Last checks... little sleep, are you sure you have everything?

And today was it, the last day prior to flying out again.

This means it's a day which starts off relaxed, cause you know everything is ready, you've been everywhere where you should have been, and today is about relaxing, and enjoying the evening with the people you share you life with....

Or so it seems, reality is slightly different. Yes it starts off relaxed, and then just about around lunchtime, panic kicks in. Yes you've done this numerous times, no you've never left anything important behind, but let's triple and quadruple check your luggage, papers, passport, other documents. Let's be sure we're ready.

Once the rest settles in from this, you go through your laptop and make sure your hard-drives are as full as possible with stuff to watch, because once you leave, that's it. Whatever is on those drives is what you'll be watching for the upcoming 6 months.

With the laptop downloading stuff, which you started with days ago, but still. Your luggage packed, it finally starts to hit your brain. It's time to leave again, and you'll be back in 6 months.

Tonight, hence why this post is so late, I've enjoyed dinner at a nice restaurant, with my brother and the rest of the family, and mom and dad were there as well. It was nice seeing everyone, especially since it's going to be tough having to leave everyone behind again. But it's what we do, and we know this when we sign up for the job.

Today only a short post, time to head for bed. It's an early trip to the airport, leaving the house at 5:30 am, and it's already 11:30 pm, so that makes it less than 5,5 hours of sleep.

Good night, sleep tight and some crap about bedbugs, damn I hate those creatures!

Adeu!

Getting ready and visiting EVERYONE!

Since a few days, we started jogging again, just like 3 Km a day, to get slightly back in a decent condition. Not in shape, we're skinny ass anyways, but just to have a better condition. We all know that the first weeks onboard are going to be tough. I wouldn't necessarily call them the toughest, because the last 6 weeks are pretty heavy as well, as you're preparing to leave and need to have your handover ready, you're closing off your targets etc. But we'll get to that part in about 5 months time.

So having started to jog again, I can honestly say that I should've done this weeks ago. For the simple reason that I'm in pain. A lot of it. If you get home, and do nothing besides eating, shopping, eating more, having parties and don't really care for sports, then you're going to be in pain once you start again after 2 months. So this is a lesson learned in my book, and probably will be treated the same as a hangover, you feel like crap, but at the end of the day, we all know you're gonna do it exactly the same way again.

 2 Days to go, then it's time to fly out to the nice and warm Florida! And it is needed, since it's like freezing here. Even a party still needs a bonfire to make it bearable at best. But no time to party, time is seriously ticking away, and there's still stuff to do.

Yesterday we completed the luggage part, and yes that's early, but leaves time to add whatever last minute things you forgot, and allows you to be fully ready for when it's time to travel!

So today it's time to visit people, and yeah pretty much everyone. Especially the elderly family members. You just never know. So I always take a day in which I visit those people whom I care for the most, to make sure I have seen them just before I go. And, with the pain you're in, you walk pretty much the same as they do, so that gives you something to talk about.

Now when you go, be ready! And that doesn't mean that you need to buckle up for bad reasons, but often people wait for this moment to ask you any question you might or might not have answered yet.

My plan of attack? Fairly simple, I make sure I have my itinerary with me, either on app or paper. Know where you're going, and if there's places you've been before, take pictures.

They want to know everything you're about to do. They can't or won't do it, so give them the pleasure of experiencing it through your story. The more you do it, the better you get at it.

Small example, you're all familiar with the Game of Thrones.

This has partially been filmed in Dubrovnik, a small village in Croatia. It's a great place and an amazing port for some of the biggest cruise vessels to have a port day.

So by knowing this and having the pictures from when I was there the last time, I am able to give them a part of the experience. 

So, time for me to get ready, take what I need and then load up on tea and coffee, during this great day of running around like a headless chicken to visit the world!

Selamat Tinggal!

P.S. Yes you're always going to piss some people off. As much as you'd want to, no it is physically impossible to visit everyone you would want to. Good Luck! Don't forget to enjoy the food and sweets whilst you can, onboard they will be different! 

It's packing time... again!

Holidays are over, time to get ready to go back to reality, or cruise ship life, whichever term you prefer.

New Passport - Check
New Visa - Check
Flight Details - Check
Hotel Reservation - Check
New Contract - Check

So we're good to go, except for the luggage!

The good thing about living out of a suitcase for over 10 years is, that you get really efficient in packing luggage and being able to define what you're going to bring with you and what not.

Uniforms, a must bring along, but as we all know the acronyms of many airlines, for example DELTA (Do Not Expect Luggage To Arrive), let's take 1 set of each in hand luggage. You ever wonder what happens to your luggage after you check it in at the airport, well so does British Airways. You name it and I've traveled with the airline and trust me, all of them have 1 big challenge, that is handling thousands of suitcases in way too little time.

Now to not make them look too bad, working in cruise industry I can assure you the same happens. And let's be honest, it a bit more challenging to send a suitcase to the wrong ship, compared to airplane. Reason being, luggage is not supposed to be handled at 1 terminal for more than 1 vessel at the time. An Airport, has 1 check in counter per airline. Each airline can have I don't know how many flights checking in at the same time, so it's not really that surprising.

Okay, back to luggage and packing it. Uniforms, 1 regular, 1 short sleeved (It's Florida after all) and 1 formal in hand luggage. Well that adds the kilo's straight there.

Remainder of uniforms in the suitcase. Now let's continue the hand luggage, because that's going to be the core of what we bring. And this is different from how people normally travel. I can travel with only my hand luggage for days, just in case my suitcase gets accidentally misplaced by our beloved friends at the airlines. No sarcasm intended. So what do I pack in my hand luggage?

Toiletries, yes the lot. Now this requires shopping, because you need to ensure you have everything, but it can't be too big, because otherwise it's not allowed as hand luggage.

1 - Toothbrush (Regular)
2 - Tooth paste (Travel edition)
3 - Deodorant (Regular) + Perfume
4 - Mouthwash (Travel Edition)
5 - Shampoo & Conditioner (Travel edition)
6 - Bodywash (Travel Edition)
7 - Shaving equipment (yes both male and female and we all know why, but make sure the gel or foam isn't too big)
8 -  Hair brush & Comb
9 - Hair paste (check the volume to ensure it's not going to get confiscated)
10 - Other beauty products as required (I know most female have more than male, but there's always the exception. I'm one of those. As a guy I travel with basic face cream, hand and feet lotion, after shave and numerous other creams and face wash and whatever else. Yes women are sometimes jealous of the amount of stuff in my bathroom, or they don't believe the I'm single part.)

So now you can keep up your hygiene and you can get to work, because you have your uniforms and toiletries. So now the rest. what else fit's in to hand luggage?

1 Pair of jeans or longer trousers, in case it does get chilly, and with that a sweater or long sleeved shirt.
2 sets of shorts and shirts, because it's Florida!
for me, workout gear, my shorts and shirt and shoes to go for a run or the gym, because one needs to stay fit.
3 pairs of socks and underwear.

Now whatever happens, if you're not going to get your luggage for days, you have sufficient clothing to manage for quite some time if needed. It's not ideal, but it'll do the trick.

Now, with all the above in your hand-luggage, you only have limited space for the usual stuff regular travelers put in their hand-luggage, so it's decision time, what goes with you and what goes in the suitcase.

I bring with me, my e-reader with 500 books on it, and my phone, because for some reason people want to communicate. Then there's 1 other piece of equipment going in my hand luggage, and that's my portable hard drive, yes I have 3 of them, but 1 is full of music and 1 full with movies and TV series, so they can go in the suitcase, good luck stealing that! The one I take with me has years of hard work and creativity on it. All my excel files with Macro's and word documents. All my powerpoint presentations and training materials. That one comes with me.

So that's hand luggage done, and yes I know it's jam packed and if you have security inspection at the airport, they'll think you're an idiot and should have checked that bag in, but then again, they don't travel as much as we do! But hey, at least if something goes wrong, you'll have all your stuff with you to survive without feeling awkward for like a week.

Let's move on with the regular suitcase, and you're going to be surprised how light this one is going to be.

In order to pack your suitcase properly and to prevent taking loads of stuff you're not going to need, you need to think of how your life actually is on the ship. If it's going to be your first contract, I'll explain you a bit while I go through what I pack for a regular contract.

Now one thing before you start with packing your main suitcase is remembering the cost of overweight luggage. A couple hundred dollars you easily pay. Take those couple hundred and spend them once you're on the ship in the ports and buy something nice for during your contract. This will serve a double purpose, because treating yourself to something nice, is really a booster for a lot of people who work on ships.

Now we already have 1 set of long sleeved and 2 sets of short sleeved in our hand luggage. How much time off are you going to have and how are you going to spend it. This is what defines how much more you need. I for example have my workout gear with me in my hand luggage, and I'm known for visiting the bar shortly after the end of my shift for a drink, in uniform and then head down to my cabin. Meaning, I don't wear a lot of private clothing during the evenings.

But when you're going out, you need them because you don't want to run around in your uniforms when ashore! You want to go undercover with a wig and make-up if you could.

The suitcase, what kind of case do you travel with? I have learned from my first contract, I had a beautiful hard top suitcase, protecting everything inside and yes it's a great suitcase and I have it until today, BUT I do not use it for my Crew Travel anymore. I use a XXL soft suitcase on wheels, light and foldable.

Simple reason for this, in most cabins there's no space to store your suitcase except maybe behind or underneath a piece of furniture. So I now come to my cabin, empty the back and put everything in place in like 20 minutes, then fold it, put it under the TV cabinet and won't see it for the next 6 months. So be smart when getting a suitcase, because you might end up looking at it the next 6 months if you can't store it.



First thing in the suitcase, the remaining uniforms, if you have them at home of course. 

My upcoming trip starts off in Florida, but goes to the Baltic, meaning I need both short and some extra long sleeved as well, as I have no idea how the weather in the Baltic will develop this summer. So I take another 1 set of short sleeved and another 2 sets of long sleeved. That gives me 3 and 3 sets. Now some additional t-shirts and shirts, let's say 3 each, gives me a nice range of combinations, so it doesn't look too boring and always the same.

Socks and underwear, important! I have invested in having sufficient of both, ship-life can be hectic, and sometimes you do not know when you're going to have the time for laundry. I travel with, 15 pairs of underwear and 21 pairs of socks. Laundry facilities are shared, and when you have time they might be occupied, or you might not have the time, or it's closed during night hours. It happens and the last thing you want is to end up without these two.

This means we're now dressed, for work, private and workout. We have sufficient socks and underwear to last us 2 weeks. And for the smell in our cabin we hope to not have to use it all before washing, but we all know when we have to choose between having a good time and doing laundry, Senor Frogs better start lining up the tequila shots.

Shoes, they're next. Now this is a challenging point because there's a big difference between men and woman (plus myself). I've seen, I am not joking, ladies travel with a massive extra suitcase, just for their shoes. Yes this was on the way back home, because they purchased over 30 pairs during their contract. But still, that's insane, you'll spend a fortune on your luggage. So guys will probably travel with 1 or 2 pairs for work, 1 for formal and then 1 or maybe 2 for casual. Ladies, I have no idea how many you travel with but my minimum count usually comes quite close to your basic count. I have 2 pairs for work, 1 formal, 3 pairs of sneakers (all different colors it needs to match) 2 pairs of casual, 2 pairs of flip-flops and then 1 set of moccasins just because they're comfy. Yes this adds my total up to 11 pairs of footwear. Judge me, I don't care.

With all this in the suitcase, we now start carefully wrapping the electronics in the middle. 2 Hard drives, the laptop, please do not forget your cables! Chargers and adapters, better be prepared than without.

Then we're back at toiletries, see in the hand-luggage we have the travel editions of everything. But since you're going to need more, you better have the large versions of it all in your suitcase. This way you don't have to use the travel edition and your emergency kit stays intact.

Paperwork, there's always paperwork to bring along. Certificates, medical passports, seamans book, trainings and other documentation you might need.

Personally I prepare a travel pack with papers I keep with me like my passport when I travel. This contains my passport, medical passport, seaman's book, printout of contracts (I have 2 parts and that depends on your company) certificates needed to be allowed to perform your position, flight and hotel details and last but not least, the printout of your emergency information. If everything fails, you have no battery and Internet-access, no mobile and stranded in the middle of Baghdad, who do you need to contact to get you out of there. That phone number you want with you on a piece of paper.

I have a separate camera bag, which counts as a personal item and not hand luggage so that I travel with like hand luggage, but the tripod goes also in the suitcase (Actually the bottom of the lot, to support the back of the suitcase as it's a soft case)

Time to zip it up, and on the scale. And it's judgment time, a massive 18 Kilo's! And that'll last me for the upcoming 6 months, and whatever I missed, I'll purchase on the go.

Why so light? Because you're always going buy stuff whilst in port and you're going to need the space for your travel back home. Otherwise you're going to end up paying double the price in overweight fees.

2 More day's and we're headed for the airport again. Luggage is ready, time to relax for today and we're going to continue preparing the rest tomorrow!

Adiós!