Jim_Iain - B2B Sydney - Honolulu - Vancouver

[Jim_Iain]

7 hours ago, debfed65 said:

 

 

Thank you both for replying! It is appreciated 😊

I was just wondering if  AUD cash was better for the Saturday Market at the Rocks with the local vendors. 

 

 

 

 

Every place I saw at the Saturday Market had portable Wireless Credit Card machines. 

 

[Jim_Iain]

5 hours ago, Daneenm said:

This is me waving as you pass my building - 410 N Mary (Mary Three)!  Nice walk. 

 

I know the building well.   I'll have to wave back.   I make a left at Maude to extend my walk to Mountain View -- adds about a mile taking that route. 

[Jim_Iain]

4 hours ago, alfiemom said:

Had a reverse should replacement the end of January.  Still in PT but much easier than my rotator cuff repair on the same shoulder.  Hang in there.

 

Jim - QVC was my fav place to roam.  Amazing works of art.  And yes, the clocks were fascinating.

 

I loved those little guy hanging out.     The 5X lens on my iPhone Pro Max really come in handy. 

 

I love discovering little things that many walk by daily and never notice. 

[Jim_Iain]

2 hours ago, Minorhawk said:

Maybe a dumb question,  and maybe it was already mentioned,  but what is QVC? Looks awesome,  and the TP is on my radar for 2026 to celebrate my retirement. 

 

Love virtually traveling with you!!

 

Chuckling.   Australian's are big on initials.

 

QVC - Queen Victoria Center

CBD -  Central Business District

 

Retirement is far better than advertised.    We sailed from Singapore to Rome for Iain's Pre-Post retirement cruise.    He had 40 days of of sick time left on the books so officially he retired the day he went back to the office to sign his exit paperwork.  

 

His life insurance also lapsed so I kept saying oooppps he fell overboard -- does that qualify for accidental death benefits. 

[debfed65]

4 minutes ago, Jim_Iain said:

 

Every place I saw at the Saturday Market had portable Wireless Credit Card machines. 

 

 

22 minutes ago, Jim_Iain said:

 

Sydney is a wonderful modern city and like many places around the world Covid was probably responsible for a cashless world.    We don't have a cent in Australian with us and haven't needed any cash.    I use ApplePay while at home as well as when traveling and it is accepted almost everywhere. 

 

You can use it as well as chipped cards on the Trains, Busses and trams.   Just click on and click off.  

 

All shops we have been in... including convenience stores and coffee shops all have chip enabled payment terminals.

 

One thing I like in Australia as well as most of Europe is when dining they bring a handheld charge machine to your table and your CC never leaves you hand.  Unlike in America where you CC disappears into the backroom when you pay.

 

Thank you for the detailed and polite response.  We use ApplePay extensively at home so I will leave my cash behind.  Also, in Toronto (and surrounding cities) our servers come to our tables with a handheld terminal for payment as you have said about Australia & Europe.  

 

I am so happy to follow your live report - perfect timing for us as we have never been to the South Pacific and your pictures & commentary have been wonderful!  We fly out on Wednesday, and I will be faithfully be following along with anticipation! 

 

Safe travels 🚢🏝️

Debbie & Ron

[Jim_Iain]

2 hours ago, DaKahuna said:

@Jim_Iain As usual, I am thoroughly enjoying your pictures.  I think they are amazing.  You have an eye for composition and color that makes me very jealous. 

 

p.s. 19 pages and you have yet to set foot on the ship!  Just shows how strong of a CC following you have. 

 

 

Thanks John.       I always say if you shoot enough pictures you sure to accidentally capture a couple good ones. 

I love traveling.     In my SF Bay area all too often there is little color -  everything is Spanish Style earth tones and the sky is just Blue and no clouds and rarely sunsets. 

[Minorhawk]

8 minutes ago, Jim_Iain said:

 

Chuckling.   Australian's are big on initials.

 

QVC - Queen Victoria Center

CBD -  Central Business District

 

Retirement is far better than advertised.    We sailed from Singapore to Rome for Iain's Pre-Post retirement cruise.    He had 40 days of of sick time left on the books so officially he retired the day he went back to the office to sign his exit paperwork.  

 

His life insurance also lapsed so I kept saying oooppps he fell overboard -- does that qualify for accidental death benefits. 

Brilliant!! Thanks for clarifying. 

[Jim_Iain]

1 hour ago, bluwes said:

My wife had that same shoulder surgery after a fall off one step onto a carpeted landing at a  theatre back home between Christmas and New Year. Operated on mid January, just about now getting back to normal, especially now she is able to drive again. 

 

All these stories remind me that as we mature the biggest danger is falling, which often lead to a chain reaction and early demise.  Stay healthy and watch your step. 

[upwarduk]

1 hour ago, bluwes said:

Coincidence, we arrived in Perth middle of February 2008 after a week in Singapore, spent the next 6 weeks travelling across the country on a bucket list land vacation returning via LA where we stayed with friends. We were blessed with great weather everywhere we went apart from a short heavy burst of rain one morning in Brisbane. I suppose we were lucky.

We boarded the Celebrity Mercury after our 6 days in Sydney and had fantastic weather for the entire 14 day cruise. 
We then flew to  Brisbane to meet up with friends and weather didn’t disappoint.✅

[Jim_Iain]

Ok..Ok... QVB is correct I kept also calling the building next door City Hall instead of Town Hall. 

 

I'm Dyslectic and sometimes my mind interpret things my eyes see differently.    Sometimes it's very entertaining  -  

[upwarduk]

6 minutes ago, Jim_Iain said:

 

All these stories remind me that as we mature the biggest danger is falling, which often lead to a chain reaction and early demise.  

I fell over someone’s foot at a 90 th birthday party yesterday and couldn’t get up, due to my knee replacement of 18 years.

It took 2 men to haul me up from behind.

[Jim_Iain]

I thought I had escaped Jet Lag on this trip but yesterday - Whapp.   I was exhausted all day.

 

I finally turned in at 8:45 last night and slept like a rock.   That's the reason many of you may have noticed I was up at 6AM.    Someone has to wake the birds. 

[erikb923]

I am so excited! I will be on Solstice Singapore to Sydney cruise in 2026 and will have 10 days in Sydney/Australia before flying home. 

 

Seems like a great city, enjoy your cruise!

[KLM3164]

Someone on the Princess boards posted a photo of your ship in port today from their hotel window. 

 

[Jim_Iain]

Since we had to get things organized for today we decided to dine in last night.   On the way back from out outing we stopped at Cole's Grocery Store.    Found a really nice Lamb Tenderloin and frozen Cauliflower.    With limited amenities- Salt, Soy Sauce and Mayo   -   I have to admit it came out delicious.    Made a Soy Mayo Sauce for the Cauliflower and used a little soy on the Lamb.  

 

The only other thing in the cupboard was Vegemite --- I'm sure my Australian friends may have tossed some in-  I gave it a miss.  

 

 

[Jim_Iain]

8 minutes ago, KLM3164 said:

Someone on the Princess boards posted a photo of your ship in port today from their hotel window. 

 

We saw her in port yesterday.

 

Our place on Millers Point face the other direction and we can see a ship in the other port but can't see Solstice yet...

https://webcamsydney.com/ to the Rescue..... There she is.

[MicCanberra]

3 hours ago, Minorhawk said:

Maybe a dumb question,  and maybe it was already mentioned,  but what is QVC? Looks awesome,  and the TP is on my radar for 2026 to celebrate my retirement. 

 

Love virtually traveling with you!!

As already mentioned, QVB is the Queen Victoria Building, situated in Town Hall, right by the rail station and also the tram.

OPT is the Overseas Passenger Terminal by Circular Quay for the cruise ships.

[MicCanberra]

1 hour ago, Jim_Iain said:

 

Chuckling.   Australian's are big on initials.

 

QVC - Queen Victoria Center

CBD -  Central Business District

 

Retirement is far better than advertised.    We sailed from Singapore to Rome for Iain's Pre-Post retirement cruise.    He had 40 days of of sick time left on the books so officially he retired the day he went back to the office to sign his exit paperwork.  

 

His life insurance also lapsed so I kept saying oooppps he fell overboard -- does that qualify for accidental death benefits. 

We shorten lots of names unless it is already shortened, in that case we lengthen it. I am Mic instead of Michael, you would be Jimmy instead of Jim.

[MicCanberra]

Just now from the live webcam

[Jim_Iain]

56 minutes ago, MicCanberra said:

As already mentioned, QVB is the Queen Victoria Building, situated in Town Hall, right by the rail station and also the tram.

OPT is the Overseas Passenger Terminal by Circular Quay for the cruise ships.

 

and QVC --- is Quality Value Club --- an American TV program that sells junk and Junk Jewelry.

 

LOL ---

 

Now American definition

 

CBD - Cannabidiol derived from hemp ---they say you can't get high on it ....BUT.  Aso used for pain control

 

THC -  Tetrahydrocannabinol  - Active ingredient of Weed that you definitely get high on

[fliprcruiser]

On 3/31/2024 at 12:57 PM, lienf said:

We will be doing b2b on the Solstice in the fall Vancouver to Sydney with a little different itinerary but will definitely follow your adventure. 
 

Neil

We are booked Honolulu to Sydney Oct 25 on Solstice. Following, thanks

[skatelady]

11 hours ago, debfed65 said:

Hello from Toronto 🇨🇦   We are thoroughly enjoying your report, love all the pictures & details you have provided. We are arriving on Friday to board Edge for the TP.  Do we need to change funds into AUD, or like any large city, are USD or CAD widely accepted? What is your opinion?  We will use our VISA for dinners, but just curious for shopping at The Rocks and coffee shops etc...

 

Thank you, and enjoy your travels across the Pacific!  Your itinerary looks amazing!

Debbie & Ron

We did the trans pacific last year, spent 3 days in Sydney before we boarded.  We used our MasterCard for everything, did not use cash at all.

[mahdnc]

I hope you have a smooth embarkation today. 

[goofysmom99]

10 minutes ago, mahdnc said:

I hope you have a smooth embarkation today. 

David, did you get another eclipse photo today?

[Jim_Iain]

Checked out at 10:00 and decided to walk down.  All downhill and 10 minutes walk

 

Few stragglers calling waiting for Uber or Taxi

 

 

No wait to drop bags. 
 

 

sitting for a minute under the big Rubber tree