room , doing a 180 anytime you wanted to.

          Here’s our tour,

          “There’s two drawers in the nightstand.”

          “Are there two nightstands?”

          “Yea, one on each side.”

          “Ok, swing that thing around, let’s take a look at the dresser.”

          “Wait, there is no dresser! Just the “desk” area, it has just three drawers and the mini fridge!”

          “Well, what about the closet? Scoot this thing over there!”

          Click, advance, click, advance, twirl around, twirl around.

          “That’s it? Just those shelves there and the hanging up part?”

          “Looks like it.”

          Gulp.

          Well, it looks like we will be storing a fair amount of our stuff under the bed, in our suitcases. That’s not so bad. The beds are made now to handle the larger suitcases under them. Back in the day, your Room Steward needed to collect your empty luggage and stow it for the duration of your voyage and then bring it back to you for re-packing before disembarking. But even with all of that we realize that we will be somewhat “cramped” for this trip. We are rationalizing our future comfort (discomfort?) level by saying that It’s a good thing we are used to the size of the motorhome. We feel that this “stepped down” theory of getting used to a smaller living quarters will be beneficial, and it probably will be, but……

          After my last couple of posts about packing, etc. we have received many tidbits of traveling and packing advice from several of your fellow readers. My sister Kathy, and my sister-in-law Karen sent us suggestions and advice. Karen is the most travelled person that I know. She is ALWAYS on a trip to some far-flung corner of the world, usually on an “expedition’ of sorts. She travels with small groups put together by the likes of The Smithsonian, National Geographic, and The Museum of Natural History in New York. She’s kind of like having “Indiana Jones” adventures while the rest of us are content to sit poolside and worry if we’ll like the selections that the Chef has planned for us at Dinner. Her “minimalist” take on what to bring has been very helpful. She did take a cruise to Antarctica last year but I’m pretty sure that the only Tuxedos she saw were the ones the Penguins were sporting!

          I reported to you that I thought that this cruise was severely over-booked because of cramming two years of cruises into one trip. Well, it looks like I may have been mistaken. It seems that you can go online right now and book any class of room that you may desire (except the Suites)  and you will find something that will likely be suitable for you. The selection is not extensive, but you will find something. (Feel free to book…. It will be nice to have someone along that we know!)

          What we don’t know is how may others are sitting out there in “Limbo-Room Land” like we are. As of yet, we have not been assigned a stateroom. Remember, we were supposed to be on this cruise last year, but that’s all Covid history now. I did call them up and ask if we could be booked into one of the available interior rooms that were open. Apparently there are no rooms of our Type that are open. You may think that since (as I stated earlier) all these rooms are almost, if not close to 100% identical, what difference would it make?

          Well just hold on there Mr. Algorithm! Apparently there are many criteria that go into assigning a “Level” to each room within its type, Interior, Ocean View, Balcony Obstructed, Balcony, Mini-Suite, and Suite. This algorithm takes into account such factors as position in the ship, (mid-ships is preferred) how far from the elevators and stairs, and other similar variables. Mix them all together and you end up with a designation of room type.

          They know exactly how many of us Limbo-Land folks there are. I’m fairly sure that they are waiting to see which of these open rooms may sell and then figure everything out, make offers to folks to hold their cruise (As we did several years ago with outstanding results!) and then fit us in. The worst that can happen is that we get upgraded to a room that we can’t tell the difference between what we booked, and what we are assigned. Unless of course, they want to be extremely generous and move us to the Captain’s Cabin!

          Any way we look at it, it is going to require a certain amount of organization, (which Paula excels at!) and resignation to our quarters, that will play a role in just how content we can stay for four months. We really are looking at the positives which are obviously many. The next level up would have been prohibitively expensive, so we have decided that we will have the mentality of “How bad can this possibly be?” as we wind our way through the streets of Casablanca, Jerusalem, and Sydney!

          One of the benefits of trying to stick with a particular Cruise Line is their Loyalty Program. Some may be better than others, but they all have benefits and perks built into them. Since most of my Cruise History had been on Princess, I am at their Ruby Level. Paula is at their Gold Level, and we will both get to Platinum sometime on this cruise. When we are finished I will need only six more cruise days to qualify for the Elite Level which is fifteen cruises or one hundred fifty Cruise Days. I presently have seventy-nine Cruise Days, of which thirty-three are on Princess. When you attain each next level they add on to the previous level with such things as upgraded wi-fi, complimentary specialty dining, Spa treatments, free mini-bars, priority boarding, special excursions, and the list goes on and on. But the main reason the I want to get to that Elite Level is because I will then find two Chocolates placed on my pillow upon retiring for the evening!

I’ve never had so much NOT to do with so much hanging in the balance. 

Seems a tad contradictory doesn’t it? 

He we sit, sunny and warm for the most part, at the Texas Home Port. Some days are spent doing nothing of consequence. It is actually impossible to do nothing when you really examine the nature of nothing. Even sitting and staring out the window is something, hence the qualifier….. “of consequence.” 

The topic of conversation most of the time is the upcoming cruise as there are still many items to check off the list and I don’t necessarily mean procurements. 

For example, the Cruise Line wants as much done up front as possible. This makes total sense as anything that makes Embarkation Day go smoothly is a plus. So, there are a myriad of forms to be filled out online, and several Tourist Visa’s to apply for. New Zealand, Australia, and Sri Lanka all require these documents. Get this … there’s an app for this! You just download the app from your particular store, and it walks you through the entire process, especially the all-important “Visa Fees” that are attached to each application. This is a no-brainer for them, they get an even $35 bucks from each visitor, so I am sure that over a years’ time it adds up nicely. It makes you wonder why all of the other countries don’t do something like this!  Shhh! Not too loud!!! 

Additionally, we are still tying up some loose ends on the ship itself. 

There is what’s called the Medallion App. This is a Princess product and is quite nifty in its application. Instead of the “Sea Pass” card that eventually replaced your stateroom key and also worked as an onboard card to access your account, we now have these fancy medallions that get worn somewhere on your person. Most will be on a lanyard, but you can also get a “watchband” type model or something that clips on. Think of these like the newer key fobs for your car where you just walk up to a certain proximity to your car and the doors unlock. Same here. 

The really cool part of these is when you use them in conjunction with a smartphone and the App. It now becomes a locator and an on-board communications/ordering device.  

For example…. 

You are by the pool and have sudden craving for a cocktail. You pick up your phone, go to the App and order an Umbrella Drink. The bar gets your order, makes it and since you are wearing your Medallion, they know exactly where you are and are able to deliver said beverage right to you, post haste! 

But wait, there’s more! As you are ordering you remember that your traveling companion is somewhere aboard and hopefully will be joining you at some time. Since he or she has their Medallion on them and are included in your “Group” you can locate them wherever they may be on the ship. Hah! There he is! In the Library again! But wait… he’s moving, coming this way, I’d better order something for him for when he gets here. So, you switch back to the ordering menu and ask for a nice cold Chocolate Milk to be added to your order. 

It’s that simple! 

But all this needs to be set up in advance, hence more “preparations” before departure. It’s a good thing that Princess has anticipated the barrage of phone calls to the Help Desk in order to guide one through the set-up process! 

Another aspect of this Cruise that needs/should be set up in advance is the Dining Preferences. Back in the Olde Days, you were assigned a table, usually with some of your other shipmates and that is where you spent your Evening Dining  for the extent of your voyage. It’s very different now.  

Basically, the Cruise Lines have all gone to a variation of “Anytime Dining”. You are no longer locked into a particular time slot, table, shipmates, or dining room for that matter (as there are several specialty dining venues available on board). 

This is all well and good on a certain level. But we do prefer a set time and table.  

Like the Olde Days. 

Six o’clock works just fine. This give us ample time after an excursion, to get back on board, relax a bit, and get ready for dinner. We also like to have the same table which means the same waitstaff. This also means that when you arrive at your table at the same time every evening there waiting for you is a glass of Pino Grigio and a lemonade. And…. When dinner is over, a wonderfully chilled glass of their finest Grade A Whole Milk is delivered just in time to accompany whatever chocolate desert that has been decided on for the evening. No waiting, no wondering if will get there in time, just great service every night. And…. you get to know your waitstaff very well! We are still in contact with our waitress Nydia (from Peru), from the Baltic Cruise we took a few years ago.  

She addressed us as Madam Paula and Sir Don.  🙂

Plus, it is one less decision that needs to be made on a daily basis. You know how it goes… 

“When do you want to go to dinner?”  

“Ida Know…. When do you want to go? 

“I asked you first!” 

And on and on and on for four months. Just give me a time and I promise that I’ll be there. It’s that simple. 

But, it isn’t that simple! I went on the App yesterday and tried to make reservations for the entirety of the Cruise, which is something that you can do. (They can be changed at any time)  

The only slots available were 8:20 PM. 

How can this be? We are still fifty-some days away from sailing! 

That obviously won’t work as I (sometimes we) are asleep by then! 

The good thing is that if we can’t correct this by sailing time, one can always go to the Maître d’ and make arrangements with him. They really do want to accommodate your wishes but, since I am from the Hospitality Industry, I know that a well-placed $$$ in someone’s hand will facilitate the process! 

We are also finding that as we go along and re-check those sold-out Excursions that there are newer ones popping up and waiting lists assembled so that when the list gets to the appropriate number, they can order an additional tour. Since my guess is that this Cruise is severely over-booked (as alluded to in the previous post) that as the cuts, and deals, get made, the excursions attached to those folks will then become available to everyone else, hence the constant checking back. 

To be continued as conditions change…..(if you’re not tired of this already!) 

Well, we’re Fifty-Six Days and counting down.

          The Pace of Preparations has lengthened its stride to the point where it has all the franticism (I just made up that word!) of planning a wedding.

          List after list has come and gone. They keep getting pared down as Items of Extreme Importance are procured and stowed away until Packing Day arrives.

There are multiple tasks and dilemmas that are fermenting simultaneously with the final concoction still having an unknown outcome. This is because there are many moving parts here and we have control (?) of just a few of them.

          Here they are in no particular order, with specific explanations to follow:

• We have no definite stateroom assigned as of yet.
• We are not quite sure of the quantity of needed suitcases, carry-ons, or shipping boxes needed to transport everything needed or desired, to have for a four-month stay away from home.
• The two previous issues have a bearing on how our assemblage of luggage will make its way from home to the ship and back again.
• We have no extra space in the motorhome to lay things out. There is no spare room, living room, garage, or any semblance of extra anything in which to open a suitcase and leave it as one prepares and plans the packing sequence.
• Determining exactly what we may need, trying to foresee unknown and possibly non-existent scenarios, has us wandering the halls of Walmart of Brenham with such frequency that the employees have asked us if we would like to join them in the Break Room.

                   Now for the expanded versions of the aforementioned issues.

          We have no definite assigned stateroom as of yet. This is because there are many, many more folks that want to be on this voyage than they can possibly handle. This is not the classic case of planned overbooking. This has to do with the fact that our original cruise was scheduled for last year and was cancelled with just three months to go before sailing because both New Zealand and Australia (and other selective ports) were effectively shut down with no scheduled dates for re-opening. The Line made the proper call and cancelled the sailing. But…. unfortunately, by that time, the next years cruise (this one) had already opened up for bookings! This meant that anyone who was on the cancelled cruise had the opportunity to re-book one year hence. I am sure that there were those that could not make that happen, but I am also sure that there were quite a few that could. Stir in the already booked passengers for this year and we end up with probably 25 to 50 percent more passengers than could possibly be onboard. When cruise lines experience more bookings than they can accommodate they handle it far differently than the airline industry. They don’t just bump you; they entice you to postpone your cruise to future date by both giving you that future cruise for free and upgrading you with longer cruise times and staterooms. We have experienced this, and it was great! So, my guess is that they are now feverishly sifting through the passenger lists and sending out selective emails in order to entice folks to postpone this upcoming voyage. They then wait to see who accepts and go on from there. The compounding issue is that this World Cruise is also offered in “Legs.” This means that you can choose to take only portions of the Cruise if so desired. Throwing that fact into this mix makes for a logistical nightmare, compounding an already strategically undesirable situation. We have already decided that we will not be accepting any “deals” this time as we already have diminished health issues from last year to this one. (Unless of course they really make us an offer that we can’t refuse, and we stand firm until they meet our additional conditions for future cruises!)

          As for the needed amount of luggage….. Luckily there are laundromats located on each deck of a Princess ship. So bringing excessive amounts of clothing is not necessary, a weeks’ worth of essentials will suffice. It’s all of the other types of clothing and add-ons that make up the bulk of what we finally deem as necessary. I am quite sure that there is no one reading this that will have the need to attend twenty-plus Formal Nights over the next few months.

          With the same people.

          Guys, this does not present that much of an issue does it?

          Ladies, I can see the horror on your faces from here. Twenty different gowns and/or fancy dresses? With the appropriate shoes??

          Let the wailing and gnashing of teeth begin!

          While I am sure that someone on board will be able (afford) to be seen in a different gown each time, I am also quite sure that there will be numerous ladies that wear a gown many times. It’s this multiplicity factor that one must arrive at in order to feel comfortable. Paula has a nice selection to choose from so my guess is that each garment may see the Formal Night Expose’ only twice. I believe that is quite a respectable number!

          I have two bow ties!

          Now for transportation of this assemblage.

          As you may imagine, the Formal Nights are just the tip of the iceberg (bad analogy here, but we won’t be anywhere near the North Atlantic!) Being with mostly the same folks for most of the voyage, one does really not want to appear in the same duds on a consistent basis. Again, I am quite sure that there will be those on board that buy a new outfit in every port and will display such at their earliest convenience when back on the ship. We are not among those people, but we are, however, members of the regular human race and as such, have a certain amount of personal pride and like to look our best (as possible) when amongst others.

          Just how much determines the amount of luggage!

          And… its transportation!

          In the olden days, way back when you could show up at the airport with multiple suitcases and belongings and someone with a smile gladly took them off your hands and stowed them in the hold of the airship so that they could be delivered safely, securely, and most importantly, timely to your destination.

          That was then.

          Now, depending on how much you spent for your airline ticket or how much of an up-charge is exacted from you, depends on how much you want, or need, to spend for the transportation of your luggage. The balancing forces here are working overtime in order to confound and confuse the wary (and weary) traveler to the extent that you succumb to the forces beyond your control and take one more step, that while may be more expensive, offers quite the peace of mind in a time that being a tad frantic is unfortunately the norm. All Xanax aside, worrying if your baggage made it onto the correct aircraft so that it can be not lost prior to your needing it for the next four months is quite daunting.

          Hence LuggageForward.com/Princess. These folks have turned the timely delivery of your baggage to your ship into an artform.

          At a price.

          But this price must be weighed against hefty fees of extra baggage that weighs extra heavy and the possibility of hearing,

          “Oops! Sorry about that! We’re trying our best to ascertain the location of your luggage and we will deliver it to you as soon as we find it!” ……… Responding something like this…..“ Yea, that would be somewhere between here and Cartagena, Columbia, so I hope that your helicopter has enough fuel for a round trip!”

          So, we are quite sure that we will be engaging these folks for said transport. One of the hidden good things about this service is that it makes you be ready to go at least ten days before departure, as that is when they come to your home to pick up the luggage. The next time that you see it is in your stateroom on board. The only thing that you will need to attend to is the carry-on that will obviously be needed to complete this exercise!   

          Now as we procure these essentials and garments we have found that where to store them in the meantime presents us with another dilemma. We have taken to just putting them in our valises (bet you haven’t heard that term in a while!) willy-nilly until the Official Packing Day arrives. Paula has also been researching travel hacks and suggestions and found some nifty solutions to some issues, like where in a small stateroom does all this stuff get stored? One of these hacks is illustrated here:

           This is an over-the-door shoe organizer that hangs over the bathroom door and stores all of your needed items that would normally fit inside your bathroom cabinets!

          All of this boils down to exactly what is needed or wanted.

          Procuring these items on board may be prohibitively expensive but that needs to be weighed against the cost of transporting them and the possible non-availability of such. Our lists are quite prodigious and with each excursion for procurement, diminish in their complexity as our Items of Necessity become Items Procured and hence deleted from the list. But another list quickly takes its place hopefully somewhat smaller than its previous edition because something always comes to mind…. What if we need……?

          We did finally put the Febreze back on the shelf because we asked ourselves, “When in the last (anytime) did we need to Febreze an article of clothing?” Especially when we know that Don will be at the laundromat at some un-godly overnight hour in order to complete the washing cycle without having to engage in the “Battle of the Washeteria”!

63 Days and Counting!

Enclosed you will find the Proposed Itinerary for the upcoming Cruise. I say Proposed because over the past few months we have, from time to time, been advised of a change to this document. The reason is not necessarily given but with a little investigation it is not hard to find out the answers. But, as in the case of Venice, the Cruise Line did give the reason because it absolved  them of any type of wrongdoing on the part of the scheduling department. Venice, it seems, has banned all larger Cruise Ships from its harbor. We have been redirected to Raveena, a port just a little south of Venice. This should enable everyone to still visit this City that has every other “canaled” city in the world vying for ‘Second Place’ at best. You’ll never hear anyone calling Venice “The Venice of the (Fill in the Blank)” because it is Venice!

          Anyway, changes have to occur from time to time on a voyage of this length that is planned so far in advance. From changing local regulations (Venice) to weather conditions, to even the possible closing of ports/countries due to the lingering effects of Covid, I’m sure that the Destination/Ports of Call Departments at any of the Cruise Lines is kept quite busy. The only downfall here is when the ONE place that you wanted to really visit has changed. Hopefully that will not happen!

          If it does, there is always another cool place to visit or spend another relaxing day at sea.

          Trying to figure out which Excursions to book in each port has been a daunting task. Mind you, it is fun making these decisions but there have been some changes here also.

          Many of the Tour Operators that the Cruise Industry had developed relationships with over the years did not survive the almost two-year shutdown due to Covid. That means that the thousands of folks who want to disembark in the Port of Exotica to go see the Temple of Incredulous may find that there is, in fact, no room on the bus! This is a constantly evolving situation, and as more and more Tour Operators get up and running, they will add “Buses” as soon as they can. I am sure that the Excursion Desk on board will be the busiest department on the ship, right behind the Art Department!

          Do you know who is the largest Art Dealer in the world?

          Right you are Michelangelo!

          It’s the Park West system of galleries that are operated on most of the major Cruise Lines.

          I don’t get it, but hey, it’s not my dime!

          Anyway, we thought that we had gotten a fairly early start on booking these Port Excursions until we put the computer away for a few weeks, only to log back in and find that quite a few Ports had already been “Booked Up”! I am quite sure that this situation will get somewhat better as we go along. Never-the-less, we hunkered down and finished up the Excursion Booking part of this adventure.

          The problem is not that you need to be on an excursion in every port, quite often the good stuff is right in the city that is close to your port and doing your own ‘Walking Tour’ is quite satisfying. It’s that there are many ports where the berth is not right at the base of the town that one may want to visit. It may require a transfer from the ship to wherever you may want to go. The downfall here is when booking transportation on your own when you get off the ship through another party, is that the cruise line accepts no responsibility for getting you back on board in time for sailing.

          And they will leave without you!

          One of the most entertaining things to do on a cruise is watch the late running folks try and make it back on board before they need to hurl themselves into the harbor and attempt to swim and catch up!

          I kid you not! (except for the hurling into the harbor part!)

          The ship gives you ample warnings and chances to get back on board in time. It’s not that they won’t stay and wait for you, it’s that they can’t stay. These ports are scheduled quite closely and as one ship departs, quite often you can see the next one coming in. Not to mention the fact that your ship is due in the next port at a specific time. So, you can see how adhering to a tight schedule is quite important.

          Hence the Departing on Time rule and the ensuing running of the passengers that may want to test said rule.

          So, About an hour or so before casting off, you may hear on the loudspeakers, “Will Mr. ‘Late Guy’ please call the Operation’s Desk? Since you need to be scanned both off and on the ship, they know exactly who is there and who isn’t. These announcements get a bit more frequent and frantic as the time to leave port gets closer. This is when you want to be on the rail looking down at the dock with your Umbrella Drink in hand.

          You will not be disappointed !

          Keep watching as those announcements keep coming and the ships horn sounds loudly broadcasting the immediate departure of all of your clothes and belongings, and there, running frantically, (usually with packages in hand) is Mr. “Late Guy” watching them pull up the gangway as the ship starts to sail away.

          Once that gangway is up, there’s no going back.

          You are on your own making arrangements to get to the next port. This is why you always have your Passport with you!

          Our Itinerary is as follows. You will notice that since it is January, we will be heading south! A fair amount of time is spent in the Southern Hemisphere (where it is Summer) and /or around the Equator and Tropics where it makes no never mind anyway!

          Please let us know which priceless artifacts you would like us to pick up for you from these exotic ports and we will order them from Amazon before we depart!

Day & Date	Destination	Duration
Thu, 01/05/23	+View Details
Thu, 01/05/23	Ft. Lauderdale, Florida View general port information Check In Begins At 12:30	– 3:00pm
Fri, 01/06/23	At Sea
Sat, 01/07/23	At Sea
Sun, 01/08/23	Cartagena, Colombia	7:00am – 3:00pm
Mon, 01/09/23	Panama Canal Full Transit Historic Locks Scenic Cruising	6:00am – 4:30pm
Tue, 01/10/23	At Sea
Wed, 01/11/23	Puntarenas, Costa Rica	7:00am – 7:00pm
Thu, 01/12/23	San Juan Del Sur, Nicaragua Water Shuttle Required wheelchair Access Limited	7:00am – 6:00pm
Fri, 01/13/23	At Sea
Sat, 01/14/23	Huatulco, Mexico	8:00am – 5:00pm
Sun, 01/15/23	At Sea
Mon, 01/16/23	Puerto Vallarta, Mexico	8:00am – 5:00pm
Tue, 01/17/23	At Sea
Wed, 01/18/23	At Sea
Thu, 01/19/23	Los Angeles, California Ship @ Port Of San Pedro check In Begins At 12:30	7:00am – 3:00pm
Fri, 01/20/23	At Sea
Sat, 01/21/23	At Sea
Sun, 01/22/23	At Sea
Mon, 01/23/23	At Sea
Tue, 01/24/23	Honolulu, Hawaii	9:00am – 11:00pm
Wed, 01/25/23	Kauai (nawiliwili), Hawaii	8:00am – 5:00pm
Thu, 01/26/23	At Sea
Fri, 01/27/23	At Sea
Sat, 01/28/23	At Sea
Sun, 01/29/23	At Sea
Mon, 01/30/23	At Sea
Tue, 01/31/23	Tahiti (Papeete), French Polynesia Departs After Midnight overnight	7:00am
Wed, 02/01/23	Tahiti (Papeete), French Polynesia	– 4:00am
Wed, 02/01/23	Moorea, French Polynesia Water Shuttle Required wheelchair Access Limited	8:00am – 5:00pm
Thu, 02/02/23	At Sea
Fri, 02/03/23	At Sea
Sat, 02/04/23	Pago Pago, American Samoa	9:00am – 6:00pm
Sun, 02/05/23	At Sea
Mon, 02/06/23	Cross International Date Line Cross Int’L Dateline	12:00pm – 1:00pm
Wed, 02/08/23	At Sea
Thu, 02/09/23	Bay Of Islands, New Zealand Water Shuttle Required wheelchair Access Limited	8:00am – 6:00pm
Fri, 02/10/23	Auckland, New Zealand	6:30am – 6:00pm
Sat, 02/11/23	Tauranga, New Zealand	6:15am – 7:45pm
Sun, 02/12/23	At Sea
Mon, 02/13/23	Picton, New Zealand	7:00am – 6:00pm
Tue, 02/14/23	Wellington, New Zealand	7:00am – 5:00pm
Wed, 02/15/23	New Plymouth, New Zealand	7:00am – 5:00pm
Thu, 02/16/23	At Sea
Fri, 02/17/23	At Sea
Sat, 02/18/23	Sydney, Australia Check In Starts At 12:00pm	7:00am – 9:00pm
Sun, 02/19/23	At Sea
Mon, 02/20/23	Moreton Island, Australia Water Shuttle Required wheelchair Access Limited	7:00am – 6:00pm
Tue, 02/21/23	At Sea
Wed, 02/22/23	Airlie Beach, Australia Water Shuttle Required wheelchair Access Limited	7:00am – 4:00pm
Thu, 02/23/23	Cairns, Australia	10:00am – 8:00pm
Fri, 02/24/23	At Sea
Sat, 02/25/23	At Sea
Sun, 02/26/23	At Sea
Mon, 02/27/23	Darwin, Australia	8:00am – 10:00pm
Tue, 02/28/23	At Sea
Wed, 03/01/23	At Sea
Thu, 03/02/23	Komodo Island, Indonesia Water Shuttle Required wheelchair Access Limited	7:00am – 5:00pm
Fri, 03/03/23	At Sea
Sat, 03/04/23	At Sea
Sun, 03/05/23	Singapore	9:00am – 10:00pm
Mon, 03/06/23	At Sea
Tue, 03/07/23	Langkawi, Malaysia	7:00am – 6:00pm
Wed, 03/08/23	Phuket, Thailand Water Shuttle Required wheelchair Access Limited	7:00am – 5:00pm
Thu, 03/09/23	At Sea
Fri, 03/10/23	At Sea
Sat, 03/11/23	Colombo, Sri Lanka	7:00am – 7:00pm
Sun, 03/12/23	At Sea
Mon, 03/13/23	At Sea
Tue, 03/14/23	At Sea
Wed, 03/15/23	At Sea
Thu, 03/16/23	Dubai, United Arab Emirates Overnight check-In Begins At 1:00pm	7:00am
Fri, 03/17/23	Dubai, United Arab Emirates	– 2:00pm
Sat, 03/18/23	Muscat (mina Qaboos), Oman	9:00am – 6:00pm
Sun, 03/19/23	At Sea
Mon, 03/20/23	At Sea
Tue, 03/21/23	At Sea
Wed, 03/22/23	At Sea
Thu, 03/23/23	At Sea
Fri, 03/24/23	Aqaba (Petra), Jordan	7:00am – 11:00pm
Sat, 03/25/23	Transit The Suez Canal, Egypt Scenic Cruising overnight	5:00pm
Sun, 03/26/23	Transit The Suez Canal, Egypt Scenic Cruising	– 5:00pm
Mon, 03/27/23	Jerusalem/Bethlehem (Ashdod), Israel	7:00am – 8:00pm
Tue, 03/28/23	At Sea
Wed, 03/29/23	Kusadasi, Turkey (for Ephesus)	8:00am – 5:00pm
Thu, 03/30/23	Gythion (for Sparta), Greece Water Shuttle Required wheelchair Access Limited	9:00am – 5:00pm
Fri, 03/31/23	At Sea
Sat, 04/01/23	Ravenna, Italy Overnight	8:00am
Sun, 04/02/23	Ravenna, Italy Check-In Begins At 1:00pm	– 10:00pm
Mon, 04/03/23	Ljubljana (Koper), Slovenia	8:00am – 6:00pm
Tue, 04/04/23	Split, Croatia	8:00am – 6:00pm
Wed, 04/05/23	Kotor, Montenegro Water Shuttle Required wheelchair Access Limited	7:00am – 5:00pm
Thu, 04/06/23	At Sea
Fri, 04/07/23	Valletta, Malta	7:00am – 9:00pm
Sat, 04/08/23	Sicily (Catania), Italy	7:00am – 5:00pm
Sun, 04/09/23	Sorrento, Italy (for Capri & Pompeii) Water Shuttle Required wheelchair Access Limited	7:00am – 8:00pm
Mon, 04/10/23	Rome (Civitavecchia), Italy	7:00am – 7:00pm
Tue, 04/11/23	Villefranche, France Water Shuttle Required wheelchair Access Limited	8:00am – 7:00pm
Wed, 04/12/23	Marseille (Provence), France	8:00am – 6:00pm
Thu, 04/13/23	Barcelona, Spain	8:00am – 10:00pm
Fri, 04/14/23	At Sea
Sat, 04/15/23	Malaga, Spain	7:00am – 6:00pm
Sun, 04/16/23	Casablanca, Morocco (for Marrakech)	8:00am – 10:00pm
Mon, 04/17/23	At Sea
Tue, 04/18/23	Lanzarote (Arrecife), Canary Islands	7:00am – 5:00pm
Wed, 04/19/23	La Palma, Canary Islands, Spain	7:00am – 5:00pm
Thu, 04/20/23	At Sea
Fri, 04/21/23	At Sea
Sat, 04/22/23	At Sea
Sun, 04/23/23	At Sea
Mon, 04/24/23	At Sea
Tue, 04/25/23	At Sea
Wed, 04/26/23	At Sea
Thu, 04/27/23	Ft. Lauderdale, Florida View general port information	7:00am
Thu, 04/27/23	Fort Lauderdale

Well, now that we’re back in Texas, and our chores are done, (at least the ones waiting for us) we have set our sights on the next adventure, that of the World Cruise commencing on 5 January of 2023. We are desperately trying to tie up any loose ends that may cause an issue if they unravel during the four months that we’ll be away. Tidying up doctor’s visits and prescription refills are on the top of the agenda and are proceeding nicely. We did get the Platinum Package of Cruise Insurance for all the obvious reasons including the Big One… (No! Not THAT one! You know…. just in case we get sick enough to warrant an early departure from the ship.)

          You Never Know…

          So armed with that comfort of mind we are going through the checklists of recommended items to bring along and making arrangements for excursions in the fifty or so Ports of Call that are on our Itinerary.

          The Cruise is from the beginning of January to the end of April, 111 days all together. As I mentioned, there are about fifty Ports so, that leaves us with about half of the voyage doing just that…. voyaging!

          ‘Days at Sea’ are actually my favorites. Don’t get me wrong, I can’t wait to visit all of the interesting places that are scheduled, but I do enjoy just being on the water. The Art of Relaxation is something that is entirely foreign to me. I do envy those that can sit by a poolside or on the beach for hours and hours without a care in the world.

          But that’s not me.

          Besides having Restless Leg Syndrome (for which I am the Poster Child) I seem to always need to be moving. Kind of like those sharks that need to keep swimming forever in order to keep water flowing past their gills in order to breathe.

          So, I use my time wisely on board and roam the ship making sure that everything is running nicely. My goal is to actually gain access to the Bridge before the end of the cruise and let the helmsman take a break so I can take over for a while.

          Hah! Fat Chance! (But I’ll try anyway!)

          One of the activities that occur on the days at sea are the Formal Nights for dinner. This Elegant Evening happens on practically every cruise on every cruise line on the planet. It is a favorite of most of the female passengers, and maybe not so much of the male variety. The rules of these evenings are spelled out nicely, but not really enforced unless you insist on dining in your tank-top and cut-offs. The suggested attire is gowns for the ladies and tuxedos or dark suits for the gentlemen. But, if you show up in the dining room looking at least neat and tidy, no one will escort you out…. They do realize that YOU are the guests here. In reality you just end up looking stupidly out of place if you insist on dining there. We’ve been on cruises where we intentionally did not pack any fancy duds. In those cases, we had dinner up on the Lido Deck, where the buffet is always out and usually consists of some of the fare that is being served down in the dining room anyway.

          This way, we did not look uncomfortably out of place and had a nice meal to boot!

          The number of  Formal Nights depends somewhat on the length of the Voyage. There are usually two Formal Nights on a seven-day outing, probably three on a ten to twelve day sailing and the numbers go up from there.

          I don’t know the exact number (yet) of proposed Formal Nights, but we’re out for 111 days so just by doing the math we are expecting quite a few.

          Back in the day I actually owned two tuxedos.

          Now, I don’t own any.

          I’ve gone both routes here, bringing my own and renting one through the cruise line where it magically appears in your stateroom upon your embarkation.         

          Enter COVID.

          The rental folks that Princess used to use did not survive the Cruise Industry Shutdown and they (Princess) have yet to find anyone else to fill that void. So, what’s a cruise guy to do? Remember before when I said that I used to have two tuxes? (Note the Past Tense) When we were downsizing in order to fit everything  that we needed into the motorhome, we tried to envision our lives going forward.

          They did not include Tuxedos! (Not that I would have been able fit into them anyway!)

          Now I don’t mind getting dressed up and I actually think Tux’s are just fine. We also just finished binge-watching Downton Abbey for the second time, so we had quite the taste of formal dining  in our minds as this Dilemma of Magnificent Proportions presented itself. We also did not want to stick out like some country bumpkins’ in the dining room filled with some extremely well-to-do folks that can afford like a hundred thousand dollars for one of those fancy suites! We are just fine with our Inside Cabin thank you, but we don’t need to amplify the fact that we are definitely on the lower tier of the financially viable folks on board!

          (The great equalizer is that the sights that we will be seeing are available to everyone, no Class distinctions there!)

          Back to the Tuxedo Trauma. Renting one on dry land for an extended period would not be a fiscally smart move so the next best thing is to purchase one (and all of the accoutrements) and bring it on board with us. Off to Men’s Wearhouse in College Station (home of Texas A&M and the Aggies) where we were amply served by Brody and Perla. They outdid themselves and I am now the proud owner of a new tuxedo, shirt, shoes, etc. The best part was that the bow tie was Buy One, Get One… so I procured a very nice velvet maroon one!

          Paula helped with all of these Very Important Decisions and looked me up and down as I stood there modeling the Fancies…… until she realized that she may need to procure a few more Evening Gowns!

          Fashion Show!