MMDown Under

To be honest I did love the old QE2 so much that I am ingoring all the hype about what is going to happen to her. From what has been released, they were going to alter her so much in Dubai that she may as well have been scrapped. Fixtures and fittings have been dumped in skips or given away!

 

I just hope the new QE lives up to the Cunard hype. She is still too big for my taste, but one of the smaller new-builds at 90,000 tons and a lower passenger/space ratio (or do I meaner higher?) than Princess or P&O for example so, we can but try her out. Cunard's fluid pricing for that voyage has alienated a lot of people though. How they can raise then ever few minutes I don't know!

Sounds like a dutch auction, without telling the passengers. I thought that style of pricing was only used at flower auctions. :)

Not a good way to keep your clients loyal and happy.

Not until Oct 2010 Marion, from Southampton to the Canaries, Portugal and Spain. I have always shied away from Maidens and waited until the ship settled down, but with my love of liner history thought I ought to do at least one, and that this might be the one to go for. It sounds as if it was a nightmare for Travel Agents. The Maiden sold out in 15 mins and "fluid pricing" kicked in every 3 mins!! Fortunately my TA managed to book virtually at the price quoted.

Wow. That just shows how loved the old QE2 was to be sold out in 15 mins. I noticed that you had sailed on her, which must have been a wonderful experience.

I read somewhere with the current economic climate the old QE2 may not be made into a hotel at Dubai after all. Only time will tell if that is true. However, I wouldn't want to be in the hotel industry in Dubai.

I have just got one more booked as of today- the Maiden voyage of the new Queen Elizabeth and am very lucky and happy to have got a cabin. Fortunately I will be sharing with two friends on this one though. It cuts the cost hugely.

How exciting! Now that should be a special event.

When will the maiden voyage be and from where to where?

Fran, my next cruise is April 24, a San Diego-Mexico-Vancouver repositioning on Ryndam. That cruise seems to have been completely sold out. My cruise agent told me when I picked up my documents that he had also booked four other clients on that cruise. There is an unusual preponderance of Canadians on the roll call.

 

The financial meltdown has indeed influenced me to put an immediate freeze on future cruise bookings. I have nothing planned beyond my next three booked cruises, but I never say "never."

 

Good news for me - Celebrity is keeping Mercury for another year. She will be making her usual round-trip Alaska cruises in Summer 2010. No doubt I will be on one or two of these!

 

Donald.

If most people had three cruises booked, they'd think they'd died and gone to heaven - enjoy! The advantages of living in a port city on the Coast.

I am in a dither about this. Do I very carefully make financial decisions to hold onto what I have or do I spend it before it just disappears without any joy. Now if my crystal ball was still operating it would make the decisions easier.

 

As it is now I will be in Savannah,GA at a family wedding. Lots of pre-wedding festivities; oyster roasts, ladies tea, cocktails and desserts welcome party and Haunted Ghost Trolley tour. Savannah is the city where the book "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil" takes place. It sounds like a really good time. The only thing that would make it better would be to have it on a cruise.

Fran

Enjoy your family wedding in Savannah - it sounds delightful.

I fly to Rome on 16 May, stay in the Prati section of Rome (west of the Tiber) for a few days, then sail out of Civitavecchi on Prinsendam on the 20th. We return to Civitavecchia on 06 June and I wing my way back home.

 

In reference to your second comment about the Great Recession, I am guarding my nest egg like a she-wolf. I wanted to buy a Kindle (e-book) to take with, but the price of $359 deters me. My life now is what I need, not what I want to indulge in.

 

I had thought about a private car and guide for Sevastopol but HAL wants $500 for 4 hours - nuh uh. The local tour agency wants me to book with them directly but I'm not sure that Sevastopol has $250 worth of interest for me, so I'll be attending the Royal Naval Dances for $50.

 

I'll be spending time and $$$$ on shopping for specific items in Istanbul but otherwise I plan to keep my wallet closed.

 

Ruby

Just before we departed on our last cruise, our currency dropped from .98cUS to .60cUS and less than .50Euro. We still enjoyed a wonderful couple of months overseas, just didn't spend as much as we would usually. We limited our shopping to what we needed in USA (US is much cheaper than Aus for clothes and shoes, even with a devalued Aussie dollar).

Now I'm reluctant to book too far ahead, although I'm still looking and planning.

Welcome home Donald.

 

That makes the score 2-0 against sailing to Hawaii. I was really hoping that your experience was much better than mine. Do you think that the reason that there are so many code reds is that with no ports until day 5, people are together too much? I believe that with all of this closeness we "cross-pollinate" the viruses. No fun being isolated.

 

 

Fran

Sickness

Sorry to hear of your illness on the Hawaiian cruises, Donald and Fran.

My husband was sick for several days on our Honolulu to Sydney cruise.

However, I don't think the reason is because of no ports of call, as our TA had 5 sea days and I didn't notice any sick people. However, MSC Lirica has one of the highest cleanliness records, I believe.

We avoided the buffets, as I did see a passenger cough all over the food, not once, but twice. Needless to say, I put my plate down and returned to eating in the dining room.

Surcharges for Singles

Do you think with the downturn in the economy, the cruise lines might start selling singles at single rates to fill the ships?

I know I received a late offer to Antarctica at single rate last year. However, I don't remember the details, because my daughter had already booked to share with someone. I shared also, when I was young and travelling around the world, but wouldn't want to do it now. :)

How does it work with the 2 for the price of 1 offers? Can you have 1 for 1 instead, or is that off limits as well?

seabourn pride my have cruiseline as they are small.

my fave cruise was melody 3 weeks to seychelles,suez,israel,egypt and suez

dave

Wow - I can see why Seabourn Pride is your favourite.

Sounds like a wonderful cruise on the Melody. What line is that ship?

I haven't been on enough ships to have a favourite yet. :)

Do you have a personal favourite, as well as a favourite size?

Let me tell you about an experience I recently had with P&O with whom we have sailed in the past. They were selling a segment of Aurora's easterly world cruise from San Francisco through the Panama Canal back to Southampton lasting 21 days. We were interested in a transcanal cruise but wanted to disembark in Antigua and fly home to New York from there. They agreed to "allow" us to leave the ship in Antigua but they would charge us the full 21 day fare. Needless to say we declined the opportunity and presumably the cabin we would have occupied is not generating any income for them. I'm glad they are doing well in the current economic crisis.

 

The take home message is that if your proposed HOHO itinerary does match the marketed segments, you might not be able to do it. We never had this problem with Regent which was more than willing to arrange the itinerary we wanted.

I'm not surprised that you didn't take up their generous offer. :)

I was surprised to learn through CC that cruiselines release berths on the same ship to different world markets at different times.

I can understand maybe releasing details of segments of an atw after the whole atw, but not the exact same product. Could world pricing have something to do with it?

Conte's answer may be right, but did you know that P&O (UK) usually sends two ships out from Southampton in the spring, both circumnavigating the globe, one eastbound and one westbound.

 

Depending on itineraries, it is possible to sail from the Left Coast of the US on one ship down to Australia, kick around for a week or two, and then sail back to the US Pacific Coast on the other.

 

Those trips are sold as "boomerang cruises", and one I would sorely like to do. I haven't been able to convince the Missus to be gone that long.

Yes. This is the first atw cruise to commence from Sydney, which makes it unique, however most visit Sydney en route.

My first cruise overseas was atw in both directions, however the cruise didn't start here.

The "boomerang cruises" would be a wonderful way to avoid the much hated long haul flights.

Princess has announced a second atw cruise Sydney to Sydney 104 days commencing May 2010. This cruise will be travelling west, whilst this year's cruise will be travelling east.

Do any of the clever people on this thread know why most atw cruises travel west?

Do you think you and DH will be taking the trip?

 

Ruby

Not sure, however would love to. It is one of those places you always dream about visiting. Would be nice to combine it with a visit to Patagonia.

There is a trip from Australia/NZ but it is double the price.

Were the shorex mostly to view penguins or some other wildlife? How long was her cruise and did Orlova go to South Georgia and the Falklands? Did she swim in the caldera at Deception Island? Were they able to transit the Lemaire Channel?

 

I am particularly interested in reading personal experiences which talk about details such as the ship's interior being quite warm and other tiny factoids. If your daughter has written a journal of her adventures, I would enjoy reading it at sagaruby@verizon.net.

 

Ruby

My daughter's response to your questions:

• Shore excursions were to view numerous species of penguins and seals (more so in South Georgia), option to do a short walk on some stops. Also zodiac cruises where you stayed on the zodiac and sailed through brash ice and past spectacular glaciars.
  
• If you can, definitely go via South Georgia as really different scenery from Antarctica, interesting history with former whaling stations to visit and 60,000 pair King penguin rookeries and their fluffly brown babies are a highlight.
  
• Didn't swim on our trip.
  
• Don't recall the Lemaire Channel.
  
• We had a relatively calm trip across the Drake but Dr gave out sea-sickness pills if you wanted them.
  
• Ship was quite warm. Normally had no more than a light sweater on. Lecture and dining rooms got really warm as they didn't have separate temperature control for each room.
  
• We had a BBQ out on the back deck one night which was a magical experience. Had movies some nights and regular lectures while at sea so while on board there always seemed like plenty of things to do although it was also easy to be pretty lazy.
  
• Got good value out of taking my own binoculars.
  
• Good library on board with plenty of easy-reads as well as books on Antarctica.
  
• Rooms and ensuites were comfortable and adequate.
  
• Food was plentiful and a lot better quality than I'd expected.
  
• Boots they give you are fine but not much insulation so I would recommend insoles and those heat packs or really warm socks.
  
• Have back-up gloves as they do tend to get wet on the zodiacs.
  
• I wore ski pants which were waterproof enough (got pretty smelly though with penguin poo)
  
• Laundry service on board was expensive. I did some hand washing but generally found I could rewear clothes for a number of days.
  
• Small shop on board. They did have "sales" as the trip progressed.
  

By the time I get onboard Corinthian II, I may look like a bag lady.

 

Ruby

A well equiped, well prepared one nevertheless!

Were the shorex mostly to view penguins or some other wildlife? How long was her cruise and did Orlova go to South Georgia and the Falklands? Did she swim in the caldera at Deception Island? Were they able to transit the Lemaire Channel?

 

I am particularly interested in reading personal experiences which talk about details such as the ship's interior being quite warm and other tiny factoids. If your daughter has written a journal of her adventures, I would enjoy reading it at sagaruby@verizon.net.

 

I am so sorry to read about the horrors of the fires in Oz. I know that, back in the 90s, bush fires were raging quite a lot, but this particular summer seems to be one of the worst. And to think that some of them may be arson - what a shocking idea in the midst of all this misery. Here's to better days.

 

Ruby

My daughter said she would be happy to answer any of your questions, so I'll forward them on to her.

Her cruise was the 20 day Explorers' Route, via the Falklands, South Georgia and South Shetlands, so lots of history, as well as wildlife.

She didn't swim at all.

Did you see another Quark ship got stuck in the ice later?

Yes, this will be the all time worst bushfires in Australia. We had driven through the Victorian countryside in January en route to Melbourne and commented on how tinder dry the countryside was and how much fuel there was under the trees.

I got my shiny new US passport in the mail today, integrated chip and all. I had forgotten that our old passports are not returned and I had some really cool visas and stamps in the old one. Do Canadians get back your old passports when the new one is issued?

 

Marion - a question about your daughter's Orlova cruise to Antarctica. I have heard many comments about different ships being quite warm and stuff in the interior - almost as if to negate the deep cold outside. Did she mention anything about that? I'll be going on Corinthian II in January and hope to pack the absolute minimum of cold-weather gear. What landings did she make?

 

You were talking about Darwin - when I think of Darwin, I think of Cycloe Tracy which almost leveled that town in the 70s (?) When I was there in '92, one could not tell it had been almost swept out to sea.

 

Is it too much to ask that Mrs. Blizzard's given name is DQ?

 

Ruby

Always exciting to get a shiny new passport. Australians get to keep their old passports.

She did mention that the Orlova was warm inside. She said she only wore a thermal and a T-Shirt inside. Outside it was lots of light warm layers. She made 14 landings, 1 of which was on the mainland.

Her backpack weighed 18 kg.

We have just been enjoying watching her photos/small videos on TV. Certainly makes you want to share the experience. What an adventure you'll have!!

One of the museums in Darwin has an excellent realistic reproduction of Cyclone Tracey. Cyclone Tracey was the start of the modernisation of Darwin City.

Snowed in today. Most of it had melted when I got home yesterday but it started again in the night and by this morning we had 6 inches and a blizzard raging. I am seriously fed up with it now! We have had one delivery of mail in the week - none today though!

I can imagine the novelty soon wears off.

Whilst we would race outside, delighting in the snow, making snowmen, angels, etc., my friend in NY would say "but you don't have to clear the drive and go out to work in it!" Currently her steps are a sheet of ice!

Yes. but we are not used to this amount. I haven't seen snow like this for maybe 10 years at least. In fact they are saying it is the worst for 20 years. There is no point investing in snow clearing equipment to use it once in even 10 years. Also, people don't get the practice in driving in these conditions. Don't think I like the sound of 3 pairs of gloves and still cold!

Yes, I know that as our daughter lived in London for 4 years, so I agree it is not worth the expensive of investing in snow clearing equipment for the odd occasion it might be needed.

It was just hard to believe the chaos.

Coming from the tropics, my husband lives in fear of being caught in a snowstorm, whilst driving overseas. Once driving in snow from Grand Canyon to Las Vegas, the cars were all going off the road in front of us. My husband just took it steady, driving (on the wrong side of the road) to the conditions, and got 10 of us safely home.

I agree 3 pairs of gloves is seriously cold.

My daughter has just returned from Antarctica and she says she was well prepared clotheswise, because of her period in Canada!!

Most Americans also do not know about the Japanese bombing Darwin, and how close the Japanese Invasion Fleet came - had it not been for the Battle of Coral Sea, Japan might well have occupied Darwin and the Northern Territory.

We have many memorials to the Coral Sea Battle in Queensland.

"The Coral Sea Battle Memorial Park, Cardwell, North Queensland is Australia's largest war memorial. The park was created to commemorate an air and sea battle which took place in 1942 about 800 kilometres east off the coast of Queensland, between Australian/United States forces and Japanese.

This was the first naval battle, in history, in which the opposing ships never came within sight of one another. The entire action was fought by carrier borne aircraft. The Japanese claimed a tactical victory whilst the Allies a strategic victory, in that the assault on Port Moresby had been thwarted.

This battle is commemorated in Cardwell annually, during early May, with dignitaries from both the United States and Australia participating."

Bon Voyage for your cruises to Hawaii.

It is not surprising that February is such a popular month in Hawaii for people escaping the cold.

You have had record cold, whilst we're having record heat waves, bushfires and floods. A year of extremes.

That is a good itinerary.

 

Always wanted to see Darwin - perhaps some day I'll get there. There is supposed to be a very good museum there highlighting the Japanese bombing raids there, early WW2. I do doubt that Darwin will as antiquated as portrayed in the recent movie "Australia" with Nicole Kidman.

 

Our port call at Honiara on Sky Princess, 9-00, was cancelled due to a "civil uprising", but we did get into Vila Vanuatu.

You are right. Darwin is no longer antiquated, however I like Darwin with its unique mix of people, its tropical architecture and laid back atmosphere. Its museums are fascinating, as most Australians were unaware of what happened to Darwin during WW2.

Honiara, also Fiji, still have problems, on and off, with "civil uprisings". I note an October cruise, cruising as far north as PNG, plans to just sail past Honiara, which is a pity.

http://www.cruising.com.au/saga-rose-13-night-2009-commonwealth-world-cruise-sydney-to-darwin/2009-02-27

Just came across this Saga Rose segment. Now that is good marketing - made me wish I could join her.

It is the same here in Vancouver - a little bit of snow and the whole city is paralyzed. I grew up in Montreal and had to laugh at the Vancouverites' inability to deal with snow. In Montreal life went on, no matter the amount of snow. During my four years at university, I walked 35 minutes from my home to the commuter train, and again back in the evening, even during winter. Some days it got so cold that three gloves, worn one on top of the other, couldn't keep the chill from my hands.

 

Donald.

Have you seen on TV the current problems London is having dealing with the snow? One person commented it is like a third world country!

That will be great to see,however I would have liked to see the actual New Years celebration. I will be back in Canada by then. I guess that I need to really comprehend how fortunate I am to see all of these ports.

Fran

You may get to see some celebrations, as they celebrate for a period. This year Chinese New Year is 26/1, yet Singapore celebrations start this weekend on the 3rd.

We visited a church where people were praying and leaving gifts in celebration of the Year of the Ox.