Cruise activities planned out

Well that's another thing ticked off.

We have decided what we are going to do in each port.

Haiti - we are just going to lounge around on the beach and do some snorkeling if there is any close by.

Jamaica -  we are splitting up and doing different things. Nando is going to do a historic walking tour and I will be climbing the Dunn's River falls, then taking a horse back ride to a beach and riding the horse in the ocean. Something that I can tick off my bucket list ( Which I will get around to putting together at some stage).
Mexico - 2 boat dives and a little walk around town if time permits.

Now to plan what we are doing in Vegas, Cancun, and the last few days of the drive back... I should really stop leaving things till the last minute, that way I can relax.

And I need to find what suitcase I put the bag scales in.... Raahh

32 days till flying out

Here we are 32 days to go until we fly out, 30 days till last day at work  but only 20 work days left. Not much has changed..

My business cards have arrived. we went with Vista print who were amazing. For under AUD$ we got:

• 500 business cards ( we went with matt finish and left the deck and room blank in case of upgrade, and we can use the rest on future trips and cruises)
• 25 business card magnets
• a small stamp with our names and email address on it ( cause it was only $3, so why not)
• metal card holder
• shipping

I have also picked up a magnetic white board for hanging on our cruise ship door, as there is no phone reception, so we can write down meeting points etc.

I got a new swiss suitcase its a fair bit larger than carry on, but it will nest in the large suitcase and weighs under 3kg and was marked down from $240 to $64, and comes with 10 years warranty. Gotta love Harris Scarf sales.

I also got a tip from someone at work to get some little Aussie gifts to hand out as the locals love them. So 24 little roo badges later. that is now sorted.

The money pouch from last trip is in tatters, the velcro came un-stitched. I went in search for a new one but different brand. No suck luck. So rumbling through the sales rack I found a little purse that will do just fine. It even fits the passports.

 

In true Ramirez family style the problems are starting to roll in. We booked our Grand Canyon tour with Best Las Vegas Tours, and they are a nightmare to deal with. They have taken out more than the specified USD$59.50 deposit that was required and more than what the total of the tour is supposed to be. I tried to work with them as we copped a lot of fees as they took all the money out of a card they were not supposed to. But after 3 weeks of chasing them I have handed it over to the bank to deal with and funnily enough they finally sent through the fax number that they wanted me to send stuff too. To late buddy, I gave you every opportunity, next on the list will be to leave them terrible feedback on every review site I can find.

Kicking myself for booking my internals with AA again... I clearly didn't learn from their crap customer service last time. I was hung up on 3 times ( by the same person) before getting 1/2 the information I needed on my baggage allowance.

good to see that the dollar is on it's way back up again.

I need to start deciding what I am going to take with me. Nando is going for two sets of clothes and buying new stuff in the states. I think I will take a few of my fave dresses and my cozzies, although in two minds about getting a second pair here in oz for $100 or risking them not being available when I'm in the states. Last trip one pair of cozzies was not enough.

I am going to take the two tablet PC's instead of a laptop as they are lighter, but I will take a few hard drives to back up pictures, and blog entries after my last two blogging fails, I am determined to make this time work.

I really need to finish plotting out the trip details and looking into what tours I want to do across the whole trip.... Next post..

Leaving next month - 50 days to go

How exciting.. I can finally say we are leaving next month. This holiday has been 7 months in planning.


It is getting closer to the time that we take off and there is still soo much to do. I still have not finished plotting out the plan for the driving component. There are still a few things that we need to squeeze in two days to be back in Vegas for Nando's bday.

I'm still trying to match up my spend sheet with USD v's actual AUD costs and transactions.

I still need to book our shore tours and dives for our Caribbean cruise, we have finally got our log in to see what's on the boat. I  don't think that drinks packages will be available yet as its still 2 months till sailing.


A friend of mine gave us the great idea of making up some business cards to hand out to friends we make along the way and also on the cruise, with our contact email and deck and room number, but the dillema is what if we score a room upgrade lol... I guess I could just print them on cardboard myself and leave that spot so I can write it in....


Still have not transferred any spending money hoping that the dollar will climb a little higher. This trip is becoming a bit more expensive with the drop in the AUD. But ohh well. I still have a few hundred left over from my cruise in April.

I am pleased with the hotel bookings that I have completed so far, although we pay upfront (the website has recently changed so some hotels you can pay on arrival) we are able to get refunds when the price drops anywhere so I have been able to save a few thousand across the accommodation.

We have had a few flight changes that I need to cross check with my trip advisor to ensure that they are all up to date and I don't need to call and have them moved.

In planning all our stops along the way I have found so many cool things along the way that are more geared towards the warmer weather, so will have to plan another trip lol.

I may have to give up on my dude ranch experience as they require 2-3 days and I don't have that to spare.

I should start printing out all my important papers and swapping the papers out of the little pocket folder from the last trip.

I have booked our grand canyon tour for  the day after we arrive, but have not booked much else. I want to try and find all the hop on hop off buses and do those as a priority to get a good lay of the land no matter where we go.

Nando wants to do a hire a bike day and go riding in Vegas, we will have to do that as soon as we arrive as well as when we are back it will be well into winter so don't want to be riding around then