Question for 2020 World Cruisers

[xrvlcruiser]

I forward my mail for WC with no problem . . . .

Peggy

[camnjoss]

Hey all. We are on the 2020 World Cruise leaving from San Francisco. We are so happy because we live 4O minutes south of SF in Silicon Valley so we don't have airline and luggage issues. This is the first I have been able to even look at anything due to life overload. I am seeing lots of good info here.

Is there a roll call for the 2020 trip?

We have previously traveled a year around the world on a self guided trip and are looking forward to something a little more relaxed. http://www.worldtrippers.com/02world/index.html

We look forward to meeting everyone here and on board.

Russell and Gail Lee

Cupertino CA

[ArtsyCraftsy]

9 minutes ago, camnjoss said:

Hey all. We are on the 2020 World Cruise leaving from San Francisco. We are so happy because we live 4O minutes south of SF in Silicon Valley so we don't have airline and luggage issues. This is the first I have been able to even look at anything due to life overload. I am seeing lots of good info here.

Is there a roll call for the 2020 trip?

We have previously traveled a year around the world on a self guided trip and are looking forward to something a little more relaxed. http://www.worldtrippers.com/02world/index.html

We look forward to meeting everyone here and on board.

Russell and Gail Lee

Cupertino CA

1

 

There is a roll call for the 2020 World Cruise.  It's not too busy yet, but I think things will pick up as we get closer to embarkation date.

 

 Lana in Bellingham, WA

 

[Art Instructor2]

We will be on the 2020 World Cruise leaving from San Francisco on Jan, 24, 2020.  Very excited.  

 

As with all our cruises, but especially with past world cruises, I do write a blog.  What's fun is seeing where my readers are from...literally around the world.  It's a wonderful way to connect with people and share the fabulous experience of cruising on a Regent ship.

 

Marcia

[xrvlcruiser]

I always enjoy following people's blogs so when you have a chance, will you post the link to your?

 

Thanks . . .Peggy

[Art Instructor2]

Yes, Peggy.  

 

 

[ArtsyCraftsy]

7 hours ago, Art Instructor2 said:

We will be on the 2020 World Cruise leaving from San Francisco on Jan, 24, 2020.  Very excited.  

 

As with all our cruises, but especially with past world cruises, I do write a blog.  What's fun is seeing where my readers are from...literally around the world.  It's a wonderful way to connect with people and share the fabulous experience of cruising on a Regent ship.

 

Marcia

 

I’ve tried a couple of times to do a blog on a cruise, but haven’t been able to keep up with it.  I think it’s because I’ve tried to do it with a tablet, and it just got tricky to coordinate photos from the iPhone and text from the iPad.  I’ll be taking my laptop on the world cruise which should help (full-sized keyboard, easy syncing photos, etc).  We’ll see how it goes.  If I’m going to blog a cruise, the world cruise is the one to blog!  If nothing else, it will be a detailed journal of a once-in-a-lifetime trip.  

 

Lana in Bellingham, WA 

[Wendy The Wanderer]

12 hours ago, ArtsyCraftsy said:

 

I’ve tried a couple of times to do a blog on a cruise, but haven’t been able to keep up with it.  I think it’s because I’ve tried to do it with a tablet, and it just got tricky to coordinate photos from the iPhone and text from the iPad.  I’ll be taking my laptop on the world cruise which should help (full-sized keyboard, easy syncing photos, etc).  We’ll see how it goes.  If I’m going to blog a cruise, the world cruise is the one to blog!  If nothing else, it will be a detailed journal of a once-in-a-lifetime trip.  

 

Lana in Bellingham, WA 

 

Lana, I so agree.  I need a full-sized keyboard to really write.  Being a touch-typist and a computer professional for decades, I think with my ten fingers, not with my thumbs.  First time I posted a thread to CC on a cruise with a smartphone I wrote tweet-like posts which were fun, but hardly complete.  Don't know how many photos I'll include--I may just write a blog of my personal observations and feelings, experiences, as opposed to a play-by-play of the cruise, although no doubt I'll do a bit of that too.

 

Looking forward to reading yours.

[ArtsyCraftsy]

11 minutes ago, Wendy The Wanderer said:

 

Lana, I so agree.  I need a full-sized keyboard to really write.  Being a touch-typist and a computer professional for decades, I think with my ten fingers, not with my thumbs.  First time I posted a thread to CC on a cruise with a smartphone I wrote tweet-like posts which were fun, but hardly complete.  Don't know how many photos I'll include--I may just write a blog of my personal observations and feelings, experiences, as opposed to a play-by-play of the cruise, although no doubt I'll do a bit of that too.

 

Looking forward to reading yours.

 

Thanks, Wendy.  We seem to have come from similar backgrounds -- I spent 32 years in IT, and am a touch-typist as well.  

I usually post on Facebook while I'm on a cruise as a way of staying in touch with my family (two brothers, one in Manila, the other in St Louis) and letting them know that I'm OK -- usually just a sentence or two with some photos -- so I'll likely continue that, but maybe do a copy/paste of a summary paragraph from the blog.  Or something (I tend to post a lot of food porn on FB).  

 

Lana in Bellingham, WA

[Art Instructor2]

15 hours ago, ArtsyCraftsy said:

 

I’ve tried a couple of times to do a blog on a cruise, but haven’t been able to keep up with it.  I think it’s because I’ve tried to do it with a tablet, and it just got tricky to coordinate photos from the iPhone and text from the iPad.  I’ll be taking my laptop on the world cruise which should help (full-sized keyboard, easy syncing photos, etc).  We’ll see how it goes.  If I’m going to blog a cruise, the world cruise is the one to blog!  If nothing else, it will be a detailed journal of a once-in-a-lifetime trip.  

 

Lana in Bellingham, WA 

Lana, 

 

Your laptop will make a big difference in your ability to write a more detailed blog, should you choose to do that.  We all have different styles, but I think it will be fun to read world cruise blogs from each unique perspective.  I hope we all share our blogs.

 

Marcia

Chicago - San Francisco

[Wendy The Wanderer]

Here's a new question, two questions really, not for 2020 WC'ers so much, but for others who may have done world cruises or grand voyages where luggage shipment is offered.

 

What would you do in the case where you were doing a post-cruise stay?  (2021 WC ends of Barcelona, for instance.)  Could the luggage forwarding company hold your luggage for you for a few days, or whatever, if you weren't going to be home straight away?

 

Would they ship it to a location different from that from which you originally shipped your luggage?  For example, if we shipped our luggage from Tampa to Miami at the start of the cruise, could we ship it straight back to Toronto at the end of the cruise?  (We would be flying back to Miami or Tampa.)

 

This may not be the thread for this.  If I don't get answers or speculation, then perhaps I will post separately.

 

 

[xrvlcruiser]

Hi Wendy,

 

I can't imagine you'd have an issue with either of these scenarios - just be sure you discuss it with someone at the luggage shipping company before the trip starts.

 

Peggy

[Wendy The Wanderer]

3 minutes ago, xrvlcruiser said:

Hi Wendy,

 

I can't imagine you'd have an issue with either of these scenarios - just be sure you discuss it with someone at the luggage shipping company before the trip starts.

 

Peggy

Thanks Peggy!

[xrvlcruiser]

Wendy,

 

I would modify my reply to say "well before the trip starts". Since your trip isn't until 2021, you have time! 🛳️

[wishIweretravelling]

3 hours ago, Wendy The Wanderer said:

Here's a new question, two questions really, not for 2020 WC'ers so much, but for others who may have done world cruises or grand voyages where luggage shipment is offered.

 

What would you do in the case where you were doing a post-cruise stay?  (2021 WC ends of Barcelona, for instance.)  Could the luggage forwarding company hold your luggage for you for a few days, or whatever, if you weren't going to be home straight away?

 

Would they ship it to a location different from that from which you originally shipped your luggage?  For example, if we shipped our luggage from Tampa to Miami at the start of the cruise, could we ship it straight back to Toronto at the end of the cruise?  (We would be flying back to Miami or Tampa.)

 

This may not be the thread for this.  If I don't get answers or speculation, then perhaps I will post separately.

 

 

I had a problem along these lines coming back from Arctic Splendors last year. The luggage company that Regent uses will give a target time frame--I think it was about a 4-day span--and won't deviate from that time frame. However, they were willing to ship to a different location, so I had them deliver it to my brother who lives in the next town over from me, and to whom I'd been having my mail forwarded while I was gone.  

 

They were willing to be somewhat flexible about dates in sending the luggage to the ship, as they hold it in a warehouse once they pick it up from you. But it seemed that they didn't want to hold it in a warehouse again at the end.

[xrvlcruiser]

You make a good point.

I don't use the company linked to Regent now so I can't speak about them. But it is worth asking the question.

Peggy

[Travelcat2]

While I am not on this (or any other) World Cruise, just want to say that Art Instructor2 is an amazing woman.  She used to run the arts and crafts on Regent and did a great job.  Hope that you all get to meet her!

 

 

[Wendy The Wanderer]

Thanks, that makes sense. We can have it shipped back to Toronto then we won't have to schlepp it from Florida in our car. Our condo concierge can deal with it. And yes, I have time!

Edited August 20, 2019 by Wendy The Wanderer

[xrvlcruiser]

Wendy,

This makes the most sense . . . .

Peggy

[baz48]

18 hours ago, wishIweretravelling said:

 so I had them deliver it to my brother who lives in the next town over from me, and to whom I'd been having my mail forwarded while I was gone.  

 

 

We haven't decided on what to do with our mail.  How did it go having your mail forwarded?  Was it easy to cancel, or were many correspondents notified and made the change permanent?  I think they only forward first class mail, right?  So then does your mailbox fill up with all the other stuff?  That wouldn't be great.

[Sharle]

We've done temporary mail forwarding many times. Easy to cancel. The junk mail doesn't get delivered anywhere 

[wishIweretravelling]

1 hour ago, baz48 said:

 

We haven't decided on what to do with our mail.  How did it go having your mail forwarded?  Was it easy to cancel, or were many correspondents notified and made the change permanent?  I think they only forward first class mail, right?  So then does your mailbox fill up with all the other stuff?  That wouldn't be great.

When I put in the forwarding request, I gave an end date (the date I was returning from my cruise), and my mail started coming back to me that day. Mostly the junk mail just disappeared--it was neither forwarded nor left at my address. There were occasional glitches, and some mail (including first class) did get delivered to my house while I was gone. So, if you have someone checking your house from time to time, have them check your mailbox. My brother checked my house (and started my car--something else to think about) every 2-3 weeks, and would find a couple of items in my mailbox each time.

 

No correspondents were notified of a change of address, but anything sent in an envelope that said "do not forward" was returned to the sender.

 

One oddity: I'd ordered a book from Amazon for delivery upon publication long before the trip. Apparently, publication got delayed, and in the meantime I'd forgotten about it. Well, it got published while I was away and Amazon sent it via mail. Apparently, you must pay for packages to be forwarded, so the PO held it with postage due. Since I never collected it, they sent it back to Amazon. Amazon, to its credit, contacted me about it, I explained what happened, and they resent it without charge.

 

[Bellaggio Cruisers]

We live in Florida and New Jersey. When we leave one state, we forward our mail to the other state, through the US Postal Service via their email address (USPS).

This can be done for up to 6 months. The charge is $1.05. Most items do get forwarded except for real junk mail. Usually nothing in our mailbox. We tell our mailmen when we leave and when we will return. 

Perhaps this method can work for you on a world cruise. 

As far as our car, Herb uses a “trickle charger” on the car battery while we are gone. Never a problem. 

Sheila

Edited August 20, 2019 by Bellaggio Cruisers

[Wendy The Wanderer]

1 hour ago, Bellaggio Cruisers said:

We live in Florida and New Jersey. When we leave one state, we forward our mail to the other state, through the US Postal Service via their email address (USPS).

This can be done for up to 6 months. The charge is $1.05. Most items do get forwarded except for real junk mail. Usually nothing in our mailbox. We tell our mailmen when we leave and when we will return. 

Perhaps this method can work for you on a world cruise. 

As far as our car, Herb uses a “trickle charger” on the car battery while we are gone. Never a problem. 

Sheila

 

That is so great.  When we move from Canada to Florida for 5 months, Canada Post charges us about $150, and can't seem to get it right all the time!

 

BTW, great reminder about the trickle charger--will look into that, although first thought will be to get someone to use the car occasionally, maybe a neighbour.

[baz48]

Thanks for the info on mail forwarding.  Sounds like this may work for us.  We get the daily email showing the first class stuff coming, so that will be a help too.  We can have our daughter open anything that looks like it might need immediate attention, like an unexpected bill or jury duty notice.  Haven't been called in 10 years, but now is when they would do it!