Goodbye America

Monday 27th
A quiet sea day, disturbed by something going wrong down the corridor about 3.00 this morning. I think it was water again!  Wyn, Mark 1 & I attended the lecture "Designation Writing & Culture Series: Journalling your trip #1". Turned out to be the comedy of the day. This guy puts himself out as a travel expert, so we learned that you need a ringbound, lined, hardcovered book - preferably with musical notes on it and that pencils can break, so a ballpoint pen is preferable.  Plus so many other gems that I can't repeat them all.  I think he must work for a paper distribution company, as his further advice was to label a large envelope each day to contain anything collected that day,..... 

After that Wyn & I felt that we needed to walk it off, as did Vivian & Maureen.  We had lunch together before bridge as usual. Pleased to say that our coughs have pretty well gone and we are feeling almost 100%. The temperature today had been 32+, so quite pleasant.  Tomorrow they are predicting higher temperatures as well as humidity

Tuesday 28th
Sailed up the river to Charleston before sunrise. Our room service breakfast arrived early at 6.20, so we were all done and dusted before we tied up at 7.00. It is a little smelly and clearly the water is shallow.  The gulls and other birds love it when we use our thrusters as we come aside as we stir up the muddy bottom and their food source.  Also noted half a dozen small dolphin meandering around.  Our tour doesn't assemble until 8.10, so we are just sitting on the balcony watching the sun rise.  Yes, it has the feeling of a hot day coming up.

The tour was to Boone Hall Plantation & Gardens, which is one of the oldest plantations, although cotton is a thing of the past due to the bowl weevil, which wiped out the area many years ago.  They are actually growing peaches now!  The setting is magnificent and has been used in many period films & productions, but unfortunately the homestead is #4 built in the 1930s. The first burned down, the second destroyed by hurricane and the third just didn't suit the then new owner. 

The slave cabins and old cotton gin have been retained & the outer grounds are original.  We really enjoyed that part.  The tour of the homestead was really a waste of time as we only saw 3 rooms (one of which was in state of renovation) and given the age, it wasn't very exciting.  The upper 2 floors are where the owners live and was obviously off limits.

Following this we had a pretty substantial drive around Charleston and saw the old sector, with the traditional houses which have the front door to one side, opening onto a porch running the length of the house. I can only assume that this was because it always rains, allowing guests to drip dry outside first ☺☺ It certainly wasn't raining today, it is about 37 degrees and a bit sticky, although great sitting on the deck in the shade. 

We also went through the new and more wealthy areas and drove around the universities, one which is a military one with great facilities.  It was explained that Charleston is very much a place for young 18 to 22 year olds. I'd have to agree as we walked through town later.  Charleston is not what I expected, much better and certainly smaller.  The people are great and much of the infrastructure and buildings are also in good order, but there are areas which have stagnated and show signs of neglect.

It turns out that my earlier comments about shallow water etc. are sightly incorrect, as the Cooper River, which is the main one, is the deepest in all southern America and the Polaris Submarine base is a further 9 or 10 miles up the river.  There are also 2 major shipping ports on the river and their main exports are planes, huge jet engines and BMWs.  We were told by our guide (tongue in cheek) that that translates to "Bubba Makes Wheels"!! Seriously though there were literally 1,000+ BMWs on the wharf to be exported to Amsterdam, from where we will buy them as European vehicles. It is a global economy after all.

Back to our tour.  We jumped off in town rather than going back to the ship and found town to be very small, predominantly strip shopping.  Having said that, major brand shopping though.  Found a little cafe off the main street and had a lovely coffee and quiche for $17, which we thought was good value and tasty. The place was empty when we arrived but filled up with Uni people and locals while we sat in the window.  He was South African and the girl was American, but didn't have a southern drawl. We had a good chat and once again, extremely friendly people.

After a further walk through town (it's only about 1 km), appreciating the shops with doors open and air con flowing out, we headed back to the ship via the markets, which cover the equivalent of a couple of blocks.  Had an iced coffee on board and retired to the cabin to update this blog.

We sailed away on time at 5.00 and were escorted all the way out by US Coastguard.  They don't fool around, there is one of the crew manning the forward machine gun all the time and as we sailed out through the channel there were 3 or 4 times when they sped ahead to cut off pleasure craft who may have been a little too close.  I think that if we were in Kawau Bay and someone with a machine gun came up to us, I'd be off to. The only time I had a doubt about them was when they moved off a boat where 2 bikini clad girls were fishing - ummm a bit too close ☺😊😀😁😂

So here we are on our way to Curacao in 4 days.  The Caribbean is looking good and the Captain has reported that on our way we will be travelling through the Bermuda Triangle, so if there are no further posts to this blog..............

New York New York

Thursday 23rd
Onwards we go - & yet another sea day. Thankfully the sea have calmed a lot from last night, when we were back to the rock & roll.  The sun has shone most of the day and importantly it is quite warm -24 degrees.  Accordingly there was no excuse for not doing our mile around the deck.  Apart from that it was pretty well groundhog day (again).

We eventually got some confirmation of our arrival in New York tomorrow.  We should tie up at Manhattan about 7.00 pm, which will give us some great views coming in.  Between berthing and 11.00pm we all have to disembark for immigration processing, but the rub is that no one is allowed back on board until everyone (including crew) has been processed.  It could be a long night!!  The very good side of this is that we are completely free on Saturday and Sunday to do our own thing.

Tonight our table farewelled our assistant waiter, Yesica, from Peru.  We've had her all the way from Sydney and she has been great.  No idea who we will get as her replacement, nor whether Ronie, our current waiter will continue ex New York. There is so much politics involved with staff at all levels that thankfully we don't need to know about. We had previously planned the farewell for tomorrow, but it is open sitting due to our early arrival, so tonight is probably the last time we will see her.

Friday 24th
The clocks went back again and we woke at 6.30 to a glorious morning. Vivian has early bridge, but we managed our mile around the deck before breakfast.  A very pleasant way to start the day - which promises to be a long one with our arrival in New York this evening.  A smooth sea and by lunch time we could see Long Island in the distance.  The US have some strange procedures before we enter their coastal waters and the ship had to stop, go into reverse, turn around etc.  We obviously passed and started to enter the harbour/river/whatever around 4.30.

We went up to our "secret" deck, forward deck 10 along with 100 others and had a magnificent view as we sailed up for about 2 hours. With the afternoon sun shining on New York it was superb.  Tied up at Pier 90 at 7.00 and went of to dinner with Maureen & Wyn.  For those who know New York, Pier 90 is at at end of W 50th (more later)  I also see that it was just off here that the US Airways plane crash landed a few years ago.  We are also adjoining the USS Intrepid, which is now a museum containing amongst other things a Concord and a Space Shuttle!

Back to dinner, which we finished in good time and took off to the Vista Lounge for our departure tickets.  We were Group 12 (groups of 75) and they soon called Group 9, so was about 3/4 hour wait for our turn.  This was the end of the good luck as we disembarked into a shed with about 300 ahead of us and a sign saying "Welcome to US". An hour later we made the head of the queue and got finger printed, photoed etc. by a surprisingly friendly Officer, who said " Welcome back", addressing us by our first names.  Side comment, the ship had continually said that we needed our ESTAs printed, despite the fact that the approval says there is no need to print these as they are an electronic approval.  We didn't (as I had inadvertently thrown them out) and sure enough no request or comment!!!? 

Now you will recall that no one is allowed back on the ship until everyone has been processed, so we decided to walk into Times Square.  Just straight up W 50 from 12th to 7th and turn right said the helpful bloke in the terminal - an easy 30 minute walk.  Actually it was an easy walk up, although the environment at night is far from ideal and poorly lit.  Turned into Broadway before 7th, so headed down that way.  Boy, we have lived a sheltered life recently!!  The crowds were undescribable and it went on and on and on and ......  Apart from the number people there were street performers, lots of dress up film characters, a couple of undressed girls wearing just body paint in in patriotic American colours and even mechanical diggers in the centre of Times Square (I think the diggers got more photos than the girls! - think about it ☺☺☺) 

We went along as far as 45th and checked out the theatre for tomorrow.  Crossed the road and retraced our steps (sort of) along 7th and came across the M&Ms shop - 3 floors of M&M merchandise.  Wyn had been looking for this shop, so he shopped!!!  What we couldn't believe was the number of people and particularly babies out at 11.30 pm.

So we thought it was safe to walk back to the ship. I must add here that although we were in a less touristy part of town, we found the locals polite and actually felt safe. Sorry to say that I wouldn't be happy doing the same thing in the backstreets of downtown Auckland.  Anyway, just 20 minutes back to the terminal and apparently they have JUST cleared the ship for reboarding 😤😤 So we sat for 5 odd minutes and our number, the same one we disembarked with, is called and we eventually get on board just on midnight - exhausted.  I believe that the backlog was cleared by 1.30 am.  The really bright thing however is that WE ARE FREE to do our own thing tomorrow.  Yeah.  Hate to think what would have happened if we'd arrived on schedule on Saturday morning.

Saturday 25th
OK short sleep, breakfast in MDR and off with Maureen & Wyn at 9.00.  The Big Bus Co had touts in the terminal and we bought a 2 day pass, reduced by 10% just for us. The beauty is that they are running a shuttle to Times Square & back throughout our stay.  So off we went on the Blue line as far as Central Park.  Walked back along the park a bit as Vivian wanted to "do" a horse and cart ride.  Long story short, we were sold a 15 minute ride plus a 1 hour "rickshaw" through the park for $62.50 each - I am sure that it was not the bargain of the day, but got us a good time.  Certainly Central Park is a great asset for the people and it is well used. 

The downer of the day was that the promised 20 minute Hoho schedule did not happen and we had a wait of almost 45 minutes before it turned up (sound familiar - see Lisbon!).  Anyway we eventually got to Times Square and by now we felt like locals as we headed to the Minskoff Theatre, 45th street.  A bit of a problem with getting lunch and we had the most expensive sandwiches only half eaten as it too took them about 45 minutes to make!!!   Amazing.

The Lion King was also amazing, but in a nice way.  The seats we had booked were just perfect, right in the middle in the 2nd row of the Mezzanine.  We saw everything, as there was quite a bit of activity around the audience section, including the musicians.  I see the show opened on 13 November 1997 and still there were about 2,000 in our theatre after all this time.  Incredible the production abilities of Broadway. It would take too much time to explain, but we were all happy again. The weather by the way was absolutely perfect.

Following the show we went back along 7th to pick up the Hoho (similar problem again) and did the blue route, which is all of uptown, including Harlem and the university area.  Great history and some amazing buildings/wealth. For example there was one apartment building where you had to have $100 million to buy one floor - don't think that we'll be relocating any time soon!! Of course this is where a view over Central Park adds real value.  Oh visited the Strawberry Fields memorial to John Lennon on both this and our morning park ride.  The building where John was killed was undergoing maintenance, however Yoko still lives there with a view over the park.

By the time this 2 hour trip was over it was 7.30 and Wyn & Maureen decided to go back to the ship. We had a Night Tour included in our ticket and we were going to get our money's worth!!!!  Took one look at the queue and calculated we wouldn't get on until probably the 8.30 and very quickly joined our friends and were very happy to be "home".  We had dinner at 9.00ish and met our new waiter - a pity as Ronie was excellent and bonded well with our table😣.

Sunday 26th
It was going to be an early start but our bodies had other ideas.  Made the MDR at 8.30 and asked for a table for two as we were in a hurry.  No tables available, but the Head Waiter put on 2 extra waiters at our table and true to his word, we were off the ship by 9.00 fully fed & watered. Maureen & Wyn were not feeling up to another day around town, so just the two of us (sounds like a song I know). Off through the terminal building and the Hoho Red Route was just leaving full, so we got seats at the front for the next one which pulled out just before 9.30. Fortunately the traffic was not as bad on a Sunday morning and we had a pleasant drive Downtown, where we got off.

The intention was to do the separate Brooklyn trip, which only leaves on the top of the hour.  As it was about 10.15, we decided to walk to the 9/11 Memorial Park. I must admit that it was quite an emotional experience, particularly when viewing they water features which are established on the floor plates of each of the 2 towers, with water cascading all around and down and then further into the centre, which was probably the lift shafts.  I am not doing justice to it here.  We did not go to either the museum/visitors centre or the Oneworld Observatory, both of which had queues of several hundred (when we drove past later the queues had grown many times more).

Back to the Hoho stop to catch the Brooklyn tour.  It arrived within 5 minutes and left right on 11.00. Fascinating look at Brooklyn, which is the poor cousin area of New York.  Over the Manhattan Bridge, as the Brooklyn Bridge can't take a double decker bus, we got great views of Manhattan. The trip was 1.5 hours, both in Brooklyn & around Chinatown, Battery Park & lower Manhattan. 

We had planned to have a coffee at Starbucks across the road from the bus stop, but as there was a Downtown Hoho back to Times Square ready to leave, we took the safer option to get closer to home.  As a side issue, the ship sails at 4.30 and all aboard by 4.00.  The last shuttle leaves at 3.30, so we don't want to either miss it, or panic about missing it☺☺☺.

When we got back to Times Square we decided to have lunch before going back to the ship, so believe it or not we went to an Irish Pub just opposite the bus stop, The Playwright.  OK, we confirm that New York is not cheap and lunch came to $US 60 with taxes & tips, but it was delicious.  As an acknowledgement to New York I at least had a New Yorker sandwich!  The staff were actually Irish and one of the girls was impressed that we'd been to Cohb, as that is where she was from.  She also confirmed that when she was there recently her mother said that she had been there for the only 2 days of summer!?  Casually strolled across the street and caught our bus back to the ship.  The general comment we heard was that it is great to be home!  But we all enjoyed the experience and that is what this cruise is all about.

Princess doesn't want everyone to be too relaxed, so Emergency Drill at 4.15.  Off we went, lifejackets in hand once again, hopefully for the last time this trip. We actually pulled away around 5.00 and we were so amused to watch the tug holding us - there was a bloke on a rowing machine on the deck of the tug rowing his heart out.  I told Vivian that he was powering the tug - I think she believed me,.......for a minute.  So as we sailed away from a town of 8 or 9 million people, there was no one to wave us goodbye.  Sad eh?  Oh yes, we did wave our NZ flags, but to no avail.

Good views as we sailed down the river and looking forward to a sea day tomorrow before Charleston on Tuesday. Certainly if we ever came back to New York we have a much better understanding of the city and state and we leave with no regrets as we achieved everything we'd planned and more.

Big post today, as I wanted to cover all of New York.  Also a special Happy Birthday to our daughter, Fiona, whose birthday is the 27th, while it is still only the 26th here, sailing away..............

Halifax off the menu

Sunday 19th
Although it was sunny outside from some ridiculous hour (I assume) we didn't wake until 8ish and made do with a cup of tea. Skipped breakfast and had coffee and croissant on deck 5 before Vivian's bridge at 11.00 today, as they have wine tasting this afternoon in the venue.  Lunch was a "pub" lunch in MDR and then a rest.  All in all a quiet day.  The weather has been good, although once again the Captain warned of deteriorating conditions coming up - along with the possibility of icebergs. No kidding.

Monday 20th
Cruise Critic group lunch today,102 turned up, which was great.  Prior to that we had a late in-room breakfast ('cause we slept in!). Usual (in)activities on a quiet sea day.  The sea is calm but grey looking and the temperature is hovering around 10.  Seems funny that 2 weeks ago we were complaining about the heat. Ah well we are at least heading in the right direction. It is Ash's birthday today, so another opportunity to practice our singing skills tonight.

Tuesday 21st
Thankfully we got another hour's sleep today, which is just as well as we arranged to meet Maureen & Wyn for breakfast before the girls go off to Mah Jong at 9.00.  Wyn & I did 4x around the deck before retreating for a coffee/ hot chocolate.  While it was chilly outside it was bearable, about 13 degrees. 

The Captain announced that we have to skirt further from land due to icebergs ahead. To make matters worse, we are entering the emissions control area where we have to change our fuel to higher grade (but makes us go slower).  The end result is that our 8.00am arrival in Halifax on Thursday is now likely to be 4.00pm.  Hardly seems worth it for a couple of hours 😣  Still, this is what ocean cruising is all about.  I heard a number of people grumbling and saying that they'll never sail Princess again.  Good I say, we don't need people with that attitude!

On a positive note, there is apparently a lot of marine life about - dolphins, orca & whales, so we'll keep an eye out.  However as the sea temperature has dropped while the air temperature is relatively high, we are running into patches of fog from time to time, with the possibility of showers this evening. 

Tonight is yet another formal night, which initially caused me some concern as my dinner shirt is in the ship's laundry (long story, don't ask).  Registered my concern with Customer Services and when I went back to the cabin I was greeted by the deck supervisor who effectively told me that I wouldn't get it back today.  But, he can lend me one - turns out they have about 100 shirts, shoes, trousers etc!  Yeah, Murray will go to the ball!!! - well at least the Captain's Cocktail Party.

Had a pizza for lunch as we weren't very hungry and then bridge as usual.  Over the afternoon the weather had deteriorated as expected and that darned foghorn is back!  We skipped the cocktail party but went down about 7.35 and it was pretty well what we expected. However on the way we were captured by the ship's photographer and have another set of posed photos to look at tomorrow - plus the chance to win one.  Oh joy, we gain yet another hour tonight, so no rush in the morning.

Wednesday 22nd
The foghorn played it's familiar tune all night and when we woke up we could see why.  Actually that is incorrect as we couldn't see a thing, barely made out the sea below our cabin on deck 10. Probably the heaviest fog I've seen.  However we are still powering along at just on 20kts. Our course has changed and we have sailed well down below Newfoundland and over the last 3 or 4 hours have taken a more westerly heading towards New York.  Yes, you read that right.  We appear to be skipping Halifax and heading straight to the Big Apple.  The course we are on seems to avoid the iceberg area and also lets us use the heavy oil for longer (& cheaper?).

The ship is exercising staff emergency procedures this morning, so pretty well everything will be closed from 9.45 to 11.00.  Ahhhhhh how are we going to survive without our morning coffee? 

Well the drill didn't happen, possibly because of the fog. The Captain has announced the obvious that we are not going to Halifax.  The good news is that we'll sail into New York on Friday evening, so we get a bit more time there.  We just hope that Homeland Security will process us on arrival, rather than making us wait. As we are now coming from a (more) foreign port, rather than Canada, they may be more picky.

While it is still a bit foggy & overcast, it is quite humid, with temperature about 20 degrees.  Apparently we can look forward to 28+ in New York.  We had morning coffee with Maureen & Wyn and a catch up lunch with Christine & Mark 2.  So tiring, perhaps a little nap after I post this and before dinner. Such a hard life at sea I say!!!

Turning around (heading for home)

Thursday 16th
We sailed up the Clyde early in the morning, so didn't see anything from the port side. We were all tied up at Greenock by 7.00 and were greeted by a lone piper and a Scottish figure dressed up in a Michelin Man type Scottish outfit!!  A very quick breakfast and off to assembly for our tour to Culzean Castle. 

Culzean (apparently the z is silent?)Castle is a relatively modern one, built by one of the remaining family of Kennedy's.  Effectively this was the home of  Vivian's great great great (not sure how many) uncle.  The original Kennedy Castle burned down in the 15th century and 2 of the 4 siblings went to Ireland, 2 remained in Scotland.  Vivian's grandfather eventually came to NZ, but he was not from the Culzean Castle family.  Just to confuse history, the Pollock's originated in the same general area, so we do have some connections - not to mention the Vikings!!!??

Enough of setting the scene.  We were a select group of just 21 in a 48 seater bus as we set off for the 50 odd mile drive south through Ayrshire, along the coast most of the way.  Our guide gave us a comprehensive overview of the area and the history. She was however obsessed with Robbie ("I prefer to call him Robert") Burns rather than the Kennedy's and other families of the area. 

On arrival we went through the castle first, which was a good idea, as other visitors soon started pouring in. The family who lived there were forced to hand over the extensive property to cover death duties, so is now part of the National Trust.  While the castle itself is large, the fittings etc are a bit more "Presbyterian".   The 3rd floor is run as a 4* hotel.

Moved on to the visitors building and had coffee & scone - not a highlight however. Finally we toured through the grounds, which are extensive, before rejoining the bus and back to Ayr for another hour or so.  Had a much better coffee & sandwich (Costa - located on the back of a bookshop!) and back to the ship in time for sailing. 

The day was a bit cloudy and although rain was threatened, it never eventuated, however it was certainly COLD.  Thank goodness for our Kathmandu coats.  The locals turned it on for sailaway, with pipe band, Michelin Man & flags including Australian and New Zealand. Sailing back down the Clyde was lovely, as we could see many of the places we had driven through during the day.  Captain has told us that there's a low over northern Ireland and that we can expect bumpy conditions tomorrow - thanks!!!!

Friday 17th
Vivian has got "the" cough 😣, so she had room service breakfast and a bit of a lie in. Moderate seas and that darned foghorn is back in service.  Joined Maureen & Wyn for coffee and a catch up and then lunch.  Vivian is back to bridge this afternoon, but  then she'll be straight back for a rest before dinner.  As promised, the ship is rocking and rolling along at about 19kts.

We hit Iceland (not literally) just after lunch tomorrow and we have an almost 9 hour tour - so we don't get back until 10.00pm!  Forgot to mention that the clocks went back another hour this morning, so a couple of big sleep ins.

Saturday 18th
Thankfully the sea was calm and a threat of sun when we woke this morning. We both had room service breakfast at 8.00 and wandered down for coffee about 10.30 with Maureen & Wyn.   The sky cleared as we approached Reykjavik and our first view of Iceland was promising, with a scattering of snow on the hills!  We decided to have a quick lunch at 11.30, as we had to be at our tour assembly point at 1.00.  Maureen & Wyn joined us on this trip and we had a great time.

So far so good.  We hung around until nearly 2.00 before we disembarked - apparently they had a problem with one of the gangways. I have to say that shambles prevailed, made worse by the port authorities not allowing coaches onto the wharf, so we had well over 1000 passengers either walking the 500 metres, or cramming into one of the two shuttles.  On a positive note, our bus was first off the rank and we headed off on our tour without further incident.

Iceland surprised me as it is predominantly low lying, apart from the " mountains", which we'd probably call hills. Without wishing to sound like an expert (which I am not) the type of volcanic eruptions must be different, as their hills are smoother & flatter and there are no dramatic peaks.  Even the famous one which erupted in 2010, doesn't really look like our idea of a volcano.  Also, all the land has been formed from lava flows over the years and is quite flat.  This is not to say that the landscape is not impressive, but just was not what we had visualised. The weather was surprisingly temperate and the sun shone most of the time.

It is a small country & sparcely populated outside of the main centre. They are very proud of their geothermal resources and we visited one of their power plants.  An interesting sideline however is that they reticulate hot water to all the houses etc in the main centre.  They must have great insulation, as they have the hot water reservoirs up on the hills, alongside the cold water ones! 

The geothermal region we also visited was minimal by NZ standards. A couple of bubbling puddles, no mud pools, a geyser which spouts up about 6 metres every 7 minutes. The other surprising thing was the complete lack of sulphur.  Must say however that our lunch at this resort was excellent - even if lunch was at 5.30.  Soup & salmon.  A couple of women at our table bought a small bottle of wine - $20.  The other issue generally was that they'd accept Euro's but gave change in local currency.  We didn't try.

The Golden Waterfall just down the road however was very impressive, with water cascading down 22, then 11 metres into a canyon.  Awesome!  But boy, was it cold! I reckon that it was probably 8 degrees before the wind factor reduced it by about the same amount☺ The clouds over the mountains had a distinct snowy look.  Took the pictures and retreated to the bus.

Our last port of call, about 9.00 by now, was the original seat of parliament, established in 913. There is nothing there, as parliament only met for 2 weeks every year and they only used temporary shelter.  Oh yes, they met in July, when it was warm - not tonight/this afternoon it wasn't.

The other interesting point is that the area where they met is on the junction of the American and Euro Asian tectonic plates. In this area the plates are moving apart at 2 cm per year!  So there is a large canyon, and one of the few places in the world where you can see the moving plates. A bit chilly to hang around, so back to the bus and back to the ship.  We are running late!

Unfortunately the shambles of earlier this afternoon was only a foretaste of what was to come. The buses all arrived back at the same time, so we would have had about 500 passengers, one shuttle bus, one gangway.   It took us half an hour to get on board. By now it was 11.00pm and a lot of unhappy people. I did suggest to the Cruise Director that perhaps rather than standing in the warmth of the ship welcoming everyone back, he should be out in the cold like the rest of us.  Ha ha

Ordered sandwich & tea from room service and they were remarkably quick, given the demand on their services.  The ship set sail just before 11.30 into a watery setting sun!  I see that sunrise Sunday is 3.27!  4 sea days ahead until we reach the Americas.  A great visit to our furthest away port and we are now heading back south (which will hopefully bring sunshine onto our balcony in the morning). And fortunately we get another hour, so we will be 13 hours behind NZ.

England & Ireland

Sunday 12th
Ah, this must be Southampton, as it is cold and overcast as we sail up to our berth just before 7.00.  We have plenty of time before breakfast and get ready to disembark around 8.30.  Unfortunately a passenger has had a "medical event" and one of the gangways is closed while dealing with this.  An ambulance was at the dockside and subsequently took the passenger to hospital.  When we were back onboard at the end of the day yet another ambulance was loading up a woman.  It is a reality of a cruise of this length and the age group, that we seem to have at least one ambulance evacuation at every port.

We got off the ship and through the shed in quick time.  It is incredible that a port like Southampton, with many hundreds of cruise ships a year uses a very basic terminal, whereas Auckland, which a short season feels the need to build a huge structure.  To be honest, all passengers want to do is either get on or off as soon as possible!!  5 minutes early we meet up with Linda, our almost neighbour living half the year in NZ/UK and she whisks us off to Portsmouth.

Unfortunately the threatened showers have arrived and although we have coats & umbrella on board, they were no use there!  Message to self, if on doubt, take coat etc.  However we had a lovely coffee to warm us up before we headed to the Mary Rose.  Without detailing the history, she sunk just one week short of 470 years ago and has only been located and raised (what remains) pretty recently. 

The history and remnants are remarkable as are the remains which are being specially dried out until 2017, which can be viewed through various windows and shows the size etc of the ship.

After this, it was time to view HMS Victory, Nelson's ship.  We are able to walk through this ship (apart from the upper structure) and the reality of ship life in those days was incredible.  I think I'll be walking with a permanent stoop for some time - certainly no headroom, or indeed space in this ship.  Fortunately the rain had now stopped and we decided that we'd seen enough for one day so headed back to the carpark.  The Naval Museum area is huge and I doubt that one could get all around in one day.

Linda suggested lunch at the nearby Gunwald Centre, which proved a little more difficult than anticipated.  The ring road system Portsmouth had us well away from our starting point before joining a queue probably a couple of miles long. Eventually we reached the shopping centre and were impressed by the intelligent parking system, which a) wouldn't allow access unless there was a free space b) indicated where and in which row a space was available c) lights above the parking spaces indicated the available one(s).  Probably many readers are totally familiar with such electronic wizardry, but not in Algies Bay - or even Warkworth !!!!!!

Had a delicious tapas lunch overlooking the water - it was still a bit drizzly so sat inside but could appreciate a lovely English summer day.  We wandered around looking at the shops, which were generally high end.  The layout is somewhat like Botany Downs, with the mall being external and separated by little waterways.  They even had some miniature motorboats, which looked really cute.  A further drive along the foreshore and back to the ship.

Onboard we caught up with Maureen & Wyn from Algies Bay and later proceeded to dinner, which was open sitting, as we didn't sail until 8.00.  Planned a quiet night, but Mark & Heather still wanted to party, so we called into the Razzmatazz Lounge, where the staff always outnumber passengers☺. Mark did 3 karaoke numbers, to rapturous applause from his wife, us, and one woman who called in right at the end.  Having said that in jest, Mark is a very good singer and we did enjoy his voice.  However too much excitement saw us heading up to sleep.  A quiet sea day tomorrow.

Monday 13th
Woke up to the sound of the ship's foghorn - we are heading towards Ireland, but the weather in the Channel is damp, slight seas, but very close fog.  I trust that with modern navigational aids that the foghorn is more for show, rather than necessity.  Met up with Maureen & Wyn and had breakfast together.  We also agreed to meet for morning coffee at Crooners and over the next hour or so introduced them to many of our friends & acquaintances before lunch.

Vivian had bridge, as I updated this blog, foghorn started again as we slowly head to Ireland at about 11kts.

Tuesday 14th
Cold and wet as we sail into Cobh. History lesson, SS Titanic sailed from here in 1912, on her fateful voyage to America, so the town is pretty much dedicated to Titanic and to the RMS Lusitania, which was sunk close by in WW1.  Cobh is a pretty town which reminds me a bit of Ketchikan in Alaska.  Sad that it is such a miserable and misty day.  We walked through town about 10.00 - goes without saying that it is pretty small, but had a magnificent RC Cathedral, with the biggest carillion in Ireland/UK. As there was a Mass being celebrated we couldn't get any photos, but memories are of magnificence of a cathedral built in relatively modern times.  The showers had all but gone by the time we descended, and we called into Kelly's Pub for a coffee and scone.  It was pretty full.

Just to take one step back (as I am want to do).  Cobh puts on a magnificent welcome for the World Cruise each year.  The town officially celebrates "Australia Day" with bunting and flags - Ireland, Australia & New Zealand!!  Message to John (Key that is) our flags are quite different and seeing them flying side by side in a foreign country brings a little lump. We were so proud, that we forgave the locals for omitting "NZ" from the day.  In a great stroke of marketing genius, the promotional board were selling flags - so we came all the way to Ireland to buy NZ flags, which we waved at sail away.  The weather incidentally improved throughout the day.

At 11.00 the carillon played the Australian National Anthem, and we were pleasantly surprised when this was immediately followed by the NZ Anthem (& lastly the Irish one).  They had special stalls, singer in the rotunda by the new promenade and really made a day of it.  Lastly, as we prepared to sail, the brass band assembled and played until we cast off and it seemed as though 90% of the town were either down on the wharf or on the roadways above.  In a sad way it made me think of a similar farewell 103 years ago.  Fortunately we are not going out into the Atlantic, but heading up the Irish Sea to Dublin.

It was Heather's birthday, so we got to practise our "Happy Birthday" song, with 3 more from the table before the end of the cruise!  It was also Harold's birthday (he's in the cabin next door and also plays bridge), so lots of singing.  We went to the show and this time it was a husband & wife acrobats/jugglers.  Hugely professional and amazing.  At the end of the performance the Cruise Director does his usual prattle about tomorrow and dropped a bombshell - we do not arrive in Dublin until 10.30.  Our itinerary has always had this as a 7.00 arrival and this is the only port where we have made arrangements for a private tour 😤  Oh well, that's out, so I sent an email to cancel and it's lucky that we hadn't paid anything, but just goes to show how fickle or difficult it can be to bypass Princess.

Wednesday 15th
A much brighter day as we sail into Dublin.  Although it is cold on deck, the sun is shining.  As our planned trip to Newgrange can't happen, we elect Plan B, which hadn't previously been thought about - Hoho bus. Not feeling like a 5 km hike from the port we were forced to use the Princess shuttle at a ridiculous cost.  Once again we were amongst the first to queue up for the shuttle. 

When we got off we were accosted by sales touts from 2 competing companies.  We took details from each and retreated for a coffee & scone to consider the pros & cons.  Elected (as we crossed the road to the buses) to go with the cheap one, mainly as it had a live guide!!

We had a great time and saw and heard so much about Dublin. Although we've been here before, we haven't explored all the area. The cost was only €10 each and the circuit was just over 2.5 hours.  The other plus of this tour was that it only had the 1 route and by the time we'd done that we were happy to grab a bite of lunch. The Blarney Inn is almost opposite to the bus stop, so we had soup, sandwiches & a drink, watching the world from our perch in the front window ☺ 

By about 3.30 we manage to grab a shuttle back to the ship straight away.  Tonight we sail for Greenock, Glasgow, where we have a ship's tour, but unfortunately an early start.  Vivian's cough is back, mine is improving, so we'll see how we cope with the colder weather over the next week or so.

Halfway point

Friday 10th
Halfway day!  I really can't believe that we've been onboard for 7 weeks.  Had a flick through the photos (only 1,200 so far) and already some places almost seem distant memories.  Last sea day of this sector and we "celebrated" by not waking up until 9.00.  No option but the Horizon for tea and roll - some idiot mislabelled the apricot jam & the marmalade. I strongly dislike the latter.  Cruise Critic group lunch was well attended and we are still meeting new people.  Apparently over 40 new CC members join us in Southampton.

Back to the cabin to get camera etc. for the Princess Pop Choir (featuring among others Mark).  When we got there we found that we'd missed his solo performance in the passenger talent quest - bother. The choir was good, although the music was a little too loud to enable us to appreciate the voices. 

After a quick rest, Vivian went to have afternoon tea with Anne (from Tauranga), her bridge partner.  Oh yes, no bridge today as it conflicted with the above.  Anyway, Vivian comes back to our stateroom (doesn't it sound real posh!) with a certificate and bottle of French Champagne (bubbly white from France anyway) as they had won the 2nd Sector bridge championship.  Well done you good things!!!!  We shared the bubbly with our dinner table, which is funny as everyone else had won/been gifted a bottle of something and we'd been lamenting last night that we never win in anything.

Sort of last night for the table tonight, as tomorrow is open sitting as we don't sail until 8.00. Also, Margie & Ash get off for 5 days, rejoining us in Scotland.  More importantly, Gregory (or his Polish name) leaves us at Southampton, so Margie did up a card, we put in money, and we sang "Now is the hour".  He was quite emotional!  Oh yes, of course it was the usual parade of the Bombe Alaska as well. 

A big night, topped off with the ventriloquist Kieran Powell again.  He was very good & he was telling us when we were talking to him before lunch that he is the youngest professional performer at just 19!!  Another 11.00 to bed, with alarm set for 6.00 tomorrow as we arrive in LeHavre.  Forgot to mention, the weather & sea have improved, but we are resigned to a much cooler climate from here on - just 19 degrees.

Saturday 11th
Woke up just ahead of the alarm as we were entering LeHavre. We are surprised how big the city is - feels really chilly outside.  Breakfast in MDR and off to our assembly point for our tour today. General announcement is made that it is mandatory to carry our passports, so back to the cabin to collect them from the safe. Note - as expected, no one asked to see them, probably just more officialdom.

Our trip this morning is to the little port town of Honfleur, which is effectively on the other side of the River Seine. There were 6 buses, so was pretty popular. We certainly weren't going to Paris, with 6 hours driving!  So back to our trip - it was great as initially we took the long way through scenic Normandy's small villages and thatched cottages. 

Our guide, although from Paris had a great sense of humour and was full of knowledge.  For a change we had gender reversal, with our guide being male and a female driver (she was excellent). We got a full history lesson of France and particularly the influence of Normandy.  As this area is my distant ancestral home (apparently the Pollock's came to Scotland from Normandy at the time of William the Conquerer).

Honfleur was originally the major shipping port, but due to silting of the Seine, the port of LeHarve was developed and Honfleur has a lesser role now, mainly as a fishing port.  The history however is fascinating and the old buildings around the port have been retained in most cases.  Not only was the history fascinating, but being Saturday, it was market day and this was a true country market to put Matakana to shame.  The locals and visitors came with their traditional baskets and loaded up with fresh local products ( not imported from other areas).  It was huge and very busy.

Unfortunately the weather was overcast and cold - luckily I put in a jumper.  Apparently it is a long standing joke that Normandy is always wet and cold!  Had a delicious coffee, bread roll & jam for €5. The locals patronised the cafe too, so must be good.  About this time the sun decided to appear and for the rest of the day it was a pleasant day and sunny, just to prove there exception to the above.

All too soon it was time to head back top the ship and this time we took the more direct route over the newer suspension bridge.  Unfortunately there was a hold up at the toll booths, which added an extra 30 minutes to our journey.  Apparently the traffic was heavier than usual as many people were taking advantage of French National Day (formerly known as Bastlle Day) on Tuesday, and taking Monday off to have a long weekend!

Back onboard, and not having to produce our passports, we had a quick pizza on deck 8 and blobbed out for the rest of the afternoon.  Open dinner during tonight, and our usual companions did not partake, so we dined on our own.  We were chatting with our Head Waiter, Jean Paulo, who got on in Lisbon.  He said that he remembered us and after a little while we established that it had been on the Royal Princess 2 years ago. Goodness knows how many thousands of passengers he must have seen since then, yet he could identify us - scary. 

We are on our way now across the channel and due in Southampton at 7.00 tomorrow. Good news however is that our clocks go back again tonight, so an extra hour sleep is in order.

Heading northwards

Tuesday 7th (cont)
It was just after 5.00pm that we entered the strait between Spain & Morocco, so we took the long trek all the way forward to the front of deck 10, which opens on to an area just below the bridge  giving a similar view to that on the bridge cam.  The sea was as smooth as glass and we were treated to literally hundreds of small dolphins all around us.  The Med was still shrouded in a haze, which looked like sand and shone golden in the sun.  Quite impressive watching all the ships appear out of the haze.

By about 6.00, Gibraltar appeared in the distance, but it was pretty well impossible to see much as we were heading directly into the setting sun.  Everyone was most intrigued by the towns/cities on the southern side of the strait.  It turns out that the first one is actually part of Spain.  So on the right hand side is Gibraltar (UK) and opposite is mainly Morocco, with a little bit of Spain.  We continued to enjoy the sights until just after 7.00 and time for dinner.

Wednesday 8th
Clearly we have moved away from the calm waters of the Med and we are back to a little movement. The Captain has just announced that due to our late departure from Barcelona, the adverse wind & currents, we will not now reach Lisbon until 1.00 pm.  But we will sail an hour later - mainly to accommodate the ship's tours!  It is a pity that we have such a short stay. The weather is certainly a lot cooler this morning, although is planned to warm up later.

Just before midday we entered Targus River, which is huge and runs down from the Spanish mountains. Had a magnificent view as we sailed up to the port, which is adjacent to the city of Lisbon, fortunately we are on the port side and could watch it all from the comfort of our balcony.   Happily the weather is warming up.  As we had a latish breakfast, we decided not to have lunch but to ready ourselves for disembarkation at 1.00.

Sure enough, we were straight off and found the Hoho bus waiting just outside the port.  We were fortunate to grab the 2 front seats upstairs under cover.  With such great seats we elected to stay on for the duration of the Red Route. It was a fascinating and very comprehensive trip and we ticked off all the attractions on Vivian's list.  With such limited time, we did not utilise the Hoho function - the route was just over 1.5 hours.  After completing the Red route however we did get off to have a late lunch in the main square.  This was delicious and included a famous Portuguese custard tart.  Yum! 

By this time it was after 3.30 and we wanted to do the Blue route as well. Buses supposedly came every 20/30 minutes.  Well we waited and waited for almost an hour until the bus appeared.  By now Vivian was becoming concerned about the time and worried that we wouldn't make it back to the ship in time.  Long story short, we did.  But Vivian did not enjoy the 2nd route and was sure that we'd miss the ship!

Back to the Blue route.  If we'd just had time for one route, the Red one was the best.  The Blue one covered a lot of the older and commercial area and the only part which interested us was the former Expo area, which is now a major business district. The buildings etc were terrific however.  All in all, we had a great time in Lisbon and is a place that we'd possibly like to visit again.  Open sitting for dinner so we turned up late and had a quick meal at an adjacent table, as others were at ours!!  Obviously no shows tonight.

Thursday 9th
Ouch, they stole that hour back overnight, so the end result was that we only just made it to breakfast, without the usual cup of tea.  To make things worse, we had to do UK immigration this morning.  We were scheduled for 10.50, but with bridge at 11.00 we cheated and lined up just after 10.00.  By the time we got to the end of the queue we were only 5 minutes ahead of time.  Seems a silly formality for those of us who are simply transiting. Other countries have just processed our passports without the need of us presenting ourselves. However this is just a warm up for USA 😤

A quick lunch and then a rest as it is formal night once again and we are having Christine & Mark for a drink beforehand.  It seemed like a good idea at the time, but as we enter the Bay of Biscay, the waves and swell are growing and we are back to our lurching from one side to another, so drinks could be interesting.  The temperature has also dropped to about 18, well below the 30 degrees yesterday. However the sun is shining and it gives me an opportunity to update this blog. 

I have been trying unsuccessfully to upload some photos over the last week, but get the same result each time "failed", also haven't had opportunity or time on land to try, hopefully LeHavre on Saturday may oblige.  Last sea day tomorrow before Southampton, where 700 passengers are (dis)embarking.  Looking forward to that, particularly as our friends Maureen & Wyn from Algies Bay are getting on.

Mediterranean memories

Sunday 5th
We cruised into Cannes early in the morning.  As this is a tender port, we also heard the tender boats being prepared just on 6.00am. Cannes looks lovely first thing in the morning, but everyone has been commenting on the haze/smog all the way through the Med.  We don't recall it the last couple of times we were here. 

Thankfully we are doing the town on our own and didn't have to be up at some ridiculous hour.  Breakfast back in the MDR and by the time we'd finished the main pack had gone ashore, so we didn't have to line up for tickets, just go downstairs to the bowels of the ship.  By the time we got ashore, a large Celebrity ship also turned up (with about 4,000 passengers, so we were pleased to be ahead of the masses.

Took Le Petite Train around town and up to the castle, so we had an excellent overview, although didn't come across any celebrities, apart from the aforementioned ship!  After the train we thought we'd walk back to the market,/cafe area but we got lost. Not actually lost, but it turns out we were well away from our intended destination. It was very hot, well into the 30s and although the beach looked inviting (& the sand too) we kept to the shady side and patronised a small cafe with a lovely coffee, juice & biscuit for only €3.20 each.  Considering this was seaside and in Cannes, we thought it was good value. 

So just after midday we took the tender back to the ship.  Lunch was light and taken in the Horizon before the maddening crowd returned. One of the other problems with the Horizon is that it is like a glass house and in the middle of the day any air-conditioning they may have simply doesn't work.  Quiet afternoon updating the previous chapter of the blog and later a coffee at Crooners.  This bar area is on deck 7 in the Atrium area and there is a 3 piece band playing down on deck 5 ,so you get a pleasant sound wafting up, but not too loud. 

The team were all back for dinner, which was great, although Heather is still far from well.  She opted out of the Ukulele band performance, so just Mark & us for a change.  It has been quite a while since we got to bed at 11.00!

Monday 6th
Although the Cruise Director announced last night that we'd be in Barcelona port by 7.00, at 6.30 it was still quite foggy and land was in the distance.  As it turned out, we actually docked at 8.00, which was our original scheduled time.  Quite funny that we were the 2nd ship in this morning.  The Norwegian Epic has been #2 behind us pretty well all week, but they must have gone to a closer port yesterday to beat us.  A bit later a Costa ship also berthed.

We have nothing planned as of course we were here with Lynne & Ivan a couple of years ago and have pretty well seen all the main attractions.  Once again, we feel sorry for those who have not been here before as we only have a short stop, sailing at 4.00.  It doesn't give enough time for people to enjoy the region.  Princess (& undoubtedly other cruise lines) are more interested in saving money or increasing itinerary, without really thinking of what the passengers may actually want.  Having said that, I commented to Vivian this morning that people booking the cruise had plenty of time to consider the itinerary and timings (Sundays, & Fridays in Muslim countries) before they made final payment.

Wandered off the ship just after 9.00 and took the ship's shuttle ($20 return for both of us) to near the Christopher Columbus Monument at the bottom of Las Ramblas.  It was a very pleasant, slow walk all the way up.  We called in to the fresh food market, which was amazing, particularly the butchery shops.  The vegetables also looked superb.  Somehow we missed this last time we were here.

Vivian wanted to look at a couple of regular shops and I am pleased to report that we came away empty handed.  About halfway back down Las Ramblas, we stopped for a coffee.  Elected to have an iced coffee, which was less than average, however the bill came to just over €14 - ouch.

So our return visit to Barcelona was a short affair, but very relaxing & enjoyable.  Yes, Las Ramblas has a bad reputation, but there were plenty of police around and although it was quite crowded towards the end of the morning, pretty well all were tourists walking through and not loitering.  Well this is pretty well the end of the Mediterranean, as we set sail shortly for Lisbon, where we arrive on Wednesday and then just 2 sea days until Le Havre & then Southampton on Sunday.  Quite a number of passengers are getting off there, do we'll have as lot of new faces from then on (including our friends Maureen & Wyn).  Southampton also marks pretty much the halfway point of the cruise. We really can't believe where the time has gone.

An update to the above, we actually didn't sail until 6.00 as the refuelling process took all day.  Both the Norwegian & Costa ships were still in port, so I suspect that they are just doing Med cruises.  All present at dinner and as a surprise, our Head Waiter, Nelson, who is getting off in Lisbon had an off-menu Chicken Curry.  Even Vivian enjoyed it.  I have my cough back, so we skipped the show, as did the others.

Tuesday 7th
The clocks went back another hour overnight, so a relaxing start to the day. Did our mile walk, coffee and chat and as we approach the straits between Spain & Morocco, a lot of ships around, including at least one warship. The temperature today is far more pleasant at about 28 and lower humidity.

Croatia and the best (& worst) of Italy

Wednesday 1 July - Dubrovnik
Goes without saying that it was yet another beautiful day.  What I omitted to mention in my last post was how calm the Adriatic was and more surprisingly, the number of oil/gas rigs there were on both the Italian & Croatian sides. 
Both Heather & Margie missed dinner last night and Vivian is still not the best, so could have been an "old boys night" at our table😊.  Mark is still not right and Ash was looking forward to retreating to his stateroom, so we did not have to feel at all guilty in having yet another early night.

We docked just on 9.00 and were off the ship pretty well straight away. Once again I shunned the ship's $20 each transfer and changed $US50 into local currency - Kuna. Just over 300k.  Established which local bus we needed to get into town, but then had a brainwave that we probably needed tickets before boarding, as I only had 100 & 200 notes plus a handful of coin.  This was the right thing to do and was achieved before the bus rolled in. It was 12k each to get to the Old City.  Being a local bus, we (& other tourists) experienced the lack of interest, courtesy or consideration by the locals.  I would have to say that they were the rudest people we've come across.  Let me make it clear that I am talking about the bus passengers, not people in general, who we found helpful and thoughtful.  Anyway it is only about 5km to the Old Town and we were dropped off just outside the wall.

We bravely headed off into the city, which even at that time was pretty full of tour groups (there were a couple of other cruise ships in, although we did beat the Princess organised tours!  Really quaint and interesting, but quite commercial in many ways.  The little side streets were interesting, particularly the ones heading up to the wall.  We visited the oldest pharmacy in Europe (still trading) and the museum with prescription books etc dating back to the 1500s.  There is evidence of the Serbian/Croatian war, particularly with one hole caused by a rocket on 16 December 1998 (?) framed along with the exit hole on the other side - also noted.  By now Vivian was looking for a loo and after quite an excursion, found one at the cost of 5k.  It was semi automated and it was only later that Vivian had the intricacies of modern, self cleaning loos explained!! - including the self sanitisation of the seat (doesn't pay to play with the buttons while seated).

We thought that we'd climb and circumnavigate the city wall, but that a coffee would be a good way to start.  Found a lovely sidewalk one up one of the alleyways. Good coffee at a reasonable price.  As we were leaving we told our waiter of our plans and he dissuaded us, in favour of the cable car to the top of the hill (400 metres high).  Turns out that he was right and we enjoyed the trip up and the extensive views.  Have to agree (& others later commented) that it is far too hot at midday to attempt the walk, which is between 1 & 2 hours to circumnavigate.  We congratulated ourselves and decided to have lunch at the same cafe as before, as a thank you. After putting aside the return bus fare, we had just enough for a beer & a pizza to share.  Was a magnificent pizza!

The return journey simply confirmed my earlier opinion of bus travellers in Dubrovnik.  So here we are, back in the cabin (stateroom), with Vivian having as rest.  She has started the antibiotics, so fingers crossed.  The problem is that passengers are going out and about with their coughs etc. reinfecting the recovering ones. While the theatres are the worst, I understand that bridge is highly infectious!!!!!!!  No bridge today however as it is a port day.  Tomorrow is a break, with a day at sea before we start the second part of our intensive Mediterranean cruise sector.

Thursday 2nd
Cloudless morning as we continue to sail down the east coast of Italy.  Had a latish  breakfast as Vivian was unwell last night - some dodgy pork? and I still have the cough.  So currently sitting in the sun,  with nothing to see but the endless sea. About lunchtime we entered the Messina Strait between Italy & Sicily, for which we needed a pilot for the short transit.  Did I mention that Captain Kent disembarked in Venice and we have a new Italian captain until Peru!  Entirely unrelated comment.

Later in the afternoon we sailed close by an active volcanic island, which is fully inhabited.  I think that they are relying on the fact that recent lava flows have been on the northern slopes and that they are safe on the other sides.  Captain advised that it is quite impressive to sail by at night, with the glowing lava.  Next port is Civitavecchia for our Rome visit.  Still only 5 at dinner as Margie is still unwell, but Heather made it back.

Friday 3rd
Rome again. Took the private train to St Peter's station (Vatican).  Quite an epic journey.   Took a bus from ship side for about a kilometre  to the train.  Boarded our carriage (knee to knee), went for about 10 minutes and ended up at the train station, just a short distance from the ship. Other people from the ship boarded and we got set to take off to Rome.   Well Italian rail system is erratic to say the least and as we were not part of the main train network,  we remained sidelined for 15 minutes.  Our guide (thankfully) lost his microphone system, so it was a fairly peaceful into Rome.

Once in Rome we were taken about 1 kilometre to St Peter's square, which was to be our meeting place. It was the Catholic souvenir shop, which our guide promoted along with HOHO buses, but did allow access to free toilets.  Once free of our guide, crossed over the square and got a taxi to Borghese Gallery, which is set in extensive grounds, well above the Spanish Steps.  Our entry time was 11.00, so we sat in the shade in the park area until due time.  With hindsight (always great), we should not have attempted to go here, and the experience was underwhelming (particularly after the Vatican & Duces Palace. On leaving, we elected to walk to the Spanish Steps - which of course were further away than the map showed.  It is now just after noon (mad dogs ...........). Steps were crowded, mainly with young people and "funny" smoke.  Consumed water and headed off for the Pantheon. 

Last time we were here with Lynne & Ivan we missed it as we stopped at the first church we saw. This time we did the extra 3 or 4 blocks and were rewarded with a magnificent sight.  It was awe inspiring and very busy.  We retreated back the way we had come and called into a little restaurant, where we once again had pizza & a cold drink.  With even more hindsight, we are closer to 70 than 17 and the temperature was up to 40 degrees in most places, we should have admitted defeat, but the Tiber was only a couple more blocks away, away... 

Cutting a long story short, we got back to the Vatican, which was packed as some pilgrimage was taking place, and we got back to the train and the ship.  Vivian suffered badly with the heat, dehydration and everything else.  She collapsed into bed.  We had a little room service and were asleep pretty well straight away.  Unfortunately we have an early start tomorrow!

Saturday 4th
Room service breakfast on the deck again and downstairs for assembly just after 7.00.  A side comment, I don't know how people on coach tours around the country survive doing this every day.  All very orderly and we were soon on our bus on the way to Cinque Terre. We grabbed good seats at the front of the bus and it was great to see the country side on the way up.  Our guide, Francesca, was normally a guide for Florence,  but there were about 250 of us in 5 buses, so needed extra staff.  I think that a world cruise is different to a normal Mediterranean cruise, as the majority have already done the major attractions and are looking for something a bit different.

We picked up a local guide when we reached Genoa and proceeded to the Cinque Terre. The bus dropped us off at Manarola and we walked down to the water..,as did everyone else from the other 4 buses.  Filled in time with an ice cream - Vivian had a cherry one with real cherries.  I had  ..........chocolate!  Anyway we shortly all boarded a boat to take us past the other villages to Monterosso (last village).
We were particularly surprised with Monterrosso, as it is more a resort village than a traditional one, like Manarola.  Anyway, we assembled in the heat (another day of 35+), got taken to the Church, then to the wine tasting.  The latter was most unspectacular, as it involved queuing up, get a glass of 2 sip size, move on, not allowed to sit here, leave.  I would have thought that the establishment offering this would have tried to encourage visitors to stay for lunch, but no.

So we moved on and I spied a pharmacy sign, the green cross they all use in Europe and apart from the time and date it also confirmed a midday temperature of 36. More interesting was the electronic sign listing all their services - including veterinarian.  Oh dear.  But a most delightful pharmacist ( no other staff) was able to help with cream for Vivian's heat rash & some extra strength cough medicine for me.  Back to air conditioned comfort of a restaurant and a great pizza again. Vivian ordered a latte and it came as components - exporesso, hot milk and hot water.  It was soo good that we both had another at the end of our meal.  Knowing how hot it was outside, we managed to stretch it out of almost 2 hours when we were due to gather again.

Our guide (remember she is new to this area) has us all gathered at the train platform, where we are going back 1 village to Vernazza. We were the first group assembled - - - on the wrong platform☺. A mad dash under the tracks and fortunately the train waited for us ( what did I say earlier?).  Off at the next stop and another shopping opportunity for almost an hour and back to the train station. This time we are on the right platform and we have just 2 stops until we all get off.

Sounds simple, but at the first stop, which was back at Monterosso, the doors to our carriage refuse to stay closed.  Much ado by train staff and of course the train won't go with doors open.  Eventually the doors are disabled and we are on our way.  However the 100 odd passengers in our carriage (it was a double decker) have to make our way into the next carriage and we got stuck by the auto closing internal doors.  It was all hilarious and much joking going on.

Ah, back to our bus and 1.5 hours to Livorno. More fun to be had on our way back to the motorway - the roads are pretty narrow with tight bends.  Well we are heading up in our big bus and cars are coming down when suddenly here we are!  The looks on the faces of the drivers and passengers was worth all the long day.  Needless to say, we all made it back in one piece and the day was probably the best excursion we've had this trip.  Although it was open sitting at dinner, we were the only ones and the Italian couple (actually they are Australian of some 60 years), who normally dine alone at an adjoining table sat with us. Pleased to say that Vivian is feeling much better today. A nice way to leave Italy, as tomorrow we are in France.

Petra (belated photos)

Here are some photos entering into Petra - the lost city

Onwards to Italy

Saturday 27th
Pre 6.00 am start, with room service breakfast as we sail into Santorini. As we visited a couple of years ago, we are just doing our own thing.  We have arranged to go ashore with Christine & Mark, so met up for our tender tickets.  The maritime union is very strong and we must use local boats (of varying size).  Once ashore we took the cable car up to the town and left Christine & Mark to check out the WiFi.  We wandered through familiar territory and beyond.  It was the beyond that found us on the "other" side of town, car rentals, car sales, machinery etc.  We did get some lovely views over the flats and the less popular seaside.

We made our way back up to town and found our "white shop" with the intention of buying another cotton shirt.  They had one, higher priced, pushy rude owner/salesman so no deal.  Just down was the cafe we used last time, so had a relaxing coffee & sandwich looking over the harbour before some more wandering.  Oh I bought another cotton shirt just down the road!

Met up with Christine & Mark for lunch, with a beautiful table overlooking the sea. Someone, not me, suggested that we walk down the hill to our tender boat. a) it was a long way b) it was hot c) donkeys/ mules/ horses have right of way.  It wasn't too bad until we got to the last couple of hundred metres and there was a herd going up, effectively trapping Vivian & Christine against the wall.  Mark & I were the trailblazers and we were OK. Don't know what happened to the ladies sense of humour ☺

Back on board ship we decided to skip the shows and at dinner found that Heather has succumbed to the "bot".  An early night seemed like a good idea.

Sunday 28th
Wasn't going to comment, but for completeness, our cellphone rang just before 3.00am with the news that Vivian's mother had died.  As such the day onboard was pretty subdued and it was lucky that it was as sea day.  However we had only infrequent cellphone coverage, so couldn't make further contact with our daughter, Fiona.  Heather is still sick and Mark was a little unsure of their plans for Venice tomorrow.

Monday 29th
We arrived in Venice about 1.30pm and soon disembarked, but there are huge distances to get out of the port and walking is the only way.  We've elected to do our own thing for our overnight stop here.  We declined the ship's water shuttle tickets (push marketing) and wandered down and bought return tickets to St Mark's at half the price.  I'd thought that we would have the good old Vaporetto, but no, for same price we had a luxury boat (they do airport transfers as well). 

Just 1 bridge to St Marks and found Doge's Palace easily, with no queue!! Had a fantastic visit and loved the history, paintings and the whole atmosphere.  The history of justice, ruling power, wealth, armoury, prison cells and of course the Bridge of Sigh's was quite overwhelming.  Afterwards we lost ourselves in the back streets - we must have got into the wrong area as all the shops were high end Gucci Versace etc.   Anyway, found a cafe/pizza place and got refreshed at a reasonable price, as opposed to the one just off St Marks, before heading back to the ship by shuttle boat again.

So now it's time for Vivian to be unwell.  She has gone straight to bed with panadols to try and sleep it off.  Later we get room service light meal and an early night yet again, the first time we've missed MDR dinner (but it was open sitting, do we aren't letting our friends down).

Tuesday 30th
Yet another glorious day in Venice and today we are heading back to "town" to the Murano Glass shop, where we bought a couple of necklaces last time. The thing is that this is on the other side of Venice, opposite the train station and just along from where we had stayed.  Still quite a walk out of the port to the People Mover - a driverless train.  Walked straight up to our shop and completed purchase in under 10 minutes. 

Decided to have a coffee along the Grand Canal before heading back to the ship.  As usual, I was striding ahead and found that I'd lost Vivian.  Turned around and she was talking to these 3 American girls.  They wanted to take a Gondola ride, but was too expensive for them, would we like to share?  What a great idea and we had a half hour ride along the Grand Canal and then more interestingly through a number of the back canals. 

The girls were from Michigan and were having a European OE before starting varsity in the Fall.  We had a great time and only €18 each - very reasonable.  One of the funnier things we saw on the Grand Canal was the Water Police using speed lasers to catch the boating speedsters.  It is also amazing how easily everything is transported around the place by waterway, particularly the narrow back alleys.

We got back to the ship with plenty of time to spare (sailing at 1.00) and Vivian has retreated back to bed, while I catch up on this blog.  A P&O ship - Oceana has just docked beside us and the Costa Classics is a bit further away - we are all related through our common ownership by Carnival Corp.  All much smaller ships than last time were here on the Royal.  It seems that the port authorities have now introduced their ban on larger ships, which currently also kept their crowds down a bit.

So it is just after 1.30 and we are now backing out before our scenic cruise out of Venice.  We've skipped lunch and will take in the sights from the balcony. Great views on our way out and then we had a late lunch at the dreaded Horizon (which was actually quite quite).  Caught up with Heather and Mark and neither are feeling the best.  However on a positive note, lovely evening as we sail towards Dubrovnik for tomorrow's excitement.