Visas, Vaccines and More

Completing Tasks and Finalizing Excursions

This week I have dedicated to completing tasks necessary for our trip and double checking our itinerary and excursions!

1. Applied for Visas.
 We need Visas for:

              Brazil

              India

              Australia (ETA)

              Indonesia

              Vietnam

              Egypt

I decided to get us only India, Brazil and Egypt prior to departing.  You can receive the other Visas onboard the ship. Therefore I need to send our passports to ZVS, along with photos, a completed application - in which I have to list EVERY country I have been to in the last 10 years, our itinerary as well as an online application and then we will be allowed to enter India, Brazil, and Egypt!

2. Extra passport pages.
I just received my passport back with extra pages added, something that I didn't even consider! My mom didn't need extra pages added.

3. Get immunizations.
We need:
          Yellow Fever 
          Hepatitis A and B
          Typhoid
          Tdap - Tetanus, Diphtheria and Pertussis
          Flu Shot
          Malarone pills for malaria and a whole bunch of DEET!
          MMR - the County Health Department told me I needed that this!
          The Health Department also told me I needed a Polio booster??


4. Finalizing the excursions.
I have found these wonderful people on Cruise Critic, my new cruising companions!  They are awesome!  There are several people on their 4th, 5th, 7th, 9th World Cruise! I want to be just like them when I grow up! I have met so many new people! It started out as just introductions, and then turned into this wealth of information, from what to bring, to where to stay in Florida, and, most importantly, what to do in each place we visit!  


There have been many people who have organized tours in the different cities and I have asked for us to be added to these various tours! One benefit of these tours is that you are going with a very small group of people on a self organized tour that costs a fourth of the cost of the Holland America excursions. The negative is that the ship could leave without us if our tour group does not return to the port on time! Yikes!  


So therefore, I have been in contact with people in Australia, Egypt, India, Italy, Antarctica, Spain, Buenos Aires, Greece, Vietnam and I am sure other places too! My email dings at all hours of the day and night with emails ensuring times, cost, and availability of tours all over the world! 


The tours I have organized are in Naples and Messina, Italy.  Sondra has been great in organizing the overland tours in India to see the Taj Mahal and Egypt to the Pyramids!! I will also be joining her in Athens, Cairns - the Great Barrier Reef, and Sydney! Alan has organized tours in Buenos Aires, Montevideo, Barcelona and Seville.  We will be joining Pauline and more CC members in Chile and Athens. Then in Tahiti, Lembar, Vietnam and Ho Chi Minh we will be traveling with Louise and her group! As you can see there are many people involved in planning!

5. Start Packing.
I have 2 pairs of tennis shoes, an umbrella, an over the door shoe organizer, a multi-plug outlet, and an extension cord packed in my suitcase! I have ALOT more to do!

The Planning Process

Where to Start 

When Thinking About 

What to Bring...

I thought planning for a wedding was hard, but as soon as I started I loved it! I would do it again! I had so much fun planning and the day was wonderful!

My Family!  WE MISS YOU, DAD!!!

Based on planning for a wedding, planning for a four month cruise shouldn't be so hard, right???

So how to you plan, let alone pack for a trip around the world? Being away from home for four months requires some thought! I tend to overpack - well I always overpack!  I always have the largest suitcase, but I always manage to have my luggage at 50.0 pounds!  But how do you pack for all climates? Granted when we were in Fiji it was summer, then a week later in New Zealand it was winter, then we were back to summer in the French Polynesian Islands, but that was only for 35 days, not 115 days!

I need clothes for the desert- Egypt, the rainforest - the Amazon, the tundra - Antarctica, the beach - the Great Barrier Reef!  I need hiking clothes, clothes that cover my shoulders, casual clothes, workout clothes, smart casual clothes, formal occasion clothes!  I need my classwork, my laptop, my camera, plus everything for getting ready each day, and not to mention SHOES!!! Walking shoes, comfortable shoes, dress shoes.... I always have a problem when it comes to wearing the "Right" shoe! I always wear the wrong shoes! Then I have to bring back things and who knows what we will end up buying!

So what do you pack?? So I have made lists and lists and even more lists!

The Essential List - which includes everything I couldn't live without on this trip, like my camera an passport!

The Electronics List - chargers, laptop, cell phone, etc.

The Clothing List - this one is LONG! 

The Cosmetic List - the only thing I don't need is shampoo and body wash! They have these on the ship!

The Medical List - for emergencies and hopefully there will be none!

The Leaving Home Checklist - reminders and things to do before leaving home, such as file an extension on my taxes!

The Miscellaneous and Extras List - duct tape, extension cord, bubble wrap... the just in case things!

I have the lists made, although I have nothing packed yet! So therefore the planning process has begun, but I still have ALOT to do!