A Silver Shadow Over The World - December 2023 to May 2024

[mysty]

The last time we were in Hong Kong in 2019 we joined a lovely couple for a lunch of Peking Duck.  We had first enjoyed this delicious dish in 2009 when we went to our son's wedding in Nanjing China.  We were flying home from Hong Kong and spent an overnight there.  We fell in love with the awesomeness of that first taste.

 

 

We have no excursions booked for Hong Kong.  We plan to have another lunch at the Peking Garden location in Star House.  If we are at the Ocean Terminal location it will be a 7 minute walk.

 

https://www.pekinggarden.com.hk/en/location/2

 

 

 

[highplanesdrifters]

3 hours ago, mysty said:

The last time we were in Hong Kong in 2019 we joined a lovely couple for a lunch of Peking Duck.  We had first enjoyed this delicious dish in 2009 when we went to our son's wedding in Nanjing China.  We were flying home from Hong Kong and spent an overnight there.  We fell in love with the awesomeness of that first taste.

 

 

We have no excursions booked for Hong Kong.  We plan to have another lunch at the Peking Garden location in Star House.  If we are at the Ocean Terminal location it will be a 7 minute walk.

 

https://www.pekinggarden.com.hk/en/location/2

 

 

 

Be still my beating heart! I love that place.  Glad you've warmed up. 😉

[mysty]

3 minutes ago, highplanesdrifters said:

Be still my beating heart! I love that place.  Glad you've warmed up. 😉

 

Thanks High!  Hong Kong is an absolute delight!  We have done a number of tours there.  This time we will amble and dine!  

 

Yes, it is glorious to be warm again.  Being cold just makes life miserable.  I was wearing multiple layers.  Think Michelin man!  😅

[highplanesdrifters]

Just now, mysty said:

 

Thanks High!  Hong Kong is an absolute delight!  We have done a number of tours there.  This time we will amble and dine!  

 

Yes, it is glorious to be warm again.  Being cold just makes life miserable.  I was wearing multiple layers.  Think Michelin man!  😅

Sometimes there are never enough layers.🥶

 

If you haven't been, and have time, The Hong Kong Museum of History is worth a look see.  Although I never lived there, I did spend chunks of time in HK. It has changed so very dramatically,  but still hold a special place in my heart.

[mysty]

19 minutes ago, highplanesdrifters said:

Sometimes there are never enough layers.🥶

 

If you haven't been, and have time, The Hong Kong Museum of History is worth a look see.  Although I never lived there, I did spend chunks of time in HK. It has changed so very dramatically,  but still hold a special place in my heart.

 

Awesome suggestion!  Thank you High! 🥰

[mysty]

On March 11, 2024 we would be in Broome (Kimberley).  This would be a new port for us.  This is what http://whatsinport.com says about Broome:

 

 

Currently we are booked on Panoramic Broome & Matso's Brewery.

Discover the highlights of Broome during this scenic orientation tour of the town and its environs. In just two and a half hours, explore Broome's past and present at various locations.

BROOME PANORAMIC CITY DRIVE
Depart the pier for a narrated sightseeing drive through Broome. Along the way, see Chinatown, Matso's & Captain Gregory's House, the Broome Museum, and Town Beach.

GANTHEAUME POINT & JAPANESE CEMETERY
A brief photo stop is made at spectacular Gantheaume Point with ancient sandstone formations. Aqua waters and brilliant red cliffs on Roebuck Bay are the backdrop to Broome's Golf Club. Continue to the Japanese cemetery and wander through the ancient granite headstones learning about the history of the hard hat divers.

CABLE BEACH
Pass by the famous Cable Beach, considered one of the world's great beaches, featuring over 13 miles (22 kilometers) of white sand situated adjacent to the azure waters of the Indian Ocean.

MATSO'S BREWERY
Your tour continues with a visit to Matso's Brewery. Housed in a restored 19th-century building, this award-winning microbrewery makes lager, wheat beer and an alcoholic ginger beer. During your visit, you will get a chance to sample the famous beer.

The tour concludes back at the pier.

 

Other included excursions are:

WILLIE CREEK PEARL FARM (BME-A)
Visit a local Pearl Farm, Willie Creek, and learn about the pearling history and today's pearling industry. This experience includes morning tea as well as a cruise to view farming operations from the water. Discover exactly what makes the perfect pearl and leave Willie Creek a pearling expert! Major points of interest seen on this excursion may include: Receive an insight to the pearl farming of Broome.

BROOME SIGHTS, HISTORY & WILDLIFE (BME-C)
Explore the history and wildlife of Broome during this scenic, half-day sightseeing excursion to Gantheaume Point, the Pearl Luggers Museum and the Malcolm Douglas Crocodile Park. Major points of interest seen on this excursion may include: Pearl Luggers Museum, Malcolm Douglas Crocodile Park, Gantheaume Point

CABLE BEACH CAMEL RIDE (BME-F)
Broome's Cable Beach is justifiably world famous for its 22 kilometers of pristine white sand stretching beside turquoise waters. Discover this beautiful untouched beach, Broome's most loved attractions, on exciting half hour camel ride. Major points of interest seen on this excursion may include: Camel ride on Cable Beach.

 

For the folks who have experienced Broome......what would you suggest?  Thanks for any input!

[highplanesdrifters]

2 hours ago, mysty said:

On March 11, 2024 we would be in Broome (Kimberley).  This would be a new port for us.  This is what http://whatsinport.com says about Broome:

 

 

Currently we are booked on Panoramic Broome & Matso's Brewery.

Discover the highlights of Broome during this scenic orientation tour of the town and its environs. In just two and a half hours, explore Broome's past and present at various locations.

BROOME PANORAMIC CITY DRIVE
Depart the pier for a narrated sightseeing drive through Broome. Along the way, see Chinatown, Matso's & Captain Gregory's House, the Broome Museum, and Town Beach.

GANTHEAUME POINT & JAPANESE CEMETERY
A brief photo stop is made at spectacular Gantheaume Point with ancient sandstone formations. Aqua waters and brilliant red cliffs on Roebuck Bay are the backdrop to Broome's Golf Club. Continue to the Japanese cemetery and wander through the ancient granite headstones learning about the history of the hard hat divers.

CABLE BEACH
Pass by the famous Cable Beach, considered one of the world's great beaches, featuring over 13 miles (22 kilometers) of white sand situated adjacent to the azure waters of the Indian Ocean.

MATSO'S BREWERY
Your tour continues with a visit to Matso's Brewery. Housed in a restored 19th-century building, this award-winning microbrewery makes lager, wheat beer and an alcoholic ginger beer. During your visit, you will get a chance to sample the famous beer.

The tour concludes back at the pier.

 

Other included excursions are:

WILLIE CREEK PEARL FARM (BME-A)
Visit a local Pearl Farm, Willie Creek, and learn about the pearling history and today's pearling industry. This experience includes morning tea as well as a cruise to view farming operations from the water. Discover exactly what makes the perfect pearl and leave Willie Creek a pearling expert! Major points of interest seen on this excursion may include: Receive an insight to the pearl farming of Broome.

BROOME SIGHTS, HISTORY & WILDLIFE (BME-C)
Explore the history and wildlife of Broome during this scenic, half-day sightseeing excursion to Gantheaume Point, the Pearl Luggers Museum and the Malcolm Douglas Crocodile Park. Major points of interest seen on this excursion may include: Pearl Luggers Museum, Malcolm Douglas Crocodile Park, Gantheaume Point

CABLE BEACH CAMEL RIDE (BME-F)
Broome's Cable Beach is justifiably world famous for its 22 kilometers of pristine white sand stretching beside turquoise waters. Discover this beautiful untouched beach, Broome's most loved attractions, on exciting half hour camel ride. Major points of interest seen on this excursion may include: Camel ride on Cable Beach.

 

For the folks who have experienced Broome......what would you suggest?  Thanks for any input!

Well that was perfect timing! We disembark Broome May 31 and catch a flight to Melbourne early afternoon and I was just trying to figure out what to do.  The Devine Miss M does it again. Although not Paspaley, there are some excellent pearl farms there.

[mysty]

35 minutes ago, highplanesdrifters said:

Well that was perfect timing! We disembark Broome May 31 and catch a flight to Melbourne early afternoon and I was just trying to figure out what to do.  The Devine Miss M does it again. Although not Paspaley, there are some excellent pearl farms there.

 

Glad I could provide something useful High!  I find the universe conspires to put things in front of us when we need them!  Enjoy Broome! 😁

[highplanesdrifters]

Just now, mysty said:

 

Glad I could provide something useful High!  I find the universe conspires to put things in front of us when we need them!  Enjoy Broome! 😁

Yes, very true. The Universe does a much better job of putting things in front of me when I need them on a cruise ship. Food, Cocktails, Laundry,  Entertainment,  the list goes on. This WC thing is making a lot more sense!

[mysty]

14 minutes ago, highplanesdrifters said:

Yes, very true. The Universe does a much better job of putting things in front of me when I need them on a cruise ship. Food, Cocktails, Laundry,  Entertainment,  the list goes on. This WC thing is making a lot more sense!

 

Agreed! 😁  One of the driving forces for a World Cruise for us is to make a valiant attempt to avoid winter!  And of course to see new places, meet new friends, sample new food and drink and to bask in the luxury of sea days.   My idea of heaven on earth!

[lincslady]

And to have all those different dishes prepared for you - no slaving over a hot stove.  That I am ashamed to say is my best bit of heaven on earth.  (Don't tell the avid chefs on here, like jp and Jeff.)

 

Lola

[HappyLadyTravels]

Mysty, do we know the exact dates that WC passengers will be away from the Shadow for the overnight excursions?  Thanks.

[Mr Luxury]

On 4/8/2023 at 12:26 PM, mysty said:

The last time we were in Hong Kong in 2019 we joined a lovely couple for a lunch of Peking Duck.  We had first enjoyed this delicious dish in 2009 when we went to our son's wedding in Nanjing China.  We were flying home from Hong Kong and spent an overnight there.  We fell in love with the awesomeness of that first taste.

 

 

We have no excursions booked for Hong Kong.  We plan to have another lunch at the Peking Garden location in Star House.  If we are at the Ocean Terminal location it will be a 7 minute walk.

 

https://www.pekinggarden.com.hk/en/location/2

 

 

 

Clever those Chinese.

They hook you in with the duck and then everything else in life you buy is from China 😀

[mysty]

4 hours ago, HappyLadyTravels said:

Mysty, do we know the exact dates that WC passengers will be away from the Shadow for the overnight excursions?  Thanks.

 

For the Uluru event - A UNIQUE NIGHT OF MAGIC AT ULURU
(8-9 March 2024)

 

And for the Semarang event -

 

Hope that helps Happy!

[mysty]

7 hours ago, lincslady said:

And to have all those different dishes prepared for you - no slaving over a hot stove.  That I am ashamed to say is my best bit of heaven on earth.  (Don't tell the avid chefs on here, like jp and Jeff.)

 

Lola

 

Absolutely so Lola!  In the case of Mysty/Myster, it is definitely Myster who thrills to the idea of someone else preparing the culinary delights.  He is the head chef chez nous.  In fact, I haven't yet learned to use the oven in our apartment and we've been here since 2019.  

[mysty]

We would be in Napier on February 14, 2024.

Napier was leveled by an earthquake in 1931, and the entire city was rebuilt in the Art Deco style.

Napier is a very small town with only a couple of main streets.

 

Supported by a Mediterranean climate and over 2,200 hours of sunshine a year this popular year-round destination boasts a vibrant cafe culture amongst the splendor of the Art Deco buildings. Around 30 cafes are within walking distance of the central city area, while Ahuriri, just over Bluff Hill, is home to a further cluster of up-market establishments.

 

Soundshell and Pania of the Reef are popular sites. One of the most photographed landmarks in New Zealand, Pania is a figure of Maori mythology, and a symbol of Napier. She is located on Napier's Marine Parade, a short stroll from the city center.

 

The red dot is where the Shadow would perch.

 

We visited Napier in 2014.  I was absolutely smitten with these adorablel Art Deco bollards.  The Art Deco bollards are dotted around all of the streets and their mosaics represent this nostalgic place which is delightfully stuck in the roaring 20s.

 

 

 

 

We are booked on the BOUTIQUE WINERIES: ABBEY CELLARS & CLEARVIEW ESTATE excursion.
 

[JSR]

@mysty How do you organize all the information you collect? I am curious as I am starting to plan our GV, 

 

 

[mysty]

47 minutes ago, JSR said:

@mysty How do you organize all the information you collect? I am curious as I am starting to plan our GV, 

 

 

 

I create a master folder for the cruise...

This contains folders for various items such as documentation (Silversea invoices, copies of passports, driver's licenses), itinerary, excursions (with excursion options and PDFs of booked excursions from MySilversea), travel insurance and packing.

 

As we get closer to sailing away I will add another folder for things to print...copies of passports, driver's licenses, COVID vaccine documentation, bank contact info, addresses and phone numbers for friends and family, etc.  I prefer to have paper copies of important bits.

 

I hope this helps JSR!

 

 

[jillyf]

Broome. Matso's Brewery

Watch out for the lemonade. It’s delicious but 4.6% alcohol. 
We went on Willies Pearl Farm Tour when we were there in 2019. Quite interesting if you want to see how pearls are farmed. I did buy a Pearl while there but probably could have found one I liked in town.  

 

 

[HappyLadyTravels]

On 4/10/2023 at 6:56 AM, mysty said:

 

For the Uluru event - A UNIQUE NIGHT OF MAGIC AT ULURU
(8-9 March 2024)

 

And for the Semarang event -

 

Hope that helps Happy!

Thank you!

[mysty]

5 hours ago, jillyf said:

Broome. Matso's Brewery

Watch out for the lemonade. It’s delicious but 4.6% alcohol. 
We went on Willies Pearl Farm Tour when we were there in 2019. Quite interesting if you want to see how pearls are farmed. I did buy a Pearl while there but probably could have found one I liked in town.  

 

 

 

Thank you Jill!  I love lemonade!  I do appreciate the warning.  I'll tread lightly!  😁

[mysty]

The theme for the 2019 World Cruise was Tale of Tales.  We were entertained by a series of authors, photographers and poets.  Each of these folks was asked to create something after their segment ended as a contribution to a "book" which we received months after the cruise had ended.  It was an awesome memory of our adventure.  The PDF was very large so I can't share that with you here.  However, I have copied snippets to post.

 

The first guest author (who boarded in San Francisco) was PICO IYER.

His bio...."An eloquent and incisive observer of global culture, Pico Iyer is a celebrated travel writer whose stories have taken him to the snowy mountains of Japan and a North Korean film studio. Author of fifteen books on crossing cultures, he is also an essayist for periodicals such as Time, Harper’s, The New York Review of Books and The New York Times. Born in England to parents from British India, raised in California and educated at Eton, Oxford, and Harvard, Iyer began crisscrossing the globe at the age of nine. Pico lives in Japan and spends part of each year at a Benedictine hermitage in California."

 

Here are snippets of what he wrote after his journey on this cruise.....

"I’d been on cruises before – four of them, through Alaska and the Baltic States, and around the
Mediterranean and the Caribbean. But I’d seldom been in the company of such experienced voyagers as here. No one thought anything of visits to Tristan da Cunha or a courtship on Silver Whisper (with a proposal in Rio); our lecturer Jon was recalling to us that French Polynesia is larger than all of Europe while two new friends were telling us how more people summit Everest in one year than visit the most memorable place they’d encountered, South Georgia Island. A member of the staff explained how he awoke at 3:00am every morning so he could Skype his family back in the Philippines; his one year-old already knew to reach for her mother’s smartphone and cry, “Da-da, Da-da, Da-da.” Someone else was telling us how FaceTime had transformed her life aboard ship; now she could always see and hear her loved ones, even across oceans. The smiling staff were true citizens of the world, coming from everywhere and feeling at home almost anywhere. And when I’d thought of this community as a family, I’d never guessed in how many directions that could apply: a grandmother from Florida, widowed for 26 years, had grown so close to her butler and her suite attendant that she wanted to see their families when they came aboard to visit, too, as if they were her own.

 

Why, you’re asking now, am I not writing about the rocky and forbidding slopes of Nuka Hiva, the
famously remote port at which Herman Melville jumped ship? Why no word of the Happy Valley where he’d stumbled into an unfallen idyll of beautiful, hospitable people without lawyers or police officers or jobs? “The Marquesas!” America’s great novelist had exclaimed, “What strange visions of outlandish things does the very name spirit up!” Yet on arrival there, he found utopian pleasures beyond the farthest reaches of outlandishness, and quickened the Golden Age fables that would gain momentum through Gauguin and Stevenson and Brando.

 

Why am I not writing of the double rainbow improbably facing a near-full moon the day we left
the ship at Papeete, the dolphins jumping along the ship as we headed to white-rimmed Moorea? Because we were living the Polynesian dream long before we disembarked at those palmy ports. “One tranquil day of ease and happiness follows another in quick succession,” wrote Melville, describing the heaven he’d found in Happy Valley, and that was our life at sea. No one was going anywhere and no one was in need of anything she didn’t have. “To many of them indeed,” he concluded, of his new neighbors, “life is little else than an often interrupted and luxurious nap.” So with us. The ship moved, and we moved around it, and everything was moving. We had no need of land, and we inhaled the spaciousness of days without much news or the beeping of incoming messages."

 

[highplanesdrifters]

14 hours ago, mysty said:

 

I create a master folder for the cruise...

This contains folders for various items such as documentation (Silversea invoices, copies of passports, driver's licenses), itinerary, excursions (with excursion options and PDFs of booked excursions from MySilversea), travel insurance and packing.

 

As we get closer to sailing away I will add another folder for things to print...copies of passports, driver's licenses, COVID vaccine documentation, bank contact info, addresses and phone numbers for friends and family, etc.  I prefer to have paper copies of important bits.

 

I hope this helps JSR!

 

 

Are we related?😃

I do something very similar.  I create a master Dropbox file for each trip. That way we both have access to all files on all devices. I still print important docs.   When traveling with friends I set up separate master Dropbox file to share port and excursion information. In there I create a word doc that all can edit.  I paste in the excursion descriptions from the cruise line along with any other info I have come across.  We each choose a different color to type in for additions.   It's very helpful for research on port intensive trips.   Post trip we can all share photos there. One of our friends does an amazing job of editing the photos and information. She then makes books from each trip. Very lucky to have her on the team.

 

Our next trip is a 35 day expedition. There were only two cases where it was possible to book an excursion in advance. Very different trip to wake up with a "were are we and what are we going to do?" mindset. Love both.

 

Miss M - This thread has enriched me and sparked ideas which may not have popped up otherwise. I have copied and pasted so much into files that didn't exist before.  It's so nice to collect things that never have to be cleaned out of a closet and put in the charity box.  Thanks again!

[mysty]

9 minutes ago, highplanesdrifters said:

Are we related?😃

I do something very similar.  I create a master Dropbox file for each trip. That way we both have access to all files on all devices. I still print important docs.   When traveling with friends I set up separate master Dropbox file to share port and excursion information. In there I create a word doc that all can edit.  I paste in the excursion descriptions from the cruise line along with any other info I have come across.  We each choose a different color to type in for additions.   It's very helpful for research on port intensive trips.   Post trip we can all share photos there. One of our friends does an amazing job of editing the photos and information. She then makes books from each trip. Very lucky to have her on the team.

 

Our next trip is a 35 day expedition. There were only two cases where it was possible to book an excursion in advance. Very different trip to wake up with a "were are we and what are we going to do?" mindset. Love both.

 

Miss M - This thread has enriched me and sparked ideas which may not have popped up otherwise. I have copied and pasted so much into files that didn't exist before.  It's so nice to collect things that never have to be cleaned out of a closet and put in the charity box.  Thanks again!

 

Thank you High!  I am humbled by your beautiful words!  We seem to have a lot in common and it would be an absolute joy to sail with you sometime!

 

I'm trying to present entertaining, useful, informative bits to fuel the excitement during what is a long wait to our sail off.  And it's keeping me off the streets!  😅

[highplanesdrifters]

Just now, mysty said:

 

Thank you High!  I am humbled by your beautiful words!  We seem to have a lot in common and it would be an absolute joy to sail with you sometime!

Back atcha baby!  First drinks on me.🤣

Just now, mysty said:

 

I'm trying to present entertaining, useful, informative bits to fuel the excitement during what is a long wait to our sail off.  And it's keeping me off the streets!  😅

I think we could have a lot of fun on the streets!