Druke I

Still waiting. Amazon is not the fastest service on the block.

Welcome back, ships cat. Sounds like a good trip.

I'm still waiting to hear further from Amazon.com re the book order.

Publishing Day! That must be a real thrill.

I hope Amazon.com remembers my reservation and contacts me in a timely manner.

Yes, it has been quiet on this thread.

Woe is me - I am not on a cruise!

Failed to note in my last post that we found the Kiel Canal transit to be the highlight of our two Baltic cruises.

Loved how the townsfolk came down to the local beerhouses/pubs to wave and shout at the ship as it passed. Good captains will give a blast of the ship's whistle (horn) in return salute.

Have you been on Balmoral?

We sailed on her twice as Crown Odyssey, when she was flagship of that now long-gone cruise line. First time we sailed she was under the Greek flag, second time she had been reflagged - but I don't recall where. She was a lovely ship.

That was before she went to NCL, who tore out the indoor pool ( a real indoor pool down in the boiwels of the ship), and the dedicated cinema, replacing them with passenger cabins.

Of course, she was stretched after Fred.Olsen bought her.

Sounds like you did well on that one.

Air fares make little if any sense, and one way ticket fares make less sense than round trip fares.

I don't know about that "hydrodynamic drag", but one article I read stated that Allure took on extra ballast (water presumably) to make her ride lower in the water.

Having exhaust pipes in the funnel that could be retracted also helped.

Yes, given the right mood, I could spend a small fortune in a good bookstore.

Oceania's ships have the best libraries I have experienced on the high seas.

Unfortunately, many mainstream ships' libraries are woefully understocked stocked and pooly attended.

Talking about libraries, did you note in your book on Artemis that as built, she had no library, and one was quickly addded to one of the elevator bank's foyers. After a few years, it was moved to the main entertainment/lounge deck (the name of which escapes me at the moment).

Thanks for sharing those great photos.

Good looking library and book store.

I have signed up to be notified when the book is available, with the US side of Amazon.com.

Looking forward to a good read!

Thanks for providing the review.

And we are hoping that Oceania will return to Vancouver & Alaska in 2012, with one of their newbuilds, Marina or Riviera.

We were talking about that just last night, hoping there might be a San Francisco/Canada/Alaska in 2012 (there is one is 2011).

Sea Princess came into the Princess fleet originally in 1998. She is one of four of the Sun class, and is not to be confused with the previous Sea Princess, nee Kungsholm, aka Victoria akd Mona Lisa.

For awhile she sailed as P&O;s Adonia, but came back to Princess and got her old name back.

We've sailed on the "class leader" Sun Princess, and really liked her. The mini-suites are really the equivalent of full suites on other Princess ships, albeit with a rather small balcony.

They were considered huge when they came out, but now are considered mid-range!

Have a good trip, Donald.

I understand about the winters. At one point, I had thought about retirng in the Vancouver area - but my wife said only if we kept a winter residence in NorCA!

Thanks for the quick review.

It is nice to be recognized as the "most frequent cruiser".

Speaking of Tokyo, when did it change from Tokio, the spelling during much of WW2.

Georgraphical names today much different than I learned in Geography in the 40s. Many changes due to independence, I suppose, but independence wouldn't account for Tokyo's change.

Kungshom, aka Sea Princess, Mona Lisa, and Victoria is a very nice ship indeed.

We did our 1st trans-Pacific on her, (other than mainland to Hawaii) May 89, Kobe Japan to Vancouver BC via Honolulu. Great trip, including the Bullet Train from Tokyo to Kyoto (which is a very pretty city). Mt Fuji's peak was fogged in that day - pity.

Correction there. Sea Princess was built as Sea Princess, and sailed under that name, then transferred to P&O (UK) and renamed Adonia, then back to Princess and regained her original name.

She is one of four of the Sun class. Sun Princess, Dawn Princess, Sea Princess, and Ocean Princess, now sailing as P&O (UK) Oceana, and not to be confused with the Renaissance class ship sailing for Princess as Ocean Princess.

Almost need a "cheat sheet" for the name changes!

Thanks for the info.

Order will be placed in December, as requested.

Great cover photo. Still a very pretty ship.

After it is published, I'll have to try a find a copy. Perhaps http://www.Amazon.com will have it.

Perhaps you will be able to provide the ISBN.

Great photos, Donald.

Welcome home.

Glad to hear it was a good trip, and look forward to photos.

That trip on Sea Princess was great. The ship was only half full, Osaka to Honolulu, so they went to single seating dinner (split the time between 1st & 2nd), and the service was very very good.

Ship did fill up, Honolulu to Vancouver, and they went back to normal 1st & 2nd.

That trip gave us a real appreciation for the size of the Pacific. We followed the same basic route that the Japanese Imperial Navy took for the Pearl Harbor Raid. During the trip between Osaka and Honolulu, we did not see a single plane nor another ship. We saw only two frigate birds, possibly from Midway Island.

http://www.maritimematters.com has an interesting article about one of my favorite ships, Kungshom (aka Sea Princess, Victoria, Mona Lisa).

We took her from Kobe Japan to Vancouver BC via Honolulu, back in May 89. Had a wonderful upgrade on that trip, from an inside to a stateroom (equivalent of today's mini-suites). She was Sea Princess at that time.