Countdown to Miami: Day #40

On December 13, I leave on a grand voyage, going from Miami to London — the long way! — on Viking’s first world cruise. I’ll fly from Boston to Miami two days before embarkation just in case we have a December snowstorm. Since our first port of call is Cienfuegos, Cuba, I can’t afford to miss the boat and then try to find a flight into Cuba and transport from Havana to Cienfuegos. When I was in Cuba in 2010, there was no public transportation — people stood along the highways waving CUCS (local currency, pronounced ‘kooks’) to get drivers to stop and pick them up. So what have I been doing in the 18 months since I signed up for this grand voyage? I mean, aside from shopping? Well, I’ve been:

Checking temperatures: Based on my research on weatherinternational.com, it will be pretty much summer wherever I’m going… 80’s and 90’s, probably very sticky, with a few cool days in New Zealand and Shanghai. Applying for visas: For Cambodia, Vietnam, India, Egypt, and, believe it or not, Australia… though that’s an electronic visa, not a visa-glued-in-a-passport. As of early November, all have been provided except Egypt, which must issue the visa within 6 months of my arrival, and I won’t arrive until April 18. Just the other day, Viking informed me I need one for the first port of call, Cuba, but it’s all done electronically. Besides the usual noisome paperwork, there was a wrinkle: Applying for a second passport: No, I’m not now a dual citizen, but I do have two U.S. passports. In order to have one to go to the U.K. last June, I had to have a second one to send to D.C. with my visa applications, which had to be started over the summer. Fortunately, Viking is picking up the tab for us to have all this done through a visa expediting company, but I had to pay for the extra passport + 12 visa photos ($102 at Walgreen’s... and, of course, they’re awful). If you need one: No glasses. No earrings. And your ears have to show! Researching shots: Going through the Center for Disease Control travel section country by country. Conclusion: On October 19, I got shots for flu, Yellow Fever, Japanese Encephalitis and Rxes for anti-malaria, cipro and azithromycin. (I got Hep A last year for my Yale Alumni Chorus trip to Vietnam and Singapore; that’s good for life.) I asked the travel doc about Hep B, volunteering that I wasn’t planning on having a tattoo or sex, and he said, ‘Unless there’s a really cute crew member.’ Communicating with other Viking Sun passengers: A site called Cruise Critic offers, aside from reviews of cruise lines and ships and deals on cruises, a ‘roll call’ for passengers on most if not all the cruises bobbing around the world’s waterways. One was established for the Sun in July 2016 and is up to page 139 as of today. People solicit advice about shore excursions (‘Is Petra worth $349pp?’ Answer: Yes!)… share their research on which scotch whiskeys the Sun bars stock… and offer advice on caviar (Petrossian Royal Ossetra seems to be a favorite). There was one mention of bringing a Glock to ward off pirates! Don’t laugh. There be pirates. More on that much later, when I am nearing pirate waters! #