World Cruise 2012 - I'm booked!

Well here I am - officially booked on the full 2012 World Cruise on Queen Mary 2 which includes the full circumnavigation of Australia. Funny how a two or three people didn't believe I was actually going but hey it's their loss. I invited people who turned me down and I'm not even going to give them a second thought beyond this short blog entry.

There is too much to look forward to than to dwell on people who didn't have enough trust in me to believe this would actually come to pass. I've been meeting fellow shipmates via Facebook and anyone booked on the 2012 World Cruise or any of it's segments are invited to join the Facebook group: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=108081605886749

It is indeed an exciting itinerary, if I didn't release before now, here it is:

January, 2012

Jan 10 Southampton, England Embark PM
11-12 W-TH Cruising the Atlantic Ocean
13 F Madeira (Funchal), Portugal Full Day
14 S Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Canary Islands Full Day
15-21 SU-S Cruising the Atlantic Ocean (cross the Equator)
22 SU Swakopmund (Walvis Bay), Namibia Maiden Call Full Day
23 M Cruising the Atlantic Ocean
24 T Cape Town, South Africa (Overnight) Full Day & Overnight
25 W Cape Town, South Africa (Overnight) Full Day & Overnight
26 TH Cape Town, South Africa Full Day
27 F Cruising the Indian Ocean
28 S Durban, South Africa Full Day
29-31 SU-T Cruising the Indian Ocean

February, 2012

Feb 1 W Port Louis, Mauritius Full Day
2-7 TH-T Cruising the Indian Ocean
8 W Perth (Fremantle), Australia Full Day
9-10 TH-F Cruising the Great Australian Bight
11 S Adelaide, Australia Full Day
12-13 SU-M Cruising the Great Australian Basin & Tasman Sea
14 T Sydney, Australia Full Day & Evening
15 W Cruising the Tasman Sea
16 TH Brisbane, Australia Full Day
17 F Cruising the Coral Sea
18 S Whitsunday Islands (for the Great Barrier
Reef), Australia
Full Day
19 SU Cairns (Yorkeys Knob), Australia Full Day
20-21 M-T Cruising the Arafura Sea
22 W Darwin, Australia Maiden Call Full Day
23 TH Cruising the Timor Sea
24 F Bali (Padang Bay), Indonesia Full Day
25-27 S-M Cruising the Indian Ocean
28 T Perth (Fremantle), Australia Full Day
Feb 29 W Cruising the Indian Ocean

March, 2012
Mar 1-2 TH-F Cruising the Great Australian Basin
3 S Adelaide, Australia Full Day
4 SU Cruising the Great Australian Basin
5 M Melbourne, Australia Full Day
6 T Cruising the Tasman Sea
7 W Sydney, Australia Full Day & Evening
8-11 TH-SU Cruising the Tasman Sea & the Solomon Sea
12 M Rabaul, Papua New Guinea Full Day
13-14 T-W Cruising the Pacific Ocean
15 TH Saipan, Northern Mariana Islands Full Day
16-17 F-S Cruising the Pacific Ocean
18 SU Osaka, Japan (for Kyoto) Full Day & Evening
19 M Cruising the Pacific Ocean
20 T Hiroshima, Japan Maiden Call Full Day
21 W Nagasaki, Japan Full Day
22 TH Cruising the East China Sea
23 F Shanghai, China Full Day
24 S Cruising the East China Sea
25 SU Hong Kong (Overnight) Half Day - Afternoon &
Overnight
26 M Hong Kong Full Day & Evening
27-28 T-W Cruising the South China Sea
29 TH Ho Chi Minh City (Phu My), Vietnam Full Day
30 F Cruising Gulf of Thailand
31 S Bangkok (Laem Chabang), Thailand Full Day

April, 2012
Apr 1 SU Cruising South China Sea
2 M Singapore Full Day
3 T Cruising the Andaman Sea
4 W Phuket, Thailand Full Day
5-6 TH-F Cruising the Bay of Bengal
7 S Cochin, India Full Day
8-10 SU-T Cruising the Arabian Sea
11 W Dubai, United Arab Emirates (Overnight) Full Day & Overnight
12 TH Dubai, United Arab Emirates Full Day
13 F Muscat (Mina Qaboos), Oman Full Day
14-17 S-T Cruising the Arabian Sea & Red Sea
18 W Sokhna, Egypt (for Cairo & Giza) Full Day
19 TH Transit the Suez Canal
20 F Cruising the Mediterranean Sea
21 S Athens (Piraeus), Greece Full Day
22-24 SU-T Cruising the Mediterranean Sea
25 W Lisbon, Portugal Full Day
26 TH Cruising the Atlantic Ocean
27 F Southampton, England Disembark AM

SINGLE OCCUPANCY PRICING Single Occupancy ●The following is based upon single occupancy (one person in one cabin) ●Pricing includes port charges and taxes ●Pricing includes insurance as indicated With Insurance from Cunard Category Deposit Required On-Board Credit Total** including deposit D5 Inside $5,485.00 $650 $40,672.11 C2 Outside $6,607.00 $650 $48,825.65 B2 In- Hull Balcony $7,480.00 $1,050 $55,167.78 B1 In- Hull Balcony $7,729.00 $1,050 $56,979.19 A4 - Balcony $7.729.00 $1,050 $56,979.19 A2 - Balcony $8,802.00 $1,050 $64,770.89 P2 - Princess Grill $15,674.00 $1,300 $114,882.48 Q6 - Queen's Grill $21,374.00 $1,800 $157,818.68 Without Insurance from Cunard Category Deposit Required On-Board Credit Total** including deposit D5 Inside $5,485.00 $650 $37,384.83 C2 Outside $6,607.00 $650 $44,865.83 B2 In- Hull Balcony $7,480.00 $1,050 $50,684.83 B1 In- Hull Balcony $7,729.00 $1,050 $52,346.83 A4 - Balcony $7.729.00 $1,050 $52,346.83 A2 - Balcony $8,802.00 $1,050 $59,495.83 P2 - Princess Grill $15,674.00 $1,300 $105308.83 Q6 - Queen's Grill $21,374.00 $1,800 $143308.83

DOUBLE OCCUPANCY PRICING Double Occupancy ●The following is based upon double occupancy (two people in one cabin) ●Pricing includes port charges and taxes ●Pricing includes insurance as indicated With Insurance from Cunard Category Deposit Required On-Board Credit Total** including deposit D5 Inside $6,268.00 $1,150.00 $47,183.08 C2 Outside $7,551.00 $1,150.00 $56,502.96 B2 In- Hull Balcony $8,548.00 $1,800.00 $63,750.74 B1 In- Hull Balcony $8,833.00 $1,800.00 $65,820.62 A4 - Balcony $8,833.00 $1,800.00 $65,820.62 A2 - Balcony $10,059.00 $1,800.00 $74,726.50 P2 - Princess Grill $15,673.00 $2,300.00 $115,520.34 Q6 - Queen's Grill $21,373.00 $3,300.00 $156,937.02 Without Insurance from Cunard Category Deposit Required On-Board Credit Total** including deposit D5 Inside $6,268.00 $1,150.00 $43,426.30 C2 Outside $7,551.00 $1,150.00 $51,977.42 B2 In- Hull Balcony $8,548.00 $1,800.00 $58,627.38 B1 In- Hull Balcony $8,833.00 $1,800.00 $60,526.52 A4 - Balcony $8,833.00 $1,800.00 $60,526.52 A2 - Balcony $10,059.00 $1,800.00 $68,697.80 P2 - Princess Grill $15,673.00 $2,300.00 $106,126.78 Q6 - Queen's Grill $21,373.00 $3,300.00 $144,127.22

I simply cannot wait!

Help me decide vacation 2010

After another restless night (I was coughing and pretty much miserable all night), I started looking into the various cruises I might be taking in 2010. An idea came to me that perhaps I will take two different vacations in 2010 instead of one long vacation.

Here are the two cruises I am thinking about booking in July, 2010.

July 2, 2010 aboard Princess Cruise Line's "Caribbean Princess". This is a 9 night cruise to Bermuda and the Caribbean which sails round trip from NYC. Since the 4th of July falls on Sunday in 2010, that means Monday is the legal holiday (even for the post office and banks). I would be able to take a 9 night vacation and still only use 5 days of vacation time.

Here is the itinerary:

Day	Location	Arrival	Departure
Friday, July 2, 2010	New York, New York	--	05:00 PM
Saturday, July 3, 2010	At Sea	--	--
Sunday, July 4, 2010	Royal Naval Dockyard, Bermuda	08:00 AM	05:00 PM
Monday, July 5, 2010	At Sea	--	--
Tuesday, July 6, 2010	San Juan, Puerto Rico	01:00 PM	11:00 PM
Wednesday, July 7, 2010	St. Thomas, U.s. Virgin Islands	07:00 AM	04:00 PM
Thursday, July 8, 2010	Grand Turk, Caicos Islands	01:00 PM	07:00 PM
Friday, July 9, 2010	At Sea	--	--
Saturday, July 10, 2010	At Sea	--	--
Sunday, July 11, 2010	New York, New York	07:15 AM	--

July 1, 2010 aboard Cunard Cruise Line's "Queen Mary 2". This is a 5 night cruise to New England and Canada also sailing round trip from NYC. Once again, since the 4th of July is Sunday, the 5th is the legal holiday, and, I would only need to take 3 days vacation.

And here is the itinerary for Cunard QM2:

Day	Location	Arrival	Departure
Thursday, July 1, 2010	New York	--	06:00 PM
Friday, July 2, 2010	At Sea	--	--
Saturday, July 3, 2010	Halifax	08:00 AM	05:00 PM
Sunday, July 4, 2010	Boston	12:00 PM	11:00 PM
Monday, July 5, 2010	At Sea	--	--
Tuesday, July 6, 2010	New York	07:00 AM	--

Interesting proposition. My family has been tossing around the idea of a Christmas cruise for 2010. Since everyone lives within 150 miles of NYC we are thinking about either taking Queen Mary 2 OR Royal Caribbean's Explorer of the Seas.

Here is the Explorer of the Seas itinerary:

Day	Location	Arrival	Departure
Sunday, December 19, 2010	Cape Liberty, Bayonne, N.j.	--	04:00 PM
Monday, December 20, 2010	Cruising	--	--
Tuesday, December 21, 2010	Cruising	--	--
Wednesday, December 22, 2010	Labadee, Haiti	08:00 AM	05:00 PM
Thursday, December 23, 2010	Samana, Dominican Republic	08:00 AM	05:00 PM
Friday, December 24, 2010	Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas	08:00 AM	05:00 PM
Saturday, December 25, 2010	Cruising	--	--
Sunday, December 26, 2010	Bridgetown, Barbados	08:00 AM	06:00 PM
Monday, December 27, 2010	Roseau, Dominica	08:00 AM	06:00 PM
Tuesday, December 28, 2010	St. Johns, Antigua	08:00 AM	05:00 PM
Wednesday, December 29, 2010	Philipsburg, St. Maarten	07:00 AM	05:00 PM
Thursday, December 30, 2010	Cruising	--	--
Friday, December 31, 2010	Cruising	--	--
Saturday, January 1, 2011	Cruising	--	--
Sunday, January 2, 2011	Cape Liberty, Bayonne, N.j.	07:00 AM	--

And here is the Queen Mary 2 Itinerary:

Sunday, December 19, 2010	New York	--	06:00 PM
Monday, December 20, 2010	At Sea	--	--
Tuesday, December 21, 2010	At Sea	--	--
Wednesday, December 22, 2010	Grand Turk	08:00 AM	01:00 PM
Thursday, December 23, 2010	Tortola	09:00 AM	06:00 PM
Friday, December 24, 2010	St Maarten	08:00 AM	06:00 PM
Saturday, December 25, 2010	At Sea	--	--
Sunday, December 26, 2010	Curacao	09:00 AM	02:00 PM
Monday, December 27, 2010	Grenada	09:00 AM	06:00 PM
Tuesday, December 28, 2010	Barbados	08:00 AM	06:00 PM
Wednesday, December 29, 2010	St Lucia	08:00 AM	06:00 PM
Thursday, December 30, 2010	St Kitts	08:00 AM	06:00 PM
Friday, December 31, 2010	St Thomas	08:00 AM	05:00 PM
Saturday, January 1, 2011	At Sea	--	--
Sunday, January 2, 2011	At Sea	--	--
Monday, January 3, 2011	New York	06:30 AM	--

I am very fortunate that the company where I work automatically closes for the entire week between Christmas and New Year's so it's like a bonus week of vacation. And, other members of my family who are still in the work force and not retired also have this same great benefit with their respective companies.

Additionally, since Christmas falls on Saturday in 2010, that means my company will use December 24th as the holiday, and, therefore, the Christmas cruise will only cost me 4 vacation days on Royal Caribbean and 5 days on Cunard.

Vacation Carry Over

So, if I take the QM2 sailing in July, I will be able to carry an additional 2 to 3 days vacation into 2011 or no extra vacation days in 2011 if I select Caribbean Princess for the 4th of July in 2010 and QM2 for Christmas.

Confused yet? Help me decide! Vote in the poll (found in the upper right hand column)

On the right hand column you will see that I put up a poll. If you'd like to give your opinion of which you believe is the best vacation combination - based only on the choices I have presented, please take a moment to vote.

The polls is open for the next 10 days but, realistically, I'll probably book by next Monday or so.