Salty Zebra

   Last night, minutes before heading to bed, I decided to pop up the Solo Cruise Search on CruisePlum.com . With my husband's career situation being in flux, I haven't been able to book anything for us in the foreseeable future. It's been a hot minute though since I've been on a trip by myself so last night I thought I'd just take a peak to see what was out there. Initially it was about comparing the price per day with an offer I'd found on Holland America for standby travel . $198/day seemed like a lot for an inside room, even for a solo price, but I wanted to confirm that feeling . Turns out I was right! MSC had a ton of sailings under $50/day for solo travelers, but unfortunately, they only sail out of the East Coast and Europe at the moment and I'm not in the mood to fly to Florida. You know who sails out of the West Coast in the fall? Norwegian, that's who! Ok, there's lots of other cruise lines that do this too, but Norwegian is my favorite, ...

 Our week-long cruise in the MSC Yacht Club on the Seascape was absolutely incredible, and much of that is due to what most would consider little things. I've said it before and I'll say it again, the little things make all the difference! In this post I'm going to break down some of the most memorable touches, and as long as I'm sure it will get, I'm barely scratching the surface! From the moment you arrive at the cruise terminal you will see signs and be greeted by staff from the Yacht Club. They escort you to the front of lines and guide you to a special waiting area where the staff are excited to see you and ready to begin spoiling you! They have a variety of drinks available while you wait from still or sparkling water (both of which are pretty much always available), lemonade, or even champagne or a mimosa! Once they have a group together and a butler to escort you, they walk you all the way onto the ship and up to the Yacht Club Top Sail Lounge. Here we were ...

 The MSC Yacht Club is their version of the ship-within-a-ship concept made popular by cruise lines in recent years. Cruise ships have gotten bigger and bigger, and consequently filled by more and more people. Royal Caribbean's Icon of the Seas, currently the largest operating cruise ship, has a gross tonnage of 248,663 and accommodates nearly 10,000 people between guests and staff. As you can imagine, this creates some level of chaos and crowding. For people like myself, introverts and those with sensory processing issues, that can be a nightmare. Enter the ship-within-a-ship idea. MSC cruise line actually pioneered this feature in 2008 on the MSC Fantasia. In the Yacht Club, you have a private area that cannot be accessed by the general population of the ship. Things are quieter. Staff are friendlier. Food is better. You get the idea. You still have full access to the features in the rest of the ship if you want to go to a show or enjoy some of the specialty dining, but you have ...

   Have you ever been concerned about pickpockets and thieves while you are out and about in your travels? You should be! More than 400,000 instances of pickpocketing occur EVER DAY (1)! In New York, 3,000 pickpocketing incidents are reported each month, and you know there are more that are not. Internationally, Italy has the highest likelihood of being pickpocketed with 463 mentions per million visitors, followed closely by France and Spain. I've tried different theft deterrents in the past: money belts worn under my pants or a pouch worn under my shirt. While I've never been pickpocketed from these locations, neither is it very practical to get out my ID, cash, or credit card when I need to purchase something. So when I was preparing for my Transatlantic cruise back in January, I wanted to find a better option. I'd been seeing adds for travel purses and I started looking into them. Today, I'd like to share with you what I found and how I've been using it all year!...

 Towards the end of our recent Alaskan cruise, I asked my husband what one of his favorite parts of the trip was. What he shared so resonated with me, that I want to share it with you as well. He told me that he enjoyed our cruise "routine." After several such trips (we have taken 11 cruises together), we have developed some rhythms to our cruise days that we find much enjoyment in.   In the morning, unless we have an early excursion (which we try to avoid), we sleep until our bodies wake us up naturally. I love waking up without an alarm! After showering and getting ready for our day, we head to breakfast, which is usually in the Garden Cafe (NCL's buffet). Here they have a fabulous array of options, including our favorite, made to order omelets. On the Breakaway Plus class ships which all have a similar layout, we have a favorite area to eat - just outside of the buffet on the pool deck near a drink station. This gives us fresh air, beautiful views, the convenience of t...

  Sometimes life isn't ideal. Let's face it, most of the time it isn't! So, we do what we need to, to make things work. In my "Making It Work" posts, I share life hacks and ideas that have helped me so that, maybe, they can help someone else too. I hope you enjoy!  Today's culture would like to have you believe that there are supports and accessibility options aplenty all around us. Many people I've spoken with have the impression that if you're in a wheelchair you get to skip the line wherever you go - especially in Disney parks. People have seen allergy information on menus, so most think that allergy friendly food is offered at most restaurants. The bad news is that just isn't reality. Yes, there may be options available, but it isn't likely that anyone will offer them to you. Yes, you sometimes get to skip the line, but that's only if you know to ask. And no, most restaurants are not  allergy friendly, and those that are usually only ha...

 As I mentioned before, I've been dreaming of Australia . I think it's good for me to have dreams . It keeps me excited about life and gives me something to look forward to. I decided that it would be beneficial for me to put feet to my dreams and start playing around with what it would take to make them come true. I know that once I get down under, I want to spend a few days in my first location, likely Sydney, Australia, then take a cruise that visits multiple ports in Australia and New Zealand, then spend a few days in my last location, likely Auckland, New Zealand. When I was trying to figure out when  to go, it made sense to look at the cruises first as they have particular start/end dates that have to be worked around.  There are a lot of cruise lines and itineraries to compare when you're looking at Australia and New Zealand. What I decided I was looking for was an itinerary that would get me to a few different ports in Australia and a few in New Zealand. That way ...