Tahitian Princess Photos

Outside cabin

comfortable bed

card room

Tahitian Lounge

Tahitian Lounge (not where the evening shows are)

Pool area

Voyage Itinerary

This is the Tahitian Princess itinerary

Jan 14 2009 FORT LAUDERDALE, FLORIDA 05:30PM
Jan 15 2009 AT SEA
Jan 16 2009 GRAND CAYMAN, 10:00AM 06:00PM
Jan 17 2009 AT SEA
Jan 18 2009 PANAMA CANAL, PANAMA 07:00AM 04:30PM
Jan 19 2009 AT SEA
Jan 20 2009 MANTA, ECUADOR 06:00AM 07:00PM
Jan 21 2009 AT SEA
Jan 22 2009 AT SEA
Jan 23 2009 LIMA (CALLAO), PERU 07:00AM OVERNIGHT
Jan 24 2009 LIMA (CALLAO), PERU 01:00PM
Jan 25 2009 AT SEA
Jan 26 2009 AT SEA
Jan 27 2009 AT SEA
Jan 28 2009 AT SEA
Jan 29 2009 EASTER ISLAND 09:00AM 06:00PM
Jan 30 2009 AT SEA
Jan 31 2009 AT SEA
Feb 01 2009 PITCAIRN ISLAND SCENIC CRUISING
Feb 02 2009 AT SEA
Feb 03 2009 AT SEA
Feb 04 2009 PAPEETE, TAHITI 08:00AM 05:00PM
Feb 05 2009 AT SEA
Feb 06 2009 RAROTONGA, COOK ISLANDS 08:00AM 05:00PM
Feb 07 2009 AT SEA
Feb 08 2009 AT SEA
Feb 09 2009 CROSS INTERNATIONAL DATELINE -1 day
Feb 11 2009 AT SEA
Feb 12 2009 AUCKLAND, NEW ZEALAND 07:00AM 10:00PM
Feb 13 2009 AT SEA
Feb 14 2009 AT SEA
Feb 15 2009 AT SEA
Feb 16 2009 AT SEA
Feb 17 2009 BURNIE, TASMANIA 08:00AM 06:00PM
Feb 18 2009 AT SEA
Feb 19 2009 SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA 07:00AM 10:00PM
Feb 20 2009 AT SEA
Feb 21 2009 BRISBANE, AUSTRALIA 08:00AM 06:00PM
Feb 22 2009 AT SEA
Feb 23 2009 AT SEA
Feb 24 2009 CAIRNS, AUSTRALIA 07:00AM 06:00PM
Feb 25 2009 AT SEA
Feb 26 2009 AT SEA
Feb 27 2009 RABAUL, PAPUA/NEW GUINEA 07:00AM 02:00PM
Feb 28 2009 AT SEA
Mar 01 2009 AT SEA
Mar 02 2009 GUAM 12:00PM 07:00PM
Mar 03 2009 AT SEA
Mar 04 2009 AT SEA
Mar 05 2009 AT SEA
Mar 06 2009 OSAKA, JAPAN 08:00AM 08:00PM
Mar 07 2009 HIROSHIMA, JAPAN 09:00AM 05:00PM
Mar 08 2009 AT SEA
Mar 09 2009 INCHON, KOREA 08:00AM 05:00PM
Mar 10 2009 AT SEA
Mar 11 2009 SHANGHAI, CHINA 07:00AM 06:00PM
Mar 12 2009 AT SEA
Mar 13 2009 AT SEA
Mar 14 2009 HONG KONG, CHINA 07:00AM 08:00PM
Mar 15 2009 AT SEA
Mar 16 2009 AT SEA
Mar 17 2009 HO CHI MINH CIT, VIETNAM 08:00AM 04:30PM
Mar 18 2009 AT SEA
Mar 19 2009 SIHANOUKVILLE 08:00AM 06:00PM
Mar 20 2009 AT SEA
Mar 21 2009 BANGKOK, THAILAND 07:00AM 07:00PM
Mar 22 2009 AT SEA
Mar 23 2009 AT SEA
Mar 24 2009 SINGAPORE 07:00AM 05:00PM
Mar 25 2009 KUALA LUMPUR, MAL AYSIA 07:00AM 06:00PM
Mar 26 2009 AT SEA
Mar 27 2009 ANDAMAN ISLANDS, IN 12:00PM 07:00PM
Mar 28 2009 AT SEA
Mar 29 2009 AT SEA
Mar 30 2009 AT SEA
Mar 31 2009 AT SEA
Apr 01 2009 BOMBAY, INDIA 07:00AM 10:00PM
Apr 02 2009 AT SEA
Apr 03 2009 AT SEA
Apr 04 2009 AT SEA
Apr 05 2009 DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES 07:00AM 08:00PM
Apr 06 2009 AT SEA
Apr 07 2009 AT SEA
Apr 08 2009 SALALAH, OMAN 07:00AM 05:00PM
Apr 09 2009 AT SEA
Apr 10 2009 AT SEA
Apr 11 2009 AT SEA
Apr 12 2009 AT SEA
Apr 13 2009 LUXOR/KARNAK (SAFAGA), EGYPT 06:00AM 10:00PM
Apr 14 2009 AT SEA
Apr 15 2009 SUEZ CANAL, EGYPT 01:00AM 05:00PM
Apr 16 2009 PORT SAID, EGYPT 07:00AM 08:00PM
Apr 17 2009 AT SEA
Apr 18 2009 ATHENS (PIRAEUS), GREECE 09:00AM 06:00PM
Apr 19 2009 AT SEA
Apr 20 2009 NAPLES/CAPRI (SORRENTO), ITALY 08:00AM 06:00PM
Apr 21 2009 ROME (CIVITAVECCHIA), ITALY 07:00AM 06:30PM
Apr 22 2009 CANNES, FRANCE 09:00AM 06:00PM
Apr 23 2009 BARCELONA, SPAIN 12:00PM 11:00PM
Apr 24 2009 AT SEA
Apr 25 2009 GIBRALTAR, GREAT BRITAIN 07:00AM 01:00PM
Apr 26 2009 LISBON, PORTUGAL 10:00AM 06:00PM
Apr 27 2009 AT SEA
Apr 28 2009 AT SEA
Apr 29 2009 COBH, IRELAND 08:00AM 06:00PM
Apr 30 2009 AT SEA
May 01 2009 PARIS (LE HAVRE), FRANCE 07:00AM 07:00PM
May 02 2009 LONDON (DOVER), ENGLAND 07:00AM 05:00PM
May 03 2009 PARIS (LE HAVRE), FRANCE 07:00AM 06:30PM
May 04 2009 ZEEBRUGGE, BELGIUM 08:00AM 06:00PM
May 05 2009 AMSTERDAM, NETHERLANDS 09:00AM 05:00PM
May 06 2009 AT SEA
May 07 2009 COPENHAGEN, DENMARK 07:00AM 05:00PM
May 08 2009 AT SEA
May 09 2009 HELSINKI, FINLAND 08:00AM 05:00PM
May 10 2009 ST. PETERSBURG, RUSSIA 07:00AM 09:00PM
May 11 2009 TALLINN, ESTONIA 09:00AM 03:00PM
May 12 2009 STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN 07:00AM

Packing Checklist List

It is really time to be packing for this adventure. This is the checklist I am working with to pack everything we think we will need that we will be able to fit into the baggage we can take for free on the airplane.


Paperwork packet
_____cruise tickets
_____copies: passports, insurance cards
_____credit card numbers list
_____credit card company phone numbers

Stuff
_____ business cards
_____ credit card(s)
_____ keys (car, house)
_____ money
_____foreign currencies
_____ passports, driver’s licenses

Electronics
_____ laptop, powercord, case
_____iPod, accessories
_____Nintendo, cord, cards
_____power bar
_____cell phone, charger
_____ camera, charging unit
_____ memory cards
_____ portable drive

First Aid Kit
_____ Deet spray
_____ Tylenol
_____ Imodium AD
_____ Band-Aids
_____ Benadryl pills, cream
_____ Itch eraser
_____ Bonine, bands
_____ Cough drops/Cold tablets
_____ nail kit
_____ thermometer
_____ triple antibiotic cream
_____ z-pack

Toiletries - His
_____ after-shave
_____ deodorant
_____ hairspray
_____ prescription meds
_____ mouthwash
_____ razors
_____ toothbrush
_____ toothpaste
_____ dental floss
_____ scissors, comb

Toiletries - Hers
_____ combs/brushes
_____ deodorant
_____ eyeglasses/eyeglass case
_____ hair spray
_____ make-up
_____ moisturizers
_____ nail kit
_____ Q-Tips
_____ razors
_____ toothbrush
_____ toothpaste
_____ dental floss
______mouthwash


Her Stuff
_____ athletic socks
_____ socks
_____ belts
_____ blouses
_____ sweaters
_____ bras (regular, sports)
_____ hat/sun visor
_____ Capri pants
_____ slacks, cold weather
_____ slacks, hot weather
_____ sleepwear, slippers
_____ panties
_____ pantyhose
_____ sandals
_____ shorts
_____ sneakers
_____ formal, semi-formal
_____formal wear lingerie
_____ swim shoes
_____ swimsuits
_____ cover-ups
_____ tank tops/t-shirts
_____ workout clothes
_____jewelry, watches, case

His Stuff
_____ athletic socks
_____ casual slacks
_____ dark socks
_____ belts
_____ ties
_____ sleepwear
_____ loafers
_____ athletic shoes/walking shoes
_____ polo shirts
_____ sandals
_____ shorts
_____ swim trunks
_____ T-shirts/tank tops
_____workout clothes
_____ sportcoats
_____ dress shirt
_____ underwear
_____ tuxedo
_____ tuxedo accessories
_____ dress slacks
_____ formal shoes
_____jewelry, watches, case

Miscellaneous Stuff
_____binoculars
_____ envelope (legal size) for receipts
_____ envelope for photos
_____ flashlights, pocket-size
_____ highlighters
_____ kleenex (purse pack)
_____ laundry bag
_____ lint roller
_____ on-shore tote bag
_____ pens
_____ Post-It notes
_____ power bar
_____ rain ponchos, umbrellas
_____ sewing kit (w/safety pins)
_____ sunglasses
_____Playing Cards
_____Duct Tape
_____Swiss Army Knife
_____Zip Lock Bags (different sizes)
_____Folding tote bag/Back Pack

Time to sail again

Who would have thought that we would be doing another world cruise this soon? We both wanted to do one again because the first one was so fabulous, but we thought a year or two at least would pass. But, life intervened and here we are booked to leave in just a few weeks.

This time we are sailing on the Tahitian Princess with our most traveled cruise line. We do get many nice perks for being in their Elite status and we have always enjoyed our cruises with Princess. At about 30,000 tons and carrying 670 passengers, TP is the smallest cruise ship we have sailed on. In fact, about half the tonnage of the QE2.

The itinerary includes about 50% ports that will be new to us. Of the remaining 50%, there are very few, maybe only one, we do not look forward to revisiting. And that one would be- Ho Chi Minh City. We just might stay on the ship for that one. If you want to know why, check this post.

In addition to the full world cruise, we are staying onboard for the extension that includes Brussels, Amsterdam, Copenhagen, Helsinki, Tallinn and St. Petersburg. We have long wanted to visit St. Petersburg, so the extension is a wonderful bonus for us. We have been only to Amsterdam and Copenhagen on that segment of the cruise and look forward to returning to those great cities.

Before we booked, we sent our passports off the State Department for renewal. Luckily for us, the State Department is operating efficiently and our passport package arrived about 3 weeks from the date we mailed it. And, our contacts with the customer service people at State were incredible. In a time when every customer service contact is a nightmare, the State Dept. people were friendly, cheerful, pleasant, spoke clearly and gave us good news.

Now we are tracking the progress of our visas at the visa service. We need to acquire passports through the service for only China and India. Australia is an electronic document easily acquired online by self-service and the remaining visas will be acquired by Princess and charged to our onboard account.

Although no shots are required this time, we did just return to the County Public Health Clinic Travel unit for the last shot in our Hepatitis A series. We are now fully immunized for the standard travel package.

Next task will be planning the packing. New challenges this time include the need to fly back from Stockholm bringing airline baggage restrictions into play. Last time, we traveled round trip Fort Lauderdale and the QE2 had a baggage room and baggage master. We were able to take 9 suitcases between us with no problem or additional fees. This time we can take without additional fees 4 checked bags weighing no more than 50 pounds each and the usual carryons. The good news is that there are not anywhere near as many formal nights eliminating at least one suitcase.

Rio!!

Rio was a great port for us, thanks to H. Stern (the jewelers) and Suzanne and Glenn, our friends who have lived there for over 30 years. Stern provided a car, driver and an English speaking guide to show us some of the city. We went to Corcovado, where the statue of Christ is, intending to go up, but all three times we were there, it was too much in the clouds We saw the main neighborhoods of the city, the beaches, and Stern’s wonderful collection of gems at their museum/ factory/ store at Ipanema.

Suzanne and Glenn picked us up at the store and we walked and walked. They took us to the top floor of a shopping mall with an observation deck and a wonderful view of the bay, Sugarloaf and the beaches. We sat there for a while enjoying their company and a beer. We saw the fort and had a fabulous lunch at Vegan Vegan, a restaurant Suzanne and Glenn found in the Botafogo neighborhood. We ate a vegan version of Feijoda, the Brazilian national dish with black beans, brown rice and a side of kale and grated cassava. The meal began with a shot glass filled with a fantastic non-alcoholic version of a popular drink made from ginger. At the Hotel Copacabana Palace, we walked through the elegant lobby, around the swimming pool and then used the marble rest rooms. All very, very posh.

Back at Ipanema, we saw thousands of people getting ready for a big parade for Carnaval, a week early. I guess the party frenzy builds up too much to wait a week. Anyway there were thousands of happy people, loud music, some costumes, and a real party atmosphere.

On the way back to the ship, we had a perfect, cloudless view of the statue on Corcovado and one more ride around the lagoon. Since we weren’t scheduled to sail until 11 p.m., the evening entertainment was a performance by a Samba group from Rio. What a party that was, with incredible feathered and beaded costumes, gorgeous young bodies, and such an energy level. That kept us awake long enough to see the sailaway and to say good bye to a great city!

January 25 At sea

At Sea on route to Rio

What have we been so busy doing? Time just goes so quickly, and that is surprisingly true of days at sea. We seem to never have enough days at sea to tire of them. So after Barbados we had a total of four days at sea, then the port of Salvador, and now one more sea day before we reach Rio on Saturday.

On the open decks we enjoyed the sea air and the sunshine and took a couple of naps. We saw large numbers of Blue-faced Boobies, birds that look something like gulls, but are more interesting. They like to coast on some kind of air current in the trough of the waves, and then, all of a sudden, they take a deep dive after some fish. I kept hearing the shark in “Looking for Nemo” as he said, “I’m having fish for dinner.” The graceful and elegant birds followed the ship for hours one day, often looking as if they were going to fly right into the window we were watching from before veering off – maybe they were playing. We were about 20 miles off the coast of Brazil so they are able travel great distances.

We have also walked quite a bit on both the open decks and up and down the stairways. Today we went to the exercise room. The first challenge was getting there since it is at one of those elevator/stairways that connect only a few floors. So we have to first find the right corridor to get to the proper stairway before we can get to Deck 6, Stairway C. The fitness room is quite well equipped with exercise machines. Jerry uses the treadmill and the weight machines. I still don’t like treadmills, so I use the weight machines and the free weights. There is also an indoor pool that I plan to make use of for water aerobics – as much of the routine as I can remember from home.

Salvador, what can I say? We had hoped to go on our own to a beach, and the staff provided us with information on which beach would be the best for us to visit, as well as which beaches to avoid. BUT, there were so many warnings about how dangerous both Salvador and Rio are that we decided to be sensible and not go off on our own. We took advantage of the free shuttle provided by the jeweler H. Stern to go to the heart of the historic area. We looked in their store and I, of course, found an exquisite necklace. It was a rainbow of all of the colors of the non-precious Brazilian stones – spectacular. I would not only have to have more money to purchase it, I would have to create an entirely new life for wearing it.

We wandered around a bit and heard what sounded like firecrackers or gunfire. Happily, it turned out to be firecrackers drawing attention to a demonstration for either better treatment for the handicapped or better healthcare. Foreign languages always seem to leave lots of room for multiple interpretation. The demonstration created quite a traffic jam in spite of the efforts of large numbers of police or military. We couldn’t decide which uniforms were for the military and which for the police.

There is apparently a very nice area of the city with lovely gardens and huge homes. We were in the port and the old part of town though so we mostly saw extreme poverty. There were many people trying to sell bottled water and handmade necklaces. One man tied a yellow ribbon with words printed on it around my wrist and said something about good luck and three wishes. I speak very little Spanish and no Portugese so I wasn’t exactly sure what it was about, but he seemed sincere and kind. Shortly after that, I think I got my first wish fulfilled and the van arrived at H. Stern to return us to the QE2.

We made our first visit to the launderette on board, which is free, unlike on the cruise ships we have been on. It is a pleasant little space with about a dozen washers with dryers stacked on top, with an adjoining room equipped with about 6 or 8 ironing boards and irons. It worked quite well except that the washers take about 20-25 minutes and the dryers take at least 60 minutes, so you can see how quickly a backlog of wet clothes and cranky people develops. At any rate, our timing was excellent and we were out of there is just under 2 hours. Boy! Do we know how to have fun!

So now we have another day at sea. The Maitre D’ arranged for us to have what Jerry has been craving: a burger, of sorts. It was quite tasty actually – a soy and potato “burger” on a roll with lettuce, tomato, onion slices and veggie cheddar cheese. You may not go yum, but we certainly did.

And now we are off to the theater to see the film “Underdog” with James Belushi and others. Two hours for that and it will be tea time, followed by dressing for another formal night, dinner will be followed by a show in the Grand Lounge with Duo Yalba. I never heard of him either but he is proclaimed as having mastered over 40 instruments and most musical styles. And then if we are still awake will be the Carnival Ball in the Queens Room with a dance band.

Tomorrow, Rio

Ships' positions

Since February 2007 I have been following the message boards on Cruise Critic
I have mostly been reading, but from time to time I have posted questions of my own. The whole experience has enriched my voyage already. I have gotten to know several people (virtually) and look forward to meeting the rest of the group at the gatherings planned on board. The people on the message board, CCers, come from all over the world. There are people from Great Britain, Australia, New Zealand, and all over the US. It has been fun to "hear" the differences in our English language. One I really like is that in Australia, slang for a gossip is stickybeak. As in, "She is such a stickybeak!"

One thing I just discovered today is a site that tracks ships just like some of the flight trackers. It is actually more than that and provides ship positions and weather. Sail WX will show you once or twice on most days the location of the QE2. If you really know your latitude and longitude, you can just look at the map and see where the ship is. If you are like the rest of us, you will want to zoom out until you see a familiar looking landmass to use to orient yourself.

Right now you can see that the QE2 is in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean on the way from Southampton to New York City. The stop after NYC will of course be in Fort Lauderdale at Port Everglades for us. Actually, it is a port of call for the cruise and there will be other people boarding. Nevertheless, I still think of it as the ship making a stop to pick us up.

There are other interesting pages on the SailWX website but so far I haven't been able to bring up any maps showing wave heights. I won't need to do that on board of course, I will just see how difficult it is to walk on deck.

One other way to keep track of people on a cruise are the webcams on ships. For the QE2, go to the Cunard website, click on our ships, then Queen Elizabeth 2, then bridge web cams. On the newer ships they have some webcams pointed toward public areas and it is possible to arrange a time and wave. But as you can see when you look at the QE2 webcam, if you see me waving, I am in BIG trouble.

What excitement!

We have made our second payment for the cruise and now have only one more payment in the fall. Time is rushing and the sail date keeps getting closer and our excitement grows. We are excited about being on the QE2. Rumor has it that she will not be sailing much longer for Cunard. She is an older ship and still grand, but Cunard has brought out both the Queen Mary 2 and the Queen Victoria which appear to be giving the grand old dame much competition. My less than expert opinion is based on the status of a search for Cunard World Cruise on Vacations To Go. The Victoria is pretty much sold out and the QE2 is not. So with that evidence, I quickly buy into the rumors about the QE2 not sailing indefinitely. The rumors make it that much more exciting to be on board a legend while she is still sailing.

We are also excited about the itinerary since neither of us has been to most of the places we will visit. Not only the ports are exciting on the itinerary though. We are also excited about the days at sea. We have been only 5 consecutive days at sea so far on transatlantic crossings, and that was not too many, in fact, it was not enough. The longest stretch of sea days will be the 6 days from Osaka to Honolulu which we expect to enjoy as usual just sitting in a comfortable chair and watching the ocean pass by. For those of you who do not sail, it is not boring. It is delightfully relaxing, like nothing else I have ever done.

Six sea days is the longest uninterrupted stretch, but most of February will be 2 and 3 days at sea interrupted by a day in a port. Overall the cruise is very well planned to provide a variety of sea days and port experiences.

And finally, I am excited by the prospect of 85 sunsets and the possibility of once again seeing the green flash. As you will see if you read of the scientific information, the green flash is a real phenomenon with explanations relating to optics and physics that are over my head. But, it is not necessary to understand it to be excited to see it. I have twice seen a green flash. Once was when we were sailing past Cuba and another time on board a ship somewhere in the Caribbean. Both times that I saw it, the green flash looked something like it does in this photo and this photo.

Always thinking about it

With over 7 months to go, we are doing much more planning now. I have begun to research the ports we will visit and with so many that alone will take some time. I had decided to do the research in order of the stops we will make, so Barbados is first and finished. In Barbados we will find public transportation and visit a beach for the day.

My plan was to research the ports in order, but that worked a short time. Online, of course, I can research them in any order I choose to, but the books I reserve at the library will arrive in the order they arrive. And Easter Island has arrived. I guess I will just have to be flexible!

I am also participating in the message boards at Cruise Critic. The posts there have been quite helpful because so many of the participants have been on many QE2 cruises before. One of the suggestions they made was to check out the deck plans on another website. The deck plans on the Cunard site are quite small and hard to read. The plans on Deluxe Cruises website are very helpful, including square footage for most of the QE2 cabins.

And, of course, my abiding interest is in the clothes and what everyone else is planning to take with them. I found out on the last cruise that I really don't have enough clothes! And with 50 formal nights (that's what the message board says!), I definitely do not have enough formal clothes. So I plan to get to some stores this week and do some serious buying.

I am still not-buying-it in 2007. (See my other blog if you don't know what I mean.) Cruise clothes was a category on my allowable list of buying because we had already booked the QE2 World Cruise and I knew I really needed to have more clothing to take with me.

Barcelona

We arrived in Barcelona from Alicante and were off the Voyager of the Seas by 9 am. It didn't matter though because the Hotel Continental Barcelona on Las Ramblas is frequently booked by cruise ship passengers. The Hotel has a secure baggage storage room, so we stowed our luggage, had a quick breakfast at the Hotel's 24 hour free buffet and headed off.

The Bus Turistic was perfect for us. We bought the pass and boarded just around the corner from our hotel on Placa Catalunya. We rode on the upper deck, enjoying the great view of the city. We saw Park Guell, Gaudi's unfinished garden city, Montjuic, and the rest of the sights along the bus route.

For lunch we had vegetarian paella at a little restaurant just west of Las Ramblas and got right back on the bus. Dinner was looking bleak as we walked up and down Las Ramblas in search of food without animal products. Just as we had decided it was going to be back to the 24 hour breakfast buffet at the hotel, we spotted Maoz Vegetarian. We had fabulous falafel sandwiches with wonderful salad toppings and splurged on Belgian chips (French Fries). The splurge being the calories, not the cost. There are not many of these restaurants in the world, but we discovered one about 10 miles from our house and have eaten there twice since returning home.

This amazing work by Gaudi in the photo above was the only place I had my camera! I took twenty photos at Sagrada Familia which I uploaded to Kodak Gallery. If you really want to see them send me your email address and I will send you an invitation so you can view them. I can't seem to find an easy way to upload that many photos here.

This is the last post for the 2007 cruise. Future posts will be about planning for the 2008 QE2 World Cruise.

Booked and excited

The brochure from Cunard arrived in the mail in January 2007 at precisely the right moment because when Jerry and I saw the itinerary, both of us agreed this is a cruise for us. It is the cruise of a lifetime for us, that is for sure. It arrived just after we had a conversation about where else in the world we would like to travel and I said I would like to see Australia without flying. And here it is - 6 ports in Australia and no plane flight.

It is still 9 months off but I think about it often. I wonder what it will be like to travel for nearly 3 months. I wonder what it will be like to be 6 days at sea between Osaka and Honolulu. I wonder what the seas around the Horn will be (remember Master and Commander? those were real seas.) I wonder what I will wear! Of course I wonder what I will wear; I always concern myself with clothes way too much.

I have been following Brittany's interesting blog of the QE2 2007 World Cruise. This year has been a true circumnavigation, a different itinerary from 2008. Brittany and her husband have been so diligent and thorough in describing all of the ports they have seen and some of the life onboard the ship. Thank you, Brittany and Malcolm, for your hard work and sharing of information.

I don't expect to be posting much this soon ahead of the cruise. However, we are going on the Royal Caribbean Voyager of the Seas for the transatlantic crossing leaving next week, so I plan to practice posting on that. We were excited when we booked that 12 day cruise, but I have to confess that the thought of the World Cruise has put a damper on our enthusiasm for this next cruise.

A look at the map and itinerary will explain our feelings.




January 2008
16 Wed Fort Lauderdale, Florida 7:00 am - 5:00 pm
17 Thu Cruising the Atlantic Ocean
18 Fri Cruising the Atlantic Ocean
19 Sat Bridgetown, Barbados 8:00 am - 6:00 pm
20 Sun Cruising the Atlantic Ocean
21 Mon Cruising the Atlantic Ocean
22 Tue Cruising the Atlantic Ocean
23 Wed Cruising the Atlantic Ocean
24 Thu Salvador da Bahia, Brazil 8:00 am - 6:00 pm
25 Fri Cruising the Atlantic Ocean
26 Sat Rio de Janeiro, Brazil 7:00 am - 11:00 pm
27 Sun Cruising the Atlantic Ocean
28 Mon Cruising the Atlantic Ocean
29 Tue Montevideo, Uruguay Arrive 8:00 am
30 Wed Montevideo, Uruguay Depart 2:00 pm
31 Thu Cruising the Atlantic Ocean
February 2008
1 Fri Port Stanley, Falkland Islands 8:00 am - 6:00 pm
2 Sat Cruising Cape Horn
3 Sun Punta Arenas, Chile 8:00 am - 6:00 pm
4 Mon Cruising the Pacific Ocean
5 Tue Cruising the Pacific Ocean
6 Wed Santiago (Valparaiso), Chile 7:00 am - 7:00 pm
7 Thu Cruising the South Pacific Ocean
8 Fri Cruising the South Pacific Ocean
9 Sat Cruising the South Pacific Ocean
10 Sun Easter Island, Chile 7:00 am - 6:00 pm
11 Mon Cruising the South Pacific Ocean
12 Tue Cruising the South Pacific Ocean
13 Wed Cruising the South Pacific Ocean
14 Thu Papeete, Tahiti, French Polynesia 8:00 am - 6:00 pm
15 Fri Cruising the South Pacific Ocean
16 Sat Cross International Dateline - Lost Day
17 Sun Cruising the South Pacific Ocean
18 Mon Nuku'alofa, Tonga 8:00 am - 6:00 pm
19 Tue Cruising the Pacific Ocean
20 Wed Cruising the South Pacific Ocean
21 Thu Auckland, New Zealand 8:00 am - 10:00 pm
22 Fri Cruising the South Pacific Ocean
23 Sat Cruising the Tasman Sea
24 Sun Sydney, Australia Arrive 7:00 am
25 Mon Sydney, Australia Depart 6:00 pm
26 Tue Cruising the Tasman Sea
27 Wed Hobart, Tasmania, Australia 8:00 am - 6:00 pm
28 Thu Cruising the Bass Strait
29 Fri Melbourne, Australia 7:00 am - 11:59 pm
March 2008
1 Sat Cruising the Great Australian Bight
2 Sun Adelaide, Australia 7:00 am - 5:00 pm
3 Mon Cruising the Great Australian Bight
4 Tue Albany, Australia 8:00 am - 5:00 pm
5 Wed Fremantle (Perth), Australia 8:00 am - 6:00 pm
6 Thu Cruising the Indian Ocean
7 Fri Cruising the Indian Ocean
8 Sat Cruising the Indian Ocean
9 Sun Cruising the Java Sea
10 Mon Singapore 7:00 am - 6:00 pm
11 Tue Cruising the South China Sea
12 Wed Ho Chi Minh City (Vung Tau), Vietnam 7:00 am - 7:00 pm
13 Thu Cruising the South China Sea
14 Fri Hong Kong 8:00 am - 6:00 pm
15 Sat Cruising the South China Sea
16 Sun Cruising the East China Sea
17 Mon Shanghai, China 7:00 am - 7:00 pm
18 Tue Cruising the Pacific Ocean
19 Wed Osaka (for Kyoto), Japan 7:00 am - 6:00 pm
20 Thu Cruising the Pacific Ocean
21 Fri Cruising the Pacific Ocean
22 Sat Cross International Dateline - Gain Day
22 Sat Cruising the Pacific Ocean
23 Sun Cruising the Pacific Ocean
24 Mon Cruising the Pacific Ocean
25 Tue Honolulu, Oahu, Hawaii Arrive 8:00 am
26 Wed Honolulu, Oahu, Hawaii Depart 1:00 am
26 Wed Lahaina, Maui, Hawaii 8:00 am - 6:00 pm
27 Thu Cruising the Pacific Ocean
28 Fri Cruising the Pacific Ocean
29 Sat Cruising the Pacific Ocean
30 Sun Los Angeles, California 7:00 am - 5:00 pm
31 Mon Cruising the Pacific Ocean
April 2008
1 Tue Cruising the Pacific Ocean
2 Wed Acapulco, Mexico 7:00 am - 5:00 pm
3 Thu Cruising the Pacific Ocean
4 Fri Cruising the Pacific Ocean
5 Sat Cristobal, Panama 4:00 pm - 8:00 pm
5 Sat Transit the Panama Canal
6 Sun Puerto Moin, Costa Rica 7:00 am - 7:00 pm
7 Mon Cruising the Caribbean Sea
8 Tue Montego Bay, Jamaica 8:00 am - 5:00 pm
9 Wed Cruising the Straits of Florida
10 Thu Fort Lauderdale, Florida 7:00 am - 5:00 pm