BON VOYAGE Coral Princess World Cruisers 2024

[Cbtours]

8 hours ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

Walvis Bay & Swakopmund, Namibia

 

Another delayed start! Surge issues meant it wasn't safe to dock at the cruise terminal. Eventually the port authorities decided to allow us to dock at wharf 1, an industrial wharf. Promises were made for shuttle buses for those self-exploring but apparently they never turned up so many passengers who were self-exploring didn't get a chance to get off the ship. 

 

Luckily our tour bus did arrive, as did all the other Princess booked tours and all/most of the privately booked tours. However we didn't get going until close to midday again. We had to do a face-to-face immigration but this was done onboard and the tour groups were sent through one at a time so it was very quick. The delays meant some of the longer tours weren't able to do the full tour but ours was OK.

 

We had a lovely trip down to Swakopmund. First we went to the lagoon at Walvis Bay to see the flamingos.

 

 

They look quite weird when they are walking around feeding.

 

 

The road to Swakopmund passes between the Ocean and the desert. We were on the Oceanside going down then on the desert side coming back.

 

Swakopmund has retained its German heritage with many lovely old buildings. Local regulations require new buildings to be built in similar styles resulting in a charming town.

 

 

 

 

Our first stop was at the gorgeous old railway station which is now a very elegant hotel. Then we walked to the Krystall Gallery where we saw huge crystal formations and many, many different types of gemstones.

 

 

From there we walked through the town to the waterfront where there was a very interesting museum. There was all sorts of memorabilia, stuffed animals and sea creatures, replicas of early living quarters, a pharmacy, even a dentist (ugh!), and a huge collection of model cars. There were old printing equipment including a linotype. I was fascinated by this old cabin trunk with drawers and hanging space.

 

 

After that we had some free time so found a great restaurant, Ocean Cellar, overlooking the ocean and had a light meal of local crayfish in crayfish bisque, accompanied by an icy cold local beer.

 

 

On the way back we first stopped at the Swakopmund wharf to watch the "Atlantic Growlers" - fierce waves that crashed spectacularly against the wharf.

 

 

Our final stop was where the sand dunes come right down to the ocean with just the road between them. We climbed up a small sand dune to enjoy the views of the desert. The sand was exceptionally fine, almost powdery.

 

 

 

Walvis Bay has "townships", their version of shantytowns as a result of the Apartheid regime, but much neater with proper small houses. The earlier townships allowed sheds to be built adjoining the houses so they are a bit scruffy, but newer developments don't allow this and look much nicer.

 

We got back with just had enough time for quick showers before dinner.

Once again a great report and photos. Thanks 🥰

[Tranquility Base]

7 hours ago, Yaya_in_Oz said:

I didn't bother with a private transfer.

Many thanks for the transport & hotel info.

That is useful.

 

@OzKiwiJJ

I don't suppose the ship will sail via "Null Island"....the buoy which marks where the Prime Meridian crosses the Equator ?

Edited May 25 by Tranquility Base

[By The Bay]

9 hours ago, Yaya_in_Oz said:

Fixed it for you. 

[Yaya_in_Oz]

9 hours ago, Tranquility Base said:

 

I don't suppose the ship will sail via "Null Island"....the buoy which marks where the Prime Meridian crosses the Equator ?

We are pretty much sailing in a straight line from Walvis Bay to Cape Verde. Smooth seas and great sunny weather. The Officer on the Bridge in his daily midday update yesterday said we would be crossing the prime meridian at 5.15 pm later in the day. We are still about 5 degrees S so we won't be anywhere near Null Island. Thanks for the info, I'd never heard of it before.   

[OzKiwiJJ]

Just now, Tranquility Base said:

 

 

@OzKiwiJJ

I don't suppose the ship will sail via "Null Island"....the buoy which marks where the Prime Meridian crosses the Equator ?

They haven't mentioned anything about that. I think we'll have moved west of that point by the time we cross the Equator. I'll check our position once I get up on a higher deck.

[Kiwi_cruiser]

18 hours ago, Yaya_in_Oz said:

The only thing I saw or heard in Walvis Bay was the bunker boat whirring till all hours of the morning. Fortunately I'd been through Namibia before. The Captain said Walvis Bay was not up to the standard required for a cruise ship.

 

Did they bunker in Cape Town?

[Yaya_in_Oz]

After leaving Walvis Bay around 7pm we went a short distance to an anchor point and the bunkering took place there, a short distance from the wharf. Apparently, the Walvis Bay authority would not allow any bunkering while the ship was alongside the wharf during the day.

 

I think they did do some bunkering in Cape Town as well but I was off the ship and also on the mountainside so didn't notice but it makes sense as they ship had come all the way from Mauritius. Bunkering would have been done while ship was at the terminal as we didn't stop anywhere.

[OzKiwiJJ]

Just now, Kiwi_cruiser said:

 

Did they bunker in Cape Town?

Not sure, not that I noticed when we were onboard but our cabin was facing the dock.

[OzKiwiJJ]

Today we had the Crossing of the Equator ceremony which was hilarious as usual.

 

King Neptune, Queen Double-D and their court arrive on the ship.

 

 

Our favourite trivia host, Sir Joseph, was the Court Official. He was perfect for the role as he is British with a bit of a posh accent and a great sense of humour.  He played the snooty Court Official to the hilt! Here he is charging some of the polliwogs of their crime. 

 

 

The pollywogs line up to kiss the fish. 

 

 

King Neptune passes sentence on the pollywogs.

 

 

Things got very messy after that!

 

 

[Cbtours]

5 hours ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

Today we had the Crossing of the Equator ceremony which was hilarious as usual.

 

King Neptune, Queen Double-D and their court arrive on the ship.

 

 

Our favourite trivia host, Sir Joseph, was the Court Official. He was perfect for the role as he is British with a bit of a posh accent and a great sense of humour.  He played the snooty Court Official to the hilt! Here he is charging some of the polliwogs of their crime. 

 

 

The pollywogs line up to kiss the fish. 

 

 

King Neptune passes sentence on the pollywogs.

 

 

Things got very messy after that!

 

 

Great fun 🤣

[OzKiwiJJ]

Princess are playing silly buggers with the Plus wine list! 🤬

 

Firstly they've changed it to only list the type of wine, ie rosè, not the winery. That apparently allows them to arbitrarily change the wine with no warning.

 

Now we'd already decided that since most of the Plus wines are poorer quality than we like we'd buy wines by the bottle at the Plus 25% discount.

 

However we had been enjoying a glass of the Plus rosè with lunch - a Masterpiece Grenache rosè. A few days ago it changed, both in colour and taste. It was not our favourite style of rosè but it was drinkable. Today, although it looked the same, it was quite sweet. Too sweet for our tastes. We changed to a more expensive rosè, which was lovely, but we have to pay extra for that. We're not exactly sure how much extra - one person said $1, another said $5. 

 

Guess who is seriously annoyed (again)!

 

But they took it seriously - we were visited by one of the senior waiters, one of the restaurant managers, and one of the sommeliers! All very apologetic. However I'm not holding out much hope for a decent rosè for the rest of the cruise.

 

And to add insult to injury they ran out of Gruner Veltliner about two weeks ago!

 

 

[arxcards]

House wine on a cruise would be called Ship Wine? Silly buggers indeed! 

 

I gather you have consumed your Stellenbosch wines in the dining room. Do you have any plans for winery tours in your upcoming ports?

[Yaya_in_Oz]

Well, a line of 10 sea days in a row is about to come to an end, which is a record for me. Its been OK. I've made use of my balcony. Did some of the activities, talks and shows. I have my laptop with its user friendly screen and plenty of programs to entertain and have been working through the destinations and read a 400 pp book. All good.

 

I just got back some laundry this morning thats been on the go for 8 days. Apparently, there are 801 of us that as the FCCord put 'don't know where the laundry is' so we probably all put it out at once. One couple told me they pack a collapsible bucket in case they do laundry. Never heard of it. Apparently you get them in Aldi.

 

I say bring on the ports. I tend to go for half day excursions so I can get in about half a day of wander time, my favourite. Included are the last 2 day Patters and the certificate they present you with for Crossing the Equator. I hope to get a matching one on the Diamond in a couple of months.

 

Edited May 29 by Yaya_in_Oz

[OzKiwiJJ]

4 hours ago, arxcards said:

House wine on a cruise would be called Ship Wine? Silly buggers indeed! 

 

I gather you have consumed your Stellenbosch wines in the dining room. Do you have any plans for winery tours in your upcoming ports?

No, we haven't consumed our Blaauwklippen wines yet. 

 

I think we are going to a winery on Gran Canaria in a few days. I think that's the only one though. 

[NSWP]

On 5/29/2024 at 1:06 AM, OzKiwiJJ said:

Princess are playing silly buggers with the Plus wine list! 🤬

 

Firstly they've changed it to only list the type of wine, ie rosè, not the winery. That apparently allows them to arbitrarily change the wine with no warning.

 

Now we'd already decided that since most of the Plus wines are poorer quality than we like we'd buy wines by the bottle at the Plus 25% discount.

 

However we had been enjoying a glass of the Plus rosè with lunch - a Masterpiece Grenache rosè. A few days ago it changed, both in colour and taste. It was not our favourite style of rosè but it was drinkable. Today, although it looked the same, it was quite sweet. Too sweet for our tastes. We changed to a more expensive rosè, which was lovely, but we have to pay extra for that. We're not exactly sure how much extra - one person said $1, another said $5. 

 

Guess who is seriously annoyed (again)!

 

But they took it seriously - we were visited by one of the senior waiters, one of the restaurant managers, and one of the sommeliers! All very apologetic. However I'm not holding out much hope for a decent rosè for the rest of the cruise.

 

And to add insult to injury they ran out of Gruner Veltliner about two weeks ago!

 

 

you could be on chateau cardboard soon, julie, with shortage on the good stuff. lol.

[Cbtours]

4 minutes ago, NSWP said:

you could be on chateau cardboard soon, julie, with shortage on the good stuff. lol.

That could end up in a medical emergency 🤣🤣🤣

[BartnVet]

19 hours ago, Yaya_in_Oz said:

Well, a line of 10 sea days in a row is about to come to an end, which is a record for me. Its been OK. I've made use of my balcony. Did some of the activities, talks and shows. I have my laptop with its user friendly screen and plenty of programs to entertain and have been working through the destinations and read a 400 pp book. All good.

 

I just got back some laundry this morning thats been on the go for 8 days. Apparently, there are 801 of us that as the FCCord put 'don't know where the laundry is' so we probably all put it out at once. One couple told me they pack a collapsible bucket in case they do laundry. Never heard of it. Apparently you get them in Aldi.

 

I say bring on the ports. I tend to go for half day excursions so I can get in about half a day of wander time, my favourite. Included are the last 2 day Patters and the certificate they present you with for Crossing the Equator. I hope to get a matching one on the Diamond in a couple of months.

 

Does very guest get the Crossing the Equator certificate or only given to those who participated.

Edited May 30 by BartnVet

[cruiser3775]

I think every guest gets one. I watched but didn't participate,and the certificate was delivered to my cabin the next day.

[OzKiwiJJ]

4 hours ago, NSWP said:

you could be on chateau cardboard soon, julie, with shortage on the good stuff. lol.

No %$#^^'#$% way!

[OzKiwiJJ]

4 hours ago, Cbtours said:

That could end up in a medical emergency 🤣🤣🤣

For the Food and Beverage Manager?

[OzKiwiJJ]

The saga continues! 

 

Last night I decided to have lamb for dinner and wanted to try one of the shirazes. Unfortunately they have run out of two, possibly three, of the shirazes leaving only an expensive one which is not one I particularly like. 

 

I was just about to settle for the McLaren Vale Stump Jump GSM (which we like) when the sommelier decided to "help". I ended up with a glass of the Premier package Cotes Du Rhone at no extra charge. 

 

They probably wish they could chuck me overboard but probably won't while we're paying extra for wines by the bottle! 🤔😯🤣

Edited May 30 by OzKiwiJJ

[Cbtours]

2 hours ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

The saga continues! 

 

Last night I decided to have lamb for dinner and wanted to try one of the shirazes. Unfortunately they have run out of two, possibly three, of the shirazes leaving only an expensive one which is not one I particularly like. 

 

I was just about to settle for the McLaren Vale Stump Jump GSM (which we like) when the sommelier decided to "help". I ended up with a glass of the Premier package Cotes Du Rhone at no extra charge. 

 

They probably wish they could chuck me overboard but probably won't while we're paying extra for wines by the bottle! 🤔😯🤣

Was it to your liking then 😁

[Cbtours]

2 hours ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

For the Food and Beverage Manager?

Of course 🤣

[Kiwi_cruiser]

After leaving Walvis Bay, Namibia Coral Princess had 7 days at sea and Overnight (Australia / New Zealand time) Coral Princess docked in Mindelo (São Vicente), Cape Verde Islands:

 

 

Coral Princess is now on her way to Las Palmas (Gran Canaria, Spain.

[windsor26]

5 hours ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

The saga continues! 

 

Last night I decided to have lamb for dinner and wanted to try one of the shirazes. Unfortunately they have run out of two, possibly three, of the shirazes leaving only an expensive one which is not one I particularly like. 

 

I was just about to settle for the McLaren Vale Stump Jump GSM (which we like) when the sommelier decided to "help". I ended up with a glass of the Premier package Cotes Du Rhone at no extra charge. 

 

They probably wish they could chuck me overboard but probably won't while we're paying extra for wines by the bottle! 🤔😯🤣

On the world 2023  they ran out of rose and shiraz    why do they not pack more as they are popular