ANTICIPATION & PREPARATION

For any cruise, a certain amount of preparation is required.  For a 4-month journey around-the-world, when you are not retired, your entire life must be rearranged.  Yet, the excitement and anticipation are amplified.

Finding the "Right" Cruise:  First, I set about comparing the different cruises available, from cruise length and itinerary, to cost, amenities and the all-important question:  "will I have to sit on an airplane for nine plus hours, without having a cigarette?"  All factors moved me toward this particular cruise aboard Holland America.  It's where I would see what I wanted to see, for the length of time that I wanted to see it, while being comfortable and accepted (I can smoke in my room).  It didn't hurt that it seemed to give the best value too.



The Travel Agent:  I have been "bonding" with my travel agent, whom I recommend highly.  His name is Dan Twomey, and he's a "Cruise Consultant" with Cruise Specialists, 100 Rowland Way, Suite 210, Novato, CA  94945 (phone: 800-544-2469, fax 206-281-0269; e-mail DTwomey@CruiseSpecialists.com; web site http://www.cruise.specialists.com/ ).  "Dan" has taken very good care of me, booking my trip, getting me the "early bird" discount (3% off if you pay in full by the deadline), and getting us set up with insurance "just in case".  I've even challenged him to get me an affordable room upgrade and provide our "shopping list" of items (discussed below).  We'll see if he comes through on these things.

Psyching Yourself Up:  It just so happens that Holland America has a number of videos available on their web site, and I've spent plenty of time watching them and imaging myself sitting on that lounge chair on my Verandah, while listening to the "swish" of the ocean.  I wonder if I can possibly get enough appointments in the spa to ever fully relax - whether they'll have those brilliant British hair dressers in their salon - whether they can do anything about these horrible finger nails of mine that will never grow - whether I will actually use my skin care products and work out onboard ship, once I have the time to do so.

Special Needs:  As I was watching those videos, I was impressed with Holland America's motto -- provide excellent service by anticipating their guests' needs and keeping a positive attitude.  I also began wondering what would happen if we were in Mumbai, for example, and they had no Dr. Pepper.  Bill doesn't drink much, but he can't go from "here" to "there" without a Dr. Pepper or a Mtn. Dew.  And I'm accustomed to drinking Arrowhead Water during the day (in those 16.9-oz. plastic, twist-top bottles).  At night, I like Corona beer and rum and coke.  What if we were stuck for months in foreign lands without these things?  A certain panic ran through my mind, as I shot off a "shopping list" to "Dan" (the travel agent).  I told him we needed to have someone run to Costco in Ft. Lauderdale and pick up 4 cases of Arrowhead water, 5 cases of Corona, 10 bottles of Bacardi, 4 cases of Dr. Pepper, 4 cases of Mtn. Dew and 7 cases of Pepsi.  Oh, and we need them delivered onto the ship and stored somewhere other than our room, where we have to "live"!  Dan's response was that his manager is looking into the "logistics of this".  It wasn't "no" or "Hell no", so I'll take that as a good sign.

BILL NEEDS ONE AT 10, 2, 4 . . . AND MORE!!

Room Selection:  Anyone who's cruised before knows, the rooms can be small and cramped.  To be on a ship for nearly four months in a cramped room would be unbearable.  Yet, there are monetary limitations for any "cruiser", including me.  It cost $66,148 to book a "BB" room for two, which is essentially a 295- to 337-SF "Verandah Suite".  The highlight is we have our own balcony, but a small room, with no bathtub (guess I'd never be able to shave my legs!).  This same room would have cost $70,798 if I hadn't booked and paid early.  The room I want (badly) is an "SA" room, a 568- to 644-SF "Deluxe Verandah Suite", which also comes with a larger bed and a whirlpool bath (and complimentary laundry, pressing and dry cleaning).  It would cost at least $134K to book, without any discounts, so I'm hoping - praying - begging for "Dan" to find me an affordable upgrade before we sail.

REGULAR VERANDAH SUITE - I HAVE



DELUXE VERANDAH SUITE - I WANT!


Shore Excursions:  On your ordinary cruise, there may be a few ports of call.  On this one, there are thirty-seven (37), with nine (9) overnight stays!  I downloaded Holland America's 155-page brochure, describing its various shore excursions, and organized them in a 3-ring binder by date and port.  It took hours upon hours to read through the various offerings and to make my preliminary selections.  I focused on the "world wonders", aka "world heritage sites", waterfalls and other cool stuff.  Then, "Dan" told me to wait until August, because Cruise Specialists offers even more excursions . . . oh my Lord!  So my plans will have to wait ... .

Passport Follies:  Once I booked and paid for my cruise, I got a booking number and excitedly went to Holland America's web site to complete the "online check-in".  This would give me the Boarding Pass that says this is real.  Not so fast.  Wouldn't you know, my passport expires in August!  So I had to go get those lovely 2-inch passport photos taken, complete the passport renewal application, and send it in with the required fees.  When my new passport arrives in the mail, I can go back online and get my Boarding Pass.

Shopping:  Of course, any planned vacation requires a bit of pre-trip shopping.  This one takes that to a whole new level.  I need sunglasses - in fact, make those prescription sunglasses.  But what if they're lost?  I got three pairs!  I need comfortable walking shoes - but what if I hate them once I try them out?  I got two pairs, to be safe.  I need a phone that will work when I'm in other countries, so I got a Droid Global (designed for international calling).  I was going to cancel my AT&T/iPhone account, but decided to keep it as a "back-up" phone.  I need warm- and cold-weather clothes, so I'm busy picking up things here and there.  My luggage is old, so I ordered a new set.  (Turns out, I'm using BOTH sets!)

Shutting Down Legal Practice:  All of this pales in comparison to the challenge of shutting down an active legal practice for four (4) months.  Ethically, I can't abandon my clients.  I can't leave them in the lurches.  So I've got six (6) months to either settle or try my remaining cases.  With one case, I had serious misgivings about its prospects for resolution within this time-frame, so I brought in another attorney to act as my co-counsel (and to take over the case while I'm gone).  Taking on new cases also presents challenges, because I can only work on cases that will be complete by year's end, or where the client is willing to hire me only for a limited period of time.  When Bill and I return, we'll essentially have no clients (or only a few, which have been handled by other attorneys in our absence).  We'll have to do some quick business promotion upon our return, to get back up and running next May.

Where Will We Live?:  Bill and I are selling both houses (Valley Center and Escondido).  There's little point to keeping either, since they are both upside-down.  Ridding myself of the debt will ultimately increase my net worth.  I can either rent or buy another house upon my return, and I'm in no hurry to do so until then.

What About My "Babies"?:  I invited my best friend from high school, Julie, and her husband, Dan, to join us on the cruise, but they couldn't go because they couldn't leave their children behind.  That would be a major problem for many people our age, but I have no children.  Instead, I have three (3) gorgeous dogs, who are my children:  Blizzard (age 11 on 10/16/11), Snowy (age 10 on 11/13/11), and Frosty (she'll turn 8 on 4/25/2012).  Many have asked what I plan to do with them while I'm gone, since we're selling the houses.  George has agreed to watch them for us, and he'll be living in the Escondido house while we try to get it sold.  So they'll have a yard and someone to watch over them.  That doesn't mean I won't miss them a lot!!  I've never left them this long, and I'm hoping they won't "hate" me for being gone.  But, if they understood how important it was to me, I think they'd want me to go.  So that's the big fat rationalization I'm using to rid myself of the guilt ... .