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Granny's 2008 Adventure


GrannyLorr

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I think it was Steve wanted to know that answer so he and Chris can screw up their suits in the bottom of the luggage without worrying.

 

 

Hi Lorraine,

What a good memory! Thanks for letting us know.

It's good to know you're now safe and sound on board. Have a fantastic time.

 

Steve.

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Monday 7th January

Last night was the first of our many Formal nights. The evening began with the Captains Gala Reception, and when we spoke to Captain Dexter he told me how he knew all about our train trip across the USA! Now who could have told him about that? The name doesn’t start with an “M” does it? As Martha has reported before, Captain Dexter is a very personable man. He asked us that if we had any problems or complaints to please mention them early, as if at the end of a cruise someone complains about a squeaky door, he gets a thick ear!! I think he has the typical British sense of humour so will be appreciated by most of the passengers.

We dined with four of our Canadian friends last night and it was a lovely night. I must stop ordering lamb though, or there won’t be any left in New Zealand! I even surprised myself at the end of the meal by ordering cheese and NOT Crème Brule on Parade!

Again we felt quite tired, so missed the concert and had an early night. I think the jet lag has just taken longer to hit than usual! We had to set the clocks back an hour, so an extra hour to sleep in, in the morning.

The ship rocked around a bit during the night. There were times I would be sleeping on my side then would fall flat on my face! John woke up feeling queasy….what a wuss!

As we were awake early anyway, we went up to the Constellation lounge for coffee. John only lasted a short time before asking where I had hidden the sea sick pills! Told him the name of them and where they were, so off he went. After a trip to the library I thought Id better check to see if he was still alive and he said he couldn’t take the pills without food. I thought this seemed a bit strange as if you are sea sick you certainly wouldn’t want to eat. Well I guess he can read the instructions, so off we went to breakfast. Halfway through he popped a pill, and announced that he felt better already. One look at the packet and I doubted that. I told him the pills were called Dramamine, and he had a packet of Doxylin ……..well yes they both started with a “D”…….but he just taken his first Malaria pill……it’s a long way from here to the Amazon! Needless to say the pill didn’t work and he wasted his breakfast!

I wasn’t going to mention trivia for a while, but have now changed my mind. Today we had a typical Aussie question and a typical Canuck question, even a Brit one and WE WON WE WON WE WON!!!! We are now in second place, so that’s pretty good from one end of the scale to the other. I must say I am not so happy with the trivia on the Pride…it was much better on the Spirit…..we got prizes EVERY day! Whatever team won that day, got a small prize…..on the Pride there are no prizes until the end!

At afternoon tea, oh yes we had to force down even more food….Captain Dexter gave a talk on what would be happening the day we transit the Panama Canal. In Martha’s words, “he is a hoot”. He is a laugh a minute. Also told us that when we meet up with the Legend, “he has a cunning plan”. You have to be a fan of British humour, Black Adder to appreciate some of the comments he makes.

The ship has continued to rock and roll all day, seems a few people have been “lying down” to recover, not moi! Should have been a sailor I think. I have no idea how those kids carry the heavy trays up and down the stairs in rough weather. I can hardly get myself up and down!

This afternoon we also decided to go and have Spanish lessons with Crina. Within 5 minutes John and I were lost. The Americans seemed to make sense of it, but then they hear a lot more Spanish than we ever have. We came to the conclusion that being multi lingual just isn’t for us. We have tried German and French and were miserable failures at both, so Spanish is no different. Looks like its just hand signals for us.

Well must be about time for another meal, so until next time

Bye from

GrannyLorr

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Lorr,

I'm so sorry John is seasick. Let's hope the pills work and/or the seas calm down.

Was he sick on the Spirit, too, or are the seas you are experiencing now rougher?

 

I'm really enjoying your updates. Thanks a lot.

 

BTW, Loved the RIP photo!!!

 

Steve.

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Poor fella............and yes, the orchids are a nice touch.

Poor fella.

Tell John to try my "Seasickness Cure"; you'll need:

 

1 surgical sponge (available from sick bay)

1 straw

1 large bottle of Jack Daniels whiskey

 

Remove shirt.

Take the sponge and saturate with whiskey.

Rub sponge on chest.

Drink rest of whiskey with straw.

Patient will become "in sync" with movement of ship.:p

 

We're really enjoying your updates. Hope John feels well soon.

Jack & Mrs. Jack

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Grannylorr,

YOU are a "hoot & and a holler!" Capt.'n Dexter is just one "hoot" compared to you!

Please tell John to drink Ginger Ale with fresh orange slices and a little sprig of mint. It's excellent for feeling queasy. I wish he had some of my "Underberg." That cures everything!:confused:

Have you met Miss A. yet? During the day she is up in the Constellation Lounge (by the window) reading ~~~We call her "Queen of the Pride" ~~~ (she is!)

Nelson, I'm sure will be happy to help you with your Spanish ~~please tell him to fix you a large Mojito ~~you'll start speaking in a foreign tongue!;)

Congratulations as to your Trivia! Well done ~~

Have a continued great cruise and thank you for keeping us in "stitches!":eek:

Martita B.

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Grannylorr,

Tomorrow will be exciting when the Pride meets her younger Sister, the Legend, in Puerto Moin ~~I've searched the Costa Rica webcams and 'alas, no cigar! I was hoping to view the Sisters docked together. This will be a fun day !

I'll wait and view the Pride going thru' the Panama Canal on Thurs., Jan 10th ~~please wave back!:p

Martita B.

post script: maybe someone will

post the Pride transiting the canal

on Jan 10th.

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Grannylorr,

 

You are terrible Muriel! Poor John, taking advantage of the weak and infirm (something I would do). My husband and I did have a laugh at his expense when he took the wrong tablet. Your cruise reports are my morning entertainment and I get most disappointed if there isn't one waiting to be read. As the South American cruise is one we are considering taking I'm looking forward to your shore reports.

 

Karen.

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Grannylorr,

The Pride is scheduled to transit the Panama Canal tomorrow (Jan. 10th) If you will be so kind as to post the apprx. time of your transit we can view it on www.pancanal.com or on the krooozcam.

We'll wave at you!:D

Hope all is well and you've not been in trouble the past a day or so(if you did get into trouble......oh, please post the details!:confused:)

Happy Trails & Sails!:p

Martita B.

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Hi GrannyLorraine, so wonderful to read your funny posts. And I thought I would be bored after the holidays. Still scratching my head over your train trip.....

Anyway, I was telling my mom about your blogs and the long trip, and since it's Seabourn, we started wondering about formal nights and how much jewelry -- the real kind -- is on board? Anyone dripping in diamonds?

Have a great trip.

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Grannylorr,

You must be having too good of a time to post your latest happenings!:confused:

Are you ready to transit the Panama Canal? I'll be watching for you at the rails on Deck 8 (by the Sky Bar) Eric DeGray will be waving

as well ~~~~

Have fun!

MB

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Just found this! You have just started and had more of your share of adventures already. I will be looking forward to reading more.

 

PS: Going across the US on a train nowdays is just crazy--but I am sure lots of other people already told you that. My son once went from Kansas to New Mexico on Amtrak--it took 3 days. He swore never again!

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Granny has been very slack the last few days. I have only turned on my computer to download photos! I don’t remember the last cruise being “so busy”, but now we have two lovely sea days, so hopefully have some time to catch up!

Problem is I now forget what we have done!!

Wednesday 9th. January

OK back to last Wednesday! After 3 lovely sea days, it was an early morning for us as we wanted to see the Legend. I looked out my window around 6am and saw her coming towards us….so then it was rush rush rush to get dressed and up to the Constellation Lounge before she caught us! I was quite surprised how few people bothered, but I got some nice pics, and the two ships sailed together to Puerto Moin, Costa Rica. Captain Dexter came up to the Lounge and said he was just there to make sure Mr Baines’ coffee had been taken care of! What a nice Captain!!

When ever we have a shore excursion, we order room service for breakfast so back to the room before our waiter arrived. We had already notified our waiter in the Restaurant that we wouldn’t be down for breakfast today……yesterday he looked at his watch when we arrived and told us we were two minutes late! (8.02am) Think he must have been talking to our waiters from the Spirit, as Andrew and Eric always treated us like naughty children too! We really feel at home now, but they have trained us well enough that we know to report in if we aren’t going to be showing up!

We had chosen the excursion to the Coffee Plantation. Our guide was a lovely girl by the name of Veronica and a nice comfortable coach for the 2 hour plus drive up into the mountains. Most of the plants we saw on the way were the same as we have at home, but much greener, thicker and brighter than ours…….of course ours are suffering lack of water and it seems that is not a problem in Costa Rica! It was a good tour, and I chose it mainly because of the long drive to be able to see the countryside. However when we heard about all the animals and birds the other tour had seen, I was disappointed. The coffee mill was interesting and the coffee tastings at the end were delicious….especially the alcoholic ones! We have to be very strong this trip and resist all the souvenirs, as we wont be able to get them home in our luggage. Some of the timber products were really beautiful; especially the cutting boards, but no way we can carry anything like that! We did give in a buy a serviette holder in the shape of a donkey cart, and now it is in our suite and we use it as a “Herald, Menu, News” holder……works well and keeps the place a bit tidier for our Stewardess.

Lunch was at a beautiful hacienda, ours was served in a gazebo by the pool and those from the Legend dined indoors…..I think we got the better deal!

Back to the ship for the sail away, and I told Nelson that many of you had said to say hello to him….he knows exactly what date Martha is boarding! Is that a good or bad sign? Think I also upset the Captain again…seems to be getting quite a habit…..I managed to avoid eviction at Puerto Moin but will need to behave myself a bit better in the future. It was just that seeing him in the Sky Bar after sail away got me to thinking “just who is driving this tub”……..ooops…… “TUB MADAM?” Ok Granny will be on her best behaviour from now on.

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Grannylorr,

"the Staff Captain must have been at the helm of the old tub !:confused:

Sounds like you're having a blast ~~ some of us watched the Pride and the Legend transit the Canal. Both looked so sleek and gorgeous.

I'll leave tomorrow ~will meet friends in San Jose C.R., then the ride to Caldera on Jan 16th. Fortunately I reserved a van/driver to transfer all 5 of us to the ship. We thought this less of a "bus hassle."

Have a continued wonderful time and thank you for sending my "Howdy's" to Captain Dexter, Nelson, et al.

I'll see you aboard the Pride on March 17th ~~~

Happy Trails and Sails :p

Martita B.

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Thursday 10th January

I am still trying to catch up, but just posted Wednesday’s news and read all the replies while I was in there!

Sorry I didn’t get to let you know the times for the Canal passage, but we were too busy!!

No Martha that wasn’t me on Deck 5….I was on Deck 8 all day….its good to escape the “po folks deck” sometimes.

Someone asked about jewellery on the formal nights….well I haven’t actually gone up to anyone and said “is that rock real?” So really I have no idea how much “real stuff” is on board. Haven’t seen anyone “dripping with diamonds”……I have seen some lovely jewellery on the ladies, but I am not one who cares if its real or not……..it can be as fake as lots of peoples joints these days, and I either like it or I don’t! In fact I did comment on a beautiful piece of jewellery last night, it was Native American beading, and was absolutely gorgeous….not a diamond in sight!

So now we have made it to Thursday, and I wasn’t evicted in Puerto Moin…..I was very grateful for that…..don’t know how much longer I will last though.

We had been told that the Panama Canal transit would start around 6am…..so here we were up in the Constellation Lounge at 5.45AM!! Now you can see why I haven’t been posting!

We were Number 16 going through the Canal, and all the way through we were next to a Fuel tanker……would much rather have been next to one carrying a cargo of chocolates or something. The fuel tanker almost touched either side and was EXTREMELY slow moving into and out of the chambers. We had an “expert” on board who did a running commentary, but we also had our own Private commentary by a friend who also talked us through the Suez Canal during our last cruise. He pointed out that the fuel tanker really wouldn’t want to scrape the sides as it might make a little spark…….and produce a big bang!! The whole transit was great, the scenery really beautiful, but didn’t spot one crocodile, even though we remained up top for 12 hours!

In the middle of the Canal, we had to have our trivia comp……and in the middle of the Trivia, we had to have a break to take photos of a Star Clipper sailing past. It looked beautiful, but there looked to be at least one person on board who was in even more trouble with their Captain than I was! The poor soul had been sent to the top of the mast! Thank heavens on the Pride there isn’t anything much higher than the Sky Bar!

During the transit, we had a couple of very light showers, but most of the time was fine sunny weather. I will try to post some pics soon, but will tell you when I have done it.

We had an early Show, by a ventriloquist, Don Bryan and his puppets Mr. Noseworthy and Annie. It was great fun. I like the early shows…….its an effort for me to stay awake after dinner to go to a 10pm show…..old age?

We had wanted to go to “2” tonight as the theme was “Indian Spice Market”, but it was completely booked out. Will try to make it to the next one.

We had dinner with an American couple, and we managed to educate the man on the correct way to eat lamb! He asked the waitress to bring ketchup for his lamb! What sacrilege. John started praying for him, and asking for him to be forgiven, so he told the waitress he didn’t need the ketchup. At least that’s one Yank we have saved! Quite a coincidence that his name was also John, and he was an electrician (as my John is, or was.

There was a Movie under the Stars tonight and I would have loved to have gone, but the next morning would be an early start for a shore excursion, so it was off to bed after dinner.

Well I have almost caught up now, just one day to go……today is just a sea day so nothing much to report.

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Grannylorr,

There IS something higher than the Sky Bar! It's called "The Monkey Top"!:eek: (look up above the Sky Bar where the flags are raised and lowered) Several years ago a certain Captain escorted me up.....we were docked and in port. I took 2 roses to throw into the sea ~~one for my Mother and one for dear Herman! Do NOT go up, Granny ! Knowing the semi-bad luck you're proned to have, you'd slip and fall off! ! I can hear it now..."Ay aye.....woman overboard!!":confused: :confused:

Have fun!

MB

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Friday January 11th.

After we left the Panama Canal, we had to go out to sea “to make water”. Captain Dexter said we were using too much water and so we had to wait until we cleared the Panama to make more.

Next morning we arrived in Fuerte Amador, Panama and had to anchor. I’m not too keen on using the tenders to get to shore as I can just imagine myself going splat in a spectacular style. The tour we had chosen was to the Embera Indian Village, and ours was the first tour to leave, so had to assemble in the Magellan Lounge before 8.30am. We collected our water bottles, and there were also lots of towels on the table, but we wouldn’t need those….or so we thought! The seas were reasonably slight so I managed to fall into the tender without breaking anything. Our bus was of an older vintage, not quite as comfortable as the one in Costa Rica. The drive took us past the outskirts of Panama City, a much bigger city than I had expected, then we drove for almost 2 hours. Roads were quite rough. We then arrived at the spot where our Indian guides would collect us in the canoes. With only 10 to a canoe, it was fairly comfortable for the 40 minute ride to the village. The canoe had an outboard motor, so we didn’t have to row!

I amused myself with the thought, that last year I was told unless I submitted to drastic action with chain saw surgery, I wouldn’t see 2008. Here I was in 2008, just 6 months later, playing “Survivor Panama” by sailing down the Chargres River in a canoe through the Panamanian rainforest with an almost naked man!! (He did have on a loin cloth but it didn’t cover much!)

We reached the village and all the children and women came out to meet us and help us from the canoe. The children were really beautiful and posed for photos quite happily. We had been told not to give them any money, as they didn’t want them being turned into beggars, however at the end of the day they held up a basket and asked for donations towards their education. The children had been taught that on the count of three they said “cheese” ….then “thank you” in English as people put money into the basket. Although probably most people happily donated, I wondered if this wasn’t teaching them to beg anyway. We had collected all the chocolates from our room to give them, but then were told not to as they don’t have dental care……so all the chocolates came back to the ship.

There must have been some sort of mix up with our lunches, as we were supposed to have been given “box lunches” but there certainly weren’t enough to go around. Not that it would hurt any of us to miss a meal or two. The Indians gave us fish and plantains that they had cooked….the fish was delicious, but I’m not too keen on the plantains. We were also given pineapple and red papaya……both delicious.

There was a talk by one of the Indian men, which was translated by a guide, then the women performed a couple of dances……..for one they dragged up the men to dance with them……sadly I didn’t get a very good photo of John and his new wife. I should have had my flash on, and the pics are all blurred.

We were allowed to wander around the village and they had many stalls set out with all their handcrafts. The basket weaving was spectacular, but with Australian Customs rules, we weren’t game to buy anything as it would probably be destroyed when we got home again. Also had some lovely carvings made from some sort of nut, another thing we wouldn’t be allowed to take home. I am still in mourning from having a camel I bought in Dubai, cremated when I arrived home after the last cruise. There were also some really lovely wood carvings, which we can take home, may have to have them treated by Customs, but the weight prevents us from those too! Poor old Granny only got a piece of fabric……a very nice piece of fabric….no idea what I am going to do with it…….

It was soon time to head back to the canoes and 2 of the children came in our canoe with us. They sat in the prow, and John had the front seat….we then found out what the towels were for! Those canoes set off quite a spray in the front seats. We were saturated by the time we got back to the bus….all I was concerned with was keeping my camera dry…didn’t care about us….it was actually a nice way to cool down. Back to Fuerte Amador and the tender back to the ship. The tender was off being refueled when we arrived, but Seabourn had set up a table with cold drinks for us on the dock. Unfortunately the seas had changes quite a bit in the time we had been gone….the swell was huge. When the tender reached the ship it was really taking your life in your hands trying to get from one to the other. We had to wait, balanced on the top step, and get ready to jump when told too…….it was very hairy……hope we have more dockings than tenderings!

This was the second shore excursion we had done, and both had been listed as “extensive”…….I managed them both with no problems, so am not expecting any problems with the penguin tour later in the cruise.

We really enjoyed the day, wish we could have purchased a lot of the crafts, but not to worry, it was something we will never do again.

We had received an invitation to a Private Party in the Club for all the passengers doing the complete circumnavigation. I have heard there are 21 of us, but only 17 turned up. Of that 17, 9 are Australians. There is also a German couple continuing on to do the Crossing so we aren’t the only ones doing the 85 days.

After the Circumnavigation party, it was off to Tastings @2 with friends for dinner. We had never tried “2” before and we really enjoyed it. I want to take some of the dishes home with me! It was a beautiful night out on the open deck.

Our night ended with Erics show called “From Vegas to Broadway”. I hadn’t been able to stay awake for the late shows but forced myself tonight. It was a great show, Eric is certainly very talented even if he dusts the ceiling while he performs!

I just have two more days to catch up on now, so until next time

Bye from GrannyLorr

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