Many of you are already aware that our plans have changed a bit. Originally, we weren’t going to start our trip till October, and it was going to be much longer – up to a year – and in that time we were planning on going all over the planet.
But we scrapped those plans. Partly because we wanted to start a little smaller and see how it goes, but largely because work had gotten so bad we just didn’t want to wait any more. I had to get the heck out of Dodge before I completely lost my marbles.
So our trip isn’t as grandiose as we originally intended, but we still have a few tricks up our sleeves ;)
Taking a Big Ass Boat Across the Ocean
It’s coming up quick now – in just 6 short days, Becki and I are winging our way back to San Juan, PR (yup, the 3rd time in a twelve-month period) to start our extended travel journey. It’s finally getting a bit nerve-wracking; it just seems like there are always more things popping onto our to-do list!
In fact, we still have to get a lot of our trip booked. We were going to try to do it a little more freely, keeping our schedule a little more “fluid” as if we’re truly nomadic, but it turns out that’s not happening. Neither of us is really likes going wherever the wind takes us. We like having a little bit more of a plan than that, and as it turns out so does most of the travel industry.
Here’s what we do have planned out so far though:
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We’re flying down to San Juan, PR and hanging out there for a few nights
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Then we’re going to do something I never thought I’d do – hop on a cruise boat
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We’ll be heading to four more islands in the Caribbean (St. Thomas, St. Lucia, St. Martin, and St. Kitts. Talk about your Holy Rollin’! ;)
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After that, we’re steaming across the Atlantic for 5 days to get to Ponta Delgada of the Azores, a group of islands a ways off the coast of Portugal
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Then three more days of cruising till we finish in Jolly Ole England! We’re in London for three nights, then spending two weeks in Dublin, then it’s off to Paris for four nights
I mentioned that I never thought I’d be getting on a cruise boat, and there’s a lot of reasons for that. I’ve never been a fan of mass-tourism, shying away from things like cruises or all-inclusive resorts.
In my opinion, it’s always better to get further into the culture of the place you’re visiting, staying in family-owned hostels or guest houses instead of monster hotels run by rich people who don’t even live in the place you’re visiting. Just as the areas outside of resorts are poor because of the resorts, I have a suspicion that areas right outside of cruise ports are going to be rough for the exact same reasons.
I’ve seen the size of the fuel “hoses” (if you can ever call them that!) they use to fill up the massive tanks of a cruise boat. Seeing how much fuel is used and how big the boats are, it just seemed like it had to be horrible for the planet.
We’re getting about 8 hours in each port we’re visiting. Take away the time to get off and back on the boat (and customs each time), and I have trouble believing you’ll get a lot of the character or history of each island.
So Why Are We Cruising?
It’s a combination of things that led us to this venture.
1) We wanted to spend the first few weeks of our trip not scrambling to catch the right bus or train, or worried about bandits in the Moroccan desert – we just wanted to relax, catch our breath from the last five years of being overworked, and enjoy ourselves. In that regard, the cruise seemed to fit perfectly.
2) It’s cheap! It’s only $649pp for us to get a room with a view on a two-week, transatlantic cruise. It’s cheaper than flying to England, there’s all-you-can-eat sushi, and we get warm water and sunshine along the way. Even after the taxes and fees, it’s about $53/night for a comfy bed, loads of things to do, and delicious food. And it’s even cheaper if you get a room without a view. Not too shabby…
3) It’s not too often you can boat across an ocean. Becki and I do enjoy flying, but there’s just something about trains, boats, and busses that appeals to our old souls. The only other way I know to cross the ocean is on a container boat, and contrary to what you might think, it’s still very pricey to do so – much more than this cruise, actually.
4) We’re going to do some research into this, but I have a suspicion it’s not as eco-irresponsible as one would think. Boat technology has focused on fuel-efficiency for a very long time now. Every ounce makes a difference to those container ships, so any other boats using the same types of engines and generators have benefitted from increased fuel efficiency.
5) We’ll be on a boat and it’ll be going fast and we’ll both be wearing nautical-themed pashmina afghans. We’ll be in our swim trunks wearing flippy-floppies, flipping burgers while you’re at Kinko’s straight flipping copies (you knew we had too ;)
Still Working Out The Details…
After Paris, we’re planning on zooming all around Italy, and after that…? We don’t know what we’ll be doing – we’ve thought about hitting more unusual places in Europe, like Croatia, Hungary, Greece, or Istanbul.
We’ve also dreamed about some Near East destinations like Egypt, Jordan, Turkey and Israel. There’s just so much history and culture in those places! We want to be humbled while wandering through Ephesus, and awed by the Pyramids in Giza.
However, you just never know how things are going to turn out. If we suddenly get a month-long house sit in Sydney or Wellington, you can bet your butt that we’ll be hopping a plane for Oceania. And if our budgeting proves to be a little bit off, we might head for Thailand or Cambodia, and instead of wandering Ephesus we’ll be humbled by the faded grandeur of Angkor Wat, and giggle like children while riding and washing elephants in the tropical forests.
Stephen S. says
Are you guys still going to Tbex?
Andy says
Well, it looks like Toronto TBEX is out of the running right now. Still have to sell those tickets!
Not sure about Dublin at this point – it’s all kind of up in the air. But I know we’d still like to go :)
Cassie says
This is kind of an amazing plan! I’ve never had any interest in cruising, but if you’ve got the time and want to get a relaxing start, it sounds like an quite affordable way to cross the Atlantic. But please do tip as recommended, I’ve heard cruise staff (especially those from developing countries) make pretty dire wages. And I suspect you are right about the carbon footprint of these high-capacity boats being less than flying. Keep us posted, I’m curious about that!
And kudos to you guys for being flexible and taking off early. It sounds like it’s the best solution for you right now and will give you some time (and the needed break) to figure out your next steps. Congrats, and have fun!
Andy says
Thanks so much Cassie! We’re getting really excited about it all!!
Definitely will keep you posted on the cruise info – got in touch with their PR people too, and hoping to get some behind-the-scenes tours and interviews. I think all the posts and interviews we have coming up will give us something to do during all those days at sea :)
Dalene says
Hey – we were considering a cruise across the Atlantic and our cursory research showed it to be much more expensive. Who did you guys go with?
Andy says
It did end up being more expensive than we thought it would be. Not horrible compared to flying, but not exactly “budget travel”. We went with Royal Caribbean, and have nothing but the highest regard for how they run things and their commitment to the environment. If we ever cruise again, it’ll probably be with them.