Thirty Days to Sail-Away!!!

2023 HAL World Cruise

Tuesday, November 29, 2022

OMG, we are so out of practice for a long ocean voyage!!!  There was a time we, as serial cruisers, could prepare for a sailing (long or short) on a moment’s notice.  Sigh, Covid seems to have sapped our energy.  As Kathy Lee Gifford would say in that vitamin commercial, “We’ve lost our va-va-voom!!!”  Or maybe we’re just 3 years older and naturally slowing down. 

Don’t know. 

But we do know it is taking us longer to get things done these days.  Of course, the world itself seems to be different.  We try to shop for those things we might need while away for months at a time and find that supplies are still missing from the stores—supply chain issues seem to be the problem.  It now takes several trips to many different stores to find what we need in the quantity required.  But hey, after Covid, we have become expert on-line consumers!!!  Gotta tell you, it’s a good thing we started early!!!

Here’s what we’re doing to prepare for a nearly 5-month cruise:

After our first world cruise in 2016, we generated spread sheets for all the mundane items we use constantly.  After a month monitoring our usage, we knew exactly how much toothpaste, shampoo, toiletries, etc. we use daily.  So, we fill 12”x 12” x 12” boxes with the necessities of life and present them, along with our luggage, at boarding.  The goal is to have enough but come home with few leftovers!!!

Here’s a photo journal of our preparations:

The 2023 Holland America World Cruise departs Ft. Lauderdale’s Port Everglades on January 3^rd. 

However, we will be boarding the MS Zuiderdam early (on December 29^th) for a New Year celebration. We will spend 133 days aboard; we’ll have 58 sea days; and 75 port days.

Come along and we’ll explore the world together.

It will be fun!!!