****Live from the Grand Princess****

[meemeec]

Yes David the weather looks to be great here today! How is the weather in Auckland? I am visiting friends in Timaru when I stop there in December enroute to Papeete.

 

Tony

:cool: :eek: :cool:

 

Hello, Tony

I have been enjoying your "blog" from the Grand and thanks for taking the time to post here. I had to comment on the above since so few have heard of Timaru outside New Zealand! Our exchange student "daughter" (1989-90) was from Timaru and now lives in Christchurch. She visits us often and we have been to Timaru as well. It's a small world!!

Maureen

[T&J]

Hello, Tony

I have been enjoying your "blog" from the Grand and thanks for taking the time to post here. I had to comment on the above since so few have heard of Timaru outside New Zealand! Our exchange student "daughter" (1989-90) was from Timaru and now lives in Christchurch. She visits us often and we have been to Timaru as well. It's a small world!!

Maureen

 

I met this great couple from New Zealand while onboard the Pacific Princess and they ahve invited to visit them in Timaru....small world indeed!

 

Tony

:cool: :eek: :cool:

[meemeec]

I met this great couple from New Zealand while onboard the Pacific Princess and they ahve invited to visit them in Timaru....small world indeed!

 

Tony

:cool: :eek: :cool:

 

I'll look forward to your review of Timaru!! :D

[Sandy R]

Hi Tony... I'm still hooked on your posts!

 

BTW, you mentioned the ATM's on the ship exchanging US$$ for euro. What about ATM's on the Sapphire when we're in Asia. Do you think they'll have yuan and yen to exchange for US$$? Maybe someone onboard the Grand knows the answer.

 

Also, we'll be boarding the Sapphire on 9/16 and although we've never done early traditional we're thinking of changing from late to early seating. Do you have a contact on board that we might speak to once we embark. I sense on this 28 day cruise, it's going to be more difficult to get early seating because of its' length, because I'm thinking they'll be a greater number of "mature adults" who favor early seating... how's that for tact!

 

Sandy

[KansasScrapper]

Thank you so very much. I can't wait to get one.

[arlenemilt]

 

BTW, you mentioned the ATM's on the ship exchanging US$$ for euro. What about ATM's on the Sapphire when we're in Asia. Do you think they'll have yuan and yen to exchange for US$$?

 

Also, we'll be boarding the Sapphire on 9/16 and although we've never done early traditional we're thinking of changing from late to early seating. Do you have a contact on board that we might speak to once we embark. I sense on this 28 day cruise, it's going to be more difficult to get early seating because of its' length, because I'm thinking they'll be a greater number of "mature adults" who favor early seating... how's that for tact!

 

Sandy

 

Sandy, I'm going to jump in on this. Last year while on the Pacific (46 days) one of our ports was Nagasaki. When we disembarked, there was a little house doing yen exchanges. We changed very little since we only needed yen for the bus and buying soft drinks/water in the small 7-11 type stores. Everywhere else took credit cards. Tony was with us, so this should refresh his memory.

As for yuan, we have never used chinese money anywhere in China. We spent 3 weeks in China in 2004 and only used American dollars.

Early seating is at a premium on the long cruises and I guess we fall into the catagory of "mature adults." :) This is one reason we favor personal choice, when we can dine at the most preferred time - 7:00 PM.

Arlene

[LILynn]

Hi Tony -

 

So glad to see that you are still having so much fun. Are you glad to be going home soon though???? With all the traveling that you do I am suprised you even have a home!!!!

 

Did you hear about the blast in Turkey today - a number of tourists were injured. Have they said anything on the ship about not stopping at Kusadasi on the next cruise (mine!!)?

 

Hope you are doing well at the office!

 

Lynn

[Sandy R]

Thanks, Arlene. We booked a private tour in Muroran, Japan that has requested payment in yen only. I think we'll offer them US$$ and if that doesn't work, we'll ask them to find us an ATM. We also have a private tour in Tianjin, China that "prefers" Yuan. The word "prefers" gives us some wiggle room so I suppose we can pay them US$$. Since our Nagasaki stop is after Muroran, exchanging $$ for yen won't help.

 

Now, if I just had a personal packer that was expert in all these new TSA rules, I'd be in 7th heaven!

 

Sandy

[T&J]

Hi Tony... I'm still hooked on your posts!

 

BTW, you mentioned the ATM's on the ship exchanging US$$ for euro. What about ATM's on the Sapphire when we're in Asia. Do you think they'll have yuan and yen to exchange for US$$? Maybe someone onboard the Grand knows the answer.

 

Also, we'll be boarding the Sapphire on 9/16 and although we've never done early traditional we're thinking of changing from late to early seating. Do you have a contact on board that we might speak to once we embark. I sense on this 28 day cruise, it's going to be more difficult to get early seating because of its' length, because I'm thinking they'll be a greater number of "mature adults" who favor early seating... how's that for tact!

 

Sandy

 

They will NOT have yuan at either the ATM or at the Pursers Desk. The only currency they will sell is Japanese Yen. Your best bet is to exhange some Yuan while in China before you board the ship or in Pusan, South Korea is another good place to exchange dome Yuan as well. I did need some Yuan while on that cruise for taxis etc...

 

Regarding switching to early seating while onboard will prove to be difficult as Arlene mentioned.

 

Tony

:cool: :eek: :cool:

[T&J]

I'll look forward to your review of Timaru!! :D

 

I am sure I will love it!:p

 

Tony

:cool: :eek: :cool:

[T&J]

Hi Tony -

 

So glad to see that you are still having so much fun. Are you glad to be going home soon though???? With all the traveling that you do I am suprised you even have a home!!!!

 

Did you hear about the blast in Turkey today - a number of tourists were injured. Have they said anything on the ship about not stopping at Kusadasi on the next cruise (mine!!)?

 

Hope you are doing well at the office!

 

Lynn

 

Lynn...Yes we heard about the bombings in Turkey the other day and I asked already about them stopping in Istanbul and Kusadasi and the reply I got was that the Company is monitoring the situation very closely. If I hear anything before I disembark on Friday morning I will post here as well. I might ask the Captain that question when I see him tomorrow at the Most Travelled Luncheon.

 

I am ready to go home in 3 days for sure...miss our dogs!

 

Tony

:cool: :eek: :cool:

[T&J]

Thanks, Arlene. We booked a private tour in Muroran, Japan that has requested payment in yen only. I think we'll offer them US$$ and if that doesn't work, we'll ask them to find us an ATM. We also have a private tour in Tianjin, China that "prefers" Yuan. The word "prefers" gives us some wiggle room so I suppose we can pay them US$$. Since our Nagasaki stop is after Muroran, exchanging $$ for yen won't help.

 

Now, if I just had a personal packer that was expert in all these new TSA rules, I'd be in 7th heaven!

 

Sandy

 

Sandy read my previous post about the Pursers Desk carrying Japanese Yen onboard that you can buy and also sell back after if you have any left over.

 

Tony

:cool: :eek: :cool:

[T&J]

Good Morning from Santorini, Greece. We will be tendering this morning in Santorini, our only tender port thus far. The sun is just coming up and it's beautifull if you can see it on the cruise cam.

 

We are planning on disembarking ASAP to get an early start today in Santorini as the wather here will be very hot. My favorite is to go up by Gondola and not by donkey which you can as well.

 

The tenders operate every 20 minutes to the Town of Fira and travel time will take approx. 20 minutes in each direction.

 

Going for breakfast in 20 minutes time.

 

More to follow from the Grand Princess later today.

 

Tony and Javier

:cool: :eek: :cool:

[T&J]

Thank you so very much. I can't wait to get one.

 

No problem...was my pleasure finding the info for you!;)

 

Tony and Javier

:cool: :eek: :cool:

[Kiwi Kruzer]

Hi Tony,

Another great day for you.I have been waiting to see a ship I know with this cam,so here it is.Can you see where the cam is located from the ship?

 

[joyride]

Hey Kiwi - that's a great webcam shot!

 

Our group leaves for our Med/Greek Isle cruise on the Golden in 3 weeks! It has been a long wait for over a year! I will be posting a "Live from the Golden" for sure.

 

Tony - I'm looking forward to hearing about your day in Santorini. We plan to do the cable car too - are you venturing to Oia? Looking forward to hearing about your day...

 

I have never been away from my dogs for more than a week - so I'm really stressing about 3 weeks in Europe. They will be well taken care of, but OMG are we going to miss them!

[T&J]

Hi Tony,

Another great day for you.I have been waiting to see a ship I know with this cam,so here it is.Can you see where the cam is located from the ship?

 

 

David our cam is located on top of the mast on Deck 15 forward from what I can see we have it pointed at some small neighboroughing island.

 

Tony

[T&J]

Hey Kiwi - that's a great webcam shot!

 

Our group leaves for our Med/Greek Isle cruise on the Golden in 3 weeks! It has been a long wait for over a year! I will be posting a "Live from the Golden" for sure.

 

Tony - I'm looking forward to hearing about your day in Santorini. We plan to do the cable car too - are you venturing to Oia? Looking forward to hearing about your day...

 

I have never been away from my dogs for more than a week - so I'm really stressing about 3 weeks in Europe. They will be well taken care of, but OMG are we going to miss them!

 

We miss teh dogs as well so much ...we are looking forward to picking them up on Sunday Sept 3rd and I will have them for 12 days before I leave again.

 

Tony

:cool: :eek: :cool:

[T&J]

We'll we left the ship just shortly after 8:00am and proceeded to deck 4 midship to board a tender. We had priority tender tickets but it didn't matter as no one was in the Micheangelo Dinning Room ready to leave.

 

It took us all of 15 minutes approx. from the ship to pier in Santorini. We walked past a couple of shops at the base of the mountain, a duty free shop, and some small tour and boat operators as well before we continued to walk another 1000 feet to the cable car entrance....this is where the fun began.

 

The cable car was broken and the queue was approx 100 people waiting before us with 6 gondolas per trip up that can hold 4-6 people. They even had one of the chief engineers from the ship assisting them to fix the electrical problem tehy were having. The other option was the one we past which was the Donkey ride up the mountain....there was no way we were doing that at all cost. First, the smells coming that Donkey Doo was unbeleivable for such a medium size animal.

 

Secondly the lines were growing there as well as a lot of people were getting impatient about waiting for the gondolas to be working again. Soon the 100 pax wait was only 15 ahead of us. After waiting 25 minutes the power came back on and we were up the mountain in 5 minutes flat and passing the Donkey Dooers which takes approxc 30 minutes to go up.

 

The price of going up by gondola is 3.50 euros and coming down is 3.00 euros and you CANNOT buy a roundtrip...don't ask me why you can't and why it's cheaper to travel the same distance going down and it's 50 cent euros cheaper????:confused:

 

Ok, so we get up there and the views are amazing...just look at the previous shots of the cams on Santorini and you'll get a glimpse of what I am talking about. We were the only cruise ship here today and a couple of nice yatchs as well. At the base of the mountain you can also take boat excursions to Therasia ( non active extinct volcano) and see it and visit the thermal hot springs as well.

 

We stayed only in Fira the main town on Santorini. You could rent scooters for 25 euros or a car for 50-60 eruos as well. One nice place I regret not going to is Oia as someone earlier pointed out...next year I will when I am on the new Royal when it stops here. You can also travel to Athinios and go to the Boutari Winery. Santorini are well known for some of there wines and blush wines as well.

 

If you are a beach goer, you may want to travel to Kamari and Thera where there is a large village famed for its black sand beach.

 

There are many cafes, restaurants with some breathtaking views and also bars on the island. Prices are average to somewhat expensive. The jewelry shops are plentyfull but be aware of getting a guarantee certificate at the shops otherwise don't bother buying....many variations in the quality of the goods, stones and white gold.

 

The weather was perfect today with a high of 86F and a nice strong breeze that swept atop the island all day. we set sail in 1.5 hours for Naples, Italy. We are at sea tomorrow (thank God) our only day and have a bunch of things on the go...Captains Cocktail, Most Travelled Luncheon, Casino in the afternoon, Bridge tour again at 10:00am...busy, busy, busy!

 

Going to get ready soon for dinner and maybe make a quick pit stop before dinner in the "office".

 

More to follow later today from the Grand Princess.

 

Tony and Javier

:cool: :eek: :cool:

[Sandy R]

Tony... have a great day in Naples. When we were there last June we booked a private tour with Marcello and had the most amazing day. Your posts from the Grand really brought back wonderful memories of our last year's cruise. Thank you so much!

 

Have a smooth and comfortable trip home.

 

I'm looking forward to your next "Live" thread, while we're cruising Asia on the Sapphire Princess. I just might do a "Live" from the Sapphire but I have one question... how do you remember all the little details you post. Do you walk around with pen and paper or do you have an amazing memory.

 

Sandy

[T&J]

Tony... have a great day in Naples. When we were there last June we booked a private tour with Marcello and had the most amazing day. Your posts from the Grand really brought back wonderful memories of our last year's cruise. Thank you so much!

 

Have a smooth and comfortable trip home.

 

I'm looking forward to your next "Live" thread, while we're cruising Asia on the Sapphire Princess. I just might do a "Live" from the Sapphire but I have one question... how do you remember all the little details you post. Do you walk around with pen and paper or do you have an amazing memory.

 

Sandy

 

Sandy I have a memory like an Elephant!

 

Also, my next "Live from.." will be from the Pacific Princess on Sept 16th from Bangkok to Cape Town and then the continuation from Cape Town to Sydney.

 

Glad you have enjoyed the postings.

 

Tony

:cool: :eek: :cool:

[T&J]

We just left Santorini about 15 minutes ago...amazing sailaway...don;t know if any of you watched on the cruise cam?

 

Going to the "office" now and then dinner.

 

Tony and Javier

:cool: :eek: :cool:

[arlenemilt]

 

 

 

The price of going up by gondola is 3.50 euros and coming down is 3.00 euros and you CANNOT buy a roundtrip...don't ask me why you can't and why it's cheaper to travel the same distance going down and it's 50 cent euros cheaper????:confused:

 

 

One nice place I regret not going to is Oia as someone earlier pointed out...next year I will when I am on the new Royal when it stops there.

 

Most Travelled Luncheon, Casino in the afternoon, Bridge tour again at 10:00am...busy, busy, busy!

 

Going to get ready soon for dinner and maybe make a quick pit stop before dinner in the "office".

 

Tony and Javier

:cool: :eek: :cool:

 

We were in Santorini eons ago, but I recall we took a mini bus up and the cable car down. You can still go up by car, yes?

Oia would be new to us too, so you make the arrangements and we'll go with you.

Where do you stand on this trip's "most travelled?" Are you still 3rd, or did you move up?

GL at the office.

Arlene (waiting for that PITA Ernesto)

[TorontoTL]

Arlene, you just have to go to Oia, especially if you can stay to see the sunset there. It is sooo romantic. It is a beautiful town with some wonderful views and lovely restaurants.

[arlenemilt]

We'll be on that Royal cruise with Tony next year, so if he's planning it, we'll be doing it. Sunset of course will depend on the ship's schedule.

Arlene