bcummin Posted February 5, 2018 #226 Share Posted February 5, 2018 If Yellowstone is mostly in Montana, the other two states would be Idaho and WYOMING. Thanks so much for bringing us along on this adventure. Barbara Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare rafinmd Posted February 7, 2018 Author #227 Share Posted February 7, 2018 Thank you Krazy Kruizers, Jacqui, Barbara, and Denise. Starting with a bit of yesterday’s trivia. 4. What are UN peacekeepers commonly called? 7. How many Nobel prizes are there? 8. What’s the lowest male British Royalty title? 10. What TV show has the most cumulative emmy’s? 13. Expand the acronym ROTFL. As a sailaway addict I’ll post a couple of pictures of how location affects one’s view. I noted the sailaway thread for today and for the first time ever took a screen shot of the Zuiderdam arriving in Ft. Lauderdale BEFORE going to bed. It was 6:01 AM local time in Ft. Lauderdale. I’ll compare that with my view from the back of the Serenity, also taken at 601AM. Not really a surprise that there is a difference but the graphics of it struck me. Now the trivia answers: 4. Blue berets or blue helmets 7. There are 6 Nobel prizes 8. Lowest level of Royalty is Baron 10. Saturday Night Live 13. Rolling on the Floor Laughing Scores were mostly 7-10 out of 15 but one team each got 11 or 12. Roy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Krazy Kruizers Posted February 8, 2018 #228 Share Posted February 8, 2018 That was a great picture you took of the Zuiderdam arriving in Ft Lauderdale. Love those trivia questions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeeniEncinitas Posted February 8, 2018 #229 Share Posted February 8, 2018 Hi Roy! Can’t sleep🙄 so reading CC! I loved the photo you took of the Zuiderdam! Great pic! Got 2 trivia questions right too! My mind is going over all the stuff for our month cruise and I can’t sleep. Wish I was out on the ocean right now! Denise:) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare erewhon Posted February 10, 2018 #230 Share Posted February 10, 2018 Enjoying your reports. Did the Fiji Army band entertain prior to departing from Suva? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare rafinmd Posted February 10, 2018 Author #231 Share Posted February 10, 2018 Enjoying your reports. Did the Fiji Army band entertain prior to departing from Suva? I don't think so. I was actually inside until our lines were taken in and didn't see them. It may have been too hot for them as well. Roy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare rafinmd Posted February 10, 2018 Author #232 Share Posted February 10, 2018 Thank you Krazy Kruizers, Denise, and erewhon. Some odds and ends A few questions from today’s trivia” 2. What airport has code YYZ? 5. What is the most populous borough of New York? 7. What ship was damaged in a 2000 terrorrist attack in Yemen 11. What is the maximum weight of a bowling ball? Welcome to Sydney Amsterdam. We will be there in 1 week and are starting to get info on what will happen there. Serenity actually arrives on the 16th and spends the day at Circular Quay. We leave there for an anchorage at 4am the 17th and disembark in the morning. Presumably all the luggage will be offloaded while we are docked. The Symphony arrives in White Bay early the 17th and Serenity passengers will be taken there for immigration. I assume once I clear customs my bags can go directly onto the Symphony. I know I saw in one of the Amsterdam live threads (either Bill & Maryann or Scrapnana) that EXC guide Barbara H has indicated that White Bay does not have wifi. I’ve sailed with Barbara H and she knows her stuff; my only hope is that there has been a change very recently. I expect there will be a gap between clearing customs and boarding the Symphony and it would be a great opportunity to update my laptop. I’m hoping one of the bloggers will report on that during the Amsterdam’s stay. In his midday report Captain Vorland had good news and bad news. The good news is that things look good for tendering Sunday at Mystery Island. The bad news is that Cyclone Gita is behind us and may pose an issue when we get to Norfolk Island. I wish those already affected a quick recovery and a change in path to minimize our disruption but better a missed port for us than a direct hit on a more populated island. A blogger on my cruise was posting the complete trivia questions and asked to stop. I hope I will be able to continue with a small sample. Today’s answers 2. YYZ is Toronto 5. Brooklyn 7. USS Cole 11. 16 pounds Roy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bennybear Posted February 10, 2018 #233 Share Posted February 10, 2018 Oh I would have gotten two right, lol! Hope your travels are safe! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare kazu Posted February 10, 2018 #234 Share Posted February 10, 2018 Don't worry about the trivia questions, Roy :) Many are enjoying them. I think it is highly unlikely you will be asked to stop (nor should you be asked - it's YOUR Live thread ) - we appreciate all of your posts and the time and $ you are taking to post them :) :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Krazy Kruizers Posted February 10, 2018 #235 Share Posted February 10, 2018 I am enjoying your reports, blogs and pictures. DH and I love the trivia questions. Don't stop your reports. It is great to compare the 2 different cruise line world cruise reports going on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare rafinmd Posted February 10, 2018 Author #236 Share Posted February 10, 2018 Thanks Jacqui and bennybear. One of the advantages of being in the far western pacific is that I get a chance to watch Ft. Lauderdale sail-ins in the evening. I just got back from the show in time to see Nieuw Amsterdam coming in the channel, all lit up Roy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare kazu Posted February 10, 2018 #237 Share Posted February 10, 2018 Thanks Jacqui and bennybear. One of the advantages of being in the far western pacific is that I get a chance to watch Ft. Lauderdale sail-ins in the evening. I just got back from the show in time to see Nieuw Amsterdam coming in the channel, all lit up [ATTACH]414265[/ATTACH] Roy Very pretty screenshot,, Roy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare ski ww Posted February 10, 2018 #238 Share Posted February 10, 2018 Enjoying your blog, thanks for taking us with you, it's the next best thing to been there. I also got up in time to watch the NA sail in. Allan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bennybear Posted February 10, 2018 #239 Share Posted February 10, 2018 Nice pics! Where are you now? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sail7seas Posted February 10, 2018 #240 Share Posted February 10, 2018 Thanks -- that is nice that Crystal will to that for him. The 'trade off' seems to be what he does for Crystal. :) Sounds like he is a great talent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare erewhon Posted February 11, 2018 #241 Share Posted February 11, 2018 I don't think so. I was actually inside until our lines were taken in and didn't see them. It may have been too hot for them as well. Roy Thank you for your reply. Interesting to read what is planned in Sydney for you to transfer to the Symphony. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeeniEncinitas Posted February 11, 2018 #242 Share Posted February 11, 2018 Hi Roy!!!!! Wow I think it is great what Serenity is doing for you to hook up to Symphony!! Roy you are one in a million and I say that because you do and give so much here to CC and to Crystal!!! I am happy that you have such an opportunity to travel everywhere and take the time to blog for all of us! Because of you and your travels we are now going to in 2019 a Panama Cruise from our home town on Volendam and hook up with Prinesdam to do the 30 day TA! Thank you Roy. We would of taken a plane from San Diego to go on the Prinesdam if I had not started a long time ago reading how you go about Your cruises! Looking forward to the next adventures. Denise:) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare rafinmd Posted February 11, 2018 Author #243 Share Posted February 11, 2018 Day Serenity37, Sunday, February 11, 2018, Mystery Island Thank you Kazu, Allan, bennybera, sail, erewhon, and denise. That Panama Canal cruise sounds great (and of course the Prinsendam) although I haven’t yet been on the Volendam. I will duplicate my Crystal Post here. Mystery Island does not appear to be on HAL’s radar but it is a seasonal stop for both the Pacific Aria and Pacific Eden (Nee Ryndam and Statendam) First, I want to call attention to a couple of threads started by another Crystal Cruiser (Keith1010) who is in Sydney and posted pictures of the Amsterdam’s arrival: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2597443 and departure from Sydney: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2597845 The Crystal Symphony is at sea from Esperance (2664 miles away) to Melbourne(1666 miles) As I started my morning walk I first reached the stern about 5:30 and headed up the stairs to the lido for coffee. As I climbed the sun also climbed above the clouds. http://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2018/02/dawn0211.jpg Mystery Island is kind of a strange animal. It bears a certain resemblance to the “Private Islands” in the Caribbean but not too close. It’s a very small uninhabited neighbor of Aneityum island (pop 550) which came into good view a couple laps later. http://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2018/02/aneityum.jpg There also isn’t a lot on Aneityum as described by Air Vanuatu: “The modern Aneityum has few buildings and no cars apart from the few vehicles of the kauri replanting forestry project. It is ideal for the keen bushwalker, offering many well-defined tracks and paths through vegetation that is quite different from the hotter and more humid northern islands.” We arrived at our anchorage about 7:30 with the island sitting directly in front of us. http://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2018/02/mystery1.jpg I started ashore about 9. Crystal did not provide a map but Mapcarta seemed to capture it pretty well with Aneityum sitting in the upper right hand corner. http://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2018/02/auy-map.jpg Mystery Island seems to be a fairly popular stop with mass market ships out of Australia. For us it was a pretty simple beach stop; some operators were selling tours on the island but Crystal was not involved. I saw evidence that the mass market lines were very involved in the tour business there. The tender pier has 4 berths for tender boats. I’ll bet when the 4000 passenger Ovation of the Seas arrives the island gets a bit crowded. There are modern rest rooms at the tender pier and privies spread pretty liberally around the rest of the property. On arrival I did a complete circumnavigation of the island which was probably about 1 ½ miles. I quickly came upon a monument to a visit from her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and a little after that a surprise. The island has an airport. Says the Air Vanuatu web site “ The only airport is not on the island itself but on the much smaller nearby Inyeug (or Mystery). Air Vanuatu services there twice weekly from Port Vila and Tanna. Inyeug is periodically visited by several hundred tourists arriving on cruise ships, reached by launch from cruise ships anchoring inside the magnificent turquoise waters between Inyeug and the mainland.” According to my GPS the runway was about 2000 feet long. http://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2018/02/airport.jpg Midway down the runway I passed a place renting kayaks with the Crystal Serenity floating majestically above the bows of the boats. Continuing around the trail I found some nice mangrove trees and the power source for the island, a fairly large solar panel. http://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2018/02/kayaks.jpg The island is very narrow near the tender pier and as I approached that point I heard a roar. It was the morning’s flight first checking the runway and then coming in for a landing. I spent some time watching as the plane was unloaded and reloaded and then took off again. Mystery island is served by 2 or 3 Dehavilland Twin Otter (19 pax) each week from the capitol, Port Vila. There was little in the way of external security and I walked to the end of the runway once the prop wash had subsided and watched the departure. http://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2018/02/takeoff.jpg Next stop was a little gimmick where I became part of a Cannibal Soup. http://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2018/02/cannibal.jpg There was quite a nice beach with clear water. I’m not really a beach person but this was the time for my token dip in the South Pacific with the clear warm water here. I was in the water about 5 minutes and out of contact with the bottom for about 30 seconds. http://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2018/02/mysterybeach.jpg There’s no real cooking on the island but there was a Mystery Island Café that sold snacks and beverages. A cup of tea was right on the spot. I was back on Serenity about 12:30. http://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2018/02/mysterycafe.jpg After a bath to get rid of the salt it was my usual lunch except that the lido was serving hot peas and carrots which was a nice change from my bowl of greens. All aboard was 3:30. I’m sure Captain Vorland’s sailaway message was a disappointment to many. Things had deteriorated somewhat from Saturday. Cyclone Gita will not catch us but it is pushing 11 meter swells ahead of it which would make tendering at Norfolk Island out of the question. He will probably announce a final decision as we prepare to sail from Noumea. This sounds serious to me; I have rarely seen a port being cancelled due to weather 2 days in advance. He indicated there were few options for alternate ports but if we cancel we would likely arrive in Sydney in the morning rather than mid-day. I’m fine with that but there are a number of people on board who live in Sydney and they miss out, especially since there are not man cruises to Norfolk Island. Louis sang at 4:03. We had our Protestant worship at 5:15. There will be an Ash Wednesday service and then it’s time to bid adieu to Pastor Voosen. We were up to 5 at table 51 including one Ambassador Host. The beef consume, fillet, and blueberry pie were great. http://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2018/02/dishes0211.jpg It was a very busy evening on the ship, starting with a Mardi Gras celebration in the Crystal Plaza at 8, http://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2018/02/mardi.jpg The featured entertainment was comedian Rikki Jay. I thought him extremely good. http://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2018/02/jay.jpg Finally, there was a late “Spot Show”, Jump and Swing-A-Mania in the Stardust Club at 10:15. I had missed it on my first segment but got to see it this time. http://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2018/02/swing.jpg My parting shot–Congratulations to Germany and Norway for great Olympic starts. Roy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Krazy Kruizers Posted February 11, 2018 #244 Share Posted February 11, 2018 Still enjoying your reports, blog and pictures. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare erewhon Posted February 12, 2018 #245 Share Posted February 12, 2018 Thanks for your reports and photos. Hope the weather improves so that you can tender ashore at Norfolk Island. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeeniEncinitas Posted February 12, 2018 #246 Share Posted February 12, 2018 Roy simply wonderful pictures. Loved the kayaks as the back drop with Crystal. Good photography. Enjoy as always your sunrises and sunsets on your magnificent cruise. Denise:) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bennybear Posted February 12, 2018 #247 Share Posted February 12, 2018 Thanks for the details! Mystery island looks like it has a great beach. Yikes those swells! Stay safe! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare kazu Posted February 12, 2018 #248 Share Posted February 12, 2018 Sorry to hear about Norfolk and the storm, Roy. Amsterdam is also missing a port and trying to get ahead of it's storms. I hope you are soon through all of this and can enjoy some fair seas again with no worries. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Keith1010 Posted February 12, 2018 #249 Share Posted February 12, 2018 I am very much enjoying Roy's narrative, photos and insights. Keith Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare rafinmd Posted February 12, 2018 Author #250 Share Posted February 12, 2018 Thanks for the details! Mystery island looks like it has a great beach. Yikes those swells! Stay safe! Sorry, I mis-spoke. I remembered 11 meters but it was actually 11 feet. Roy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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