Preparations for Cruising Fulltime

We bought a "Porthole Cabin" on the Villa Vie Odyssey. After we're onboard and see our cabin and if we don't like the porthole cabin, we have the option to upgrade to a full window cabin for a little more cost. Our purchase of the cabin is for 15+ years, or the life of the ship. However, Villa Vie recently came out with a new 5-year purchase plan. The ownership, benefits, and monthly maintenance fees are the same as the 15+ year purchase, except this plan is only for 5-years. It's also only about 40% of the lifetime cost.

If they had this option when we purchased, we might have considered it. We'll probably be on the ship less than 5-years. But who knows, we may stay there longer. However, we bought in during a great summer sale and already saved around 25%. When we're ready to stop cruising fulltime, we can also sell our cabin to recover some of our initial purchase. Villa Vie even has a buyback program.

As I write this, it's less than 90 days before we embark on our new adventures cruising fulltime around the world. It's time to do some serious preparations for this major life event!

1) Obtain Second Passports - We had read where having a second passport traveling worldwide is easier. I didn't know it was possible to get a second US passport, but it is! The US Department of State website has all the details. One of the main reasons to get a second passport is a foreign country will deny a visa or entry because your passport has stamps showing travel to certain countries. We'll just give them the other passport without those stamps. Another reason stated on the website is "You need visas for several countries on an ongoing basis because of frequent international travel."

We had new photos taken, wrote a statement why we needed second passports, included our planned 3-year world itinerary, and paid our fees. We applied in person at our local county courthouse. since we couldn't relinquish (mail-in) our current passport. The courthouse clerks had never heard of this before, but I had brought a print-out from the State Department's website. The clerk went through it all and said she would submit it but didn't know if it would be approved. Even though we didn't do "rush service", we got our second passports mailed to us in about 3 weeks. This time, we got their larger passport book with 52-pages. The second passport is only good for 4-years, instead of the usual 10-years.

2) Purchase Travel Items - We identified several items we wanted to bring with us for our world travels, and to help make our small cabin more livable. Our cabin is only about 140sq ft in size and storage can be a problem. We purchased several items from Amazon to help:

• Bed Risers - Getting 8" bed risers will allow the beds to be raised, creating much needed storage space underneath. Our suitcases will hold extra items and fit under the beds out of sight.
• Shelving - On a cruise ship, the ceiling and walls are made of metal. We purchased a dozen magnetic metal shelves. They'll be used in the bathroom and in the main cabin to store and display many items.
• Hooks - On the same idea as the above shelves, we bought several magnetic hooks. We already had some we used when cruising, but we purchased several more. These are great to hang jackets, hats, bags, and several other items. They really help keep the small cabin space organized.
• Pop-Up Hamper - On the lines of keeping everything organized, we also purchased a small pop-up hamper for dirty clothes. The ship does our laundry for us twice a week. We'll keep the hamper in the shower when not using the shower.
• Shower Curtain Weights - Maybe a minor item, but these help keep the shower curtain in place while taking a shower.
• Mesh Organizer - This is an over the door organizer with 15 pockets to hold shoes, belts and other items. They help keep the closets organized without taking up much space.
• Travel Converter - Like most cruise ships, our cabin has a mix of US (120-volt) and European (220-volt) electric outlets. We already had one of these converters but purchased a second one. This converter will convert the 220-volt electric outlets to 120-volt for use with our American appliances (when needed).
• Compression Packing Cubes - More of a convenience item, this variety of mesh cubes help keep the suitcases organized. Clothing and other items are placed in these packing cubes, then they compress to save packing space.
• Expandable Luggage Bags - This is like a duffle bag with wheels that uses zippers to change from a small bag, to medium, to large. We had one, but it's showing its heavy use. Since we're moving onto the Odyssey ship, we figured we'll be bringing lots of clothes and items. This is more than just packing for a vacation. We purchased four of these. What's real nice about them, they also pack down real small for storage under the beds.
• Fire TV Stick - Internet Wi-Fi is included in our monthly fees. With the Fire TV Stick, we'll be able to connect to the Internet and stream shows and movies on demand.
• Amazon Echo Show - I use "Alexa" extensively in our home. I bought a 5" Echo Show for our cabin which will be connected to the Internet. I'll still have the convenience of asking Alexa questions and maintaining lists and our calendar, as well as the other features available on Alexa.
• World Travel Map - Since we own our cabin, we're allowed to decorate the cabin as we please. I bought this 36" world map to identify where we've been in the world. Pushpins are placed on the map to indicate those cities and countries we've visited. Within a few years, I want this map to be covered with hundreds of pushpins. Due to its size, I had this map shipped directly to Villa Vie. They provide a shipping service of packages from Florida to the ship. For $2 a pound, items are shipped to the Odyssey about every 3 months. If all goes as planned, I should get my map delivered to the ship in March 2026.

With less than 90 days left before we leave for Sydney, Australia, I'm sure we'll come up with many more items to bring along with us.

3) Sell Some "Stuff" - There were some items we owned that wasn't going to be needed anymore. We sold our electric bikes, a GMSR radio, and we have our 2023 LTV Unity motorhome up for sale. I hate selling my beloved motorhome, but we won't be using it. I don't want it just sitting in storage rotting when someone else can enjoy her. When we stop cruising fulltime and settle down (again), I may buy another motorhome then.