One of the concerns raised both by reading on-line posts and from people who have traveled to South America is the very real problem of pick pockets and petty thieves cutting with a sharp instrument your packs etc -either the strap which will cause it to fall off and be easily grabbed or slash the bottom of the pack and items will fall out.
There are a number of products on the market that can help prevent these types of incidents from happening.
I have purchased two items to help protect my valuables.
Firstly - a hidden travel wallet made by Lewis N Clark -
www.lewisnclark.com
This wallet attaches to your belt and is then stuffed inside your trousers - to help make it blend in with your belt is has both a black and brown loop to use. This is compact in size and is designed to only hold a few items - passport, credit cards and bills. Cost around $10.00 CDN
Secondly - the other item is a anti-theft shoulder bag made by Pac Safe:
www.pacsafe.com
I had been looking at a couple of different styles in a couple of specialty travel shops here in Vancouver but was trying to justify the $80 - $100 cost for an item I might not use much after the cruise BUT I got a break today - while out shopping for some non-cruise related items today which I couldn`t find downtown I took the Canada Line to Broadway Station and walked three blocks to Mountain Equipment Co - Op store.
www.mec.ca.
While searching for the items I couldn`t fine downtown and which the Co-op didn`t have either I did come across their travel accessories and while I previously while surfin there web site didn`t find any availability of these bags on line they did have some in store.
Furthermore one of the models regularly priced at $78 CDN was reduced down to $42 CDN and while it is a little smaller that some of the others that I have looked at - I can fit my camera and tablet in it - it also has an RFID pocket to protect your cards from being skimmed.
The model I brought is the Metrosafe 200 GII over the shoulder bag.
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With Christmas over with and it being only 23 days until I leave Vancouver I will start the packing.
More later.
Friday, December 28, 2012
Thursday, December 20, 2012
30 day countdown begins
Well I am now 30 days away from boarding the train here in Vancouver.
Usually by now I would have the suitcase out and start putting some items into it but a funny thing has happen - it seems something called Christmas is upon us and that has taken up the space that I usually use for the suitcase and accessories is taken up by the tree and gifts - I am hosting a Xmas dinner party on Sunday so I don't want the clutter of the suitcase to get in the way.
I also have a couple of discussions with Santa about my concerns about the safety of my valuables while visiting many of the ports on this cruise - hopefully he has listened - guess I will know sometime on Tuesday.
Cheers!
D
Usually by now I would have the suitcase out and start putting some items into it but a funny thing has happen - it seems something called Christmas is upon us and that has taken up the space that I usually use for the suitcase and accessories is taken up by the tree and gifts - I am hosting a Xmas dinner party on Sunday so I don't want the clutter of the suitcase to get in the way.
I also have a couple of discussions with Santa about my concerns about the safety of my valuables while visiting many of the ports on this cruise - hopefully he has listened - guess I will know sometime on Tuesday.
Cheers!
D
Wednesday, December 19, 2012
Another bucket list item taken care off.
Well one month from tomorrow I head out the door to the Via rail station here in Vancouver to board the Amtrak train to Seattle and then start the 4 day cross country trek to Fort Lauderdale via Chicago and Washington DC - with both Christmas and the cruise to plan for I have been trying to juggle the planning of the two events - one will be over with in less than a week but I haven't forgotten some of the items on the cruise bucket list.
I wear prescription glasses and the ones that I have are called transitonals - meaning that they darken when exposed to light - while they are okay for general sunny scenes but don't do a great job in extremely bright or glaring sunshine. while I could get proper prescription sunglasses that might be counter productive because cataracts are starting to form in both eyes and after the surgery my eyesight could be different.
So in conjunction with my optometrist I elected to buy a pair of sunglasses that fit fully over my regular glasses. They are called Cocoons and while there is much sunshine in these parts right now - actually it has been snowing most of day but just switched over to rain - they have a demo screen in their office and it make a bi difference. They weren't cheap - around $80.00 but because I am using them in lieu of a prescription pair they were sales tax exempt - I can also claim some of the cost back under my extended health plan.
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The other area that I am just about finished is excursions - only have Antigua and Cabo left to do and since I have been to both more than once they aren't a priority.
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An area of concern that is appearing and being discussed is the growing conflict between Argentina and the Falklands Islands and how Argentina is starting to block access to some of their ports if a ship visits the Falklands especially if the ship is British registered which the Grand Princess is - while it doesn't affect me directly they are many people who are to disembark in Buenos Aires who might have to change plans.
So far Princess hasn't indicated what it's plan are - if they decide to skip the Falklands I can live with that but if they opt to visit the Falklands we might be denied access to Puerto Madryn and Ushuaia as well - the latter is at the tip of South America - last town/city at the end of the world and one that I want to visit because of the scenery etc.
Will just have to wait and see what happens.
Cheers
I wear prescription glasses and the ones that I have are called transitonals - meaning that they darken when exposed to light - while they are okay for general sunny scenes but don't do a great job in extremely bright or glaring sunshine. while I could get proper prescription sunglasses that might be counter productive because cataracts are starting to form in both eyes and after the surgery my eyesight could be different.
So in conjunction with my optometrist I elected to buy a pair of sunglasses that fit fully over my regular glasses. They are called Cocoons and while there is much sunshine in these parts right now - actually it has been snowing most of day but just switched over to rain - they have a demo screen in their office and it make a bi difference. They weren't cheap - around $80.00 but because I am using them in lieu of a prescription pair they were sales tax exempt - I can also claim some of the cost back under my extended health plan.
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The other area that I am just about finished is excursions - only have Antigua and Cabo left to do and since I have been to both more than once they aren't a priority.
_______________________________________________________________________________
An area of concern that is appearing and being discussed is the growing conflict between Argentina and the Falklands Islands and how Argentina is starting to block access to some of their ports if a ship visits the Falklands especially if the ship is British registered which the Grand Princess is - while it doesn't affect me directly they are many people who are to disembark in Buenos Aires who might have to change plans.
So far Princess hasn't indicated what it's plan are - if they decide to skip the Falklands I can live with that but if they opt to visit the Falklands we might be denied access to Puerto Madryn and Ushuaia as well - the latter is at the tip of South America - last town/city at the end of the world and one that I want to visit because of the scenery etc.
Will just have to wait and see what happens.
Cheers
Friday, December 14, 2012
Random thoughts on a senseless act
I had planned to spend some time today Dec 14, 2012 and do an update for this blog - but as you all must know the tragic events that unfolded in New Town Conn. has put a damper on that.
I was heading to the grocery store for my weekly buy when I heard on the car radio about this needless slaughter of innocent little kids.
Living in Canada most Canadians have a very different view of guns, gun control etc and like our American cousins are shocked by the chain of events that took place today.
I won't spend a lot of time and web space outlining my thoughts on the whole issue of gun ownership - there is a time and place for that discussion but I will leave you with this thought:
If the founding fathers and the congress that approved the 2nd amendment to the US Constitution were alive today they would likely be aghast at what occurred. Wasn't the original intent of the amendment to allow the citizens to arm themselves as a sort of citizen militia in case the British came a calling again.
My thoughts and prayers go out to all those affected by this needless slaughter. I also find it appalling that some people are criticizing the POTUS for shedding a tear as he tried to find words to express his outrage.
Amen!
I was heading to the grocery store for my weekly buy when I heard on the car radio about this needless slaughter of innocent little kids.
Living in Canada most Canadians have a very different view of guns, gun control etc and like our American cousins are shocked by the chain of events that took place today.
I won't spend a lot of time and web space outlining my thoughts on the whole issue of gun ownership - there is a time and place for that discussion but I will leave you with this thought:
If the founding fathers and the congress that approved the 2nd amendment to the US Constitution were alive today they would likely be aghast at what occurred. Wasn't the original intent of the amendment to allow the citizens to arm themselves as a sort of citizen militia in case the British came a calling again.
My thoughts and prayers go out to all those affected by this needless slaughter. I also find it appalling that some people are criticizing the POTUS for shedding a tear as he tried to find words to express his outrage.
Amen!
Thursday, November 22, 2012
Idle thoughts
Well with less than 60 days until I board the Amtrak Cascades and start the journey to Fort Lauderdale here are a few idle thoughts.
1. Booked another excursion - in St Thomas - a short one to St Peters Museum and the mountain top viewpoint - looks more and more like we will dock at Crown Point.
The only remaining ports that I haven`t booked anything are Antigua, San Juan De Sur - actually on a wait list for a private tour, Puntarenas, Costa Rica and Cabo San Lucas - looked at some ship tours but still deciding what to do.
2. Laundry - the great debate about whether there is a stuff bag special is still as clear as mud - some CCèrs say it has been offered on longer cruises yet others say they have never seen it advertised on any cruises. I asked my CC friend Putterdude who has 16 Princess cruises and he says he has never seen it advertised.
This will likely mean packing more of the basics and having to book two or three days for laundry on the trip - some washing could be done in the sink in the bathroom but it is not an area that I have much experience with.
3. Formal night dress up - here again there are mixed responses - while it appears that sans jacket but with tie etc will get you into the MDR on formal night the demographics of this group indicates it is likely to be older and therefore from an era with suits and ties were actually worn in the work place - will make this a last minute decision probably after I have packed and see how much room or weight allowance I will have.
4. Media storage - I had been contemplating buying a low cost portable external DVD writer for my net book and transferring the photos to it from my computer but when I was in Staples the service clerk says a better way to go is using USB or Flash Drive - right now I can get a 32GB flash drive for about the same price as the DVD writer and it will hold a lot more photos than a DVD. Santa did you catch the hint of what I would like in the stocking.
5. Steam or sauna - still don`t have an answer for what is available - also need to get a personal trainer from the Y to make up a fitness workout for the ship.
6. Hearing aid - I got one when I was working but in retirement I haven`t had much need for it but will need to take it in and get it re-calibrated.
More later.
Cheers!
1. Booked another excursion - in St Thomas - a short one to St Peters Museum and the mountain top viewpoint - looks more and more like we will dock at Crown Point.
The only remaining ports that I haven`t booked anything are Antigua, San Juan De Sur - actually on a wait list for a private tour, Puntarenas, Costa Rica and Cabo San Lucas - looked at some ship tours but still deciding what to do.
2. Laundry - the great debate about whether there is a stuff bag special is still as clear as mud - some CCèrs say it has been offered on longer cruises yet others say they have never seen it advertised on any cruises. I asked my CC friend Putterdude who has 16 Princess cruises and he says he has never seen it advertised.
This will likely mean packing more of the basics and having to book two or three days for laundry on the trip - some washing could be done in the sink in the bathroom but it is not an area that I have much experience with.
3. Formal night dress up - here again there are mixed responses - while it appears that sans jacket but with tie etc will get you into the MDR on formal night the demographics of this group indicates it is likely to be older and therefore from an era with suits and ties were actually worn in the work place - will make this a last minute decision probably after I have packed and see how much room or weight allowance I will have.
4. Media storage - I had been contemplating buying a low cost portable external DVD writer for my net book and transferring the photos to it from my computer but when I was in Staples the service clerk says a better way to go is using USB or Flash Drive - right now I can get a 32GB flash drive for about the same price as the DVD writer and it will hold a lot more photos than a DVD. Santa did you catch the hint of what I would like in the stocking.
5. Steam or sauna - still don`t have an answer for what is available - also need to get a personal trainer from the Y to make up a fitness workout for the ship.
6. Hearing aid - I got one when I was working but in retirement I haven`t had much need for it but will need to take it in and get it re-calibrated.
More later.
Cheers!
Saturday, November 17, 2012
4 days at sea
After having the four ports in four days I will then get a respite and have four seas day before arriving at Fortaleza and the start of the Brazilian portion of the cruise.
To be honest I am not one who by nature can sit still and not become bored so finding things to do for those four days will likely present a bit of a challenge for me.
The first day will be fine as I will based on previous cruises wear myself ragged in the ports and as well as one who doesn`t handle a lot of sun and heat will likely just collapse in my cabin and rest up - will also likely have a lots of pictures taken - it`s not uncommon for me to shoot 200 + images in the ports and even though I have been to three of the first four ports before will still take lots of images - so part of one day could be spent editing these images.
I still am working on devising a plan on how to handle the thousand of pictures and some video that I will be shooting - will put them on the net book but need a backup - unless I buy a portable DVD player which is an option - Santa are you listening - I will need to use either flash drives or SD media cards - adding to the fun is my Samsung tablet which uses a mini-SD card.
Even deciding which cameras to bring is another part of the equation - I have a point and shot digital, a DSLR + telephone lens but have problems with it in that there is some dust on the inner mirror that requires a good cleaning that when taking pictures in bright sunlight leaves a blotch on the image - it is however useful in dull light and having a long lens provides more shooting options - my third camera is my new Nikon P150 which has 42x optic zoom and a video feature - this is probably the one that will get the most usage - will probably use the point and shoot in places like Rio when I am not on a tour because it is small and fits into my pocket.
My fourth camera is a Sony video digital camcorder - one advantages I have is that all of these cameras use the same SD media card.
I will bring some books with me and will try and load a few more on the tablet and use those to pass the time and if I can get my act together will try and record lots of my favorite music onto a mini SD card for the tablet.
I anticipate that we will likely got lectures on the upcoming ports so that will pass some more time and as we will cross the Equator on this leg of the trip I am sure there will be some sort of ceremony marking the occasion.
Doing laundry may be another option - it isn`t entirely known if Princess will be offering laundry service or whether we will be compelled to use the self- service ones. Response to this is mixed on the cruise critic board so likely will have to wait and see how it plays out.
I also like to do crossword puzzles and work search games and have loaded some apps onto the tablet that don`t require wi-fi to use so that should help to pass some time.
As I will be buying some Internet minutes - a lot in fact that should pass some more time.
Then there are the 300 or so cruise critic members who are on board and who I will meet either the night before at a little meet or greet or the first fill sea day when we meet on board - hopefully will be able to chat with them during the sea days and pass the time that way - there are a number of Canadians on board and if we ever get hockey back up and running we will likely be able to have a few friendly discussions about our favorite teams.
There are other from the Metro Vancouver area and over on Vancouver Island so they may also help pass the time.
Well that`s all for now from rainy Vancouver.
Cheers
D
To be honest I am not one who by nature can sit still and not become bored so finding things to do for those four days will likely present a bit of a challenge for me.
The first day will be fine as I will based on previous cruises wear myself ragged in the ports and as well as one who doesn`t handle a lot of sun and heat will likely just collapse in my cabin and rest up - will also likely have a lots of pictures taken - it`s not uncommon for me to shoot 200 + images in the ports and even though I have been to three of the first four ports before will still take lots of images - so part of one day could be spent editing these images.
I still am working on devising a plan on how to handle the thousand of pictures and some video that I will be shooting - will put them on the net book but need a backup - unless I buy a portable DVD player which is an option - Santa are you listening - I will need to use either flash drives or SD media cards - adding to the fun is my Samsung tablet which uses a mini-SD card.
Even deciding which cameras to bring is another part of the equation - I have a point and shot digital, a DSLR + telephone lens but have problems with it in that there is some dust on the inner mirror that requires a good cleaning that when taking pictures in bright sunlight leaves a blotch on the image - it is however useful in dull light and having a long lens provides more shooting options - my third camera is my new Nikon P150 which has 42x optic zoom and a video feature - this is probably the one that will get the most usage - will probably use the point and shoot in places like Rio when I am not on a tour because it is small and fits into my pocket.
My fourth camera is a Sony video digital camcorder - one advantages I have is that all of these cameras use the same SD media card.
I will bring some books with me and will try and load a few more on the tablet and use those to pass the time and if I can get my act together will try and record lots of my favorite music onto a mini SD card for the tablet.
I anticipate that we will likely got lectures on the upcoming ports so that will pass some more time and as we will cross the Equator on this leg of the trip I am sure there will be some sort of ceremony marking the occasion.
Doing laundry may be another option - it isn`t entirely known if Princess will be offering laundry service or whether we will be compelled to use the self- service ones. Response to this is mixed on the cruise critic board so likely will have to wait and see how it plays out.
I also like to do crossword puzzles and work search games and have loaded some apps onto the tablet that don`t require wi-fi to use so that should help to pass some time.
As I will be buying some Internet minutes - a lot in fact that should pass some more time.
Then there are the 300 or so cruise critic members who are on board and who I will meet either the night before at a little meet or greet or the first fill sea day when we meet on board - hopefully will be able to chat with them during the sea days and pass the time that way - there are a number of Canadians on board and if we ever get hockey back up and running we will likely be able to have a few friendly discussions about our favorite teams.
There are other from the Metro Vancouver area and over on Vancouver Island so they may also help pass the time.
Well that`s all for now from rainy Vancouver.
Cheers
D
Tuesday, November 13, 2012
4 ports in 4 days
I promised some posts ago to start giving my ideas on what I might do in the various ports and sea days that I will be visiting so here is the first of them.
After leaving Fort Lauderdale late afternoon we will then have 2 full sea days before arriving in St. Thomas the US Virgin Islands - this will be the first of four consecutive port days - I will then visit Antigua, Barbados and Trinidad. The first three I have been to on at least two other occasions while Trinidad and Port of Spain will be a new one.
As a result I have only booked a tour in Barbados and it will be to Harrison Caves - they were closed for reconstruction the last time I was there so I will do a 3 hour ships tour and then spend the rest of the time wandering around the downtown area - there are three other ships in port the same day so the tourist spots and internet cafes will be swamped.
In both St Thomas and Antigua I intend to play it by ear - if I see something of interest shore wise I might do something otherwise just walk the town and take lots of photos.
For Port of Spain, Trinidad I have signed up for a ships tour and a little bit of adventure - it will be a four hour excursion to a waterfall - after a short stop at St Joseph Church we will then spend about an hour travelling to the Falls and a 45 walk to them - there will be a chance to dip our toes in the water if we choose - I enjoy waterfalls and will often book them to get some exercise.
As I have nine hours in total in Port of Spain should also have time to take in the historic and business part of the port.
By the time I finish with the four ports in four days I will be ready for a rest.
Cheers
After leaving Fort Lauderdale late afternoon we will then have 2 full sea days before arriving in St. Thomas the US Virgin Islands - this will be the first of four consecutive port days - I will then visit Antigua, Barbados and Trinidad. The first three I have been to on at least two other occasions while Trinidad and Port of Spain will be a new one.
As a result I have only booked a tour in Barbados and it will be to Harrison Caves - they were closed for reconstruction the last time I was there so I will do a 3 hour ships tour and then spend the rest of the time wandering around the downtown area - there are three other ships in port the same day so the tourist spots and internet cafes will be swamped.
In both St Thomas and Antigua I intend to play it by ear - if I see something of interest shore wise I might do something otherwise just walk the town and take lots of photos.
For Port of Spain, Trinidad I have signed up for a ships tour and a little bit of adventure - it will be a four hour excursion to a waterfall - after a short stop at St Joseph Church we will then spend about an hour travelling to the Falls and a 45 walk to them - there will be a chance to dip our toes in the water if we choose - I enjoy waterfalls and will often book them to get some exercise.
As I have nine hours in total in Port of Spain should also have time to take in the historic and business part of the port.
By the time I finish with the four ports in four days I will be ready for a rest.
Cheers
Less than 75 days to go
I hadn`t been keeping a close eye on the count down clock for a week or so but was reminded that the sail away is getting closer when I read a post on our cruise critic thread about our edocs being ready for printing so into the Princess web site I go - have printed out the boarding pass and luggage tags. This occurred at the 75 day mark.
The group is in the process of organizing a pre-cruise meet and greet at either the Marriott hotel - there are a bunch of us staying there or at a nearby restaurant.
I have also started to work on my packing list - while the ship has self-serve laundromats I am lazy when it comes to doing laundry at the best of times so I am trying to determine if Princess offers a bag full of laundry at a special price and if so how often it might be offered on our cruise - ideally I would like to have it done about once a week and thus be able to cut down on how much to pack - the response from the cruisers is mixed - its look likes that since Princess has self-serve laundries they may not offer the laundry service that is common on NCL.
I have most of my excursions all planned and will in the next month start contacting the bank, credit card companies etc about foreign transactions on my cards etc.
I have brought some extra media cards for my devices and will likely purchase one of the internet plans on the ship to help keep in touch.
One project that I am going try to do some research on is the location of internet cafes or free wi-fi locations in our various ports.
I now have a new Samsung tablet which I got as part of a package or bundle with my TV, phone and internet provider and are learning how to us it and loading lots of apps including one for a web site called www.triposo.com which is loaded with worthwhile info and has some good sites on some of the South American ports.
One feature that I like on the Samsung that I don`t have on the Blackberry is a miniSD slot - this will come in handy as I can preload some with music and use them also for some photo storage.
From my cruise documents I now know which berth or terminal we will be leaving from in Port Everglades which is the port located in Fort Lauderdale - it will be Pier 2/Terminal 2 - this as I understand and from looking at the map of the port is one of the better locations - it is just inside the terminal entrance and only a short distance from the hotel - it is walkable but with the amount of luggage or rather with at least three pieces of luggage it might be more prudent to take a taxi the short distance.
Still trying to determine where we will be docking in St Thomas, the US Virgin Islands - there are six ships in port that day - there are two terminials - Havensight or Crown Point - i have been to the former but not the latter - Princess in the past has used both - only reason I am trying to ascertain where we berth has more to do with what I may plan there - Havensight is closer to the main town center and has good shopping right at the pier while Crown Point is further away - it on the other side of the main town and doesn`t appear to be walkable - they will likely run some type of shuttle if need be.
Cheers and more later.
The group is in the process of organizing a pre-cruise meet and greet at either the Marriott hotel - there are a bunch of us staying there or at a nearby restaurant.
I have also started to work on my packing list - while the ship has self-serve laundromats I am lazy when it comes to doing laundry at the best of times so I am trying to determine if Princess offers a bag full of laundry at a special price and if so how often it might be offered on our cruise - ideally I would like to have it done about once a week and thus be able to cut down on how much to pack - the response from the cruisers is mixed - its look likes that since Princess has self-serve laundries they may not offer the laundry service that is common on NCL.
I have most of my excursions all planned and will in the next month start contacting the bank, credit card companies etc about foreign transactions on my cards etc.
I have brought some extra media cards for my devices and will likely purchase one of the internet plans on the ship to help keep in touch.
One project that I am going try to do some research on is the location of internet cafes or free wi-fi locations in our various ports.
I now have a new Samsung tablet which I got as part of a package or bundle with my TV, phone and internet provider and are learning how to us it and loading lots of apps including one for a web site called www.triposo.com which is loaded with worthwhile info and has some good sites on some of the South American ports.
One feature that I like on the Samsung that I don`t have on the Blackberry is a miniSD slot - this will come in handy as I can preload some with music and use them also for some photo storage.
From my cruise documents I now know which berth or terminal we will be leaving from in Port Everglades which is the port located in Fort Lauderdale - it will be Pier 2/Terminal 2 - this as I understand and from looking at the map of the port is one of the better locations - it is just inside the terminal entrance and only a short distance from the hotel - it is walkable but with the amount of luggage or rather with at least three pieces of luggage it might be more prudent to take a taxi the short distance.
Still trying to determine where we will be docking in St Thomas, the US Virgin Islands - there are six ships in port that day - there are two terminials - Havensight or Crown Point - i have been to the former but not the latter - Princess in the past has used both - only reason I am trying to ascertain where we berth has more to do with what I may plan there - Havensight is closer to the main town center and has good shopping right at the pier while Crown Point is further away - it on the other side of the main town and doesn`t appear to be walkable - they will likely run some type of shuttle if need be.
Cheers and more later.
Monday, October 22, 2012
Time is creeping along towards sail away and here are some idle thoughts
Well the cruise is now less than 100 days away - in fact in three months time I will be on an Amtrak train making my way across the frozen northern tier states on board the The Empire Builder to Chicago with about a three hour layover so won`t likely venture outside if the weather is cold and windy and then its onto the Capitol Limited to Washington DC where I have a 7 hour layover but it will be dark so probably will just confine myself to the area around Union Station and have dinner at one of the restaurants. Then board the Silver Meteor for the final leg to Fort Lauderdale and two nights and one full day to explore that city and pick up final supplies - the hotel is located close to the cruise port and also very close to shopping - groceries and other needed items.
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Princess does allow one bottle of wine to be brought on board but from reading posts on the Cruise Critic site and talking to friends that have cruised Princess they don`t seem to be enforcing the policy that much although there is talk of tightening up the policy.
I will take some wine on board and will take a 6 pack of beer as they seem to allow it - if it becomes a hassle I will stick with buying wine in the ports and buying beer on the ship.
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Going over my final invoice from my TA I noticed that I now have a $75.00 on board credit - upon some digging - ie an email to my TA - it is an agency credit so will be able to use if got just about anything - likely use it for either some additional Internet minutes or 3 or 4 extra meals in the specialty restaurants.
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Personally I will need to ensure that all my prescriptions are filled for the entire length - my extended benefits package only allows for a three month supply at a time and only renewable within a month of expiry - my dates don`t quite jive so will need my DR. to do some paperwork to ensure I have a proper supply - none are of the life threatening type is missed for short periods of time.
Also need to address the bright intense sunlight I am likely to encounter around the Equator - my regular glasses are transitional - that means they darken in the sunlight but aren`t that great in brilliant sunshine - could get a pair of prescription ones but living where I do it wouldn`t be the best value for my $$$$. I am looking at some other options recommended to me by my optometrist.
I also have a hearing aid but since retiring don`t need it that much but will need to have it serviced and updated so that I will be able to hear things better on board the ship and on the excursions.
And finally I also have an upper denture - it has now been five months since I got it and it will need to be given an adjustment before I sail - this will mean about 48 hours of eating only soft and liquid foods.
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Time for lunch
Cheers and more later.
Friday, October 12, 2012
Random thoughts on a rainy evening
Well after having little or no rain over the past 80 + days - a very long stretch here on the west coast the weather has finally turned wet and looks to stay that way in the short term.
Why you ask how does this relate to cruising - well as I like to spend a lot of my time out walking and biking I haven`t spend a lot of time working on the details of this cruise so I now have an excuse to stay indoors and work on the finer details of this cruise.
Sure I have the insurance, train and hotel and host of excursions booked but I am thinking more along the lines of what to pack, how much US$$$ to take with me - making sure that my bank and credit card companies as well as my cell provider know I will be far off in some distance ports. Also need to try and figure out just how much local currency I might need in each of the SA Ports - especially Brazil where I am told that US $$$ aren`t that welcomed.
I also need to start to get to know the ship that will be my home for 49 days.
While I have been on the Sun Princess back in 2000 it isn`t the same class of ship as the Grand - I did spend 5 days on the Golden doing a Coastal but that is hardly enough time to get to know a ship.
As one who gets antsy and not able to easily sit down and read a good book I need to figure out how the handle the 4 sea days after we leave Trinidad - not likely to be as much of a problem for the three days at the end as I figure I will be so tired I will just collapse in my cabin and rest up for the train ride home.
I am determined for this trip that my suitcase will be a lot lighter - at least at the start than on my Panama Cruise where even Amtrak said it was over the allowable limit.
Likely will break the cruise into 7 - 10 day intervals and plan for a laundry - either self service or through the ship during each of those periods.
I am going to try and keep it to three pieces of luggage - my very large maximum size main suitcase, a smaller one which will serve two purposes - it will have the heavy clothes that I will need for the train ride across America in the winter and can also we used for the around the Horn portion of the trip.
I will also use it for the dirty clothes and when it comes to laundry time use it to haul back and forth to the self-serve if I go that route.
I could actually start some of the packing now - the cool weather is here so the shorts won`t be needed anymore and my array of Hawaiian themed shirt are usually only worn on cruises so they could go in the suitcase now
My third piece will be my day pack - it will be used initially to carry my array of electronics and perhaps my beer and wine as well and then on port days the tools that I will need for that day.
I currently have friends on a 34 day South Pacific cruise who over dinner the other night sat with someone who has done this cruise and they say I should really enjoy it. Certainly hope they are right.
Which brings me to my next topic - just how to communicate with friends back home - will buy an internet package on the ship but it is slow and might not even be available in some areas. I do need to try and fine either free or low cost internet cafes in the SA Ports - my friends are using the photo site Shutterfly to keep in touch - he has been able to upload photos using the free Wi-Fi at Mcdonalds but I doubt that option is available in the SA Ports.
I do have a dedicated email address that I hope everyone will use when I am travelling that way I won`t waste a lot of time going to a number of my email addresses.
Well it`s just about supper time to time to log off and say have a great weekend.
Cheers
D
Why you ask how does this relate to cruising - well as I like to spend a lot of my time out walking and biking I haven`t spend a lot of time working on the details of this cruise so I now have an excuse to stay indoors and work on the finer details of this cruise.
Sure I have the insurance, train and hotel and host of excursions booked but I am thinking more along the lines of what to pack, how much US$$$ to take with me - making sure that my bank and credit card companies as well as my cell provider know I will be far off in some distance ports. Also need to try and figure out just how much local currency I might need in each of the SA Ports - especially Brazil where I am told that US $$$ aren`t that welcomed.
I also need to start to get to know the ship that will be my home for 49 days.
While I have been on the Sun Princess back in 2000 it isn`t the same class of ship as the Grand - I did spend 5 days on the Golden doing a Coastal but that is hardly enough time to get to know a ship.
As one who gets antsy and not able to easily sit down and read a good book I need to figure out how the handle the 4 sea days after we leave Trinidad - not likely to be as much of a problem for the three days at the end as I figure I will be so tired I will just collapse in my cabin and rest up for the train ride home.
I am determined for this trip that my suitcase will be a lot lighter - at least at the start than on my Panama Cruise where even Amtrak said it was over the allowable limit.
Likely will break the cruise into 7 - 10 day intervals and plan for a laundry - either self service or through the ship during each of those periods.
I am going to try and keep it to three pieces of luggage - my very large maximum size main suitcase, a smaller one which will serve two purposes - it will have the heavy clothes that I will need for the train ride across America in the winter and can also we used for the around the Horn portion of the trip.
I will also use it for the dirty clothes and when it comes to laundry time use it to haul back and forth to the self-serve if I go that route.
I could actually start some of the packing now - the cool weather is here so the shorts won`t be needed anymore and my array of Hawaiian themed shirt are usually only worn on cruises so they could go in the suitcase now
My third piece will be my day pack - it will be used initially to carry my array of electronics and perhaps my beer and wine as well and then on port days the tools that I will need for that day.
I currently have friends on a 34 day South Pacific cruise who over dinner the other night sat with someone who has done this cruise and they say I should really enjoy it. Certainly hope they are right.
Which brings me to my next topic - just how to communicate with friends back home - will buy an internet package on the ship but it is slow and might not even be available in some areas. I do need to try and fine either free or low cost internet cafes in the SA Ports - my friends are using the photo site Shutterfly to keep in touch - he has been able to upload photos using the free Wi-Fi at Mcdonalds but I doubt that option is available in the SA Ports.
I do have a dedicated email address that I hope everyone will use when I am travelling that way I won`t waste a lot of time going to a number of my email addresses.
Well it`s just about supper time to time to log off and say have a great weekend.
Cheers
D
Saturday, October 6, 2012
Excursions, Excursions, Excursions
With this being a once in a lifetime trip I decided early on that I would like to maximize my exposure to the various ports by going as many excursions as possible and allocated a fair chunk of change to do so.
With the exception of St Thomas, Barbados, Antigua, Puntarenas and Cabo all the other ports are new to me - of the above I have only booked an excursion in Barbados and that is Harrison Caves which was under redevelopment the last time I was there.
To date I have booked a total of 21 excursions - 14 with the ship and 7 with fellow cruisers covering 16 of our ports. Many of the better private tours were filled before I got off the wait list but some new ones have been added.
With the exception of Rio I am fairly pleased with what I have been able to book to date.
As for Rio - have done a fair amount of research on what to see and they were offered by the ship but at this time the full day tour is full and I am wait listed - I suspect that they are only booking a % of available seats at this time and also to allow people without Internet service to book on the ship when we board.
My preferred ship tour is a city drive past the beaches, Sugarloaf and Christ the Redeemer but it is full - a second tour is to the forest and jeep tour and I have decided to see a bit of the night life with a Platforma tour to one of the night clubs - will get back around midnight - still hoping that one of the other cruisers might pull together another all day tour.
Rio is an overnight stop so I can do some of the shorter trips on the second day.
I still do expect to add a couple more excursions.
I will provide more info my planned excursions when I start to outline my plans for each port.
We have been enjoying a long late summer, early fall dry spell which I find myself outdoors enjoying it while it lasts. Once the weather turns I will be posting here more often.
Cheers
D
With the exception of St Thomas, Barbados, Antigua, Puntarenas and Cabo all the other ports are new to me - of the above I have only booked an excursion in Barbados and that is Harrison Caves which was under redevelopment the last time I was there.
To date I have booked a total of 21 excursions - 14 with the ship and 7 with fellow cruisers covering 16 of our ports. Many of the better private tours were filled before I got off the wait list but some new ones have been added.
With the exception of Rio I am fairly pleased with what I have been able to book to date.
As for Rio - have done a fair amount of research on what to see and they were offered by the ship but at this time the full day tour is full and I am wait listed - I suspect that they are only booking a % of available seats at this time and also to allow people without Internet service to book on the ship when we board.
My preferred ship tour is a city drive past the beaches, Sugarloaf and Christ the Redeemer but it is full - a second tour is to the forest and jeep tour and I have decided to see a bit of the night life with a Platforma tour to one of the night clubs - will get back around midnight - still hoping that one of the other cruisers might pull together another all day tour.
Rio is an overnight stop so I can do some of the shorter trips on the second day.
I still do expect to add a couple more excursions.
I will provide more info my planned excursions when I start to outline my plans for each port.
We have been enjoying a long late summer, early fall dry spell which I find myself outdoors enjoying it while it lasts. Once the weather turns I will be posting here more often.
Cheers
D
Friday, October 5, 2012
Getting things done on the bucket list
Well - the serious countdown has begun for a week ago I made final payment for the full 49 days - so you could say I have now passed the point of no return.
Mixed in with the excitement of getting aspects of this cruise looked after I celebrated my 65 birthday by taking a short 5 day cruise down the Pacific Coast to LA and then immediately hopped a bus to catch the Amtrak train to get back for a birthday party.
Along with final payment I also booked Amtrak and my travel and medical insurance.
While I toyed with the idea of taking a more circuitous Amtrak route to Fort Lauderdale I stayed with the tried and true. Taking the California Zephyr through Salt Lake and Denver in the middle of winter was causing me some worry that a major blizzard could delay my arrival in Fort Lauderdale.
So I am taking my usual route with one minor change - instead of taking the bus to Seattle and catching the Empire Builder on a direct connection I opted to take the Amtrak Cascades which leaves earlier in the morning - partly because I haven't taken that route in years and partly thinking that if we get a snow storm here on the west coast the train is more likely to get to Seattle - it also gives me several hours in Seattle so if the weather is nice I can see some of the sights.
When it came time to book the train the price for the sleeper was cheaper than when I had priced it sometime earlier - like the airlines, Amtrak sleeper prices seem to fluctuate - did find a web site - www.amsnag.net that you can check and see what the prices are for each day - it seems to be kept up to date and it reflected changes that I noted on the Amtrak site.
I will take the Empire Builder to Chicago and then the Capitol Limited to DC - where I will have a layover before taking the Silver Meteor service to Fort Lauderdale - the train station there is half way between Ft Lauderdale and Hollywood so since I am coming from the north will detrain at Fort Lauderdale station and take a taxi to my hotel.
The train ride will be about 4 days and gets me into Fort Lauderdale around supper time - then will have one full day there before boarding the ship.
As for the return from San Francisco - it is pretty straightforward - will have the day to explore as I don't board the bus until late evening that will take me to Emeryville where you catch the Coast Starlight.
My trip and medical insurance is issued by the Royal Bank here in Canada - it is considered one of the better ones - while my extended medical benefits that I have provides good coverage it is only valid for 30 days at one time - so the need for the extra coverage.
Next post I will outline some of my excursions thoughts and pickings.
Cheers
Mixed in with the excitement of getting aspects of this cruise looked after I celebrated my 65 birthday by taking a short 5 day cruise down the Pacific Coast to LA and then immediately hopped a bus to catch the Amtrak train to get back for a birthday party.
Along with final payment I also booked Amtrak and my travel and medical insurance.
While I toyed with the idea of taking a more circuitous Amtrak route to Fort Lauderdale I stayed with the tried and true. Taking the California Zephyr through Salt Lake and Denver in the middle of winter was causing me some worry that a major blizzard could delay my arrival in Fort Lauderdale.
So I am taking my usual route with one minor change - instead of taking the bus to Seattle and catching the Empire Builder on a direct connection I opted to take the Amtrak Cascades which leaves earlier in the morning - partly because I haven't taken that route in years and partly thinking that if we get a snow storm here on the west coast the train is more likely to get to Seattle - it also gives me several hours in Seattle so if the weather is nice I can see some of the sights.
When it came time to book the train the price for the sleeper was cheaper than when I had priced it sometime earlier - like the airlines, Amtrak sleeper prices seem to fluctuate - did find a web site - www.amsnag.net that you can check and see what the prices are for each day - it seems to be kept up to date and it reflected changes that I noted on the Amtrak site.
I will take the Empire Builder to Chicago and then the Capitol Limited to DC - where I will have a layover before taking the Silver Meteor service to Fort Lauderdale - the train station there is half way between Ft Lauderdale and Hollywood so since I am coming from the north will detrain at Fort Lauderdale station and take a taxi to my hotel.
The train ride will be about 4 days and gets me into Fort Lauderdale around supper time - then will have one full day there before boarding the ship.
As for the return from San Francisco - it is pretty straightforward - will have the day to explore as I don't board the bus until late evening that will take me to Emeryville where you catch the Coast Starlight.
My trip and medical insurance is issued by the Royal Bank here in Canada - it is considered one of the better ones - while my extended medical benefits that I have provides good coverage it is only valid for 30 days at one time - so the need for the extra coverage.
Next post I will outline some of my excursions thoughts and pickings.
Cheers
Wednesday, August 29, 2012
Some general thoughts
Well it is now less than five month before the cruise sails out of Fort Lauderdale and head for South America.
Final payment is about a month away - once that is done I will book Amtrak and buy the necessary travel insurance.
In the meantime I have started to book excursions for most of the ports - while a few are private most are through Princess - less hassle with payment etc - what I like about Princess is that unlike NCL you don't have to pay for your excursions when you booked them.
Rio is proving to be a challenge - many of the more popular ones are already booked or are only running on one of the days that we are in port - I have booked a couple through the ship and have waitlisted myself for my first choice but that same excursion is available through the Shore Excursion website so I might booked it through them - means paying upfront so I will wait until after I return from my 5 day repo cruise before spending the money on that one.
Buenos Aires only has four excursions available for continuing passengers - the rest are either for people debarking or are in a foreign language - I suspect that with people embarking and disembarking most of the staff are busy with that and don't want to have them worrying about a lot of excursion trips coming and going.
Later I will detail the excurions that I have booked.
That's all for now
Cheers
Dennis
Final payment is about a month away - once that is done I will book Amtrak and buy the necessary travel insurance.
In the meantime I have started to book excursions for most of the ports - while a few are private most are through Princess - less hassle with payment etc - what I like about Princess is that unlike NCL you don't have to pay for your excursions when you booked them.
Rio is proving to be a challenge - many of the more popular ones are already booked or are only running on one of the days that we are in port - I have booked a couple through the ship and have waitlisted myself for my first choice but that same excursion is available through the Shore Excursion website so I might booked it through them - means paying upfront so I will wait until after I return from my 5 day repo cruise before spending the money on that one.
Buenos Aires only has four excursions available for continuing passengers - the rest are either for people debarking or are in a foreign language - I suspect that with people embarking and disembarking most of the staff are busy with that and don't want to have them worrying about a lot of excursion trips coming and going.
Later I will detail the excurions that I have booked.
That's all for now
Cheers
Dennis
Saturday, July 28, 2012
Update on Visa
I picked up my Brazilian Visa on Tuesday - only five days after dropping off the necessity paperwork.
I noticed that it is only good for 5 years instead of 10 years that the Americans get but then that price was about half what the American pay for a 10 year Visa but it does coincidence with my passport expiry which for Canadians is only five years.
Also made a partial payment for one of the private tours I have booked - used Pay pal and it was easy.
Off to a lunch time BBQ for those of us who volunteered for the local Celtic Fest last March.
Cheers
Dennis
Next up - some thoughts on the first three ports of call - St Thomas, Antigua and Barbados.
I noticed that it is only good for 5 years instead of 10 years that the Americans get but then that price was about half what the American pay for a 10 year Visa but it does coincidence with my passport expiry which for Canadians is only five years.
Also made a partial payment for one of the private tours I have booked - used Pay pal and it was easy.
Off to a lunch time BBQ for those of us who volunteered for the local Celtic Fest last March.
Cheers
Dennis
Next up - some thoughts on the first three ports of call - St Thomas, Antigua and Barbados.
Am I crazy
While this is a little off-topic it is still cruise related so I thought I would post it here while I work on some script for this cruise.
Am I crazy - well you be the judge - just booked another cruise - albeit only a five dayer from Vancouver to LA leaving Vancouver on Sept 22,2012 - I had looked at this cruise aboard the Norwegian Jewel earlier but ruled it out because I won't get back to Vancouver until early morning Sept 29, 2012 - the day after my 65th birthday and a planned celebration - fortunately for me my chief organizer isn't the most organized guy and while we discussed dates and venues nothing has been booked - also need to remember that my God son's parents leave on a 35 day Tahiti cruise on the 30th so that further limits the dates available.
So fast forward to this week and I get an email from my cruising friend - cruise more often - Adele and Cliff from the SF Bay area advising me that they are coming to Vancouver pre-cruise - well it turns out there cruise is the aforementioned NCL Jewel 5 dayer and they would like to get together for a dinner the night before.
So I said to myself - why not sail with them - a quick check on pricing and Amtrak for the trip home as I don't fly and letting my chief organizer know of my desire to cruise and I took the plunge and will now be cruising. It will be my birthday treat to myself.
I now have 75 days at sea booked between now and Oct 2013!
Cheers!
Am I crazy - well you be the judge - just booked another cruise - albeit only a five dayer from Vancouver to LA leaving Vancouver on Sept 22,2012 - I had looked at this cruise aboard the Norwegian Jewel earlier but ruled it out because I won't get back to Vancouver until early morning Sept 29, 2012 - the day after my 65th birthday and a planned celebration - fortunately for me my chief organizer isn't the most organized guy and while we discussed dates and venues nothing has been booked - also need to remember that my God son's parents leave on a 35 day Tahiti cruise on the 30th so that further limits the dates available.
So fast forward to this week and I get an email from my cruising friend - cruise more often - Adele and Cliff from the SF Bay area advising me that they are coming to Vancouver pre-cruise - well it turns out there cruise is the aforementioned NCL Jewel 5 dayer and they would like to get together for a dinner the night before.
So I said to myself - why not sail with them - a quick check on pricing and Amtrak for the trip home as I don't fly and letting my chief organizer know of my desire to cruise and I took the plunge and will now be cruising. It will be my birthday treat to myself.
I now have 75 days at sea booked between now and Oct 2013!
Cheers!
Wednesday, July 18, 2012
More bucket list items done.
As I approach the 6 month mark to sail away on Jan 26, 2013 many of the items that are on the must do bucket list are falling in place.
1. Got my renewed passport on Monday - took only ten days to be processed so that cleared that hurdle.
2. Brazilian Visa application - Canadians need a Visa to enter Brazil even by cruise ship so I have done the following - filled out the preliminary application on line and printed the remaining supporting documents - got the money order for the Visa, as a retiree - proof of income and tax assessment along with a letter detailing the visit - dropped it all off at the Brazilian Consulate here in Vancouver where it took all of fifteen minutes to complete - was asked a few questions about my employment when I did work - YMCA - how many years - over 40 - what job did you have - membership services and then given a receipt for the money paid and a note that I can follow my Visa application on line and it will tell me when it will be ready - shouldn't take much more than a week.
3. With that out of the way I can now work on three more items - train travel to Ft Lauderdale, travel insurance and ship excursions which are now posted on the Princess web site - Princess unlike NCL doesn't yet charge you for booking excursions prior to sailing.
4. Re: yellow fever shot - this has been a bone of contention with many of us who are cruising as there appears to be some misinformation in cyber space - Princess has it showing that we must get the shot while both the CDC and Brazil are only recommending getting one - now Princess is apparently going to post that it is not required. Hopefully it's not a requirement because it will cost me over $125.00 as it isn't cover by my provincial medical plan.
5. Packing list - yes I printed the one I use for the longer cruises out but this one will have to be altered - between the cruise, train travel and a stay in Fort Lauderdale and possibly San Francisco I will be done for two months - traveling through Chicago and Washington in mid-winter will be interesting - we will have a variety of weather on the cruise - as stated earlier there is a laundromat on board the ship so I plan to do some laundry about every ten days - it will be a sea day - however it is likely to be a zoo on those days as well - might also take advantage of some of the ships laundry offers as well.
6. Did have to make a deposit payment for one of the excursions - used pay pal - worked like a charm - while I have an account the person requesting payment also had one so it was super easy - so far it is the only one of the private excursions that an advanced payment has been required.
Coming soon - a look at some of the ports that I will be visiting and what I might do there.
Cheers!
D
1. Got my renewed passport on Monday - took only ten days to be processed so that cleared that hurdle.
2. Brazilian Visa application - Canadians need a Visa to enter Brazil even by cruise ship so I have done the following - filled out the preliminary application on line and printed the remaining supporting documents - got the money order for the Visa, as a retiree - proof of income and tax assessment along with a letter detailing the visit - dropped it all off at the Brazilian Consulate here in Vancouver where it took all of fifteen minutes to complete - was asked a few questions about my employment when I did work - YMCA - how many years - over 40 - what job did you have - membership services and then given a receipt for the money paid and a note that I can follow my Visa application on line and it will tell me when it will be ready - shouldn't take much more than a week.
3. With that out of the way I can now work on three more items - train travel to Ft Lauderdale, travel insurance and ship excursions which are now posted on the Princess web site - Princess unlike NCL doesn't yet charge you for booking excursions prior to sailing.
4. Re: yellow fever shot - this has been a bone of contention with many of us who are cruising as there appears to be some misinformation in cyber space - Princess has it showing that we must get the shot while both the CDC and Brazil are only recommending getting one - now Princess is apparently going to post that it is not required. Hopefully it's not a requirement because it will cost me over $125.00 as it isn't cover by my provincial medical plan.
5. Packing list - yes I printed the one I use for the longer cruises out but this one will have to be altered - between the cruise, train travel and a stay in Fort Lauderdale and possibly San Francisco I will be done for two months - traveling through Chicago and Washington in mid-winter will be interesting - we will have a variety of weather on the cruise - as stated earlier there is a laundromat on board the ship so I plan to do some laundry about every ten days - it will be a sea day - however it is likely to be a zoo on those days as well - might also take advantage of some of the ships laundry offers as well.
6. Did have to make a deposit payment for one of the excursions - used pay pal - worked like a charm - while I have an account the person requesting payment also had one so it was super easy - so far it is the only one of the private excursions that an advanced payment has been required.
Coming soon - a look at some of the ports that I will be visiting and what I might do there.
Cheers!
D
Friday, July 6, 2012
My Amtrak love affair
It has been a little over 35 years since I last boarded a plane and flew anywhere - let`s just say that after that last flight and the circumstances surrounding it - the death of a parent in a far away land and a less than smooth flight home with my mother and an already well founded fear of flying I opted to give up flying and use other modes of transportation.
For the most part this meant driving to vacation spots - until around 2000 when a friend who has never flown convinced me to take an Alaskan cruise but is was round trip out of Vancouver.
Fast forward to 2004 and a planned Panama Canal cruise leaving from Miami with the same friends - they booked Amtrak and I joined them and another couple and we had a great trip down.
That cruise got me hooked on both train and ships as methods of transportation.
After retirement at the end of 2006 I started booking more and more cruises knowing that Amtrak could get me to most of the ports that I would be embarking or disembarking from.
That is why when I saw this cruise starting and finishing in North American cities I was more than happy to try and book it.
Similarly in a couple of years I have on my bucket list to visit Europe - want to visit the paternal homeland of Slovakia to visit the small town near the Polish border that my grandparents came from.
It would entail a train ride to the east coast, a TA crossing and then train or cruise travel in Europe and then a repeat TA crossing and train ride home.
I got to visit albeit under unhappy circumstances mentioned above my maternal homeland of Ireland so while it would be nice to return whether that will fit in on that trip remains to be seen.
I have used Amtrak to get to or from, Boston, Miami, New York City, New Orleans and Los Angeles.
I generally take a bus to and from Vancouver to Seattle to make connections there for the longer train rides.
My favorite route is the Empire Builder from Seattle to Chicago, followed by the Coast Starlighter to Los Angeles.
For this trip it will be Vancouver to Seattle to Chicago to Washington DC and onto Fort Lauderdale. I always take a sleeper as it includes your meals etc.
For the trip home - it will be the Coast Starlighter from San Francisco to Seattle and then either the Cascades train or bus to Vancouver.
Will book the train as soon as I know that my Visa has been approved.
Next up - my thoughts on some of the ports that I will be visiting.
Cheers!
D
Thursday, July 5, 2012
Just a short update July 5, 2012
Haven't posted anything for awhile so thought I would drop by and post a few words.
As I am approaching the 6 months to sail away date there are some matters that need attending to.
1. Passport renewal - mine expires within the six month time frame so yesterday I headed to the passport office in downtown Vancouver to renew it - I had filled it out on-line, printed and brought it with me - they did ask why I was renewing so early but when I told them that I needed to apply for a Visa that was good enough for them. It will be sent by registered mail to me in about two weeks - the cost was $87.00 which includes the consular fees.
2. Brazilian Visa - just as soon as I get the new passport I will take care of this - there is an consular office about 7 blocks from my place which is where I will go once I have completed the on-line part of the application.
3. Yellow fever shots - this has been the subject of much debate among us on the cruise critic web site as to whether we need to have it or not - Princess says it is a must but in checking both the CDC and Brazilian site etc it is not so clear - there is also much discussion about whether anyone over the age of 60 should get that shot and I fit that age bracket - many of those cruising who are over 60 have had the shot and not have any ill effects - as a reasonably healthy person I will check with my doctor and also consult the nurse at the travel clinic and see what they say.
4. Amtrak and travel insurance - just as soon as I have the Visa and now that I have the finances for the trip arranged I will book the train and buy the insurance.
5. Packing - with such a long trip I will need to be frugal in what I take - there are laundromats on the ship which I intend to use to cut down on the clothes that I need - because of the variety of weather we will encounter that also means a greater array of clothes. We also have 8 formal nights - I will bring dress slacks and shirts and a tie but no sports jackets - just too bulky - if they won't let me in the dining room on those nights I will just use the buffet.
6. Excursions - while you see in a previous post I have booked some private excursions I am waiting for the ships to be posted. Rio is the one port that I don't know what to expect - while I have a pretty good idea of what I want to see because of the huge and unpredictable crowds I don't know how well the tours will be able to get around and I am hesitant to set out on my own.
Cheers - still plan the story of my love affair with Amtrak.
D
As I am approaching the 6 months to sail away date there are some matters that need attending to.
1. Passport renewal - mine expires within the six month time frame so yesterday I headed to the passport office in downtown Vancouver to renew it - I had filled it out on-line, printed and brought it with me - they did ask why I was renewing so early but when I told them that I needed to apply for a Visa that was good enough for them. It will be sent by registered mail to me in about two weeks - the cost was $87.00 which includes the consular fees.
2. Brazilian Visa - just as soon as I get the new passport I will take care of this - there is an consular office about 7 blocks from my place which is where I will go once I have completed the on-line part of the application.
3. Yellow fever shots - this has been the subject of much debate among us on the cruise critic web site as to whether we need to have it or not - Princess says it is a must but in checking both the CDC and Brazilian site etc it is not so clear - there is also much discussion about whether anyone over the age of 60 should get that shot and I fit that age bracket - many of those cruising who are over 60 have had the shot and not have any ill effects - as a reasonably healthy person I will check with my doctor and also consult the nurse at the travel clinic and see what they say.
4. Amtrak and travel insurance - just as soon as I have the Visa and now that I have the finances for the trip arranged I will book the train and buy the insurance.
5. Packing - with such a long trip I will need to be frugal in what I take - there are laundromats on the ship which I intend to use to cut down on the clothes that I need - because of the variety of weather we will encounter that also means a greater array of clothes. We also have 8 formal nights - I will bring dress slacks and shirts and a tie but no sports jackets - just too bulky - if they won't let me in the dining room on those nights I will just use the buffet.
6. Excursions - while you see in a previous post I have booked some private excursions I am waiting for the ships to be posted. Rio is the one port that I don't know what to expect - while I have a pretty good idea of what I want to see because of the huge and unpredictable crowds I don't know how well the tours will be able to get around and I am hesitant to set out on my own.
Cheers - still plan the story of my love affair with Amtrak.
D
Tuesday, June 5, 2012
Excursions to date June 5, 2012
This post will be a short one and is more for the digital memory bank than anything else.
It will hopefully serve as a back up in case my physical memory fails me - part of the aging process so just want to ensure that I don't book two excursions in the same city for the same time.
So here to date are the port stops that I have private tours committed to so far.
1. Fortaleza, Brazil
2. Ushuaia, Argentina
3. Valpo/Santiago, Chile
4. Manta, Ecuador
5. Lima - two tours - Tour of Lima on Day 1 and Pachacamac ruins on Day 2
For many of the other ports of call I will likely wait for the ship's excursions to be posted in the coming months - this is particularly the case with Rio and Buenes Aires - two cities that I will feel more secure in on a ship tours than a private one.
Still to come - My love affair with Amtrak.
Cheers
It will hopefully serve as a back up in case my physical memory fails me - part of the aging process so just want to ensure that I don't book two excursions in the same city for the same time.
So here to date are the port stops that I have private tours committed to so far.
1. Fortaleza, Brazil
2. Ushuaia, Argentina
3. Valpo/Santiago, Chile
4. Manta, Ecuador
5. Lima - two tours - Tour of Lima on Day 1 and Pachacamac ruins on Day 2
For many of the other ports of call I will likely wait for the ship's excursions to be posted in the coming months - this is particularly the case with Rio and Buenes Aires - two cities that I will feel more secure in on a ship tours than a private one.
Still to come - My love affair with Amtrak.
Cheers
Thursday, May 31, 2012
Paying for this cruise
Well it is a wet day here in Vancouver so perhaps now would be a good time to post about how I might pay for this once in a lifetime cruise.
I retired at the end of 2006 - well it was a severance as the building was closing for a re-build but with 35 pensionable years and approaching my 60th birthday and a fairly healthy pension entitlement I was set.
Well no need to dwell to much on what has happened to my pension - it has been hurt by the market turmoil and while the income from it and my Canada Pension Plan - similar to Social Security in the US provides enough for the daily pleasures of life - it also has forced me to draw down my reserve funds to pay for my travels the last five years and those have now been depleted.
I still do have funds available in my RRSP - Canadian equivalent to IRA`s but that income is taxable starting at 10% off the top.
I do have a financial planner and will be consulting with him next week as I try to draw up a 3 -5 year plan to include trips, condo assessments for improvement to the building and updating my own condo which has seen nothing since I moved in 6 years ago.
Like Americans we have reverse mortgages and equity line of credits and this is likely where my future finances will come from.
I am fortunate that I am mortgage free and own a small studio apartment in downtown Vancouver - while there has been some softening in the market prices here - it is less than 5% and because of tighter ownership rules and banking regulation we have not been faced with the ugliness of the American housing markets.
Vancouver is also a desired place to live and values are likely to continue to increase into the foreseeable future.
So my apartment is the source of future lending possibilities - being single and no heirs it is easier for me to draw on the value of that asset and it is tax free as well.
The real choice is between taking a reverse mortgage and a higher interest rate and make no payments until the property is sold or a bank home equity line of credit which is currently offered at Prime - 3% in Canada + 0.50% and you make interest payments each month but can also repay the principle if you wish.
This is likely the route I will go - I am only charged interest on the amount actually used not the amount authorized.
Depending on how much I want to use this will allow me to cruise a couple of times a year and will also allow me to start thinking about that next big one EUROPE in 2015.
Next up - how my fear of flying led to a love affair with Amtrak
Cheers
D
I retired at the end of 2006 - well it was a severance as the building was closing for a re-build but with 35 pensionable years and approaching my 60th birthday and a fairly healthy pension entitlement I was set.
Well no need to dwell to much on what has happened to my pension - it has been hurt by the market turmoil and while the income from it and my Canada Pension Plan - similar to Social Security in the US provides enough for the daily pleasures of life - it also has forced me to draw down my reserve funds to pay for my travels the last five years and those have now been depleted.
I still do have funds available in my RRSP - Canadian equivalent to IRA`s but that income is taxable starting at 10% off the top.
I do have a financial planner and will be consulting with him next week as I try to draw up a 3 -5 year plan to include trips, condo assessments for improvement to the building and updating my own condo which has seen nothing since I moved in 6 years ago.
Like Americans we have reverse mortgages and equity line of credits and this is likely where my future finances will come from.
I am fortunate that I am mortgage free and own a small studio apartment in downtown Vancouver - while there has been some softening in the market prices here - it is less than 5% and because of tighter ownership rules and banking regulation we have not been faced with the ugliness of the American housing markets.
Vancouver is also a desired place to live and values are likely to continue to increase into the foreseeable future.
So my apartment is the source of future lending possibilities - being single and no heirs it is easier for me to draw on the value of that asset and it is tax free as well.
The real choice is between taking a reverse mortgage and a higher interest rate and make no payments until the property is sold or a bank home equity line of credit which is currently offered at Prime - 3% in Canada + 0.50% and you make interest payments each month but can also repay the principle if you wish.
This is likely the route I will go - I am only charged interest on the amount actually used not the amount authorized.
Depending on how much I want to use this will allow me to cruise a couple of times a year and will also allow me to start thinking about that next big one EUROPE in 2015.
Next up - how my fear of flying led to a love affair with Amtrak
Cheers
D
Saturday, May 26, 2012
A map of our trip
One of the persons on the trip has designed a map of our journey showing our various port stops and has also set up some merchandise options using the services of Cafepress. Closer to sail date I might buy one perhaps as a Christmas present to myself.
Just a short note today as I have been meaning to post this for all to see.
Cheers!
Thursday, May 24, 2012
Fort Lauderdale for the first time planning
Since eight months from today I will be getting off an Amtrak train at Fort Lauderdale I thought it would be a good opportunity to review my plans to visit this embarkation city.
While I have set foot in Fort Lauderdale on train stops to and from Miami I have never stayed there so I needed to do some planning and this is where both the internet and Cruise critic members helped immensely to decide where to stay.
First I had to decide how many days and nights I could afford to spend pre-cruise and given the costs of the cruise that would be an issue. Travelling in the middle of winter across the north tier states from Seattle to Chicago and onto to Washington DC before turning south for warmer weather also had to be factored in. In the end I choose to come in two days early which really gives me and evening, one full day and embarkation morning to see some of the sites.
I know the Amtrak station isn't located near many of the better hotels and attractions and I don't want to be hauling around three pieces of heavy luggage all over the place.
So after checking Hotwire - Hotels.com etc. and advice from Cruise Critics members on the Florida board I opted to take the Marriott Renaissance Cruise Port hotel - it gets good reviews - is next door to the port entrance and depending on which terminal we sail out of perhaps walkable from the hotel.
I have an on-line cruising buddy who is from the Vancouver area who has stayed there and recommends it and he has fairly high expectations when it comes to accomodations.
The only problem was that I was outside of the Hotwire booking period and for budget reasons wanted to get that expense out of the way but I happened to hear that there was an online special being offered both by Marriott and the usual travel discounters - the problem with the Marriott was that the special price - about $100.00 cheaper per night was only good the first night as the second night was part of the weekends which are there busier days.
So I started checking on-line sources - most were showing the discounted price for both nights so I opted to got that route but in my price comparsion I noticed for instance that Expedia had a higher service fee than Hotels. com - I ended up taking it through Hotels.com - while higher than I like to pay - having work for the YMCa for over 40 years - staying in there lower price accomodations was never an issue - at about $135.00 a night it is a considerable saving and if I can walk to the port I will save some money there as well.
After I booked this hotel I posted to our roll call and it appears a number of others are staying there as well - so many in fact there has been a suggestion that perhaps we have a land based meet and greet the night before with one person even offering to contact the hotel and see if a room could be reserved for such a gathering - will keep you updated on that.
Well with the hotel taken care off I realized that I knew little about the city so I search and found there tourist info site. www.sunny.org which I bookmarked - but being a little of the old school also sent away for a hard copy - also visited my local Auto Association office and picked up more info there.
Haven't given a lot of thought of how to spent my time in Fort Lauderdale because after four + days on the train I don't know how tired I might be.
I like to walk and take in the sights that way - am a photography junkie or addict - generally like to do a HOHO type of touring especially the first time in the city so will likely utilize the Sun Coast Trolley - get a day pass and go from there - as mentioned I am not a big beach fan so will likely just walk over and talk a look but the Intercoastal Waterway has always intrigued me.
Hope you enjoy - feel free to comment.
Next up - Amtraking it across America.
While I have set foot in Fort Lauderdale on train stops to and from Miami I have never stayed there so I needed to do some planning and this is where both the internet and Cruise critic members helped immensely to decide where to stay.
First I had to decide how many days and nights I could afford to spend pre-cruise and given the costs of the cruise that would be an issue. Travelling in the middle of winter across the north tier states from Seattle to Chicago and onto to Washington DC before turning south for warmer weather also had to be factored in. In the end I choose to come in two days early which really gives me and evening, one full day and embarkation morning to see some of the sites.
I know the Amtrak station isn't located near many of the better hotels and attractions and I don't want to be hauling around three pieces of heavy luggage all over the place.
So after checking Hotwire - Hotels.com etc. and advice from Cruise Critics members on the Florida board I opted to take the Marriott Renaissance Cruise Port hotel - it gets good reviews - is next door to the port entrance and depending on which terminal we sail out of perhaps walkable from the hotel.
I have an on-line cruising buddy who is from the Vancouver area who has stayed there and recommends it and he has fairly high expectations when it comes to accomodations.
The only problem was that I was outside of the Hotwire booking period and for budget reasons wanted to get that expense out of the way but I happened to hear that there was an online special being offered both by Marriott and the usual travel discounters - the problem with the Marriott was that the special price - about $100.00 cheaper per night was only good the first night as the second night was part of the weekends which are there busier days.
So I started checking on-line sources - most were showing the discounted price for both nights so I opted to got that route but in my price comparsion I noticed for instance that Expedia had a higher service fee than Hotels. com - I ended up taking it through Hotels.com - while higher than I like to pay - having work for the YMCa for over 40 years - staying in there lower price accomodations was never an issue - at about $135.00 a night it is a considerable saving and if I can walk to the port I will save some money there as well.
After I booked this hotel I posted to our roll call and it appears a number of others are staying there as well - so many in fact there has been a suggestion that perhaps we have a land based meet and greet the night before with one person even offering to contact the hotel and see if a room could be reserved for such a gathering - will keep you updated on that.
Well with the hotel taken care off I realized that I knew little about the city so I search and found there tourist info site. www.sunny.org which I bookmarked - but being a little of the old school also sent away for a hard copy - also visited my local Auto Association office and picked up more info there.
Haven't given a lot of thought of how to spent my time in Fort Lauderdale because after four + days on the train I don't know how tired I might be.
I like to walk and take in the sights that way - am a photography junkie or addict - generally like to do a HOHO type of touring especially the first time in the city so will likely utilize the Sun Coast Trolley - get a day pass and go from there - as mentioned I am not a big beach fan so will likely just walk over and talk a look but the Intercoastal Waterway has always intrigued me.
Hope you enjoy - feel free to comment.
Next up - Amtraking it across America.
Wednesday, May 23, 2012
The information highway
After I booked the cruise and before I went much further along the planning path and being a somewhat stickler for details I decided to start a cruise binder - while much of the info could be kept digitally I am enough of the old guard that I like to have a paper trail.
So I found an old large 4" binder and started to put it together - I basically put a divider in for each day of the cruise - yes all 49 days - then put in an info sheet with the day, date, port or sea day and if it is a tender port, time in port etc. I even colored coded them - green for port days and pink for sea days so if I am doing a quick search I know whether it is a sea or port day. I also an writing info I get from other sources and if I booked a private tour that info as well - once I get closer to actual date I will update those sheets and print them out.
I even got more inventive when it came to excursions - printing them out on yellow sheets and putting general info articles on your standard white. It seems to be working so now when I open a particular port it is easy for me to find what I am looking for.
Just a short entry for now.
Next up - finding out about my embarkation port of Fort Lauderdale and booking of the hotel and train.
Future articles - paying for the trip and one on sourcing of info and excursions.
Cheers
So I found an old large 4" binder and started to put it together - I basically put a divider in for each day of the cruise - yes all 49 days - then put in an info sheet with the day, date, port or sea day and if it is a tender port, time in port etc. I even colored coded them - green for port days and pink for sea days so if I am doing a quick search I know whether it is a sea or port day. I also an writing info I get from other sources and if I booked a private tour that info as well - once I get closer to actual date I will update those sheets and print them out.
I even got more inventive when it came to excursions - printing them out on yellow sheets and putting general info articles on your standard white. It seems to be working so now when I open a particular port it is easy for me to find what I am looking for.
Just a short entry for now.
Next up - finding out about my embarkation port of Fort Lauderdale and booking of the hotel and train.
Future articles - paying for the trip and one on sourcing of info and excursions.
Cheers
Monday, May 21, 2012
Introducing the ship - The Grand Princess
This is the Grand Princess - I copied it from the ships page on the Princess web site and will be my home for the full 49 days - it has been updated in the past year or two - it will also be the largest ship that I have sailed on - the previous biggest one would be the Norwegian Pearl when I took it to Alaska a couple of years ago with some cruising friends that I met on a repo cruise in the Caribbean - her mother had never been to Alaska and promised her a cruise there for her 80th birthday - while I am diverging from this cruise it was interesting to note on that cruise that the daughter - not exactly a party pooper had trouble keeping up with the exploits of her mother.
I have an inside cabin mid - ship on Baja Deck 11 - considering the challenge of booking this cruise and taking the first one available it appears to be in not too bad of a location - it is only two cabins from an elevator and while I generally walk the steps on cruises - helps with the weight control - it is nice to know that if I enjoy one or two or three or whatever number too many of adult beverages either on the ship or in port I won't have far to get to my room. I generally don't spend much time in my cabin so an inside makes sense and I usually leave the bathroom lite on and door slightly ajar to make it seems more human.
Picture of an inside cabin on the Grand.
http://delivery.vrxstudios.com/princess/vrxviewer.asp?id=676 Click on the link to get a virtual view of an inside cabin.
I notice that some people cruising on the Carnival Splendour at about the same time have linked to this blog - hope you enjoy my posts which will become more frequent as the various items on my bucket list get taken care of.
The next item that I will be doing is contacting my financial advisor who was a long time client at my former place of work and believes strongly if you don't spend it when you are alive you are probably missing a lot of fun things in your life. My saying these days is "if I don't spend it now with the way the markets are going - and here in Canada our overall economy and debt levels aren't a big concern - it is going to be gone anyways.
As I have no siblings left and no off-spring I am basically free to do as I please with my investments.
I also outlined my cruising bucket list for the next 3 - 4 years - interesting to see what he comes up with as a strategy.
I chose anytime dining - as a NCL regular eating when I like and in most cases it is earlier rather than later - the thought of set times doesn't appeal to me.
Having not been on this ship before and having limited exposure to Princess' ships will need to spend times figuring out which speciality restaurants I might try - also need to see if I can get a listing of the machines in the gym so that I can get a personal trainer at the Y to design a routine for me.
On my other cruises I generally do a lot of walking in the ports and cities that we visit but I am a little more leery of that in some of the ports stops we will be making on this journey - Rio worries me the most as it is the height of Carnaval time and things are likely to be chaotic with all the revellers - I will probably stick with tours there.
I cut this short in the original post because a friend called and wanted to know if I wanted to join him while he had dinner - I had eaten but always enjoy going to the White Spot - www.whitespot.ca - being only two blocks from home and located inside the Best Western downtown hotel- it is like a second home to both of us. I just had a couple of glasses of 7-UP - free refills and because it is a holiday here in Canada - Victoria Day - in honor of the former British Monarch the restaurant closed an hour earlier.
Cheers
Sunday, May 13, 2012
A cruise of this length or magnitude will require a lot of planning and since I am retired and have time on my hands I will certainly be doing lots of that.
After booking the cruise I would normally then do Amtrak but I have held off on that until I made a decision on the two cruises I had planned for this fall - now both cancelled.
I am also having major dental surgery this week - all of the remaining uppers removed and to be replaced with a full upper plate - want to get that expense out of the way first and then the train will be booked.
The hotel in Fort Lauderdale is booked - the Marriott Renaissance Cruise Port for two nights - got a good buy on Hotels.com - haven't been to Ft Lauderdale so will spend some time exploring the area..
I have currently about 20 items on my planning list to check into - including renewing my passport and getting a visa for Brazil - fortunately there is a Canadian passport office close by as well as a Brazilian consulate.
Others items include:
Checking for vaccinations - the only possible one at the moment is yellow fever and because I am over 60 they don't recommend that you have that - if required you get a note from your doctor stating that it is too risky to have the shot.
I need to get my financial advisor to move some money to pay for the cruise and other expenses related to the trip.
I have created a budget to help me and my FA expense the trip.
Need to check with my bank and credit card companies about being out of the country for an extended time. I don't intend to take all of my cards with me - probably the two with the highest limits.
Need to purchase both medical and trip insurance - usually my provincial and extended benefit package provides enough coverage for medical but only for the first 30 days so will get that a little later in the year.
Need to check with my phone company for options for my smart phone and tablet.
As a photographer I love to take pictures - so I need to decide how to handle all the photos and videos that I will be taking - while I can load them onto my netbook that will clog up the available space. Will likely use a combo of media cards and flash drives - could consider a portable hard drive but unlikely to use again so not sure that would be a good expenditure.
Also need to continue researching the various ports of call and start planning the excursions.
Packing will be a real challenge because of the varying weather conditions - there are coin-op laundries on the ship so I will be able to travel a little lighter than normal.
Getting late so that's all for now.
Cheers
D
After booking the cruise I would normally then do Amtrak but I have held off on that until I made a decision on the two cruises I had planned for this fall - now both cancelled.
I am also having major dental surgery this week - all of the remaining uppers removed and to be replaced with a full upper plate - want to get that expense out of the way first and then the train will be booked.
The hotel in Fort Lauderdale is booked - the Marriott Renaissance Cruise Port for two nights - got a good buy on Hotels.com - haven't been to Ft Lauderdale so will spend some time exploring the area..
I have currently about 20 items on my planning list to check into - including renewing my passport and getting a visa for Brazil - fortunately there is a Canadian passport office close by as well as a Brazilian consulate.
Others items include:
Checking for vaccinations - the only possible one at the moment is yellow fever and because I am over 60 they don't recommend that you have that - if required you get a note from your doctor stating that it is too risky to have the shot.
I need to get my financial advisor to move some money to pay for the cruise and other expenses related to the trip.
I have created a budget to help me and my FA expense the trip.
Need to check with my bank and credit card companies about being out of the country for an extended time. I don't intend to take all of my cards with me - probably the two with the highest limits.
Need to purchase both medical and trip insurance - usually my provincial and extended benefit package provides enough coverage for medical but only for the first 30 days so will get that a little later in the year.
Need to check with my phone company for options for my smart phone and tablet.
As a photographer I love to take pictures - so I need to decide how to handle all the photos and videos that I will be taking - while I can load them onto my netbook that will clog up the available space. Will likely use a combo of media cards and flash drives - could consider a portable hard drive but unlikely to use again so not sure that would be a good expenditure.
Also need to continue researching the various ports of call and start planning the excursions.
Packing will be a real challenge because of the varying weather conditions - there are coin-op laundries on the ship so I will be able to travel a little lighter than normal.
Getting late so that's all for now.
Cheers
D
Friday, May 11, 2012
Idle Friday night thoughts
While I have at least 139 days aboard cruise ships none of my previous ones have totalled more than 21 days so the planning for this one will have to be a lot more detailed. Things like trying to pack for 49 days and where there is likely to be a variety of weather conditions will mean planning to do some laundry on board - the Grand Princess has coin-operated laundries on the ship and they will likely offer a bag full at a set price.
Also unlike NCL where I have top Platinum rewards levels I only have two short cruises on Princess - a seven day to Alaska and a five day Pacific coastal so very few on board perks.
I have only set foot in South American once before and that was last year when on my 2nd Panama Canal cruise we stopped at Cartagena, Columbia so my lack of Spanish wasn't much of a factor.
Also on my previous cruises using US $$$ has never been a problem but some of the SA countries - Brazil and Chile - aren't big fans of the greenback so I will need to figure out having some local currency to use - fortunately living downtown in a big metro area the foreign currency exchanges and major bank branches are close at hand so that should alleviate some of that concern.
A great tool for cruisers is the web site - www.cruisecritic.com - I joined a number of years ago and have almost 6000 posts to my credit - what usually happens is someone on a cruise will start a thread for their cruise and once a few people are on board a meet and greet on the ship is planned - the cruise lines see value in these types of meetings and once about 25 or more people have indicated their participation the organizer contacts the ship and a room or bar is offered for the meet and greet - this is how I have meet several of the people who I cruise with now.
This cruise has a very active thread with some 200 or so people wanting to attend the M & G's and since it is a three part cruise we will have three of them. While we sometimes meet for a sail away drinks most M & G's are held on the first sea day.
Generally among the group will be people who have done some or part of the itinerary previously and thus are a good source of information. That is the case with this cruise - every time i have posed a question I have gotten a good answer.
Well it is just about bed time so it's time to sign off for the evening.
As always Cheers!
Also unlike NCL where I have top Platinum rewards levels I only have two short cruises on Princess - a seven day to Alaska and a five day Pacific coastal so very few on board perks.
I have only set foot in South American once before and that was last year when on my 2nd Panama Canal cruise we stopped at Cartagena, Columbia so my lack of Spanish wasn't much of a factor.
Also on my previous cruises using US $$$ has never been a problem but some of the SA countries - Brazil and Chile - aren't big fans of the greenback so I will need to figure out having some local currency to use - fortunately living downtown in a big metro area the foreign currency exchanges and major bank branches are close at hand so that should alleviate some of that concern.
A great tool for cruisers is the web site - www.cruisecritic.com - I joined a number of years ago and have almost 6000 posts to my credit - what usually happens is someone on a cruise will start a thread for their cruise and once a few people are on board a meet and greet on the ship is planned - the cruise lines see value in these types of meetings and once about 25 or more people have indicated their participation the organizer contacts the ship and a room or bar is offered for the meet and greet - this is how I have meet several of the people who I cruise with now.
This cruise has a very active thread with some 200 or so people wanting to attend the M & G's and since it is a three part cruise we will have three of them. While we sometimes meet for a sail away drinks most M & G's are held on the first sea day.
Generally among the group will be people who have done some or part of the itinerary previously and thus are a good source of information. That is the case with this cruise - every time i have posed a question I have gotten a good answer.
Well it is just about bed time so it's time to sign off for the evening.
As always Cheers!
A quickie update
While I have been planning this cruise I have been wrestling with what to do with the two NCL cruises that I have booked this fall - one a 7 day cruise to Bermuda and then a 14 repo from NYC to NOLA - they were booked as Plan B when it didn't look like I would get on the South American cruise - while I decided some time ago to cancel the repo - other than cruising with some people who I have met through Cruise Critic I have been to all the ports more than once - I haven't been to Bermuda so still wanted to go there - well I hummed and I hawed - something I am quite good at - it was also complicated by the fact that I have a hotel booked through Hotwire for two nights in NYC that can't be canceled - I finally decided today to officially cancel both of those cruises - I have a friend in NYC who is a travel agent - gonna see if she can get someone to take over the hotel booking - otherwise since it is long paid for I will just eat the cost.
I did however do some more bookings - have booked a 14 day B2B Boston to Quebec City and back to Boston and then 7 days on the same ship to Bermuda - I am on the Norwegian Dawn and in the same cabin for both legs.
I have a couple who I met on a cruise about 5 years ago who are also doing the 14 days - it will be nice to have someone to lean on if necessary - we will both also celebrate our birthdays on the first leg of the cruise.
Since I don't fly anymore this will allow me to visit the four Maritime Canadian provinces for the first time and return to Quebec City for the first time since the 1967 Expo in Montreal.
Now that I have that challenge taken care of it is full speed ahead on the South American cruise planning.
Cheers
I did however do some more bookings - have booked a 14 day B2B Boston to Quebec City and back to Boston and then 7 days on the same ship to Bermuda - I am on the Norwegian Dawn and in the same cabin for both legs.
I have a couple who I met on a cruise about 5 years ago who are also doing the 14 days - it will be nice to have someone to lean on if necessary - we will both also celebrate our birthdays on the first leg of the cruise.
Since I don't fly anymore this will allow me to visit the four Maritime Canadian provinces for the first time and return to Quebec City for the first time since the 1967 Expo in Montreal.
Now that I have that challenge taken care of it is full speed ahead on the South American cruise planning.
Cheers
Tuesday, May 8, 2012
Some facts and figures about this cruise
As I am getting over a cold and staying indoors despite the sunny weather outside thought it might be a good idea to supply some facts about this cruise.
I have already stated that it is basically a three part cruise with Buenos Aires and Santiago as embarkation/disembarkation points as well.
In the full 49 days there will be 22 port calls - not including Fort Lauderdale and San Francisco - and two days where there will be for a lack of a better word special events cruising - that will be around Cape Horn and the Amalia glacier.
By my count excluding the United States I will visit 14 countries - okay I know the Virgin Islands are a US possession and that not everyone agrees that the Falklands are a separate country but that is how the view the ports that I will visit.
There are six ports that I visited at least twice before - St Thomas, Barbados, Antigua, Puntarenas, Acapulco and Cabo San Lucas.
The most sea days in a row is four - from the time I leave Trinidad to I get to Fortaleza, Brazil.
The most straight ports days is four - near the start when St. Thomas, Antigua, Barbados and Trinidad are visited on consecutive days.
I have two over night stays in Rio and Lima - the Rio stay coincides with the 2013 Carnaval so that should be a wild time.
I have four tender ports - Falklands, Punta Arenas, Chile, San Juan Del Sur, Nicaragua and Cabo.
In those ports - except for Cabo - I will likely do ships excursions as I don't have any early off tender privileges with Princess.
So far I have booked three tours offered by some of the cruise critics cruisers on our roll call - they are in Fortaleza, Brazil, Ushuaia, Argentina and Manta, Ecuador - which is the gateway to Quito but to long for just a one day visit.
Over the next little while I will start to share with you my plans, thoughts, concerns about the various ports that I will be visiting.
Cheers until next time.
I have already stated that it is basically a three part cruise with Buenos Aires and Santiago as embarkation/disembarkation points as well.
In the full 49 days there will be 22 port calls - not including Fort Lauderdale and San Francisco - and two days where there will be for a lack of a better word special events cruising - that will be around Cape Horn and the Amalia glacier.
By my count excluding the United States I will visit 14 countries - okay I know the Virgin Islands are a US possession and that not everyone agrees that the Falklands are a separate country but that is how the view the ports that I will visit.
There are six ports that I visited at least twice before - St Thomas, Barbados, Antigua, Puntarenas, Acapulco and Cabo San Lucas.
The most sea days in a row is four - from the time I leave Trinidad to I get to Fortaleza, Brazil.
The most straight ports days is four - near the start when St. Thomas, Antigua, Barbados and Trinidad are visited on consecutive days.
I have two over night stays in Rio and Lima - the Rio stay coincides with the 2013 Carnaval so that should be a wild time.
I have four tender ports - Falklands, Punta Arenas, Chile, San Juan Del Sur, Nicaragua and Cabo.
In those ports - except for Cabo - I will likely do ships excursions as I don't have any early off tender privileges with Princess.
So far I have booked three tours offered by some of the cruise critics cruisers on our roll call - they are in Fortaleza, Brazil, Ushuaia, Argentina and Manta, Ecuador - which is the gateway to Quito but to long for just a one day visit.
Over the next little while I will start to share with you my plans, thoughts, concerns about the various ports that I will be visiting.
Cheers until next time.
Friday, May 4, 2012
The story of why I created this blog
Where to start - well I guess firstly since I don't fly anymore - more than thirty-five years since my last plane ride - I need to get to different travel destinations - you can drive, you can take a train or you can take a boat - since my first cruise back in 2000 and mostly since retirement in 2006 I have taken to cruising - Alaska, Panama Canal twice, Mexican Riviera, Caribbean - some 16 in all and counting.
On area that has always been on my bucket list or for us old timers - to do list - was South America but there was always a problem - I could get down there by cruise ship but very few came back to a North American port that is until I saw a cruise article about a trip that circumnavigates South America being offered by Princess cruises - so I checked it out - 49 days starting in Fort Lauderdale and ending in San Francisco - good I thought - I can get to both ports by Amtrak - so I checked out the Princess web site and hummed and hawed at the price etc but finally decided to bite the bullet and book it.
This cruise has three parts to it - Fort Lauderdale to Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires to Santiago, Santiago to San Francisco - so it was sold as one long one - 49 days - or in three parts - but there was a problem for me - the first leg was sold out - you see this cruise is timed to be in Rio at Carnaval time - so I am wait listed but through some good fortune from following a cruise forum I managed to get myself booked directly through Princess cruises website - then notified my travel agent and transferred the booking to her.
As I travel solo I usually have to paid a full second fare - that's the way most cruise lines do things - well because they were sold out - IE at capacity I got a break and only paid about a 60 % second fare.
So now I am booked on the dream cruise of a lifetime - there are lot's of things to do to keep me busy until I leave Fort Lauderdale on Jan 26, 2013 - hotel in Fort Lauderdale - booked - Amtrak to Fort Lauderdale and then home from San Francisco - a passport renewal and Brazilian Visa - looking at excursions in the various port etc. Figuring out how to pay for it in light of the performance of my retirement funds in the current market conditions.
I have existing blogs but decided to create this one just for this cruise so check for updates as I will be chronicling my thoughts from now until sail away and then at times throughout the cruise.
Cheers
On area that has always been on my bucket list or for us old timers - to do list - was South America but there was always a problem - I could get down there by cruise ship but very few came back to a North American port that is until I saw a cruise article about a trip that circumnavigates South America being offered by Princess cruises - so I checked it out - 49 days starting in Fort Lauderdale and ending in San Francisco - good I thought - I can get to both ports by Amtrak - so I checked out the Princess web site and hummed and hawed at the price etc but finally decided to bite the bullet and book it.
This cruise has three parts to it - Fort Lauderdale to Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires to Santiago, Santiago to San Francisco - so it was sold as one long one - 49 days - or in three parts - but there was a problem for me - the first leg was sold out - you see this cruise is timed to be in Rio at Carnaval time - so I am wait listed but through some good fortune from following a cruise forum I managed to get myself booked directly through Princess cruises website - then notified my travel agent and transferred the booking to her.
As I travel solo I usually have to paid a full second fare - that's the way most cruise lines do things - well because they were sold out - IE at capacity I got a break and only paid about a 60 % second fare.
So now I am booked on the dream cruise of a lifetime - there are lot's of things to do to keep me busy until I leave Fort Lauderdale on Jan 26, 2013 - hotel in Fort Lauderdale - booked - Amtrak to Fort Lauderdale and then home from San Francisco - a passport renewal and Brazilian Visa - looking at excursions in the various port etc. Figuring out how to pay for it in light of the performance of my retirement funds in the current market conditions.
I have existing blogs but decided to create this one just for this cruise so check for updates as I will be chronicling my thoughts from now until sail away and then at times throughout the cruise.
Cheers
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