Saga Rose Greenland Voyager August 2007

[Saga Ruby]

I loved the Japanese costumes! Nanki Poo and Yum Yum, right? I hope y'all weren't Red Buttons and his Japanese wife in "Sayonara" - bad end to that tale!

 

Thanks for posting the engine room pix. So did you put the ship into full reverse at the dock? Did you assume command of the vessel?

 

Have a wonderful time, Donald.

 

Ruby

[Druke I]

"Sayonara" is one of my favorite movies. Sad ending indeed.

 

My time in the Far East was shortly after that period (movie was Korean War, I was overseas 56/58).

 

While an MP on Okinawa, the same dancing troupe used in the movie came on tour down to Okinawa. We guarded them, and we were their official escorts. Very talented, and pretty too boot.

 

Marlon Brando, star of Sayonara, was in a very good movie about Okinawa immediately after WW2, "Teahouse of the August Moon". Yes - there really is such a place!

 

I did get down to the Control Room of HAL's Noordam, June of 85. Very sterile, lots of gauges, and spotlessly clean.

 

My bro-in-law, a mechanical engineer of sorts, was able to talk his way into the engine room itself on one of our trips. He had made friends with the 1st Engineer! I was insanely jealous - I didn't get down there.

[bcscot]

Ruby: I worked on the Ocean Islander in 1986.Some of the staff had worked on the Cunard Countess or Princess & talked a lot about her. I have been on neither ship.

 

DrukeI: My father in law, who is sailing to Alaska with us in september, was an MP in the British Army during his national service in Libya, during the early 50s. He was stationed at the Red Fort in Tripoli. We had hoped to go there on our Prinsendam trip in may.Unfortunately, as is so often the case, our Libya stop was cancelled ( very disappointing). We recently found a Picture on the internet, of the troopship upon which he sailed to Libya via Malta. He was bodyguard to King Zanussi at the time the British were trying to get the State of Libya going as an independent country.

 

Graham.

[nottamember]

Ruby: have a fantastic cruise. Tip: if you want to get into the engine room find the chief engineer on one of the first nights express an interest and just ask you never know :)

I have found i am going on the Ruby on the 18th sept so i won't get to see you but i hope you will enjoy and be well looked after which i'm sure you will.

Becky

[Saga Ruby]

Ruby: have a fantastic cruise. Tip: if you want to get into the engine room find the chief engineer on one of the first nights express an interest and just ask you never know :)

I have found i am going on the Ruby on the 18th sept so i won't get to see you but i hope you will enjoy and be well looked after which i'm sure you will.Becky

 

I had hoped to meet you onboard Saga Rose after our introduction on these boards but I understand that schedules are not always fulfilled wishes.

 

The Number One reason I loved Saga Ruby was how very kind all of you were to this independent solo passenger. I was truly touched by the genuine hospitality of all of the staff and crew. And your lovely notes with insider comments on this forum have been such a plus on our Nostalgia Cruise.

 

I will practice my most engaging smile to see if I can warm up the Chief Engineer.

 

I hope this note finds you and your family well and safe. The videos of the biblical flooding in the western part of the UK were frightening. All the best to you and yours.

 

Ruby

[bcscot]

Ruby: How do you do that thingy where you quote from someone else's post & then answer it?

[Saga Ruby]

Ruby: How do you do that thingy where you quote from someone else's post & then answer it?

 

Each post, inside the box of the message on the lower right-hand corner, has a "Quote" icon. My guess is that you are using the "Post Reply" function on the outside bottom of the current post. When you opt for the Quote reply you will see at the top of the message box there is a hieroglyphic "[quote name='" plus the part or whole message you want to quote. That Quote icon is what allows you to use our brilliant remarks which are highlighted in the blue box of our messages.

 

Now here's the sneaky part - if you are very careful' date=' between the "

" at the end, you can delete anything you want and not have the entire post show up. In other words, take out what you wanted to reply to, and delete the rest.

 

You can pull quotes off other posts like Host Doug does which I think is pretty cool. I confess I'm too lazy to go through all that razzmatazz.

 

If this info doesn't make sense, holler and I'll restate it in a different way. Bottom line - Use the Quote instead of Post Reply thingy, dance very carefully between the "[quote= " brackets, and there you have it.

 

Feel free to use this post as your lab experiment. The first time you try it, there'll be the rapid pulse and sweating syndrome, then the next time is a breeze. See how it works for you. We are here to serve.

 

Ruby

[bcscot]

You can pull quotes off other posts like Host Doug does which I think is pretty cool. I confess I'm too lazy to go through all that razzmatazz.

Ruby

 

Thanks Ruby. I found a great Quote of yours on the North Africa Post which I wanted to quote here. I tried using this function over there, but I got it wrong & made it look like it was my quote. I think I erased too much of it. I requested that it be removed (at least I think I did ). Will try again later. Too good to waste!

 

Graham.

[Saga Ruby]

I tried using this function over there, but I got it wrong & made it look like it was my quote. I think I erased too much of it. I requested that it be removed (at least I think I did ). Will try again later.

 

Good on you for getting the blue box quote thingy going. I need to back up and clarify - I have never tried to pull quotes from other threads or forums into blue boxes on a current thread. My comment about Host Doug quoting from our posts as he goes along was in reference to a current thread.

 

Perhaps he can tell you about blue-boxing quotes from Beyond. There is always the obvious cut-and-paste but otherwise I'm out of ideas.

 

I did indeed see your iconic comment on the other board. I kept waiting for weeks for "Trece" to answer my question about major thunderstorms. It's an imperfect world and we all get so busy sometimes. Oh well.

 

Ruby

[dougnewmanatsea]

Perhaps he can tell you about blue-boxing quotes from Beyond. There is always the obvious cut-and-paste but otherwise I'm out of ideas.

Sorry, just cut-and-paste I'm afraid. If there's any other way to do it, I haven't figured it out yet ;) .

[Saga Ruby]

On the "Whatever Happened to . . ." forum, there is a "Home Lines Employees/Memories?" thread that became justifiably famous on Cruise Critic.

 

It is a lovely look back at sailing on Home Lines in the 60s and 70s, then one poster mentions her souvenir from a waiter on the ship - a daughter.

 

You can "read all about it" here:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=166009&page=4

 

Ruby

[bcscot]

Thanks for the link Ruby. No wonder people have fond memories of cruising in the 60s!!

 

Regarding 'cutting & pasting'. I gave that up when I was a child. It was very messy!

 

Graham

[Saga Ruby]

Regarding 'cutting & pasting'. I gave that up when I was a child. It was very messy! Graham

 

Yeah, those blunt-nosed scissors never did work and I always got paste on my elbows.

 

Ruby

[bcscot]

When I was but a lad, we often flew ( now flying, there is another story ) to the Channel Islands on holiday. Maybe in 1967 or so, we were flying over Glasgow, when my brother & I were invited up to see the cockpit ( it was a long time ago). As we flew over the River Clyde (no Ruby I wont say it ), the captain pointed down & said, " If you look down there , you can see the new QE2 being built". We were flying over the great ship in her infancy!

After that, of course, the QE2 was a part of British life but I had no reason to meet up with her. Infact, I always regarded her as a bit of an ungainly modern, 1960s apology for an ocean liner; OK, but not in the same class as the old Queens, so I was never all that interested in her. However in recent years, I was beginning to realise that this modern 'ugly duckling', was becoming a bit of a classic in her own right & as she would not last for ever,it might be nice to sail on her, 'some day'!

Our paths never crossed again however until may of this year when we were in Gibralter on the Prinsendam. We were walking down the main street when I noticed the shop window signs welcoming the passengers of the Prinsendam & the QE2. I was quite excited at the prospect of seeing her.

Further along the waterfront, my eye was suddenly caught by a red, black & white movement. I looked up, over a wall & there she was, gracefully & rapidly, sliding silently along to dock right next to Prinsendam. Later when we got back onboard, we were standing looking right over to her, sitting right next door to us. We felt that up close, the superstructure was very 1960s, & not at all becoming ( unlike the Saga sisters), however she has a beautiful, sleek & classy looking hull. We enjoyed watching her as we left ahead of her. Then came the salute!

Prinsendam gave her a lovely, long salute on her horn. Now, I thought that the Prinsendam had a beautiful deep throaty hooter, but I was not prepared for the QE2. When she replied with that deep baritone horn of her's, it stirred something deep in the soul! It was like a distillation of maritime tradition, something from deep in the heart of Neptune's realm. I was smitten.

Later when I heard of her imminent retirement, & felt the sense of passing history, I was gripped by a great desire to sail on her & experience her before she goes, & indeed be a part of what is history in the making & one of the final chapters in a passing age.

I look forward to being with her on her final visit to our homeland & that final westward crossing to New York, followed by the sight of her from the decks of QM2, as she leaves New York for the final time, & be able to watch her make her final crossing.

Good luck to the old lady; ugly duckling or graceful ocean liner.

 

Graham

[bcscot]

I did indeed see your iconic comment on the other board. I kept waiting for weeks for "Trece" to answer my question about major thunderstorms. It's an imperfect world and we all get so busy sometimes. Oh well.

 

Ruby

 

I know how you feel. In my neophyte career as a CC post contributor, I have already replied to several posts & received no response. It is a bit like talking to a brick wall.

 

Graham.

[bcscot]

To me, it’s all about "let’s see what’s out there." I enjoy cruising but I truly want to learn in depth about a site, a city, a country, local history and cultures. That concept is next to impossible on a cruise where one can touch, for only a few hours, a port and surrounds.

 

Ruby

 

I agree Ruby but I must say that I like a bit of both. You cannot see the whole world in depth but you can have a good look at it superficially & see some bits of it in more depth. I just think that by ship is such a wonderful way to travel, for many reasons. I like to do a land trip before & after a cruise, or sometimes a land trip only.

I love to travel & see new places but I do saturate fairly quickly if I try to do too much tourism all at once. A ship is such a wonderful environment in which to relax & have a rest from the frenetic sightseeing ( provided you get days at sea of course ).

 

Graham.

[bcscot]

To me, it’s all about "let’s see what’s out there." I enjoy cruising but I truly want to learn in depth about a site, a city, a country, local history and cultures. That concept is next to impossible on a cruise where one can touch, for only a few hours, a port and surrounds.

 

Ruby

 

I agree Ruby but I must say that I like a bit of both. You cannot see the whole world in depth but you can have a good look at it superficially & see some bits of it in more depth. I just think that by ship is such a wonderful way to travel, for many reasons. I like to do a land trip before & after a cruise, or sometimes a land trip only.

I love to travel & see new places but I do saturate fairly quickly if I try to do too much tourism all at once. A ship is such a wonderful environment in which to relax & have a rest from the frenetic sightseeing ( provided you get days at sea of course ).

 

Graham.

[bcscot]

To quote Lord Byron, "Roll on thou deep and dark blue ocean, roll." And let me be one of those to sail upon her.

 

Ruby

 

OK, so you got my last post in stereo ( not THE LAST POST )! They sound better that way. However no more treats, this one will be in MONO!

 

I did not know that Lord Byron was a man of the seas. I know of him as being a man of the mountains: "The steep frowning glories of dark Lochnagar" & all that ( sends a shiver up me spine ). So many men of the mountains also have ( or develop ) a love of the sea ( including yours truly).

 

I am reading John Maxtone-Graham's book 'Liners To The Sun' at the moment. Nice picture of Rotterdam V in Rio on the cover.

 

Graham.

[Druke I]

John Maxtone-Graham was one of the guest lecturers on our San Francisco to Sydney Pacific Battlegrounds Cruise, 9-00, on Sky Princess' last voyage as a Princess ship.

 

Aside from being an excellent, fascinating lecturer, he and his wife are very friendly and approachable. He is a wealth of knowledge about passenger ships and the shipping industry.

[bcscot]

John Maxtone-Graham was one of the guest lecturers on our San Francisco to Sydney Pacific Battlegrounds Cruise, 9-00, on Sky Princess' last voyage as a Princess ship.

 

Aside from being an excellent, fascinating lecturer, he and his wife are very friendly and approachable. He is a wealth of knowledge about passenger ships and the shipping industry.

 

That must have been a fascinating & very interesting trip. I have seen HAL advertising something similar, but without John Maxtone-Graham!

I have a video-tape of a TV series, shown in the UK during the 1990s, called 'Liners'.John Maxtone-Graham appeared on it & he was indeed very interesting to listen to. It must have been great to be on a cruise with him.

 

Graham.

[Saga Ruby]

Not only have I sailed with JM-G and so much enjoyed his lectures, I have "The Only Way to Cross" autographed by him to me onboard the FAIRSEA in 1983 (at the time, he was using a calligraphic pen). The best part of one of his lectures is to tell us that he was born in New Jersey. Did you know that his son, Ian Maxtone-Graham, has been an executive producer of "The Simpsons" for many years? I missed sailing with Ian on MARCO POLO by that much!

 

Graham - I’m with you about port-intensive cruises or frenetic tourism. Which is why I like to spend several weeks Over Yonder - so I don’t have to push. Once upon a time I was spending a week in Venezia and was getting really good about jumping on a vaporetto to get around town and the out islands. I told the front desk at the Danieli that I wanted to cancel my Firenze trip and stay at the hotel. They looked pained for a mo’ and said they would get back to me - evidently my third-floor room facing the Grand Canal was already booked. But they let me stay and I had a grand time. Occasionally I would hear the deep bass of a ship’s horn outside my window, jump up and run out on the terrace, and watch another cargo ship departure. After ten days in beautiful Venezia, you get a good understanding of the city and its citizens.

 

Your story about the overflight of the QE2 was great and the two ships’ horns - I wish I could have been there. If you or anyone else has notes about PRINSENDAM, I would enjoy hearing about her. I hope she will eventually become a Saga ship and would like to know more about her. Is it the size that appeals? I’m running out of small ships and am really hooked on Saga.

 

Conte - I was rereading your comments about favourite cruises and ships. Recently, you did the brief run to the Bahamas on QM2, then SAGA ROSE in the UK. On what basis do you pick your ships? Is it sailing on the ocean, enjoying the ship, exploring the destinations? With the variety of voyages you have experienced in the past, what brings you onto the next ship?

 

Ruby

[bcscot]

The Prinsendam is only a little larger than the Oceania ships, & looks better on the outside, so she is quite a nice size. She has a lot of beautiful wood paneling & is quite tastefully decorated on the inside. Otherwise it is a fairly standard HAL experience, except I think the food is a little better & more adventurous, with local specialities. She is a comfortable ship, but is getting a little older & starting to show her age in some of the mechanical aspects. She has a very strong following.

 

I am glad that you too have sailed with JM-G, & enjoyed his lectures. Being more interested in ships than the 'Simpsons',I would prefer to sail with father rather than son! The dust cover of his book folds out into a lovely poster of cruiseships from the mid-80s, including Cunard Countess & Princess, the BLACK Prince with her identical sister, the old Black Watch, about which Donald spoke on an earlier post, & lots of others (including QE2 & Norway). Speaking of which, JM-G in his book, 'Liners To The Sun', states that he thought that QE2's interiors were superior to 'France'. What do all you old 'France-ophiles' out there have to say about that?! I have seen pictures of the France's original interiors & I thought that they looked very '60s' & pretty awful! I am not a great fan of 1960s style & imagine that the QE2 was probably just as bad. Thankfully they changed the QE2's interiors although I hear that the new owners in Dubai plan to change her back to the original 1960s look!

 

We are having beautiful hot weather here, so if this continues to the north, Donald may be getting nice weather in Alaska (always a bonus).

Glad you enjoyed my QE2 story Ruby, thank you. We also enjoyed a six day stay in Italy, (Rome rather than Venice) after our Prinsendam trip.Very nice, but still too short. We rented an apartment & enjoyed doing our shopping at the market, deli., bakers etc & doing our own cooking, which was helped along with ample sampling of the local vino! A nice cultural experience.

Not long now till you set off on your trip. Are your bags packed? I have seen Greenland from the air many times (at 30,000 ft.) & it looks spectacular. It would be wonderful to see it close up.I hope that you have a really wonderful trip & enjoy Saga Rose.

 

Graham.

[Conte Di Savoia]

Conte - I was rereading your comments about favourite cruises and ships. Recently, you did the brief run to the Bahamas on QM2, then SAGA ROSE in the UK. On what basis do you pick your ships? Is it sailing on the ocean, enjoying the ship, exploring the destinations? With the variety of voyages you have experienced in the past, what brings you onto the next ship?

These are actually rather difficult questions to answer and so I decided that my choice of ships must be emotional. Each voyage offers the opportunity to relive in some small measure, those wonderful trips of yore. Those ships which evoke some classical ambiance move to the top of the list. I think this explains, at least in my warped mind, why I enjoy traveling on board ships which seem completely at odds with each other, for example the small Silver Cloud and the immense QM2. The service and dining on Silver Cloud is "classical". The multideck high lounges on QM2 evoke her glorious ancestors. Other trips are selected because they are out of the ordinary (be the first on your block to see...). Hence the trip on board Oriana, a ship which none of our best traveled friends have been on, or the Great Lakes cruise on C. Columbus. Oriana, IMO, is also one of the most beautiful ships currently in service. Totally modern in every way but an exterior design which is classical.

We also want to see the world. I have one more continent to go, Antarctica. Lately we have been giving priority to cruises which take us to areas which we have never explored either superficially or in depth. You have recently pointed out the necessity of traveling by a means other than ship to experience a place more completely. I have to smile every time I see a cruise line advertise a stop in Civitavecchia or Livorno so that their passengers can experience a one day Rome or Florence!!! Some years ago Art Buchwald, during his Paris days, wrote with his wry sense of humor about American tourists doing a ten minute visit to the Louvre. It seems we have actually reached that point.

Years ago, before you and I started traveling with our parents, ships did offer a more comprehensive experience. I have souvenir book for the 1950 Great Africa Cruise aboard Cunard's Caronia. This is the cover Here and this is the itinerary. Notice that there were three days in port in Rio and an incredible seven nights in Cape Town!! If the lines would only bring back this type of cruising where the ship really is a floating hotel. Even the longer world cruises do not afford this much opportunity to tour a country.

[bcscot]

It appears to me that in many ways, a world cruise is the worst way to see the world; a stop or two in each continent with many sea days between. A world cruise is not an option for me at the moment, but even though it was, I would rather do several one month cruises over a period of time, each one concentrating on one area, but eventually connecting up to form a longer, more detailed circumnavigation of the globe (even though it took the rest of my life).

I think that places like Paris, Rome & London, have to be 'dipped into' over a lifetime, & even then one will not see it all. There is a danger also, that by trying to see it all, one can miss out on a lot of the feeling, atmosphere, character & daily life because one is too busy being a tourist. I think this is what Ruby was talking about with her trip to Venice.

In many ways, living & working in a country is often the best way to see it, although you can't do that in them all! Mind you, even living in a place, there is often a tendency to not get around to seeing what is on your doorstep. At the end of the day, I think that the best one can do is to get a bit of an overview of the whole lot, a few more indepth looks & pick up as many of those special experiences as you can along the way (those special magical travel experiences that are not planned, just happen & often give you your best memories).

I often think that the world is like a big child's game of 'mix & match'! You go somewhere new & you think "Oh yes, the buildings remind me of this place, the people of that place,the countryside of another place & the climate of somewhere else," & so on! They used to advertise New Zealand by saying; "When you've seen one country, you've seen them all". It has a little bit of so many other places.

 

Ruby: I see you are going to Cobh in Ireland; the original Queenstown, last port of call of the Titanic, witness to the loss of the Lusitania & gateway to Cork. I am scheduled to go there on QE2 next year so I will be interested to hear what you have to say about it. When you go to Kirkwall in Orkney, consider going to Scarra Brae, the site of an ancient habitation.It has very old stone dwellings in remarkable condition & is worth seeing.

I hope the weather is kind to you up in the Pentland Firth.It has a bit of a reputation. When I lived up in Shetland , to the north of Orkney, the overnight ferries from the mainland had 'seatbelts' on the bunks! Has anyone else seen that anywhere?

 

Graham.

[Saga Ruby]

Ruby: I see you are going to Cobh in Ireland; the original Queenstown, last port of call of the Titanic, witness to the loss of the Lusitania & gateway to Cork. I am scheduled to go there on QE2 next year so I will be interested to hear what you have to say about it. When you go to Kirkwall in Orkney, consider going to Scarra Brae, the site of an ancient habitation.It has very old stone dwellings in remarkable condition & is worth seeing. I hope the weather is kind to you up in the Pentland Firth.It has a bit of a reputation. Graham.

 

I experienced the most rough weather ever in the North Sea and beyond the Arctic Circle, so I'm ready for anything. Fortunately, I have never, to this point, suffered from mal-de-mer so fingers crossed. Miss a meal in the dining room or Lido Cafe? Egad!

 

I visited on the SS France for a bon voyage party when my parents were on a crossing in the 60s. My main memory of my parent’s mini-suite was the Art Deco, Howard Johnson colours and the nice drape which could be closed to separate their bedroom from the living room. I found the colours peculiar but the ship was certainly memorable and absolutely huge to these eyes at that time.

 

You and your wife renting an apartment for six days in La Bella Roma sounds perfect. Being a local in a foreign neighborhood away from the tourist areas is, for me, the best way to truly understand a city.

 

To Conte: I sat and looked at the Great Africa Cruise cover and itinerary for a long time. The cover has perfect artwork with the tiger-stripe trim. Why it is called a "Great Africa" cruise is beyond my ken as it seems like a mini-world cruise minus the Far East and the Americas. And why did they go from Barcelona, past Málaga to Algiers then back to Málaga? Fascinating. A personal note of thanks for whatever "digging out" you had to do in order to post those fine specimens.

 

Antarctica is also on my list but my timing was poor. At the exact moment I decided to sail there, a bloat of hippos, oh excuse me - cruise ships - started plowing routes to the continent, so I did a sharp U-turn and am headed north. Also, I am dedicated to doing Antarctica either as a Saga voyage or on Oceania which I also prefer. If I stall long enough, I can sail to the Seventh Continent on a new Oceania ship in the years to come. Perhaps I should wait while the shipyard gets finished with the O newbuilds. In the meantime, it’s me and the Bay of Fundy with those fantastic tides.

 

I laughed out loud at the Art Buchwald comment regarding the Louvre. While I recognize his ironic truth, as we know it is antithetical to my own wants and wishes for traveling. A brief Louvre story - my family was strolling around the museum and took the majestic marble steps down from Winged Victory to the next corridor. As we walked along, my mother exclaimed, "Oh look! There's the Mona Lisa!" This small da Vinci painting was just hanging in place with a long line of other magnificent artwork. Nowadays she has her own room!

 

You have given me two things to mull over - I have never seen the Great Lakes and it never occurred to me that there might be a good cruise available as noted by your comments . Thanks for that tip and the thoughts about Oriana. Food for thought.

 

Ruby