I'm happy to report I booked my flight today. The cruise ends in Dover England which left two possibilities to get home. One was the QM2. The other was to use miles for a flight. I would love to experience the QM2 (minus all the formal wear) just in case I should ever be fortunate enough to have an opportunity to do her world cruise.
My strategy was going to be to wait until after final payment for the QM2 and see where the rates were at that time. If they weren't attractive I would book a miles flight home. That all fell apart when United announced it was raising the miles required to book a flight between Europe and North America in 2009. So I decided to book today, Dec. 29th 2008. I have successfully snagged a first class round trip air, out of London to Denver and then in the fall, back to Rome.
Now some of you may be scratching your heads, where did Rome come from? Whenever I've done a round trip air at the end of the cruise where I'm only using one of the legs for the cruise I book the other to meet up with a transatlantic in the other direction. I've got my eye on the Princess 3 Continent Cruise which goes to Europe, Africa and South America before ending in Fort Lauderdale. Sounds like a very nice itinerary. If I change my mind and pick another cruise I can always change the date or routing on the flight with just a small charge from United.
Monday, December 29, 2008
Thursday, December 25, 2008
Amazing product!
Merry Christmas to all!
I have discovered an amazing product. The world cruise goes to the Great Barrier Reef (among other great snorkeling spots) and it was a site I didn't want to miss. I can't see squat without my glasses and can no longer wear contacts so I decided to invest in a prescription snorkel mask. To my amazement you can find them on the Internet for $65! Imagine, all these years seeing blurred fish when for only $65 I could have seen them clearly.
But that is not what this post is about. In my research for a prescription snorkel mask I discovered a product that I did not know existed, 3M Press-On lenses, that I got for $18.50 each from a company called Western Ophthalmics. Now I can see with my swim goggles too. Wow! There is a formula they use to calculate which power to order. It is the same for the prescription snorkel mask and press-on lenses so they are both the same power which will make it easy too switch between the two. They both work wonderfully here in the house. Can't wait to try them out in the ocean.
I have discovered an amazing product. The world cruise goes to the Great Barrier Reef (among other great snorkeling spots) and it was a site I didn't want to miss. I can't see squat without my glasses and can no longer wear contacts so I decided to invest in a prescription snorkel mask. To my amazement you can find them on the Internet for $65! Imagine, all these years seeing blurred fish when for only $65 I could have seen them clearly.
But that is not what this post is about. In my research for a prescription snorkel mask I discovered a product that I did not know existed, 3M Press-On lenses, that I got for $18.50 each from a company called Western Ophthalmics. Now I can see with my swim goggles too. Wow! There is a formula they use to calculate which power to order. It is the same for the prescription snorkel mask and press-on lenses so they are both the same power which will make it easy too switch between the two. They both work wonderfully here in the house. Can't wait to try them out in the ocean.
Monday, December 22, 2008
Technology Update
Gadgets, gadgets every where. It was tough but I managed to wait until the after Thanksgiving sales to buy my gadgets. For a new waterproof camera I eventually settled on the Pentax W60. I've had it for a few weeks now and it was the perfect choice for me. It is lightweight, water and dust proof, great battery life and has a very easy to use menu system. The outdoor pictures are great. Indoor not as good but that was a known issue from the reviews. I plan to take it underwater for all my snorkeling adventures so will need to design a system to strap it to myself so that if it gets dropped it doesn't sink to the bottom of the ocean.
My netbook saga is a bit more convoluted. I selected the ASUS 901 XP with SSD. I was so excited to get it! But I had ordered it sight unseen so did not realize it had a matte screen. Matte computer screens always bother my eyes so back on ebay it went. I then ordered the Acer Aspire One. That is what I am typing this on. I think this little unit will do nicely for this trip. It has a 6 cell battery so I should get good battery life for writing the blog posts. It runs a little hotter and is noisier than the ASUS as well as it seems slower. I've tweaked my XP to turn off the things that keep it slowed down so it is now running at an acceptable speed.
Not exactly technology related but I am the proud owner of several buzz-off (mosquito repelling) outfits. I have waterproof touring shoes. I have teva sandals. I've bought prewrinkled tourist clothes so that when they get new wrinkles they just fit right in.
I have discussed getting a GPS with a 911 function with my loved ones so should I disappear in the wilds someone will know where I am.
Today my arms hurt from shots for the trip. I may go get some more shots next week. I didn't want to get everything at once and overload my immune system.
Only about 3 weeks until we leave!
My netbook saga is a bit more convoluted. I selected the ASUS 901 XP with SSD. I was so excited to get it! But I had ordered it sight unseen so did not realize it had a matte screen. Matte computer screens always bother my eyes so back on ebay it went. I then ordered the Acer Aspire One. That is what I am typing this on. I think this little unit will do nicely for this trip. It has a 6 cell battery so I should get good battery life for writing the blog posts. It runs a little hotter and is noisier than the ASUS as well as it seems slower. I've tweaked my XP to turn off the things that keep it slowed down so it is now running at an acceptable speed.
Not exactly technology related but I am the proud owner of several buzz-off (mosquito repelling) outfits. I have waterproof touring shoes. I have teva sandals. I've bought prewrinkled tourist clothes so that when they get new wrinkles they just fit right in.
I have discussed getting a GPS with a 911 function with my loved ones so should I disappear in the wilds someone will know where I am.
Today my arms hurt from shots for the trip. I may go get some more shots next week. I didn't want to get everything at once and overload my immune system.
Only about 3 weeks until we leave!
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
The cruise docs are here!
It is always exciting to have your cruise documents arrive.
In this case they consist of:
- Large 2009 world cruise shore excursion book
- Tour reservation form showing all the pricing
- Visa and vaccination info.
- 6 luggage tags
- Pre-cruise checklist
- Travel insurance book
- Passage contract
- Cruise answer book
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