Broad Thoughts From At Home

[Flamin_June]

All of a sudden it's 8 weeks until we embark.

That is 56 days or 1344 hours!

When we booked it, some 230 days ago, the countdown clock moved with all the speed of cold molasses. Now the days are rushing past with alarming urgency and we seem to be at that critical moment when all thoughts turn to preparing and serious planning. Two months to go should be time enough to be laid back and level-headed about it, yet I am beset by a nagging fear that any further delay will land us in 'leaving it to the last moment' territory.

"Time to get the suitcases out of the loft" I say.

"As is often the case, darling, you are being a bit premature" says my dear wife, momentarily distracted from the quick crossword in today's newspaper.

 

 As Ovener remarked in a recent thread, preparation and planning should be a time of cheerful and optimistic anticipation, almost as much fun as the cruise itself. But it is over four years since we last set sail with Seabourn and much has changed. As Ovener also noted, that happy pre-cruise optimism has been replaced with anxiety, doubt, stress, bureaucracy and a seemingly endless quest to amass documentation, apps, proofs of vaccination and adequate travel insurance.

If anyone is remotely interested, I will be popping up here from time to time to let you know how the pre-cruise experience is working out.

 

 

[florisdekort]

Oh dear, I almost got stressed just from reading your post lol

 

For what it is worth… We boarded Sojourn on 21 December for 166 nights. We completed the online check-in ~21 days prior (easy), got the suitcases out 7 days prior, noticed our boarding passes had appeared in Source about 9 days prior and completed the medical questionnaire 3 days prior. We didn’t bother with Verifly, luggage tags or anything else. We had the easiest embarkation ever and life on board is as perfect as ever.

 

Relax! You’re going on holiday! 🙂 

[lincslady]

Maybe I should already know, but where are you going, and in which ship, and for how long?

 

Whatever, it will be good to read some more trip reports - I have not cruised for about 5 years, and cannot at present, so I really enjoy hearing about any cruise, but especially Seabourn.

[sfvoyage]

1 hour ago, florisdekort said:

Oh dear, I almost got stressed just from reading your post lol...

Relax! You’re going on holiday! 🙂 

+1

[SLSD]

2 hours ago, Flamin_June said:

.

 

 As Ovener remarked in a recent thread, preparation and planning should be a time of cheerful and optimistic anticipation, almost as much fun as the cruise itself. But it is over four years since we last set sail with Seabourn and much has changed. As Ovener also noted, that happy pre-cruise optimism has been replaced with anxiety, doubt, stress, bureaucracy and a seemingly endless quest to amass documentation, apps, proofs of vaccination and adequate travel insurance.

If anyone is remotely interested, I will be popping up here from time to time to let you know how the pre-cruise experience is working out.

 

 

I totally hear you!   I can't get Mr. SLSD to commit to sailing again with Seabourn (or anyone else) until 2024!  He says there are too many uncertainties (but I really think he wants to put it off due to writing projects he is working on).   I do admit to have some trepidation myself about airlines issues, lost baggage issues, Covid issues---I could go on. All these things were not on my radar screen pre-Covid.  I'm prepared to hear from everyone who has cruised successfully that if I am THAT anxious, I just just stay home. Not helpful!  I'm looking at 2024 cruises and plan to move forward.  

Edited January 24, 2023 by SLSD

[Covepointcruiser]

If the OP is really that stressed about the upcoming cruise, it may be too soon to go on a cruise.   We have been on three cruises on Seabourn since July 2021 and the pre boarding issues are now much less than they were in the summer of 2021.   Your ports for the cruise will determine any additional requirements I.e., no test, self test, or supervised test.

[SLSD]

13 minutes ago, Covepointcruiser said:

If the OP is really that stressed about the upcoming cruise, it may be too soon to go on a cruise.   We have been on three cruises on Seabourn since July 2021 and the pre boarding issues are now much less than they were in the summer of 2021.   Your ports for the cruise will determine any additional requirements I.e., no test, self test, or supervised test.

  Instead of saying it is too soon for the OP to cruise, why not offer reassurance and any helpful advice you might be able to offer?  That's what I would want if I was in Flamin- June's situation.  

[cruiseej]

37 minutes ago, SLSD said:

why not offer reassurance and any helpful advice you might be able to offer?

 

There are reasons not to worry or stress, but no one can make the current state of travel be what it's not. There are more hoops to jump through, and more frequent problem points than there used to be.

 

That said, my advice to @Flamin_June would be to sit down and type out a checklist of all the issues you'll need to deal with from now until boarding. Re-arrange them to put them into a proper timeframe between now and boarding. Pulling out the suitcases? Put that down for one week (two weeks?) before the cruise. Completing any required or suggested online flight/immigration forms (such as Verifly)? Put that down for two days before departure. Double-checking passports? Do that today, and put them in a pile of documents to take with you. And cross it off the list. Vaccine cards? Pull them out and put them with the passports. And cross it off the list. Selecting clothes for packing? Put this on the list wherever has worked for you in the past (for some people, that's two weeks in advance, for some one week, for some 36 hours!). Over the next couple days, you'll think of some additional things you didn't have on the original list. Pack binoculars? Oh, right… add it to the list. Check airline reservation and flight times? Check it now on both the Seabourn and airline website, and put it on the list to check again a few more times, on specific dates.

 

The key is that when something is on the list and you've done it, you cross it off and wipe it from your mind. And equally important, once something is on the list, and it's still in the future, strike it from your mind for now. The point of the list is to keep all the details and things to do from circling endlessly in your mind, driving you nuts. The list is organized; you've checked it and double-checked it and triple checked it. You don't need to keep thinking about things, because they're either already done or on the list with an assigned time to do them. Every day or two, look at your list and be excited about what you have to do that day. This should allow you to relax, and get back to the joy of anticipating your upcoming trip, rather than worrying repeatedly about the magnitude of things you need to do. 🙂

[Mauzac]

To the posters on here (Flamin' June and SLSD)... you can do it!  

 

I have always needed to be totally happy and feeling in control of all that might happen with regards to travel arrangements... I don't like surprises... and I am not going to pretend it is as easy as pre Covid, but it is possible.  I have managed 2 SB cruises since the pandemic and we have another one booked this year.  And I am soooo glad we did the ones we did.  Such wonderful memories that will stay with me forever.  

 

cruiseej has great advice.  I would add to it by saying... have everything you might need in the way of vaccine certs, passports,  visas, forms etc... both on your phone and on paper in a folder.   That way, you know you're covered.  Check, double check, and triple check, I agree with cruiseej.  

 

I have always loved the anticipation of a cruise, the planning, the looking up places we visit, all of it.  It felt overwhelming initially, with all the extra formalities and restrictions, but I just built that into my planning and knew deep down it would all be worthwhile.  And it was!  We've had blips, I won't pretend we haven't, but from the moment we walked on that ship, it was literally forgotten and all our worries faded away.  

 

Good luck 😊

 

 

[Sunviking]

Flamin' June, while there are a few more things to deal with post-Covid, don't worry about it.  I'm sitting in the airport lounge waiting for my next flight to Chile to meet the Quest.  This will be my fifth cruise since Nov. 2021, all solo since I was widowed a few years ago.  Making a list is a good suggestion and then as you tick things off you'll feel a sense of accomplishment. I also use my late husband's philosophy that if I forget to pack something I can probably buy a replacement along the way or learn to make do without it. So far that has served me well. You'll have a splendid voyage I'm sure.

[Covepointcruiser]

On 1/24/2023 at 2:47 PM, SLSD said:

  Instead of saying it is too soon for the OP to cruise, why not offer reassurance and any helpful advice you might be able to offer?  That's what I would want if I was in Flamin- June's situation.  

I did reassure the OP in my post, i.e. that we have had no problems cruising and they should check the testing requirements for the cruise they taking as testing requirements vary.

[2SailingNomads]

Have done 3 cruises last (2022) year.  Paper work was no worse than going to Hawaii in 2021 when you had to show proof of VAX to enter a hotel before you could even check-in, a restaurant you made reservations 3 months in advance, had temp taken even to sit outside in Hanalei, etc.  Was on a Seabourn cruise where there were a LOT of C19 cases in March, last one only saw a couple in November.  Scenic in June not a single case.  Then again Scenic did at port testing before you could board.  Hmm, might be something to be said for that.

Have 5 cruises booked for 2023, everyone has to make their own choices but with vaccines, boosters, enhanced awareness (just tell the people who can't wash their hands that) the 2 of us feel safe to resume travel.

Edited January 26, 2023 by 2SailingNomads
typo

[Flamin_June]

Heartfelt thanks to everyone for all their reassurance and advice - it goes to show there really is a community spirit and ethos on this board. It was particularly encouraging to read Mauzac's post as I remember well a few pre-cruise blips and stresses that you shared here before your earlier cruise. So glad it all worked out.

Like SLSD and a few other regular pre-covid posters, we were very reticent about taking the plunge again after all that has happened. SLSD has summed it up in post #5, but  we, like Ovener in an earlier thread, were caught up in a moment of  pre-cost-of-living-crisis euphoria last summer, with Covid numbers plunging, when a very tempting itinerary at a very tempting price suddenly appeared*.

 So, following what seems to be a trend on this board, we are embarking on our  longest ever Seabourn cruise, 41 nights on the dear old Odyssey from Sydney to Honolulu. As an added 'bonus' we will end up  circumnavigating the globe, flying from the UK to Sydney, from Honolulu to Atlanta, and from Atlanta to the UK (via Amsterdam, thanks to Virgin Atlantic cancelling their direct Atlanta - UK flight a few months after we booked it).

The biggest fear at this stage are that we catch Covid at the airport or on the flight and then test positive before boarding in Sydney and get left behind. Or that that something else gets messed up with the flights.  Or that we get lost in Hartsfield-Jackson, never to be seen again. And then there are various subsidiary concerns, some of which have already been laid to rest in the replies above, but I will save those for future posts.

 

*It has to be said that I really disaprove of the kind of people one sometimes meets on board, who brag on about the great discount they got on their cruise, but here goes anyway: we cashed in our one-week milestone cruise award, our 5% future cruise deposit discount, our 5% Seabourn club membership discount, took Seabourn's 'pay in full now and get 10% discount' offer, and there was our TA's discount as well.

[lincslady]

40 minutes ago, Flamin_June said:

 

 

*It has to be said that I really disaprove of the kind of people one sometimes meets on board, who brag on about the great discount they got on their cruise, but here goes anyway: we cashed in our one-week milestone cruise award, our 5% future cruise deposit discount, our 5% Seabourn club membership discount, took Seabourn's 'pay in full now and get 10% discount' offer, and there was our TA's discount as well.

Brag away, good for you getting an overall good deal for this amazing sounding cruise.

 

We would love to hear from you once on board - if the internet connection  permits of course.

[jondfk]

A few comments for OP, truly, I know what you mean emotionally.  Maybe our story will help (or not?).

 

We're looking forward to our very first Seabourn cruise in June (Ovation to Norway).  We're not new to cruising moving sailed dozens of times on mainstream lines, mainly Princess.  Included was the ill fated voyage of Grand Princes in February 2020, the one that was sent to quarantine.  We ended up quarantined on the ship for 8 days, then sent to Travis for an additional 14 days.  We wondered if we'd ever sail again.

 

We have.  We returned to Princess last February with a "starter" 10 day cruise to Mexico.  Followed by 3 sailings on Oceania in April and September.  With a second Princess sailing to Alaska sandwiched in between (lots of cruise credits to burn in our case).  

 

I'm quite certain we're changed forever by our Grand experience.  For example, I know I'll never leave a prescription bottle at home again.  What good are meds that you can't get to, "take enough for the trip and a small cushion" eh, no, we'll bring everything, every time, forever I think.  Book non-refundable hotel rooms prior or post cruise, nope, never again, pay a bit more and avoid a fight over force major.

 

We still anticipate upcoming cruises, including our upcoming first on SB.  But the excitement hasn't returned to what it was previously, and perhaps it never will.  A small example, I'm the sort who loved getting bags out early and starting to prepack all those little things that I only use when we sail.  But I just can't do it any more, I've become a last weekend before sort of packer, and that's fine.  The small satisfactions received from packing my swim suit early has to be weighed against the possibly every trip could be cancelled right up until departure.  Sigh.

 

Still we sail, we enjoy, we anticipate, but never again with the same "it'll be fine, don't worry about what could go wrong" attitude.  I assure you though, once you start up the gangway, you'll find your spirits lifted and heart light.  

 

[Flamin_June]

On 1/26/2023 at 7:04 PM, lincslady said:

Brag away, good for you getting an overall good deal for this amazing sounding cruise.

 

We would love to hear from you once on board - if the internet connection  permits of course.

I always start off with the intention of doing a a live(ish) cruise report. Not very good at posting photos, all this business of getting them up to a cloud and then down again rather defeats me, and, as Sharkb8's current experience shows, all likely to be rather tedious and time consuming in the Pacific. Instead I tend to indulge in a bit of creative writing, which some folks here seem to enjoy. But it usually all peters out around the halfway point as various cruise activities and a growing number of people to socialise with occupies more and more of one's time.

 

Back to the pre-cruise experience and a few thoughts about these CruiseCritic pages. 

These are always the first place we go to when thinking about booking another SB cruise and then planning for a booked one.

It's great to see activity here more or less back to normal levels. There was a time, at the hight of lockdowns when this forum was moribund, like the cruise industry itself. And I missed it. But as it came back to life it seemed to have changed. Pre-covid it often felt like an online extension of being on board. There was a sense, at least to my mind, that folks posted here partly to dip into a vrtual ship-board ambience, it was almost like being back on a Seabourn ship, with a bit of gossip and chat here and there,  hotel recommendations, discussions about books, Seabourny type conversations. Who remembers the late Jane BP's "Around the Seabourn Water Cooler" ? There were always, of course critical  observations and first timer questions. But postcovid, the board seemed to have been swamped in very negative critical reviews. At the time of our booking it made for hair-raising reading. Fortunately many recent posts have done much to reassure. While there undoubtedly were a number of genuine issues I wonder how may were just trolls, or individuals with an axe to grind?

[Flamin_June]

56 minutes ago, jondfk said:

 A small example, I'm the sort who loved getting bags out early and starting to prepack all those little things that I only use when we sail.  But I just can't do it any more, I've become a last weekend before sort of packer, and that's fine.  The small satisfactions received from packing my swim suit early has to be weighed against the possibly every trip could be cancelled right up until departure.  Sigh.

Well, that's banged the post-covid, pre-cruise concerns nail firmly on the head. Thanks for the empathy!

But , what the dickens, in three days time, 49 days/7 weeks to go, I am getting the big suitcase out for the fist time since  late November 2018. 

[BasandSyb]

We are on the same cruise FJ. Hopefully it will be smooth sailing with no COVID issues.
 

First trip post COVID - In November we did a Viking Ocean (our first) in Asia and they did daily testing with a lab on board assessing samples collected from each room by 9am. Nothing to report and very easy.
 

Am having some issues pre cruise - just can’t thread the needle and get organised. The Viking was only 16 days, but this one requires some planning - I’m feeling it will happen when the last minute adrenaline kicks in. Usually I’m all done researched, booked and filed at this stage.

I fear there may be quite a few Australians on board - hope we are tolerable travelling companions. Bags out week after next. Safe travels.

[Flamin_June]

5 hours ago, BasandSyb said:

Am having some issues pre cruise - just can’t thread the needle and get organised. The Viking was only 16 days, but this one requires some planning - I’m feeling it will happen when the last minute adrenaline kicks in. Usually I’m all done researched, booked and filed at this stage.

 So true.

It is reassuring to see that this thread has struck a chord with some. Thanks BasandSyb (and jondfk) for articulating some of the mixed emotions we have been experiencing, which are, for me at any rate,  hard to pin down and put into words. For example, we usually have our house/cat-sitter totally sorted long before now, but this time, with endless rail strikes and other issues, have only just ticked that one off - a semi-retired and extremely eccentric biochemist, ex-colleague of mine. We know that our cat finds him agreeable, but we are not sure what our new(ish) neighbours will make of him. Presumably you will have Manuel looking after things while you are away?

 

A (DW) and I fully expect there to be a lot of Aussies on board, and are rather looking forward to that. We have met and chummed up with quite a few on Seabourn ships over the years (and Norwegians, and Dutch, and Japanese, French, Vietnamese and of course Americans and Brits). One of the many sources of pleasant anticipation associated with these journeys is wondering who we might end up connecting with this time - and of course wondering if anybody we know from previous adventures - both staff and guests - will be on board. But now we have the added stress-factor that if mask-wearing is mandatory while we sail to Cairns, how on earth will we recognise anyone?

 

True to my word I got my big suitcase out of the loft. It is sitting open, but pointedly empty, on the settee.

 

[cruisinfamily7609]

I have a long time before I need to pack for my Seabourn cruise...although we’re going on a Carnival cruise this summer with our kids. (they range in age from 15 to 26, which is still hard for me to type, but the fact is - they’re the ones who picked the line. We’re just showing up to have fun and pay the bill, and we even convinced our friends to come along.) Even so, I just wanted to chime in that I can understand the trepidation. Traveling has changed, I think. 

 

During the years we didn’t cruise, we took some land vacations. Last year, we went to Italy with our best friends (who are cruising with us this summer). First of all, we began planning that trip during the summer after Covid started. It was more of a “something to keep us looking forward” sort of thing at first. Then, it became more real. Even so, I didn’t start packing until the day before we left, and we were to be traveling for three weeks! As much as we try to return to “normal”, the world has changed whether we like it or not (I don’t), but yet I keep forcing myself to get out there and do things. 

 

While we were sheltering at home during the height of the pandemic, I can remember having discussions about whether we’d ever get on a cruise ship again. I didn’t think I would. The stories the media shared certainly didn’t help. Here I am though, and honestly - I’m really looking forward to going. I think it took that first trip to make me see that I was okay, and that it was time to enjoy things again, and that I wasn’t a bad person for wanting to go. I hope you have a wonderful trip. 

[alainciao]

How was Italy?🤔  We're thinking Italy soon.  Thanks!

[Flamin_June]

Italy was fine last time I was there. Still attached to France, Switzerland, Austria and Solovenia, and not really showing her age.

Its timely to mention her, too, as Feb 14th is not far away and we will be seeing a lot more of her acronymic twin.

[cruisinfamily7609]

8 hours ago, alainciao said:

How was Italy?🤔  We're thinking Italy soon.  Thanks!

We loved it! There were four of us and we went on a land-based vacation for three weeks. Landed in Naples (not the most beautiful city, but we still had fun the one evening we were there - it is so different from where I live in California), then went to Sorrento for a few days, then to Rome for three nights, then a tiny hamlet outside of San Gimingano in Tuscany for five nights, Bologna for two, and then up to La Morra, a teeny little village in Piedmont for another five nights, and lastly - a two night stay in Milan. It was a dream trip for me, as my family is Italian/Sicilian and I’d never been. We felt comfortable and safe the entire time, including on the numerous trains we took to get around. Highly, HIGHLY recommend. In fact, I recommend it so much we are doing the Ovation and when we debark the ship in Civitavecchia we will spend a few more days in Rome again. I can’t wait! Eventually, perhaps our next cruise after this one, I’ll get to Sicily. 🙂 

[Flamin_June]

Just when I thought it was safe to get back on the water, thanks to all those lovely reassuring replies....up pop some issues, circulating and slicing through the calm shallows of Cruise Critic like shark fins in the distance, presaging all sorts of unpleasantness for the unwary: the aptly named 'Chogs', rubbish ports, holiday-time cruises, a few more scattered scathing reviews, wi-fi failures - not to mention everything else going on in the background and the wider world.

 

But here comes Captain SharkB8  to the rescue, with welcome wit and gorgeous snapshots, offering a far more enticing picture of what our future may hold. We will be calling at many of Sojourn's recent ports, in reverse order, in 'just a few short weeks' as Rick Meadows used to write; so, many thanks to SharB8 and others on the "Big One" thread  for the enticing travelogue and the renewed belief that we have made the right decision with this itinerary.

 

And it is an important decision, as it may be our last Seabourn cruise in this part of the world, that we love so much (one must, however, never say never). I retired just before Covid broke out and there is an inevitable change of priorities as one enters a new phase of life, not least of which is the home we bought and moved to just over a year ago - a charming and desireable 200 year old Grade II listed former coach house (converted to dwellings about 100 years ago) in need, as they euphemistically put it 'of some modernisation'. We promised ourselves we would never buy another doer upper, and what do we do? Buy another doer upper.

 

But, enough context. I must pop out to the local pharmacy to pick up the extra two month's worth of my prescription meds (the procurement of which is a saga in itself).

 

[Mr Luxury]

1 hour ago, Flamin_June said:

Just when I thought it was safe to get back on the water, thanks to all those lovely reassuring replies....up pop some issues, circulating and slicing through the calm shallows of Cruise Critic like shark fins in the distance, presaging all sorts of unpleasantness for the unwary: the aptly named 'Chogs', rubbish ports, holiday-time cruises, a few more scattered scathing reviews, wi-fi failures - not to mention everything else going on in the background and the wider world.

 

But here comes Captain SharkB8  to the rescue, with welcome wit and gorgeous snapshots, offering a far more enticing picture of what our future may hold. We will be calling at many of Sojourn's recent ports, in reverse order, in 'just a few short weeks' as Rick Meadows used to write; so, many thanks to SharB8 and others on the "Big One" thread  for the enticing travelogue and the renewed belief that we have made the right decision with this itinerary.

 

And it is an important decision, as it may be our last Seabourn cruise in this part of the world, that we love so much (one must, however, never say never). I retired just before Covid broke out and there is an inevitable change of priorities as one enters a new phase of life, not least of which is the home we bought and moved to just over a year ago - a charming and desireable 200 year old Grade II listed former coach house (converted to dwellings about 100 years ago) in need, as they euphemistically put it 'of some modernisation'. We promised ourselves we would never buy another doer upper, and what do we do? Buy another doer upper.

 

But, enough context. I must pop out to the local pharmacy to pick up the extra two month's worth of my prescription meds (the procurement of which is a saga in itself).

 

Sorry to read that you have bought another doer upper.

I'd be devastated.😁