Semi-Live Voyager for 33 nights beginning May 1, 2024

[xpcdoojk]

I am starting this thread because we fly out tomorrow for Houston, and I woke up at 4 something AM worrying about all of the things that I need to do, even though, I have done most of them already!  Went to bed last night with tornado sirens wailing, went outside on the front step to see the storm.  It seemed completely underwhelming, so I came inside after a few minutes expecting to see wind.  However the Welsh Terrier, Rodrhi, was impressed by the amount of rain, and despite me standing in the backyard with my umbrella encouraging him to do his business.  He pretended to.  This morning first thing I found was a piddle.  He is very good about not having accidents that said, the storm timing and rain level convinced him to let the consequences flow.🤣  One worry, of course, is the dog on his own for 35 nights.  We are spending 1 night in Galveston pre-cruise at the TownePlace Suites, and 1 night at a Hyatt Place in Frankfurt before flying home after our cruise ends in Ravenna, Italy.  I have 3 people and a vet (boarding) involved in his care.  I prefer to have someone house sit, but as we and our friends get older it is harder and harder to do that.  So, a near friend will spend several hours a day baby sitting for 17 days.  My eldest nephew will come take him to the vet for most weekends and bring him back.  Then our friend and former co-worker, Nurse Sally,  of my wife, Krystal, will take him to her house for 11 days plus take us to and from the airport.  I know the math doesn’t work and he will be kenneled at the vet for 13 nights.  He is a perfectly healthy three year old, but I prefer the vet to a regular kennel.  On a sad note, those who have followed my past threads might remember Lord Wellington, aka Wellie our Wire Fox Terrier, we had to put him down around the first of the year, right before our 3 plus month Airstream adventure.  He was a good boy almost 14.

 

Enough downer stuff.  

 

I hope the people on these cruises feel free to join in.  Adding insights from their perspective.  My perspective as many of you know is not typical!😂  

 

Now on to the important stuff.  We booked these cruises with a member of this forum, who will go unnamed but not un-appreciated, who is currently I believe on a cruise himself.  The TA of 15 nights was very reasonably priced (as most TAs are), but the 11 night cruise departing from Barcelona was not. We were able to get a corner aft on the TA with lots of space for my gear to dry between trips to and from the FlowRider.  (Board, board shorts, rash guards, and wetsuit are all packed as they were job 1 of planning).  The last leg of the cruise is expensive but not quite as bad as the middle cruise.  We are booked into the same cabins for the last two cruises a balcony on deck 12.  

 

Airfare was booked using frequent flyer miles.  I think the flights to Houston on American Airlines cost me $11.20 and about 16,000 miles.  We booked a Lufthansa flight from Venice to Frankfurt for about $300 outright including an extra bag for by Flow Board.  Then we spent about $300 more on the United flight along with 75,800 miles for the trip home mostly because we upgraded to economy plus seating.  I will now devote no more time to accounting unless specifically asked.  😉

 

Hopefully, this thread will benefit someone else’s planning, as I am always trying to pay forward all that I have learned from many of you in this forum. 

 

JC

 

Attached are some pictures of Rodrhi from the inside of the airstream.  The last two are of Rodrhi and Wellie doing what they do best.

[lovesthebeach2]

Sounds wonderful! I’m still trying to nudge my DH to do longer B2B cruises….so far we did 27 nights on Odyssey, one was a TA which he thinks are boring. 
I’ll be following along!

[xpcdoojk]

10 minutes ago, lovesthebeach2 said:

Sounds wonderful! I’m still trying to nudge my DH to do longer B2B cruises….so far we did 27 nights on Odyssey, one was a TA which he thinks are boring. 
I’ll be following along!

The challenge for us is the longer trips stress on the DW because of dog care and her mother who is 97-1/2 who still lives in a senior apartment.  We just increase the amount of time the in house health care staff spends with her (which of course costs money) and we add laundry to their duties.  The DW is really worried about our trip next year, when we fly to Singapore in February and fly home from Vancouver in May.  On our 3 month Airstream trip she flew home twice for a few days just to check on her.  That is pretty much not an option from Australia.  

 

JC

[h20skibum]

Sounds great.  I will be following 

[lovesthebeach2]

7 hours ago, xpcdoojk said:

The challenge for us is the longer trips stress on the DW because of dog care and her mother who is 97-1/2 who still lives in a senior apartment.  We just increase the amount of time the in house health care staff spends with her (which of course costs money) and we add laundry to their duties.  The DW is really worried about our trip next year, when we fly to Singapore in February and fly home from Vancouver in May.  On our 3 month Airstream trip she flew home twice for a few days just to check on her.  That is pretty much not an option from Australia.  

 

JC

Currently the challenge for me is that I just found out I need a new shoulder….but I have a couple of very special cruises booked that I don’t want to give up, and I can’t see an opening in our cruise schedule anytime soon.

 

Before we both lost our parents, it seems that every time we had a trip booked, one of them was too ill for us to feel comfortable enough to go, or the opposite, our children were having babies! Iknow how hard this is for your wife. 

[mcca2]

Hi JC,

 

My friend Kathy and I are cruising with you all the way to Ravenna. We look forward to meeting you and will check you out on the FlowRider.

Your dogs are adorable and I fully understand how difficult it is to leave an animal for so long.

Is Rhodri a Welsh name?

I have to leave my blue eyed white cat, Souiexie, and although I have a friend staying at the house, I still worry.

It seems we will be on the same fight to Frankfurt, but we connect with Lufthansa's 747 to Houston. Looking forward to that.

Have a good flight tomorrow and see you onboard. 

 

Kate

[Gardener5b]

Thanks for doing a review.  I'm so looking forward to this--we will be on Voyager for the November TA from Barcelona back to Orlando.   It will be our first TA.

 

I totally understand your concerns with elderly parents and pets (especially when they are elderly).   We've cancelled more than a few cruises due to both of those situations.    Keeping good thoughts for all to stay well while you are gone.

Edited April 29 by Gardener5b

[xpcdoojk]

5 hours ago, lovesthebeach2 said:

Currently the challenge for me is that I just found out I need a new shoulder….but I have a couple of very special cruises booked that I don’t want to give up, and I can’t see an opening in our cruise schedule anytime soon.

 

Before we both lost our parents, it seems that every time we had a trip booked, one of them was too ill for us to feel comfortable enough to go, or the opposite, our children were having babies! Iknow how hard this is for your wife. 

Yes, it is a challenge.  I am very much a person to travel.  Confinements are limitations. That is hard, and always an obstacle,

 

[xpcdoojk]

2 hours ago, mcca2 said:

Hi JC,

 

My friend Kathy and I are cruising with you all the way to Ravenna. We look forward to meeting you and will check you out on the FlowRider.

Your dogs are adorable and I fully understand how difficult it is to leave an animal for so long.

Is Rhodri a Welsh name?

I have to leave my blue eyed white cat, Souiexie, and although I have a friend staying at the house, I still worry.

It seems we will be on the same fight to Frankfurt, but we connect with Lufthansa's 747 to Houston. Looking forward to that.

Have a good flight tomorrow and see you onboard. 

 

Kate

Yes Rodrhi is a Welsh name that I bastardized so I could give him a nick name. Rod. Our 22 year old cat passed away a couple of years ago… I can only imagine how hard dealing with a kitty is,  

 

I booked the Lufthansa flight just to hook up to my frequent flyer miles on United.  I didn’t really think anyone would be on that flight from the cruise with us.  Easy way to meet me is to come to the FlowRider when advanced stand up is happening in the morning.  I will have my little camera filming the wave.  My UNC Tarheels floppy hat on.  The people in the FlowRider line are waiting for their 2 minutes.  We have nothing else to do but interact with people.  So, say Hi.

 

jc

Edited April 30 by xpcdoojk

[#55worktoplay]

Looking forward to following. 
 

Sorry to read about OWD.  Very tough. Rodri looks quite at home in the Airstream. 

[xpcdoojk]

The Airstream experience of 3 months, in the truck and the Airstream, very tight quarters took him from a complete mess to a semi mature dog who got the small spaces. the dining table was his bed, He visited us in the sleeping area, and liked to look out our windows which were the same as his at the dinette.  Silly dog.  He has become a pretty good boy after the trip.

[xpcdoojk]

12 minutes ago, #55worktoplay said:

Looking forward to following. 
 

Sorry to read about OWD.  Very tough. Rodri looks quite at home in the Airstream. 

Thank you

 

[Ocean Boy]

Wishing you a great, and safe, trip J.C. You have elucidated well the reasons why I never got another dog after I lost my Weimaraner though I truly miss having a dog.

 

It will be fun to follow your trip. Safe travels.

[xpcdoojk]

21 minutes ago, Ocean Boy said:

Wishing you a great, and safe, trip J.C. You have elucidated well the reasons why I never got another dog after I lost my Weimaraner though I truly miss having a dog.

 

It will be fun to follow your trip. Safe travels.

Thanks OB.

 

I was sleeping great, and then about 4:30AM I couldn’t get comfortable in any position and I tried a lot.  Finally gave up. 

 

We leave the house at 8:30AM for a 10:40 departure, which gives us plenty of time to remember something we wanted to bring and not quite enough time to come back and get it.  

 

When we get to Houston, I am praying to the Uber gods that we can find a reasonable fare.  Since we are going to IAH (Bush) it is a pretty long drive to Galveston.  I have been checking occasionally pricing and it ranges from mid 60s to over 100.  Hoping to get less than $75.  Time will tell.  

 

JC😉

[wolfganghowell]

I can't wait to follow along!  YOWZA - what a long vacay. I don't think our chihuahuas would EVER forgive us if we were gone that long.   I pray to the flowrider gods that it is in good working order for you! Hope you enjoy Galveston - that's our go-to port and we'll be there in 2 weeks on Mariner.  If you're interested - here are some quick recommends:  If you like a great dive bar, The Poop Deck on the Seawall is the best.  Stare at the ocean, ice cold beer and a jukebox of classic country and rock that can't be beat.  The Spot is a great venue for bar food - we like RumShack the best out of the 5 options there.  Seafood options Gaido's or Katie's.  Tex Mex - The Original Mexican.  And for a great breakfast, Millers.

have a great cruise, I'll be following along.

[clochette]

Cannot wait to follow along with you what a great trip,

[xpcdoojk]

In Uber flight from Dallas delayed over an hour meaning rush hour traffic.  First thing driver said he doesn’t like to go to Galveston. $92 before tip. Would have been less than 70 an hour earlier. O well.  
 

Wolfie our friend just left our house to feed Rodrhi. I hope they got along it has been a year since he had duty.

 

jc

[xpcdoojk]

Eating at Jimmy’s on the Pier because it is about only thing near our hotel

 

jc

[xpcdoojk]

Jimmy’s was as expected, a restaurant on the pier.  Grackles (Texas blackbirds) stealing French fries from my plate.  It was neither good nor bad, just as you would expect.  We got happy hour pricing on the wine aka $1.50 off.  It was about a 5 minute walk, I suspect Gaido’s where we ate 2 years ago would have been 45+ minutes on the same Seawall Blvd.  Watching the happenings at Columbia U on TV.  Have I mentioned we are screwed recently?  There is no shuttle offered by the TownePlace Suites or the sister Courtyard property.  I will be using Uber again in the morning.  this trip is perfect used my Amex platinum $15 today and since tomorrow is a new month will have another $15 credit to use tomorrow.  (Sorry, I need to quit with the accounting stuff🤣) I was a bit surprised by the people surfing and swimming.  I didn’t think the water would be that inviting.  The surfers didn’t have wet suits on.  I never saw one of them actually catch a wave.  Watched for an hour.  Reminds me of me.  🤣

 

jc

 

I took a couple of pics of the pier and our food, will try to remember to attach them tomorrow since they are on my iPhone and not my iPad which I am using now.

 

 

[Mrs.Dukes]

Sounds like it will be a fabulous trip. I look forward to following along.

[Ocean Boy]

Voyager is the only V class ship that I have not sailed on.

[xpcdoojk]

1 hour ago, Ocean Boy said:

Voyager is the only V class ship that I have not sailed on.

I am not sure any more of which ones constitute this class, I have done Navigator, Adventure, and Mariner in the past, some of them multiple times.  I have not done the Explorer nor the Voyager.  Did I get them all?

 

Here are the pictures of dinner at Jimmy’s.  Sorry, I didn’t snap them with my phone until we had at least eaten a bit.  😂  I just can’t control myself.  I am not disciplined enough to do this properly!

 

Edited May 1 by xpcdoojk
Fish tacos not showing up

[xpcdoojk]

Trying to post fish tacos from iPhone.  I had to convert it to most compatible.

[Ocean Boy]

Yes. Voyager, Adventure, Explorer, Navigator, Mariner. Explorer was our first RCI cruise.

[xpcdoojk]

1 hour ago, Ocean Boy said:

Yes. Voyager, Adventure, Explorer, Navigator, Mariner. Explorer was our first RCI cruise.

Our first cruise, and first RCI cruise was the Majesty of the Seas.  Is she still in service as something?  The largest cruise ship in the world in 1996 when we sailed her.  Smaller than anything in the fleet now.