What about cruising post transplant?

@jolinda When we do travel we tend to splurge but I tend to spend more on my home since that is where I spend the most time.

On our first trip to Italy we went to Venice, Florence, a small town between Florence and Rome (Orvieto), Rome, and Sicily. Not many Americans go to Sicily but we loved it so much we returned there on our second trip to Italy.

On our second trip to Italy we started we started in Rome for a couple of nights, then did the Amalfi coast, and ended with Sicily again.

You have to see Venice once, Florence is beautiful, you should see Rome once too. The Amalfi coast and Sicily were like real treats. We had planned to go to Tuscany the next time but now that I can no longer have any alcoholic beverages that would not be as much fun. I would like to see the lakes region in the north if we go again too.

We are getting older and travel is more difficult but I hope we manage to return there.
JK

Sounds awesome. My husband and I almost bid on a trip to the Amalfi Coast at the Minnesota National Kidney Foundation' Spring Gala but backed off at the last minute because we didn't know enough about it. I guess luck favors the bold, we should have just been brave. Were you able to find plenty of transplant friendly foods etc.?

@jolinda That was not an issue then. Although we knew something serious was wrong, cirrhosis had not been diagnosed yet. As I have mentioned in previous posts, I went almost 1.5 years with no diagnosis despite what I now know were very telling symptoms. I will never again wait for a diagnosis here in NH, I will be zipping down the highway to MGH in Boston.
JK

Summer? Fall? Winter? I don't know what season we are in because the weather has been so crazy.
My husband and I enjoyed an early September trip to South Dakota where the scenery, wildlife viewing, and hiking were beyond our imagination. I admit that I have no information relating to a cruise, (unless you include a couple of raft tours several years ago), but I am happy to share that I came home without any sickness or lingering health souvenirs! I experienced my biggest travel fear when the national park lodge was preparing to close for the season, and they only offered a breakfast buffet - and no other nearby breakfast places or store of anykind! Since we are early risers, we managed to be there at opening and got to go thru the line near the bginning.

@silverwoman, How are you getting along? I hope that you continue to feel like travel. Have you made anykind of travel plans that meet your travel with transplant criteria?
@jolinda, Have you and husband found a replacement for the "almost" bidded trip to the Amalfi Coast?
@scottb32, -Do you and your wife like to travel? Any plans for leisure or holiday travel?
@gingerw, @contentandwell - Any holiday travel plans that might involve distance travel?

Hi, Rosemary!
I've just come back from my first foray at traveling. It was a overnight bus bus trip to see "Swamp Gravy" in Colquitt, GA: not too far from home and not too taxing, The buffet situation only arose once and I was able to make a good compromise, I believe. I packed plenty of masks so if anyone on the bus was coughing or spluttering i would be prepared. I seem to have come through with flying colors. Now I'm planning a more extensive outing for next Fall with a bit more confidence; this one involves both bus and boat. Travel is my passion, so I've got to figure this out.

@rosemarya Not planning anything right now, as I navigate this latest health issue. My husband will be bringing up another load of household goods [mostly his garage stuff!] just before Tgiving. Not sure yet if I go down there at the holidays when his company has their annual break, and we have a family holiday hosted by his daughter's half-brother. There are many health souvenirs [I love that phrase!] to be had with all the kids and various people showing up. If I am on chemo it probably won't be advisable. Glad to hear you had a good time!
Ginger

@rosemarya My transplant group is as concerned about the food being kept at the proper temperature as they are about people breathing on it. Getting there early will guarantee that it's not been held long. I find there are things that are OK to eat on breakfast buffets like yogurt, bananas, and I will eat the oatmeal since I figure it is covered. Yes, I know people take the cover off to serve themselves but I think the risk there is pretty small. I will not eat the breads and rolls that are out, I am sure that toasting them would not be enough to kill germs. The biggest sacrifice is not eating the delicious looking cut fruit.

When I was looking for a place to stay in Charleston last year I called hotels to see if their included breakfast was a buffet. One place said it was not. so I said great, you order it and it's brought to you? She told me no, that it's all out for the guests to serve themselves! I guess she didn't know what a buffet is. I said, "well of course the yogurt is in containers?" and she said no to that too, it's in a big bowl for people to serve themselves there too! The place we stayed made omelets to order so that worked out well for a number of days. I am finding that breakfast buffets are not as problematic as I thought they would be.

I don't think we are going away for the holidays. My daughter and her husband are thinking about going to the Bahamas, Nassau, and invited us to join them. Nassau has never been on my list of places to go so I am very ambivalent. I would love to spend the time with them, but to go to a place I don't care about? That's a lot of money to spend on that, and my husband would prefer to go mid-winter to get away from the snow.
JK

I hope that it is a good morning for you, wherever you are. Are you logging if from home of traveling?

I am at home in central Kentucky and my husband and I are beginning to plan our trip to Olympic National Park and Mt Ranier National Park in the late summer. I am looking forward to the outdoors and the hiking, but not the flight to get there! I feel comfortable, though, because I have managed to fly without picking up any germy issues in the past. My handsanitizer and my own water and snacks are my constant companions all the time-on the trail, in the plane, on the road. And, to add a new meaning to what my 6 yr old granddaughter is learning in school: "Keep your hands to yourself". I think that is a handy helpful travel tip!

Who else has some interesting travel plans for this new year? Maybe you were gifted a surprise trip during the holidays? Maybe you have already planned something? Maybe you are a seasoned traveler who has a transplant - or a new transplant recipient who wants to travel ? Pull up a chair, pour cup pf tea, coffee and lets talk about good times ahead!
I invite @silverwoman, @luckonetj, @jolinda, @gingerw, @scottb32, @contentandwell, @gingerw, to begin-because you are already experts !

@rosemarya We are, as I have mentioned, going to Denver to visit our son on Superbowl weekend. This has been a father-son tradition for about 10 years now, no matter what teams are playing. We are disappointed of course that Patriots have been eliminated but it will be fun regardless. I used to not go, thinking it was a good father-son bonding time, but when his current wife became a part of it a few years ago I figured I might as well go too, and now that he is in Denver he has a spacious house so we can stay with him, not in a hotel. We leave on Thursday, January 31st, and will be back on Wednesday, February 5th. We actually are flying on the 4th but getting in to Manchester pretty late in the evening.
I almost always wear a mask when flying. I skipped it once but I definitely wear one during flu season. For others flying who need protection, there are masks that have an anti-viral coating so that is the better one to get.
We hope to go somewhere warm in March too. Where has not been decided yet. We have been to the Caribbean two times and enjoyed our type of lodging - small buildings right on the beach. The picture is looking out of our building in Antigua. That's impossible to find in Florida so now we are considering going to Antigua again. I'm a little bit nervous about the possibility of getting sick in a place with medical care that is not up to our standards but we will hopefully get insurance so if a problem arose I would be able to be airlifted back to the US.
Have any other transplant patients traveled to areas like the Caribbean? I think I will need immunizations if we go since my immune system is so compromised. I would be very interested in hearing about others' experiences.
JK

What a pleasant topic to start the day with. I have traveled pretty extensively in pre-transplant days. My first big trip post- is coming this September when several friends and I will fly to Boston, bus up to Montreal and sail down the St. Lawrence seaway around the Maritimes and back to Boston. I am so looking forward to this trip; I feel a good deal of the pleasure of travel is in the anticipation. I think all of the tips and cautions which have been discussed are valuable. In the end, it appears to come down to weighing risk vs. reward. I am of the opinion that JK is correct about being covered with good travel insurance and I would add the importance of booking with a reputable and international travel company. I have to believe that years of experience will have faced them with enough emergent situations that a big, well connected international company will be able to handle whatever we transplants can throw at them.