The sounds of silence in Hong Kong.

What do you think of when you think of Hong Kong?? LOTS of people, noise, buses, pollution, chaos?? Well, there is a place where it is completely silent - except for the sound of the wind in the trees above, the twittering of birds and the waves on the rocks below. It is called Ma Hang Park in Stanley, on the southern side of Hong Kong Island. Many people go to the Stanley Markets as part of organised tours - but not many get out of the markets and explore the delightful surrounding area. The markets are OK - but similar to those found in Kowloon - so use your time in Stanley for other things. All it will cost you is about $25HK - about $3AUD (or US) for the day.

Oriana docked at the very well located Ocean Terminal - we were very happy with that as we were not sure that we would dock there. Sometimes cruiseships dock elsewhere - but the Ocean Terminal is very central to everything in Hong Kong. We walked out of the terminal and caught a Number 973 bus in Canton Road which is right outside the Harbour City shopping centre (where the ship berths). The bus stop is opposite the large Marco Polo Hotel. These buses are double deckers - so go to the top deck and sit in the front seats. The ride to Stanley is worth the fare alone ( $13.60 HK). It takes about an hour. When you get to Stanley (stay on the bus to the very end of the ride) , walk down to the waterfront and head for the wharf (pier) - walk past it and you will see the entrance to Ma Hang Park.  I think that I would recommend that people who only have a day in HK should spend all their time in Stanley - there is a lot to do there (beaches, forest walks, beachfront restaurants/bars, Maritime museum, squatters shacks, markets) - none of the hassle of Kowloon or HK Central.  You can either return to Kowloon on the 973 service - but we caught a Number 6 bus back to Central and then walked to the Star Ferry Terminal, to catch the iconic Ferry back to Kowloon ($2.50HK) . The only thing to watch with this is that it is "challenging" to find your way from the bus terminal in Central to the Ferry Terminal - look for the overhead road walkways to do this.

You can view a Youtube video about our visit to Hong Kong here 

Manila

Yesterday we visited Manila in the Philippines. By the end of the day we were very tired but we enjoyed the experience. Manila is a very interesting but "challenging" Asian city, with a unique character. I guess that in some ways, all of the larger Asian cities could be called this - but perhaps Manila has some characteristics that others don't. It is somewhat chaotic and I was told that it's traffic was a little like that of Bangkok (which of course does not have the famous "Jeepneys") - but Beijing has it's bicycles and Ho Chi Minh City has it's motorcycles.  We noticed a level of poverty in the streets with persistent vendors vainly trying to sell us trinkets and some begging by children - but when we visited a very large shopping Mall in the city in the afternoon, we noticed the very many prosperous looking people, young and old, enjoying themselves there. I would not call them "rich" by our standards - they looked just like the people we see in our own shopping malls in Australia, but they would have been much richer relatively speaking than the street vendors and the beggars.

We finally did our first official shore tour on this cruise - in fact, the first on any cruise. It was called "Charms of Old Manila". It was a little rushed as it covered a lot - but It was worth it as I don't believe we could have seen what we did by ourselves with just one day available. I did not know before this trip that there is a 16th Century walled Spanish city in Manila (called Intramuros) - we found it to be fascinating. We visited "Casa Manila" - a typical Spanish/Asian house of the period, the church of San Augustin (which was like visiting a major church in Europe - except it was also going back in time and visiting it 500 years ago) and Fort Santiago (which was basically the beginnings of Manilla - after the Spanish invaded). We also had quick visits to Rizal Park (named after the Philippine's National hero) and the Catholic Cathedral. All in all we felt that the shore tour was good value and we look forward to others in places like Ho Chi Monh city and Mumbai - which we feel are a little too "challenging" for us do do alone

You can view a Youtube video about our visit to Manila here

Another day! Another Formal outfit!!

With a bit of "mixing and matching", I reckon that I have 6 Formal outfits to wear before I have to start over. With 19 Formal nights on the way to Southampton, I will need it. I can't speak for Christine - so far I haven't seen her in the same outfit twice, but even she will have her limitations.

We arrive in Hong Kong tomorrow and we are losing quite a few staff, including our very good cabin Steward Cruz, our evening Dining Room waiters and our excellent Deputy Cruise Director, Dom. Dom does try very hard - he turned up for our thoroughly enjoyable "Name that Tune" quiz during the daily Happy Hour dressed in "Tropical Black tie" (for those who don't know what that is, Google it) - inside a full gorilla outfit. We thought the gorilla outfit was amusing enough - and very brave considering the tropical conditions we have been experiencing even with onboard airconditioning - but then to later strip that off and reveal his "James Bond - For your eyes only" white jacketed outfit earned him the absolute maximum in brownie points amongst the passengers.

This morning -as I write this - we are crossing the South China Sea from the Phillipines to Hong Kong. For the first time since leaving Brisbane we are experiencing some largish seas. I reckon that the swells are about 3-4 metres at the moment - but the Captain has warned us that they will increase during the day to around 5 metres. It is only 24 hours to Hong Kong from here and it is probably good that we are getting some seas, because it has been so calm until now that we have not been able to grow our sea legs. One night I got out of bed to have a look out of the window because I thought we had stopped. But we were getting along at 21 knots and the water was so calm that the ship felt like a city building - it has been like that since Brisbane

You can view a Youtube video about "what to do" on seadays while cruising here

OOH!! My head!

Two major onboard events today. As we sail along through the Indonesian archipeligo and enter Phillipino waters, life onboard is starting to assume a character that reminds me of the tales that I have heard about life onboard the immigrant ships's line voyages to Australia from the UK in the 50's and 60's - the time of the "10 Pound Poms". It is exactly this character that I have been looking forward to experiencing and have done so for many decades. It gives this voyage a completely different feel about it to the shorter holiday cruises we have enjoyed in Australia. Of course, the ships, the food, the standard of entertainment of today is much more sophisticated than that found on those old line voyages - but underlying all that modern sophistication are all the basic human things like new friendship's, the need for human companionship and the desire for having simple fun. I think that when this voyage is all over, it will be these things that we will remember most.

The first event today was the crossing of the line ceremony. The ship already had one on the way to Australia under a different Captain - so today's was advertised as " CROSSING THE LINE 2 - NEPTUNE'S REVENGE". It was all a lot of fun and it was difficult to get close enough to all the action for good photographs. It was held on Oriana's aft tiered terraces - we found the day to be very hot, but the Brits can't seem to get enough of the tropical sun.
The second event was a "Brits vs Aussies" musical quiz, titled "The Ashes" - held in the Pacific Lounge to cater to the numbers that have been building up in the afternoon musical quiz held in Lord's Tavern.  The Deputy Cruise Director Dom is a very hard working staff member who seems to have the knack of getting people to do ridiculous things in public. The photo attached shows the Lounge before everybody arrived -
it was impossible to get any decent photos of the chaos that the event descended into afterwards. I think I need a quiet day today!

The Spice Islands

Since leaving Cairns, we have been settling into the routine of sea days - breakfast at 8AM, dancing class at 11, lunch at 12, movie at 2PM, Happy hour at 3.30, dinner at 6.30, Show at 8.30, bed at ??. Of course there are many other things for passengers to do - so mix and match those activities at your own desire. I have been trying to get to the Library for a couple of days now.
We had another Formal night last night - our second of 19 on the way to the UK. The great majority make an attempt to dress themselves up. As you can see from the photo, I have changed my personality for the
duration of this trip. Yesterday we had an interesting time with our Captain. He is an amateur historian and had put together for us a presentation of an area that he intended to take us through on our passage through Indonesian waters - the fabled "Spice Islands". We have never been on a ship before where the Captain presented an hour long lecture for the entertainment of the passengers - and he obviously enjoyed the experience as much as we did. He took us very close to the tiny Spice Island of "Run" in the Banda Group. During the 17th Century this was the only source of Nutmeg in the world - at a time when Nutmeg was worth more than gold. Then we passed close to the Island of Ambon, which produced Cloves. His historical lecture started at the time when these spices came to Venice, via Constantinople for distribution throughout Europe - and the source of these spices was unknown in the west. Thus started the search by the Europeans for the "Spice Islands" of the East Indies. His lecture contained information that he had personally acquired in various European museums - and it was obvious that he was keen to complete his study with photos of the islands themselves (as seen in the attached photo)

Leaving Oz

Yesterday, we spent the entire day sailing through the "Inner Passage" - between the Great Barrier Reef and the North Queensland coastline north of Cairns - the passage is quite narrow and was very calm. On one side we had the mountains of the mainland and offshore islands - on the other side were submerged reefs. Thankfully, we had a Barrier Reef Pilot onboard to guide us through and to give us commentary as we went along. At around 4PM, we rounded Cape York. This morning we are off West Papua and our voyage around the World has begun.

It is quite hot and humid as we head north towards the Equator. Hopefully after we cross it, it may start to cool down just a little as it will be Autumn in the Northern Hemisphere. We have 4 sea days ahead of us. It will be nice to relax for a while. One of the onboard activities which is proving to be popular and a lot
of fun is the "Name that tune" competition held in Lord's Tavern each  afternoon. Perhaps it's popularity and the amount of frivolity that it is generating has something to do with it's coincidence with the daily "happy two hours" between 2-4PM - 600 ml pints of English ale for 1.30 UKP (or a Pimms for the ladies).

For Joy

This posting is for our good friend Joy. I am updating this Blog by sending pre-prepared emails to Blogger.com with photos attached - however, as the Internet connection is slow, I am not able to see the
Blog itself on the WWW (while onboard the ship). So, while we were in Cairns, I took the opportunity to have a look at the Blog to see that the email system of updating was working. Fortunately it is. I could see
that there were a number of comments - one of which was a request from Joy to see me in my Tuxedo on our first Formal night. So here you are Joy - what a giggle, Hey??
We have another Formal night tonight - so I might wear my gold vest with the Tux.

Cairns

This morning we woke to a MUCH better day than yesterday - the sun was actually shining. You could feel the enthusiasm amongst the passengers, all waiting to get off the ship to go to their various tours or to catch the P&O provided shuttle bus into Cairns. For a reason unknown to me, P&O have been using large chartered catamarans (instead of their own ship's boats) to tender people ashore. This all seemed good - until there was a problem yesterday. Allegedly, one of the catamaran Captains was unhappy about the arrangements for coming alongside Oriana. Anyway, this delayed our departure off the ship until 10AM and caused at least one organised shore tour to be cancelled. There was a bit of vocal unhappiness amongst some passengers - but no point in upsetting yourself about something beyond your control. If this is the worst problem we get on the cruise, I will be happy.

The bus trip into Cairns was short - and we were very pleased to see how nicely the city had changed since our last and only visit about 10 years ago. This was especially evident along the foreshore, where a beautiful swimming lagoon has been built adjacent to the seashore. Older men with heart problems should probably avoid this area because of the very many young and beautiful bikini clad backpackers sunbathing on the grass. Christine has told me to add that there is plenty of eye candy for the women too.

For beer lovers - the shuttle bus dropped us off right outside the Blue Sky brewery in Lake Street. I can highly recommend their wheat beer - and they have fast and free Wifi. I can also recommend the Yorkey's Knob boat club for a beer on their balcony - I was surprised that more of our Brit passengers did not take the opportunity of a having a drink on the balcony overlooking the water. Perhaps that they do not realise that, here in Australia, you can simply sign yourself into these type of Clubs as a day visitor.

You can view a Youtube video of our visits to the Whitsunday Islands and Cairns here 

Whitsunday's washout

Yesterday we thought that we were to be tendered ashore to Airlie Beach - however, we soon discovered that the destination for passengers was in fact to be Hamilton Island. As we were to meet friends at Airlie Beach, we thought that we would catch the ferry that runs from Hamilton Island over to Airlie - but it wasn't to be. The very early morning wind and heavy cloud soon turned into torrential rain which put an end to that
idea - until after lunch, when we finally were able to land on the island for a couple of hours. I feel sorry for the Brits onboard- they are having a run of bad weather since leaving New Zealand. First the crossing of the Tasman Sea was rough, then Sydney Harbour was wet with people saying that they couldn't see their hand in front of their face on tours to the Blue Mountains - and finally heavy rain in the Whitsundays.

We continue to get more accustomed to the ship. It has a nice feel about it and there seems to be a lot of space - we have yet to see any crowding at any venue and no queues whatsoever. While we were planning
the voyage, we were told that the food onboard is very "British" - I wasn't really able to ascertain exactly what that meant. But it is true - and we are enjoying it. As an example, Christine had "Toad in the hole" at yesterday's breakfast - and last night I had Goose with parsnips. I also turned down the Lobster at the Captain's Gala dinner on the night before - in favour of Calf's liver. Why?? - because I can get lobster anytime, but I can't get Calf's liver at any restaurant normally (and I love it!!)

The cabin

Just a couple of photos of our cabin. It has turned out to be exactly the one that we thought. Very spacious - but a little bit tight for clothes storage space. Probably because we have brought far too many clothes with us - but we are away from home for a long time. We had a MAJOR panic this morning, an absolute disaster was looming! We had to give our Passports to the Purser's Office (I guess for them to check Visas, etc). We went to get them from Christine's purse, which is the last place we could recall them being after we boarded - and they weren't there!! We tore the cabin apart and could not find them anywhere - this would mean the end of the cruise for us. We took everything out every suitcase, every wardrobe, set of drawers and the safe (having put
all our cash, credit cards, etc in there when we first arrived). They were nowhere to be found! The safe was (or appeared to be) empty -- BUT - if you put your hand into it and feel around, you can feel that it is wider inside than the width of the door and, although it appeared to be empty, it was not!! The Passports were hiding in the corner, out of sight!!! One of the problems was that the safe is almost at floor level and you basically have to get down on hands and knees to access it - the biggest problem however was that we allowed ourselves to get a little "hassled" during the boarding process on the day before and we had
stopped thinking!!

We had our first Formal night last night - so we have gotten to use the formal wear that we had to acquire for this voyage. It wasn't as big a deal as we had imagined it to be. Most dressed up - although there wasn't as many men in Tuxedos as some cruising Forums had led us to believe would be the case. - and plenty of those who were in Tux's had coloured bowties (something of an anathema to some traditionalists). Perhaps this was because of the number of Aussies onboard - about 800 of us. There are still approx 1000 British onboard doing the complete World Cruise - also about 50 New Zealanders.

You can view a Youtube video of our first two days on P&O Oriana here

THAT's NOT A PROMENADE!! ---

THIS IS A PROMENADE!!

After our first full day onboard Oriana, we are starting to get a feel for it - and liking it. It is obviously starting to get a little long in the tooth (although very well kept) - but the overall design works. It is also obvious why it is popular amongst regular P&O UK passengers - a classic which appeals to ship lovers. So far - we like the Theatre Royal, the Cinema, the Promenade, Harlequins (for the dance floor) and the Peninsula Restaurant. But this list is still not fully developed.
 
The Promenade is a beauty - very wide and goes right around the ship. Memo to P&O Australia - please please please, get rid of half of those useless "sunbeds" on the P&O Aus ships - and replace them with the deckchairs that feature on Oriana - very comfortable, and will be ideal for sitting on the Promenade and watching the ocean go by as we have some long sea days ahead of us - much better than those sun beds for reading too. In this day and age, how many Aussies lie out in the sun?? Not many - well, at least not those with any brains.

A BiG day

I was wondering whether to call the title of this post "A BIG day" or "First impressions" - but I decided that it was indeed a BIG day yesterday when boarding Oriana for the first time and it is a bit early
yet to even think about stating what our first impressions of the ship are. By the time we got to bed last night around 10PM after dinner and a show in the Theatre Royal, we were exhausted. Checkin and boarding the ship at the Grain Wharf in Brisbane was relatively easy and took around an hour once the process actually started. The facility at the wharf is
quite good - but we would recommend to others that they should delay their arrival for checkin to get over the initial rush. Our checkin time was 12 Noon to 3.30PM - and (of course) we turned up at 12Noon - bad idea, because everybody else boarding in Brisbane turned up at that time as well - all couple of hundred of them. Probably the main reason I wanted to get onboard early was to have some lunch - but it would have been much better, less tiring and stressful to have a sandwich at home and arrive later after the others have been checked in.
There are obviously a large number of British people onboard -having cruised from Southampton - but there is also a LOT of Aussies, having boarded in Sydney and Brisbane. Our table for dinner last night were all
Aussies - and the only British people that we have spoken to so far have actually been on holiday in Oz and are cruising home. Dinner last night was very nice - of the same standard that we have had on P&O Australia ships (although subtly different). It is a bit difficult to describe the difference - except to say that some of the dishes are things that you would not see in Australia - eg. we had Monkfish.

OK -maybe just one "first impression" from our first day - a very early one which I reserve the right to change at some later time. We had been told that we would notice quite a difference between the P&O UK and P&O Australia ships. Last night we had a piano playing English comedian entertain us in the theatre ( which by the way is BRILLIANT - much better than any we have experienced on P&O AUS ships, except perhaps for the old Pacific Star. - very well designed with no obstructions to the view from any seat). The comedian was VERY English, and his routine was also very English ( some of it went straight over my head) - but very entertaining and a change from the usual for us. One thing that we noted about the audience is that everybody seated themselves from the back of the theatre - rather than from the front seats . Hence when we arrived the seats at the back were full and the seats at the front were empty. This appears a bit strange to us - but we hope it continues.

BINGO!!

In my last post, I suggested that perhaps the Queen of the Upgrade Fairies might visit us. Well, she has !! - and has been most generous to us. We have been allocated an outside cabin - called a "deluxe" outside Stateroom by P&O. From what we can make out, it is about 50% larger than the normal inside and outside cabins and has a window. As an old Navy man, I am always uncomfortable calling what I have always called a porthole - a "window". But I guess that is what it is - but it doesn't sound right. There are no ceilings in ships - only deckheads, no toilets - only heads. But windows in cruiseships don't look anything like portholes - so what can we call them.??

The other "extra" that comes with this deluxe cabin appears to be our own ironing board, iron and clothes press. Now, if this is true, this extra benefit will be worth more than it's weight in gold. Only time will reveal the truth.

Here is a generic photo of the cabin - plus a floorplan. Actually it is a photo/floorplan of an outside balcony cabin - ours is identical except that there is no balcony and where the large glass doors are in this photo, we have a window to the outside.   We think!!!  Of course, even this can change for the worse (or better) before we sail in 3 days time.  As the Upgrade Fairies can give - so can they taketh away!!

STILL WAITING - WAITING, BUT....

paying respect to "Banjo" Patterson's verse  - "There was movement at the Station, for .....",  I can say that at last "There HAS been movement at the Station, for .." we have received our documentation from P&O for the Oriana cruise.

In this day and age when more and more is being done online and a lot of things like printed tickets are now a part of the past and all you get to hang onto during this excruciating period of waiting for the cruise to come around is an "eTicket" - it is nice to see that P&O UK still hands out some "goodies". It isn't much and is merely a printed version of what you can see online, but it is glossy and colourful and has our name printed on the front cover!!!

Still no sign of a cabin allocation yet - but that is part of the deal when you have a "guarantee" fare. We don't mind where we go on the ship really - we have received allocations for Arcadia and Queen Mary 2 and are very happy with what we have got. They were delivered separately by 2 small upgrade Fairies - who knows, perhaps the Queen of the Upgrade Fairies may visit us for Oriana??

WAITING - WAITING -WAITING!!

The worst thing about booking a holiday - is then waiting for it to come around!!  Some say it is the best part -- but not for me!!.  I guess it is probably because we waited six months for our aborted car tour of the UK to arrive ( which it eventually didn't) - and now we have been waiting another 6 months for our upcoming cruises. It is said that good things come to those who wait - but I don't know who came up with that thought!

Anyway, it is only less than 3 weeks to go now - and all of a sudden a lot of things that we have been meaning to do have suddenly become a little more urgent.

In the meantime, we took the opportunity to travel down to the Campervan and Motorhome Club of Australia's Annual General Meeting Rally on the coast at Port Macquarie.  It is only a 600 kilometer drive down there - but we did it the long way over 8 days with a group of friends in our motorhomes/campervans, with a further week at the Rally. Had some abysmal weather at times - cold, wet, windy and hot -- and that was just in one day!! But overall, there were some delightful days and great times.

A beautiful Spring morning in the New England area

Winter is trying to hang on - but it knows that the morning sun will send it scurrying

Our old bus/campervan

Good friends relaxing

On the Coast 

Who said "life isn't meant to be easy??" . 

Shore tours - on the way home.

The available shore tours for our cruise home on Arcadia have finally arrived on our "Cruise personaliser". It looks like we will only take a tour in six places - not quite as many as we will take on Oriana, and all of them much shorter in duration. However, on our way home we will stop in ports which are a little less "exotic" and we will be able to walk around in many of them, which isn't the case in many of the Asian ports. For example, we are intending to get a day pass on the heritage trams in San Francisco and will spend most of the day riding them all over the city - that is, when Barry is not stuffing himself with the famous crab cakes at Fisherman's Wharf  and his favourite US West Coast Ales.

These are the ones we have booked

 Ponta Delgrada (Azores) - Fire Lake and Mountains 0930-1300

Description:Visit the oldest town in the Azores, Ribeira Grande, then drive up to the summit of Pico da Barrosa for the views of Fire Lake.
Leaving Ponta Delgada, you’ll head northwards along pleasant country roads, bordered by flowers. Green meadows stretch away into the distance until you reach Ribeira Grande. This is one of the oldest towns in the Azores and the only one of any size in the north coast. You’ll have time with your guide to admire the pretty little town square and the church, or do some independent sightseeing. Notice the interesting architecture, typical of the island; buildings constructed in basalt with original windows and decorations.

Pico da Barrosa is in the centre of the island and the Fire Lake occupies the crater of an extinct volcano, from where you’ll have magnificent views. Surrounded by some of the original vegetation of the island, this is an enormous lake with transparent waters, located in an atmosphere of great calm and beauty.

A short stop will be made at the Pineapple Plantation for you to witness the various growth stages of the pineapple.

Barbados (Bridgetown) - Coast To Coast 0945-1315

This scenic drive has been specially designed for those who’d prefer an overview of Barbados with little walking.
The original building of St John’s Church was erected in 1660 and the present gothic structure is situated on a cliff 800 feet above sea level. Step inside to see the double staircase of cedar leading to the organ gallery and the traditional high-backed pews. The frangipani trees in the yard lead you to some magnificent views of the east coast.

The views from the Highland Centre are also spectacular. Situated at the heart of the island, 1,004 feet above sea level, the picturesque landscape sweeps down to the east coast. You’ll be served a welcome refreshment of a rum punch or soft drink whilst you take in the surrounding views.

You’ll pass by sights such as Heroes Square (formerly Trafalgar Square) and Gun Hill Signal Station as you head towards the rugged Atlantic coastline. Travel inland up to the Highland Centre, where you'll have spectacular views. You’ll see St Thomas Church, and pass through Holetown for a photo stop at the monument to commemorate the place where the first settlers landed in 1627. Enjoy viewing the opulent Sandy Lane area before returning to the ship in Bridgetown.

Aruba (Dutch Antilles) - Scenes Of Aruba 0915-1215

Take in the scenic delights of this unusual island and see the unique features of Aruba.
Enjoy a scenic drive along Eagle Beach, past the resort hotels to the oldest lighthouse on the island – the California Lighthouse. From here you can admire great views of the island. See the Alto Vista Chapel, where Spanish missionaries are said to have converted the island’s Indians into Christians in 1560.

The route then takes you along the north coast to the Baby Natural Bridge, situated next to the former Natural Bridge, which was Aruba’s premier attraction until its collapse in 2005. This spot demonstrates the powerful forces of the sea, which over the years has carved through coral and limestone.

Your return journey takes you to the Casibari Rock formation, a group of large diorite and granite boulders. Head to the south coast to see the world’s largest water desalination plant before returning to Oranjestad.

Essential information. This tour involves walking over rough and uneven ground. Flat, comfortable shoes are recommended. Passengers are advised not to climb on Casibari Rock or the Baby Natural Bridge. The road to the Natural Bridge ruins can be very bumpy. At the Natural Bridge and Casibari there are toilet facilities available for a small fee of 50 cents.

Acapulco (Mexico) - City drive and cliff divers 0930-1300

An opportunity to see the famous cliff divers and enjoy a panoramic drive of Acapulco.
No visit to Acapulco would be complete without seeing the famous death defying cliff divers at La Quebrada. See the select few men who are willing to risk their lives as they plummet past the jagged rocks into the surging ocean below. Just before they take the long fall, they kneel at a little shrine to say a prayer. Hold your breath and watch in wonder as they spring out in a perfect flying arch, piercing the water at exactly the right moment. After the diving display a refreshment will be offered.

During your tour you’ll also enjoy a panoramic drive taking in Acapulco’s main boulevard lined with hotels, bars and restaurants. You’ll head as far as Diamond Acapulco, where new properties are rising and past the Black Lagoon, where Tarzan (Johnny Weissmuller) was filmed back in the 1950’s.

A short photo stop will also be made at the stunning Acapulco Bay Vantage Point. Snap the shot that should feature in everyone’s photo album - the spectacular blue-ringed bay, fringed with luxury hotels and beaches.

Essential information. After the divers’ show it is usual practice for them to congregate at the exit for tips (optional). There are approximately 70 steps at La Quebrada, although there is a lower terrace entrance. Flat, comfortable walking shoes are recommended. The order of highlights may vary. Acapulco’s main boulevard can be very busy and delays due to traffic may occur.

Honolulu - Coastal Explorer 0845-1245

Enjoy an introduction to one of Oahu’s most visited districts combined with views of some of the island’s dramatic scenery.
Drive through the bustling city of Honolulu to Diamond Head Crater. Standing directly in the middle of this now extinct volcanic crater, your guide will explain the history of this famous landmark. From this natural wonder you’ll travel through Oahu’s southern coast, to Hanauma Bay, this incredibly beautiful spot provides magnificent photo opportunities.

Continuing along the beautiful coastline, you’ll pause at the famous Halona Point Blow Hole. If the tide is right, you will see an impressive waterspout show.

Enjoy the splendid Makapu’u Lookout as your guide describes the fascinating volcanic origin of this area, home to many bird and plant species. Notice the dramatic change in the island’s topography as you continue towards the scenic windward coast. A stop will be made at a Hawaiian archaeological site and former war temple.

Before your return to Honolulu, a grand finale awaits. The final stop of this spectacular day will be at the Pali Lookout, located high in the Koolau Mountains; the views from here are simply awe inspiring. Take a moment to enjoy the sights and absorb the very special atmosphere of this magical island.

There is around 300 yards of walking over uneven terrain on this tour so please wear flat, non-slip footwear as ground at the War Temple may be slippery. For calls on a Tuesday, Hanauma Bay Park will not be included as the park is closed for maintenance.

PAGO PAGO (American Samoa) - Island Delights 0930-1230

Tour the south-western shore of Tutuila for a great combination of island scenery and traditional Samoan entertainment.
Experience a wealth of breathtaking landscapes, as you drive past little bays dotted along the coastline whilst heading inland through this luxuriant island paradise.

Known as ‘Flowerpot Rock’, Fatu-ma-futi is situated at the mouth of the charming Pago Pago harbour and is one of the island’s most famous landmarks.

You will have an opportunity to photograph historic Leone, the one-time capital of American Samoa and site of the first missionary landing in 1830.

Proud of their heritage and customs, the Samoan people work hard to preserve them. The simple idyllic beauty of island culture can be seen as you are treated to a traditional Ava Ceremony. The ceremony is usually only performed when VIP’s visit the island; enjoy authentic island entertainment, including Samoan songs and dances performed by the local cultural group.

Your island-style bus will wind along the coastline of scenic bays, inlets and picturesque villages. Pass many notable landmarks such as the Lyndon B. Johnson Tropical Medical Centre, the quaint Nuuuli Village, Lava Lava, Samoa's 18-hole golf course and Futu-ma-futi Rock.

SAD. SAD. SAD!! - Shipspotting.

I have always felt that the uniquely?? British hobby of trainspotting was a bit sad - apologies to those who do it - but I can't get too excited about trains, especially when taken to the point of watching them and recording what you have watched. But to each their own, I suppose.

But here I am - equally sad - waiting waiting waiting for the 6 November 2010 to roll around (my mother always told me that I shouldn't wish my life away) - and what am I doing ?? Ship spotting! Perhaps it's a little bit different - in that I can say that it is all part of the excitement and buildup to our big cruises that lay ahead of us. But also perhaps others will still stay it's still sad!

But for those who would like to do a bit of ship spotting (of course in a non-sad way - that is, as a buildup to your next exciting cruise to some far flung exotic destination - which makes it all far more understandable than trainspotting), this is how you can do it. Go to this website and type in a search for the vessel of your dreams. It is all reasonably self evident how to use it. The ships have to be in range of a certain kind of radio receiver to be able to do this - there is no point in looking for a ship that you know is somewhere in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean.  So, depending on where the ship is, you may or may not be able to play this little game a bit further. I knew that P&O's Oriana was approaching Lisbon - a port we will be visiting - so I was interested to watch her come in. The aforesaid website yielded this picture

Most of these cruiseships have a webcam on them - pointing usually in their forward direction - so a bit of "Googling" will find it for you. These webcams are a bit "hit and miss". Some cruiselines do it good and others do it bad. Like a lot of Corporations - some really understand the Internet and what is involved/required - while some just do a token gesture. So the pictures you can get from these webcams will vary in quality - some make you feel like you are really there - while others are not much more than a fuzzy image. This is where shipspotting can become sad. In this particular case of tracking Oriana, this is a screenshot of her berthing in Lisbon. She has just arrived from a few days in the Atlantic between Gibraltor and Portugal - so it seems like she has salt spray on her webcam lens.

I am quite pleased that I did this little exercise over the past hour or so - because it has made me realise that I was mistaken about where Oriana will dock in Lisbon. I thought it was going to be at the berths just east of the big bridge - which wasn't a real good place to walk into the city from. But now I can see that it is well east of this - and at a place where it should be quite convenient to walk into the old town after we get back to the ship from a morning shore tour.

So - when all is said and done, shipspotting isn't sad at all - and is really quite a smart thing to do.

We need help!! We're out of control.

Just recently, we received an email from a Travel Agent - basically saying that our cruise had been booked and please pay the deposit by a certain date. "What's this then??? We've already paid for our cruise to the UK (and return) in full!!"  Well, yes - we had. But Barry had forgotten that about 15 months ago, we had put our names down on a list with the said Travel Agent - because there was talk of the possibility of Cunard opening up a short 6 night sector between Sydney and Auckland, NZ as part of her 2011 World Cruise. At the time it was really only a remote possibility, it wasn't shown in the Cunard glossy brochure, probably would only happen if they found that some cabins were empty during the cruise  - and as internet based conversation regarding it had cooled to the point of almost nothingness, we had thought that the idea had died. "Probably just as well .... There is every chance that when we finish the homeward bound cruise from UK on P&O's Arcadia, after a total of 12 weeks at sea over the preceding nearly 4 months, we may feel that we never want to see another cruise ship again."

BUT - after the email arrived, how could we refuse this opportunity???? We have heard all about Queen Mary 2 - it is considered by some cruisers to be the Mt Everest of cruising, the Mona Lisa of cruising, the Eifel Tower of cruising - and it rarely comes to Aussie waters. We just couldn't let it pass by. SO - less than a week after we arrive back home in Brisbane, we will fly down to Sydney and join her. It will be mid-week - but she will be in Sydney Harbour overnight, together with the new Cunard Queen Elizabeth on her maiden World Voyage. The way that Sydneysiders turn out for these special events on their Harbour - it should be a spectacle even before we set sail.

Here is a photo of Queen Mary 2 - taken by us on a special visit we made to Southampton in 2008, just to see her alongside. We had never seen her before and, when we did, we never dared to dream that we would ever sail on her. The photo was taken from the Hythe to Southampton passenger ferry

Ship "Roll calls"

There are a number of Cruise Critic members participating in the two roll calls for the Oriana World cruise and the Arcadia World cruise .   Pop on over to either or both and say "Hello, old boy!" or "G'day mate" or maybe even "Hi buddy"