MarySueSays

Hello friends! I shall be visiting Australia for the first time next month. My flight doesn't leave until 10pm, and of course they're kicking me off the Majestic Princess bright and early. I enjoy hanging out at airports, but 12 hours at an airport is Too Much. I've been eyeing the Princess excursion to the Blue Mountains that then drops you at the airport. Anyone taken that and got an opinion? To add complexity, I have a bum leg and won't be up for a lot of hiking. I'd also have spent plenty of time touring the city prior to the cruise, so if there's a suggestion of a great place that I should spend a half or most of a day hanging out at is great, with the expectation I'll store my luggage somewhere.

I'm a solo traveler in that category, on that sailing, if that counts?

I'm nonbinary but have a binary gender marker on my IDs. The thing that gets right up my left nostril while cruising? Bless the staff, they are so kind and wonderful and work their behinds off, and I have never said a word but by the end of the cruise I am tired as heck of being called "Mrs." and ma'am. I also know that is not going to change any time soon because you just know some cranky person who doesn't get a gendered honorific will pitch a most epic fit at Guest Services so I see no way this will end any time soon.

There's a second train at 5pm. Source: I rode it in February. The connecting buses are also a good option, sold by Amtrak and from the same stations, those run four times a day I believe.

Amtrak will take you from Vancouver BC to Seattle King Street Station in about four hours for ~$45-60USD, and it's quite a lovely ride.

A suggestion to those wondering "Where did that reviewer go?" for the long lost ones-- Google their screen name. I just looked up the two main ones you folks are discussing (before my time), and found them fairly quickly, and posting regularly. Anyway, I hope you're having a lovely time Megan, and I have crossed this ship off my wish list as I need actually useful internet on sea days to work from ship!

Might not have had demera sugar the time you were there. They definitely had it in November on my B2B and Ryan spent a lot of time mixing the espuma con el azucar.

The sugar is the same, it's the espresso prep that's the problem. Cafecito is usually made with a moka pot stovetop espresso percolator, and in the Havana Bar they pull a shot from a pressure machine (like they do in that Mermaid Icon place). The espuma is a different texture. Source: I drank a bunch of cafecitos in the Havana Bar on Panorama in November, and even more at my titi's place over the decades. The ones at the Havana Bar are good, but not the same.

Here in Portland, Oregon you just need to get on a wait list with the county health department. Took about a week from waitlist to getting jabbed. No questions screening for sexuality, which I think should be the norm because people who work in close contact with others (salons, massage, acupuncture, etc) are at high risk and no one's thinking about them. I think that cruises, as opposed to, say, Disneyland, will have less transmission because the cruise lines are constantly cleaning to battle norovirus, which will help keep hmpx off surfaces as well. Respiratory droplets, well... masks are very fashionable.

I just got back from Alaska on the Splendor in late May and I'm trying really hard not to book one of these deals. The trip was so delightful, and Alaska is so gorgeous.... and my work can't get ahold of me when I'm on a ship....... I live a short train ride from Seattle so I don't have to worry about flights and all that fuss that our friends elsewhere do to get to port.

Only country I have not been allowed to bring my ADHD medication to is Japan. I have another medication that is a Schedulle III drug that I travel with an authorization letter from my doctor, even within the US, because it has to be administered by injection and authorities can get squirrely when they see syringes. The other thing I have to remember when travelling internationally is to check I haven't shoved a bunch of my OTC and prescription meds all into one bottle in my bag, and there's a stray Concerta in there. Yes, it likely will be figured out I have ADHD and forget things, and I'm not trafficking, but that's a conversation I'd rather not be having with authorities.

I have only had issues twice at Customs traveling so lightly, and that was 1) Entering Scotland in 2019 as a single femme with one bag, they wanted proof I was going to leave (I had tickets to the World Cup opener in Paris three days later plus Eurostar tickets) 2) Entering Canada for the second time in a week in 2015. I had gone up for World Cup games, then bounced down to Seattle to see my beloved SF Giants play the Mariners for three days. Then I had to explain to the Border Agent what the World Cup was... when his eyes glazed over I knew I was going to get waved through. Coming through US Customs, no issue ever. I guess I have a face that they intuit will give them the ol' "I am a US citizen and I have a right to return to my residence." answer and nothing else. (I also have a minor in Constitutional Law 😊) Traveling lightly or even ultra-light is something that takes a lot of practice, a lot of effort and pre-planning, and a lot of willingness to splash out cash if you find you left something at home you actually need-- especially when your access may be limited not to the local department stores but what's in a ship's shops. I've been honing my process for over 25 years at this point, and do a lot of business travel along with my personal travel. As an example above, a lot of folks are talking about how heavy jeans are-- yes. Heavy and bulky! My travel wardrobe these days now that I'm dressing femme is completely dresses and leggings. When I did wear masculine clothes in the past, I wore khakis and shorts. You can wash out khakis in a sink, if you don't mind that they likely won't dry out by the next day. Not suggested for humid climates. Additionally, I am blessed to currently have no mobility issues lifting and carrying for long distances. If there are mobility issues/devices in the mix, I think there are ways you can lighten the packing but unfortunately I have no experience there, and a quick Google trawl shows most of the pack lightly folks tend to be able bodied youngsters, bless their knees.

I haven't checked a bag on an airline since 1999. I'm about to do a 8 day trip (1 before cruising+7 days cruising Alaska) with this bag as my only luggage. It fits under the airline seat. The photo here is from when I took it to Europe for a 22 day trip, through four countries. There are five outfits in that bag, plus all travel accessories, I'm planning on 8 outfits for my cruise packing. I did also carry a purse that was about the size of a hardback book. I did 5 weeks in Canada in 2015 with just a 21L backpack, chose to swap away from backpacks to give me less of a "OH HEY IT'S A TOURIST" vibe as I've gotten older. My secrets are compression packing cubes, rolling clothes tightly, lightweight clothing that can be scrubbed in the sink if no laundry facilities are around and dries quickly, and a *lot* of practice at this sort of travel. I was thinking of doing a live for my cruise, I might just start that next week and show my packing method along with a lot of other stuff...