OH NO!!! Our transatlantic crossing has been cancelled!

Dazzle and I have been planning for a few years to make the transatlantic crossing on the Queen Mary 2, the only cruise ship that has kennels. OK, technically it is an ocean liner, in fact it's the only ocean liner in service today, but still it's the only ship with kennels. We booked the journey about a year and a half ago.

Queen Mary 2 Kennel Master with four legged passengers

We've been so excited for our planned April 30 crossing from New York City to Southampton, England that it's pretty much all I've been talking about for months. I've spent countless hours doing research and purchasing clothing, travel guides, maps, and other items for living three months abroad, and I don't even want to think about how much money I've spent. This was to be the trip of a lifetime. A dream. Bucket list.

I awoke this morning to messages on the Cruise Critic forum for my particular journey saying that today's crossing from Southampton to NYC was cancelled, leaving some 2,000+ passengers scrambling to figure out how to get to NYC.

Queen Mary 2 docked in Southampton, UK for repairs

There was much speculation as to whether our April 30 Eastbound crossing would also be cancelled, then we received the e-mail:

"We are very sorry to advise you of the cancellation of Voyage M311A from New York to Southampton on April 30, 2023. This is due to necessary technical maintenance taking place on the ship in Southampton this week.

You will receive a full refund and a Future Cruise Credit of 20% of monies paid. This will be set up automatically and will be registered to your Cunard World Club number. You will be able to use this Future Cruise Credit on any future booking booked prior to 23rd April 2025.Any shore experiences purchased for this voyage will also be fully refunded to the original payment method.

If you booked your voyage as part of a holiday package with a third party tour operator, please contact your operator regarding any gesture of goodwill.

Once again, we are sincerely sorry for the inconvenience this will cause.

Kind regards,

Cunard"

The dreaded letter cancelling our long awaited voyage.

I'd planned today to blog a bit about the requirements to get Dazzle into the UK and our progress through them. On Friday we had a vet visit for an exam and to fill out mounds of UK import paperwork. On Saturday I made the 7 hour round trip drive to Gainesville to drop off the paperwork with a prepaid Fedex label so that they could endorse it and overnight it in time for our trip. She is to be dewormed on Thursday. Now that the ball is rolling and the funds have been spent, the latest she can enter the UK without needing new documents or another deworming is May 1.

Dazzle waiting to see the veterinarian for her health exam.

USDA APHIS office in Gainesville where we dropped off our paperwork for approval

This looming deadline meant that I needed to scramble ASAP to get her into the UK, or I'd have to start the expensive and time consuming process all over. So today was spent trying to find another way to get us into the United Kingdom by May 1.

As it turns out, it is nearly impossible to get a dog into the UK on an airplane except for private jets. The only reasonable ways are the Queen Mary 2, a ferryboat from an EU country, or the Channel Tunnel. If by Chunnel, the dog can NOT travel on the Eurostar train. It seemed my only solution was to fly to France and then find a way to England on a ferry or car transport. Renting a car was not a reasonable solution as a French rental car apparently cannot be dropped off in the UK because the steering wheel is on the opposite side of the car. Or so said the rental agencies.

I already have a nonrefundable ticket on JetBlue for April 28 from Orlando to JFK, but my first thought was to just eat the cost and find a flight directly from Orlando to France. However, none of the many flights I looked at would work as they were all code sharing and that meant no pets aboard.

After spending hours waiting on hold for various airlines whose pet policies were ambiguous, I finally reached an Air France representative. As it turns out, I can still fly on JetFlue from Orlando to JFK on April 28 with the ticket I already have, then catch a nonstop Air France flight directly to Paris. The cost is astronomical, and their pet fee is a whopping $200, but what could I do? There was no way I was going to cancel my entire summer abroad. So I said "charge it" and I have a confirmed booking for Dazzle and me.

Now that getting to France was sorted it was time to find a way into the UK, and Le Pet Express seems to be the perfect solution! There are many very expensive pet transport companies, like $1,500 to go through the Chunnel, but LPE is reasonable. They charge $205 to get a pet and their parent through the Chunnel. I've also found that I can "probably" walk onto a ferry from Dieppe to Newhaven for about $60, and when I have to return to the UK from Portugal at the end of July, I will attempt to do that.

Simple solution to get a pet from France to England.

I'm emotionally exhausted from this but relieved to have an alternative plan set into place. I just keep reminding myself that at least the roof of my motorhome didn't blow off in a remote area on a North Dakota interstate. Yes, that really happened to me in 2017, but that's a story for another time.

Many thanks to my Facebook friends who were cheering me on today as I was able to change course to save our summer. I hope that you will subscribe using the form below, and feel free to share with your friends. More later! Thanks for reading,

love,

Debby and Dazzle

Teeny tech for traveling tiny

Dazzle wrote her own post here about what doggy travel items she is bringing on our 3+ month trip to the UK and Portugal.  Now it's time for me to talk about the most important things I am packing for myself: technology.

We are choosing to travel very light.  We're flying to JFK with one suitcase and one rolling backpack, which we will use on our transatlantic journey on Cunard's Queen Mary 2.  But once we get to Southampton, we will no longer need the formal clothing and shoes for wandering around Europe.  We need them again for the return crossing, so we will be leaving the clothing at a storage facility.

Note: I will be linking to many products below.  These are not affiliate links and other than the Google Fi link, I make no money from them; I'm only including them for your convenience.

As mentioned in a previous blog, I purchased the Rick Steves' Rolling Backpack, and this is what Dazzle and I will be living out of for the summer.  I have to pack light because we will be on and off public transportation, and will encounter cobblestone streets and narrow, steep staircases.  Once in a while I may even need to carry Dazzle, so we're bringing her Sturdibag airline carrier with us.  I'm also bringing my Travelon anti-theft cross body purse, and a smaller Travelon convertible bag in lieu of a money belt.  For day trips and grocery shopping, I got this foldable daypack that slips into the outer pocket of my Rick Steves' backpack.

I've been traveling with a laptop computer for more years than I can even remember.  But that's way too large and heavy for 3 months backpacking around foreign countries.  I purchased an iPad, my first ever Apple product. It will work off wifi which is abundant overseas, or I can use my new phone as a hotspot. Since I plan to blog, and hopefully to continue my remote gig work, I also purchased a cover for it with a detachable lighted Bluetooth keyboard.  That item came with a tiny, thin portable flip stand for my phone, which I'm also bringing along. 

What's that?  New phone?  Yes!  Mr. Geek of Geeks on Tour has the Pixel 7 Pro on the Google Fi network and I was intrigued...he told me all about it, and I decided to go for both.  He has an affiliate link which I used to get $20 off (thanks Jim!) and now I have my own referral link for you to get $20 off.  I chose the phone because of its awesome photo features, which I think are as good as the top iPhone or Samsung, but for exponentially less money.  Of course I use Google Photos for storage, editing, and sharing, which I've learned so much about from Mrs. Geek.  She is a Platinum Level Google Photos expert, and she wrote the book on Google Photos.  I am not a professional photographer, so there's no need to be hauling a heavy DSLR around when the Pixel takes such amazing shots.

Speaking of the Geeks on Tour, much of what I'm listing here was recommended by them in some of their great tech for travel videos.  You can find them right here, along with a plethora of other extremely useful videos.  If you don't subscribe to their YouTube channel and blog, you are really missing out.

Back to the phone, why Google Fi for my carrier?  Because I can use the phone with my same USA number for calling and texting in every country I'll be traveling in.  The only problem is that it's only good for 90 days out of the country, and I'll be gone for 94...but the Pixel 7 Pro is a dual sim phone, so I'll get an e-sim from Airalo for the final week.

I love using a Bluetooth headset, which I can use with the iPad or Pixel, but my friend Ruffy reminded me that on long journeys, those might run out of juice, so I should also bring my wired headset.  Alas!  The Pixel doesn't have a headphone jack!  Oh no!  But Ruffy to the rescue, he told me about an inexpensive adaptor...it works just fine.  It even comes with a tiny case that the wired headset fits in.  These will be carried in my Travelon purse.

You probably already have a portable power bank, mine has been in my purse for years.  I have rarely needed it, but I've been grateful to have it those few times.

You never know when you'll have the opportunity for a boat ride, or to go kayaking.  I already have this waterproof phone case and it takes up almost no room.  Speaking of boat rides, I'm always afraid of dropping my phone overboard, or dropping it from any interesting vantage point, or from a moving vehicle.  So I got this device that slips into your phone case to connect a wrist strap or a lanyard.  My friend Ellen showed me a great case she got for her iPhone, something like this, and if I  weren't counting every ounce on this trip, I probably would have gotten something like it.

I recently bought this inexpensive fitness tracker and I'm very pleased with it.  I also purchased a variety of different bands for it to match my moods or outfits, but I'll only bring a black and a brown band on the trip to save space.

I think it's always a good idea to have a flashlight; because I take my dog out before bedtime, my choice of flashlight is a headlamp, to keep my hands free for picking up the inevitable. 😉 I have these USB rechargeable headlamps all over my home and in my cars.  

I've listed a lot of items that need to be charged. But how will I do it, traveling to a variety of countries with different power types?  No sweat, the Geeks on Tour suggested something like this travel adaptor.  It's pretty cool and I can't wait to try it!

I will be bringing a couple of spare charging cords for the less common types of equipment like my watch and headlamps, but I know that I can purchase replacement USB-C to A, or USB-C to lightning, cables pretty much anywhere.

If you've been keeping score, you realize I have a variety of charging cords to keep track of.  How on earth will I carry these items to prevent them from getting tangled?  Mr. Geek suggested an electronics organizer travel case, but no matter how much I searched I never found one that was specific to my needs, mostly because of space limitations.  I even ordered one and sent it back.  I have a huge supply of packing cubes in a variety of sizes, so I've decided to use a snack bag for each cord and put them in a small packing cube.

I'm bringing along some other tools that I thought I'd mention. They don't need be powered, but they are still technology...and they are not clothing or toiletries.

I think I will really enjoy my small binoculars which are small enough for my purse.  They aren't just for wildlife viewing...imagine being able to really focus in on distant or high architectural details!

During a three month trip I will have to do laundry many times.  Of course carrying detergent around, whether liquid or powder, is impossible so I found these laundry detergent sheets; I can fit 3 months worth in a Ziploc snack bag.  I've read that some accommodations may not have a way to plug the sink for hand washing, so I'm bringing a round jar opener...I'll bet you own a few yourself!  It will also come in handy for opening jars.  My most recent set of packing cubes came with a laundry bag, and I'll also bring along a mesh bag for delicates.  A length of line may come in handy for hanging clothes to dry, or for a variety of other reasons.

I don't want to use towels at my accommodations on Dazzle, and I may need more towels than supplied, or to take to the beach, so I got these lightweight, quick drying microfiber towels.

Perhaps the most important piece of equipment is this portable corkscrew.  Imagine spending time in Portugal's wine country and not being able to open a bottle you brought home to savor! Obviously, this will be going in my checked baggage.  The tiny can opener I'm bringing for Dazzle's food was mentioned in her blog post.

Thus concludes my tech packing list.  Dazzle already posted her doggy stuff packing list.  I am not going to post a clothing packing list.  I made the mistake of doing that on my Facebook page and was shocked to find out that my friends travel with old clothing, or old underwear, or that they don't bring nice clothing for the ship! They don't like to bring along their nice things, and they said they'd rather eat in the buffet than dress up! I'm not a fancy girl, but the Queen Mary 2 is a gigantic financial stretch for me and you bet I'm dressing up to enjoy every bit of it. When I'm in other countries for 3 months, I don't want to be viewed as a homeless person.  For comfort, I purchased new undergarments for the trip, and I bought some lightweight clothing in technical fabrics for easy packing and drying. 

Hmmm, now you're thinking, what am I going to do with dressy dresses and shoes and my full makeup kit while traveling around?  No problem, I found a few storage places near where the ship docks to store my suitcase.  I'll just pick it up before re-boarding in August.  Some people suggested I discard my clothing upon arrival and just get new stuff for the return trip, but I hate shopping, I don't want to waste vacation time on shopping, and it's way more expensive than just storing the luggage.  I suppose those friends just love to shop!

That's all for now...we are exactly three weeks out from sailing as of this post!  I hope you are enjoying my blog so far.  Once the journey begins, it will be filled with wonderful adventures and photos of beautiful sites!  Thanks for reading, feel free to scroll down to subscribe and feel free to share.

love,

Debby and Dazzle