Geeks go for broke! Updated 2/17: Wrap-up

[CAVEA001]

Oh poo - debarkation day. I'm sad for you right now as I sit in my living room reading this.

 

[MAGICFOR2]

Erica, Thanks for taking me along on the cruise that never was! I always enjoy your TRs - feel like I'm along for the ride. I know you want to be Samantha Brown, but you can't - because I wanna be her! Looking forward to your next trip!

 

[lbrening]

I thought I was ask you because after reading your threads I figured you are the expert on this one. We have a roll on cooler that we are planning on stocking with adult drinks. Will I be able to carry this on? What do you carry your drinks on board with? My husband is so afraid we are going to get there and have to leave it behind. Please help! We leave for our cruise this Saturday the 13th. Thank-you

 

[ibouncetoo]

I thought I was ask you because after reading your threads I figured you are the expert on this one. We have a roll on cooler that we are planning on stocking with adult drinks. Will I be able to carry this on? What do you carry your drinks on board with? My husband is so afraid we are going to get there and have to leave it behind. Please help! We leave for our cruise this Saturday the 13th. Thank-you

As long as you cooler will fit through the security x-ray machine (just like the ones in the airport that you put your carryons through and there is NO ICE in the cooler, you will be fine! You stateroom host can get you ice...some folks leave their cooler in the tub in case of leaks.

 

[nenner1]

I can't believe it's over!!!!
What an awesome couple of installments that I missed, you really wrapped thing up fast! (too fast!). Not something I have to worry about....

On the way out, we passed poor Nenner and family nursing a flat tire in the parking lot. Talk about back to reality! By the time we came along, they had everything under control but I hear it was mighty dicey up until that point. You’ll have to read her fantastic TR if you want more details!

Ok. Enough time has passed. It's officially funny now!!!!



It was a pleasure cruising with you, both in reality and virtually. I know you will do great with your writing gig...(You, yes you for sure can make pain managment interesting! I just know it!! )

I'll be waiting to hear all about the next cruise.....

Til then...

 

[zweihund]

Oh yeah, I promised a wrap-up.....


There is a huge difference between a 3 to 4 night cruise and a 7 day.

Don’t get me wrong: a 3-4 nighter is better than no cruise at all. But a 7 day? I felt like we didn’t miss anything. Plenty of time to enjoy the pool, the spa, the Cove Cafe. Plenty of time to sample all of the restaurants AND go to Palo more than once. Plenty of time to just sit on the veranda, or up on the deck. Plenty of time to hang out in the room with a cheese platter watching silly movies. Plenty of time to get your fill of the boat.

Cruising with people you know is awesome.

I don’t just mean Mat and Sarah, though their company really made the little things fun. Sitting on the beach chatting, bouncing around in the water, playing games in the Cove Café are all made more fun when you have partners in crime.

But the thing that really made this journey was all the DISers. That boat was PACKED with us. It was awesome to walk down the halls and spot lanyards and say hi. The fish extender games were great. Secret Mickeys were a blast. And just bumping into people and chatting was a hoot! I loved seeing familiar faces on board and in the ports, and hearing how their days went. Reading everyone else’s TR has also been a blast.

Plan ahead! But leave wiggle room too.

Like you didn’t know I’d put SOMETHING on here about being an obsessive-compulsive vacation over-planner.

Do your homework before you go. For instance, I knew ahead of time which excursions were rated well and which were over-rated. I knew what was worth the money and what was not. Moreover, I knew exactly what we would be spending ahead of time.

When our Cayman excursion got cancelled, I knew that there was nothing else we really wanted to do. I even consulted my Passporter to see if there was anything else that caught my eye, but there really wasn’t. So rather than book an expensive last-minute tour, we opted to explore instead. For free. Well, free minus the cost of ten rum cakes. And you know what? We had a great time anyway!

I did learn, however, from the last few cruises that over-planning can be bad too. Book your entire day full of stuff and you’ll have fun……but you’ll also miss out on the whole point of a vacation: relaxation. If you HAVE to pencil everything in, just make sure you pencil in some book reading time. And at least one drink of the day.

After two or three days, all the DOTD pretty much taste the same.

Not that that’s a bad thing. I like fruity umbrella drinks. But make sure you budget in a Konk Kooler too.

You don’t have to spend a ton of money.

Seriously. We budgeted like crazy to make sure we had no regrets, but we also did a lot of the freebies. Like the galley tour. And towel folding. And just laying on the beach at Castaway Cay. I even saw people up on deck playing Mah Jong one day, so there is no limit to what you can do for free on the boat.

I don’t recommend you bring Mah Jong. That stuff is heavy. Cards travel better.

We also took advantage of some cheap things. Like the rainforest room. $15 a day! Even if you don’t buy a week pass, go once or twice. Sip the cucumber water on a tile lounger. Use the lovely Elemis lotions and potions they have out to sample in the ladies locker room. Or, check out the port deals at the spa if you want a little more for a little less.

A bike ride around Castaway Cay costs $6 per person. Just saying.

Explore the boat! Look for all of the nooks and crannies. The artwork is amazing and fun to look at.

Take your own photos, or just get one or two at Shutters. We still haven’t framed any of the photos we bought on our last three cruises. Yet we get suckered in every single time……

Anyhow, you make your own fun. You get to decide how much that fun costs.

Get back as soon as you can, even if it takes a little longer than you hoped.

Sadly, we had to cancel our Tortola cruise. Either that, or start selling off some of our possessions. With a wedding cruise coming up in October and a Transatlantic the following April (and a few mini vacations in the US and Canada in the meantime), we just couldn’t swing it without feeling the pinch. The good news is, we have plenty of time to save for April 2010. And to figure out how we are going to get home from Barcelona.

So, don’t look for a new TR from me anytime soon, though I will of course be around.

And, about the new writing job? I am the new about.com guide for chronic pain. I was hoping to wait until the site went live to spill the details, but I didn’t want to leave everyone hanging for too long. Anyhow, I’ll post the link as soon as the page is fully functional. We’re still ironing out the details.

So, until 2010……

See you real soon!!!!!

 

[MAGICFOR2]

Yeah I'm first to be last! Thanks for sharing your cruise with us, and for the fabulous wrap-up. Well said. I'm sorry you had to cancel Tortola, but it sounds like you'll have some great times anyway. Don't forget to keep us all posted!

Congratulations on your new writing job! I don't have chronic pain, but it will be fun to see your work!

 

[MagicMe]

Erica - thanks for the wrap-up. I totally agree how much different it was on the 7-day (I'd only done 4-days until this one) and especially the great fun we had with all of the DIS'ers. Don't forget if you have to move your EB TA you can always join all of us on the WB TA!!!! Erik is doing lanyards again!!!!

Congrats on the new job!!! (Or is it an additional job?!). Can you make chronic pain as much fun as your TR's????

Always keeping an eye out for the Geek reports!

 

[anewmac]

Loved the trip report! and We had a blast reliving it through your eyes. I was hoping you would still be doing Tortola so I can live vivasiously (sp?) through you since we had to cancle ours and opted for WDW instead. But I cant wait for the other trip reports!

 

[pit303]

Erica-wonderful report it was great to revisit the cruise with you. Can't wait until the next report.

 

[TotallyAngelic]

I really enjoyed every moment of your trip report - and a lot of the advice given in you wrap-up is very petinent to me and I will certainly be taking it on board with me on my next cruise - somehow I managed to bypass the relaxation bit last time!

Good luck with your new writing job and thanks again for sharing such an amazing trip report

 

[Ender]

Great TR we are living in the magic in one month and this tr is making me deseppert thanks for sharing

 

[zweihund]

*wipes dust off the screen*

Hello everyone!

I wanted to thank all of the wonderful DISers who read this TR and who left me such lovely comments. It was a long ride, but we got there in the end.

I wanted to share some news!

You know I got the job as the writer for about.com for chronic pain. Now I have a URL! So not only can you read about all kinds of chronic pain conditions and treatments, but you can finally learn my last name.

Go to http://www.pain.about.com

I have forums! And a newsletter. And a blog. But no photo yet.

Hope to see you there!

 

[podsnel]

Erica- if you wrote the ingredients on the back of a dog food can it would be entertaining...I will absolutely read and follow your new site- and guess what? I have pain! I'm a REAL customer!!

Very excited for you-
Ellen

 

[Tink rules]

*wipes dust off the screen*

Hello everyone!

I wanted to thank all of the wonderful DISers who read this TR and who left me such lovely comments. It was a long ride, but we got there in the end.

I wanted to share some news!

You know I got the job as the writer for about.com for chronic pain. Now I have a URL! So not only can you read about all kinds of chronic pain conditions and treatments, but you can finally learn my last name.

Go to http://www.pain.about.com

I have forums! And a newsletter. And a blog. But no photo yet.

Hope to see you there!

Way cool!!! so does this mean we can discuss pain and our issues with it??? and how my pain goes away when I fall asleep on the Magic???

 

[MAGICFOR2]

Erica! How cool! You are such an accomplished writer! I checked out your website, and I too will be reading. Congratulations!