2023 Grand World Voyage with The Inside Cabin

[Wayfairers]

I have enjoyed your blog - thank you for taking the time to update it so often.  Looking forward to doing the trip myself next year!

[The-Inside-Cabin]

2 hours ago, kevingastreich said:

Hi Peter.  Thank you for the great cruise follow along.  I especially enjoyed sharing your dinner menu every night!  What size are those HD boxes please?  Are they the largest that the Luggage Forward program will accept?  Thank you and welcome back!

64 total inches is the max for the standard size with LF.  Any larger gets really heavy and 50 lbs is the max.   If you are paying your own  then bigger and heavier may be a better value.   But you need to make sure you can manage a large box.  
 

this is the box I used.    But tape over the handles.   That's what causes the damage to two of my boxes.  

 

Edited May 12, 2023 by The-Inside-Cabin

[The-Inside-Cabin]

We didn't need to reclaim out bags for LF.   But customs sent them all through a scanner before loading them on the truck. 

this truck has some kind of scanner.  
 

These are all the LF bags waiting to get scanned and loaded. 
 

I saw them open up one bag.    Sift through the contents and then put it on the truck. 
 

 

 

Edited May 12, 2023 by The-Inside-Cabin

[Mickb]

Thank you Pete and Judy for another really entertaining world cruise blog. It must take you a lot of effort to keep it up in the detail that you do but it really feels as though we were there with you. You are always positive, even during strong headwinds, and you make the absolute most of all the opportunities that life has brought you. Thank you!

[meg1021]

On 5/11/2023 at 6:58 AM, The-Inside-Cabin said:

My cruise critic posts were up to date but not as detailed.   I am continuing to publish  the more detailed posts on my blog for the next few weeks.    Thanks for following!    

Let me add my thanks to you for your blog.  It has provided me with lots of good information for our 2025 World Cruise on HAL!

[Blondilu]

Thank you so much for taking us along on your amazing trip!  

[Love the beach]

Thank you for taking us along! Safe travels home.

[RuthC]

Ah, back doing business at the same old stand, I see. Welcome back to the USA. Have a safe flight home. 
Looking forward to reading about your next big adventure. It's been a pleasure coming along for the ride since you dive into your ports and into life on the ship. You make the most of the journey, and freely share it with those left at home. 

Thanks again. 

[The-Inside-Cabin]

My sister took this from her airplane around 1:15 pm   Shows an empty port - only the Z in port.    Really helped speed things up with porters and customs etc.  
 

[REOVA]

9 hours ago, The-Inside-Cabin said:

The ship was cleared in Fort Lauderdale a few minutes ago!    What a wonderful cruise!     

 

Our bags are on the way home!   
 

 

 

 

 

Congrats on another GWC and especially getting past Perth this year. 😉 (And getting your luggage sooner than 7 months after the GWC ends) 😆

[travelnap]

Thanks for taking us all along with you on this voyage.

[Ellencruise]

Wow Back To Reality and everyday mundane living. Must take time to adjust.

[Oak Hill Cruisers]

19 hours ago, The-Inside-Cabin said:

64 total inches is the max for the standard size with LF.  Any larger gets really heavy and 50 lbs is the max.   If you are paying your own  then bigger and heavier may be a better value.   But you need to make sure you can manage a large box.  
 

this is the box I used.    But tape over the handles.   That's what causes the damage to two of my boxes.  

 

Hi. Enjoyed your blog. Brought back memories of our 2018 GWV.  Kiss the Fish! 😉

 

Question: Did you have Luggage Forward transport your boxes to embarkation and from disembarkation?  If so, did you just flatten the boxes and re-tape them for Luggage Forward to pick them up from your cabin upon return to FL?

[albingirl]

So enjoyed your travel blog.  What a blessing to travel so much and see the world like you do. It would be my dream to do so.

[The-Inside-Cabin]

2 hours ago, Oak Hill Cruisers said:

Hi. Enjoyed your blog. Brought back memories of our 2018 GWV.  Kiss the Fish! 😉

 

Question: Did you have Luggage Forward transport your boxes to embarkation and from disembarkation?  If so, did you just flatten the boxes and re-tape them for Luggage Forward to pick them up from your cabin upon return to FL?

We used Luggage Forward both ways.  

 

We broke down the four Home Depot boxes and laid them flat under the bed.   There was still room for our suitcases on top.   Two of the boxes were damaged en route TO the ship.   The damage occurred when people tried to lift the box using only one of the built-in handholds.    I recommend tape over those handholds so they can't be used.    They are convenient when YOU move them inside your house - but when the crew grabs boxes, they grasp the handhold and yank - then RIP...

 

We bought two more new boxes from the ship for $10 each.    We repaired the damaged handhold boxes and could have used them again in a pinch, but we didn't have to.

 

 

[cunnorl]

Thank for taking us all along on this amazing journey.  I look forward to your next gerat adventure. Hopefully we will do a World Cruise some day!

[kevingastreich]

On 5/12/2023 at 9:05 AM, The-Inside-Cabin said:

64 total inches is the max for the standard size with LF.  Any larger gets really heavy and 50 lbs is the max.   If you are paying your own  then bigger and heavier may be a better value.   But you need to make sure you can manage a large box.  
 

this is the box I used.    But tape over the handles.   That's what causes the damage to two of my boxes.  

 

Thank you!

[sandiego1]

On 5/13/2023 at 9:24 AM, The-Inside-Cabin said:

We used Luggage Forward both ways.  

 

We broke down the four Home Depot boxes and laid them flat under the bed.   There was still room for our suitcases on top.   Two of the boxes were damaged en route TO the ship.   The damage occurred when people tried to lift the box using only one of the built-in handholds.    I recommend tape over those handholds so they can't be used.    They are convenient when YOU move them inside your house - but when the crew grabs boxes, they grasp the handhold and yank - then RIP...

 

We bought two more new boxes from the ship for $10 each.    We repaired the damaged handhold boxes and could have used them again in a pinch, but we didn't have to.

 

 

I taped over the handholds before shipping our box via LF for the WC. It survived but I did add more duct tape for the trip home instead of packing tape. I saw the box on top of one of the pallets as we disembarked. On each side. I wrote “TOP” with arrows but it was still sideways. I hope everything will be ok inside the box.

[cruisin'teach]

Thanks for your wonderful blog. We had planned to be on this voyage but circumstances prevented us from joining you. So we enjoyed following along on your adventure via the blog. Looking forward to the next journey!

[AllTheSun]

Thank you for the blog and CC thread! I’d never followed one of these before (I stumbled on it because I was looking for inside cabin info on a 10 day Zuiderdam later this fall 🤣 ) it was so interesting to see your adventures in the various ports and the activities aboard. You inspired me to buy a container of Tim Tams a couple weeks ago on a trip to Tahiti- good thing they aren’t available in the US!

 

I’m nowhere near a point in my life where I can do one of these but it’s definitely been put on my radar as a Life Goal 😃

[sfocruiser]

Just adding our thanks for the amazing research and steady posts.   We are on the 2025 horizon for our first World and you have provided some encouragement that there are some fun guests on board

[vino100]

I too thank you for taking us on your world adventure. I love the way you embrace the local cultures. 
looking forward to your next adventure. 

[SusieKIslandGirl]

@AllTheSun But TimTams are available in the states. I found some at Safeway/Albertson’s and I think you can find them at Cost Plus/World Market. 🤗

[westcoastsue]

1 minute ago, SusieKIslandGirl said:

@AllTheSun But TimTams are available in the states. I found some at Safeway/Albertson’s and I think you can find them at Cost Plus/World Market. 🤗

Also Ralph’s at times.

[Lesliealbert]

I’ve bought them at Albertson’s in Scottsdale and we also have them here in Oakville, Ontario, at our Super Store.  My husband loves them after discovering them while in NZ.