Quick update by Emma
Mum and Dad say it may be a few more days until they update and they asked me to let you all know. They are hoping to find internet access in Dalian, otherwise it will be Beijing before they post.
Monday, 28 February 2011
Monday, 21 February 2011
18th/19th/20th/21st February – At Sea
We now have 4 sea days ahead of us before our next port of call Hong Kong. We've never done a long stretch like this before so it will be interesting to see how we cope.
Actually the first day went quite quickly. Stephan went off to sunbathe and I went to a lecture on Hong Kong. As we have been 3 times before (who's boasting?!) I wanted to see what other options there were and I've come away with a few ideas of places to visit. I joined up with Stephan and enjoyed a spot of sunbathing before lunch. The temperature has been averaging around 30 degrees C. I suspect that by the time we reach China we will really feel the cold. After lunch Stephan went off again to catch more sun whilst I did what had to be done – the laundry! I think I'm right in saying that Princess is the only line that has a launderette on every deck and having been away just over 2 weeks and with just under another 3 weeks to go the 'undies' had to be done. I wasn't the only lady in the launderette and as it is only just down from the corridor it wasn't too much of a chore. Once the weather has turned too cold for shorts and t-shirts I'll probably do another wash and save some work when we get home.
For some reason I didn't go back out but in some respect I was glad to stay out of the sun. After dinner we decided to go the the Production Show which was excellent, probably the best yet. In one of the lounges there was a Hypnotist, but to be honest neither of us like watching people making fools of themselves and it is also humiliating for the victim when they see or hear what has been going on. We went to bed about midnight.
When we woke up the 2nd day at sea we had crossed the Equator at just after midnight, the ship taking 32 seconds to cross the line from bow to stern, and a special ceremony took place on deck this afternoon. Volunteers (victims) who have never crossed The Line before were unceremoniously covered in foam and liquids of a dubious nature before being thrown into the pool. As it has been another hot day we have taken the advantage of a little sun worshiping while we can. We also tried a small experiment, we watched water running down the sink before we crossed the equator and after we had crossed, sure enough the water had reversed its direction.
I thought I would take a few moments to tell you of another moan that is common among cruise passengers and that is the cost of the shore excursions organised by the cruise line; in one word they are exorbitant and I can give you an example of what I mean. There is a ship excursion in Hong Kong which takes in a City Drive, Victoria Peak & Aberdeen & Stanley Market. This trip lasts just 4 hours, meaning that the passengers will see next to nothing an for this privilege they are expected to pay £43 per head. Contrast that with taking the 'Hop-on-hop-off' bus which will do all this and a hell of a lot more for the sum of just under £26 per head and you have all day to do your sightseeing. No contest really is there? However, there are times when it is better to pay the inflated price of the ship, rather than do it yourself and that is if you are looking at a full day's tour or you are somewhere were English may not be spoken. If you are with a ship's tour and you are late back the ship will wait, as what happened in Bali, do the trip yourself and they will simply leave you behind.
Rosalyn forgot to to tell you we are passing close by the Phillipines and we saw some merchant ships, one had a K in a white circle on it on the funnel – was it kosher!!!
After dinner as we had seen the Show the day before (because people eat at different times they tend to repeat the Production show over 2 nights to give everyone a chance to see it) we went to one of the lounges for a drink before it was time for bed. Watching the news we have been told that Darwin has had 32” of rain since we left on Monday – we really have been very very lucky not to get caught up in the cyclone.
As we are now in our 3rd day and the sun is still shining meaning we have done very little, I thought I would take the opportunity to give you a better idea of where we are sailing. Early on the 19th we crossed the equator from the Southern hemisphere into the Northern hemisphere between the islands of Sulawesi on the starboard side and Kalimantan on the port side. We then crossed into the Celebes Sea (no, I'd not heard of it either!). Basically we are cruising the islands of the Phillipines and later today (20th) we will transit the Mindoro straits as we continue on our way to Hong Kong.
We have met so many lovely people but what we have found that as cruising goes we are novices. This is our 5th cruise over about the past 10 or 11 years but when you speak to others they may have done as many as 30+ cruises. Admittedly these people tend to be the Americans who take lots of short cruises – 7 days or less but it is certainly an extremely pleasant way of holidaying. Obviously with only 1 day in a port you cannot even begin to see anything but we look on cruising as a 'taster' and if we see somewhere we like it goes on the list of places to 'do' properly. Trouble is the list is growing bigger and bigger. Here on the ship you can reserve your next cruise and it's amazing to see people queuing to have a word with the Onboard Specialist – whether they are actually booking anything I don't know and once again it raises a question – is it better to book your cruise early or late? There is no real answer to this although once again the Americans get an advantage in that if they book early and prices drop they will get a refund – something which doesn't happen either in the UK or Australia. If prices go up I don't think they have to pay more. The passengers on board are predominantly Americans, then Aussies and then us Brits, but there is a sizeable Russian presence as well as Germans and French. Age tends towards the older end of the spectrum but that can be explained by the length of the holiday; most people who still work can't always take 4-5 weeks off in one go. There are younger people and even children on board so it isn't a 'Pensioners' Outing'.
After dinner we went to the Explorers Lounge and watched a magician who was very good.
Today,our 4th day, we are crossing the South China Sea and are on course to reach Hong Kong tomorrow.
Ice Road Truckers, a programme initially showing on the History Channel of Sky and now on Channel 5, is a series about a group of men and one woman who drive very large lorries across Alaska in the winter. Nothing special until you realise that the roads they are driving on are actually rivers, lakes and the sea that have frozen over due to the cold. They haul anything from heavy machinery to provisions to the small towns, villages and oil-rigs and have only a short season of about 6 weeks before the ice starts to thaw. It's one of those programmes that you find strangely compelling, even if you don't know why. So why have I started today's blog with this nugget of information; well...
As I mentioned earlier, there is a Future Cruises desk on board and yesterday Faye had been to get a price for a cruise in May 2012 which is from Beijing to Vancouver over 19 nights. This is a cruise which is known as a repo(sitioning) cruise as the ship relocates from its winter cruising area to its summer cruising area and in theory is supposed to be a little cheaper. Anyway, the price was interesting and although we are definitely not thinking about our next holiday Stephan and I decided to pay the cruise agent a visit. I asked her if it was correct that in the case of price drops Americans who have paid will get a refund while us Brits (and Aussies) don't. She confirmed this was true and said it was something to do with a Holiday Act/Rule/Regulation – I can't remember which exactly. While we were waiting to be seen, as there is always a queue, I looked at another preview brochure, this time just Alaska, and to our amazement we have found a 7-day Alaskan cruise with a 7-day landtour and guess what, 2 of the places the tour goes to are Coldfoot and Prudhoe Bay, the latter being above the Arctic Circle and 2 of the places the drivers in the aforementioned Ice Road Truckers visit! We have asked for a price simply out of curiosity but I suspect it is the power of television that has brought about the inclusion of such far away places.
Anyway, back to reality; up until lunchtime the weather has been hot but after we ventured out of our cabin having had a sleep at about 3pm we discovered the weather had turned quite cold – so I suspect we have now said goodbye to sunbathing on this cruise. I actually felt a little cold and for the first time on our cruise I wore a cardigan to keep my arms warm. After dinner it was decided that as tomorrow in Hong Kong will be a long day, the ship doesn't sail until 11.30 pm, we would all have an early night.
HOPEFULLY WE WILL BE ABLE TO UPDATE THE BLOG WHILE WE ARE IN HONG KONG. OUR NEXT PORT OF CALL (TAIWAN) IS A FULL DAY TRIP SO WE WON'T HAVE TIME THEN, SO POSSIBLY IT WILL BE ANOTHER 4-5 DAYS (NAGASAKI) BEFORE A FURTHER POSTING. FAILING THAT AND BECAUSE OF FURTHER FULL DAY TRIPS IT WILL NOT BE UNTIL WE DISEMBARK IN BEIJING A WEEK ON THURSDAY, BUT PLEASE KEEP CHECKING.
Actually the first day went quite quickly. Stephan went off to sunbathe and I went to a lecture on Hong Kong. As we have been 3 times before (who's boasting?!) I wanted to see what other options there were and I've come away with a few ideas of places to visit. I joined up with Stephan and enjoyed a spot of sunbathing before lunch. The temperature has been averaging around 30 degrees C. I suspect that by the time we reach China we will really feel the cold. After lunch Stephan went off again to catch more sun whilst I did what had to be done – the laundry! I think I'm right in saying that Princess is the only line that has a launderette on every deck and having been away just over 2 weeks and with just under another 3 weeks to go the 'undies' had to be done. I wasn't the only lady in the launderette and as it is only just down from the corridor it wasn't too much of a chore. Once the weather has turned too cold for shorts and t-shirts I'll probably do another wash and save some work when we get home.
For some reason I didn't go back out but in some respect I was glad to stay out of the sun. After dinner we decided to go the the Production Show which was excellent, probably the best yet. In one of the lounges there was a Hypnotist, but to be honest neither of us like watching people making fools of themselves and it is also humiliating for the victim when they see or hear what has been going on. We went to bed about midnight.
When we woke up the 2nd day at sea we had crossed the Equator at just after midnight, the ship taking 32 seconds to cross the line from bow to stern, and a special ceremony took place on deck this afternoon. Volunteers (victims) who have never crossed The Line before were unceremoniously covered in foam and liquids of a dubious nature before being thrown into the pool. As it has been another hot day we have taken the advantage of a little sun worshiping while we can. We also tried a small experiment, we watched water running down the sink before we crossed the equator and after we had crossed, sure enough the water had reversed its direction.
I thought I would take a few moments to tell you of another moan that is common among cruise passengers and that is the cost of the shore excursions organised by the cruise line; in one word they are exorbitant and I can give you an example of what I mean. There is a ship excursion in Hong Kong which takes in a City Drive, Victoria Peak & Aberdeen & Stanley Market. This trip lasts just 4 hours, meaning that the passengers will see next to nothing an for this privilege they are expected to pay £43 per head. Contrast that with taking the 'Hop-on-hop-off' bus which will do all this and a hell of a lot more for the sum of just under £26 per head and you have all day to do your sightseeing. No contest really is there? However, there are times when it is better to pay the inflated price of the ship, rather than do it yourself and that is if you are looking at a full day's tour or you are somewhere were English may not be spoken. If you are with a ship's tour and you are late back the ship will wait, as what happened in Bali, do the trip yourself and they will simply leave you behind.
Rosalyn forgot to to tell you we are passing close by the Phillipines and we saw some merchant ships, one had a K in a white circle on it on the funnel – was it kosher!!!
After dinner as we had seen the Show the day before (because people eat at different times they tend to repeat the Production show over 2 nights to give everyone a chance to see it) we went to one of the lounges for a drink before it was time for bed. Watching the news we have been told that Darwin has had 32” of rain since we left on Monday – we really have been very very lucky not to get caught up in the cyclone.
As we are now in our 3rd day and the sun is still shining meaning we have done very little, I thought I would take the opportunity to give you a better idea of where we are sailing. Early on the 19th we crossed the equator from the Southern hemisphere into the Northern hemisphere between the islands of Sulawesi on the starboard side and Kalimantan on the port side. We then crossed into the Celebes Sea (no, I'd not heard of it either!). Basically we are cruising the islands of the Phillipines and later today (20th) we will transit the Mindoro straits as we continue on our way to Hong Kong.
We have met so many lovely people but what we have found that as cruising goes we are novices. This is our 5th cruise over about the past 10 or 11 years but when you speak to others they may have done as many as 30+ cruises. Admittedly these people tend to be the Americans who take lots of short cruises – 7 days or less but it is certainly an extremely pleasant way of holidaying. Obviously with only 1 day in a port you cannot even begin to see anything but we look on cruising as a 'taster' and if we see somewhere we like it goes on the list of places to 'do' properly. Trouble is the list is growing bigger and bigger. Here on the ship you can reserve your next cruise and it's amazing to see people queuing to have a word with the Onboard Specialist – whether they are actually booking anything I don't know and once again it raises a question – is it better to book your cruise early or late? There is no real answer to this although once again the Americans get an advantage in that if they book early and prices drop they will get a refund – something which doesn't happen either in the UK or Australia. If prices go up I don't think they have to pay more. The passengers on board are predominantly Americans, then Aussies and then us Brits, but there is a sizeable Russian presence as well as Germans and French. Age tends towards the older end of the spectrum but that can be explained by the length of the holiday; most people who still work can't always take 4-5 weeks off in one go. There are younger people and even children on board so it isn't a 'Pensioners' Outing'.
After dinner we went to the Explorers Lounge and watched a magician who was very good.
Today,our 4th day, we are crossing the South China Sea and are on course to reach Hong Kong tomorrow.
Ice Road Truckers, a programme initially showing on the History Channel of Sky and now on Channel 5, is a series about a group of men and one woman who drive very large lorries across Alaska in the winter. Nothing special until you realise that the roads they are driving on are actually rivers, lakes and the sea that have frozen over due to the cold. They haul anything from heavy machinery to provisions to the small towns, villages and oil-rigs and have only a short season of about 6 weeks before the ice starts to thaw. It's one of those programmes that you find strangely compelling, even if you don't know why. So why have I started today's blog with this nugget of information; well...
As I mentioned earlier, there is a Future Cruises desk on board and yesterday Faye had been to get a price for a cruise in May 2012 which is from Beijing to Vancouver over 19 nights. This is a cruise which is known as a repo(sitioning) cruise as the ship relocates from its winter cruising area to its summer cruising area and in theory is supposed to be a little cheaper. Anyway, the price was interesting and although we are definitely not thinking about our next holiday Stephan and I decided to pay the cruise agent a visit. I asked her if it was correct that in the case of price drops Americans who have paid will get a refund while us Brits (and Aussies) don't. She confirmed this was true and said it was something to do with a Holiday Act/Rule/Regulation – I can't remember which exactly. While we were waiting to be seen, as there is always a queue, I looked at another preview brochure, this time just Alaska, and to our amazement we have found a 7-day Alaskan cruise with a 7-day landtour and guess what, 2 of the places the tour goes to are Coldfoot and Prudhoe Bay, the latter being above the Arctic Circle and 2 of the places the drivers in the aforementioned Ice Road Truckers visit! We have asked for a price simply out of curiosity but I suspect it is the power of television that has brought about the inclusion of such far away places.
Anyway, back to reality; up until lunchtime the weather has been hot but after we ventured out of our cabin having had a sleep at about 3pm we discovered the weather had turned quite cold – so I suspect we have now said goodbye to sunbathing on this cruise. I actually felt a little cold and for the first time on our cruise I wore a cardigan to keep my arms warm. After dinner it was decided that as tomorrow in Hong Kong will be a long day, the ship doesn't sail until 11.30 pm, we would all have an early night.
HOPEFULLY WE WILL BE ABLE TO UPDATE THE BLOG WHILE WE ARE IN HONG KONG. OUR NEXT PORT OF CALL (TAIWAN) IS A FULL DAY TRIP SO WE WON'T HAVE TIME THEN, SO POSSIBLY IT WILL BE ANOTHER 4-5 DAYS (NAGASAKI) BEFORE A FURTHER POSTING. FAILING THAT AND BECAUSE OF FURTHER FULL DAY TRIPS IT WILL NOT BE UNTIL WE DISEMBARK IN BEIJING A WEEK ON THURSDAY, BUT PLEASE KEEP CHECKING.
17th February 2011 – Bali
Today was our first Princess organised trip to The Elephant Safari Park and what fun it was. We were tendered on a larger boat than usual, meaning we were able to move around and go on deck and get our first glimpse on Bali. Our journey to the Safari Park in Ubud was interesting. Firstly they drive on the left – very sensible – and the traffic; wow, we've never seen so many motorbikes, mopeds and scooters, all apparently ignoring the rules of the road. Stephan commented that it was a wonder that there wasn't a pile of bodies along the side of the road. It's difficult to try and explain the various areas we drove through. It looked like there is a lot of poverty, but there were also lots of beautiful buildings as well. Temples abound and idols can be seen just about everywhere. Stone and wood carving is a major form of employment here and examples of work could be seen along the roadside. Oh, and in case you did wonder, we saw McDonalds, KFC and Pizza Hut!
As the journey to the Park continued we climbed into the hills and the scenery was at times stunning. Paddy (rice) fields stretched for miles as the road actually deteriorated. With narrowing space, a sheer drop on one side we were reminded of the popular series shown on Sky- Ice Road Truckers:Deadliest Roads set in India and involving driving up the Himalayas. Obviously our journey was nothing as bad, but I must admit I didn't look too closely. One thing that did strike us was the number of houses which were completely open to the elements but with people who appeared to be living there. Further up the road where we would see a few houses clustered together, we also saw what looked like the 'local grocery store' and even as we passed by in the coach they appeared to be well stocked. We had a brief stop at a Batik Factory where we saw the process from beginning to end which was the shop. The goods were beautiful with prices to match so we didn't buy anything.
Finally, slightly later than planned, we reached the Elephant Park. One of the first sights we saw and perhaps the most appealing was 3 baby elephants playing in a pool with a larger elephant seemingly in charge. The babies dunked themselves, each other and generally played as you would see a group of children playing in a swimming pool. After a while it was obvious that one of the keepers wanted them out so that they could clean the pool but they just ignored any verbal commands he was calling so eventually he went to get another elephant, mounted it and with the aid of the bigger elephant already in the pool he somehow shepherded them out. There was one funny moment when one of the babies turned back as if to go into the water, it got to the edge, seemed to think about it and then turned round and rejoined the others. If you think I'm giving them human emotions it was hard at times not to think they were laughing, especially when they splashed some of the people stood round the pool. Mouths opened wide, head slightly raised and their trunk in the air; they certainly looked amused as the staff stood there dripping wet. After a look round the shop and various other parts of the Park it was eventually our turn for a ride – 2 people to an elephant. There was a walkway at 'elephant height' so the driver came to the side of the wall and we somehow shuffled onto a bench-like structure on its top. The first few steps were quite weird, but once we got into the rhythm of the elephant's motion it was fun. The elephant's name was Deenah and she was 23 years old.
Suddenly it was time to go and because we had been late arriving because of a lot of heavy traffic holding us up, the tour guide had been in touch with Princess to say we would be late back. The last tender was due to leave the dockside at 4.30 pm but we didn't get back until about 5.15 pm. However, we were never worried about being left behind as there were 200 of us on the Park trip alone, plus others who had been similarly held up by the traffic, and that would have been far too many to leave. Speaking to people afterwards who had either been on different trips to us or 'done their own thing' most agreed that they probably wouldn't return to Bali. The resort area with the big hotels and pristine beaches is in a completely different area to all the organised trips and I suspect it is a little 'village' of its own and the people have no need to venture out of their comfort zone unless they really wanted to.
After dinner there was 'Dancing Under The Stars' but to be honest Stephan and I were tired and after a few shuffles round the floor we decided to call it a night
As the journey to the Park continued we climbed into the hills and the scenery was at times stunning. Paddy (rice) fields stretched for miles as the road actually deteriorated. With narrowing space, a sheer drop on one side we were reminded of the popular series shown on Sky- Ice Road Truckers:Deadliest Roads set in India and involving driving up the Himalayas. Obviously our journey was nothing as bad, but I must admit I didn't look too closely. One thing that did strike us was the number of houses which were completely open to the elements but with people who appeared to be living there. Further up the road where we would see a few houses clustered together, we also saw what looked like the 'local grocery store' and even as we passed by in the coach they appeared to be well stocked. We had a brief stop at a Batik Factory where we saw the process from beginning to end which was the shop. The goods were beautiful with prices to match so we didn't buy anything.
Finally, slightly later than planned, we reached the Elephant Park. One of the first sights we saw and perhaps the most appealing was 3 baby elephants playing in a pool with a larger elephant seemingly in charge. The babies dunked themselves, each other and generally played as you would see a group of children playing in a swimming pool. After a while it was obvious that one of the keepers wanted them out so that they could clean the pool but they just ignored any verbal commands he was calling so eventually he went to get another elephant, mounted it and with the aid of the bigger elephant already in the pool he somehow shepherded them out. There was one funny moment when one of the babies turned back as if to go into the water, it got to the edge, seemed to think about it and then turned round and rejoined the others. If you think I'm giving them human emotions it was hard at times not to think they were laughing, especially when they splashed some of the people stood round the pool. Mouths opened wide, head slightly raised and their trunk in the air; they certainly looked amused as the staff stood there dripping wet. After a look round the shop and various other parts of the Park it was eventually our turn for a ride – 2 people to an elephant. There was a walkway at 'elephant height' so the driver came to the side of the wall and we somehow shuffled onto a bench-like structure on its top. The first few steps were quite weird, but once we got into the rhythm of the elephant's motion it was fun. The elephant's name was Deenah and she was 23 years old.
Suddenly it was time to go and because we had been late arriving because of a lot of heavy traffic holding us up, the tour guide had been in touch with Princess to say we would be late back. The last tender was due to leave the dockside at 4.30 pm but we didn't get back until about 5.15 pm. However, we were never worried about being left behind as there were 200 of us on the Park trip alone, plus others who had been similarly held up by the traffic, and that would have been far too many to leave. Speaking to people afterwards who had either been on different trips to us or 'done their own thing' most agreed that they probably wouldn't return to Bali. The resort area with the big hotels and pristine beaches is in a completely different area to all the organised trips and I suspect it is a little 'village' of its own and the people have no need to venture out of their comfort zone unless they really wanted to.
After dinner there was 'Dancing Under The Stars' but to be honest Stephan and I were tired and after a few shuffles round the floor we decided to call it a night
15/16th February 2011 – At Sea
As I type this I'm half watching 'Home & Away'; unfortunately we have not seen a single episode of 'Neighbours' and I am beginning to have withdrawal symptoms!
Today was going to be an extremely short entry as it has been very warm all day which means we have done absolutely nothing but sleep, eat and sunbathe but I did go to a lecture myself this morning which made me cross. It was a Health Seminar entitled 'Secrets to a Flatter Stomach' which is a subject very close to my heart (!) but the lecturer mixed within some sensible comments some, what I thought were slightly dangerous, thoughts. He basically said coffee went through 800 different processes from bean to cup and was, therefore, bad; he then condemned reduced sugar/sugar free soft drinks (ie diet Coke, etc) as no good as they contained aspartame because, he claimed, that as one of the chemicals used to make it is formaldyhide all we are doing is 'pickling/preserving' our insides and we would be better drinking full sugar Coke, etc. He also derided the use of multi-vitamins saying that 96% of each tablet was simply flushed away. Apparently, according to him, if we exercised more and ate healthily we could throw away our diabetic tablets and blood pressure tablets. With hindsight I should have challenged him, even to simply ask how many Cokes I would have to drink before I pickled myself (gallons and gallons of the stuff by the way). I understand there will be more lectures and Stephan is coming with me next time, ready to ask the questions I should have done.
I say we have done nothing but that is our choice. For those people who have never cruised I would tell them that there is something going on all day. You can join a Book Club who, for example, will be discussing 'Pride & Prejudice'; there is a library so copies are available. You can learn to dance, or line dance; there are lectures to attend, quizzes to participate in, arts & crafts demonstrations, the list is endless – Stephan and I are just as happy doing nothing as those people who rush from one activity to another. If we see something we fancy we will do it, otherwise we won't.
The evening meal brought a surprise – 2 new people. Karen and Ted, who are from Missouri, had apparently been talking with Faye &John and mentioned that as they were on what is called 'anytime dining' they hadn't really met many people so they were invited to join our rowdy lot. Afterwards we went to hear a comedian – or so we thought. John was convinced the show was in the Explorers Lounge and as we settled ourselves into comfy seats I expressed my reservations as I watched chairs and music stands being set up in the middle of the stage, but I was shouted down. I proved to be right however when The Diamond String Quartet “Viva Classica” arrived on stage to present a classical recital. We stayed for half an hour before disappearing; strangely enough it was only when they attempted to play modern music that I got bored, the classical music extracts had been quite enjoyable.
Today started with everyone dodging in and out of rain showers, however by lunchtime they had disappeared and the sun has shone brightly all afternoon. It has been hot enough for even me (Rosalyn) to take a dip in one of the many pools to be found on the ship. However, what I had not taken into account is that unlike swimming pools at home which don't move ship pools DO and after a quick cool down I was out as quick as I possibly could. Forgot to mention that we were able to watch a Paul McCartney concert on the MUTS screen and what memories it brought back as he had interspersed some clips of The Beatles in their early days as he sang along with them. They looked so young way back in the '60s, but then we were all young.
I thought I would take a few minutes to tell you about another subject which provokes reaction amongst cruise passengers and that is the question of gratuities and tipping. I believe there are only a couple of cruise lines that include these within their price, which really is the way to go. In common with other lines, Princess automatically add 15%to any drink you buy – it is claimed that this 15% goes into a 'pool' and is shared amongst the bar staff and the waiters who serve the drink. Princess then automatically add $10.50 per person per day (ie; for us $21 a day) for gratuities which again go into a 'pool' and is divided amongst the cabin stewards, the waiters in the dining room and the staff behind the scenes, e.g. the kitchen staff. So, work it out – there are approximately 2,600 people on board ship for 23 days, the gratuities, therefore, come to a staggering £392,437.00. We know they are paid pretty badly; we also know that there is an option for the passenger to 'opt out' of the daily charge, leaving them to tip who THEY want and how much THEY want. But wait, as we understand it – any crew member who takes a tip and then fails to throw it into the 'pool' is threatened with instant dismal and the possibility of no further work with that cruise line. So, what do you do, what should you do and what is the answer?
Faye &John have a balcony so we all congregated there for a pre-dinner drink or two.
We understand that we were lucky to get out of Darwin when we did as hot on our heels has come Cyclone Carlos, bringing torrential rain and just about cutting Darwin off from the rest of Australia.
Today was going to be an extremely short entry as it has been very warm all day which means we have done absolutely nothing but sleep, eat and sunbathe but I did go to a lecture myself this morning which made me cross. It was a Health Seminar entitled 'Secrets to a Flatter Stomach' which is a subject very close to my heart (!) but the lecturer mixed within some sensible comments some, what I thought were slightly dangerous, thoughts. He basically said coffee went through 800 different processes from bean to cup and was, therefore, bad; he then condemned reduced sugar/sugar free soft drinks (ie diet Coke, etc) as no good as they contained aspartame because, he claimed, that as one of the chemicals used to make it is formaldyhide all we are doing is 'pickling/preserving' our insides and we would be better drinking full sugar Coke, etc. He also derided the use of multi-vitamins saying that 96% of each tablet was simply flushed away. Apparently, according to him, if we exercised more and ate healthily we could throw away our diabetic tablets and blood pressure tablets. With hindsight I should have challenged him, even to simply ask how many Cokes I would have to drink before I pickled myself (gallons and gallons of the stuff by the way). I understand there will be more lectures and Stephan is coming with me next time, ready to ask the questions I should have done.
I say we have done nothing but that is our choice. For those people who have never cruised I would tell them that there is something going on all day. You can join a Book Club who, for example, will be discussing 'Pride & Prejudice'; there is a library so copies are available. You can learn to dance, or line dance; there are lectures to attend, quizzes to participate in, arts & crafts demonstrations, the list is endless – Stephan and I are just as happy doing nothing as those people who rush from one activity to another. If we see something we fancy we will do it, otherwise we won't.
The evening meal brought a surprise – 2 new people. Karen and Ted, who are from Missouri, had apparently been talking with Faye &John and mentioned that as they were on what is called 'anytime dining' they hadn't really met many people so they were invited to join our rowdy lot. Afterwards we went to hear a comedian – or so we thought. John was convinced the show was in the Explorers Lounge and as we settled ourselves into comfy seats I expressed my reservations as I watched chairs and music stands being set up in the middle of the stage, but I was shouted down. I proved to be right however when The Diamond String Quartet “Viva Classica” arrived on stage to present a classical recital. We stayed for half an hour before disappearing; strangely enough it was only when they attempted to play modern music that I got bored, the classical music extracts had been quite enjoyable.
Today started with everyone dodging in and out of rain showers, however by lunchtime they had disappeared and the sun has shone brightly all afternoon. It has been hot enough for even me (Rosalyn) to take a dip in one of the many pools to be found on the ship. However, what I had not taken into account is that unlike swimming pools at home which don't move ship pools DO and after a quick cool down I was out as quick as I possibly could. Forgot to mention that we were able to watch a Paul McCartney concert on the MUTS screen and what memories it brought back as he had interspersed some clips of The Beatles in their early days as he sang along with them. They looked so young way back in the '60s, but then we were all young.
I thought I would take a few minutes to tell you about another subject which provokes reaction amongst cruise passengers and that is the question of gratuities and tipping. I believe there are only a couple of cruise lines that include these within their price, which really is the way to go. In common with other lines, Princess automatically add 15%to any drink you buy – it is claimed that this 15% goes into a 'pool' and is shared amongst the bar staff and the waiters who serve the drink. Princess then automatically add $10.50 per person per day (ie; for us $21 a day) for gratuities which again go into a 'pool' and is divided amongst the cabin stewards, the waiters in the dining room and the staff behind the scenes, e.g. the kitchen staff. So, work it out – there are approximately 2,600 people on board ship for 23 days, the gratuities, therefore, come to a staggering £392,437.00. We know they are paid pretty badly; we also know that there is an option for the passenger to 'opt out' of the daily charge, leaving them to tip who THEY want and how much THEY want. But wait, as we understand it – any crew member who takes a tip and then fails to throw it into the 'pool' is threatened with instant dismal and the possibility of no further work with that cruise line. So, what do you do, what should you do and what is the answer?
Faye &John have a balcony so we all congregated there for a pre-dinner drink or two.
We understand that we were lucky to get out of Darwin when we did as hot on our heels has come Cyclone Carlos, bringing torrential rain and just about cutting Darwin off from the rest of Australia.
14th February 2011 – Darwin
I thought that before we told you of our adventures in Darwin, which is our last port of call in Australia, I would give you a couple of facts. Australia's size is approximately 2,967,909 square miles, slightly smaller than the US contiguous 48 states. (The ship is American, hence the comparison with the USA – but if it helps; the area in Queensland affected by the recent floods is the size of France and Germany together – and that is just one state in Oz). The population is around 22,000,000, most of whom live round the coast. The Capital is Canberra which very few people visit, but people who live there tell us it is a very nice city and get very cross when people, particularly other Aussies, run it down without having even been to visit. Phil Spencer in his recent British TV programme 'Location Down Under' showed the viewing public a snapshot of the city and I suppose it is yet another place we should try and visit.
The big disappointment with Darwin is that we didn't dock until lunchtime which meant that a visit to either Litchfield National Park or Kakadu was not possible, so maybe they will have to join with Broome and The Kimberleys on a 'still to see list'. The ship was able to berth alongside the wharf so we walked into the town. The ship did a very neat u-turn in front of this wharf which considering the size of the ship was pretty impressive. A teeny weeny part of this walk involved crossing an inlet on an opensided walkway which was about only 5 feet wide; I did wonder if they would close it if there were strong winds. Because the dock side is lower than the town we had to take a lift up 5 floors before we could reach the town. Darwin has been flattened numerous times by cyclones, most recently by Cyclone Tracy in 1974 and by Japanese air raids in WWII. In the film 'Australia' you see a jetty which is being bombed and only a small part of this original jetty still exists, alongside where we had docked. Darwin is actually closer to Indonesia than to any other Australian city and is home to more than half of the Northern Territory's population.
True to form the weather was hot, extremely humid and at times very wet. On the way into town we passed by the ruins of the Old Town Hall. Built in 1883 during the mining boom and used during the War for naval administration, the building was totally destroyed during Cyclone Tracy. The main shopping street appears to be vibrant and full of interesting shops. One of the arcades was part of the Star Cinema, one of Darwin's early cinemas. After we had found an internet cafe and brought our blog up to date we set off for Bicentennial Park. Amongst the sights to be seen here is the USS Peary Memorial/USAAF/Memorial. The USS Peary was attacked and sunk during the first Japanese air-raid on Darwin and they have managed to salvage one of the guns which serves as the memorial to those lost in the action. The Cenotaph/War Memorial is also in the Park. We also saw the NT Parliament House and NT Library, two very imposing buildings. Unfortunately the World War II Storage Tunnels were closed, but there is a lookout point above the tunnels which gives a tremendous view of the harbour.
By now it was time to make a weary return to the ship in time for dinner. We were all pretty tired (the humidity is very energy sapping) so we had a reasonably early night.
The big disappointment with Darwin is that we didn't dock until lunchtime which meant that a visit to either Litchfield National Park or Kakadu was not possible, so maybe they will have to join with Broome and The Kimberleys on a 'still to see list'. The ship was able to berth alongside the wharf so we walked into the town. The ship did a very neat u-turn in front of this wharf which considering the size of the ship was pretty impressive. A teeny weeny part of this walk involved crossing an inlet on an opensided walkway which was about only 5 feet wide; I did wonder if they would close it if there were strong winds. Because the dock side is lower than the town we had to take a lift up 5 floors before we could reach the town. Darwin has been flattened numerous times by cyclones, most recently by Cyclone Tracy in 1974 and by Japanese air raids in WWII. In the film 'Australia' you see a jetty which is being bombed and only a small part of this original jetty still exists, alongside where we had docked. Darwin is actually closer to Indonesia than to any other Australian city and is home to more than half of the Northern Territory's population.
True to form the weather was hot, extremely humid and at times very wet. On the way into town we passed by the ruins of the Old Town Hall. Built in 1883 during the mining boom and used during the War for naval administration, the building was totally destroyed during Cyclone Tracy. The main shopping street appears to be vibrant and full of interesting shops. One of the arcades was part of the Star Cinema, one of Darwin's early cinemas. After we had found an internet cafe and brought our blog up to date we set off for Bicentennial Park. Amongst the sights to be seen here is the USS Peary Memorial/USAAF/Memorial. The USS Peary was attacked and sunk during the first Japanese air-raid on Darwin and they have managed to salvage one of the guns which serves as the memorial to those lost in the action. The Cenotaph/War Memorial is also in the Park. We also saw the NT Parliament House and NT Library, two very imposing buildings. Unfortunately the World War II Storage Tunnels were closed, but there is a lookout point above the tunnels which gives a tremendous view of the harbour.
By now it was time to make a weary return to the ship in time for dinner. We were all pretty tired (the humidity is very energy sapping) so we had a reasonably early night.
Sunday, 13 February 2011
12/13th February 2011 – At Sea
Breakfast with yet more new faces showed us how small a world it really is when one of the Aussies works for a firm with connections in Hull. We decided it was time for a bit of culture so we went to a lecture given by Dr. Edward Bernard Glick who spoke about the relationship between Australia & America:The American rebellion against Great Britain linked the histories of the USA and Australia. It was very interesting and the 82 year old – today was his birthday – got the loudest clap when he denounced political correctness. Having never been to a lecture at sea I was a little worried we might be the only ones, but we needn't have worried because around 200 people turned up to hear him.
We then decided to enjoy a bit of sun bathing but it was not to be as we ran into a squall and had to run for cover, a pattern which has been repeated at times during the day. I'll try and explain how the squall arrives; imagine standing on the starboard (right) side of the ship staring straight ahead and it's clear and bright, you then look to your right which is to the rear of the ship and its clear and bright, you then look to your left to the front of the ship and obviously the way you are heading and what you see approaching is a grey coloured curtain which extends from the sky to the water but with its edges visible and then the rain starts and it absolutely lashes down until we've passed through the curtain and everything goes back to normal. Because we are sailing in the Coral Sea, home of the Great Barrier Reef and a myriad of islands, the Captain has explained that it is too shallow for him to try and manoeuvre the ship around any squalls so we just do what everyone else does at this time, find somewhere sheltered and relax.
After lunch we continued in similar fashion, ie me reading and Stephan sleeping (it's a hard life) before he woke up and decided to go to the gym. When he returned it was time for afternoon tea – you can see a real pattern forming here can't you? The ship is now rounding Cape York which is the northern-most point of Australia, and we are now crossing the Gulf of Carpentaria.
The 6 of us, that is Faye & John, Chris & Dave and ourselves decided to give the main dining room a miss and we went to the Horizon Court which is buffet style. Princess is one of the few cruise lines that allows people to bring wine on board but obviously if you take it to the dining room you have to pay corkage so Stephan smuggled into the Horizon restaurant a bottle of our own wine and somehow we managed to drink the whole bottle without anyone seeing us. We felt like naughty schoolchildren which, of course, made the wine taste even better. After we had eaten the men went off to the casino to watch a poker tournament and we women retired to our own cabins. It's been a long day with lots of eating and drinking which is very exhausting!!!
Ho hum, another day, another round of eating, another round of sleeping. Interspersed with this hive of activity was a bit of sun bathing, watching a musical revue (very enjoyable) and also watching the England vs Italy rugby match. This was shown on the MoviesUnderTheStars screen, but unfortunately it started to rain so we went into one of the many lounges to watch. We have now been on the ship 5 days and we are still finding new places to explore. I still get lost and will only have learnt my way around by the time we are due to disembark. Prior to sailing I had done a fair amount of research on the ship and cruise line and the one constant was whether the coffee is drinkable or not. Apparently the ordinary coffee that is offered at meal times or at various points round the ship all day is a syrup based coffee. I'm not sure what this really means as to me the word syrup conjures up Camp Coffee but I am told it isn't. Anyway, is it drinkable – a short answer is 'just about'. You can get freshly brewed coffee, lattes, etc but, in common with most cruise lines, you have to pay for it.
After dinner we headed for the Explorer's Lounge where 3 of the guest entertainers where giving a final show before they left the ship and new entertainers came on board. When they had finished we decided to retire a little early as we are onshore tomorrow and felt we needed a good night's sleep.
HOPEFULLY WE WILL BE ABLE TO BRING OUR BLOG UP TO DATE IN DARWIN. ASSUMING THERE ARE NO PROBLEMS YOU WILL BE ABLE TO READ ABOUT OUR ADVENTURES SO FAR. AFTER DARWIN WE HAVE A FULL DAY'S EXCURSION IN BALI SO I DON'T THINK WE WILL HAVE A CHANCE TO POST ANYTHING THEN, SO IT COULD BE A WEEK BEFORE ANYTHING NEW APPEARS. PLEASE BEAR WITH US AND I HOPE YOU ENJOY WHAT YOU ARE READING.
We then decided to enjoy a bit of sun bathing but it was not to be as we ran into a squall and had to run for cover, a pattern which has been repeated at times during the day. I'll try and explain how the squall arrives; imagine standing on the starboard (right) side of the ship staring straight ahead and it's clear and bright, you then look to your right which is to the rear of the ship and its clear and bright, you then look to your left to the front of the ship and obviously the way you are heading and what you see approaching is a grey coloured curtain which extends from the sky to the water but with its edges visible and then the rain starts and it absolutely lashes down until we've passed through the curtain and everything goes back to normal. Because we are sailing in the Coral Sea, home of the Great Barrier Reef and a myriad of islands, the Captain has explained that it is too shallow for him to try and manoeuvre the ship around any squalls so we just do what everyone else does at this time, find somewhere sheltered and relax.
After lunch we continued in similar fashion, ie me reading and Stephan sleeping (it's a hard life) before he woke up and decided to go to the gym. When he returned it was time for afternoon tea – you can see a real pattern forming here can't you? The ship is now rounding Cape York which is the northern-most point of Australia, and we are now crossing the Gulf of Carpentaria.
The 6 of us, that is Faye & John, Chris & Dave and ourselves decided to give the main dining room a miss and we went to the Horizon Court which is buffet style. Princess is one of the few cruise lines that allows people to bring wine on board but obviously if you take it to the dining room you have to pay corkage so Stephan smuggled into the Horizon restaurant a bottle of our own wine and somehow we managed to drink the whole bottle without anyone seeing us. We felt like naughty schoolchildren which, of course, made the wine taste even better. After we had eaten the men went off to the casino to watch a poker tournament and we women retired to our own cabins. It's been a long day with lots of eating and drinking which is very exhausting!!!
Ho hum, another day, another round of eating, another round of sleeping. Interspersed with this hive of activity was a bit of sun bathing, watching a musical revue (very enjoyable) and also watching the England vs Italy rugby match. This was shown on the MoviesUnderTheStars screen, but unfortunately it started to rain so we went into one of the many lounges to watch. We have now been on the ship 5 days and we are still finding new places to explore. I still get lost and will only have learnt my way around by the time we are due to disembark. Prior to sailing I had done a fair amount of research on the ship and cruise line and the one constant was whether the coffee is drinkable or not. Apparently the ordinary coffee that is offered at meal times or at various points round the ship all day is a syrup based coffee. I'm not sure what this really means as to me the word syrup conjures up Camp Coffee but I am told it isn't. Anyway, is it drinkable – a short answer is 'just about'. You can get freshly brewed coffee, lattes, etc but, in common with most cruise lines, you have to pay for it.
After dinner we headed for the Explorer's Lounge where 3 of the guest entertainers where giving a final show before they left the ship and new entertainers came on board. When they had finished we decided to retire a little early as we are onshore tomorrow and felt we needed a good night's sleep.
HOPEFULLY WE WILL BE ABLE TO BRING OUR BLOG UP TO DATE IN DARWIN. ASSUMING THERE ARE NO PROBLEMS YOU WILL BE ABLE TO READ ABOUT OUR ADVENTURES SO FAR. AFTER DARWIN WE HAVE A FULL DAY'S EXCURSION IN BALI SO I DON'T THINK WE WILL HAVE A CHANCE TO POST ANYTHING THEN, SO IT COULD BE A WEEK BEFORE ANYTHING NEW APPEARS. PLEASE BEAR WITH US AND I HOPE YOU ENJOY WHAT YOU ARE READING.
11th February 2011 – Port Douglas
First of all we must start today's blog with an apology. We were on shore in Port Douglas with every intention of getting on-line and bringing our blog up to date; however, we were unable to do so and at time of typing this, it will be 3 more days before we can try again. Please bear with us, hopefully the blogs we do post will make the delays worthwhile and possibly towards the end of the cruise we may be able to post more regularly.
As the ship is too big to dock at Port Douglas we have to tender ashore and in order to make sure we were on an early tender we were up a little earlier than usual. Our breakfast companions this morning were all Aussies. One couple were taking the opportunity to visit their son who lives just an hour away; as they live 1000 miles away (yes, I know it sounds a lot, but distances here are seriously huge) they were really looking forward to catching up with the family. After we teased them about England winning The Ashes the conversation turned to where we had visited and when I mentioned we had not been to Broome or the Kimberleys they all agreed that we really should visit this area (so Avril & Les, when are we doing the trip?!)
The English language is certainly interesting. Whilst waiting for our tender ticket number to be called we sat with Faye, who is one of our evening dining companions. She must be our age and quite happily informed us that prior to embarking on the ship she had bought some new thongs. Stephan snorted and I laughed and then explained to her the difference between thongs in the UK and here in Australia. At this point we were joined by another of our dining companions who, although British, now lives in Alicante, Spain and when I told her that Faye had bought herself some thongs she also burst out laughing.
Port Douglas is in the far northern part of Queensland and offers one of the richest pockets of biodiversity on the globe. There is the Great Barrier Reef, the dense, primeval rainforest of the Wet Tropics World Heritage Area and the Atherton Tableland which is a lush inland plateau with lakes, waterfalls and forest. We had decided to simply explore Port Douglas itself and found it to be a lovely town whose main shopping street is littered with designer label boutiques and cafes. We walked as far as 4 Mile Beach which normally boasts white sands but, although the area was spared the worst of Cyclone Yasi, its effects were evident with seaweed on the beach. You could also see where some trees had been uprooted. It is a small enough town that we were able to cover much of it in an easy stroll. We looked in an estate agent's window and apartments in a prime position were selling for £800,000 and more. They looked very nice, but for that price they would have to! It was hot but the humidity was awful – over 90%.
We returned to the ship just as the weather started to turn, so the tender was really bouncing and watching tenders return from the safety of the ship we could see how much they were really going up and down. At some point after we returned there was a short, sharp rainfall, but as we were inside we missed it.
Tonight is Friday and so we decided to go to the evening service. Unfortunately, unlike on our previous cruise when it had been in a large side room, this was held in one of the nightclubs which was being decorated with balloons for tonights 'rock and roll' evening. Even worse was the fact that the bar was open and doing business and the television was on and showing some American sport, all whilst the organisers were setting up candles, wine and challah. The final nail in the coffin was a muttered 'is this a reform service' and even if it was, it bore no relation to anything Stephan had seen. I don't think we will go again.
Just a comment; whilst watching the tenders disgorging their passengers I had a text message from Facebook(!) saying I (Rosalyn) had one friend request – so if it's from someone reading this blog, please understand that I will reply when we return home!
After dinner the 6 of us went to the Explorers Lounge where this evening's entertainment was comedy vocalist Morgan Kent who 'does' Rod Stewart songs. I didn't think he was too bad, Stephan thought he was terrible and Faye fell asleep!! He finished his act about 11.30 so we decided to stick our noses outside before going to bed. Surprisingly it was quite warm, but there was quite a lot of spray.
We now have 2 days at sea before our next port of call which is Darwin. We understand that the weather there is a little thundery, but in some ways this is to be expected as this time of the year is known as the 'Wet Season' in this part of Australia. Anyway, we will see what Monday brings and hopefully we will be able to bring you our postings.
As the ship is too big to dock at Port Douglas we have to tender ashore and in order to make sure we were on an early tender we were up a little earlier than usual. Our breakfast companions this morning were all Aussies. One couple were taking the opportunity to visit their son who lives just an hour away; as they live 1000 miles away (yes, I know it sounds a lot, but distances here are seriously huge) they were really looking forward to catching up with the family. After we teased them about England winning The Ashes the conversation turned to where we had visited and when I mentioned we had not been to Broome or the Kimberleys they all agreed that we really should visit this area (so Avril & Les, when are we doing the trip?!)
The English language is certainly interesting. Whilst waiting for our tender ticket number to be called we sat with Faye, who is one of our evening dining companions. She must be our age and quite happily informed us that prior to embarking on the ship she had bought some new thongs. Stephan snorted and I laughed and then explained to her the difference between thongs in the UK and here in Australia. At this point we were joined by another of our dining companions who, although British, now lives in Alicante, Spain and when I told her that Faye had bought herself some thongs she also burst out laughing.
Port Douglas is in the far northern part of Queensland and offers one of the richest pockets of biodiversity on the globe. There is the Great Barrier Reef, the dense, primeval rainforest of the Wet Tropics World Heritage Area and the Atherton Tableland which is a lush inland plateau with lakes, waterfalls and forest. We had decided to simply explore Port Douglas itself and found it to be a lovely town whose main shopping street is littered with designer label boutiques and cafes. We walked as far as 4 Mile Beach which normally boasts white sands but, although the area was spared the worst of Cyclone Yasi, its effects were evident with seaweed on the beach. You could also see where some trees had been uprooted. It is a small enough town that we were able to cover much of it in an easy stroll. We looked in an estate agent's window and apartments in a prime position were selling for £800,000 and more. They looked very nice, but for that price they would have to! It was hot but the humidity was awful – over 90%.
We returned to the ship just as the weather started to turn, so the tender was really bouncing and watching tenders return from the safety of the ship we could see how much they were really going up and down. At some point after we returned there was a short, sharp rainfall, but as we were inside we missed it.
Tonight is Friday and so we decided to go to the evening service. Unfortunately, unlike on our previous cruise when it had been in a large side room, this was held in one of the nightclubs which was being decorated with balloons for tonights 'rock and roll' evening. Even worse was the fact that the bar was open and doing business and the television was on and showing some American sport, all whilst the organisers were setting up candles, wine and challah. The final nail in the coffin was a muttered 'is this a reform service' and even if it was, it bore no relation to anything Stephan had seen. I don't think we will go again.
Just a comment; whilst watching the tenders disgorging their passengers I had a text message from Facebook(!) saying I (Rosalyn) had one friend request – so if it's from someone reading this blog, please understand that I will reply when we return home!
After dinner the 6 of us went to the Explorers Lounge where this evening's entertainment was comedy vocalist Morgan Kent who 'does' Rod Stewart songs. I didn't think he was too bad, Stephan thought he was terrible and Faye fell asleep!! He finished his act about 11.30 so we decided to stick our noses outside before going to bed. Surprisingly it was quite warm, but there was quite a lot of spray.
We now have 2 days at sea before our next port of call which is Darwin. We understand that the weather there is a little thundery, but in some ways this is to be expected as this time of the year is known as the 'Wet Season' in this part of Australia. Anyway, we will see what Monday brings and hopefully we will be able to bring you our postings.
8/9/10th February 2011 – Sydney and at Sea
This morning we packed our suitcases, had a quick wander around the area where the hotel is situated and we were then picked up and taken to Circular Quay where we boarded the Diamond Princess – and boy, is she one big ship. I'd like to take a couple of minutes of your time to give you some statistics.
She was built by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (no, I'd never heard of them either) and registered in Hamilton, Bermuda. Her gross tonnage is 115875, nett 77745, overall length 290 metres, breadth 40 metres. She has a fuel capacity of 3000 cubic meters and fresh water capacity of 3380 cubic metres. Fully berthed she can carry 3078 passengers , but today she is carrying only 2600; a normal crew figure complement is 1115 and 1240 full berthing and she cruises at 20.7 knots.
We have an inside cabin which has a reasonable size wardrobe and a floor-to-wall shelved cupboard so we have plenty of room to unpack and store our cases; in fact it is no different to a hotel room apart from the fact that between going to bed and waking up the next morning the room has moved! We are finding our way around but at times getting quite disorientated with starboard and port, etc. (right and left respectively). We met our dining companions tonight, 3 couples- 1 from Australia, 1 from the UK and 1 from USA. They seem pleasant enough and certainly the conversation flowed well. We haven't slept too well so retired about 11.30 and thankfully both of us woke up from the best night's sleep so far.
Today (Wednesday) was our first full day onboard and Stephan decided to go to the gym before breakfast. I had surfed the net quite a bit before we came away, especially on a website www.cruisecritic.co.uk where I had put our names down on a list of like-minded people on the cruise who wanted to meet up, exchange ideas and organise shore excursions rather than rely completely on Princess who, like all cruise companies, charge an arm and a leg for the privilege of showing you around ports of call. Obviously there are times when you would be well advised to use the official excursions, but if you can do better than why not?
As a result of this 'roll call' we are doing a tour of Taiwan with others like us at a fraction of the cost Princess is charging. The Ship's Entertainment Officer and the Captain came to meet us and say hello.
By now it was lunch time (it's a hard life) and having had a simple salad – unlike other people who seem to have entered a competition to see how much food they can pile on their plate – we found two sun loungers and lay out toasting very nicely. Eventually it was time to tear ourselves away from the sun and return to our cabin to get ready for the evening's entertainment. Our table complement has reduced by 2 – the Americans have moved to another table. It was decided that they wouldn't be missed. We finished the evening with a visit to the Princess Theatre to watch the production show Ports of Call. I'm sure it was very good but I'm afraid I kept nodding off and our table companions who had joined us noticed Stephan constantly having to dig me in the ribs to keep awake! Not sure why I'm so tired, I've done nothing all day and I'll do it all again tomorrow.
Another good night's sleep and Stephan was up and off to the gym. We had a quick breakfast and then found ourselves a couple of sun loungers. I found it a little hot and when the Captain in his daily update informed us that it was 30degrees, I understood why. Just before lunch we did actually have a few drops of rain, but they soon disappeared to be replaced by the hot sun. The ship boasts a huge outdoor movie screen which shows the latest films, documentaries and music videos. We wonder if they will show Match of the Day at the weekend!!!! There is a tv in the cabin but the choice of channels is not brilliant. We've been looking for 'characters' but surprisingly no-one stands out so far. I did watch a girl flossing her teeth whilst her friend applied suncream to her back – that's a new one.
We have been sailing through the islands of the Great Barrier Reef, many of which are uninhabited like the Cumberland Islands and those which are resorts such as Hamilton Island.
We went to hear a comedian in one of the bars who was quite amusing, however once again Rosalyn embarrassed me by drifting off to sleep however she was not the only who did so as I must confess I also nodded off, closely followed by 2 of our companions – we think it is something they put in the water!!! As Rosalyn says, if we are this tired after 2 days at sea, she reckons we will be comatose after 4 days between Bali and Hong Kong.
She was built by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (no, I'd never heard of them either) and registered in Hamilton, Bermuda. Her gross tonnage is 115875, nett 77745, overall length 290 metres, breadth 40 metres. She has a fuel capacity of 3000 cubic meters and fresh water capacity of 3380 cubic metres. Fully berthed she can carry 3078 passengers , but today she is carrying only 2600; a normal crew figure complement is 1115 and 1240 full berthing and she cruises at 20.7 knots.
We have an inside cabin which has a reasonable size wardrobe and a floor-to-wall shelved cupboard so we have plenty of room to unpack and store our cases; in fact it is no different to a hotel room apart from the fact that between going to bed and waking up the next morning the room has moved! We are finding our way around but at times getting quite disorientated with starboard and port, etc. (right and left respectively). We met our dining companions tonight, 3 couples- 1 from Australia, 1 from the UK and 1 from USA. They seem pleasant enough and certainly the conversation flowed well. We haven't slept too well so retired about 11.30 and thankfully both of us woke up from the best night's sleep so far.
Today (Wednesday) was our first full day onboard and Stephan decided to go to the gym before breakfast. I had surfed the net quite a bit before we came away, especially on a website www.cruisecritic.co.uk where I had put our names down on a list of like-minded people on the cruise who wanted to meet up, exchange ideas and organise shore excursions rather than rely completely on Princess who, like all cruise companies, charge an arm and a leg for the privilege of showing you around ports of call. Obviously there are times when you would be well advised to use the official excursions, but if you can do better than why not?
As a result of this 'roll call' we are doing a tour of Taiwan with others like us at a fraction of the cost Princess is charging. The Ship's Entertainment Officer and the Captain came to meet us and say hello.
By now it was lunch time (it's a hard life) and having had a simple salad – unlike other people who seem to have entered a competition to see how much food they can pile on their plate – we found two sun loungers and lay out toasting very nicely. Eventually it was time to tear ourselves away from the sun and return to our cabin to get ready for the evening's entertainment. Our table complement has reduced by 2 – the Americans have moved to another table. It was decided that they wouldn't be missed. We finished the evening with a visit to the Princess Theatre to watch the production show Ports of Call. I'm sure it was very good but I'm afraid I kept nodding off and our table companions who had joined us noticed Stephan constantly having to dig me in the ribs to keep awake! Not sure why I'm so tired, I've done nothing all day and I'll do it all again tomorrow.
Another good night's sleep and Stephan was up and off to the gym. We had a quick breakfast and then found ourselves a couple of sun loungers. I found it a little hot and when the Captain in his daily update informed us that it was 30degrees, I understood why. Just before lunch we did actually have a few drops of rain, but they soon disappeared to be replaced by the hot sun. The ship boasts a huge outdoor movie screen which shows the latest films, documentaries and music videos. We wonder if they will show Match of the Day at the weekend!!!! There is a tv in the cabin but the choice of channels is not brilliant. We've been looking for 'characters' but surprisingly no-one stands out so far. I did watch a girl flossing her teeth whilst her friend applied suncream to her back – that's a new one.
We have been sailing through the islands of the Great Barrier Reef, many of which are uninhabited like the Cumberland Islands and those which are resorts such as Hamilton Island.
We went to hear a comedian in one of the bars who was quite amusing, however once again Rosalyn embarrassed me by drifting off to sleep however she was not the only who did so as I must confess I also nodded off, closely followed by 2 of our companions – we think it is something they put in the water!!! As Rosalyn says, if we are this tired after 2 days at sea, she reckons we will be comatose after 4 days between Bali and Hong Kong.
Monday, 7 February 2011
7 th February 2011
We are suffering today as the temperature has dropped dramatically – from 42 degrees to a more manageable 25 degrees!!! A 17 degrees drop is probably still warmer than it is in Manchester, especially having just watched Match of the Day and seen the rain in Liverpool and Wigan.
Today we set off for a walk through Hyde Park obviously named after the original Hyde Park in London. Sydney's was declared a public space in 1810 and became a venue for early colonial cricket matches, prize fights and horse races. In 1932 the park saw the construction of the Archibald Fountain, a ludicrously ornate affair. The first stop on our walk was to visit the Anzac Memorial, a most impressive War Memorial. Opened in November 1934 it was built to commemorate the courage, endurance and sacrifice of Australians who served in World War 1 and was later rededicated to honour all Australians who have served in wars and peacekeeping missions. The interior dome is studded with one star for each of he 120,000 New South Wales citizens who served in WW1. The pines near the entrance grew from seed gathered at Gallipoli and the Pool of Remembrance and Sacrifice sculpture are particularly poignant.
After such a magnificent building we then encountered the Archibald Fountain which, as I have said earlier, is completely OTT and cannot be described. We continued our walk through The Domain, a green area preserved by Governor Phillip in 1788 for public recreation and which connects the Royal Botanical Gardens to Hyde Park.
Our final stop on this walk was at the iconic Sydney Opera House, probably one of the world's most recognisable buildings. Building started in 1959 and after a tumultuous tirade of ego clashes, technical difficulties and delays, the Opera House opened in 1973!!! The 67m-high roof features 27,230 tonnes of Swedish tiles (1,056,000 of them) and the Concert Hall organ has 10,500 pipes! (Slightly more than the organ in the Bridgewater Hall, Manchester!).
By now we were ready for lunch and we found a cafe with views to not to miss – The Opera House on one side and the Sydney Harbour Bridge on the other side; it certainly puts a different perspective on the cafe culture of Hull and Manchester!
Replenished, we made our way to The Rocks, the site of Sydney's first European settlement and now something of a tourist trap with cobbled streets, renovated colonial buildings and cafes. We finally made our way back to our hotel via the Queen Victoria Building which was built in 1898 and is full of fashion boutiques, jewellers, etc. After a rest (in other words a sleep) we returned to Darling Harbour for a last look around before heading back to re-pack our cases ready for the next stage of our adventure.
Tomorrow we will board the Diamond Princess for a 23 nights cruise which will ultimately end up in China. I hope you will continue to join us.
A final word on how hot it has been in Sydney the hotel even provided an extra key to leave the air conditioning running while we were out.
Just a reminder Posting updates will depend on our ability to find an internet source when we are ashore; the ship internet is definitely very hit and miss as it is based on the satellite being in the right place at the right time – so please check every couple of days or so to see if we have posted anything.
Today we set off for a walk through Hyde Park obviously named after the original Hyde Park in London. Sydney's was declared a public space in 1810 and became a venue for early colonial cricket matches, prize fights and horse races. In 1932 the park saw the construction of the Archibald Fountain, a ludicrously ornate affair. The first stop on our walk was to visit the Anzac Memorial, a most impressive War Memorial. Opened in November 1934 it was built to commemorate the courage, endurance and sacrifice of Australians who served in World War 1 and was later rededicated to honour all Australians who have served in wars and peacekeeping missions. The interior dome is studded with one star for each of he 120,000 New South Wales citizens who served in WW1. The pines near the entrance grew from seed gathered at Gallipoli and the Pool of Remembrance and Sacrifice sculpture are particularly poignant.
After such a magnificent building we then encountered the Archibald Fountain which, as I have said earlier, is completely OTT and cannot be described. We continued our walk through The Domain, a green area preserved by Governor Phillip in 1788 for public recreation and which connects the Royal Botanical Gardens to Hyde Park.
Our final stop on this walk was at the iconic Sydney Opera House, probably one of the world's most recognisable buildings. Building started in 1959 and after a tumultuous tirade of ego clashes, technical difficulties and delays, the Opera House opened in 1973!!! The 67m-high roof features 27,230 tonnes of Swedish tiles (1,056,000 of them) and the Concert Hall organ has 10,500 pipes! (Slightly more than the organ in the Bridgewater Hall, Manchester!).
By now we were ready for lunch and we found a cafe with views to not to miss – The Opera House on one side and the Sydney Harbour Bridge on the other side; it certainly puts a different perspective on the cafe culture of Hull and Manchester!
Replenished, we made our way to The Rocks, the site of Sydney's first European settlement and now something of a tourist trap with cobbled streets, renovated colonial buildings and cafes. We finally made our way back to our hotel via the Queen Victoria Building which was built in 1898 and is full of fashion boutiques, jewellers, etc. After a rest (in other words a sleep) we returned to Darling Harbour for a last look around before heading back to re-pack our cases ready for the next stage of our adventure.
Tomorrow we will board the Diamond Princess for a 23 nights cruise which will ultimately end up in China. I hope you will continue to join us.
A final word on how hot it has been in Sydney the hotel even provided an extra key to leave the air conditioning running while we were out.
Just a reminder Posting updates will depend on our ability to find an internet source when we are ashore; the ship internet is definitely very hit and miss as it is based on the satellite being in the right place at the right time – so please check every couple of days or so to see if we have posted anything.
6 th February 2011
Well it's official. Yesterday's temperature here in Sydney peaked at 42degrees centigrade – a little bit on the hot side I'm sure you will agree. Headlines in this morning's paper led with 'The Day Sydney Melted'. Today's weather has been one of contrasts; when we finally emerged from the hotel just after 10 am it promised to be another scorcher, but by 2.30 a strong wind had built up and shock,horror there has even been a few spots of rain within the wind! The weather here in Oz certainly is a little crazy at the moment; cyclones/flooding in Queensland, heavy rains in Victoria, possible heavy rain (as a consequence of Cyclone Yasi) in Alice Springs and maybe even in Uluru and bush fires in the Perth area.
We took the bus to Bondi Beach, about a 40 minutes journey and by the time we got there the beach was full of people. Our first stop was to a local kosher deli where we had a coffee and a bun and then we found a bench overlooking the beach, made ourselves comfortable and Stephan thoroughly enjoyed the view!!!! For me I'm afraid the view was a little disappointing – the 'beautiful people' were obviously somewhere else. We went to Katzy's for lunch, thoroughly enjoying beef pie and chips. One thing we did notice on our way to the restaurant was that there were a number of cafes with mezuzot, but as to whether the food was supervised or simply 'kosher-style' I don't know. One kosher restaurant that had been open when we last visited Oz had definitely disappeared but the mezuzah was still visible.
Because of the change in weather we decided to return a little early to the hotel and have a rest before venturing out again. Despite the strong wind we enjoyed a walk round Cockle Bay Wharf and Darling Harbour, commenting on how quiet it was. Only on our way back to the hotel did we realise why – we had arrived in ChinaTown, Sydney in time to help them celebrate the New Year with the Parade we couldn't see in Hong Kong and everyone was there! This time we were able to get a good view and it was very enjoyable, apart from the incessant tuneless drumming which seemed to accompany every float.
As part of the holiday package we were booked on a half-day city tour tomorrow (Monday) morning but we have been informed that it is a 7.30 am start which would mean having to get up at least an hour earlier so we can have breakfast,etc. After a discussion we have decided to cancel the trip as it is only going to places we have been before and as we are on holiday neither of us relish an early start if it is not justified. We feel we have made the right decision and will spend our last full day doing exactly what we want – not that we have decided what that is to be as yet!!!
We took the bus to Bondi Beach, about a 40 minutes journey and by the time we got there the beach was full of people. Our first stop was to a local kosher deli where we had a coffee and a bun and then we found a bench overlooking the beach, made ourselves comfortable and Stephan thoroughly enjoyed the view!!!! For me I'm afraid the view was a little disappointing – the 'beautiful people' were obviously somewhere else. We went to Katzy's for lunch, thoroughly enjoying beef pie and chips. One thing we did notice on our way to the restaurant was that there were a number of cafes with mezuzot, but as to whether the food was supervised or simply 'kosher-style' I don't know. One kosher restaurant that had been open when we last visited Oz had definitely disappeared but the mezuzah was still visible.
Because of the change in weather we decided to return a little early to the hotel and have a rest before venturing out again. Despite the strong wind we enjoyed a walk round Cockle Bay Wharf and Darling Harbour, commenting on how quiet it was. Only on our way back to the hotel did we realise why – we had arrived in ChinaTown, Sydney in time to help them celebrate the New Year with the Parade we couldn't see in Hong Kong and everyone was there! This time we were able to get a good view and it was very enjoyable, apart from the incessant tuneless drumming which seemed to accompany every float.
As part of the holiday package we were booked on a half-day city tour tomorrow (Monday) morning but we have been informed that it is a 7.30 am start which would mean having to get up at least an hour earlier so we can have breakfast,etc. After a discussion we have decided to cancel the trip as it is only going to places we have been before and as we are on holiday neither of us relish an early start if it is not justified. We feel we have made the right decision and will spend our last full day doing exactly what we want – not that we have decided what that is to be as yet!!!
4/5th February 2011
Well, even the best laid plans can go awry and that is what has happened. Our intentions were that on the second day in Hong Kong we would take the tram and go up to the top of The Peak which would give us magnificent views of Hong Kong Island and beyond and then walk one of the several nature trails. However, we hadn't taken into account the New Year celebrations which last for 3 days; so with most offices closed, as well as shops it seemed to us that the entire population of Hong Kong had decided to do the same as us and by the time we got to the Peak Tramway there was a nearly 2 hours wait just to get to the ticket office, so reluctantly we decided we didn't have enough time and abandoned the plan.
Rosalyn took me back to Times Square in Causeway Bay which is home to a large number of Designer Label shops but I am proud to admit that I kept my hands very firmly in my pockets!!! We did visit a large shop which boasts the only CURVED escalators we have ever seen. This time I have remembered to take pictures and if I get the chance I will post a photo so you can see exactly what I mean. Uploading photos takes ages and we had the time in Hong Kong because the hotel had free broadband in the bedrooms. Unfortunately the hotel in Sydney charges an arm and leg for the internet so postings will be whenever we can find somewhere offering wifi. Hence, the gap between postings.
While I remember, once we board the Diamond Princess on Tuesday posting really will become a case of when we have the chance. Although the ship offers internet it is satellite
based and apparently is even slower than the old dial-up system. All I can ask is that you keep checking the blog to see if it has been updated.
We flew into Sydney this morning and again our plans had to be changed. Sydney is experiencing its 6th day of extreme heat , well into the 40s, and the walk we had planned was shelved simply because it was so blooming hot. I know that most of you reading this will have no sympathy, but trust me, temperatures in excess of 40degrees centigrade are no fun. Instead of the walk we took the ferry across to Manly and found some shade so we could 'people-watch' We returned to the hotel from the Ferry Terminal in Circular Quay by using the City Rail. This is a subway system but the trains are triple-deckers. As you board there is an area for 10 people to sit and for people to stand. There is also the option to go up or down stairs to more seating areas. The ferry ride is one of the more scenic journeys as you depart from a wharf between the Harbour Bridge and the Opera House, two of the most amazing travel icons you are ever likely to see. Alongside the Passenger Terminal was the Rhapsody of the Seas; this is the ship we were on when we did our last trip to Oz and as we returned from Manly she was just setting sail – leaving room for the Diamond Princess!
Rosalyn took me back to Times Square in Causeway Bay which is home to a large number of Designer Label shops but I am proud to admit that I kept my hands very firmly in my pockets!!! We did visit a large shop which boasts the only CURVED escalators we have ever seen. This time I have remembered to take pictures and if I get the chance I will post a photo so you can see exactly what I mean. Uploading photos takes ages and we had the time in Hong Kong because the hotel had free broadband in the bedrooms. Unfortunately the hotel in Sydney charges an arm and leg for the internet so postings will be whenever we can find somewhere offering wifi. Hence, the gap between postings.
While I remember, once we board the Diamond Princess on Tuesday posting really will become a case of when we have the chance. Although the ship offers internet it is satellite
based and apparently is even slower than the old dial-up system. All I can ask is that you keep checking the blog to see if it has been updated.
We flew into Sydney this morning and again our plans had to be changed. Sydney is experiencing its 6th day of extreme heat , well into the 40s, and the walk we had planned was shelved simply because it was so blooming hot. I know that most of you reading this will have no sympathy, but trust me, temperatures in excess of 40degrees centigrade are no fun. Instead of the walk we took the ferry across to Manly and found some shade so we could 'people-watch' We returned to the hotel from the Ferry Terminal in Circular Quay by using the City Rail. This is a subway system but the trains are triple-deckers. As you board there is an area for 10 people to sit and for people to stand. There is also the option to go up or down stairs to more seating areas. The ferry ride is one of the more scenic journeys as you depart from a wharf between the Harbour Bridge and the Opera House, two of the most amazing travel icons you are ever likely to see. Alongside the Passenger Terminal was the Rhapsody of the Seas; this is the ship we were on when we did our last trip to Oz and as we returned from Manly she was just setting sail – leaving room for the Diamond Princess!
Thursday, 3 February 2011
3rd February 2011
After a 10 hours flight (an hour shorter than usual) we landed at Hong Kong airport at 8am - 12 midnight UK time. The airport is situated on Lantau Island and as we made our approach we were able to see the Big Buddha, a picture of which we have posted earlier. We were at the Metropark Hotel in Causeway Bay by 9.15 and were delighted to find that not only was the room ready for us, but we had been upgraded to a suite! Mind you, I'd rather have been upgraded on the flight and have a standard hotel room - but you can't have everything. After a short rest and freshen-up we took the Metro across to Kowloon Island with the intention of doing a walk of the various markets. However, we were both more tired than we realised and a lot of the stalls had closed early so after a couple of hours we returned to the hotel for a snooze.
A word here about the metro, it's clean and efficient. The carriages have very few seats so that as many people can squeeze onto the train and because the carriages are open-plan (no dividing doors) they are very very long.
We have arrived in Hong Kong in time to help them celebrate the Chinese New Year, which is the Year of the Rabbit- the downside to this is that a fair number of shops are closed, but as we are only here for the one night, it shouldn't affect us.
We did go back to Kowloon to watch the Parade but the crowd was horrendous with lots of pushing and shoving and we really couldn't see very much so we decided to go back to the hotel and watch it on the tv!
The photo I have just posted was taken earlier in the day as the build-up to the Parade began. Rosalyn and I got involved with a dragon
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