Looking forward to my cruise

 

RQS is a well educated lady.  But she hasn't been to as many places that I have been because of conditions which she has lived with for many years.  (And, no, I won't go into details here.)  So, it will be a pleasure to be able to go back to previously visited ports with her and explore places I've wanted to see, but couldn't on those cruises.

There are two ports on this cruise which I haven't yet visited: Sydney, NS and Charlottetown, PEI.  One of them looks interesting, while the other looks like a bore.  Yet, RQS and I will get off the ship to walk around and see things for ourselves. Next comes Halifax, NS and St. John, NB.  From Halifax, we will go to Peggy's cove and have a good time there.  But at St. John, we will likely walk to the central market (St. John's version of the old Essex Street market in NYC). look around, and get back on the ship.  My Canadian pen pal agrees with me, this port doesn't have much to say for it.  

Once we leave Canada, it's off to Portland, ME and Boston.  Portland has a nice shore front area, and we may yet take a lighthouse tour.  But if we don't, we'll walk around and look for a seafood restaurant to find a place where we can get a lobster roll or two.  Lastly, we dock in Boston, where RQS's friend will drive us to the USS Constitution before driving us back to the ship.  

I expect that we will have a great time on this trip.  I only wish I could be doing it in Marian mode....

Beware of accidental misinformation from a "trusted" source

The other day, I realized that I was getting confused when trying to figure out the exact window in which I needed to take my proctored pre-cruise Covid test.  So, I called up NCL and I was told that I could take my test on Tuesday for a cruise that sailed on Friday.  Technically, he gave accurate advice, but not complete advice.  The Canadian government's site requires that the Covid test be taken within 72 hours of embarkation, not 3 days before embarkation as could be implied by reading all the materials at hand.  Given that I had scheduled my Covid test for 2:00 pm Tuesday and my embarkation was scheduled for 1:00 pm on Friday, I should have been OK.  But what about RQS?  Luckily, RQS read things a little differently than the person from NCL, and we both were able to schedule our Covid (PCR) tests for Wednesday, fulfilling Canadian requirements to the letter. This incident taught us NOT to rely on call center personnel who have been poorly trained to answer questions requiring subtlety of thought.  We will now be much more careful in dealing with issues such as this, and ask more questions ahead of time when we have to deal with seemingly ambiguous issues.

I'm hoping that this is the last headache for us before cruising together.  I'm sure of one thing: Both RQS and I will be writing complaint letters to the CEO of NCL.  Even if nothing gets done for us, these complaints do get passed on to appropriate parties to act on (or not act on).

Something that bothers me....

 

Although TCL is a friend, she has one habit that bothers me.  Whenever I state a preference for doing something that is not 100% logical or something done in a way she wouldn't do in my position,  Tonight, she hectored me about being a little cheap with my preferred mode of airport transportation for my Hawaii cruise.

Since I don't expect to get flight information for my Hawaii trip from the cruise line until early November, I know that I shouldn't be taking any long trips between Mid-October and Mid-November.  This will allow me to take care of any flight plan snafus that may arise due to cruise line booking issues. Additionally, this will allow me to quickly jump on the phone and complete my flight reservations, making sure that I upgrade to "economy plus" with checked luggage.  Normally, I'd have preferred to book my air separately from the cruise.  But in the age of Covid-19 and its aftermath, I'm glad that I have one-stop shopping, a single contact point if there are problems with my cruise booking.

When I eventually receive my flight information, I will make decisions on how I will get to/from the airport.  I don't want to spend $300+ on cab fare, unless absolutely necessary.  I'd rather find a cheap parking lot near the airport or take mass transit instead.  Too bad that LIRR East Side Access will not be open on time for my trip, as I'd have flown out of JFK instead of LGA.  TCL wonders why I am being frugal in this area.  But I'd rather save money in NYC, so that I can spend it in Hawaii.

As soon as I get home from my New England / Eastern Canada cruise, I will do several loads of laundry, then start packing for Hawaii.  This will save me the headache of putting summer clothes away, and then having to unearth them shortly before my cruise.  It'll be nice to feel the warmth of the sun in the middle of December.  I can't wait!

Although my cruise is a week away, I've already started packing

 

Getting ready for a cruise is always a pain.  However, I have taken New England/Eastern Canada cruises before at this time of year, and know that I'll need mostly long sleeve shirts, a couple of short sleeve shirts, a week's worth of trousers, and all the other things a guy might need.  (Yes, I'll be in male presentation for this trip.)

This is one of those trips where I have easier than my cruise partner, RQS.  She's digging out the clothes she wore last spring, while I can pick and choose any of the male garments I have in the closet and know they will be OK.  However, it'll be much easier for me to pack for my Hawaii cruise, as I have enough summer clothes (lightweight dresses, etc.) that I can choose from to wear in the Hawaiian climate.  Additionally, I have started to view YouTube videos on what to pack for a Hawaiian trip, and have learned a couple of things in advance of need.  (Thank you, RQS for the summer hat!  It will be a big help when I'm out in the sun....)

Luckily, I was able to install the ArriveCan app on my cell phone without any problems.  I'll have to update it with my Covid Test status within 3 days of my cruise's departure.  (I can only imagine what I'd have to deal with if I still cruised with FCP.  After she forgot her cruise documents on one of our cruises, I had to be extra careful to make sure that she remembered to print off her eDocs before cruising.)  RQS and I seem to be a better fit as traveling partners, as neither of us are making the travel mistakes that novice travelers would make, nor did we get each other upset when we encountered problems on out trip to Washington, DC.

As you can guess, I over pack, as I don't have to worry about weight limits when cruising out of New York.  However, I'll need to buy an electronic luggage scale before I take my Hawaii trip.  (And that's only one of the things I'll need to buy before that cruise.)  I only wonder if RQS will enjoy cruising after this first cruise together....

Preparing for 2 cruises and looking forward to #3 (and maybe #4).

 

Towards the end of my tenure at the bank, FCP invited me to take a cruise with her, traveling as Marian.  It was a interesting experience, as I was outside of my comfort zone.  This would be the first of several cruises I would be taking as Marian, and something that accelerated my growth as Marian.

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Lately, I've been preparing for a cruise (as Mario) with RQS this fall, as well as preparing for a solo Hawaii Cruise (as Marian) later this year. To feel comfortable in the warm Hawaiian weather this winter, I've bought some informal dresses I could wear while there and look forward to wearing them on the cruise.

Assuming that all goes well on the first cruise, RQS and I may choose to take another cruise in the spring.  The main issue we think we'll have with this cruise will not be on the cruise itself.  It will be with her cats.  Will she have enough caregivers visiting often enough to feed her cats, clean their litter boxes, and show them some affection while we're gone?  This problem is one I dealt with after my cat died over 10 years ago by not adopting a new pet.  So I don't say anything negative about her cats, as I understand how they become family during their short lives.

I've been half-heartedly trying to convince RQS to take a specific Panama Canal cruise (a full transit through the historic locks) this coming spring, as it might be a last golden opportunity to see my uncle while he's alive. It's been fun trying to find ways to make this cruise into a more affordable reality (time and money), and it's something I should be able to afford next year.  RQS's issue with this is finding cat caregivers for the better part of 3 weeks, and I'm not sure if my brother (and his wife) are up to the task.  Luckily, this cruise will be offered for the 2024 season, and I may have a second opportunity to take this cruise. Hopefully, RQS and I will be able to do it together.

If we can't do the Panama Canal cruise due to RQS's time/cat caregiver constraints, we may take a 11 day Caribbean cruise.  This would be the second time I'd be in the area as Mario, and it wouldn't be as much fun as traveling as Marian.  Let's see what happens next.

Thoughts on travel as Marian and as Mario

A while back, I bought the above dress at Target. As much as my shoulders appear too broad when my entire figure is considered, I thing that this will be one of the dresses I'll be taking with me when I go to Hawaii.  However, I'm not so sure of the dress below.    

Although both dresses are of similar styles, there is a great difference between the two.  The top dress has just enough "going on" with the fabric to make it look tolerably nice on me.  Unfortunately, the bottom dress is too plain, and I will need to find the right piece of costume jewelry to wear with it because it shows too much of my neck.

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Being transgender with male hormones flowing through my veins for over 50 years, I have the build of a heavy set male.  This forces me to use any and all tricks at my disposal to minimize the broadness of my shoulders and maximize an illusion of having larger hips.

RQS accepts me in both presentations, and may eventually cruise with me in a female gender presentation.  This won't happen for a while.  Until then, I plan to make the most of my trip to Hawaii, as this may be the last chance to take a vacation as Marian for a long while.

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The other day, we found out that NCL would not downgrade our "free drinks" package to a "soda" package.  Although the soda package would cost them less, this was not an option given for the "Free at Sea" package.  There is no way I want to spend $200/pp to get a drink package for the price of its gratuities (20% of $1000 = $200) when the two of us are cruising on a budget.  A soda package would cost us (and NCL) much less (20% of $120 = $24/pp), but we couldn't convince NCL to offer that upgrade. So, we are sending snail mail complaint letters to the CEO of NCL, with a hope that this could be changed before we go on our cruise. (I don't think this will happen, but...)

Contrast this with my future Hawaii trip.  I am not bothering to scrimp on anything, save the transit to and from my home airport.  The Hawaii cruise excursions will cost me roughly $1,000, where the New England / Eastern Canada excursions we have already booked will cost us $75/pp.  Even if we booked an excursion in every port, we'd still spend less as a couple on excursions than I am spending as a single traveler.

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Last night, while trying to reach a state of exhaustion, I started to try to reduce the cost in getting to a Panama Canal cruise and home from that cruise.  Instead of booking airfare on one of the legacy airlines or traveling on Amtrak, I'm now looking at flying Southwest.  Do you have any ideas of what I should watch out for if we choose this option?

 

Doing nothing and feeling good about it.

 

Today was a day where RQS and I stayed in bed until it was almost afternoon.  And neither of us felt bad about it.  I'm still getting used to the idea that I will be resigning my job, and finally retiring.  I feel both sad and glad that I am doing this, as it was precipitated by an event that I should have been able to prevent before it occured.

RQS sensed my sadness, and was a great comfort to me while we spent the day doing nothing except making breakfast and doing the laundry.  All too soon, we had to get dressed, so I could take her to the station for her trip home.  

Now, before I go on too much about how close we've become in the past few months, I have to say something about her cats.  They are not used to her being away as much as RQS has been lately, and they pounce on her whenever she gets home.  Although she will have friends stopping by to feed the cats when we go on our cruise together, I can only imagine how they will react after 10 days of her absence.

So far, RQS are getting so comfortable with each other that we are already looking at doing another cruise next year - specifically, the Panama Canal cruise I've been planning on for 2023.  She worries about her cats, but we'll see how they react after this cruise.  Since I'm going to be in Hawaii later this year, she's thinking of taking a cruise by herself while I'm away.  Could I have gotten her hooked on a way of taking inexpensive vacations?  I hope so, as I want her to be comfortable on the next few "bucket list" cruises I plan to take.

Choosing Cruises - figuring out how to compare apples and oranges

 

RQS and I have been thinking of taking one of two New England/Eastern Canada. The first is a 7 day cruise where I've been to all of the ports before, either on NCL or Princess.

The only port I'd want to visit again on a cruise would be Halifax, as I'd like to show RQS around Peggy's Cove.  (See Lighthouse picture at the top of this post.)  It's a beautiful place, and worth going there for the photo opportunities alone.  However there is a 10 day cruise which has me salivating.

However, the above cruise makes a little more sense to me, as it adds 2 ports that I have yet to visit, Charlottetown and Sydney.  Strangely enough there is only a $20/pp difference in the price of a balcony cabin for the 7 and 10 day cruises.  

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Ideally, I'd have convinced RQS to have taken the above cruise.  You'll note that there is no map associated with it.  But I think it's because this cruise is a "one-off" that includes 3 ports in Greenland, and 2 ports in the Maritime provinces which I've yet to visit.

Hopefully, this cruise will be offered again in the future.

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Once a cruise has been selected, we now have the question to go with the "Free at Sea" package, or just go for the cheapest rates.  The difference between a "Sail Away" cabin rate ($849 before taxes and port fees) and a "Free at Sea" cabin rate ($1018 before taxes and port fees) is $169/pp.  When one factor in the following, the "Free at Sea" rate seems to make more sense.

• The Travel Agency is kicking in a $125 onboard credit for the cabin. ($62.50/pp)
• NCL provides 2 specialty dinners for 2.  (I consider this a $100/pp value)
• NCL provides 300 minutes of free Wifi.  (I think this can be upgraded to unlimited for $150,  based on the deal I'm being offered on my Hawaii cruise.)
• NCL provides a $50/cabin shore excursion credit for each excursion booked through the cruise line.  (NCL's excursions are overpriced, so this is not a great value.)
• NCL provides an unlimited open bar package.  (Based on what I'm paying for this package on my Hawaii cruise, I think this adds an extra $250 in taxes for each person in the cabin.)  Since RQS and I do not drink that much, opting for unlimited liquor may not make sense.  We'd each need to consume 3 alcoholic drinks each day to break even on this option.  Could we get an unlimited soft drink package in its stead?

To me, it seems like the "Free at Sea" deal is a breakeven proposition.  Couple the onboard credit with the specialty dinners, and we'd get the "free" Wifi for $6.50/pp.

What would you do if you were in our shoes?

Cruising to new ports

 

One cruise destination I have done more than once is New England and the Canadian Maritime provinces.  Given that this route usually runs from New York to Halifax, NS, there is not much new to see on this route.  Yes, some cruises stop at one or more of these ports: Newport, RI; Boston, MA; Portland, ME; and Bar Harbor, ME.  But these are all places I have visited before as Marian and as Mario.  The basic New England/Canada 7 day cruise has become boring to me.  

When I saw a 16 day cruise with these ports, my eyes perked up (as did the rest of me):

• Halifax, NS (Canada)
• Sydney, NS (Canada)
• Nuuk, (Greenland)
• Nanortalik, (Greenland)
• Qaqortoq, (Greenland)
• St. John's, NL (Canada)

Not only were there 5 new ports for me, but the single port I wanted to visit again was on the list as well.  Although this cruise would not add any points to my NCL status (this cruise is on Princess), it would be unique.  The only way I'd have a chance of getting to the last 5 ports would be on a pair of (25 and 36 day) cruises being sailed by Holland America next year. 

Given that there is no single supplement at the time I write, I could take this cruise for under $2000.  If I were to take this cruise, should I go as Mario or Marian?  What do you think?