LIVE from the Sapphire Princess - Sydney to Los Angeles

[Rockymountainsparky]

David;

 

My hat's off to you sir. You post some of coolest pictures.....:):):)

 

Bob

I whole heartedly agree.

[Rockymountainsparky]

 

New Zealand Money: I have exactly 10 cents remaining.

That's what I call watching your pennies.

[Kiwi Kruzer]

Because of the marathon, lots of streets were blocked, so instead of a 10 minute ride we ended up with free city tour that took 40 minutes. That poor driver was beside himself with all the detours he had to take, but he did get us there and gave us dissertation along the way. We were only 8; just like a private tour.

 

Hi Pia,

Sounds like you did very well indeed with the Marathon being run today.

Just read on the news that over 14,000 runners took part in the event and of that ,

1,000 had come from overseas just to participate.

 

 

 

New Zealand Money: I have exactly 10 cents remaining.

 

Congratulations...thats very good going.

You will be able to keep that as a souvenir , as I dont 10c buys anything today:D:D

 

 

 

[coo359a2]

 

New Zealand Money: I have exactly 10 cents remaining.

 

 

Gee, I was going to ask for a loan for our NZ cruise in Feb:p

[captainron]

G'day girl,

By now you're probably on your way to Suva.

 

We had the same problem with the marathon last year when Star was in port. As we were renting a car from Ace, we managed to go to the hotel across the road from the end of the wharf and got a taxi from there so we could get the car to drive over to Whangamata for the day.

 

Your hallowe'en pedi must have been lovely (alternating black and orange toenails) :D lol!!!

 

Hope they did some great pumpkin carvings in the Atrium for you guys. Really enjoying your blog of the voyage. Keep us posted, and hope the Suva Police Band is there to greet you at the pier.

 

Ciao for now!!!

[PescadoAmarillo]

David, those Auckland pics...amazing. Thanks for sharing them with us!

[bananavan]

We have just arrived in the USA. Have been in the air and airports since Friday, 8 am Sydney time. Got caught up in the JFK arrival delays on Friday which meant that our flight was 4 hours delayed leaving South Korea. There was a large police/anti terror type presence on the runway when we finally arrived.

For those who have been following along, what happened to make the gym unusable?

When I took the Sydney bridge climb on Monday I was told that the Sapphire had been struck by lightning on Saturday. The photos on the news made it appear that way but then they did the slow motion examination and indeed there was a strike.

Pia, I am envious of you being able to visit these places twice. I hope that Suva is sunny and warm when you get there.

BTW: are you enjoying more success at trivia or are the "Brainiacs" still onboard?

Safe travels. I am back "onboard" for the rest of the trip. Thanks for doing this.

[Colo Cruiser]

For those who have been following along, what happened to make the gym unusable?

 

Water pipe broke.

[Pia1913]

Where oh where have six weeks gone? That’s how long we’ve been aboard and I’m afraid to even look at a scale. Good Monday morning at sea, on our way to Fiji. Seas are calm and skies are bright and sunny. It’s getting warmer. Or is that my imagination? For some reason the gym was emptyish today. Have they all had enough exercise? Hardly. ;)

　

Today’s schedule brings us another traditional pub lunch, the movie “Ghost Writer” and two lectures. The morning lecture is “Conspiracy Theories and Earth Science: Are scientists covering up the truth about the face on Mars? A super volcano eruption in Yellowstone? Using earthquakes and volcanoes as weapons?” 1:00 PM brings us our forensic speaker and today’s lecture is “Forensics using Trace Evidence: What do fiber, wire, shoes & tires have in common?”

　

This evening we have the group Encore in the theater (these are the three opera singers that performed on the last cruise) and Maggie (listed as comedian/singer) in Explorer’s. OK Maggie; you got us. Perhaps we’ll look in on the opera trio tomorrow night; they were really good.

 

 

 

Halloween decorations still hanging in Horizon Court and now it’s breakfast time for me. Evana, as Colo said, it was a broken water pipe that flooded the gym. All OK now. As for lightening striking us..........?????? Re: trivia: too much stuff right now; giving away and still a whole lot in my cabin.

[IBsaved]

Hi Pia

What cabin are you in? You might have posted that earlier but I can't find it. We will be in B746 in April on the Sapphire. First time on Princess without a mini-suite...trying pinch some pennies.

[mississauga]

B746 is a great cabin. Large balcony that juts out. When you stand at the jut out part of the balcony, you can see all the way to the bridge.

 

Very quiet hallway as you are the last cabin on the side...only the suite aft of you and your neighbors on the inside across the hall.

[IBsaved]

Thanks for the info on B746 on the Sapphire! Was thinking about changing cabins as I read that the balcony feels like a "cave." Think we'll stick with it...thanks again!

[mississauga]

Thanks for the info on B746 on the Sapphire! Was thinking about changing cabins as I read that the balcony feels like a "cave." Think we'll stick with it...thanks again!

 

 

It is a covered balcony and very private as no one but no one can look into your balcony but you can see everyone on theirs when you choose to. Other balconies have partial dividers but you have full walls on both sides. No way would I describe it as a cave. Lots of light and great views.

 

Given a choice, we would choose this balcony every time!

Enjoy it!:)

[IBsaved]

Sounds great! Love privacy as we spend most of the time on the balcony watching the world go by...been on the dolphin deck in a mini-suite and always feel like I'm being watched and had to be on my best behavior!!:rolleyes:

[mississauga]

Sounds great! Love privacy as we spend most of the time on the balcony watching the world go by...been on the dolphin deck in a mini-suite and always feel like I'm being watched and had to be on my best behavior!!:rolleyes:

 

Then you will love B746...lol. lots of opportunities to be naughty;)

[Kiwi Kruzer]

[Pia1913]

I’m going to mention this quickly to get it over with. Last night’s “comedian/singer; Maggie”……….YIKES! Wherever did they find her? And why? Singer - Nope. Comic - Nope. Audience was polite and managed to snicker a few times. Her comedy was mainly mentioning her body parts; three times in 60 seconds. We fortunately were in a good area to politely disappear. She’s either English or Australian. Sorry, don’t know for sure.

 

 

It’s Tuesday, November 2nd (no matter what the calendar/clock says where you are;)). The sun is shining and the seas are calm. And yes, it is getting warmer. Clocks went back an hour last night so we slept a bit longer. Mike and I are very adaptable; we adjust well to all time changes.

 

 

On today’s agenda there is a culinary demo in the theater at 10AM, a lecture on Global Warming: Is it Real? Is it Serious? At 12:30 and our forensics speaker “Manson Family Murders” at 1:45. Some days there is very little to do and others are overloaded. For us today has conflicts and choices. The most travelled luncheon is at noon and our cruise critic Poker and Pub Crawl is at 2:00. We will decide later on whether to do the P&P or to attend the lecture. It also depends on what time the luncheon ends.

 

 

The ever present art auction is at 2:00 and the movie Iron Man 2 is at 3:00 PM and also at 10:00 PM. The opera singers are on again tonight, as is Maggie. We may catch the 7:00 PM opera show and then have a late dinner up in HC. Or not. So many choices; so nice to have them. BTW, game 5 of the World Series is not mentioned in the Patter, so either it’s not today or it’s because we have no CNN or ESPN.

 

Since the only question is my cabin location which is Baja forward, right near the elevators, I guess it's time for breakfast. Bye.

[regnig]

 

 

 

The ever present art auction is at 2:00 ........

 

And you're not going????? ;):D:rolleyes:

[blueridge20]

Have been enjoying your "live from" since the beginning. I checked and the World Series is on as I type this. Would love to sail to the south pacific one day, but right now can't be off from work that long. Continue to enjoy your wonderful trip!!:D:D

[Bonnie1750]

Pia:

 

I have never had the luxury of taking such a nice long vacation.

Are you getting bored yet?

 

Bonnie

[Pia1913]

Pia:

 

I have never had the luxury of taking such a nice long vacation.

Are you getting bored yet?

 

Bonnie

 

Not yet. :D

[caribill]

BTW, game 5 of the World Series is not mentioned in the Patter, so either it’s not today or it’s because we have no CNN or ESPN.

 

 

 

Giants won the game and thus the series.

[margord]

So glad I caught back up with you. Still enjoying your cruise with you.

[Pia1913]

Welcome to Suva, Fiji where it’s already 82 degrees and humid and expected to reach almost 90. Amazing how we can freeze one day and roast the next. We’re back to playing with clocks again; yesterday we gained an hour; last night we gave it back.

　

Our Most Travelled Luncheon yesterday was great; as always. I believe we placed #5; didn’t ask. Since we were supposed to be seated again with the Staff Captain, we requested someone else and very happily had lunch with our wonderful CD, Richard Joseph. Did I give you the stats previously? If not, #1, 2 and 3 have 1179, 1012 and 877 days respectively.

　

When we were here October 12th we had to cancel our scheduled tour because Mike was sort of sick. We did take a free shuttle into town and today we’re going back. My shopper DH wanted a certain shirt and they didn’t have it in his size. Now we’ll be going back to see if they have restocked. :rolleyes:

　

On board today is a sparse schedule of a few games and the movie Valentine’s Day. As they were on the last cruise, Fiji personnel will be on board selling postcards, bookmarks and postage stamps in the Atrium on deck 5. And yes, they take U.S. dollars.

　

Tonight’s entertainment will be comedian Jack Wilks in the theater and “Valentine’s Day” in Explorer’s. Jack was on October 14th; we’ll see him again and hopefully there will be a different show. If not, that’s OK too.

 

No comments? No questions? Time to eat.

[regnig]

Pia I'm glad to hear you are back to warm weather. Hope shopper Mike finds the shirt he wants.

 

Barb