Tuesday April 5th, 2016 - 26 days to the cruise...time to warm up the blog

We're 26 days out from the cruise so I thought it was time to startup the blog. Boy did it come up fast! I've been making plans, tweaking the budget, getting things ready and now it seems like there's not enough time. The to-do list is growing faster that I can check things off.

I already finished on-line check in, submitted all of the necessary bike documentation and made the custom luggage tags (like always) and I'm working on the cruise 'contact cards'. These are business cards I make up to pass along to anyone that might want too stay in touch after the cruise.

Custom Luggage Tag

This year's trip is another motorcycle cruise...eight days, seven nights with three days in Bermuda...two of them ride days. This is shorter than previous cruises but it's a small island. We've also booked a two tank dive trip for myself, Chris, Alicia and Heather. I truly wish Barb was diving too.  

This is also a 'family' cruise. Barb and I are going with our bike, Chris and Alicia are going with their bike, Alicia's parents are going with their bike and of course Cousins Dave and Annette are going with their bike. In addition, Heather and little are also coming along.

We're cruising on Celebrity Cruise Line's Summit. 

Celebrity Summit

Our two previous motorcycle cruises were on Royal Caribbean's  Explorer. The Summit is just a bit smaller but preliminary research tells me the experience is going to be pretty much the same as on the Explorer. One thing that will make it interesting will be having four people (one an energetic 2 1/2 year old) in the tiny cabin. We will have to keep the sofa bed put away as much as possible if we want to walk around in the cabin at all.

There's lots to do to the bike. I need to get the front shocks rebuilt, change the fluids and install new ignition components. All that on top of a deep cleaning. The winter riding has really left the bike dirty.  While I clean I check the tightness of all of the fasteners.

I have a new toy for this year's trip. I have an action camera mounted on my 1/2 helmet. It's not a GoPro...it's a GeekPro. Pretty nifty! It even connects to my phone via wi-fi allowing me to control the camera and view the action. 

Bell 1/2 Helmet with GeekPro Camera

I had the camera mounted on the bike's handlebars but the video was really shaky. I'm hoping that it will be steadier on the helmet, plus I can 'pan' the camera by looking around. We usually purchase the Travel Agency video but I'm going to skip it now that I have this gadget. Also, Chris and Dave will also be doing video.  

The camera is also waterproof so it should be nice to have on the dive.

I plan on purchasing a minimal internet package so that I can post to this blog daily. Good luck with that! I've never really been able to keep up with this blog on these trips.