Years ago, I went to my travel agent and asked her to arrange a weeklong trip to Cape Town, South Africa for me. I told her I was going over Spring Break in order to figure out what I needed to do as I was planning on moving there in the summer. She was aghast since Spring Break was less than a month away. She told me she really needed more time to plan a big trip like this.
I was confused. I was only going for a week, so it wasn’t a big trip. For her, the distance made it a “big trip” and not the length of time I would be gone. Okay. Life lesson. This past March, when I heard about a 3-year round the world cruise, I was pleased since that would give me eight months to get ready. I began by creating lists of what I would need to do in the interim. I dedicated one page to each month, CLICK HERE (ad). Drew a line vertically down the center of the page, and labeled the pages by month.
Today I’m going to start by telling you some of what I decided to do in April. I completed each of these tasks within the time I had allotted, one month. There are far too many to include in one blog post, so I’ll continue in my next post, on Saturday.
Some of what I did was related to research or planning. Most of the tasks, however, were more hands on. The first was money. I had to move the down payment from my savings to an account where I could wire it to the Life at Sea team when requested. This was a large chunk of money, so I moved smaller amounts weekly. By the end of the month, all the money I needed to send was ready. If you’re reading my blog to plan for a big trip yourself, thinking about your finances is the first and most important thing you should do. This was true when I moved to South Africa years ago too.
The next most important chore was to find an international phone plan. I started online, but quickly realized for my purposes keeping my Verizon Plan and adding their International Plan on top of it would work best. This isn’t always the case. Depending upon where you intend to travel, and for how long, other plans may suit your purposes better. However, to keep yourself sane (always a plus), start with your current carrier. If they have a plan that works for you, it will simplify your life.
The next two items were time sensitive. I needed to start the series of shots for Hepatitis A & B immediately. Since it takes time to arrange for these shots with my HMO, I ended up starting the series at my local CVS. This meant shelling out over $100 for the first vaccine. The next two at my HMO would cost me nothing.
Here’s a scary thought. My passport would expire in March 2024, while I was cruising. Finding a place to have passport photos taken wasn’t as easy as it should have been. I ended up having two sets taken at two different places. The backdrop at the first place I went, was the same color as my hair. With the light directly overhead, the top of my head blurred into the light. When I was finally able to obtain a clear set of photos elsewhere, I paid extra for expedited passport service. I didn’t relax until my passport arrived in the mail, with plenty of time to spare.
Each week I tackled hardcore decluttering by room. I began in my bedroom, handling one piece of furniture at a time. Depending upon how long you plan on traveling, you may not need to be as brutal as I was. Remember, my plan was to live on a cruise ship for three years, then either move to Lagos, Portugal, or Laguna Woods Village, California. I had no desire to pay to store my car, furniture or other household items and then ship them somewhere.
During the month of April, I completed going through all the furniture in my bedroom, my closets and one area of my garage. I made multiple trips to my local Goodwill drop-off site. It helped that I had decided not to try to sell anything. I didn’t have the time or energy to deal with that.
The last thing I want to cover today is making doctor appointments. I don’t know about you, but I see a long list of specialists (oh, the joys of getting older). I made appointments with all of them, trying to fit them within my busy schedule of other activities. I wanted to make sure everything was shipshape before boarding.
I kept all these appointments even after deciding not to go on the cruise; some were completed in September, one just this week. Everything was indeed good to go, although I am no longer going. That’s a pity, but from everything I have heard lately, both about the cruise going forward and strife in many parts of the world, I’m happy to have decided to skip it and stay in California.
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