June of 2024 will mark the first time I have taken a cruise to a cold destination. 31 years since my first cruise, and all of those were made to destinations that typically were filled with palm trees, turquoise blue water and eventually a blistering sunburn. Or at least a nice tank-top shaped area of whiteness on my flesh. To be fair, I’ve chosen to go when the weather and temperature up north will be fairly mild, compared to other times during the cruise season for Southeastern Alaska, which runs from May through September. That’s a picture of the ship, passing through what is known as the Inside Passage of Southeastern Alaska. The Majestic Princess, of Princess Cruises. The Love Boat, if you will. Dear Lord, don’t call a ship a boat. Some people lose their minds if you do.
“Dear Lord, don’t call a ship a boat. Some people lose their minds if you do.”
At the time of this writing, the embarkation date is still 71 days away, according to my Princess Cruises app. (That’s got me thinking… maybe I should make a post about my favorite travel apps. Well, excuse the digress.) 71 days may sound like it’s pretty far away, but really you need to be thinking about your trip long before you pack your bags. For example, just yesterday I bought a new set of luggage because my old bags were getting pretty road worn. Speaking of old bags, my wife took one of the new suitcases with her on a trip to Dallas, Texas to visit family during her Spring Break. I’ll probably pay for the “old bag” comment, but that’s my passive aggressive way of taking a jab at those who get a Spring Break, unlike those of us that will be slaving away at work this upcoming week. The suitcases are made by a company called Britbag, if anyone has any comments they want to share about the brand. I never heard of them, but I got a deal so I went with it.
Today I’m going to be ordering a few Apple Air Tags from Amazon.com, along with some Duracell CR2032 batteries that are required. I swear those CR 2032 batteries are in everything I own that has a watch type battery; car keys, remote switches, etc. These are those ones they advertise that have a bitter coating so your kid won’t try to eat one. I have not tried tasting one, for the record. I’m picking up the Air Tags because this trip doesn’t end for me when the ship makes its return to the port in Seattle. This trip is getting extended with a second stop in Las Vegas, then followed by a few days in Tennessee. That means extra chances of losing a bag somewhere along the trail. I have been lucky that in 34 years of travel on aircraft, ship and train I have only ever lost two bags. And lost is a strong word to use, since both those bags were found and returned to me on the same day they were lost. For going to the airport to pick up the bags (rather than having them delivered to my house) I was given two $200 flight coupons. With that kind of luck, I kind of wish I would lose more bags!
The juxtaposition of being in a cool, wet climate like Alaska, followed immediately by what I expect to be 105 degree temps in the desert of Nevada means I need to pack for both extremes. Plus, packing for Alaska means making sure you have a few things that you wouldn’t ordinarily take with you on a cruise ship to most destinations. I promise, you don’t need snow boots if you’re heading to Turks and Caicos. I’m planning this far ahead because I want to be sure that everything I might want to take has already been shipped to me, or picked up from a local store long before I’m headed for the airport.
Anyway, the point of my post is that it’s never too early to start getting your plan together for a cruise. A little thinking ahead of your vacation goes a long way, if you ask me. Maybe you’re the type that just likes to wing it. I’m okay with that, some of the time. But if you think about it, you are going to be a bit trapped when you board a ship, so not having what you need might turn out to be an annoyance, or maybe even a problem. In the coming weeks, I will make a number of posts about planning for the upcoming adventure, so stay tuned.
