<p>I have almost…ALMOST quit CC, but maybe I can get some support here. </p>
<p>This time is BIG, but it’s not the first time. I always stress about time off. This time I am going on a western Mediterranean cruise in exactly two weeks, and I really want to “enjoy the go”. As is true for most of us, there is much going on. Sick elderly relatives, struggling offspring, business worries, household, finance and health maintenance issues I have put off, …and shopping.</p>
<p>I HATE SHOPPING. I am not a fashionista, but I am not doing the “I don’t care” thing in Europe. Been there, done that (lost luggage). </p>
<p>I keep telling myself this is supposed to be fun. I need some help!</p>
<p>I’ll bet you deserve this time off and vacation break away from daily life. This sounds like a wonderful opportunity. Go enjoy your trip- you can continue to work on “fixing” things when you return and with any luck, maybe some issues will resolve on their own while you are gone!</p>
<p>Thank you SO much. CC rocks! ( FWIW , Cruise Confidential is also called CC). </p>
<p>Before my vacay, I have to check on an elderly relative in Huntsville. My fathers last sibling. Leaving on a red eye after work tomorrow. I will have 48 hours. I’m guessing that will put it all in perspective.</p>
<p>Totally! I love traveling, but sometimes the prep seems not worth the stress. The packing, the endless details to tie up prior to leaving. In addition, prepping the house for the house sitter feels very time consuming. </p>
<p>I also don’t want to look like a clueless American. It is not safe, and certainly not fun, though am also not a fashionista in the slightest. I agonize over what to take at times. A neighbor recently left for Europe, and had it far more together than me. She had ordered a number of things from Travelsmith, and that gave her wardrobe flexibility by mail order, so no trudging through stores, and she could pack lighter. </p>
<p>So get through this horrible prep time, take slow deep breaths frequently, and know that it will be worthwhile in the long run. I just came back from 2 weeks in France and Spain. Don’t be me, and get sick at the start of the trip as a reaction to the stress. It was wonderful and very much worth the angst to get there. </p>
<p>Can you delegate any of your insanity? Hire a personal shopper, expense be damned?</p>
<p>I love to travel, but hate packing and getting ready to go. So many details to care for, which are stressful. I fantasize about teleportation while packing before every trip. And the worst packing is when you have to pack for a summer climate when it’s winter at home or visa versa. My hubby stresses me out even more because he will pack at the last minute, even the morning of a trip. And I personally thinks he does this to try to get me to pack for him. Once I am on vacation, I am happy as a clam and am always happy that I went. Have a wonderful vacation. Don’t sweat the small stuff…people will not remember if you wore your black cocktail dress twice …with different jewelry or a dressy scarf/shawl. We are extroverts, so we always ask to be seated with another family or couple. It makes for interesting dinner conversation… And we always go to the trivia contests each day in the late afternoon and be part of a different team. Who doesn’t want to win a water bottle or deck of playing cards? :)</p>
<p>^Thank you all SO much. I knew you were my peeps!</p>
<p>Washing my hair, but back in a few. </p>
<p>Any other African Americans with natural hair traveling in Europe? Last time (20 years) I was there, children in school buses yelled “La morena!”. SO not a concern for my travel, Just a concern for combing it out tonight!</p>
<p>Any University of Alabama folks reading? Any grad stuff going on this weekend?</p>
<p>Re wardrobe. If you aren’t among those who have the time and talent to dress to impress, aim for a more realistic standard. Simple, flexible, comfortable and if possible elegant. In my experience, you just have to pack well enough to be reasonably sure you won’t waste time staring into your open suitcase and thinking “what the )$$@@? Am I going to wear today.”. Anything better than that is gravy. Nobody ever remembers a cruise in terms of what they wore.</p>
<p>Have a terrific time, you surely deserve it. And your family, friends and colleagues who,lean on you will be so happy that you were able to take a break.</p>
<p>I relate. Even on our annual family trip to Vegas, I stress about what hotel, what restaurants, what shows, who’s gonna take care of our dogs, etc. When we decided to go to Europe, I admit that I could never really enjoy it. I’d love to be able to!</p>
<p>hat or scarfs for the hair. Me, I pack scrunchies for ponytails.</p>
<p>I only consider 2 color schemes;black and white, or denim. I put clothes on spare bed, then eliinate over the days. Pack makeup spare set, so only meds last to go. For each sweater set, an extra top (wh or black) . cole Han/Nike shoes to wear, one nicer shoe. Flip flops for on-boat.</p>
<p>When I traveled every 3 weeks, it was easy. On-line bag had meds, Sudoku, “book”, ipad, extra underwear and t-shirt, trail mix, gum, Benadryl. I rarely had to change that bag.</p>
<p>It is just hard to take a few weeks off, even when you’ve given patients contact info for who is covering for you. At 2 a.m., in Hawaii, got a desperate call from a client I had not seen in months. Fortunately, that was the morning I was up watching sun rise, so I sounded coherent and he did not wake me. Just proof that you cannot cover everything.</p>
<p>Please enjoy and rest, get refueled. Your work is hard enough.</p>
<p>I know what you mean. We went on a Western Med cruise (NCL - Epic from Barcelona) early May last year. Tapering off from work responsibilities was hassle, but I am soooo glad we went!! </p>
<p>International travel is grueling. But once you get to your room on the ship, everything else is easy. We were busy with some very intense shore excursions, but we love going back to the same room each night. Of course having a balcony meant the room was a big as the ocean ;)</p>
<p>Just did a Med cruise and it was great. Casual sports clothes were fine even in Monaco and St Tropez. At night just added a blazer-no tie- and I was well dressed. Relaxe–it is fun. Already booked another next year.</p>
<p>Shrinkrap, I can relate. Stuff <em>always</em> seems to pile up right before my vacations! So naturally I get frazzled and panicky in the days preceding a long (>5 days for me!) vacation. But as soon as I hit the beach… Ahhh…</p>
<p>I discovered a nerve-calming solution that works for me: go to a Tommy Bahama store, buy a nice sundress or a pair of shorts. This usually puts me in a vacation mood.</p>
<p>You will be fine, Shrinkrap! Enjoy your trip! We will be patiently waiting for your “what I did during my vacation” trip report. :)</p>
<p>Yes. In fact, going anywhere IS more work than staying home. That is why we usually stay home. (We have 7 kids. ) Still recovering from 3 day trip LAST weekend. If you are vacationing alone, or with another adult, be glad!</p>
<p>H hates to take off work because he “pays for it,” before and after.</p>
<p>Hope you can “live in the moment” and enjoy your trip.</p>
<p>I have not yet read the other posts but might yet tonight. We are packed for a nearly 3 week trip to the east coast and Spain. We leave at 5 a.m. The prep and shopping has been so time consuming and $$$. We live in the PCNW and we have 0 clothes for real society (and yet we are considered nice here). I am thinking that the budget for prep is 30% of the trip–ie shoes, little things, and on.
I am hoping that we can take more trips in the very near future and use the clothes/etc. that we have just purchased.</p>
<p>I love to travel, but hate the stress. I created a small excel checklist on my computer for all of the things that I need to remember (i.e. dog care, ask a neighbor to pick up mail/paper, notify alarm company, etc.) as I am the one who has to do the details. The list helps. I am also one of those people who cleans up the house, takes out trash, and has all of the laundry kept up before I go as I can’t deal with coming home to a mess. I still stress out.</p>
<p>I think the thing to remember is there is only so much that is within your control - both re the situations you temporarily leave behind and the ones you go into on the vacation. My strategy is to make long lists and keep adding to them as I think of things so that as departure day nears I’ve covered all eventualities that I can forsee. I then remind myself that as long as I have a valid passport and credit card it’ll be OK! I once read somewhere that one’s level of anxiety is reflected in how much luggage one takes and have travelled enough to know that my tolerance for luggage is very limited. So I try to pack or at least have everything ready to pack a couple of days in advance and then have the last minute list of things like passports, cash, credid cards, meds, hair brush etc to cross off on the day of travel. I’m currently watching DD organize a Mediterranean Cruise followed by a couple of weeks in Italy and am struck by how many jobs we all have to master these days. 20 years ago the process would have been in the hands of a travel agent who would do all the heavy lifting and provide lists of what to take etc. but now we have to figure it all out ourself and still manage our day to day lives. It’s no wonder the stress level has increased! Hang in there Shrinkrap and try to limit contact with home to emergency contact (specify what constitutes an emergency) whilst you are away so you can really relax and recharge .</p>