It's getting closer!

My Facebook "Countdowns" tell me it's 53 days until we leave Australia, and 68 days until the cruise starts. It still seems a really long way off, until I remember how quickly the year has gone so far - it's June already for heaven's sake (and work-wise, I've got about 5 months worth of work to do in that 53 days!).
Apart from packing, my to-do list is getting down to the 'little' things - organising money (it's amazing how much it costs to spend your own money overseas!), gathering up the last few little bits and pieces we're taking.
Oh, and of course I still need to sort out the minor issue of how we're going to get to Sydney from Canberra before the trip. I want to get a bus or train rather than having to go through the hassle of dropping off a rented car in Sydney, but that just creates another hassle of how to get to the bus or train at the Canberra end - Adam doesn't drive; everyone else we know who does drive also works and therefore would need to take time off to get us there; taxis are notoriously unreliable at peak hour here. I'm currently contemplating booking a limousine! Pity we can't take one all the way to Sydney - I checked; the budget isn't up to it :-(
We are going to do a trial "pack the suitcases" attempt in the next week or so. I normally wouldn't bother with such a thing - both Paul and I can pack for a three week trip in Oz in an hour the night before we leave! - but this one is much longer and also has the added issues of needing converters etc for being in the USA. Sometimes electronic stuff takes up more space in my suitcase than clothes, and I find myself thinking things like "I'd better chuck in another t-shirt so I can wrap it around that converter / power cord / etc". And, we both had to buy marginally *smaller* suitcases for this trip because of restrictions on the Cosmos part of the tour. Usually on a cruise your luggage limits are set by what the airline will carry, but Qantas limits are higher than the Cosmos ones, both weight and size ....
Today the Dawn Princess is heading towards India - I've been having fun reading the blogs of people who are already on board. Sounds like Paul and I will be at the younger end of the age range again - at least compared to the people who are doing the whole cruise; there are lots of people doing only part of the cruise because of time and/or money constraints (like us!!)