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For better part of a year, RQS and I have been talking about taking a Norwegian Fjord cruise next year. Soon, we will need to plan for this trip, else we won't be able to take it at all.
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As I might have mentioned elsewhere, 2024 will be the last year that conventionally powered cruise ships will be allowed to cruise the Norwegian Fjords. This is a classic bucket list cruise, ranked up there with Alaskan cruises, Panama Canal cruises, Hawaii cruises, and Atlantic crossings on a classic ocean liner. I know that this is a "budget buster" item, something that RQS will have a hard time affording with all the traveling we are doing this year and will likely be doing next year. So we have to think carefully as we plan this trip out.
Right now, I'm looking at options from 4 cruise lines: Holland America, MSC, Norwegian, and Princess. The big problem is choosing a cruise with the right price point and length with an acceptable itinerary. This is something we have to discuss. There are some 7-day cruises out there that look good to me. But there is one 14-day cruise that I'd really like to take, a Princess cruise that sails out of Southampton and goes to both Norway and Iceland. But I'm not sure that we'll be able to take this cruise, given RQS's finance and scheduling concerns.
Assuming that we take the Norwegian Fjord cruise, this will be the first time I have left North America and the first time that I will need to present my passport for travel. There is a big part of me that is afraid to take this trip, as it takes me well out of my comfort zone. But everyone has to have a first time, and this might be mine.
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Unlike the Bahamas cruise that I'll be booking soon, this cruise will be taken as Mario. There would be way too many complications for me to take this cruise presenting as Marian to risk making a mistake. However, when I eventually take my British Isles cruise or do the Atlantic crossing on the Queen Mary 2, I hope to take it presenting as a female. Unlike many British Isles cruises, the above cruise does not stop in France. To me, this is a bonus - I do not need to worry whether someone I come into contact with will be able to (or bother with) speaking my language when on a shore excursion.
As you can guess, I'm working on checking off bucket list trips while I'm still healthy enough to do so. Hopefully, I'll be able to get through most of this list while I'm still in decent shape for my age and weight.
