Who has done this?

[cali]

Dh deployed at the moment (navy) but not for too long. Next year will be away a long time but will have opportunity to fly out to meet him.

Will be a long haul flight and dd's will be 2 and 4. Have checked flights and they seem to be mostly night flights so they should sleep.

My first thought was no way am I traveling all that way on my own.

Has anyone done this with young children and how does it work, traveling to meet a ship, booking flights espec if programmes slip?

Oooh, how exciting! Which ship and where?? Try to find out if there are any other wives and families going out; it is so much easier if there is a large group of you travelling together.

I flew out to Australia when ds was 1. Dh was part way through a deployment and so dates were fixed. I booked the hotel etc and dh popped into the ship every so often, but not enough for it to spoil our stay.

DS slept for most of the way out, but was awake for most of the return leg Luckily my mum picked us up from the airport and we spent the next night at her house so I could recover and sleep off the jet lag.

We paid for it with an advance of pay scheme which applied to those deployed for longer than 6 months. I have just spoken to dh and he is not sure if it still exists.

A couple of years ago, I flew out to Gib with ds (who was then 10) and dd (who was then 1) We paid for it all ourselves, and stayed in the short term service families accommodation which was cheap and basic, but all we needed. Again, dh took most of the time we were there as leave, but popped on board every so often. We generally went with him and ds played on the XBox in the wardroom!

Have good travel insurance, just in case the ship's programme changes, but if possible choose a visit in the middle of the programme so that there is a good chance the ship's dates and yours will match up.

I don't live in MQ and stay 500 miles from where ship is based so unfortunately I do not know any of the other wives.

He is on, am I allowed to say?

if you know nursery rhymes, think back to Dr Foster when to ........... and that is the ship dh is on.

I think the visit will be on fixed dates as they are due to be in this location for about 2 weeks. I don't want to say too much as Dh used to be in submarines and got used to being very evasive about his location, old habits die hard!

Southern Hemisphere, basically straight down from uk, at the tip of a very large continent!!

LL, hijack away

Of course you need to fly out to see her, wedding plans are very important

My initial reluctance was also due to the fact that I don't consider the location to be the safest place I could travel to with young children.

I hope there is some scheme available, like the advance of pay scheme as if I do travel out, the flights will cost about £2700!!!

feel like starting an aibu thread as I think it's ridiculous we have to pay full fares for children.

ah, Cali, know that ship well, it was the one I visited in Australia! (ds was christened on it as well) The new Captain who is starting next year is dd's Godfather!!

I agree with LL; get dh to ask around and see if anyone is considering flying their families out.

nell12, we are hoping to get dd2 christened onboard in dec/jan!!

Lurking and posting again but if the location starts with CT in SA then definitely go... I flew out to meet dh there for 10days last year and it's simply brilliant and I would go back at the drop of a hat (finances allowing). I didn't take the dc but arranged the accommodation, flights etc myself and just made sure I got insurance to cover the costs should ship's plans change.

thanks lemonadesparkle, it's the same location you went to last year.

Did anybody travel out with their dc's or am I mad for even considering it?

I don't think I would find anybody mad kind enough to volunteer to look after dd's for me and I know dh would want to see them too.

looks like dh needs to start saving

I travelled out to meet my dh at the end of the ship's period in CT (he took some leave and was advanced leave too so got to fly back with me ) subsequently I have no idea who else from the ship had family fly out and whether they took dc. However, I do have a very close friend who heralds from CT and she gave us brilliant advice as to places to stay, eat, visit etc. She has young children and has flown back home with them a few times so I could ask her advice if there's anything in particular you wanted to know.

Oh and just to point out that not far out of CT is a beach where African penguins nest and walk/swim freely. Its been turned into a reservation area but you can wander through it on special walkways, I'm sure your children would love to see them. If there's anything I can help you with feel free to pm me.

You'll have an amazing time - I'm jealous . My dh spent 6 weeks there at the beginning of the summer and I was gutted I couldn't fly out and join him this time.

The penguins sound lovely and dd1 would definitely love them.

If not too much trouble, would love to know what hotels are suitable for young children, also where is good to eat?

It will probably be about a year before we go out, so have plenty time to get things organised.

Has anyone flown Virgin Atlantic? Quite like the sound of their premium economy!

Ahoy!
when DH in gulf could claim a daily allowance to cover food and other things if you go to visit when they on deployment. Helps to cover costs of a visit. Also get small people used to headphones so happy to watch hours of DVDs on plane!!

Just thought- if you don't know any of other partners of people on ship try RN.com - most deployed ships have a discussion forum on there and you can get to know people who might be travelling out on a visit and meet up b4 or at airport. Or get your DH to give you contact details of any other partners travelling out with/without children so you can go in convoy! strength in numbers!! Much more fun to descend on aeroplane en masse!!

thanks pinkprawn, good tips re headphones and rn.com

dh said he thinks other families may also travel out, but because it is so far away, there are no finalised plans at the present.
I was just a bit at the airfare and thought I had better start planning now.
which reminds me, have to get dd2's passport sorted.

whoops should be www.rncom.mod.uk
rn.com gets you to a page about nurses!!