Our Family Transpacific Cruise

Right now we are in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, crossing somewhere between Australia and Hawaii. Pull out a map and you will see that is a big ocean to cross!

We were originally going to stay in Bali for 2 months and then fly back to the US via Hawaii. Tickets from Bali to Hawaii run around $1200 each. It’s not cheap to cross the big wide ocean.

Then, we came across another option—a Transpacific Repositioning Cruise leaving from Sydney, Australia and sailing all the way to Honolulu, Hawaii. The itinerary was 17 nights, and included destinations such as New Caledonia, Vanuatu, Fiji, Samoa, American Samoa, and of course, Hawaii. The cost? About $1600 each when you figured in port charges and taxes. My husband and I quickly ran the numbers and pros and cons of each option.

Option 1: Stay in Bali for 2 months and have a great time with friends. 8 weeks of total travel.

Option 2: Stay in Bali for a reduced amount of time (3 1/2 weeks) and apply those savings towards the cruise. After all, 3 1/2 weeks would be plenty of time to get a feel for Bali, and then the 2 1/2 week cruise would include all boarding, cleaning, cooking and transportation for our trek back to the US. Plus, we’d get to see some new South Pacific Islands (which would allow us to get a quick preview of these countries before committing to booking 5+ flights there, sight unseen—something my husband has suggested in the past). The $1600 for the cruise didn’t include tips, which run you another $220/per person, as well as we’d need to fly to Australia from Bali which would run us $250 each. It cost more, and reduced our overall travel time to 6 weeks instead of 8.

But there were other concerns to account for, as well. Such as…

1. We are expecting baby #4, and I would be nearing the final trimester of my pregnancy (yes—we are expecting another baby boy)! We have decided to have the baby in the US, so we definitely have a specific time window for our return.

2. After traveling full-time since July 2012, we have been tiring out and ready to relax and not always be thinking about “the next location.”

3. No cooking and no cleaning was sounding really, really good.

What would you choose?

In the end, we chose Option 2, the Transpacific Cruise from Australia to Hawaii that would put us in 5 more countries that weren’t previously on our radar, before returning to the US to plan for our new arrival.

So here we are, living and loving life on Royal Caribbean’s Rhapsody of the Seas, in the middle of the South Pacific. It’s a far cry from the travel we have done so far—and it’s been an absolutely fantastic way to close out nearly one year of rapid travel.

Our girls (ages 8 and 5) have spent every waking hour at the Kid’s Club with their excellent staff and endless entertainment, while Jared and Ethan (age 2) and I have been busy planning our days around relaxing in our stateroom, touring the islands, and deciding when or where to dine for breakfast, lunch, and dinner (I know—serious 1st World Problems).

You’ll be hearing much more from me soon about the details of living on the Rhapsody of the Seas (yes, “living” is much more suitable than saying “traveling” when you’re used to traveling as a way of life, and not just as a vacation). We’ll also be sharing more about the trials and benefits of cruising with kids, as well as sharing our tips for family travel on a Repositioning Cruise across the world!