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Granny's 2008 Adventure

GrannyLorr

By GrannyLorr,
in Seabourn Cruise Line

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Iamboatman

Iamboatman

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:D

it wasnt an April Fools joke:( .......Lisbon cops dont like having their photos taken...:eek: anyway we are now safe at the airport in the TAP Lounge........cant get into any trouble now can I

 

Why don't I believe you can't get into trouble?! You have flight attendants, customs and, of course, the ride home. I eagerly await the next drama.

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GrannyLorr

GrannyLorr

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Granny survived a 2.5 hour then a 12 hour flight yesterday and Im still "free"........we are now at LAX..... ~slight dramas~ but are now safely in the Lounge....having a strong scotch before boarding for another 12 hour flight and a connecting 8.5 hour......:eek:

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Granny survived a 2.5 hour then a 12 hour flight yesterday and Im still "free"........we are now at LAX..... ~slight dramas~ but are now safely in the Lounge....having a strong scotch before boarding for another 12 hour flight and a connecting 8.5 hour......:eek:

 

 

OMG Granny, You are coming home the long way:eek: .

I hope you're getting some sleep on the 'planes!

 

Happy travelling.

 

Steve.

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LaPaloma

LaPaloma

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Granny survived a 2.5 hour then a 12 hour flight yesterday and Im still "free"........we are now at LAX..... ~slight dramas~ but are now safely in the Lounge....having a strong scotch before boarding for another 12 hour flight and a connecting 8.5 hour......:eek:

Strong Scotch will do the job--I get best results from Johnney Walker Black--calms my nerves!! Don

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GrannyLorr

GrannyLorr

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We have made it to Tokyo.......just another couple of hours and we will be on our final 8.5 hour flight...then home!

The reason we have to fly so far and in a roundabout fashion, is that we had our Return flights to LA to coincide with our original cruise plans, booked months before we decided to add on the Crossing.....we couldnt alter these flights apart from the return date....so when we added on the Crossing we had to make a one way from Lisbon to LA......then reconnect with our original flight......you know Granny never does anything the easy way!!! :D

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From Reuters:

 

 

"TOKYO (Reuters) - An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 5.0 shook Tokyo buildings on Friday, but there were no immediate reports of injuries or damage.

The earthquake registered four out of seven on a Japanese scale of quake intensity, a government agency said, a level that suggests hanging objects would swing considerably but there was unlikely to be serious damage.

The agency said it saw no tsunami threat from the quake.

Earthquakes are common in Japan, one of the world's most seismically active areas. The country accounts for about 20 percent of the world's earthquakes of magnitude 6 or greater."

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GrannyLorr

GrannyLorr

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Im HOME!!!! Its 1.29am....so suppose I have jet lag.......still on my laptop as my computer looks like it has died through neglect while I was away!! Will write my final report in the next day or so.....thanks for all the kind comments :D

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GrannyLorr

GrannyLorr

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By the time I post this Final Report, I will be home but will try to remember all the details.

Our very last dinner on the Pride, we dined with Matthew Brown. As we had met Matthew on our first cruise it had been great to catch up with him again, so we enjoyed our “last supper”. Matthew is a real talent, and we think that in the last two years his voice has got even stronger. Not that we are experts but he just seems even better than he did 2 years ago.

Back to our room after dinner and threw the last few things into the bags and did that dreaded routine of putting all our stuff out into the hallway…….that really signifies the end of the cruise. Think I was awake half the night, looking at the clock. I was out of bed at 4.30am. Breakfast was being served from 7am even in the Restaurant, so we wanted to be down there early, then out of our room as soon as possible to give our Stewardess a good chance of an early start. They have such a hectic day on disembarkation day they need all the help they can get. I don’t think there were many staying on the ship, although I had heard a few lucky ones were sailing on to Venice…..why didn’t I think of that!

Even though I hadn’t felt like eating the last couple of days, I decided that I had to have my favourite breakfast (one I hadn’t had for weeks and weeks) LAMB CHOPS and eggs, before having to leave. The people sitting at the next table ordered caviar…..they got a double or triple serve, and a glass of their favourite drink! (Think it was that Norwegian liqueur) Halfway through our breakfast our waitress Marion came up to John with a bowl of ice-cream……one day he had ordered Belgian waffles for breakfast and had asked for strawberries and ice-cream on it…….so this was their little joke….Mr Baines wants ice-cream for breakfast…he gets ice-cream for breakfast! These kids don’t forget a thing!

Back to our suite and grabbed the hand luggage, said goodbye to Samantha our wonderful Stewardess….we had already worn out Amanda and Chantelle and they had gone home to South Africa…and up to the Magellan Lounge to await our turn at disembarkation.

We didn’t have to leave too early as we had booked on a “post” tour, which would fill in a few hours before going to our Lisbon hotel.

When it came our turn to leave the ship……one of the waiters came up and said he would carry our bags down the gangway and over to the terminal……..now we all have our favourites amongst the wait staff, and this was one of ours…….he learnt “g’day mate” with a real Aussie accent and whenever we walked into a room you could hear this greeting! He had it down to perfection. (not bad for a Romanian) Well we told him we were ok, we could carry the bags ourselves….his reply….. “no I want to make sure you leave”…… I am sure he was just joking…well I hope he was! We all have different reasons for “favouritism” but ours are always those who feel comfortable enough with us to be able to joke and make fun of us……we don’t need anyone to be too serious with us.

Well he made sure we left…so then it was out through the Terminal and onto the tour bus. The tour was quite good, showing us a lot of Lisbon and as I said earlier filling in some hours until we were able to check into our hotel. A few people who had late flights were also doing the tour and then would be taken to the airport. We did a really good tour of the Jeronimos Monastery then went to the Tower of Belem and the Monument to the Discoveries. As we were driving through Lisbon, I noticed some signs and got very excited when I saw “Rossio Square”…..I said to John “that’s where our hotel is”….well we drove around the Square in the bus, and neither of us could see any sign of a hotel!! Visions of déjà vu hit me…….our last hotel didn’t exist either when we tried to book in! I must admit I was a wee bit nervous for the rest of the tour. The tour ended at the Ritz and the Meridian Hotel where a few people were staying, so the rest of us caught taxis from there. I had the address of our hotel written out for the taxi driver in case he didn’t speak English…..well we arrived in Rossio Square……we drove very slowly as the driver was trying to find The Metropole……I was starting to get even more nervous when all of a sudden I spotted it….just an awning and an entrance way…but definitely The Metropole….whew…we can relax…..now I just have to hope that the internet booking I made months ago worked!

There was absolutely no need to panic, everything was fine, and they even speak English. At first we were given a room overlooking a back alley, but we asked if there were any rooms facing the Square, and we were given one with a balcony. I have read on Expedia that some people complain about the noise from the Square at night, and have asked for back rooms for that reason……but the noise from the Square is welcome by me….it might drown out Johns snoring! We spent a lot of time with the French doors wide open, lots of fresh air, and people watching over the Square. This is only a 3 Star hotel but we are very happy with it. Our room is quite big by European standards…the bathroom extremely big……everything is very clean and the staff have been very helpful. Breakfast is included…and no it’s not Seabourn……but it is adequate for us. (after all we have eaten enough to feed an army in the last 3 months) It’s mainly a Continental breakfast, but there are also scrambled eggs, bacon and sausages…..The beds were a bit hard and also quite short….didn’t matter to me….I only just make it to 5 feet!

To us the best feature of this hotel is the location. Although I knew nothing about Lisbon when I made our booking, I have managed to pick the only flat area of Lisbon! Our first day here we walked and walked for hours……all on flat ground. Those who have been to Lisbon, will know how unusual that is! Our room looks straight out onto Rossio Square and up to Sao Jorges Castle. We walked the entire length of Rua Augusta, right down to the Targus River and the Praca do Comercio….we are surrounded by restaurants…..even Subways, McDonalds and Hard Rock…….but there is also a restaurant right at the front door of the hotel….so that’s where we have dinner, sitting outdoors…..rugged up in coats…..

Our first day here we went on the Santa Justa Elevator, which is about 3 minutes walk from the hotel…….also did the No 28 tram……from one end to the other and back again…..

Second day we walked some more, and ended up in the Church of Sao Domingos, went in to have a look and also to have a seat….and ended up sitting through a Mass in Portuguese…..we felt we had seen quite a lot of Lisbon in the 3 days so after our final lunch there we went to do our favourite thing…….just sit in the Square and “people watch”…..well it had been our favourite thing until that day…….a lady came up to us and told us some men were about to snatch our camera……as soon as we took hold of the camera bag properly, they disappeared…… then I saw some police…….this has to be the part you have been waiting for!!

The police in Lisbon have some really good “toys”……they move around the pedestrian streets on things I would liken to motorized pogo sticks……..they also drive around in what look like a cross between a “Smart Car” and a “Golf Buggy”………I had taken some photos the day before with no problems….then today the “look alike pogo sticks” were coming straight towards me, so I took a few photos…..I couldn’t believe it when these cops drove straight up to me and asked what I was doing……there were three of them. They asked me if I had asked permission to take photos…….my answer was a shocked NO…..they then asked if it was allowed in my country…..YES…..they then asked for my ID…oh oh……Granny was only carrying her glasses, no ID……they said it was illegal NOT to carry ID…….I said I wouldn’t carry my Passport in their city as they had too many pickpockets…..think that was the wrong thing to say…..they wanted to know where my ID was…how do they know I am not a pick pocket!!! Oh boy….little old grey haired ladies must be a problem in Lisbon! Told them my Passport was back in the hotel…had to tell them what hotel etc…….They then told me they could take me to the Police Station to check on my ID……I told them if my ID was pickpocketed I couldn’t get out of their bloody country so I wouldn’t carry it!!! All this time John was laughing away, thought it was a joke…….it wasn’t, they were trying to harass a little old lady!!! In the end they gave up………I went back to where I had been sitting “people watching”….they talked amongst themselves for a while…..when they started to leave I called one over and said “I have just watched three people taking your photo….why didn’t you speak to them, I got into trouble for the same thing but you didn’t bother speaking to anyone else doing the same thing???”…….their answer…. “ I didn’t see them”……..this is the sort of thing that leaves a bad taste in my mouth. Only a minute earlier we had been about to be mugged…..but it’s me who is almost arrested!!! Think they could spend their time better cleaning up their own criminals……

Good news is though…they didn’t make me wipe out the photos, so I have the one where they are coming straight at me to arrest me!!! Will post it asap……also took a few others later from the protection of our balcony….same cops….same pogo sticks!!

John has just come in off our balcony and said “I have really enjoyed Lisbon”….think he is about to get chucked over the balcony!!!

I just hate it when some “official” trying to make himself appear important ruins your whole opinion of a place…….

A short while later while having our afternoon siesta, we heard a lot of noise from the Square, raced out to the balcony and the locals were staging a protest march for us! We couldn’t really work out what the banners and placards they were carrying actually said, but we are pretty sure they were something about “Police brutality to little old Grannies”. Something like that restores your faith in humanity……

We made arrangements at the desk for a 4am wake up call for the next morning, but didn’t really need it as we were both waking every hour……not knowing how far the airport was etc, we wanted to leave the hotel by 5am for a 7.45am flight. We also had to get a staff member to open the front door of the hotel to let us out! We had been told the taxi fare to the airport was around 15 Euros….but at that time of morning it was only about 8 Euros…..no traffic anywhere.

We navigated our way around the Airport and found the check in area for our flight without too much trouble……at first the girl said we were 8 kilos overweight…..good heavens we had already shipped two suitcases home! When I looked shocked and asked “is that the limit for Business Class” she apologized and said that it was for Coach…whew, breathe easy again. We were actually at the Coach check in as we couldn’t find Business so wasn’t her fault. Next we found the Lounge, but it wasn’t open! The staff member who was supposed to have opened the lounge was a bit late getting to work, it’s supposed to be open at 5.30am. but we didn’t have to wait very long. TAP Lounge was very good, lovely comfy chairs, lots of big screen TV’s and a good selection of food. They even had the local custard tarts, which I tried…not worrying about the diet until I actually walk in my front door. My main problem was making a cup of tea. They had plenty of tea to choose from, but only those very small and some even smaller coffee cups……ever try jiggling a tea bag in one of those? After the first I stuck with orange juice.

Next it was off to the Departure Lounge…..had no idea what directions were being called out, so just followed the crowd…had to walk down some stairs…then onto a bus….then out to the middle of the tarmac where our plane was waiting for us……obviously in our honour TAP Airlines had brought out one of their vintage pre War planes……climbed up the stairs and our seat was within a hand reach of the pilot! The hard grey cracked leather seats added to the “vintage feel” of the aircraft and were as small as Coach class seats. Thank heavens the flight was only for two and a half hours! We were an hour late leaving Lisbon, so that just meant one less hour to wait when we reached Zurich. As Granny is a huge fan of SNOW, the view out the window was great…lots and lots of snow everywhere, not sure where we were at any one time but we flew across Spain and France so ~someone~ had been having recent snow falls.

After arriving at Zurich, we saw a “transfer flight” counter so off we went to see where we needed to go next. There we were given our Boarding passes, they were stamped, and we also had to give the name of the hotel where we would be staying in the USA etc. Were told this was all needed for US Immigration…no problems…now we were ready to leave! Thought we would have time to try out Swiss Airs Lounge, but no, were told to go straight to our Departure Gate. I had no idea Zurich Airport would be so big! We had to get on a train to go to the Departure area……what a shame, I didn’t have time to check out any of the shops…….By the time we arrived at the Departure Lounge, the queues were already formed to board……..a few people got sent to another desk as soon as they reached the front of the queue, to have their Boarding passes stamped…..but ours had been done at the Transfer counter…..or so I thought! Got to the head of the queue and were told we had to have our passes stamped for US Immigration……told them that had already been done…nope…..that was a black stamp…..now we had to have a blue stamp…..ok start again….got the blue stamp then back into the queue. There were two women in front of us….one got pulled out of the queue…..but the other one was already on her way down the passage to the plane. She was called back but kept refusing….In the end she did what she was told. Darn, Granny missed all the goss, was trying to overhear what it was all about. The Official threatened to ban them from the flight stating something to do with their behaviour on their their previous flight!! Granny decided she would behave…these Swiss Officials weren’t messing around! After my brush with the Law in Lisbon I was going to be a very good old granny!

Our first impressions of our Swiss Air plane were very favourable. The décor was the best I have ever seen in a plane…probably anything would have impressed us though after the TAP aircraft. We had the front seats in a 3 row cabin….just in front of us were the beautiful First Class seats….oh well, maybe one day! The service was very good, the food excellent ( for flight food)….even came around with a big box of chocolates….which Granny actually refused…..have been thinking about those chocolates ever since though….another big regret in my life! Our only complaint about Swiss Air was that the plane was way too overheated……John spoke to them and they turned it down 1 degree….but was still much too hot for us. Unfortunately this prevented us from getting a good sleep….was quite uncomfortable. We have found that problem all over Europe with hotels, restaurants etc all being overheated. John spoke to the lady across the aisle from him, and she said the same thing, she was on her return flight to the USA and said the first flight was much too hot too……if we ever fly Swiss again we will know to wear beach clothing…..otherwise the flight was excellent. Thanks Paul for suggesting this flight for us.

Arrived in LA and there were hardly any people in the queues at Immigration, this must be our lucky day! Don’t be so silly……got to the Immigration Officer, handed over our Passports and the ONE form Swiss Air had given us to fill out……. “where is the GREEN form?” s***!!!! Back out of the queue…..then the aim was to actually find a GREEN form that was written in English! Took a while….they were all in Spanish and we had already failed our Spanish lessons on the ship. Finally located the right ones….filled them out…then back into the queue…of course now at least 10 other planes had landed and the queues were a mile long! We were eventually pulled out of the “Visitors” queues and sent to the much smaller “US Citizens” queue…so didn’t take as long as we had expected. Of course by now the carousel where our luggage was, had stopped going round and round as everyone else had collected theirs and left……..that was a plus though as someone else probably got a hernia lifting our bags off the carousel….they were sitting all alone waiting for us!

Out to the shuttle and off to the Hilton LAX for the night, before all this fun starts again tomorrow! We had flown for 14.5 hours with a few hours in two airports…so were about ready for bed!

Just had a snack for dinner then bed……the Hilton LAX has the most comfortable beds……we slept like logs, then next morning half pulled the sheets off the bed to try to find the brand of mattress! Planned on buying the same one as soon as we got home!

Had a good buffet breakfast then back over to LAX to begin the fun part of traveling all over again. We were dreading this part, as last time we departed LAX…..we were there at 7pm to check in for a midnight flight……the place was absolute chaos, took us almost 4 hours just to check in…….as it did for everyone else…so every area of the airport was running behind time…….we boarded at 11pm then sat on the tarmac until 3am…..all the baggage was delayed……and all this was done with a 7 year old! Think Granny has probably put her granddaughter off traveling for life!

Well you can imagine our surprise and delight when we entered the terminal and it was almost empty! Found JAL’s check in, there were a few in the Coach check in queue, but only a couple of people in front of us in the Business Class queue……did I say something silly earlier like “must be our lucky day?” One day I will learn to stop saying that. Got to the front of the queue….anyone want to guess what happens next?

OK…….JAL’s computer system went down….just as we were the next customers……So we waited……and we waited……there was lots of apologising and lots of bowing….. We really liked one statement…. “we regret to apologise”…..

They then decided that Check in would have to be done manually…..so off went the staff to have a meeting to learn how to do a manual check in…..now if this was Seabourn the canapés and champagne would have been there! When the staff finished their lesson we were first in line. Poor things had to hand write everyone’s boarding passes etc……looked at the Coach queue and it was miles long…..thought there would be a huge delay in the flight for all those people to be checked in manually…….in the end we were only delayed about an hour so they really did a great job. We had a 4 hour lay over in Tokyo so an hour delay didn’t matter to us. The flight was very good, service great and we think the food on JAL has improved a lot since we last flew with them.

In Tokyo we headed straight to the Lounge for a 3 hour layover and Granny could amuse herself on the internet with their free Wi Fi……. Ever been in an earthquake? Well Granny is an expert on earthquakes…..was in San Francisco for the big one….no not the 06 one…the 89 one…….then a couple of years ago in New Zealand for a 7 point one……so when the floor started shaking and the building started swaying…….Granny very calmly said….. “oh another earthquake”…….it was only a 5…….I was sort of hoping for a slightly bigger one to follow up so I would have more to write about…..but didn’t want any damage…..especially not to the tarmac….I WANTED TO GO HOME!!!

That day we flew for 20 hours and had about 8 hours in Airports……..

So if anyone is still awake after reading all that, this is the end of Granny’s 2008 Adventure….thanks for all the comments and good wishes…….next saga will be August/September 2009……..

So until then

Bye from GrannyLorr

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cands

cands

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Lorraine,

I'm so glad you got home safely! What a long trip. I had forgotton you had an overnight in the Hilton near LAX. It did seem like it took days for you to get home.

 

When are you going to start uploading the photos? I'm looking forward to seeing them.

 

Well, I suppose this traveloge is just about over, but I am just about to re-read your Spirit blog to get some ideas for our upcoming trip. So much planning to do!

 

Have a good rest and welcome home.

 

Steve (and Chris).

 

PS, I'm never going to look at a Segway again without thinkng 'police on pogo stick'!.

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GrannyLorr

GrannyLorr

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Steve (and Chris).....it certainly was a long trip, and jet lag has been a bit of a pain so far......first night home I dropped at 7pm....but then was wide awake at 11pm and stayed awake until around 8pm the following night. (21 hours) The house was so full of cobwebs and dust I was "spring cleaning" right through the night (the joys of living in the Queensland bush) ......last night I managed to stay asleep until 3am.....John woke at the same time......so our day started very very early!!! :confused: its now 9.15pm and I have match sticks under my eyes to make sure I stay awake as long as possible......hopefully will have an almost ~normal~ sleep tonight.....

Have to recover very quickly now as we are going camping in 2 days time.........will take my lap top with me (got BigPond wireless for camping trips) so if jet lag is still a problem I may be able to work on the photos in the middle of the night in the bush!!

You may have read how we had two suitcases shipped by DHL from the ship in Lisbon....well they arrived at our house today!!! We got home Saturday...luggage arrived Monday.....I was convinced that we would have to collect the luggage from the Airport due to Aussie Customs requirements.....but the delivery man told me they have their own x ray machines so were delivered right to our door! Quite an expensive service...but one we will certainly consider in the future. ($700 one way for two suitcases @ 27 kilos each.)

I am really looking forward to you two having your first Seabourn cruise, and hearing all about it......wish I could be there! I hope that one day we might even be able to cruise together!

quepaquete.....thank you for your kind words....I am glad you enjoyed my ramblings as I really do enjoy writing.......must be just a "Granny thing"...:D

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JaneBP

JaneBP

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Lorraine,

 

I do hope you will continue to document your adventures, including going to the grocery store! You are the only one who can make that a fun trip with stories to tell. I am quite convinced.

 

Jane

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GrannyLorr,

Have a great camping trip. What a contrast to being on Seabourn. I trust you are going somewhere nice?

Thanks for the info about shipping bags home. Hopefully it will be less from Singapore.

Chris will be thrilled if we decide to do it because he likes to shop, shop shop!

 

What are your feelings about Seabourn after 130+ days over just 2 cruises? I know you've booked another cruise with them for later next year, but would you consider another line? Just curious.

 

We're not sure what our plans are after Seabourn. We've proven to ourselves that we're just happy being on a good ship; it doesn't have to be a luxury one.

We were originally concerned after sailing Crystal that we wouldn't enjoy so called mass market cruising, but after our wonderful January trip on Holland America we now have not such concerns. We just love cruising.

 

So just because you've dined on caviar and Champagne, doesn't mean you still can't enjoy a pie with sauce and a stubbie.

So we could end up anywhere.

Chris does really want to do northern Europe, though:) .

 

Anyway, back to the caviar, we have 56 days to look forward to on Seabourn.

You've inspired me to at least try to keep a journal. What a great record of an amazing trip this thread is!

 

I may not post regularly during the trip though. I have done it once before, and I'm afraid I spent some time worrying about posting instead of enjoying my holiday:confused: .

 

Cheers,

Steve.

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