Randy H

I have done the "Women of the Grammys" ( a group on an existing cruise) and the Sail Across the Sun (Charter, based on the band Train) Both were wonderful... both by Sixthman... I will do Sail Across the Son again... and think about other cruises ... I also will cruise traditional cruises..

A music cruise is a music festival at sea... it is wonderful and intimate..

Randy

The Pacific has a reputation for being rough. It was named Pacific by Ferdinand Magellan based on his experience with good winds on his 16th century voyage.

It is the largest ocean in the world, and winds and waves can anywhere.

There are places in the Pacific that have very bad reputations... in the South Pacific, just off San Francisco, heading north along the California Coast (south bound, with the current is generally a smoother ride) and in the North, near Alaska.

In September, you are in the Typhoon season... but few make it to Hawaii or the California coast... most are in the south or west side of our pond.

I got a chance to sail from Hawaii to Washington state on a Navy destroyer as a guest a few years ago in October. Destroyers don't have stabilizers... the ocean was like glass much of the time... The following year it was too rough off shore and our fleet week celebration was delayed the Navy was late arriving.

My wife and I do Pacific coast repositioning cruises with some regularity... they are more often gentle, but we did experience 24' seas off Vancouver Island, and have seen 12' seas off Baja...

Your experience may vary... but don't let the Pacific scare you...

Randy

Hillstone is across the Embacradero, and down a couple of blocks...

http://www.hillstone.com/

Butterfly http://www.butterflysf.com/ is at Pier 33, a block or so south of the cruise pier.

Pier 39 is close... Fisherman's wharf is close...

Randy

My wife and I, along with two of her sisters and her brother and wife visited the Falklands last January.

We had booked a Volunteer Point trip with Patrick Watts… We would book with Pat again… Stanley was a wonderful bit of Britain in the South Atlantic.

If there was a negative it was problems getting ashore for independent excursions on the tenders… we got off on the first tender… some were delayed for 2 hours as the ships excursion passengers took priority.

We got very lucky and rode with Patrick, and so waited for the late passengers. I used the time to explore the town…

The drive was wonderful, exciting… its paved road for a bit, then good gravel road, then lesser gravel road, then overland over the moors… For those asking about 4wd rentals, you couldn’t do this on your own… (I own a 4wd and have done 90+ miles across the desert many times…) I wouldn’t try this one without a guide. Some guests were upset by the bad roads, others embraced them… it was truly an adventure… Your mileage may vary…

The Volunteer Point penguins were great, Kings (lots, thousands) Geentoos (lots, thousands) and Magiantic (hundreds)… We saw local geese and vultures as well as sheep (lots of sheep)

The guides were great… the trip took all day so we didn’t get time in town afterward, but Patrick took us for a drive to see the Lady Elizabeth and other ships, as well as the crew blowing up land mines.

I worry about the saber rattling from the Argies… based on past experience I suspect the Brits will stand up and defend the islands, but it is scary.

Go there if you can, you will enjoy the trip. If you can book Patrick Watt.

My blog report at http://randyhees.blogspot.com/2010/01/blind-in-coolest-place-on-earth-south.html

My photos at http://picasaweb.google.com/RandyHees/FaulklandIslands#

I posted a full review of our trip elsewhere, but...

Patrick Watts is without doubt the best trip you can book!

The trip is rough once you hit the moors, but that in itself is a wonderful adventure... He and all his drivers are very skilled and personable...

You do need to get off the ship on an early tender... we were first in line for the non ship's tour people and got off with about 20 others, but after that it was difficult. Our ship (the Veendam) seemed to be a real problem getting passengers ashore... we are both "2 star" mariners in a vereanda cabin and were not able to work any special access (we were able to on Veendam in Nov 2008, but not this time)

We also rode with Patrick. We had family members in two other vehicles... both had wonderful times... With all the problems getting folks off he sent 5 vehicals ahead... (5 stayed behind) we stayed behind and hung out with the other drivers... all good, all personable, all would have been good to ride with.

In our group of 5 two vehicles bogged (one was Patrick, but he was testing a route after putting sand bags in the hole...) It was not required, but I chose to open and close gates, and my wife and I dropped a fence and stood on it at one point to let our convoy go by.

I wanted to see the Lady Elizabeth, and Patrick took us to see it after the tour... he also took us to see the other wrecks scattered about the harbor...

We also tipped but I don't remember how much...

So, in closing...

1) book with Patrick

2) fight to get off the ship early

Randy

Not counting the SS Catalina c. 1966, or putting my grand parents on the Monterey (three whistle blasts? was the warning for visitors to get off... yes, we boarded with the passengers back then.) We (wife and two children under 3) went on a family reunion cruise to celebrate my wife's father's 70th birthday, wife's stepmother's 50th birthday, their collective 20th wedding anniversary to the Bahamas all expenses paid...

Two years later all of us paid our own way for a Christmas cruise on Chandress, now Celebrity, or RCL... (in between we wife and I, no children, went on a three night out of LA)

We were hooked... (check signature for details....)

So this January we are off on a new family cruise... My wife's father died in 1994. Her stepmother turns 70 this year (and with her new husband) is taking her 5 step children, their spouses, the at least 8 of the 10 grandchildren and spouses (8), (plus one step grand child and spouse) and great grand children (I think 10 are coming...)

Its a great family...

Not counting the SS Catalina c. 1966, or putting my grand parents on the Monterey (three whistle blasts? was the warning for visitors to get off... yes, we boarded with the passengers back then.) We (wife and two children under 3) went on a family reunion cruise to celebrate my wife's father's 70th birthday, wife's stepmother's 50th birthday, their collective 20th wedding anniversary to the Bahamas all expenses paid...

Two years later all of us paid our own way for a Christmas cruise on Chandress, now Celebrity, or RCL... (in between we wife and I, no children, went on a three night out of LA)

We were hooked... (check signature for details....)

So this January we are off on a new family cruise... My wife's father died in 1994. Her stepmother turns 70 this year (and with her new husband) is taking her 5 step children, their spouses, the at least 8 of the 10 grandchildren and spouses (8), (plus one step grand child and spouse) and great grand children (I think 10 are coming...)

Its a great family...