Whispering Around The World 2019

[mysty]

40 minutes ago, Lifesgreat said:

Look for big, and look for the smile but the tan and the hair disappeared years ago. Looking forward to saying "giday!" 

Not to worry Lifesgreat!  I have some hair and Myster has some hair.  Very short for both of us.  Salt and pepper for both.  And of course being from a Northern clime we are both rather pasty looking at this point.  🙂 

[tgh]

Have a wonderful trip Mysty and take car not to trip over the carapace of T1 as he lumbers between the bar and the pool  

 

[mysty]

2 minutes ago, tgh said:

Have a wonderful trip Mysty and take car not to trip over the carapace of T1 as he lumbers between the bar and the pool  

 

Thanks tgh!  I will be wary of any stray carapaces!  Broken hips are not in my game plan!  🙂

[turtlemichael]

5 hours ago, tgh said:

Have a wonderful trip Mysty and take car not to trip over the carapace of T1 as he lumbers between the bar and the pool  

 

Ha ha.  I resemble that remark tgh! 🙂

[mysty]

11 hours ago, tgh said:

Have a wonderful trip Mysty and take car not to trip over the carapace of T1 as he lumbers between the bar and the pool  

 

 

6 hours ago, turtlemichael said:

Ha ha.  I resemble that remark tgh! 🙂

 

I am enjoying the wit in this thread!  Nothing starts the day off better than a laugh!  Thanks Folks!  🙂 

 

Stage two of packing has begun.  Migrating bibs and bobs to a central location so I can assess the carry on requirements.  HunE your deadline is looming.  Hope the last minute "stuffing" goes well.  🙂 

[HunEBear]

On ‎12‎/‎24‎/‎2018 at 4:33 PM, mysty said:

We are now at 12 days and counting down to sail away.  I want to thank all the lovely folks who chimed in here to make this a real community place.  I want to encourage all to feel comfortable posting thoughts, pictures, experiences, opinions and all the bits and bobs that will make this feel like a home away from home as the journey commences!

 

Hi, Mysty - sorry I missed your holiday greetings.  I was busy with preparations and then "making merry" as Bob Cratchit would say.  I hope you and Myster had a nice Christmas.  I want to thank you for starting this thread and keeping it going.  It has added to my excitement for the trip and I am looking forward to meeting you and the rest of the kind folks who have posted here.  Thank you also for remembering my deadline - the suitcases are by the door and all that remains is to affix the Fedex tags.  I am ready.  

[mysty]

1 minute ago, HunEBear said:

 

Hi, Mysty - sorry I missed your holiday greetings.  I was busy with preparations and then "making merry" as Bob Cratchit would say.  I hope you and Myster had a nice Christmas.  I want to thank you for starting this thread and keeping it going.  It has added to my excitement for the trip and I am looking forward to meeting you and the rest of the kind folks who have posted here.  Thank you also for remembering my deadline - the suitcases are by the door and all that remains is to affix the Fedex tags.  I am ready.  

Thanks HunE.....our Christmas was quiet and most enjoyable!

I'm very happy to hear that your bags are almost on the way out the door!  🙂  There is a special sense of accomplishment with that task completed.  Also it has been my absolute pleasure to have kindled the spark that lit this thread!  I have enjoyed the wit, the interaction, the information sharing and the excitement that continues to build as we get closer to sail away.  Almost time to party hearty and to use your quote from Bob Cratchit "making merry"!

[mysty]

11 hours ago, turtlemichael said:

Ha ha.  I resemble that remark tgh! 🙂

Not to worry Turtle!  I am more like Thumper:

 

 

I think this will work out just fine!  🙂  

[mysty]

10 days and counting down to sail away!  And there are now 12 people registered for the Meet & Mingle for the March 18th segment!  Hurrah!

Edited December 27, 2018 by mysty

[HunEBear]

5 hours ago, mysty said:

 10 days and counting down to sail away! And there are now 12 people registered for the Meet & Mingle for the March 18th segment!  Hurrah!

 

Yeah - and we leave home in less than a week. 

Thank you, Mysty for the Meet and Mingle reminder.  I have now registered my husband and I.  

BTW, Fedex just left with our four suitcases!

[mysty]

58 minutes ago, HunEBear said:

 

Yeah - and we leave home in less than a week. 

Thank you, Mysty for the Meet and Mingle reminder.  I have now registered my husband and I.  

BTW, Fedex just left with our four suitcases!

 

I think I hear the Hallelujah Chorus HunE!  Great news on the luggage departure and on the Meet & Mingle!  We leave on January 4.  Really hoping our weather cooperates!  I keep checking the long range forecast and it changes every day.  Mind you, they can't even accurately predict tomorrow's weather so beyond that is a crap shoot!

[HunEBear]

2 hours ago, mysty said:

 

I think I hear the Hallelujah Chorus HunE!  Great news on the luggage departure and on the Meet & Mingle!  We leave on January 4.  Really hoping our weather cooperates!  I keep checking the long range forecast and it changes every day.  Mind you, they can't even accurately predict tomorrow's weather so beyond that is a crap shoot!

 

kI know what you mean.  My fingers are crossed for you, Mysty.  It is always touch and go this time of year.  It is good that you are leaving a day early.

 

We are leaving home on January 2nd and are spending the night before our flight at the airport.  We did that last year and were so glad.  We woke up on the day of our flight to lots of snow.  We would not have made it to the airport otherwise.  We were very fortunate as our flight was one of the last ones to be able to take off that day.  Right now, the forecast looks clear, so I am hopeful that we won't have any delays...

[mysty]

1 minute ago, HunEBear said:

 

kI know what you mean.  My fingers are crossed for you, Mysty.  It is always touch and go this time of year.  It is good that you are leaving a day early.

 

We are leaving home on January 2nd and are spending the night before our flight at the airport.  We did that last year and were so glad.  We woke up on the day of our flight to lots of snow.  We would not have made it to the airport otherwise.  We were very fortunate as our flight was one of the last ones to be able to take off that day.  Right now, the forecast looks clear, so I am hopeful that we won't have any delays...

 

We are doing the same thing HunE!  Spending January 3 night at the airport hotel.  Flight leaves at 9:00 am on the 4th.  The last time we did this in 2016 we left the day of the Gala.  Snow the day before.  The morning of, snow flurries but we made it out.  Not a direct flight this time so we are hoping the connecting airport doesn't have issues.  It's currently the only issue causing heart palpitations.

[joe_90]

 

Mysty

 

We are in the process of World Cruising the house as per the insurance company's requirements and my  thoughts

 

All windows locked

All doors locked and no keys left onsite

Batteries removed from tv remotes

All electric plugs removed (except for alarm , Deep Freeze  or security lights) 

Alarm set

If you have a desktop pc a master back up is completed

the water system drained totally

if car in garage try to not use handbrake as the disc can stick to pads making it unmovable 

Clean body work of car bird dirt can leave paint marked.

 

These are the best I can do so Bon Voyage and safe journey.

 

Just your very very average 

 

Joe

 

ps its only 11.5 hrs in a metal tube from London. 

 

 

 

[mysty]

Thanks Joe!  Most of those items are currently on the last page of my To-Do list.  However there are a few gems I did not already have.  Back to the list making.... 

[threeforthree]

8 hours ago, joe_90 said:

 

Mysty

 

We are in the process of World Cruising the house as per the insurance company's requirements and my  thoughts

 

All windows locked

All doors locked and no keys left onsite

Batteries removed from tv remotes

All electric plugs removed (except for alarm , Deep Freeze  or security lights) 

Alarm set

If you have a desktop pc a master back up is completed

the water system drained totally

if car in garage try to not use handbrake as the disc can stick to pads making it unmovable 

Clean body work of car bird dirt can leave paint marked.

 

These are the best I can do so Bon Voyage and safe journey.

 

Just your very very average 

 

Joe

 

ps its only 11.5 hrs in a metal tube from London. 

 

 

 

 

 

Yes, but you are home when the trip ends :)....

 

Our luggage gone.  

 

We don't have to vacation proof our house, friends of ours are house sitting...

[mysty]

17 minutes ago, threeforthree said:

Our luggage gone.  

 

We don't have to vacation proof our house, friends of ours are house sitting...

 

Excellent news 343!  You are very fortunate to have friends that will take care of business for you!  We have a hired house sitter coming in to check on things.  We used her services for our last big adventure and were very pleased!  The water pipes will be drained.  The biggest concern is potential snow damage.  All digits are crossed that things go smoothly.

[Emtbsam]

I am interested that your insurance company requires you to do those things, but they are good to do none the less.  We do not drain the pipes here on the mid-Atlantic seaboard, but we do turn off the breaker to the well and leave the heat on at 55F.

 

Our excitement builds even though we don't leave until March since our TA just informed us that our request for a suite upgrade for the Capetown Lisbon portion had come through.  Yippee!

 

Happy New Year to everyone and Bon Voyage!!!

[mysty]

Thanks Emt!  Congrats on the suite upgrade!  🙂  Our insurance company also requires that the pipes are drained and that someone comes in daily to check the house.  We set the temp to 65 F.

 

Happy New Year to you and all!  Looking forward to meeting you in March!

[turtlemichael]

I think I can claim the prize among those who regularly post in this thread - Good afternoon San Francisco! 

 

Sunny and almost warm, certainly lots of people about in short sleeve shirts. The forecast looks good too over the next week or so before showers around the day we sail.  It's 26 hours since we checked in for our first flight so we may have some jetlag though I slept well across the Pacific. Turtle2 had the Kindle going most of the way.

 

Enjoy your weekend folks.

Edited December 29, 2018 by turtlemichael

[mysty]

6 minutes ago, turtlemichael said:

I think I can claim the prize among those who regularly post in this thread - Good afternoon San Francisco! 

 

Sunny and almost warm, certainly lots of people about in short sleeve shirts. The forecast looks good too over the next week or so before showers around the day we sail.  It's 26 hours since we checked in for our first flight so we may have some jetlag though I slept well across the Pacific. Turtle2 had the Kindle going most of the way.

 

Enjoy your weekend folks.

And the winners of first past the gate are.....Turtle and Turtle2!  Enjoy your time in San Fran!  Very envious because we have been dealing with freezing rain here!  Thanks for checking in as we were about to issue an APB on your whereabouts!  🙂 

[mysty]

I was curious about the Greenwich Ship Tier where the Lady Whisper is expected on May 18, 2019.  There had been plans for a new cruise terminal.    Unfortunately, in November 2018, the new cruise terminal plans for Enderby Wharf were withdrawn by developers as Greenwich Council ended the backing over pollution concerns. 

 

Greenwich Ship Tier is a floating pontoon in River Thames. Tender boats are used to ferry passengers between the boat and the pier.  The Pier is on-shore, and is where Thames Clippers (London City's river bus service) and various other water taxis and riverboats dock.   Here is a picture of the Pier (not the Tier):

 

 

And here is a link that shows a cruise ship making the journey to the Greenwich Ship Tier from Margaretness.   The video is 9:26 long.

 

https://youtu.be/6WJL54MulJE
 

[mysty]

To clarify...the picture above is of the North Greenwich Pier.  If I understand correctly the ferries from the ship will head to the Greenwich Pier.

 

[HunEBear]

Thanks, Mysty, for the information on the Greenwich pier.  I just assumed that we would dock at a normal cruise terminal to disembark.  I will need to keep it in mind when packing to return home, since I will need to maneuver my carryon on and off the tender.  Luckily, I have almost five months to work it out.  

[mysty]

Count down has begun in earnest for the launch of this big adventure.  Folks will be busy with last minute preparations and cramming in a celebration of the New Year!  Best wishes to all for safe travels and an exciting start to a healthy and joyful New Year!  Happy 2019!