Live Voyager - Dubai to Cape Town

[Travelcat2]

What an amazing story to wake up to on Christmas morning! Your descriptions were so well written that I felt like I was there with you. Thank you so much for taking the time to share this with us.

 

During your 6 hour bus ride, were the passengers pretty understanding of the situation? It must have been difficult. Assuming that the bus was air conditioned which is good. Were they able to make bathroom stops? Also, you mentioned a light rain which cooled things off. Were the temperatures extremely hot? Also, how were the accommodations?

 

Wishing you continued safe travels and do want to hear about your trip to "Jo'Burg" when you are rested and have time.

[bluejayrover]

Am still following this thread even though I haven't been posting. We have done the Dubai through India portion of the cruise and are particularly interested in the post cruise safari. Our concern is that everyone on our cruise (totally booked more than a year in advance) is taking the pre or post cruise safari and wonder if it can be handled in a reasonable manner. Appreciate all of your posts.

 

TC2 from the Riviera

 

We were on this cruise...wish I was still on board...

 

We did the Phinda safari out of Richards Bay, overnight at lodge, and back to Durban. It was fantastic and a great option if you dont have time for pre/post and it is a lot cheaper.

 

Another option I would look at for next year would be to do one (may need to be booked on your own) when you get to Dar Es Salam and then catch up with the ship in either Zanzibar or even better in Richards Bay. (Nothing great in Maputo and Zanzibar is ok but could be skipped).

 

On other notes, we were in 861 (Penthouse C) and only sometimes smelled sewage near the elevators at the back never in our room. Our room never shaked, (been there on a HAL cruise). Rooms definitely need to be updated.

 

Food was great but did get a bit repetitive - especially in Sete Mari. We would like to have had a later, quick casual dinner option when you just dont feel like getting dressed up, want something small and quick or a later night dessert after the show; this could be on the other side of Sete Mari.

 

On the excursions, We do think they should review the current vendor. Many tours were below par. The "hospitality suite" at the end of the cruise in Cape Town was horrifying.

 

They need to be more clear too about policies on people who get a lounge chair on the deck on the sides in the shade and keeping it all day, while being gone for hours and leaving a book there to save their space. It was so bad, more than half were gone one morning at 5:30am ! Regent and guests need to figure that out.

 

All and all a very good time. Our first Regent cruise for our 25th Anniversary.

[wripro]

There's nothing to figure out about people who leave books or towels to save chaises for hours. After thirty minutes remove the times yourself, hand them to an attendant and claim the chaise.

[wripro]

Sorry, that's remove the items, not times.

[Paint Horse]

This is one reason we always get a cabin with a balcony.

[Travelcat2]

bluejayrover, thanks for your post and suggestions. We will be overnighting in Richard's Bay and will look into the Phinda Safari. We are not doing the full cruise that you did -- only Cape Town to Cape Town which includes several nice ports in addition to the pre or post 3 night safari. South Africa is amazing -- we can't wait to visit again.

[Hambagahle]

1982CruzStart -

 

I absolutely loved your description of the safaris / game drives. Thank you. Have a good flight home and very Happy Christmas to everyone...

[wenjoyjack]

1982CruzStart

 

Thank you so much for your posts. We are looking at doing this cruise Nov 2015. I have made so many notes from all your experiences. Look forward to your experience on post cruise safari. This will be our first Regent cruise - love the fully inclusive thing.

 

 

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[jctdlt]

How was the kapama lodge. We will be there next November

 

 

 

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[1982CruzStart]

What an amazing story to wake up to on Christmas morning! Your descriptions were so well written that I felt like I was there with you. Thank you so much for taking the time to share this with us.

 

During your 6 hour bus ride, were the passengers pretty understanding of the situation? It must have been difficult. Assuming that the bus was air conditioned which is good. Were they able to make bathroom stops? Also, you mentioned a light rain which cooled things off. Were the temperatures extremely hot? Also, how were the accommodations?

 

Wishing you continued safe travels and do want to hear about your trip to "Jo'Burg" when you are rested and have time.

 

I think everyone was very understanding of the 6 hour bus ride. We all just wanted to get there so we didn't miss another game drive. Of course as the night wore on we were all very tired and when there was a bit of problem with the bus, there was a bit of grumbling but nothing much at all and the problem was solved quickly.

 

We had only one bathroom stop that seemed to work out okay for everyone and yes the bus was air-conditioned.

 

The temperatures the first couple of days were warm but not too hot. I wore a hat, long sleeve linen shirts and long pants i could roll up but for the most part as you are driving along i was very comfortable. Our last morning was hot and was going to be a smoking day so we ended at the right time. We heard while sitting at the Jo'burg airport that it got to be 104 degrees. Too much for me.

 

Our accommodations were great. The rooms were a good size with a lovely bathroom with separate tub and shower, double sinks and separate room for toilet.

 

I will sit down and do a short blurb for our Jo'burg part.

We got home last night and are back into the routine this morning after over 30 hours of travel.

We woke up to snow this morning. No white Christmas Day here but we do now have snow for our Christmas dinner as my family is putting one on for us this afternoon.

[1982CruzStart]

How was the kapama lodge. We will be there next November

 

 

 

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I thought the lodge was fantastic. Our Ranger and tracker were super, rate them 10 out of 10 at a minimum. I would ask to have Riaan & Give for the ranger and tracker respectively.

I would happily return to Kapama. If you are flying in use the Hoedspruit airport as it is literally across the road from the Reserve property. We were in the River Lodge which is the biggest of their options. From the things the ranger and tracker said if you haven't already done so you might want to look at the other options as they are smaller more intimate experiences. We were over the top with our experience.

[1982CruzStart]

Thank you to everyone that took the time to read this thread and said so many kind things regarding the posts. I enjoy writing them and do so for my family and friends on every trip with Regent (yeah unlimited internet) so decided I might as well post a somewhat edited edition on CC, just removing some of the very personal parts.

 

To follow is our journey from the Lodge to home.

[jctdlt]

Thanks for comments on lodge.

 

 

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[1982CruzStart]

It is hard to believe we have been home just over a week. As i think i said previously the airport at Hoedspruit is literally across the road from the reserve. We had a lovely drive through the property for the last minute view of some of the animals and the scenery.

As you try to walk into the building you realize the check in area is right inside the door. Okay if there is just 1 or 2 of you checking in at once it is okay but a little crowded when you have 23 people checking in and trying to get out of the heat of the sun. Once in there is a very comfortable seating area to wait for security to be ready. We lucked out and found out security was open early so got through it before most other people. The planes that fly in & out are turbo props. No big deal for us as a lot of those fly in and out of our local airport.

 

We were met at Johannesburg by the same very efficient tour agent rep and off we were to 54 on Bath our hotel in Jo'burg. It is a lovely high end hotel that just happens to be connected to a very large shopping mall. We were greeted with hot towels soon followed by a small glass of apple juice.

 

As has happened throughout this trip we had a small glitch. Apparently the transfers to the airport the next day have not been arranged. And though it was not his responsibility to figure this out, our rep was on the phone with someone else from the company to get this figured out. David from AKorn was fantastic.

 

There was dinner scheduled for 6:30 with a small but interesting menu. It was very good. Breakfast was also included the next day. It was super with a cold buffet and service off the menu.

 

We had time to kill for the remainder of the day. We headed to the mall as i had been very remiss in picking up small gifts for my family and my friend that was taking care of our place for the 40 days we were gone.

 

Our room was very nice with a decent sized bathroom with shower and separate tub as well as something i love in a bathroom - a towel warmer. To me that is luxury. 54 on Bath is a great hotel and would not hesitate to recommend it to everyone.

 

We had tried to arrange a car to take us on a tour but it was just too expensive so we opted to pay a reasonable fee to delay our check out time until 5 pm when we would leave for the airport.

 

The transfer went smoothly and we headed into the lounge. On our way there we ran into one of our group that was flying home on Emirates. Now i had been whining off and on that Regent did not offer Emirates to us without a huge up-charge and there were a number of people that were flying Emirates. Well no more whining, the obligatory flight to Dubai was delayed until 1:35 am at the earliest and maybe indefinitely. They originally were to leave at 7 pm. Wonder how they did.

 

We flew home with Delta and other than having my dinner order screwed up and the substitute inedible, the service and the plane were excellent in business class.

[Hambagahle]

Thank you SO much for all these wonderful posts. All I can say is - I wish I had been with you in person but feel I was in spirit! And if your time in SA has taught you something of the local language(s) - Hamba Gahle!!

[Zqueeze1]

Thank you SO much for all these wonderful posts. All I can say is - I wish I had been with you in person but feel I was in spirit! And if your time in SA has taught you something of the local language(s) - Hamba Gahle!!

 

I finally researched "Hamba Gahle" in Wikipedia since not knowing its meaning has been driving me insane for weeks. Wikipedia states it is a Zulu phrase meaning "Go well." Great call sign/screen name. Sala kahle.:D

 

1982 CruzStart: Thanks for taking us with you.

 

Z and TB

Edited January 7, 2015 by Zqueeze1

[jillyf]

Thanks for such a great report. I followed along every day and have just read it from the start again. ;)

 

I can't see anyone else on the thread who is doing this cruise at the end of this year?

I think I should start a roll call and see who else will be with us. I will try to add a link to your trip as it is invaluable.

[jillyf]

Sorry, meant to add a smiley face. :)

[1982CruzStart]

Thank you again for the kind comments. I am trying to attach a photo so let's see if it works.

Well it didn't work the way I thought I will try again. This is our hotel in Dubai.

Edited January 8, 2015 by 1982CruzStart

[Hambagahle]

I finally researched "Hamba Gahle" in Wikipedia since not knowing its meaning has been driving me insane for weeks. Wikipedia states it is a Zulu phrase meaning "Go well." Great call sign/screen name. Sala kahle.:D

 

1982 CruzStart: Thanks for taking us with you.

 

Z and TB

 

Orignally Zulu but I think spelt "hamba khala" by them. My Hambagahle is pure Sindabele ( offshoot of the Zulu tribe) and I chose it because when I was a child I lived in Bulawayo, Rhodesia and still have family there. To us it means "take it easy" which I have adopted since I retired....:)

[Zqueeze1]

Orignally Zulu but I think spelt "hamba khala" by them. My Hambagahle is pure Sindabele ( offshoot of the Zulu tribe) and I chose it because when I was a child I lived in Bulawayo, Rhodesia and still have family there. To us it means "take it easy" which I have adopted since I retired....:)

 

Excellent choice. You seem to have an interesting background. Would love to hear it over some wine.

 

Z and TB