JoGay

I just spent the weekend organizing my clothes to make I have what I need and to make sure it all fits in the suitcases.  If I need more summer clothes I need to get them before summer is over!  I think I’m doing fairly well.

I just signed up for the webinar as well.

9 hours ago, jpalbny said:

 

One of those actors is Graham McTavish, who played one of the dwarves in the Hobbit trilogy. I "know" him because he does a bunch of exercise programs on my iFit treadmill. He's fun to listen to while trekking around all over. Will have to try to find that series. 

Yes, and Graham lives in NZ.

I don’t know if anyone has access to STARZ (or the equivalent in Canada), but there is a good show on it called Men in Kilts.  It stars 2 actors from the tv show Outlander.  During the first season of Men in Kilts they were talking about the culture and scenery of Scotland.  This season they are in New Zealand.  The episode last night was about the Māori culture.  It is definitely worth watching.

On a subject totally unrelated, a lot of my clothes are considered ‘hand wash’ so I will wash them myself.  Is there a clothesline in the room for hanging clothes on, or is it something I need to bring?

31 minutes ago, JSR said:

@mystydo you have a link for the hooks you’re purchasing? 
 

are you using the shoe holder for shoes or for bathroom organizing?

 

Thanks

I bought some at Home Depot, after Mysty suggested getting some.

2 hours ago, mysty said:

 

Myster and I are relatively healthy but we're not spring chickens.   We were in Bhutan and had no problems but that was only 7,218 feet.  Although the trip is very appealing we're not in a position to go for it.  Limitations all over the place!

I thought about it, but I’m not sure I will be ever in China again, and I want to see the Great Wall and Forbidden City more. 

These photos were taken as we returned from Alaska in 2007 as we went under the Golden Gate Bridge.

We are paying for the cruise the same way.  We charge a portion on the credit card, then pay it off.  It gives us lots of points on the card!  We just finished paying for the cruise.

1 hour ago, mysty said:

How are you being hung out to dry?  Are you not being advised of the final payment date?

 

I'm not sure what you're asking exactly.  😁  We work through our amazing Travel Agent to process payments to Silversea.   Because there is a limit on the credit card (which keeps us from going crazy 😅), we ask our agent to process a portion of the amount owing to Silversea, then we retire the charge.  It usually takes about 2 or 3 days for the payment on the balance of the card to be processed.  Once the balance has been cleared we ask our agent to process another portion of the amount owing.  We pay the new charge and when the card balance is cleared we repeat the process.   Rinse and repeat until total fare has been paid.  Our final cruise payment is due by July 19th.  That due date was clear on the Silversea invoice and was duly noted by us and our TA.  That's why we are starting the process now.

 

Now, as to changes on Silversea,  it's difficult to tell whether these can be attributed to our world dealing with the nasty for 3 years or due to the new management.  For our Grand Northern Europe Voyage in May/June of 2022, the cruise line was still dealing with the active nasty.  Provisions were difficult to procure and get delivered to the ship, masks and quarantines were the order of the day, staff was pushed to the limit.

5 hours ago, mysty said:

We would be in Fort Lauderdale on December 27, 2023.  This would be the end of the first leg of the Holiday Cruise and the beginning of the second leg.  This is not a new port for us.  We have sailed out of this port but have never sailed into it.

 

According to http://whatsinport.com:

 

"Things to Visit or Explore:
Billie Swamp Safari on the Big Cypress Seminole Indian Reservation.

 

Butterfly World is located in Tradewinds Park, Coconut Creek, Florida, United States. It opened in 1988, and is the largest butterfly park in the world, and the first park of its kind in the Western
Hemisphere. The facility houses around 5000 live butterflies. Spend a day of discovery exploring two floors of fascinating interactive exhibits at the Museum of Discovery and Science!

 

Fort Lauderdale's 5km (3-mile) strip of pristine sandy beach blends with the urban streetscape of highway AIA known as Beach Boulevard, where open air cafes and bistros overlook waving palms
and the sparkling Atlantic. Combine this with kilometers (miles) of lagoons and a city built around winding waterways connected by bridges and water taxis, and you'll understand its appeal to water
lovers. Since the spring break crowd was banned in the 90s, the promenade is a magnet for runners, walkers, and cyclists, and the beach is one of Fort Lauderdale's foremost attractions. Energize with
kite surfing, waterskiing, scuba diving offshore wrecks, parasailing, and sailboat, jet ski, ocean kayak or power boat rentals and cruises.

Fish off the piers at neighboring Lauderdale-By-The-Sea, Deerfield, and Pompano beaches."

 

We booked FLAMINGO GARDENS & WILDLIFE SANCTUARY.

In-Transit Guests can explore the expansive Flamingo Gardens during this picturesque, half-day sightseeing excursion.

WRAY HOME AND MUSEUM

Depart the pier for Flamingo Gardens, an approximately 60-acre (about 24-hectare), not-for-profit wildlife sanctuary, aviary and botanical garden located just west of Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Upon arrival at this Trip Advisor 'Award of Excellence' winner, your guided tour begins with a visit to the original home of Floyd L. and Jane Wray, who built a home and citrus grove on what was then the edge of the Everglades, and started a botanical collection of tropical and subtropical fruit trees and shrubs. Now a museum, the Wray Home depicts a country home of the early-1930s. Leaving the Wray Home, proceed to the Botanical Gardens.

BOTANICAL GARDENS AND TRAM-RIDE

The Botanical Gardens are one of the most beautiful, inspiring and adventurous, yet tranquil, tours offered in Fort Lauderdale. The grounds contain more than 3,000 species of tropical and subtropical plants, including orchids, ferns, bromeliads, 200-year-old live oak trees, and over 300 species of palms. A narrated tram ride leads through the site's tropical rainforest, native hammock, wetland areas and groves. The Tropical Plant House displays orchids, calatheas and other plants. The Arboretum contains one of the largest collection of non-indigenous champion trees in the region, and the Xeriscape Garden demonstrates low maintenance, minimally-watered gardening.

EVERGLADES WILDLIFE SANCTUARY

Next, take a guided tour of the Everglades Wildlife Sanctuary section, which provides care for permanently injured, non-releasable wildlife. Fauna includes an American black bear, otters, alligators, bobcats, Florida panthers, tortoises, freshwater turtles, geese, swans, sandhill cranes, blue-beaked ducks, flamingos, bald eagles, golden eagles, owls, peacocks, macaws, and iguanas. The 25,000-square-foot (about 2,300-square-metre) Everglades aviary houses one of the largest collection of wading birds in the U.S. The aviary exhibits five native Florida ecosystems; coastal prairie, mangrove swamp, cypress forest, sub-tropical hardwood hammock, and sawgrass prairie. At the conclusion of your visit, re-board your coach and commence the approximately 45-minute transfer back to the pier.

 

For people who want to go to Miami, there is a great tour of Little Havana, and Fairchild Botanical Garden has a beautiful rainforest section.

4 hours ago, jollyjones said:

 

In the past (the old locks) I went through a few times on a Panamax ship - you could actually reach out from the promenade deck and touch the lock side.

I was in total awe of the technology and skill that squeezed the ship into the lock, so close but never touching the sides or lock gates.

 

We went through in 1999 and I remember being amazed how little space there was between the ship and the concrete on the sides.

I’m trying to sign up for the Uluru tour but can’t figure out where the sign up is.

We did a 4WD tour in Alaska a number of years ago.  It was a blast!

We are doing the same tour in DaNang.  We also hope the activity level isn’t too extensive!

18 minutes ago, mysty said:

Full World Cruisers have complimentary access to the ship medical staff as a perk.  Of course, you don't want to run down to medical for minor issues.  Before our last grand adventure my very good friend (a retired nurse) was kind enough to provide a list of medications to bring with us.  I will be using her list again for this next adventure.  Readers may find the list helpful:

 

Anti-emetics/gastro ailments:

Gravol (for nausea/vomiting and dizziness, may also be helpful for seasickness)
Draminine, also known as Bonnine, can only be bought in US but can be obtained without prescription if you ask druggist, good for seasickness, dizziness caused by seasickness
Imodium for diarrhea
Kaopectate also good for diarrhea, can be bought in pill form as well as liquid
Tums work well can can be carried with you in pocket.

 

Cough and Cold Meds:

Coricidin tablets, this would be good as it is decongestant free and therefore safe if you have any blood pressure problems
Nyquil tablets for day and night, they contain cough syrup in them so are good for coughs as well
Cough syrup, a good one is Benylin DM as it helps with sleeping at night if you have a bad cough

 

Analgesics:

Tylenol 500mg tablets for aches and pains, fever 
ASA 325mg, good to take if you think you are having symptoms of heart attack or stroke, take some immediately and then see Dr.

 

Antihistamines for allergic reactions:

Benadryl for itchiness, rashes, insect bites that cause swelling, redness, any problems breathing as result of allergic reaction
Hyrdrocortisone cream 0.5 to 1% for bites, rashes, redness, itchiness

 

Cuts, sprains etc.:

Tensor bandages, 4 inch size works best, good for sprained ankle, wrist etc.
Bandages, all sizes, elastoplast are the best, gets some large ones also in case of large cut or large amount of bleeding
Polysporin antibiotic ointment to prevent infection or if redness, discharge.

 

I also take a thermometer, rubbing alcohol and hydrogen peroxide.

9 hours ago, mysty said:

 I have started the packing lists for clothing, accessories, electronics, medications, items for the suite and other necessities.  The various lists will be reviewed and edited over the next 270 days or so.

 

I definitely brought too many clothes on our first adventure.  There were also items we brought that saw little to no use (such as our ancient iPod and the camera tripod).  I have used the lists from the last time and have pared them down to something more manageable.  Or at least that is my hope.

 

We sent 4 large suitcases ahead of us in 2019 via FedEx.  We brought 1 checked bag and 4 carry on bags with us on the flight to San Francisco.  We will probably do the same thing for this adventure.  

 

The ship ahead luggage will probably be packed in the last week of November for pick up prior to our mid-December cruise.  I pack an assortment of casual, informal and formal wear for each of us into each bag.  While I pack I keep track of the contents of each luggage piece on a spreadsheet.  I put copies of our itinerary, passports and contact information inside each bag.  An example of the inventory spreadsheet is presented below.

 

The spreadsheet comes with us so that, in the event of a lost bag, we will have a list of the contents.

What a great idea!

It might have been, which is why I couldn’t find it.  Does anyone know about taking malaria drugs while in SE Asia?  It doesn’t look any of our ports are high risk for malaria.

For the person who talked about malaria medication (I can’t find the original post) I took Malarone while I was in Tanzania, starting 2 days before I left and for 2 weeks after I got home.  I didn’t have any side effects with it.  I had read that one of the other drugs (Chloroquine?) gave people wild dreams.  Having been on Doxycycline a number of times for Lyme Disease, I can’t recommend it if you plan on being in the sun at all.  It can give you a chemical burn.  Plus it can be hard on the stomach.

For the person who talked about malaria medication (I can’t find the original post) I took Malarone while I was in Tanzania, starting 2 days before I left and for 2 weeks after I got home.  I didn’t have any side effects with it.  I had read that one of the other drugs (Chloroquine?) gave people wild dreams.  Having been on Doxycycline a number of times for Lyme Disease, I can’t recommend it if you plan on being in the sun at all.  It can give you a chemical burn.  Plus it can be hard on the stomach.

On 1/20/2023 at 10:45 AM, Stumblefoot said:

Okay, good.  Glad you know.  Maybe the flies won’t see you in artificial light. 😁

Where does the Uluru tour leave from?

What do people do about phone and text service while on the cruise?

Thanks for your reply.  I will definitely talk to the Cruise Director.

19 hours ago, mysty said:

 

Here is a link to a fellow World Cruiser's post which provides the Chronicles for a number of sea days on the 2022 World Cruise.  Hope this helps!

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2874286-activities-on-multiple-days-at-sea-on-ocean-crossings/?do=findComment&comment=63786649

We are also going on the SS world cruise 2024.  We are really looking forward to it.   What kinds of activities do they have on sea days?  Does anyone play mahjong?