As our trip comes to an end

Here is Stan's photo blog of England and Iceland - he'll have one more with our daily evening wear selfies from the grand lobby staircase - watch for it :)

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B8bStWwJ2x3PTTV4cnBnLXFsZHc/view

Malta and Lisbon by Stan

We've been home almost three weeks but Stan is still working on photos. Here's his look at Malta and Lisbon.


https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B8bStWwJ2x3PcVQxbWx3cFoxRWc/view?usp=sharing

Istanbul by Stan

Here is Stan's view of Istanbul. We enjoyed this port stop.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B8bStWwJ2x3PX1VzaGRLTlNsX28/view?usp=sharing

Suez and Gallipoli

This is Stan's photo blog about Suez and Gallipoli.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B8bStWwJ2x3PcUFqNEEtaWlXN1E/view?usp=sharing

Lisbon

We were in Lisbon a little over a year ago, so it's somewhat familiar. Last time we walked up and down the hills in the old city but this time we were planning to take the "tourist" tram. We knew that we could get a day pass, but it took a bit to find the metro station and it only had machines with no information our ticket counter. It worked ok, but was a bit of a hassle. Having the pass did make using the public transit easier.

Our first experience with the tram was an "everyone for themself" situation -  no sense is queuing - just rush on. With Stan moving slowly with his walking stick, people just pushed past. He was about to give up since he couldn't stand on the tram without injuring himself when the tram driver made a teenager stand and gave Stan a seat. We didn't really know where we were going (and I think we should have actually been going the other direction), so just took two trams to the end, then wandered looking for the famous tarts. We had a nice cup of coffee, good Wi-Fi and shared a few bites of a cream filled tart. We had thought we'd take a tram back around, but for whatever reason it seemed like they just weren't coming anymore (and there was a long line at that point). We opted for the metro (also on the pass) and took it back to within a few blocks of the ship.

I think by this time, after 80 days on the ship, we were definitely shopped out and were fine just enjoying lunch in the Lido overlooking the skyline of Lisbon. We were late for dinner since we wanted to enjoy our final sailaway. It's a beautiful city to sail into and out of - a good way to end our voyage.

Malta

Of all the places we saw on this world cruise, Malta is one that I'd most like to spend more time in.  It was just a delightful place and so beautiful. We took the somewhat new elevator from the seaside level right up into downtown. Valletta is a city of hills, but they aren't terribly high. That being said, Stan's knee had not been happy since our two days of wandering Istanbul, so we tried to avoid aggravating it. We pretty much stayed on the upper level, only venturing down to a few spots. It's a city we'd like to explore, up and down the narrow streets and across the harbors or to other islands. It was a low key and nice day.

Istanbul

Once again, we enjoyed wandering Istanbul on our own. We had a full evening and following day, which is great, especially for a city within walking distance.

We had thought to go up the funicular "Tunel" to Tasmin square, but had heard that there would be activities related to the 100 Anniversary of the Armenian massacre. This is still very emotionally charged and we felt it would be prudent to stay away from the area. Instead, we crossed the Galeta bridge and walked along the waterfront as far as the historic railway station. This was (and still is) the terminus of the Orient Express from Paris. We actually saw the modern version in Verona and Venice and from a distance here in Istanbul a few years back, but hadn't gotten to the station itself - so that was our evening excursion. You can get tickets to Paris, the the special Orient Express runs very infrequently.

The next day we had a mission to find the Grand Bazaar itself, having been on the fringes last time. We started at the Spice Bazaar near the bridge (deciding to buy our Turkish Delight on our way back - another story - should be in Stan's photos when he gets that done). Then it's a continual uphill walk, but we got there (Stan's knee was not helped by this ports wanderings). It's pretty cool, but I don't think I was as impressed as I expected to be - maybe part of that was being 75 days into our 82 day voyage. We've been to markets in most every country we stopped at and while this was the largest it wasn't that much different. After wandering through, we stopped at a vendor outside and got some little last minute things for the kids.

Then it was off to the hippodrome so Stan could find the serpent column that Constantine took from Delphi (this was follow-up after our Greece trip in 2013). By then the throngs were out and the buses and people were everywhere. Apparently this was the first nice spring weekend, so the local were also out. The tulips were everywhere (we were told they originate here, not in Holland as we thought) and were beautiful.

We wander a block of the main street through the smaller boutique hotel areas - where we'd stay if we ever came on our own. We had thought to take a tram our taxi back, but just kept walking. Later we heard that traffic was terrible and others had trouble getting back to the ship. Since we were on for, that wasn't an issue for us.

One thing we did note is that the area between the port and the bridge is getting a facelift and should be a nice area to explore in the future. There are already a lot of small, inviting restaurants, but newer hotels are being built, too. Definitely up-and-coming.

Petra and Photo Blog by Stan

Petra was one of the places I've really wanted to see, but never expected to get to, so this was a real treat. We had concerns about the terrain and heat, but neither was a huge issue. The claims of long, difficult walking were very exaggerated (optional longer hikes would be much different, but not possible with the short visit.. Also, the warnings about the dangers of using the various transport modes were also exaggerated.

As Stan notes, we did have a private guide and he helped with advice. He arranged for a horse cart to ride back up the siq to the top. The cost is the same round trip or one way unless you book it at the bottom - then the price goes up. He reserved and prepaid for a specific cart and time for the driver to meet us at the treasury. This worked great as we had a guide on the way down who shared many things we would have missed, then we rode back up.  Admittedly, we went early and did not have a terribly hot day, which would make a huge difference. Also, we only rode up, which is not as fast (and I kept saying "slow" and he did a good job with that). There were others that passed us, but the really fast ones we saw were going down without passengers.

We were so glad we did not give in to the negative " "hype" given to us by the cruise company and also by "word of mouth" rumor. We had a wonderful day. Via Jordan Tours was a good company.

We are now off the ship and in Iceland for the last leg of our world trip. We are a bit behind on the blogs, so keep reading, even after we are home. It's been snowing, but we have hopes for sun by mid-day today.

Here is Stan's Petra photo blog

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B8bStWwJ2x3PT20wMVdCWXFtZnM/view?usp=sharing

UAE and Oman by Stan

Photo blog by Stan

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B8bStWwJ2x3PWUM5aUpGa0ktaXM/view?usp=sharing

FaceBook

https://docs.com/1LQV2

Dubai

We rather enjoyed our morning in Dubai. We chose to experience the older part, with the souks and more history. Early in the morning I was the only woman on the streets. The shops were beginning to open, but it was clearly a man's time of day. I avoided looking at the men and the was just one moment as we started down a dead end street that a man really glared at me. Gradually as we got toward clothing shops there more women were out and about - all covered in black from head to toe (but generally faces showing). The shops were full of beautiful dresses and even very elegantly decorated abayas. We only saw women in plain black, so wondered what occasions would warrant a very fancy outer covering.

We wandered through the famous gold soul as they were beginning to open the shops - lots and lots of fancy stuff, but we just looked, bought a couple of little souvenirs and went on. We walked through the spice souk and got a small amount of curry. I'm never sure if I'll be able to take stuff into the U.S., so don't get too much. Stan enjoyed visiting with the vendors as they enticed him to smell this and that. He took lots of pictures. As it started to get pretty warm, we found the small creek ferries and took one across to Bur Dubai, another old section of town. Wee had used U.S. dollars for a couple of things and gotten a bit of local currency to use on the ferry. We found the Dubai Museum, which has a full level of full-size exhibits of daily life in the area - it's quite well done.

We had thought we'd head to the mall where the ship's shuttle had dropped folks off (we'd opted to take a taxi much earlier than the shuttles). Since it was quite hot by now we managed to flag down a taxi, which was much less expensive than the taxi earlier (there's a fee at the port, but I guess they only have to pay that if they are in the taxi rank).

Abu Dhabi

Abu Dhabi is a very new city - mostly built since 1960. We saw the Heritage Village briefly - interesting glimpse of a few old buildings (moved here from other locations) and some workshops. We had a picture stop at the Emirates Palace Hotel and the newest royal palace under construction.

Then we went past many royal family residences (photos not allowed) and to the new mosque, which was the main sight we wanted to see - but I was not allowed into it (along with about 10 others). I had carefully worn my longest skirt but it wasn't totally opaque. I don't think of it as see-through at all, but the "guards" had total authority. They actually restricted us to the bus, but that's better than being locked off the bus (it's well air conditioned :). Hopefully Stan isn't too concerned since he may not know I'm not with him. I tried to put a wrap skirt around mine, but it still wasn't ok. A definite disappointment, but not the first time I couldn't go in someplace (other place was orthodox monastery on Lesvos Island, Greece - men only).

At least Stan takes wonderful pictures - I hope he takes lots so I can see it that way.

Our next spot is the one we didn't really care about, so it's been a bit of a disappointing day.

The ship gave us information about appropriate dress but it really wasn't quite specific enough, in my opinion, especially since they said they have cover-up outfits we could borrow if needed, but that option wasn't offered. I later heard from persons on other buses that it was the same situation, but apparently those who arrive individually did not have the same strict requirements.

Mumbai by Stan edit

Mumbai

Annual revenue in the slums is estimated at $ 6.5 million annually.

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Google Drive

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Vietnam by Karen

Vietnam has been interesting. Wild, crazy bike ride with Active Vietnam in Nha Trang, but really interesting. We first had to blindly follow our guide across the busy intersections, with no traffic controls or sense of any rhyme or reason to what was going on. I'd have to say it was quite a lot more riding on very chaotic and busy streets than I expected. however, it was quite fun to see the world around us. We'd have loved to stop at the markets, but there was really only time to ride and see the designated sights. We passed some  villages, but they were more like suburbs to Nha Trang. Riding a bit into the countryside was nice - rice fields, cattle here and there, etc. We basically rode up one side of the Cai River, then back the other side. Our tour was mostly historic and cultural in nature.

We had a nice lunch at a riverside restaurant which obviously sees more business at other times - not quite high summer season. It appears that quite a bit of their summer tourism is from Russia. We never really saw the modern side of the city but drove past the beaches.

Saigon was a whole different world - the combo of glitz and street sellers is very odd - more because the glitz is so far above what you'd expect here. We wandered on our own, mostly just taking pictures of the listed sights - the fancy hotels that have risen again since the war are quite impressive, as well as the huge new stylish skyscrapers and some of the pre-war buildings were interesting to see.

I think there would be much more worth seeing in this country, but it was good to have had at least a glimpse of Vietnam.

Shanghai - I'm a bit out of order

Our first glimpse of China was a huge commercial port. Out the other side of the ship, however, was the Yangtze River, with its huge traffic lanes. Ships of every kind and size going every which way all at once. Quite fun to watch, actually.

We took a shuttle from the ship to the Bund - a long promenade along a smaller river that cuts through Shanghai's downtown, with new Shanghai across the river. The Bund runs for a about a mile along the historic colonial structures - most are now corporate buildings but the Russian embassy continues in its historic building.

We wandered our way along, marveling at the new, modern Shanghai across the river, with its beautiful tower and modern skyscrapers. We were heading to the Yu Yuan gardens and bazaar and, as is usually the case, Stan's GPS took us along the back ways, in this case we walked past lots of small businesses - treadle sewing machines working on the sidewalk,  lace and button shops, bikes full of recyclable items. We spent a bit of time just dodging scooters carrying huge loads.

Eventually we found our way around the outside walks to the bazaar - wow - old Chinese architecture still overflows this small neighborhood. What was once the local covered market is now mostly for tourists. I wasn't planning to shop (or even stop at StarBucks :), but the buildings were great. We had to go into the center of the market (I think that's designed for maximum tourist flow - we passed closed doorways as we walked around the wall) to find the entrance to the gardens, which is a garden and grotto area designed in the Ming dynasty era. It's quite an interesting place, reminiscent to me of the smaller Japanese Tea Garden we had in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park when I was a child - lots of zigzag bridges over ponds full of big gold fish. It's still too early in the spring for cherry blossoms, but a few trees are starting to bloom. A few weeks from now, it will be gorgeous.

We didn't take very good advantage of our expensive visas, but after walking a fair bit, and dodging traffic on every street corner (and along the way as well), Stan's knee was tired, so after taking a few wedding shots, we headed back to the ship and tea. :).

We went upstairs for tea and as we were watching the river traffic, we realized that we were watching the river pilots being delivered to ship after ship - a non-stop process as the pilot boats go from ship to ship to drop them off. We'd learned a bit about ship pilots in a lecture earlier, so it was fun to watch the pilots climb the ladders up into those huge ships (cruise ships are easier to board since they actually have doors close to the water level). As we ate dinner, our ship backed out from its berth, made a 180 degree turn and made its way into the constant river flow, and we headed toward Hong Kong.

Shanghai is definitely a city worth spending more time exploring and since China gave us ten-year visas, maybe we'll get here again.
.

Thailand with Stan's blog

Our stop in Bangkok was much too short, which is my biggest complaint about this cruise as a whole - our 1 day port stops are often have less than 5 hours available. We took a transfer tour into Bangkok, which was fine but we had to be back at the bus by 2:00 pm, which meant taking a taxi at 1:00 pm to get through traffic back to the pickup spot. It was over 2 hours each way, so we really only had 3 hours in the city that was sightseeing (including the water taxi to the palace).

However, that said, Bangkok would be a city easily worth several days. We saw the royal palace (exterior only) and a couple of major temples - really fancy. Would have enjoyed China town, buy no time.

I was very tired and not feeling great when we got back to the port. Unfortunately, I missed the curb (actually hit the curb with my food and went splat!.) I thought I'd have massive road rash on my face, but mostly a good size cut and a black eye. Stan managed to get me back on the ship and into the medical center with a port wheelchair. They stitched me up and other than some bumps and bruises all over, I've done ok. Just glad I didn't have to be a medical disembarkation as we have seen a few times.

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Google Drive 

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Singapore

Singapore

Our day in Singapore was another wandering day. I was interested in seeing some of the buildings still there from the time of the British. We knew we could get there by metro (which was purported to be at the port but was actually at least 1 km walk each way. It was hot, but still an enjoyable day. We sat for a few minutes on the front verandah of Raffles Hotel and pretended we were on the "guest only" side, then found our way to check out the "long bar" but without the iconic "Singapore Sling". We checked out the old post office and the cricket club.

I had hoped to be able to do a few hours at the botanical gardens, but found that we couldn't get there by metro. Singapore would be one of the cities worth spending a few days should we be this way again.

We had arranged for a driver/guide in Kuala Lumpur and that worked quite well. Apparently there were some holiday activities, combined with normal family weekend trips to the air conditioned malls that caused unexpected traffic jams, so we had him turn around early to head back rather than fighting traffic and risking missing the ship. We saw most sights we wanted to see and also saw the famous towers from a distance, which was fine.

After these two big city back-to-back days in the heat was quite tiring and we were glad for the long sail to Mumbai.

I am glad to be seeing this glimpse of Asia, but the drive for taller and taller buildings in modern cities that does not necessarily represent the overall country (with the exception of Singapore) is not something I really understand.

Facebook 

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Google Drive 

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Shanghai - from Stan

FaceBook

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 Google Drive

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Vietnam - from Stan

Vietnam

FaceBook

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 Google Drive

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Hong Kong

We're arrived early evening right into the center of Hong Kong harbour. This world is vibrant, full of multi-national companies with huge signs atop the high rise buildings. Many had light shows on their port facing sides and a few with some laser lights during the evening.

We spent a couple of hours in Kowloon  on our first evening, since that's where we were docked. It's non-stop shopping, starting in a large mall that you have to walk through just to leave the terminal - not impressive for us, but we aren't really mall shoppers. We had hoped to take the tram to Victoria Peak that evening, but it was quite foggy, so we opted to wander a bit and then stroll along the port promenade.

The next day went across to Hong Kong and Stanley on the traditional Star Ferry. The toughest part is having correct change for the ferry token machine (it took a 10 HKD note and gave change but sometimes won't). Kind of funny to have a fairly antiquated system in the midst of this huge, modern city - the buses and trams also have old style fare collection devices. The bus to Stanley (bus 6) was $7.80 ($4:00 if you have ID for senior rate). Once at Stanley market, I requested coins for the buses and that was easy.

We loved the ride over the mountain to Stanley. In one way, it quickly got us away from the skyscrapers and into Terre covered hillsides, but then we found huge hillside resorts on the Repulse Bay side. Stanley market was pretty touristy, but had a few nice things we could buy to bring home. Walking along the old promenade was nice - so different from the bustle of downtown Hong Kong.

We had seen a few of the iconic trams from the bus, so decided we'd get off as soon as we saw the tracks on our way back, just to ride them a bit - kind of like using the different transport means in San Francisco.

We had met a couple from Hong Kong at breakfast, and they suggested a couple of "old" sights, so we took the tram to the base of the hill and climbed the steps up and up and up to see  the Man Mo temple - it's the oldest temple in Hong Kong and supports schools and hospitals in the area. As usual, the incense drove us out fairly quickly.

From there we went to an old style workaday restaurant, where we tried two dim sum options, having really no idea what we were eating, how to eat it, or how much of our few remaining funds it would use. We managed very clumsily to eat most of it with chopsticks, but went over our funds by about 50 cents, which we had to keep to get back on the ferry. The people around us seemed amused and Stan thinks someone behind us paid the difference (we did try to give them a US dollar, but they didn't want that).

We watched the sail-away from the lights of the Hong Kong skyline, with a few laser lights adding to the display. There is much more to see in Hong Kong, should we come this way again someday.

Stan's photo blogs - Hong Kong

Google Drive

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catching up with Stan's photoblogs - Japan and S. Korea

From Stan

Sending from Starbucks at the port in Hong Kong, ‘cuz ship internet has not been effective and we haven’t found internet access at  port stops in Busan or Shanghai (I’m sure it’s available, but our time was too limited to locate it). I’m backed up preparing reports—maybe I’ll never catch-up, but am gonna try. Here’s report #9 on Kobe, Japan—not our best port stop so far (due to a complex comedy of circumstances and weather) and perhaps the most difficult report to compose to be nice and see the positives and downplay negatives.

Definitely on the plus side:

We’ve avoided the worst of the cyclonic storms.

We weren’t in a museum in Tunisia
Kobe, Japan

World Voyage Report #9

https://docs.com/1KH2I

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B8bStWwJ2x3PaWh6eVVxbU5vcGM/view?usp=sharing

Busan, S Korea

World Voyage Report #10

https://docs.com/1KH2J

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B8bStWwJ2x3PSU9BdWVYbWJjaTA/view?usp=sharing

We are heavy into port stops for awhile now - busy, busy. In Saigon coffee shop - the Vietnamese really have caught the coffee craze - though I guess they have their own style.  We were mostly looking for air conditioning and a waiting place (cathedral will open in a bit, then back to the bus.

Busan, South Korea

We spent a nice day in Busan (Pusan), South Korea. Hazy, but sunny skies and temps in low 60s. We were happily on our own for the day. Had a relaxed morning and took a shuttle at 10:00 into downtown. There were a few sights Stan had marked on his GPS, so we used that to get around, as is our norm.

The Jagaichi fish market is well known and quite large - right in the center of downtown. Stan always enjoys taking pictures of these markets. Most tanks were teeming with live sea life and those with legs were continually trying to escape. An octopus that had gotten mostly out of its tank was casually lifted back into its tank by the shop owner.

After going up to the Sky Terrace viewpoint on the top floor, we wandered back through to the Gukje market area - very similar to many everyday merchandise street markets we have seen before - where you can buy anything and everything you might need. It's not so focused on tourist stuff which is fine with us, but I found a couple of things (and finally used my like bit of Yen that I hadn't spent in Japan). Yesterday was a Saturday, so there was a lot of local shopping going on - both in the street markets and also in more mainstream stores.

We headed toward the Yongdusan park escalators, but found a very large, old decorated building blocking our way. After finding our way around the block, we found it was a Buddhist temple, seeming to be related to lotus lanterns. We couldn't read the sign, but there was a poster of the Lotus Lantern Festival and there were lots of lanterns hanging inside. There were a number of Buddhas inside, so we removed our shoes and went inside so see things more closely.

We then wandered our way back around to find the escalators (up only) to the park, where Stan found magnolias and a few cherry blossoms. Then it was time to work our way down and down and down the many steps back to our shuttle. Over all we had a nice day wandering, once again, on our own.

Japan

Japan was, unfortunately, a disappointment for us. With the port change from Yokohama to Kobe (and cancellation of Nagasaki altogether) due weather concerns, we were unprepared for this port. We chose to take ship excursions both days, which also were much less than satisfactory. Weather also had a big part in that - excursions go rain or shine without any variation from pre-planned itineraries.

We did see the Kinkakuji Golden Pavilion and Kiyomizo  temple in Kyoto, but only for about 15 minutes each - out of a 6 1/2 hour tour. So, we essentially drove for 6 hours, mostly through industrial Japan and very unattractive freeways  with a few very quick glimpses of small historic buildings and Shinto temple entrances. Cunard's decisions to run these tours even though we were not able to see the sights within the timeframe was very frustrating.

Our second day was to Osaka, again very rainy, but we did actually see the two sites on the planned tour - through pouring rain. However, again, 3/4 of the time was just driving on the freeways through and over the ports of Kobe and Osaka.

The people who chose to just take the shuttle into downtown Kobe had the best experiences in this port, but it does not compare at all well to Yokohama or Nagasaki as a port stop. Unfortunately, these past two days did nothing to entice us to return to Japan (though we have been told again that it's a beautiful place to visit).

Most of today has been cool, with hazy skies - bouncy seas this morning but quite calm since then. We're supposed to go through a very narrow strait in about an hour, so we will go get mostly dressed for dinner (Madam Butterfly theme night and formal) and then go out on deck for part of the transit before dinner. I was up on deck 11 (sport deck) as the top mast above us appeared to barely miss the bottom of the bridge. After clearing, the captain blew the horn as if to say "whew, we made it" :)

To give Cunard its due, they were willing to cancel our South Korea excursion without penalty since we'd had two bad experiences in a row. We also later got a letter from the shoe excursion office that they were refunding 50% of the first tour's cost since it was almost dark when we arrived and closed within minutes after we entered. We had heard that they were giving a credit for to missing a port, but the front office says that is not being done. We'll see.

on the way to Japan

Stan's photo blog

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B8bStWwJ2x3PLXJLbGFzemloSDA/view?usp=sharing

We continue to take an unplanned northerly course across the western Pacific. Continuing tropical storms are impacting our cruise  (and others), but considering the devastation in the small island nation of Vanuatu, our disruptions (and bouncy seas) are minor inconveniences.

We were just told that we will not be able to dock in Yokohama due to unsafe weather and sea predictions. We'll go to Kobe instead (and skip Nagasaki altogether) and Cunard will jump through a bunch of hoops to get  our coming and going passengers to and from the ship and arrange tour options for the rest of us. I don't even know where Kobe is, other that having bullet train access to Yokohama and Tokyo. We'll look at options once we see what the tour office had to offer.

As it turns out, Kobe is relatively close to Kyoto (1 1/2 hours by coach), which is supposed to be a highlight of Japan - an ancient capital. Since there was no way to do extensive research while at sea, we are taking two separate ship tours - one to Kyoto and another the next day to Osaka (probably could have easily managed Osaka with research time and better mobility on Stan's part). This will make for a busy two days, but we figured it would give us a chance to see two different locations of cultural importance in Japan. Then there's a sea day before our tour in Busan, S Korea.

This morning there was an unexpected announcement from the Bridge that there was a volcano on our port side which was erupting. It was about 12 miles away, on the horizon. We could definitely see it (and the steam from fumerols below the sea around it) but the light and distance made it mostly fade into the atmosphere. After 5 days of seeing only ocean, it was an item of interest.

Today is a beautiful sea day, a bit cooler as we head to Japan, but we have hazy blue skies and a calm, following sea - nice for a change.

The morning show this morning shared two limericks that Stan had written as part of their St Patrick's Day observances. I'll post them here if I can. We had fun dressing in our bit of green and checking out others - it was a fun evening.

Stan's view - Brisbane and Yorkers knob (barrier reef) with pictures

Two options to see Stan's blog with pictures

Google Drive

Report # 6

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Report #7

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B8bStWwJ2x3PRVFkQk1xRFNoMk0/view?usp=sharing

FaceBook

Report #6

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Report #7

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Rabaul and sea days

Now we are in the midst of two sea days until our port of Rabaul. Yesterday was very gray and windy - high seas due to a cyclone somewhere out in the Coral sea. Lots of rocking back and forth all day, with a definite list due to the high winds off the port side. While it's a bit tricky walking, we aren't having issues with motion sickness, so that is a good thing.

We currently have several good insight speakers, so generally have 3 or 4 lectures to choose from each sea day, in addition to other available activities. Our reef pilot has done several talks about being a ship pilot, the reef and the areas around this part of the world. It's been good to have someone currently actively working in the area. He has also done live commentary in particularly scenic areas and narrow passages.

Due to the high seas, the dance-focused evening program (lots of fast steps ands awesome high lifts) was cancelled last night and was replaced by a vocalist that we hadn't enjoyed. Instead, we went to the Queens Room to watch some of the ballroom dancing and the beginning of the Ladies Night Ball.

Today is much calmer with some swells, but very foggy. We were able to see the shore as we sailed through the China Strait this morning, so we got a glimpse of the mainland of Papua New Guinea, some villages and a few canoe style boats. Rabaul is quite a ways further north on the north side of another large island, so we will arrive there in the morning.

Rabaul was a wander-around town for us. It's a very poor place, having once been a fairly large town. Several volcanic eruptions in the past 100 years (and ongoing) have destroyed much of the town. There's still an active community, but small and poor. Most people relocated to a town about 10 miles away. The people are quite friendly and speak at least some English  I wasn't feeling well overnight, so between my very low energy level and Stan's slow walking (plus heat and humidity) we only managed a few miles - basically to the open market and back. The hills around this harbor are beautifully green - with one black cone of the most active volcano.

Off on our longest sea-day stretch - 5 days to Japan.

Yorkeys Knob

Yorker's Knob is mostly a port gateway for Cairns and sights from there. For us it was the access to the Great Barrier Reef. Ever since our first experience snorkeling, I've wanted to see the Reef. It's not all that easy to get to, and our trip was 1 1/2 hours of choppy water just to get out there. We had a good experience seeing quite a lot of different colors and types of coral and lots of fish varieties. It was a large group on the ship's excursion (really the only viable option for us), but it was well managed, with a company that does these tours all the time. We didn't do the glass bottom boat or semi-submersible options, but chose to spend our time snorkeling, going out three different times - venturing to the far edge of this particular part of the reef. We did hear that these platforms are moved regularly to avoid over-use by tourists, and while there's always evidence of dead coral, there was plenty of live, beautiful coral and the many, many reef fish varieties. Stan saw some quite large fish, but I saw more medium sizes down to the tiny, minnow size.

While we had a good trip, the decision by Cunard to go all the way back to the marina rather than directly back to the ship was not in anyone's best interest. It meant we spent an extra 1 1/2 hours in the very rough seas just bobbing around the outer harbour to get to the marina, get off the catamaran, stand in line (adding a large group of 200-300 into the queue) just to get on the tender to go back out to the ship in such rough waters that the anchor wouldn't hold and ship had to continually maneuver to maintain safe transfers from the tenders. There seemed to be no reason to book the catamaran to pick up on the ship, but not return to the ship. The Reef excursion group seemed to be generally unhappy with that decision, which have a negative last impression of the excursion.We got back so late that there wasn't time to shower and change for dinner, so we missed the evening's entertainment (which we've heard was excellent)

Now we are into two sea days until our port of Rabaul.Today has been very grey and windy - high seas due to a cyclone somewhere out in the coral sea. Lots of rocking back and forth all day, with a definite list due to the high winds off the port side. While it's a bit tricky walking, we aren't having issues with motion sickness, so that is a good thing.

We currently have several good insight speakers, so generally have 3 or 4 lectures to choose from each sea day, in addition to other available activities. Our reef pilot has done several talks about being a ship pilot, the reef and the areas around this part of the world. It's been good to have someone currently actively working in the area. He has also done live commentary in particularly scenic areas and narrow passages.

Sydney and Brisbane

We've had a very enjoyable few days in Australia. We spent our first day in Sydney with Friends from our Mediterranean cruise in the fall of 2013. They drove down from Canberra to spend just a few hours with us - we felt very honored. We all took the ferry to Watson Bay and walked out to the lighthouse at South Head, then enjoyed sharing fish and chips from Doyle's Takeaway at the Beach. It was a beautiful sunny day.

On our second day in Sydney we headed out to Manly and rented a tandem to ride out to North Head. The day started a bit cloudy and misty but cleared and was a great riding day. We ended our ride by riding along Manly Beach before returning the bike and enjoying some free WiFi at the library.

We left Sydney at 9:00 pm, but with a very full moon (the moon has been lighting the sky all night the past several days). We enjoyed the very smooth sail out of Sydney Harbour and through the headlands. It was a beautiful evening.

After a day at sea, we arrived at the commercial port in Brisbane. It's a very long way from the city. We had decided to opt for the ship's tour to the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary, which had been recommended. We could have managed it independently, but this was much easier and with more history along the way.

We saw a wide variety of Australian animals, though the koalas are definitely the focus. We found a few awake, but they generally spend their lives sleeping - very cute. There was also a large, open enclosure with lots of kangaroos and wallabys. They were very close and wandered freely but they weren't hungry enough to come close to be fed. Another highlight was the platypus area. We've been to a natural platypus area in Tasmania, but they are rarely seen in the wild. The sanctuary has windows below waterline where we could watch a couple of them swimming - very fun. We also saw wombats (bigger than I expected) and a variety of pretty, native birds. This small sanctuary is focused entirely on Australian species, which is very nice for a quick visit to this world of unusual fauna.

New Zealand

We had a great two days in New Zealand. Having spent seven weeks here a few years back (5 weeks in a campervan followed by a two week cruise) we knew that it is a lovely country. We had been toured around Auckland by a young friend on our last visit, so this time around we took the ferry to Devonport and rented a bike. We enjoyed this small town so close to the city and the views from North Head very beautiful.

Then, as we were enjoying the park by the ferry terminal, we noticed a very nice library behind us and remembered having Wi-Fi access in libraries on our previous visit. We no sooner sat down with our computers to use their good wireless when it started raining heavily - a great spot to wait out a thunderstorm :).

Our second day in New Zealand was in the beautiful Bay of Islands. We were tendered to shore, right outside the. Waitaingi Treaty Grounds, where the first treaty between the British and the Maori was signed. It's an important part of New Zealand history. With a short port day, we did not have time to spend extensive time in the Treaty Grounds, but we're able to see their large historic canoes from a distance (we also watched a number of our shipmates as they learned to paddle these large double canoes in the river :).

After the tender trip, we continue with the shuttle down to town to take the ferry to Russell, which was the first British settlement and first New Zealand capital. It's a small, very attractive town with a number of historic colonial buildings. During our return on the ferry, were able to sit on the top deck and enjoy the views of the sail boats and small communities that dot the many islands in the area.

Overall, it was a really nice day to relax and just enjoy another part of beautiful New Zealand. After leaving the bay, we had to continue north for quite a long ways before heading west into the notorious Tasman Sea toward Australia.

See Stan's blog below.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B8bStWwJ2x3PZFlmcDNLR01CYUE/view?usp=sharing

Samoa and Tonga - by Stan

Stan had done a nice job on these pages - enjoy:-)

World Voyage Report #3 Samoas

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B8bStWwJ2x3Pcy15NnI5enVPZ2M/view?usp=sharing

World Voyage Report #4 Tonga

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B8bStWwJ2x3PX3ItaGExam1iU2M/view?usp=sharing

We've been enjoying our adventure - having several new friends leaving the ship here in Auckland :(.  I think the ship will have a different feel after more folks leave in Sydney. We'll see friends from a previous cruise in Sydney, so that will be fun.

Tonga and Onwards

Tuesday

We're in a cafe in Tonga - hoping the connection will work - about $ 3.00 USD per hour :).

Well, as it turned out,, that was a 'no - go'. We got our money back in Tongan currency but soon found that the other wireless places we found weren't working either, so I used our spare cash for a small doll for my doll case :)

We walked 5 miles today around Tonga. We walked quite a bit in both Pago Pago and Apia, Samoa, too. Very hot and humid. Today in Tonga is not quite so hot, but the rain showers are just increasing humidity levels, but not cooling off. I actually enjoyed our Tonga stop a bit more than either of the Samoas.

Stan did find a very nice carved walking stick today - should replace the cane that the medical center sold him.  We might need to attach at least one to the tandem we are renting on Friday :).

I have posted on the blog, but it's quick and rambling, and no pictures. We'll see if we have better luck in Auckland.

Wednesday (Tuesday to you :). This date change stuff will follow us until about India, when I think we're more like 12 hours difference (than mid US time).

Today and tomorrow at sea. Stan is reciting one of his poems for a Guest Talent Show this afternoon. I think he's pleased to have the opportunity, but is on meds for a very sore throat.

We had a good day in Tonga yesterday, even with him a bit under the weather - hopefully we can get past these issues (of course we'll have a whole new set of germs get on the ship when all these Kiwis and Aussies get off.). There has been quite a bit of upper respiratory stuff going around the ship.

We have a World Cruise Reception tonight - for those of us on- board at least 80 days. I wonder if they'll have another one with the new captain that gets on in Sydney.

Pago Pago and Stan's blogs

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B8bStWwJ2x3PdmtzOFVTNHZhZEU/view?usp=sharing

We had intended to just take the local buses along the way for a bit, bit there was a bus with the National Park Service so we decided to do that. We had been told that we couldn't take a bus there, which was actually false, but the guide did a good job and n we stopped several places along the way - quite a lot less stressful than the local bus would have been (wondering if another would come along or not :).

Nice breezes and some clouds helped mitigate the heat. Beautiful place. Still some evidence of the earthquake and tsunami in 2009, but much had been rebuilt. We wandered just a bit after the tour, but will wait for Apia in Western Samoa to do a little shopping.

Stan is trying to get document uploaded to add to this, but we obviously won't use our ship time again. For whatever reason, the process on his computer is extremely slow.

Hopefully I can post quickly.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B8bStWwJ2x3PdmtzOFVTNHZhZEU/view?usp=sharing

in the South Pacific

We've had several days of blue, blue ocean seas and a fair bit of blue sky with an occasional, brief rain squall. It keeps getting warmer and warmer (actually quite hot if you are in the sun for any length of time). We saw a couple of dolphins the other day, a flying fish, and a few sea birds, but otherwise the wildlife has been quite absent since our wonderful day in Maui. Haven't seen many ship's either - the Pacific is a really, really big place.

We are now officially in the South Pacific, having crossed the equator at 9:15 or so this morning. The "polliwogs" have been successfully initiated into the world of "shellbacks" - a sea faring tradition for one's first sea crossing (this is our second sea voyage crossing the equator - we will also cross the dateline again on Saturday, but I don't think there's a ceremony for that, though there is a poem that Stan enjoys sharing).

We also celebrated Shrove Tuesday with pancake races (and pancake eating). This is apparently the British "last hurrah" before Lent - seems like a much quieter observance that Mardi Gras.

In an odd way the ship has become much like the cottages we rent for a bit of time (minus the need to go grocery shopping :). Somewhat odd to realize it will be our home for a few months yet :).

Tonight is the Hawaiian ball, so probably lots of hula dancing in the ballroom. We've been enjoying the evening shows as well as the Insight lectures.

In some ways today had felt like a day of settling in. It seems like an odd thing since we've been on the ship for two weeks. It was the first day without a lot of things to do or see. We did go to the port talk on Bay of Islands, which is a new port for us -  in between laundry cycles - but didn't go to other talks.

This was our first foray into the "horrors" of the laundromat - while they were quite busy, everyone seem pleasant and recognized the need for patience. We decided to take our bag and start at deck eight and work our way down (our deck is the only one without a launderette). We only had to go down to deck six before we found a washer that was almost done and no one waiting, so we waited 10 minutes or so. It was a longer wait for a dryer but we (I.e. Stan) put stuff in, started a timer and went to the port talk. There is no room for extra persons, so, since he has a plan, I mostly leave him to it.

I hadn't tried the pool, so after lunch, I went for a quick dip - it was delightfully cool on a very hot pool deck. Very little sea motion, but right that there were waves in the pool - kind of fun. I had neglected to put sunscreen on before coming upstairs, so spent less that 15 minutes in the sun and lay in the shade to drip dry.

We have gotten into a bad habit of afternoon tea. With an unlimited supply of scones and clotted cream, it's hard to resist (at least I'm mostly climbing the stairs :).

Enroute to Samoa and Tonga

Beautiful partly cloudy day south of Hawaii. Quite warm in the sun, but perfect in the shade or when a cloud comes by.

Too much rich food caught up with me last night, so I had a very lazy morning. Stan risked life and limb to bring me coffee, smoothie and a cinnamon roll from the Lido. He's a bit handicapped with the walking cane that he's not really used to needing. His knee is significantly improved so hopefully by the weekend (we actually only get half a weekend - lose Saturday all together as we cross the international dateline) he won't need it except for stairs.

Yesterday was such an an amazing whale watch day that it seems really quiet today. Probably a good thing :)

Lahaina - Day 3 Hawaii

Today is our 3rd day in Hawaii. We were thinking we might do a whale watch trip here in Maui - Lahaina, but the tenders were delayed quite late due to the seas and decisions by the harbor master. I think the tours have gotten ashore by now (almost noon) but watching the tenders bob up and down in the bay is not enticing us to go ashore. We've seen lots of whales from the ship this morning - most not very close, but there's been lots of activity and Stan saw one breach. We received a new pair of binoculars from Cunard (one of our "world cruiser" perks :), which have been nice to have.

We've been to Lahaina on a previous trip, so have seen the historic town. It's a pretty day (as opposed to the downpourng rain yesterday) but we've come in out of the wind for awhile. Eventually we decided to go into town. We bobbed around for a bit in the tender, but eventually had an hour or so to wander around town. Way too early to start looking at souvenirs, so we got a shaved ice and Stan took flower pictures. We got back about 3:30 and spent a couple of hours watching whales again. We may have seen as many as 100 whales today - amazing antics.

Last night we had a nice Valentine's evening. I had a red sequined top and wore my ivory shawl from Sevilla, Spain, that went very nicely with Stan's white dinner jacket, red shirt and white tie. All the ladies were given a red rose as we entered the dining room for dinner and we had enjoyed afternoon tea and then dancing at the Valentine's Ball in the Queens room.

Stan continues to have some issues with his legs - some kind of inflammation, perhaps an allergic reaction, on both shins, but the doctor is not terribly concerned, so we are continuing on our westward  (actually more southerly for a bit toward New Zealand) trip around the world.

Honolulu

We were late into Honolulu, but had a nice afternoon yesterday with our friend, Kim (she lives here,, but we met on our Antarctic trip last year). Today we are just wandering but had some downpours, so we are drying out at Starbucks (and doing some internet catch up).

Stan's knee is doing better with the anti inflammatory meds and a walking cane from the medical center. The doctor didn't find anything drastic so hopefully a few days of elevators instead of stairs will help.

I hope to upload Stan's first report if he can get it uploaded. This will continue to be a work in progress.

If you are on Facebook you should be able to access this:


https://docs.com/1HRFJ


Hope this works


https://dochub.com/stanhill/O64gRN/1-world-cruise-voyage-begins

https://dochub.com/stanhill/O64gRN/1-world-cruise-voyage-begins

Slow trek across the seas and an injured knee

Beautifully smooth seas today, some clouds in the sky and still cool (not cold) outside. We will pass the halfway point to Hawaii today - we get reports on sea floor mountain formations - kind of interested but the tops are still way below us (like 1000 feet).

Ginger candy was helpful last evening. We went to the comedian show, but we were both falling asleep. I think the Bonine still causes some drowsiness. The show wasn't all that great. Just a bit too rocky to feel great, so we went to bed pretty early.

I'm having issues with a very tight shoulder muscle (probably either from my backpack or lifting the other cases). May have to see the Spa ladies or see if my friend, Kim, knows someone in Honolulu.

Nice breakfast table-mates today (quite talkative so I didn't need to be :) - but it seems like most everyone is only going as far as Sydney or Auckland.

A bit concerned about my data usage on my phone -  supposed to have unlimited data in general, but got a text from T-Mobile about potentially high data charges. Have everything shut down now, but Words with Friends is big data user. Will have to wait until Hawaii to spend time chasing that down.

Tonight is our first formal night, reception with the captain and Cunard Ball. There are definitely dancers on this ship, so we won't really try the ballroom, but we'll still dress for the occasion - black and white isn't too hard to pull off.  It was fun watching the dancers - we did a short turn on the dance floor as well. Those of you who know us know how infrequently we dance :)

The mid-day report from the captain indicates rough seas ahead later tonight and tomorrow :(.  Nice respite today, though.

Last night we got dressed early for the captain's reception then realized it was tonight instead. We decided to basically do formal for dinner (but I wore my masquerade/Elizabethan dress) and wore the masks for the ball and pictures. Did the parade around but then had to do a dance down the dance floor with a stranger - that was a challenge :-).

Today's seas are a bit more rolling, but not as bad as a few days ago (at least so far). Mostly you have to be careful not to bump into people as we all lurch down the hallways :)

We've been going to most of the lectures - yesterday there was a good history program about Japan in the years leading up to WWII. It gave more of the background of Japan in general and it's relationships with neighboring countries and where Pearl Harbor fit into their aspirations.

We've had two good lectures on the seas - yesterday explaining waves and today's program was on whales, which we hope to see in Hawaii.

We've also gone to the port lectures, which are a mix of general information and tour promotion. Not super interesting, but as we get to unknown ports, they should be more helpful.

I've gone to the needlework group a couple of times - making necklaces with ladder ribbon yarn. We're using them as lanyards for our room key cards, and will give some as gifts.

Apparently the captain is doing a bit of maneuvering to keep us in calmer seas, but it means late arrival into Honolulu, so then we're staying a whole extra day and making up time on the way to Samoa. While we have a bit of cloudiness and rolling seas today (Thursday), the air temperatures are nice (70s, I would think). We're sitting in comfy chairs on the pool deck under the upper deck. The water in the pool is crashing from end to end - much noisier than the ocean.

Stan has done something to his right knee, so he's moving very slowly. He's waiting to see the doctor now, too see about a knee brace or a cane-  we'll see.. Those of you who know us, know that we take somewhat active vacations, so this has potential to slow us quite a bit - we'll figure it out.

calmer seas - Day 3

Beautifully smooth seas today, some clouds in the sky and still cool (not cold) outside. We will pass the halfway point to Hawaii today - we get reports on sea floor mountain formations - kind of interested but the tops are still way below us (like 1000 feet).

Ginger candy was helpful last evening. We went to the comedian show, but we were both falling asleep. I think the Bonine still causes some drowsiness. The show wasn't all that great. Just a bit too rocky to feel great, so we went to bed pretty early.

I'm having issues with a very tight shoulder muscle (probably either from my backpack or lifting the other cases). May have to see the Spa ladies or see if my friend, Kim, knows someone in Honolulu.

Nice breakfast table mates today (quite talkative so I didn't need to be :) - but it seems like most everyone is only going as far as Sydney or Auckland.

A bit concerned about my data usage on my phone - supposed to have unlimited data in general, but got a text from T-Mobile about potentially high data charges. Have everything shut down now, but Words with Friends is big data user. Will have to wait until Hawaii to spend time chasing that down.

Tonight is our first formal night, reception with the captain and Cunard Ball. There are definitely dancers on this ship, so we won't really try the ballroom, but we'll still dress for the occasion - black and white isn't too hard to pull off.

The mid-day report from the captain indicates rough seas ahead later tonight and tomorrow :(.  Nice respite today, though.

Enjoyed afternoon tea while Stan napped. Quite nice.

On our way

Sunday - We had two couples at our table for dinner (and two empty chairs). They are both sailing from San Francisco to Sydney, so will leave us after a few weeks. Two are from S. Carolina and the other two are from New Zealand. They seem to be nice folks and fairly well traveled.

After dinner, it was time to sail, so we went to the bowles court high up in front to watch the sailing through the Golden Gate.  A truly iconic way to start a trip around the world for us. We watched for awhile and then the ship started to bounce and roll in the seas as the captain had predicted (a low pressure system will affect our travel for a few days).  We had pre-medicated and seem to be doing ok.

After a few pictures of the bridge we went to find a spot for a daily photo - we'll see how it works. We then watched a bit of ballroom dancing and checked out a couple of music venues before cahuhlling it a night.

The ship is lulling me to sleep with her rolling in the seas. Hope to sleep well. So far, a good start.

Monday - today has been rocking and rolling all day - not really choppy but big swells. We spent the day getting oriented with the ship, went to a couple of programs about Hawaii and to our Cruise Critic gathering to put names and faces together. Pretty casual gathering but that was just fine. Have met several folks from New Zealand. Flying to San Francisco and sailing back is apparently a popular thing. I think there will be a lot of people joining in Sydney. Kind of too bad - I really enjoy the Kiwis, and Aussies, too.

today is the day :-)

So, not sure if I'm excited or just plain nervous. Forecasting 95% chance of rain all day with wind gusts up to 65 MPH winds. At least we know she's there - great location :).

 We don't use taxis much, but even the 4 - 5 block walk with our bags doesn't sound wonderful. We'll head that way in a bit, after a nice afternoon and evening with family in Napa yesterday.

Off we go :)

San Francisco :)

Watching bridge cam as she sails into San Francisco. Brighter skies than I expected after the stormy weather we had yesterday and overnight.

We will be onboard tomorrow :)

The sea lions are active today at Pier 39.

Children's Itinerary Calendar

This is a simple thing - well, the process of uploading to Google Drive so I could link it took a bit of figuring out, but here it is.

I created this calendar for my grandchildren to use to follow our trip around the world. I printed copies for each of them and will leave the Cunard brochures with them as well. It's rather rough around the edges - the calendar is based on Excel but is NOT user friendly. For some reason, there are blank pages for January and June that I can't get rid of. I think it's kind of cute for the younger crowd.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0Bwkvur1zlw-VODlEeGYtVXNKMVE/view?usp=sharing


Let me know if you have any problems opening the document - once again it's a work-in-progress.

Ft Lauderdale webcams

This is a trial for using a Notepad app for this blog. I've been using yahoo offline, but thought I'd try this out. Using Photo Editor app to crop this screen shot

off the bow of the QE IN Ft Lauderdale seemed to work also.

This Notepad app seems to work well offline for cutting and pasting into blogger - better than the Office Suite Pro app. I will need to remember to do all editing offline, though, otherwise I'll use up my ship internet minutes really quickly.

I also like this Ft Lauderdale webcam picture

of the QE this morning (posted on the Cruise Critic Cunard forum "Live from the 2015 QE World Voyage).

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=45344117#post45344117

A number of persons will use this forum, so you'll get a wide view of life on the ship - especially good for those of you (many) who can't imagine spending this much time on a ship :)

Two weeks until we fly (this swipe type corrected to "flee", which might be accurate as we had another 20 degree day with 5 inches of snow yesterday) to California to join this voyage. Starting to seem real.

Queen Elizabeth has left New York harbor

We watched her back out from the pier in Manhattan - all dark and lights. Then watched as she slowly sailed away down the river to the Verrazano Narrows bridge, past the Statue of Liberty.

Approaching Manhattan

Foggy, icy day in NYC

MS Queen Elizabeth docked in Manhattan - Bridge Cam

reading blogs and (re)packing :)

It's been fun reading Scrapnana's daily blog, A Winter Crossing, and her daily account on CruiseCritic's Cunard page (just found that today). I have finally given up on the two large checked bags plan. I think we could have made it work, but I finally got to thinking how heavy our 50 pound bike cases are and thought maybe it would be easier to have 40 pound cases instead, which will also abide by the Cunard 20 kg limit, even if it means 3 bags (Southwest airlines allows 2 bags free for each of us). That will give some expansion for all the "stuff" we find along the way. Having toured by motorcycle for many years and more recently by bicycle, we're pretty good at only buying small souvenirs :).

Hoping to see (via webcam) the Queen in New York on Sunday :).

Sounds like the weather is continuing to impact the QE (hurricane force winds and 30 foot seas don't appeal to me) - late into NYC, a day late to Fort Lauderdale, skipping Nassau, Bahamas. Some are glad to have the extra time in NYC (staying an extra day) and another day onboard before FFL, but travel issues for getting back home. I'm thinking that maybe winter crossings would not be my thing :). Hoping for the best for our Pacific crossing next month, but will be well prepared with my variety of remedies :).

PDF files from Google drive

Please check this link. Let us know if it works.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B8bStWwJ2x3PMW16M0trbzBaZVk/view?usp=sharing

As I keep checking the QE bridge cam, we're taking care of little things here and there.

In the meantime, to allow Stan at least a little bit of luggage space, I'm starting to remove some stuff from my stash. I'm not sure it's making a lot of difference since I seem to have other things to put in. But, at least I'm trying. I do think my day-to-day daytime attire will get repetitive. I've lived out of a backpack for two + months on numerous trips but we didn't see the same people every day :)

I think our port planning is about done - now, whether we'll remember anything by the time we get across the Pacific remains to be seen. We used to power tour, but have learned to take life a little slower. The GPS is loaded with places we'll try to see and my inch-thick hard copy pages may or may not get looked at again. We'll have a great time regardless.

Our friends think we are crazy - most have never been on a ship - maybe our lack of proximity to the oceans has some bearing on that. But to spend 3 months on one is way over the limit and generally inconceivable to most.

It looks like the QE is still alongside in Southampton. You can see the ropes to the pier on the bridge cam. It also looks like there might be a fuel barge there as well on the port GPS locator.

This is supposed to be live at 22:33 Southampton time. I also checked the Southampton vts site and it does not show that the QE has sailed (gives the QM2

The link below is the ship's bridge cam and below the image is a link to location. Unfortunately, the Seascanner site is giving scheduled location rather than actual.

http://www.cruisin.me/cruise-ship-webcams/cunard-cruise-line/queen-elizabeth.php

I'll be excited to hear that you are underway - see you in SFO.