30 Days From Today...

In exactly 30 days...we'll be aboard the MS Amsterdam and about to depart from Ft. Lauderdale. This year's Grand World Voyage is unusual in a number of ways...we leave very late in the day...9:00pm instead of the usual 5:00pm (so it will be dark as we sail away and begin our journey). It is also unique in that it leaves later in January (the 22nd) instead of the usual very early January sailing date. This is probably because of another usual aspect of the cruise...instead of staying primarily in the Southern Hemisphere, later this Spring we will include stops in the Northern Hemisphere (Italy, Spain, France, Holland Denmark, Norway and the UK. Because of these more Northern stops, Holland America had to delay the sailing in order for it to be late enough in the spring for the weather to warm up a bit (eg. Norway in late April). There are a lot of differences from our first Grand World Voyage in 2010. We're excited.

Packing has begun...luggage is being picked up at our house on January 11 for shipment to Ft. Lauderdale. Luggage tags are prepared...

56 Days Until Sailing...

We're getting much closer to our sailing date on the MS Amsterdam...January 22...from Ft. Lauderdale. The list of things to prepare, buy and pack keeps getting longer and longer. These blog updates will begin to get more frequent as we get closer and have news and updates. Thanks for tuning in...

Four months from today…

Today we had a 2 hour session with the travel nurse at the Southwestern Utah Public Health Department and got most necessary vaccinations and loads of great travel health advice. The nurse Lynne was super thorough and has us ready for most potential health issues. We still need Typhoid pills once they are off backorder and a Hepatitis B booster next month.

Then we headed to a long overdue planning session with Dave and Denise over coffee. While we planned and booked our trips without each other knowing, it is great to have close friends help with all the planning details…as well as along for the journey itself.

It’s hard to believe it is just 4 months away…and still so much to do.