It’s On My List

Spoiler alert – it’s a lot!

I’ve never been away for longer than three weeks. Working put such a damper on my travel plans; thank goodness that’s over. Although I had been planning to do a long cruise after retirement, I thought it would be in 2027, not 2025, so my planning window was a bit shortened. That said, I’ve been obsessively reading blogs from world or “grand voyage” cruisers for years, gathering intel and dreaming about the day I would join their ranks. And now that day is here!

Packing

I don’t own 89 pairs of underwear, and I never will. Therefore, I will need to utilize onboard laundry services, which means the amount of clothing I pack is driven by two factors – how often I am willing to appear in the same outfit and how much variety there will be in climate throughout the voyage.

As my former co-workers will attest, I’m willing to appear in the same outfit quite often. But 89 days is a long time, so I tried to include a reasonable amount of variety. The climate will range from very hot and humid in the Amazon to very cold in Antarctica. My goal is to be comfortable without looking like a bum. Here’s the list:

• Pants (trousers for my UK friends!)
  • 3 “nice” capris (brown, black, tan)
  • 1 “nice” long pants (black)
  • 1 pair sweatpants (not something I usually pack for a cruise – see “not looking like a bum” above, but I want something comfy for deck walking in cold weather)
  • 1 pair of jeans
  • 1 denim shorts
  • 2 quick-dry capris for adventure days
• Tops
  • 5 or 6 “nice” short sleeve tops
  • 1 “nice” long sleeve top
  • 5 casual short sleeve t-shirts
  • 4 casual long-sleeve t-shirts
  • 1 flannel shirt (but it has cute little pleats, not too bum-like!)
  • 3 cardigan sweaters (beige, black, green) for layering
• Dresses
  • 2 “dressy” dresses – one is velour, which is fancy, but it’s only midi-length; one is maxi, which is fancy, but it’s kind of a casual print. But these will make do for formal nights, with apologies to the tuxedo and sequins crowd.
  • 2 casual long cotton dresses
  • 2 very casual short dresses that can serve as swimsuit coverups
• Outer wear/inner wear/adventure wear
  • 1 swimsuit
  • 1 long sleeve swim shirt
  • 1 set fleece long underwear
  • sufficient amount of socks and underwear (more than 5, less than 89)
  • fleece hoodie
  • rain jacket
  • fleece hat and gloves
  • straw sun hat
  • canvas rain hat (sorry, fam, the Indy fedora didn’t make this trip, but the canvas hat is Dad’s Tilley hat)
• Shoes
  • hiking shoes
  • flip flops
  • croc sandals
  • ballet flats
  • slip on casual black shoes
  • slip on casual beige shoes
• Other stuff
  • Toiletries – I tracked usage for about 4 months, so tried to bring sufficient quantities of my favorite shampoo and conditioner, face cleanser and moisturizer, deodorant, toothpaste, etc.; some of which I purchased in Ft. Lauderdale to reduce the weight of my checked bag.
  • Electronics – brought the laptop for blogging because I’m too old to do anything complex on my phone. Opted not to bring my camara; will rely on phone for photos. Lanyard for phone so I don’t drop it overboard when a whale suddenly spouts in front of me.
  • Gear – big cross-body purse that can hold a day’s worth of stuff for long excursions; little purse that will hold phone and credit card for city days; compact nylon backpack for beach days. Waterproof pouch for swimming (a necessity for solo travelers). Spare glasses. Water bottle. Non-surge protected plug with extra outlets including USB slots. Some basic meds and Band-Aids. A few other insignificant bits and pieces.

I fit it all into my trusty old Eagle Creek 26″ suitcase, my groovy new foldie tote (expanded) and my big Kipling cross-body purse. It all fit, but all three bags were pretty much jammed full. Lesson Learned: should have packed a second small wheelie bag to gate check instead of stuffing the tote to capacity, which would then leave room for whatever I acquire throughout the voyage. I will probably need to acquire at least a small duffle before I board the plane home in Barcelona. Oh well, that’s a problem for Future Mo. When I got to the airport, I discovered the suitcase was overweight by 1.7 pounds, but was able to utilize the compact nylon backpack (shout out to Suepy for gifting me the backpack!) to hold my laptop and a few other items, enabling me to shift a few things from the suitcase to the tote, which I was then able to check for free since it qualified as a carry on – a much better solution than paying $100 for an overweight bag!

Mail and bills and taxes, oh my!

Responsibilities, ugh. The USPS will only hold mail for 30 days at a time, requiring a 5-day break between holds. The only solution I found is to rely on a trusted friend or family member to pick up the mail a couple times a week. I subscribe to USPS Informed Delivery, so if something important comes, I can ask my friend to scan it and send it to me via email.

I’ve set all my bills to autopay, but it seems there’s always some pesky medical bill when the insurance company decides they’re not going to pay the full amount (what is up with that, anyway?)

Since I’ll be in Gambia on April 15… Actually, I file my taxes electronically, so it doesn’t matter where in the world I am on Tax Day. I can get all my tax forms online. It may be a PITA though, because some financial services companies send a verification code via text, and I will only have phone service on port days when I decide it’s worth paying AT&T $15 for 24 hours of full service. Since I just retired at the end of 2024 and my taxes and withholding are pretty much the same as 2023, I know I’m getting a refund so I may decide to file for an extension and deal with it when I return. Who wants to work on taxes when you could be scanning the horizon for dolphins or taking a watercolor class?

Side note – I know some people like to disconnect when they travel, and onboard internet isn’t cheap, but for my peace of mind – and for my Wordle winning streak, internet is a necessity.

What if…

Being thousands of miles away from your home for three months is a bit unsettling. I’ve pieced together a consortium of friends and family to watch over the place, so it will be occupied some of the time and regularly checked on the rest of the time. I live in a condo, so I don’t need to worry about pipes freezing or having a driveway plowed or a million other things that can be a concern for a stand-alone house. I’m reasonably comfortable that nothing will go wrong, but I am deeply appreciative of the peace of mind my consortium of condo-minders brings me.

Car storage was another big question for me. I live in a small city where I pay a monthly fee to park in a city garage. As long as my monthly fee is paid (thanks, autopay!) I can leave my car there forever. However, there is construction planned for this particular garage, and I was having trouble getting information on which parking spots would be outside of the construction zone through the end of April. But when it came down to the wire, an incredibly kind and helpful parking attendant called his boss and got the inside scoop and guided me to a spot that should be good for the duration of my trip.

For some of the other “what ifs”, I bought good travel insurance and I visited a travel clinic for guidance on vaccines and other measures to help keep me healthy.

Bottom line, things can go wrong whether you’re sitting on your couch binge watching Netflix or standing on the deck of a ship binge watching penguins. Although I’m traveling solo, I have an incredible network of family and friends who give me the support and encouragement I need to follow my dreams.