Prinsendam 2005 World Tour... it has begun

[Margie_Lady]

Check out the P'Dam in Tauranga Harbour on this webcam

http://www.citynews.co.nz/webcams/

 

Choose Tauranga Harbour, click on the Start Control button, then, from the drop down menu under the picture, choose Port of TGA. It seems like you have to take turns with other people to get control with the start control.

 

It looks like they have an absolutely gorgeous day!

 

Hi, Grumpy and Slinkie and Jennifer! Can you see me waving?

[NavigatorBride]

I don't remember who it was that posted the trick to getting on the boards when they are down, but I just wanted to thank you. Darn boards were soooo slooooow so I decided to try putting a 2 after "boards" and it worked. I had to log in but that is a small price to pay in order to visit with Grumpy and Slinky again.

[Margie_Lady]

They just sailed from Tauranga Harbour, rounded a headland and disappeared from sight about 5 minutes ago. That was a great webcam in Tauranga. Isn't the web wonderful. Generous people like Grimpy and Slinkie share their voyage with us, and, periodically, we can even get a real-time view of the ship. Thanks, G&S.

 

On another note, I'm glad that they are well past Samoa. An article on CNN tonight says that it might get hit by 2 major cyclones in the next 48 hours. I checked the tracking maps, and the P'Dam is well away from the storm tracks.

 

Fair sailing!

[Kiwi Kruzer]

They are well away from the Cyclones

but down here we are all holding our breath

that the 2 systems dont join

and make a MAJOR Hurricane.

Latest news is that is has passed Samoa,

and is now subsiding.......

but they do not know what will happen

if the 2 systems join up,,,,,,,

[Mariner05]

We shall be joining you on the Prinsendam after our safari in South Africa. Our Son ,James T knows Johnny I and we are looking forward to meeting you both and Johnny once on board. Great picture of Johnny at the Crossing t he Equator ceremony at the pool. We did the same thing on the Ryndam in South America. My wife kissed the fish but I bugged out. Each morning I await your wonderful description of the cruise thus far. We are joining you with Marianne and Leo other CC fans and will be there in the Crow's Nest promptly to meet the CC group. I will be in touch on the Volendam which we board on February 18 for a Caribbean cruise. Hope the rest of the trip is grand and by the time we meet you you will be old timers on the Prinsendam. Our best to Johnny I and tell him James T from San Francisco sends his regards. Looking forward to Capetown.........until then ciao!

[Cruising Jake]

Grumpy, I have a question. How many formal days are there on your world cruise? I was trying to convince DH to take me on one after he retires and he asked this question.

 

 

P.S. Does the lovely Slinkie have a different dress for each of them? (Or is she hoping to buy additional?)

 

Emjoy your day.

[RedmondCruiser]

I want to thank you for the detailed commentary that you are providing. Living vicariously on a world cruise is saving me alot of money since your descriptions are almost like being there. Though trying to diet for an upcoming 20 days on the Volendam - your detailed description of dining with the captain has made my road alot steeper.

 

One quick question. On such a long cruise is the casino empty ?

[HeatherInFlorida]

I don't remember who it was that posted the trick to getting on the boards when they are down, but I just wanted to thank you. Darn boards were soooo slooooow so I decided to try putting a 2 after "boards" and it worked. I had to log in but that is a small price to pay in order to visit with Grumpy and Slinky again.

 

That was me. You're very welcome:D

[RuffinReady]

Grumpy1,

 

You posted a report on the condition of the ship early in the cruise, covering elevators, water problems etc. How about an update after a month at sea? How is the "old girl" holding up. (the ship I mean:D ).

 

Ruffin

[RuthC]

Last night I dreamed about this thread!

 

Or was it a nightmare? I dreamed that there is a limit to the number of pages in a thread, and Grumpy reached the limit. Then he had to start a new thread to continue, and reached the lim....:eek:

[jhannah]

Well, Ruth, I think it's obvious why you dreamed about this thread. Your inner self is fearing that Dolly will break her silence and "out" you to Slinkie and Grumpy, who will in turn spill the beans to us! :D

It will be interesting to see how far this goes, especially considering how much longer the cruise continues.

[Cristiano]

Hello all.......in collaboration with Margie Lady who gave me the idea.....

 

Check out the P'Dam in Auckland Harbour on this webcam

 

http://www.spencerbyron.co.nz/webcam.html

 

Choose Spencer on Byron, click on the Start Control button, then, from the drop down menu under the picture, choose Auckland SkyTower. It seems like you have to take turns with other people to get control with the start control.

 

It takes a bit of doing but if you go to the left of the SkyTower them zoom in you will see the aft view of the Prinsendam.

 

Great Harbour...great City....great people.....

 

GP1 & Slinkie......Sydney your next port of call.....and my home...

 

 

Cristiano

[Cristiano]

Me again.....

 

sorry about the pic......it will keep changing as it is a Http:// and gives the present view.....will try to remove it if I can.....

 

Cristiano.

 

(PS Http:// removed)

[NavigatorBride]

Cristiano, thanks for the link. Aukland looks like a pretty big city. Slinky and Grumpy could do a lot of shopping there! :cool:

[KathieKata]

Cristiano: Great Web CAM..........I actually saw the back of the ship!! Took awhile to get it to look for it, but it was there.

 

Thanks!!

[Sinbad37]

Cristiano!!!:D Thanks so much!!! Hope to go some day!!!

[KathieKata]

Let's see if this picture shows up or not!! Look for ship's Aft at Center!

 

 

[goblue]

I've been following this thread and the other WC post in the LCT board, both threads are great (actualy someone in the LCT board talked about this one and that's how I found it over here).

now I can 'dream' how my life 'should be' after my retirement - except I don't think I can afford it by then ...

 

Grumpy and Slinkie, thx for sharing this with us ....

[Iggipolka]

I've been following this thread and the other WC post in the LCT board, both threads are great

 

I'm sorry..what's the LCT board?

[Annieeee]

 

Grumpy1 and Slinkie,

Thank you, thank, thank you for sharing your journey with us. You posts are informational, interesting and I am enjoying them so very much. So kind of you to take the time to do this. Your thread has many followers and gaining new ones every day. Thanks again for taking us with you.

Annieeeee

[obriendan]

Grumpy and Slinkie,

 

This is an amazing and wonderful diary! I look forward every day to reading the current installment.

 

With so many enthusiastic participants in this thread, it is perhaps time to suggest a WORLD CRUISE LOTTERY. With a modest investment of, say, $100 from everybody, the winner would get a world cruise for two! (Now, how do you fix a lottery?)

[2552phxcrzr]

This might be the diary that was mentioned:

 

http://www.brownandkeenetravel.com/05%20wc%20-%20Marice%20Segment%20One.htm

 

I tried pasting a link to the luxury cruise talk board - the initials fit - but I removed it since it wasn't posting accurately.

[goblue]

LCT is luxury cruise talk ,

The url got repalced by * after posting here so I guess you need to Google

the words above (with no space) to get it (you will see the title of Our Forum on the search result).

select Cruise talk and look for posting done by Petlover and Joannapv.

They don't have a single thread , instead they posted everytime they left a port.

 

Petlover (Marci) is/was a frequent poster over the CC/RSSC board ...

[slgjhg]

Hi Guys,

 

I'm so far behind. I know Slinkie checked in once since you have been onboard and I have been trying to catch-up on my reading of your wonderful "Journal" but new grandbaby arrived and had to go see him. Your trip sounds so wonderful and I will keep catching up. Leave on Monday for 2 nights pre-cruise in San Juan, 7 night Silversea and then 3 nights post-cruise in San Juan. Here in Northern Ca. we've had soo much rain, I'm hoping for warm and sunny weather.

 

Keep the reports coming guys, they are wonderful and we miss you in the lounge.

 

Best to you both for a wonderful adventure and more pleasure than you thought possible.

 

Warm Regards,

 

Shannon

[Grumpy1]

Prinsendam 2005 Feb 18, Day 36

 

By now you're probably thinking that Grumpy and Slinkie have forgotten all about all of our friends ashore... the last couple of days have been pretty busy and Grumpy just hasn't gotten around to putting his thoughts to keyboard and screen... you know, that just doesn't sound as poetic as "putting thoughts to pen and paper"... that's progress, I guess... but, anyway, here goes...

 

Slinkie and Grumpy really enjoy reading through everyone's questions and comments. It wouldn't be any fun doing this thread without all of the feedback from all of you. Keep the comments coming...

 

Wednesday, the 16th saw the Prinsendam arrive in Tauranga, NZ. Actually the dock is at Mount Maunganui, across the harbor from Tauranga. If Grumpy had known where the port cam was located, he would have put up a big banner and posed Slinkie for all to view... opportunities missed... oh well... As with so many of the ports, Tauranga is one of those places where there is so much to see and do and so little time. Slinkie and Grumpy had decided on a half day tour that included a tour of a kiwi fruit farm, (with a tasting of kiwi fruit wine), a stop at a winery (with a sampling of their various wines)... starting to detect a pattern here... Sightseeing around Tauranga... back to the ship for a late lunch... jump on the shuttle and off to the mall. The mall was somewhat disappointing... spent an hour and a half and didn't find anything that jumped out and said "buy me"... Probably should have taken the other shuttle across the harbor to Tauranga... The shops close to Willow Street were probably more interesting... By not doing Rotorua this time around, Slinkie and Grumpy know that they are saving the best for a return trip someday.

 

Sailaway was very nice with a flotilla of sailboats escorting the Prinsendam out and a gorgeous sunset made the day complete. Dinner that night was Dutch night, complete with the black caps for the men and the white winged hats for the ladies... Dover Sole was featured along with lots of other selections. Slinkie loves to try the various fish dishes and ordered the Dover Sole... While waiting for the waiter to come around and debone it she decided to just try a little nibble off of the edge... Warning! don't do that! The edge part is very oily and full of little bones. Bleech!. When the waiter removes the skeleton, he also trims off the edge parts, leaving the delicious white flesh... much better that way... Grumpy had the veal wrapped around asparagus spears and for dessert... would it be Dutch night without the Chocolate Tulip??.... Yummy!.. They even had some left over that were on the Lido dessert bar the next day...

 

The Prinsendam made her way north overnight and docked at Auckland early the next morning. The dock in Auckland is interesting. Prince's Wharf, where the Prinsendam docked, has a condo building and then a Hilton Hotel that are on the pier. Both have lots of balconies that face the pier. The people in the condos are probably used to suddenly having a ship blocking their view, but the ones staying at the Hilton seemed surprised to suddenly have a ship full of people glide past their verandahs about 50 feet away... OK, there were people on the Prinsendam verandahs that were surprised to find themselves with an audience at eye level staring back at them...

 

Slinkie and Grumpy went on a bus tour of the city which included a stop at the top of Mount Eden, which offers a beautiful panoramic view of the city, and a stop for an hour at the Auckland museum. The first floor displays of the Maori art and culture were quite interesting. There is a display of prehistoric fossils and so forth on the second floor and a "Scars of the Heart" exhibit on the third floor that depicts NZ's involvement in the wars of the 20th century.You can't really see everything there in an hour, though. After returning to to the ship for lunch, Slinkie and Grumpy set out on foot for Slinkie's favorite pastime... shopping! Now Grumpy knew this would not be a repeat of Tauranga shopping... the bus in the morning had gone past Queen street and Grumpy had seen all of those shops... besides it was February 17, Slinkie and Grumpy's 30th anniversary (month's, that is)... what's the 30th anniversary gem? Pearls! Do you have any idea how many Tahitian pearl shops there are on Queen Street? Remember when Grumpy said Slinkie didn't have any black pearls?... She does now... Happy Anniversary, Slinkie. Slinkie also found a nice top in one of the shops, and they picked up a few souvenirs. There were a lot of shops with really nice wood carvings and metal art, but most of it was still in the shops after they left. Grumpy found one carved Kiwi bird that seemed to need a new home, though.

 

Sailaway was pretty much a repeat of Tauranga with even more sailboats to escort the Prinsendam out of the harbor. Since they left at 4:00p, there was plenty of time to enjoy the views of the dozens of small islands that you sail past headed for the northern tip of NZ before dinner. Entertainment after dinner in the Queen's Lounge was provided by the Indonesian crew. Slinkie and Grumpy's waiter, Arinadi, was the Master of Ceremonies. There were several dance numbers, a vocal number by the dining room supervisors (including Stephane), and a grand finish by the Angklung orchestra. If you're not familiar with the Angklung, think bell choir, where each player has one or two bells that play specific notes. The Angklung is wooden tubes that are tuned and are shaken to produce the notes. There were 22 participants and most had two Angklung, so there was a wide tonal range. After two numbers and a standing Ovation, they did an encore number of "God Bless America"... Does the Prinsendam have a great crew? You bet she does!

 

So now the Prinsendam is crossing the Tasman Sea headed West toward Sydney with arrival there scheduled for Sunday morning.

 

Karen and Bob, you asked if Slinkie got something that sparkles for Valentine's Day... Hey, she's got Grumpy and his sparkling personality... isn't that enough? And you want a newer picture? Probably want to check and see if you can detect any weight gain... They didn't cross path's with Chef Boyce, but will say Hi to Tiffany for you.

 

LaffNVegas... Slinkie and Grumpy didn't bring any empty suitcases, but several people have mentioned that there are very good prices on luggage in Hong Kong... Either that or Slinkie can throw away all those old worn out clothes to make room for the souvenirs...no, that won't work, the old worn out clothes are being replaced with new stuff as they go along...

 

CruisinJake, there are a total of 28 formal nights and about an equal number of informal nights... Actually there are not very many women that wear formal gowns on formal nights, most alternate between dressy two piece outfits, carwash pants with sparkly tops, long dresses... there seems to be unlimited ways to mix and match to create different looks from about a dozen different outfits. Slinkie did pick up an outfit for the Valentine's Ball in Honolulu, a red 2 piece, and the red top will probably be seen again with either the black or the white carwash pants, or both...

 

JHannah, that sounds like a good explanation of RuthC's nightmare, but Dolly's not talking... so far... sure hope this board doesn't impose any limits on Ol' Grumpy... that would make him Grumpy, indeed!

 

Ruffin, you asked how the ship is holding up. She's probably in better shape now than when she left FLL. Some parts for the balky aft elevator were flown in to Honolulu and since then, there do not seem to be any elevator problems. The doors from the Lido restaurant to the aft deck seem to be working almost all of the time now. There have been some leaks here and there, but there have not been buckets all over, as was reported on some previous cruises. There was one report of a sprinkler head that popped and made quite a mess, but, not having any first hand knowledge, Grumpy doesn't know if it was a malfunction or if someone decided to hang a coathanger on the sprinkler. There is a lot of painting work going on and the white corrugated wall at the forward end of the Lido Pool has been paneled and finished in Teak. There was a small bar with three stools set up there for a couple of days, but then that was removed. Probably not enough room between the wall and the end of the pool for a bar, but it looks much better with the paneling.

 

The Navigation channel on TV has been down most of the time and when it's working, the information is often N/A or not up to date. Right now, it's working and the information is up to date. The Prinsendam has sailed 12,500 miles since leaving FLL. The relative humidity has never said anything other than 45.5%, so that probably isn't too accurate. There are some 42" flat panel TV's around the ship that are supposed to be touch screen information centers. There is one on the wall between the door to the Wajang theatre and the Explorer Lounge that was being installed after leaving FLL. They haven't been too reliable either, but they appear to run on the software as the Navigation Channel on TV. CNN came back to life in Taraunga, but sometimes develops hiccups. Grumpy is glad to report that the cyclones that have been reported recently have not been able to find the Prinsendaam. Of course, booking a cruise around here at this time of year is probably somewhat akin to booking a Caribbean cruise in Hurricane season... you never know what tomorrow will bring...

 

There aren't any CC'ers boarding in Sydney that we know of, but will definitely have a meetup with Mariner05 and the others joining us in Capetown... assuming Mariner05 doesn't become a meal for a hungry hippo on the safari... That's another trip that Grumpy would like to take in the future...

 

That should cover most of the questions and comments through post 370, so will see if the internet will accept this now.

 

Just relaxing and enjoying the day at sea...

 

Grumpy and Slinkie