Travel Reflections - Purpose In How We Travel

Allan and I recently celebrated our 14th wedding anniversary with a visit to Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada, for the first time! Canada is so close to us here in New York, yet it took us visiting more than 30 countries before we got to Canada. In reflecting on our anniversary trip, I’m led to share a deeper message that I receive from this experience, rather than writing a typical blog that provides a play-by-play of all we did during this particular trip. That said, for those interested in seeing those details, the video play-by-play of our weekend is available at My Cruising Family on YouTube and is linked here.

I’ve wondered and asked God about how in the world telling people about cruises and travel is glorifying onto Him. How is this a ministry? Well, dare I say that this trip highlights some of the answers to that question, at least a bit, for me.

How We Spent Christmas In Dubai

As promised in Part 1 of this two-part blog series, I will share here in Part 2, where in Dubai we stayed after our MSC World Europa cruise, what we did in Dubai on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, and the pricing for our round-trip Emirates flights between JFK and DXB, as well as pricing of other elements of this first UAE trip for our family of 5.

Day 4 of the pre-inaugural MSC World Europa sailing was also Christmas Eve, and on that day, our family of 5 disembarked in Dubai where we would spend another two days before flying back to New York. Prior to leaving the United States, we booked our transportation from the cruise port to our post-cruise hotel, but with stops at the Dubai Miracle Garden and the gold souk in between, since we would disembark the ship early in the morning, and hotel check-in times are usually in the afternoon. In full transparency, the night before getting off the ship, I received communication from the ground transportation company through WhatsApp messages confirming our cruise port pickup. However, at some point during the WhatsApp communication, when the company “realized” that we are a family of 5 with luggage, the company stated that the transportation that I already booked from the cruise port would be too small to accommodate all of us and our luggage. Even after I explained that 2 of the 5 of us were small children, the company insisted that I would need to book a separate van transport from the cruise port to the hotel, and then, the initial car that was reserved for us could pick us up from the hotel to take us to the Dubai Miracle Garden and the gold souk. There was a lot of back and forth with this on the night before disembarkation, which honestly annoyed me

Fly With Us To Dubai And Cruise Aboard MSC World Europa!

It’s been 10 months since my most recent blog post, Twice Upon A Disney Wish, and I’m jumping right back into sharing our most recent travel adventures with you, here, on My Cruising Family, the blog… but not before addressing the elephant in the room…

So, where have we been since Twice Upon A Disney Wish? Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Bermuda! These trips involved two new and exciting cruise ships… oh, and we even stayed overnight right here in New York harbor for the Christening/Naming Ceremony of a third new cruise ship. Those are the quick updates, but if you know me, then you know I get into details. So here goes…

Organized Travel Goals

Do you have a list of places that you desire to see? If you don’t yet have such a list, why not create one?

On September 8, 2017, I published a blog article, entitled: “Organized Island-Hopping and Further Globetrotting,” where I talk about how my travels started and mention my goal of visiting every Caribbean country. In that blog article, I share my checklist for this goal. I find it is important to have a checklist for achieving certain goals in life, and for this goal it’s sort of easy to see why a list is helpful. Anyhoo… I am writing this revamped article today because I am super close to achieving this huge goal that I’ve had for years, and I’m excited!

Taking Flight As The Globe Re-Opens

In our March 2021 blog article, we talked about pivoting, specifically, PIVOT, that is:

· P for Planted

· I for Intelligence

· V for Vision

· O for Opportunities

· T for Take flight

Although that article focused more on pivoting in life in general, it made mention of how we’ve even had to pivot in relation to traveling. As I write this, I am beaming with excitement because I feel like I’m tasting travel again! Our family has three trips already booked, and if you know me, then you know that planning for these trips is a lot of the fun for me! That said, it’s been a journey to get here, and the journey included a pivot. During the pandemic, we’ve stayed physically PLANTED at home, venturing out only to places relatively close to home like Coney Island, the Botanic Garden, the Nautical Mile, the Jurassic Quest Drive-Through, Long Island’s North Fork, and Santa’s Christmas Tree Farm, which are all drivable locations. Yes, this airplane-loving, cruise-loving family, decided to visit a few places by car over the course of the past year. We’ve also been spiritually PLANTED in our faith, believing that this pause/standstill in our global travels would be only temporary. In gathering INTELLIGENCE / INFORMATION about the reason for the global pause on travel, we have also gathered INTELLIGENCE / INFORMATION on options available to us at present and potential options for the future. We have a VISION to safely travel the world again. We have had the OPPORTUNITY to be vaccinated to help slow and potentially stop the spread of a deadly virus, and to be able to travel safely again, and we have made use of that OPPORTUNITY, so that the three adults in our house have now received two doses of the vaccine. We are now preparing to TAKE FLIGHT as I’ve researched and planned three future trips, with my eye on a fourth… two of those three / three of those four will be during the schools’ summer vacation months!

Have you been getting excited about the travel possibilities opening up?

How To "Getaway" At Home

As a working mom of boys, I sometimes find myself in need of a getaway from the day-to-day grind. Prior to the pandemic, knowing I had multiple trips lined up helped me to get through the day-to-day grind, but for obvious pandemic-related reasons, we can no longer rely on that. So, how do we safely get away now? First, the getaway starts by giving ourselves permission. I honestly think that our biggest hurdle as moms is allowing ourselves to step away. Once we resolve that battle in our minds and in our feelings, then we're in good shape.

Jamaican Christmas Cake Recipe

I’ve been in the kitchen, watching my Grandma and Mommy make Christmas cakes for decades, and I have yet to bake a traditional Jamaican Christmas cake myself. Well, this Christmas, I am sharing the general recipe with you so that you can plan to bake it next year, as I am planning to do so also. Here’s the general recipe recorded from Mommy making our Christmas cakes this year. As with all recipes, folks may choose to add their own flair, so please don’t take this as the only way to make Jamaican Christmas cake, but it is the recipe that has produced delicious Christmas cakes in our family for years! Culturally, we tend to not use super strict recipes and we tend to use our judgment while learning by doing.

Holiday Gift Guide: Practical Gifts & Stocking Stuffers

If you’re like me, your holiday shopping includes gifts for others, of course, but it also includes some practical daily items for yourself and for your loved ones! Some items may be more appropriate as stocking stuffers rather than being boxed, wrapped, and placed under the tree, but they are no less thoughtful or sentimental. As a matter of fact, the personal nature of these items can make them even more special. Some items are small, but can be paired with other small items to create a thoughtful gift basket. If this sounds even slightly familiar, then this Guide to Practical Gifts & Stocking Stuffers is for you. I won’t pretend that it covers all possible categories because it honestly doesn’t have to. There is something in this guide for everyone, and the items are all reasonably priced for what they are, starting at less than $5 going up to hundreds of dollars, with options in between!

The Journey

We all know the “Are we there yet?” question is associated with childhood. During our car rides and trips to various places, our sons have asked how long will it take, which is a valid question. However, when that question is persistent and then becomes the focus of the drive or trip, it distracts from certain things like the beautiful scenery along the way and the event or outing itself that we are usually excited about. As adults, do we do this with God and His plans and purposes for our lives? I know I’ve done it. So, this Word, honestly, is not to condemn anyone, but is to address something identified within me, and I hope it is helpful to you too. What if we approached life like we did our cruises or other vacations? What if we looked forward to the journey and not just the destination?

How To Unplug During The Pandemic

Before the shutdown caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the daily commute was hectic for our family. I would commute with both my sons via the Long Island Rail Road and New York City Transit, taking three to four trains just to get to school and work. With the shuffle, hustle, and bustle of getting my children to school, I often walked into my office well before 9 AM, yet feeling as though I had already completed a full day of work. With that sort of daily morning commute, I often looked forward to vacations to unplug, as you may recall I wrote about in a blog years ago, Why I Unplug During Family Vacations. I don’t miss that hectic commute one bit. However, working from home while the children school from home is its own type of hectic. So, again, I look forward to unplugging. My desire to unplug from hectic daily responsibilities is one reason I love to travel. So, if we don’t travel, how do we unplug in the midst of a pandemic?

What's The Deal With This Blog?

Hi!

Some of you may have read this on the homepage for this blog, but my guess is some didn't scroll through the homepage... lol. I know how we can get, clicking around and jumping from link to link, so I've added this introductory information as well as a bit more insight in this blog post because I think it's important to know the reason and motivation behind things that I read, support, and/or engage in.

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