PhotoDennis

Leaving on the NCL Sun in a week. I mentioned to my cruise consultant that this was my first trip since retiring, and that my travel partner and I plan to do a lot of cruises. He said he'll have the ship bring me a retirement cake!

Welcome! It was 44 years for me, and it took a push, but...

Yeah. I've worked for over two-thirds of my life. Now's the time to enjoy that!

Well, my company decided it needed to let a few people go and I was apparently at the top of the list.

I'm fine. I was leaving in 16 months anyway.

I'm not looking for another job.I'm done. It's time to travel!

Gonna buy a trailer and my travel partner, dog, and I will explore as much of the US as we can. And I'll be doing an embarassing number of cruises.

And I've been able to sleep late for a few weeks now. I could get used to this. 😄

I told my manager last week, "I'm on a countdown."

I said I didn't know if it ended in three months or three years, but I'm done somewhere between those two dates.

And three months is more likely than three years.

He said that he would hate to lose me because I'm the best person he has on our team, but... he understood.

So... I'm primed and ready. I want to be "done."

 

I'm really looking at the RV lifestyle right now.

I discovered that the NPS will hire older, seasonal workers at a lot of parks. I can get an RV for me and my dog, and we can... just travel. And get some money while doing it.

https://www.aarp.org/work/job-search/seasonal-park-jobs-for-older-workers/

This is so very tempting to me. I'm trying to think of reasons to not do it, but... I can't.

OK, I've got a bunch of crap I'll have to get rid of, but... yeah.

1 minute ago, Coral said:

Those 2-10 pm time slots are the worst for tours.

My last cruise had a 7-12 pm stop. I didn't bother getting off the ship.

First, you have my sympathies.

I effectively lost my wife two years ago. She developed early-onset Alzheimers and, after taking care of her for as long as I could, she one day didn't know who I was and attacked me. I had to put her into memory care.
 

I still see her often, but... she barely recognizes me and can't talk. And she gets restless and irritable if I try to stay with her for more than about ten minutes.

We did a lot of cruising together. A lot. She and I both loved it. We had to stop when she first had health problems, then covid, then her mental problems, so I hadn't been in a while.

I finally went out on my own again a year ago, and I currently have two more cruises planned. My first thought is that this is something we both loved doing together, and I don't think that she would want me to stop just because she couldn't.

Also (in my case anyway), I was reminded of the thing that the flight attendant always says when doing that safety briefing that everyone ignores at the start of their flight.

"Pur your face mask on, *then* help the people around you."

I can't continue to help and support her without taking care of myself. And that includes, yes, doing things for myself without her.

So, don't feel guilty. Your husband would have *wanted* you to continue doing what you loved.

He may have passed, but you haven't. Your life didn't end with his. Live your own life. For him. Trust me, that is what he wants.

And hey, if we ever wind up on the same cruise? I have a shoulder you can cry on.

You can take public transit to Mendenhall. It is cheap but slow, and you'll have to walk about a half-mile.

There is also a skyway, but I haven't taken it.

I'm back in Juneau in just over a week. I'm doing a brewery tour. 😄  I'll report back here on what I find.

https://kelseaventures.com/bus-to-mendenhall-glacier/

I used to live in a 3800 sq/ft house, and just over a year ago downsized to a 1200 sq/ft condo, so I feel your pain.

First, Goodwill and a lot of other charities are still flooded with items. A *lot* of people went through the downsize/cleanout cycle when Covid hit three years ago, about the same time the Marie Kondo method took off, so a lot of them still have fairly full warehouses.

Plus... tastes change. If you're older like me, you probably have things like a separate formal dining room with sideboards and china cabinets that arent really desired or in style anymore. So a lot of those things go nowhere.

Here's what I did. I rented a storage unit and moved anything that I had any feelings or desire to keep into it. Then I hired a cleanout service. It is easy to find someone just to haul stuff to the dump, but if you look around, you can find someone who will try to donate what items they could. (In my case, they even gave me receipts for the stuff they did donate so that I could write them off.)

As for the stuff in the storage unit, I left it there for a year. (OK, 18 months.) When I found I wanted or needed something from it, I went and got it. Then, after that time was up, I figured that there was nothing there that was really important, and I got the same cleanout crew from before to empty it.

I think it worked out well. I'm now in a third of the space I was in two years ago. I'll admit that it is still a bit "cluttered," but you will be amazed at what really isn't that important after a while.

Of relevant interest to me because I'm going to Hawaii in November on HAL. I had signed up for this, then I saw that if I signed up directly with them, it would be $150 instead of the $280 that HAL is charging.

This is my first trip to Hawaii, and I'd like to see a Luau, but I'm no longer sure if this is the best option. I've seen a few alternatives above, but does anyone have a recommendation? 

Have tried a few more things.

I was trying to both pre-pay the crew gratuity and book the shuttle from SEA to YVR. I tried doing them one at a time.

It let me pre-pay the gratuity but not book the shuttle.

I have tried Chrome, Firefox, and Edge at this point.

I guess I will have to call or just find my own way from Seattle to Vancouver.

Oh good. So it isn't just me.

I'm trying to complete my final payments for a cruise next month. I'm trying to add an airport transfer and to prepay the crew gratuity. But, whenever I go to check out my cart, I get this...

"polarErrorCode: 9000; errorDescription: An unexpected response condition code has been received.; errorAdvisory: 0006-INVALID DATA ENTERED - PR;"  

Does anyone have any idea? My guess is that it isn't asking for the security code on my card.

I called the number but gave up after being on hold for like 30 minutes.

Has anyone else seen this?

14 minutes ago, eileeshb said:

Was that through your cruiseline or independent? 

Through the cruise line, but I can give you the guy's direct contact info. He was really good.

https://www.tripadvisor.com/AttractionProductReview-g31030-d17808792-Photo_Safari_in_Ketchikan_Alaska_Spend_3_hrs_off_the_tourist_beaten_path-Ketchikan_.html

Jeff was our guide. I've been on this tour and really recommend it.

6 minutes ago, CruiserBruce said:

But, if you sail from Seattle, you go west of Vancouver Island in the open Pacific. If you sail from Vancouver, you go in the "true" Inside Passage, east of Vancouver Island. A dramatic difference.

Did not realize that. Thanks. It was our first day, so we must have been to the west.

I did a "Photo Safari" in Ketchikan. Guide took us around to several sites in town (including the "married man trail" and the business it served). Then we went to some scenic sites around the area, went to see the totem poles and several native sites, and even went down to the harbor for some pictures of fishing boats.

The Guide was good at helping everyone, giving a lot of tips on photography like framing and exposure and the like. Nice way to get out and see some of the nature in the area without having a strenuous hike.

We hit some rough weather last year between Seattle and Juneau (and Vancouver is basically next door to Seattle), and the only real problem was they had to close the pool. Yes, you could tell the ship was moving, but you shouldn't have any problems unless you are really sensitive to motion.

Three years for me

I've lost a few people close to me in the past few years, and I'm starting to realize that nothing is guaranteed, and we need to enjoy what time we can.

Following, since I'm on the HAL Volendam out of San Diego to Hawai'i in November.

I was on the HAL Eurodam last May in Alaska, and it got rough once or twice. (The pool sloshed enough to flood the Lido deck). But it wasn't a huge issue, and I suspect that further south in the Pacific in Summer, things would be calmer.

Will be Solo on the HAL Noordam on June 11, with a three-day Denali extension. Had to reschedule my earlier cruise due to family medical issues. Looking forward to seeing Alaska again. Been almost 20 years since I last went to Denali.

Interesting. I was on the Eurodam in May of last year, and my Chromebook died while on board. Maybe there was something weird with the electricity.

Trivia: I was on the Eurodam in 2008, it's inaugural year. I think I was on one if its first Caribbean cruises.

9 hours ago, Funky Fusion FoodsJ said:

A cheap airline ticket…..do they still exist?

I... uh... worked for an Airline (I won't say which one, but I live in Atlanta. I "retired" from them 12 years ago.) But... I still have benefits.

I... don't worry about air fare. At worst I get a massive discount.

Going solo on the Eurodam on Jan 25th out of FLL; the Panama Canal Sunfarer. Any other loners out there?