Thoughts, impressions, and observations for the World Cruise.

[doghog]

3 hours ago, island lady said:

 

Indeed...I will stuff tissue paper, toilet paper, paper napkins...whatever I can grab when I stupidly forget my ear plugs.  And totally agree with you...protecting our ear drums...now we don't need hearing aids.  Bucky worked many years as consultant to power plants around the world.  Even with ear protection...he still lost his hearing before he retired.  😞 

I've suffered from hearing loss for the last ~50 years thanks to my senior trip to the Land of the Dragon. I had my annual hearing exam (December) (VA) and I'm about 60db loss coupled with tinnitus. The hearing aids are soooo much better now days. 

Edited January 7 by doghog

[Oceansaway17]

4 hours ago, schooner_Drinker said:

Didn’t know it was a competition

I personally think Victoria Falls on the Zambezi are more impressive.
 

 

Nancy 

Think it was just a question not a statement 

[Oceansaway17]

11 hours ago, island lady said:

 

LOL...I was afraid of that.  🤣  Bucky's entry was supposed to be a snake..I think...but I thought it looked like something that came out of the south end of a dog. 😁

I thought it looked like under cooked chicken quarter with some flattened cherry tomatoes stuck on.

[SteelCityCruiser10]

7 minutes ago, schooner_Drinker said:

Ok back to the WC 

A few more to wet your appetite 

With permission 😎

 

 

Anyone guess what these are ?

Looks like maybe Coati ?  

[CSHS1979]

On 1/5/2024 at 11:16 AM, island lady said:

Standing with Ellen just outside Chops after breakfast, we watched the hundreds of full WC pax file by to load the buses for their tour of Iquazu Falls.  She told me the tour actually gets back at 7 pm..today!  Wow, long day!  First shuttle to terminal, then bus ride, then flight, then another bus ride...see the falls, repeat the process on the way back.  Yikes!  Now I see why friends booked separate tours to do an overnight there.  We did not opt to go, but instead have that interesting cooking class to attend tonight at a restaurant somewhere in town.  Should be fun!  

 

 

It was an awesome experience. 

Would not have missed it for the world.

And we got back at 9, not 7

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited January 7 by CSHS1979

[CSHS1979]

On 1/5/2024 at 9:05 AM, island lady said:

The second part of the tour was a visit to a large winery about 35 miles away from the city.  The WC pax were there in their 4 big bus tour finishing up when we got there.  

 

I am sure they had fun, and had a great show going on, but made me very happy to have the little private wine tasting lunch and tour of the winery later with just the nine of us.  🙂 

 

One crew member from the shops sat next to me.  She was totally adorable and interesting to talk to.  The lunch was a carnivore's dream come true with nice wines to pair with. 😄   And found a lively "bartender" in the cellar.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Glad you had 'fun' our tour was a highlight. We did a different winery and the owner was our host for our group

[CSHS1979]

On 1/5/2024 at 4:49 PM, island lady said:

 

Thanks...very nice of you to say so. 😊

 

We already ran into one couple that are new passengers, and are also CC fans today as we came out of the theater earlier this afternoon.  (Indiana Jones and the Dial of destiny).  

 

They recognized Bucky, as I giggled and ran into the elevator.   I usually try to stay "incognito".  😄 

 

Chatted with them in Schooner. They recognized JD. Kept asking us 'Where is Bucky?'

 

Be warned, they are out to snap your photo 📸 

[CSHS1979]

On 1/5/2024 at 6:27 PM, Jimbo said:

Doesn't sound like it was a big deal, just like any other cruise ending and a new cruise starting. No one had to walk the plank 😉

 

Other than settling our bill, picking up our leg 1 photo pkg, getting new seapass (the night before), and creating a new internet login, it was a normal day

 

We don't even have to do muster again till LA. Once per segment, 4 total

[Merion_Mom]

2 minutes ago, CSHS1979 said:

 

Other than settling our bill, picking up our leg 1 photo pkg, getting new seapass (the night before), and creating a new internet login, it was a normal day

 

We don't even have to do muster again till LA. Once per segment, 4 total

 

We have been discussing this.  You had to create a new wifi login?  You couldn't use your old one?  I've always been able to use the same one, cruise after cruise after cruise.

[CSHS1979]

On 1/5/2024 at 7:33 PM, WrittenOnYourHeart said:

 

Are they even sailing where the northern lights can be seen? I thought they were way too far south for that. (One of the things the blogger whines about - that some allegedly got invited to see them.) Regardless, I agree - she clearly doesn't understand how cruises work. There are almost always things that upper tiers are invited to that lower tiers aren't. It's just how things work.

 

We have southern lights as well, but in reality we are in summer during both arctic circles, and the 'night' only lasts about 3 hours. Captain Stig says it ain't happening 

[CSHS1979]

On 1/5/2024 at 8:38 PM, Oceansaway17 said:

just watched a you tube video about all the bad weather and it showed the water stained carpet in the gym area.   So far it sounds like the weather has only be nice about half the time.

Hoping for the best as you go around the horn and down near Falklands.

 

Weather is decent

[CSHS1979]

On 1/5/2024 at 8:53 PM, Oceansaway17 said:

I think not. My impression is the weather has caused issues and not quite so smooth sailing for the WC

You tube has quite a few videos from the ship and they were all posted in the last day or so.

they even mention the weather near Brazil.  I think flooding in the gym area and those wet carpets would cause some mold.  

 

Not interested in arguing I just mentioned what I saw on line.  

 

Well, I'm onboard and the weather is decent

 

FWIW, the storm was the during the egg drop and lasted about 20 minutes, but we didn't even feel it in Centrum

 

Is that believable now

[seadog129]

Looking forward to joining the cruise in Barcelona to Copenhagen.

 

Last January we went to Antarctica with Hurtigruten with boots on the ice and Iguazu Falls for two days, tomorrow we leave for Oslo for a 12 night cruise to the North Cape then to Bergen for the Northern Lights also with Hurtigruten, currently 0 degrees in Oslo. Next January we are sticking with the Caribbean.

[CSHS1979]

14 hours ago, island lady said:

 

TAD was pretty simple on this one.  Though I never booked the mini legs they added on later, so I still consider this a 63 night cruise for us.  

 

The only thing we had to do was walk down to the Safari deck to "ding out" on old card and ding back in with new one.  They sent our cards to our cabin the night before (since we were not changing cabins).  And we did not even have to do the safety briefing or muster yesterday. 

 

Best thing was getting another complimentary 3 bottles of wine delivered to the cabin.  😄 

 

 

My perks are spread out.

 

Unfortunately the first was champagne and cheese plate. No idea how long the brie was in my cabin while we were at the falls

[CSHS1979]

7 hours ago, lovesthebeach2 said:

 

Were only D+ but get the extra bottles of wine in the cabin also, and I can never drink 5 drinks a day, so I give them away to our room steward, I jus ask what they want.
Do you just buy a drink and hand it to one of the entertainers?
Why have I never thought of that 🤪

 

As a Pinnacle, or Diamond and up, who still has their vouchers, I regularly 'buy' Jenny in Schooner her drink of choice. Prosecco and champagne with my vouchers

[CSHS1979]

5 hours ago, island lady said:

Finally pulling out of this noisy freight yard.  Ugh...looking forward to getting back out onto the ocean for some quiet natural sea time.  🙂 

 

 

 

 

Followed the Celebrity Eclipse out

I think she's a sister of Equinox 

 

[CSHS1979]

1 hour ago, Merion_Mom said:

 

We have been discussing this.  You had to create a new wifi login?  You couldn't use your old one?  I've always been able to use the same one, cruise after cruise after cruise.

 

We were both able to use the same login, but you still needed to set it up and create the pin

[CSHS1979]

1 hour ago, schooner_Drinker said:

Laura 

Do they have plenty of Belvedere and Cranberry 🧃

 

Nancy 🍷

 

Solarium ran out of Belvedere temporarily. Oops 😬 

 

I've also enjoyed the Pink Grapefruit Belvedere. No need to add lime

Edited January 7 by CSHS1979

[kernow]

Thanks to all those onboard who are posting, really enjoying reading about your adventures.

 

I have a question for those who say they give their drink vouchers to the crew, are they allowed to drink on duty? I always thought they weren't. Years ago we were doing a b2b on Brilliance and had the most fantastic waiter, one day he suddenly disappeared, it turned out he had been dismissed and sent home. No one would tell us why (I don't think the other waiters knew) but the speculation was either alcohol or gambling. I remember them telling us that the crew could be breathalysed at any time and even off duty they were only allowed to have a very low level of alcohol in their blood. Having more could be a sackable offence.

Previous to that we had given any unused bottles of wine to our cabin steward but we stopped when we heard that.

[island lady]

11 hours ago, Sunshine3601 said:

From the photos of I saw I would say Iguaza falls is more impressive than Niagara Falls.    They are all beautiful 

 

Mother Nature's art work.  Beautiful!  🙂 

[island lady]

11 hours ago, Another_Critic said:

 

I actually do quite well with my Phonak Brio 5 UP hearing aids (half price at Costco 🙂 ).  And the bonus is I don't care if the foghorn is going off all night or they're moving chairs on deck or the windjammer at 4 AM.  😄

 

I have worn glasses for years, but I can see without them.  🤞

 

Will they ever find a cure for rudeness and lack of common sense?  🙃

 

I was too tired to go to the 8 pm show, but Bucky went.  They were an energetic Argentine band with dancing and singing.  Bucky wears hearing aids and can't hear much of anything without them.  He took his aids out AND put in ear plugs .......and was still too loud.  

 

Time to make a suggestion at guest services I think.  The shows were never that loud the first few weeks.  Many on board have been saying the same thing.  

[island lady]

9 hours ago, doghog said:

I've suffered from hearing loss for the last ~50 years thanks to my senior trip to the Land of the Dragon. I had my annual hearing exam (December) (VA) and I'm about 60db loss coupled with tinnitus. The hearing aids are soooo much better now days. 

 

Yup...same with your bro.  Started there, then over 20 years working in power plants as a consultant ........both did him in.  Bucky just asked me if you get your aids from the VA?  Bucky does and is very happy with them.  He is pretty deaf, and has to go twice a year for hearing exams.  And he can reach up and turn them down to tune out loud obnoxious people.  Lucky him there.  😉 

[island lady]

8 hours ago, Oceansaway17 said:

I thought it looked like under cooked chicken quarter with some flattened cherry tomatoes stuck on.

 

It was actually pretty tasty...if you can get over the weird shape.  😄 

[island lady]

8 hours ago, CSHS1979 said:

 

It was an awesome experience. 

Would not have missed it for the world.

And we got back at 9, not 7

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

OMG...those are beautiful pictures!  Looks like you both had a great time!  🙂 

[island lady]

8 hours ago, CSHS1979 said:

 

Glad you had 'fun' our tour was a highlight. We did a different winery and the owner was our host for our group

 

It's nice to have choices to do different things, and your tour looked like everyone had a really great time!    🙂 

 

 We are not much into the big tours...prefer the small groups...but that's just us.  😉