LIVE from the Sapphire Princess - Sydney to Los Angeles

[Pia1913]

Boy, was it HOT today! We are never happy. First we complain about the cold and then we complain about the heat. The “we” is the colloquial one, as this is what is being heard today and every day. The real WE, Mike and I, love the heat and the humidity. It’s what we’re used to and how we live.

 

 

Just popping in as we sail out of Suva with a full band playing for us dockside. We were off the ship for just a little while this morning and no, Mike never did get his shirt. They had it, but when he tried it on he hated it. :rolleyes:

 

 

There was one torrential downpour early this AM ( disappeared within 20 minutes) and now the skies are dark and ominous. Hope we sail smoothly on to our next port Pago Pago, which we will reach on Thursday. Today is Wednesday and tomorrow is also Wednesday, as we again cross the International Date Line.

 

 

See you in the morning.

[Toto2Kansas]

At least you aren't freezing Pia. ;) Thanks for checking in.

[regnig]

 

Today is Wednesday and tomorrow is also Wednesday..........

 

Awe go on, have another drink! :D;):D

[Woobstr112G]

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.

 

Very interesting on how the weather can vary wildly from day to day. Thanks for checking in with us.....:):):)

 

Bob

[CruzinNoony]

Hi Pia,

 

You start my day off every morning. Thanks so much for taking the time to keep us all caught up on the happenings. How is trivia going? Do they have a cruise long progressive one? Are you still playing with Ed and Jeff? We are taking the 28 day R/T LA to Hawaii and Tahiti next October (on the Sapphire). Bob and I don't snorkel, so when you get off in the non-Hawaii ports, please look around and see if they offer 4X4 island tours. Thank you!!:D

[trikeman]

Today is Wednesday and tomorrow is also Wednesday, as we again cross the International Date Line.

 

Not like we haven't heard that before and move the clock up, move the clock back. Come on just admit your having so much fun you don't know day or time it is. :D Hope you have good weather.

[bananavan]

 

Today is Wednesday and tomorrow is also Wednesday, as we again cross the International Date Line.

 

 

See you in the morning.

 

Pia:

What I wouldn't give for two Wednesdays back to back. :)

This jet lag is a bear to deal with. I was up again at 2 AM this morning and that was NOT because I was wondering who had won the elections.

Enjoy Pago Pago tomorrow. I hope that you have a good day and that you get to see something different there.

 

Enjoy the continuation of your wonderful trip. I keep wondering why the towels are on the bathroom floor and then I remember, Rolando is still working on Dolphin deck. :D

Thanks for posting each day.

[Toto2Kansas]

Pia:

What I wouldn't give for two Wednesdays back to back. :)

This jet lag is a bear to deal with. I was up again at 2 AM this morning and that was NOT because I was wondering who had won the elections.

Enjoy Pago Pago tomorrow. I hope that you have a good day and that you get to see something different there.

 

Enjoy the continuation of your wonderful trip. I keep wondering why the towels are on the bathroom floor and then I remember, Rolando is still working on Dolphin deck. :D

Thanks for posting each day.

Don't feel alone, I did that on each trip to Australia (after flights). Stayed up until 11:00 PM, couldn't get to sleep until about midnight at the hotel, and then back up at 1:00 as my body was telling me it was morning. Happened on both trips to AU for me, not fun at all. :( Secret tip! Ambien for a few days until your internal clock is re-set. ;)

[coo359a2]

When I took the Sydney bridge climb on Monday .

 

Hi Banavan - How did you like the bridge climb? What time was your climb? We plan to do it before our Dawn P cruise in March .

[Pia1913]

Good Morning. It’s Wednesday #2. When I went to bed last night we were 17 hours ahead of EST. This morning we are ????. I think we are now 7 hours BEHIND EST. The only thing I’m sure of is that it’s November 3rd. Again. The sun is shining, the seas are calm and the temp is supposed to be a high of 88. l saw comedian Jack Wilks again last yes, same show from the last cruise with a few new jokes interspersed.

　

Today’s offerings are the forensic guy at 9:45 with a lecture on Phil Spector. Why did he shoot her in the foyer of his mansion? Following Ron Bowers, (he’s Mr. Forensics), is a lecture on Earthquakes Prediction: Is it Possible? In the afternoon they’re showing Avatar, which will also be shown again at 10:00 PM. Our new friends have been trying to get us to have lunch in the dining room and today just might be the day.

　

Tonight in the theater is vocalist Grant Galea, billed as “from Dean Martin to Elvis.” We will pass on this one. In Explorer’s will be “the physical comedy” of James Lamont. What do you think? Juggler? Acrobat? Magician? Will let you know since I’m curious enough to find out. Remember the Vintage People? They are having a non stop dance party in Fusion from 9:00 PM to 1:00 AM. Who do they think will be doing all this dancing to the music of the 70’s, 80’s and 90’s? I could be wrong, but I don’t think the passengers on this ship stay up that late.

　

When we headed up here to HC this morning, you could tell that the weather has changed. Almost every lounger has a towel, a book, sunglasses, etc. on it. No reservations allowed? What time did these people stake out the chairs?

 

Meredith: yes, we are playing with Ed and Jeff, though we miss you and Bob when it comes to R and R music questions. I will look at the Princess schedule and let you know about 4 x4. We did that when we were in FP 6 years ago. I don't think we're getting off at all in Bora Bora this time. Moorea definitely not.

 

Breakfast awaits.

[bananavan]

Hi there Tina.

I did the bridge climb at 8:55 am. The skies were not too promising and I was kind of hoping that we would get canceled. ;)Alas the only reason is lightning and they had that on the Saturday before and all they did was wait it out in a safe room until the storm had passed.

It took about an hour to get all suited up etc. and then we started the climb. It is a very challenging activity. Not scary at all. Totally exciting. The steps are not very deep so you have to be careful with your footing. Everything (glasses, hats etc) is fastened to your grey jump suit but that did not stop me from grabbing my hat when the wind blew. This resulted in me walking thigh first into a cable holder. :o

The longest part of the trip is stopping for the five photo ops. They give you one free and the others are around $29 each. Our climb was $199 AU each.

Toto, my problem last night was that I had decided to try an Ambien free night. Tonight I will return to the medicated internal time clock reset.

Pia: What a surprise about the loungers being taken even before you got up there. :rolleyes:

Good luck with trivia and give my best to Mike.

[coo359a2]

Thanks Evana. We're looking forward to the climb and keeping fingers crossed that weather is good for us. Just have to decide on the time and book it.

[Pia1913]

Nothing to say, but it's midnight where you are and wine time here. See you in the AM. Ours. :D

[coo359a2]

OK - it's now 6am in Alabama - waiting to read about what your're doing next.

[mississauga]

Good Morning. It’s Wednesday #2. When I went to bed last night we were 17 hours ahead of EST. This morning we are ????. I think we are now 7 hours BEHIND EST. The only thing I’m sure of is that it’s November 3rd. Again.

 

Was it at least morning when you woke up or did you have to make some adjustments? I remember on your last leg going the other way, even though you lost a day, at least did not affect your internal clock.:) Inquiring minds want to know as we will probably take this cruise ( Sydney to LA rather than the LA or SF to Sydney one ).

 

Enjoy the warmer weather you are getting now. More like what you are used to.:D

[Pia1913]

In Explorer’s will be “the physical comedy” of James Lamont. What do you think? Juggler? Acrobat? Magician? Will let you know since I’m curious enough to find out. .

The above is what I posted yesterday morning. OK. I found out. Juggler? Yep. Magician? Eh. Acrobat? A little bit. And the all important unicycle. Yep. Comedy? Definitely not. Too much talking while trying to be a comedian, which he definitely is not. Unless you think juggling ping pong balls out of your mouth and playing Happy Birthday on a xylophone with a ping pong ball is funny. :(

　

Good Morning from Pago Pago, American Samoa. We arrived a bit before 7:00 and will depart at 4:00 PM. Since we did our all day tour the first time we were here, today will be devoted to just walking around the port area and check out the local stores, kiosks, stalls and of course the supermarket. The weather this early in the day is already hot and humid, with projected high of 90. Skies are cloudy with a chance of rain.

　

Nothing much happening on board today except for trivia, shuffleboard, paddle tennis, ping pong and the movie Leap Year. Tonight the aforementioned James Lamont is doing two more shows in Explorer’s and in the theater will be Michael Young, listed as “Dynamic Australian Multi Instrumentalist.”

　

In today’s Patter there’s a list of the various nationalities of passengers on board, which represent 29 countries. Total passengers number 2649, the majority of which are: 1103 Americans, 647 British, 398 Canadians, 227 Germans, 95 Australian, 80 Swiss and the remaining from 23 other countries. Very interesting stats.

　

We again received a notice that our passports are to be collected tomorrow for presentation before arrival into FP (namely Moorea). Of course we will need to clear immigration before Honolulu, so I assume the American authorities will be boarding in French Polynesia.

 

Mary: my internal clock adjusts well and yes, it was morning.

[Toto2Kansas]

Pia, so jealous of your warm weather.................we are freezing here in the Midwest already. Enjoy your time in Pago Pago and thanks again for checking in. ;)

[Kiwi Kruzer]

[canadiansnowbird]

Hi Pia:

 

Have been looking at what goes on the return trip with you. Tony & I are still fighting jet lag. We tried for a few days to go without any meds, and were awake all night and were sleeping in the day. Then it was sleeping for a few hours at night, waking and having a hard time to go back to sleep. Took something one night and forgot I had to get up early for an appointment. I've been told it will take up to 2 weeks.

Looks like most of the movies are a repeat of our first leg. Entertainment doesn't look that good either. I miss your wonderful hot weather you are getting though. Tony said that we should have looked at the return also by sea, anything but that airplane trip!!!!

The whole cruise was like a dream though, I had to pinch myself at each island to realize I was actually there.

 

Keep it up Pia

PS: How was the Pub and Poker Crawl?

Snowbird

[Bucky3]

Pia - When we got to Honolulu last fall on the Star, everyone had to report to one of the lounges for immigration/customs with their passports. The ship gave every cabin a time to report - ours was 10:30AM as I recall! DH had a business appt. scheduled for 8AM in Honolulu, so he just went down when they opened the place and had no trouble getting in early. I went down before the appointed time too and was able to get in not too long a line. If you were planning to get off early, be prepared!

 

Did you hear anything good, bad, or indifferent from anyone who went to Tisa's Barefoot bar on this leg or the previous one? We were there just after the tsunami last fall, and are thinking of going there again next fall on Sapphire's 28-day SP RT from LA - can you believe there are already almost 200 on our roll call for that October 22, 2011 cruise?

 

Love "reliving" with you so again thanks so much for your dailies.

[Pia1913]

Gail: We didn't do the P and P crawl because we got out of the capt. luncheon at 1:45 and just ran to see the forensics lecture instead. We would have had to change clothes first to do the crawl and didn't have enough time.

 

Bucky: We did Tisa's on the first cruise. Had a nice day. Weather was good; water was nice.

[WannaCruise365]

James Lamont" The WORST entertainment we have ever seen on a cruise ship, sadly he was performing (if you can call it that) at least 2-3 shows each week for 4 weeks while we were cruising this summer..Sorry I am not trying to be mean just honest IMHO

[Pia1913]

　

　

Great day in Pago Pago. We spent a few hours off the ship just walking around and probably visiting every store in the port area. Our big purchases were a magnet for a friend, Diet Pepsi for me (Hooray! I found some in the land of Coca Cola) and last but not least another Pago Pago shirt for you know who. Mike said he needed another one (different style; different color) because he’d probably not visit here again and what if something happened to the first one. Can you see me rolling my eyes?

　

　

The skies remain cloudy which is a good thing because of the heat. Just a drizzle or two of liquid from above every few minutes and not enough to even open an umbrella. We walked past the post office which was doing a brisk business, and also McDonald’s which was also doing business with some passengers. I suppose there’s a need for greasy fries every so often.

　

　

Some of you may be interested for future reference, that there are lots of internet locations here. In fact, we walked into a general merchandise store which had a free wifi sign on the front window. Lo and behold in the rear of the store, there stood a passenger, using her netbook atop an unopened carton of toilet paper. Hey……whatever works. :D

 

Wanna Cruise 365: You are not being mean. You are correct.

[Woobstr112G]

　

　

Great day in Pago Pago. We spent a few hours off the ship just walking around and probably visiting every store in the port area. Our big purchases were a magnet for a friend, Diet Pepsi for me (Hooray! I found some in the land of Coca Cola) and last but not least another Pago Pago shirt for you know who. Mike said he needed another one (different style; different color) because he’d probably not visit here again and what if something happened to the first one. Can you see me rolling my eyes?

　

　

The skies remain cloudy which is a good thing because of the heat. Just a drizzle or two of liquid from above every few minutes and not enough to even open an umbrella. We walked past the post office which was doing a brisk business, and also McDonald’s which was also doing business with some passengers. I suppose there’s a need for greasy fries every so often.

　

　

Some of you may be interested for future reference, that there are lots of internet locations here. In fact, we walked into a general merchandise store which had a free wifi sign on the front window. Lo and behold in the rear of the store, there stood a passenger, using her netbook atop an unopened carton of toilet paper. Hey……whatever works. :D

 

Wanna Cruise 365: You are not being mean. You are correct.

 

Pia;

 

Thanks for checking in. Some day I gotta get to the South Pacific.....:):):)

 

Bob

[Pia1913]

It’s a beautiful Friday morning with sunny skies and calm seas, and yes, already pretty hot for early in the AM. We now have two relaxing days at sea before arriving into Moorea on Sunday.

　

On the agenda for today is a Cruise Critic Meet and Greet arranged by our cruise director; in the Wheelhouse at 11:00 and a lecture at 11:30 on Earthquakes, Archeology and Civilization. There’s a choice at 1:00 PM of a margarita demonstration at the Neptune pool, or a forensics lecture in the theater. Lecture subject is “Bill Cosby’s son’s Slaying.” Today’s movie at 2:30 is My One and Only with Renee Zellweger and Kevin Bacon. Of interest is that the casino staff has been holding “seminars” for the German passengers. They did one for slots and today there’s one for Black Jack.

　

In the Wheelhouse from 5:00 to 7:00 PM will be Guy Fawkes Bonfire Night. As I understand it, Guy Fawkes, a 17th century Englishman, was caught in the cellars of Parliament with barrels of gunpowder. He was tried as a traitor against the government, was sentenced to death and was executed by being hung, drawn and quartered. This evidentally occurred on November 5th, so there is a tradition on this night that fireworks are used and bonfires are lit. My question is: In the Wheelhouse? When/if I get the info I will let you know.

Tonight is formal night and another production show night of Piano Man. Jack Wilks is also performing again in Explorer’s. We enjoy Jack’s shows so definitely will attend that one. Also tonight will be another clock changing event; ahead we go for a loss of an hour’s sleep.

 

Breakfast time.