Saga Rose Greenland Voyager August 2007

[Host Sharon]

Goodbye again - off to sample the brand new Royal Princess apartment barge for 2 nights - and then a tour and lunch on board Crystal Symphony. I'll report back in a week.

[Saga Ruby]

Are y'all following the Xpedition's suspension of license to sail in the Galapagos due to frozen lobster tails? Check it out in News - it's an intriguing story. And this summer's sailings worldwide have experienced quite a few bumps in the, um, road with severe rain storms in Europe which are cancelling river cruises right and left, the Caribbean cruises' problems with onboard emergencies - tough times for many cruise pax. Is anyone still doing pushback about climate change?

 

Goodbye again - off to sample the brand new Royal Princess apartment barge for 2 nights - and then a tour and lunch on board Crystal Symphony. I'll report back in a week.

 

We look forward to Sharon's report and, particularly, her photos. Stay dry!

 

Ruby

[Saga Ruby]

Help, please? I want to review the photo posted by Sharon or Donald or whomever regarding Pfeiffer Beach. That magnificent photo has resulted in my having a high degree of interest in visiting the state park and environs. Maybe I can find an accommodation for a few days' visit instead of flying off to Maui all the time.

 

Thanks,

Ruby

[Host Sharon]

Sorry Ruby - it wasn't my photo of Pfeiffer Beach.

 

However - here are the Royal Princess cruise and following day visit photos. I am still in Southampton for Crystal Symphony on Saturday.

 

It was my first time on a Princess ship so cannot offer comparisons with others in the fleet. Also it was only half full so difficult to judge what it would be like full. She is certainly stunning to look at inside, but very big and my knees and feet still ache from trudging to and from my cabin. Not a ship for me for cruising ordinarily but great to see. She was named today.

 

https://picasaweb.google.com/114801993219771801790/RoyalPrincessVisit#

 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/sharonsshiptravels/sets/72157634336107492/

Edited June 26, 2013 by Host Sharon

[Kapricorn]

Hi, Ruby!

 

I believe that you brought up Pfeiffer Beach in post 4738:

 

Funny you should mention the From Here to Eternity beach. Recently, I did some research and learned that Pfeiffer Beach in Big Sur in CA was the locale for some reshooting of that scene in Hawaii. The rock falls and pounding ocean surf is unbelievable. I hope to visit that site in CA in the future.

Hugs in the pounding surf,

Donald.

[Saga Ruby]

I mentioned visiting the Pic 'n Pay in Cape Town by pedicab. Something has kept hanging in my mind:

 

When I went to check out, the cashier lady said she had no scales at her station, to please take the plastic bags of fruit back to the Produce aisle, weigh them and put the stickers on each bag. My pedicab driver, a bellhop, took the sacks back to Produce and returned with the bags properly marked.

 

How do you pay for produce in your home countries? Does the checkstand have an automatic scale build in as we do here in the US, or do you get stickers on your produce bags while you are in that area of the store?

 

Hi, Ruby! I believe that you brought up Pfeiffer Beach in post 4738 . . . Hugs in the pounding surf, Donald.

 

Donald - thanks for that info. And the hugs!

 

Conte - are you weathering the storms in your area? Seems a bit of piling on, weatherwise, after what y'all just went thru.

 

Ruby

[Kapricorn]

 

How do you pay for produce in your home countries? Does the checkstand have an automatic scale build in as we do here in the US, or do you get stickers on your produce bags while you are in that area of the store?

 

 

We do the same thing in Canada as is done in the USA ... the cashier at the check-out counter weighs the produces on an automatic scale.

 

Donald.

[Host Sharon]

We do the same thing in Canada as is done in the USA ... the cashier at the check-out counter weighs the produces on an automatic scale.

 

Donald.

 

We do both - either the cashier weighs it on a built-in scale at the checkout or you weigh at point of sale and get sticker.

 

I had a wonderful visit on the beautiful Crystal Symphony on Saturday. I think Ruby (among others) will like her!

[Saga Ruby]

I had a wonderful visit on the beautiful Crystal Symphony on Saturday. I think Ruby (among others) will like her!

 

The ship looks beautifully appointed and has really nice artwork. Very lush and plush. My personal fav with art displays all over the ship is Nautica and I hope to sail on Oceania again sometime although Marina is a bit large for my tastes. There was a bronze sculpture on Nautica that I really liked. I told the concierge that, if the statue went missing, come see me first. And a sad tip of the hat to the late, great Stella Solaris which was adorned in every corner and stairwell with excellent artwork and art pieces.

 

As to the size of ships, I was permanently cured of big ships when I went on Constellation after 09/11. I got so tired of hiking back and forth to my lovely cabin many times a day. There were many nooks to explore on that ship, like a chocolate shop, a small area in the lobby for musical quartets and solos, but I quickly realized that that size ship was not for me. Forget about intimacy and meeting people. And, ironically, this size ship is not even close to what comes out of the shipyard ways nowadays. Silversea is my perfect cruise line.

 

Okay, color me frustrated. I was in error about Pfeiffer Beach being the place I was looking for. Recently Sharon posted a photo of a wild, rocky beach and Conte said he would check it out. Anyone know what I'm talking about? I don't!

 

Ruby

[Conte Di Savoia]

 

Okay, color me frustrated. I was in error about Pfeiffer Beach being the place I was looking for. Recently Sharon posted a photo of a wild, rocky beach and Conte said he would check it out. Anyone know what I'm talking about? I don't!

 

Ruby

 

Oh! Now I know what you're talking about. I had mentioned that we would be stopping in Porto, Portugal on our recent TA on Silver Cloud. Sharon mentioned that there wasn't much to do in Porto (that was correct) and that we should opt for a tour to Sagres further along the Algarve coast where there is spectacular scenery as illustrated in the picture she included. We did that tour on her recommendation and it was beautiful. I included a picture of the famous lighthouse in Sagres. We didn't stop at any of the beaches which we viewed through the bus window.

 

Sharon, I love your pictures of Royal Princess and Crystal Symphony. I do find that there is a sameness in the interior design of recent ships whether new builds or redos. They all seem to have the same color schemes...inoffensive neutral tones, large bowl sinks and highly patterned carpets. The artwork, when present, tends towards the trivial, nothing like that on Stella Solaris. Peter Knego bought much of her artwork when she went to the breakers a few years ago. So Ruby, you could have had a piece of her for your living room! There are some pictures here.

[Host Sharon]

Now I know where you mean - I think it is this picture

 

[Kapricorn]

Global warming, indeed ... today Alaska had highs of 81F (27C) to 98F (36C). Everybody up there are seeking relief at the beaches. All the shops are sold out of sunscreen (and perhaps swimwear!). Imagine!

 

Here in Vancouver the "hottest" that we've had so far this year was 22.2C (72F) on May 11.

 

Donald.

[Saga Ruby]

Now I know where you mean - I think it is this picture.

 

That is, indeed, the rugged coastline I was trying to remember. To quote Elvis, "Thenk yew, thenk yew veddy mush." I shall not be returning to Europe but I have saved Sharon's loverly photo for my desktop background. I change those backgrounds all the time, on impulse, and now I have captured the Porto photo (say that 3 times fast). And thanks to Conte and Sharon with a tip of the hat to Donald for helping too. I so much appreciate our thread members who teach me so much and bring pretty pictures to our discussions. Civility, educational bits, lovely photos. What else could a person ask for?

 

Global warming, indeed ... today Alaska had highs of 81F (27C) to 98F (36C). Everybody up there are seeking relief at the beaches. All the shops are sold out of sunscreen (and perhaps swimwear!). Imagine!Donald.

 

I saw those beach photos of Alaska on the telly. How do you feel about your Alaskan cruise coming up? Sunscreen and summer clothes? It will certainly be a change from your past cruises to Far North. I'm a Texan being wicked - do you feel qualified to handle that kind of heat or will you submerge yourself in the pool? At this time, the Dallas/Fort Worth area is hitting 100* each day but we are well-prepared for a summer like this. Having said that, it is discouraging to go to bed before midnight and the outside temp is close to 90*.

 

Conte - thanks so much for the Stella Solaris photos. I vividly remember those hammered metal pieces. Onboard, it seemed that every time I climbed a staircase or turned a corner, there was another art piece like an exotic carved wooden screen or metal piece. Loved those "furnishings."

 

Ruby

[Host Sharon]

Glad to be of help - as Conte said it is Sagres I loved it - the colours were so vivid too.

 

Summer - what's summer??? We have had about 2 days of warm (not hot) sunny weather and the rest grey, damp, miserable....

 

If you like proper art on the ships HAL is the way to go at present. Beautiful pieces, of all ages and media round every corner. They make a big play of it in their publicity too.

 

Edited June 20, 2013 by Host Sharon

[Saga Ruby]

Donald - On Monday, do you Canadians do the fireworks and parades thing for Canada Day?

 

By the bye, is using the word "Canucks" acceptable or considered demeaning?

 

Ruby

[Kapricorn]

Donald - On Monday, do you Canadians do the fireworks and parades thing for Canada Day?

 

By the bye, is using the word "Canucks" acceptable or considered demeaning?

 

Ruby

 

Ruby, we do just about the same stuff as Americans do for their Fourth of July. In Vancouver we have our fireworks at 10:15 p.m. when the sky has become dark.

 

Yesterday (Saturday) it all of a sudden became summer-like here, with intense sun and scorching temperatures, but it's a relief to us poor Wet Coasters after all the incessant overcast skies and rain, rain, rain. Maybe tomorrow I'll do the La Dolce Vita in the park fountain ... ?

 

Indeed, we are proud to call ourselves Canucks. :)

 

Donald.

[Saga Ruby]

Yesterday (Saturday) it all of a sudden became summer-like here, with intense sun and scorching temperatures, but it's a relief to us poor Wet Coasters after all the incessant overcast skies and rain, rain, rain. Maybe tomorrow I'll do the La Dolce Vita in the park fountain ... ?

Donald.

 

So did you do the Vita in the park fountain?

 

I must admit that I'm quite curious about "scorching temperatures . . ." what Centigrade or Fahrenheit is that in Vancouver? Here in Texas, we had a cool front come thru on Monday and it has been only in the upper 80s during the day and touching below 70* at night. Wool blankets, doncha know. Wa-hahaha!

 

Ruby

[Kapricorn]

So did you do the Vita in the park fountain?

 

I must admit that I'm quite curious about "scorching temperatures . . ." what Centigrade or Fahrenheit is that in Vancouver? Here in Texas, we had a cool front come thru on Monday and it has been only in the upper 80s during the day and touching below 70* at night. Wool blankets, doncha know. Wa-hahaha!

 

Ruby

 

Ruby, I just know that you will snicker when I say that anything above 25C (77F) is scorching in Vancouver. Two days ago we had an overnight low of 16C (61F), and I had to get rid of the blanket and sleep under just the top bed sheet. Also two days ago we had a high of 28C (82F) ... not quite enough for a refreshing dunk in the park fountain. When I did it four years ago it was 34.4C (93.9F), still the all-time record for the city.

 

Heat waves in Vancouver last only two days, perhaps three days at the most. Then the temperature usually takes a plunge. Today it was actually a tad chilly when I took the dog for her walk along the water.

 

Donald.

[Saga Ruby]

I see that y'all are going to do a Stanley-and-Livingston tour of Africa at Christmas - very exciting! I admire your energy to extend your visit to several other countries - remind me of which countries you will be visiting as Silver Wind sails the coastline and you have tours. Are you booking your shorex thru Silversea?

 

One of our lecturers showed a map of Africa to demonstrate how large that continent is. You can fit the US, India, and I forget the others inside that continent. Zowie!

 

Are you able to fly straightaway to CPT from NYC? In what port does your cruise conclude?

 

Ruby

[Conte Di Savoia]

Of course we are very excited about this trip, one which is in the “Bucket List” category. We’ll be spending 4 days in Cape Town after a 16 hour non-stop flight from JFK to Johannesburg and then a connecting flight to Cape Town. There is another day and a half in Cape Town after the ship returns there and we spend an overnight before going on our 4 day, 3 night land extension which takes us to Zimbabwe to see Victoria Falls and also Botswana for a safari experience at Chobe.

The cruise itself is 14 days. Here is the itinerary:

Dec 21 2013 Sat Cape Town, South Africa 6:00 PM

Dec 22 2013 Sun Day at Sea

Dec 23 2013 Mon Walvis Bay, Namibia 2:00 PM

Dec 24 2013 Tue Walvis Bay, Namibia 2:00 PM

Dec 25 2013 Wed Day at Sea

Dec 26 2013 Thu Day at Sea

Dec 27 2013 Fri Port Elizabeth, South Africa 1:00 PM 10:00 PM

Dec 28 2013 Sat East London, South Africa 8:00 AM 2:00 PM

Dec 29 2013 Sun Durban, South Africa 8:00 AM 11:00 PM

Dec 30 2013 Mon Richards Bay, South Africa 8:00 AM

Dec 31 2013 Tue Richards Bay, South Africa 7:00 PM

Jan 01 2014 Wed Day at Sea

Jan 02 2014 Thu Mossel Bay, South Africa 1:00 PM 6:00 PM

Jan 03 2014 Fri Cape Town, South Africa 12:00 PM

Jan 04 2014 Sat Cape Town, South Africa

 

Ruby, did you stop at any of these ports? Any suggestions?

 

There has been some discussion on the Silversea boards about the advantages/disadvantages of approaching this part of the world on a cruise. Some argue that a land-only trip is the better experience, particularly when it comes to the safari portion. But I think this should be sufficient for us. I expect that it will be more exciting than a trip to the Bronx Zoo and that's saying something!

[Saga Ruby]

As you know, I was on the Africa segment of the 2013 World Cruise for Whisper so the ship was always moving east to west. I had a 17.5 hr flite from ATL to CPT and, in advance, dreaded it, but I slept, ate, rested, so when we got to Jo’burg, I felt fine altho’ a bit jet-lagged. Frankly, I’m surprised that New Yorkers have the same very long flite. I thought the hours would be fewer but, when you think about the geography, it’s about the same. I could have flown to Dubai and had a 24-hr layover (eek!) but I took the British Airways shuttle on from JNB to CPT and got in about 9:30 pm where Silversea had a rep waiting with a van to take me to Cape Grace Hotel. I hired that driver for a day trip to Cape Gulhas and we had a grand time.

 

Do you have an assigned hotel? I was quite impressed with the staff at Cape Grace – it reminded me of The Peninsula in Hong Kong.

 

I really enjoyed the noonday gun on Signal Hill and, of course, Table Mountain looming over the city. I like fresh fruit so I pedi-cabbed over to the V&A waterfront to the Pic ‘n’ Pay which was a fascinating supermarket, very busy and crowded, highly recommended.

 

Wow! Christmas Eve in Namibia for you. As we were driving to Dinner in the Desert, I could not believe that a lil ole Texas gal was in the Namib Desert – huge dunes all around – sometimes I felt I could see them moving. And the “dining” part was excellent. I had heard so much about how cool it was out in the desert at night, but there were 6-foot torches all over the place under the tents so no worries about that. What surprised me was how pax immediately went hiking up the tall sand dunes or riding a camel for a souvenir photo. There was an entertainment by locals before we went into the tents. The variety of food on the buffet tables was vast and the staff was spot-on about refills or special requests.

 

I am green with envy that you will visit Victoria Falls. I have tried for years to get to that site as well as Iguazu Falls in South America and have yet to check them off my list. Same with the Northern Lights in which I seem to always be there in summer when the Lights are invisible. [Heavy sigh]

 

Something that catches my eye about your itinerary is that y’all go up to Namibia for two days, then do a U-turn back to eastern South Africa. I heard many people talking about Port Elizabeth and the other eastern cities – they liked their experiences there. And the safari in Botswana should be quite the life-time memory. Sounds like you will have a marvelous trip.

 

Marion - do you have ideas to add to this note?

 

Ruby

[Saga Ruby]

As an addendum to my note above, I would mention that I returned home with two ten-"dollar" ZAR bills from South Africa, which have exquisite, detailed engravings of Nelson Mandela on them. As we know, today is his 95th birthday.

 

I am most pleased to have South African rand to celebrate Mandela's birthday and as historically significant currency from my visit to South Africa.

 

Ruby

[Kapricorn]

Remember when I complained about Vancouver's incessant rain during the first half of this year? Well, today we are in our 33rd day without rain, which last fell on June 27. This is the longest rain-free period since the 53 dry days during Expo 86. While no rain, blue sky and plenty of sunshine has done wonders for relieving my SAD, I do acknowledge that local vegetation needs rain. Some of the grass in the city has turned brown. Forecast is for rain on Friday, and for this once I would not mind, as long as it clears up for Sunday's Gay Pride Parade which usually attracts 600,000 spectators.

 

Vancouver's record for the longest rain-free period is 58 days during 1951.

 

Donald.

[Saga Ruby]

This is the longest rain-free period since the 53 dry days during Expo 86. While no rain, blue sky and plenty of sunshine has done wonders for relieving my SAD, I do acknowledge that local vegetation needs rain. Some of the grass in the city has turned brown. Donald.

 

I'll bet Alaska in August on a cruise looks pretty good right now. It is depressing to think that beautiful green Vancouver has brown grass. I hope the predicted rain comes in handily before or after the Parade.

 

As I write this, it is 94* at 11:00pm. Quite depressing. We did have a bit of rain in June/July so the yards and landscaping still look nice but soon everything will turn dry and sere. Each summer during this horrid heat, I try to tell myself that at least we don't have to shovel snow but with the a/c bills running at maximum, it's hard to find the silver lining of the nonexistent clouds. I haven't used the Hot faucet for a shower in a month.

 

Sharon - did I hear that the UK and western Europe are awash in rain? Does it put a strain on river cruising? And, by the way, are you working on another book project?

 

Ruby

[Kapricorn]

Ruby, 94F at 11:00pm certainly would rate as HOT in my books. Vancouver recently broke two weather records: July 2013 has now the most amount of sunshine since weather data began here in 1937, and is also the first-ever calendar month during which no rain fell. No complaints from me about both of these. :D I have much more energy than during the winter months, and in addition to walking the dog I go bicycling later in the afternoon around False Creek near my home.

 

Clouds are expected to travel north from Washington state, and there is 40% chance of rain over the weekend.

 

Donald.