Granny's 2008 Adventure

[wynkys]

Lorraine,

 

Thank you for another fascinating report.

Good for you to attempt and complete the hike even if it just reminded you of your current limitations. At least you know you've done it in a part of the world not many get to see.

Safe travelling,

Wayne (from a very hot Melbourne)

[Decebal]

<<<Then we thought, that it’s not likely to happen next year…..so we can get in one more cruise first…we hope! Anyway, it’s the Baltic next year…..August/September. Copenhagen back to London. I will just get unpacked from this trip and have to start packing for the next!

This will be our shortest cruise, think its 29 days.>>

Goody, another trip report to look forward to from Granny Lorr. And I can't wait to hear what you think of that part of the world.

Enjoy the rest of your cruise, your updates have been fabulous.

[harrodsfan]

Really have enjoyed your trip...vicariously. Really want to do the Amazon and your insight is great. Thanks for sharing.

[ltsally]

It's been a fabulous bit of escapism, Granny - to sit here in our endless, and endlessly snowy, winter and read of life on Seabourn and all the sights, sounds and animals! Thank you for taking the time. You've a fine talent; I love the way some of your wit just kind of "slides in there."

 

Glad you still have the crossing to look forward to - what a relaxing time after all your adventures. But not the time to give up Trivia, I think - it's one of the day's highlights!

 

Enjoy.

[Island Cruiser]

Before you exit the ship I want to ring in here too Granny. I'm another of those many lurkers who gets up every morning wondering if there will be a new, delightful post from Granny to enjoy. You are an excellent writer and a keen observer. You've made your marvelous adventure real for me and, no doubt, many many others. Thank you so very much. Patrick

[GrannyLorr]

March 15th.

Well Granny is almost at the end of her Reporting job….a sea day today, another tomorrow then it will be Fort Lauderdale. 72 days……all over……

This will be my last report for at least this part of the cruise, only thing left to report would be the results of the last two days of Trivia, but I don’t think I will bother with that! I have been asked to carry on with some reports of the Crossing, so I have signed up for another 4 hours of Internet……and I will let you know how Martha behaves or misbehaves! One thing I must point out to Martha though is that she will be missing St Patrick’s Day! There was a report in the ships newspaper that it had been changed to the 15th this year, didn’t read it all, but had something to do with the 17th clashing with Holy Week. So sorry Martha, we are celebrating today!

Granny has had her first “taste” of the Caribbean. I must say that the islands we visited didn’t look like the Caribbean of my imagination…..or maybe it was the “Hollywood” visions that I had imagined? Maybe we just went to different islands than what I had imagined? For some reason I had always thought of the Caribbean islands, being low land, surrounded by palm fringed beaches……nope, wasn’t like that at all. The islands were hilly, rocky, a few nice beaches but not too many palms……actually reminded me a lot of the Whitsunday Islands in North Queensland (Great Barrier Reef area)

Our first stop was Bridgetown, Barbados. John and I did separate excursions here. John went off to snorkel with the turtles. He actually only saw one turtle. Everyone who I have spoken to who did this tour really enjoyed it, but a few didn’t even get in the water as the current was very strong. John said he had trouble getting back to the boat against the current, and one man needed oxygen! I don’t remember being told that you needed to be a strong swimmer for this tour, but maybe we were and I just didn’t hear it. Anyway it’s something for others to think about on future cruises. I went off on a Photography tour…..we saw a few nice places around the island, and the guide was very nice, but I didn’t learn anything about photography that I didn’t already know. We were taken to a Rum shop, but to try a Rum Punch we had to pay for it…….everywhere else it would have been included in the tour. I was lucky I had grabbed a few dollars before I left the ship, as I haven’t been carrying any money the entire trip……I might have missed out! The Photographer also sold a lot of his prints at this Rum shop, so I felt it was more an opportunity for him to sell his stuff, than to teach us anything! I enjoyed seeing a lot of the island, but wouldn’t do that tour again.

What I saw of Barbados I really liked. It felt very safe and was very clean.

That night we had a Calypso Band come onboard to entertain us. It was a great night.

We had heard there were some new crew coming on board in Barbados, and we got to catch up with Matthew Brown that night………saw Karl the next morning and I got a big smooch!! Anyone jealous? Both Matthew and Karl will be with us for The Crossing.

Next day we arrived in Antigua. We only had half a day here so decided not to do a tour and just have a walk around the town. I managed to buy some new sunglasses, as mine had been broken twice in the last couple of weeks. Had borrowed the super glue from the Purser and that worked for a week, but they were now beyond repair. John found a Pharmacy and bought two more packets of sea sick pills…..he is now ready for the Crossing! It was a nice little town to window shop in, and the market area was great for cheap souvenirs. We ~almost~ bought some jewellery…….found a lovely necklace of pearls and diamonds…….at 50% off it was a real bargain……but I changed my mind at the last moment, as I had already bought pearls this trip…..think I am sorry now….oh well……suppose I should have been looking at emeralds. I have never seen so many emeralds in my life as what I have seen on this trip.

While we were docked in St Johns, we were right next to the Emerald Princess….what a monster! Our Sky Bar wasn’t even level with their first deck of balcony cabins! At sailaway they were all looking down on us from a great height! We just waved to them nicely as they paid for their sailaway drinks. We were quite happy drinking all the rum punches and champagne that Nelson and the crew were handing out.

One day I would love to actually “see” one of these huge ships on the inside……do people carry skate boards with them to get from one end to the other? I would be exhausted going to breakfast!

That night we had another Cocktail party and Dinner at “2” for all those doing the Circumnavigation. Not many turned up……..

The entertainment that night was the British, Magician/Comedienne Mandy Muden….Mandy had been on our cruise on the Spirit a couple of years ago and we missed her, as I had that rotten bug that had laid a lot of us low, but had been told she was very good. So off we went, and it was a great show…….we haven’t been to a lot of concerts this cruise. Last time we went to every one, didn’t want to miss out on anything….this time we have been going to bed straight after dinner most nights!

After Antigua, we sailed to Gustavia, St Barts. We had hired a car for the day, so off in the tender early to pick up our car. We had been expecting a jeep type car, with open top as airconditioning…….however we got a small 4 wheel drive, automatic WITH real airconditioning….so that was helpful as it was quite a hot day. We had arranged for a picnic lunch from the ship, so found a nice beach with a bit of shade to have our lunch. The roads on St Barts are very rough, very narrow and very steep……we were also driving on the “wrong” side of the road….but somehow we managed to return the car without any scratches or dents! I think we saw the entire island at least twice. Then of course we decided to stop in one area to look at the shops…….we keep forgetting about the European tradition of closing the shops in the middle of the day……John was happy….no shopping after all! After we returned the car, they drove us back into Gustavia so I had a quick look in the shops near the dock…….I know there are various qualities in Panama hats……but 500 Euros for one that looked very very similar to the one John bought in Ecuador for $25, just seemed a bit over the top…..then the ones for 1000 Euros…..well I suppose there are lots of people in St Barts with money burning holes in their pockets! Needless to say we don’t have any souvenirs from St Barts!

Our last stop in the Caribbean was Charlotte Amalie, St Thomas. This is where US Officials were going to come on board to clear the ship for US Customs. The reason was to save time when we reach Fort Lauderdale. Were not looking forward to this as they were boarding at 7am!! Actually I think it was even before 7am that the announcement was made that the Officials were ready to interview us all. Somehow we had managed to crawl out of bed early so were amongst the first to be cleared. It was all very painless, took about one minute each……after all passengers had been cleared we were free to leave the ship. We had booked a tour for St Thomas as we only had a few hours here. Enjoyed the tour, in an open bus, all around the island, great stops for photo opportunities. Also visited a beautiful mansion formerly owned by the Johnson and Johnson people. Last part of the tour was to go up in the gondola for another “lookout” view. Unfortunately we didn’t have any time for shopping here, and there were so many shops within walking distance of the ship. A lot of people commented that they would have preferred to stay in St Thomas for a full day, than in St Barts……St Thomas was the last shopping opportunity for this cruise, but no time to do any! Don’t think anyone would have done much shopping in St Barts.

I must report on Chef Markus’ last Cooking demonstration. He was doing the “Twice Baked Goat Cheese Soufflé”…..I really wanted to learn how to do that. The whole thing seemed reasonably simple, even for someone who has completely forgotten what a kitchen looks like. I had the print out of the recipe…..watched the whole demonstration, and decided I would have a go when I got home…….then Chef Markus found a bowl of ingredients on the table that he had forgotten to use…….the egg whites!!! None of us had realized that he hadn’t used the main ingredient in a soufflé……so I don’t think I am the only one who forgets what a kitchen is!

We have had another Deck BBQ while in St Barts and it was just the perfect weather for a BBQ. Some people are disappointed that the marina hasn’t been used at all. I pointed out that in a few days we will have sailed Seabourn for 140 days and have never seen the marina used. I mentioned a couple of weeks ago about the lack of Galley Lunches on this cruise….well unless they have one tomorrow, there will have only been ONE Galley Lunch in 72 days! That has been a disappointment.

We have just returned from lunch and I must report that the GOOD fries are back on board……

I can also report quite happily on today’s Trivia as we won again…….only one more day to go.

Another rather funny story I have been told…….and it came about because of the Circumnavigators being given Restaurant “2” for two special dinners….it was closed to everyone else. The person concerned believed that it wasn’t fair that a minority group could have a venue privately, thus cutting out his dining options for that night. Someone pointed out to him that according to the Seabourn brochures, anyone could arrange a “Private” function anywhere on the ship. (I haven’t actually read that but maybe it does say it somewhere). This man then decided that, OK….he would have a “Dinner for 1 in the Library”……….I am sure he was only joking, but another passenger arranged for an invitation to be printed and sent to him……it was Formal Night…….so he accepted the “invitation” and dressed in Tuxedo and flip flops, off he went to the Library for his “Dinner for 1”. The Prides Godmother portrait is in the Library, and he didn’t want to share his meal with her, so she was covered over with a cloth. The desk was all set up for him, but then the Maitre d’ heard about it and the whole event was cancelled! I didn’t hear where he ended up eating that night!

Well Granny is off to start doing a bit of packing…..not that we are about to leave the ship, but we have to move suites on Monday so might as well put stuff away that we wont be needing for the Crossing.

I may or may not report on tomorrows Trivia Final……..

So until next time

Bye from Granny.

[cands]

Lorraine,

Please, please, please continue to post on the crossing.

 

What is your new cabin number? Any upgrade this time?

 

That's amazing they haven't used the marina on either of your very long cruises. I was hoping to see it used on our upcoming cruise, but as it's very similar to your first cruise I now have my doubts.

 

I was interested in the fact that you can organise a picnic lunch. I suppose it depends on the food regulations of the country being visited?

I am incredibly fussy about eating in third world countries after being hospitalised in India a few years ago. We have decided instead on an overnight trip to Luxor we will do a very long day trip. It would be great to be able to take food with us and not to have to eat any local food.

The same goes for our day trips in India.

 

Take care, and enjoy the crossing. I hope for John's sake its calm. What sea sickness meds did you buy. The Americans swear by something called Bonine, which is like dramamine but does not make you as drowsy. (I think)

 

Cheers,

Steve.

[JaneBP]

I asked and got a picnic lunch for a day in Guatemala, when I had a car, driver, and guide. I never thought about what Guatemala might think, to be honest. But I planned to eat it all and not leave anything. Apparently, the 'routine' was to take the passenger to some jewelry place in Antigua and the driver and guide would get a free lunch. That was fine, but I said I would sit in the car, eat my lunch and then they could go in and eat. That seemed OK with them, and I did just that, which was fun. I could watch all the activity in the street with peple going in and out of shops, etc.

 

My caveat is that when ordering a lunch be specific. I ordred ham and cheese, and they were made with lettuce and tomato and got very soggy by lunch time. I managed, but I think you need to be specific. I also took extra cookies for the driver and guide. They were a big hit.

[PeaSea8ch]

Granny,

I have SO enjoyed reading all of your well-written reports! As others have previously posted, I too have enjoyed your wit, humor and observations of things and events both ashore and at sea.

 

The real purpose of this is to let you know that the reinforcements have arrived and are currently on-station in Fort Lauderdale and ready for travelogue duty. I am glad you will be reporting during the crossing as Seabourn sailors are usually very busy doing nothing on a crossing! :D

 

See ya in a couple of days! :)

[cands]

I asked and got a picnic lunch for a day in Guatemala, when I had a car, driver, and guide. I never thought about what Guatemala might think, to be honest. But I planned to eat it all and not leave anything. Apparently, the 'routine' was to take the passenger to some jewelry place in Antigua and the driver and guide would get a free lunch. That was fine, but I said I would sit in the car, eat my lunch and then they could go in and eat. That seemed OK with them, and I did just that, which was fun. I could watch all the activity in the street with peple going in and out of shops, etc.

 

My caveat is that when ordering a lunch be specific. I ordred ham and cheese, and they were made with lettuce and tomato and got very soggy by lunch time. I managed, but I think you need to be specific. I also took extra cookies for the driver and guide. They were a big hit.

 

Thanks for the info Jane. Plain ham and cheese sandwiches with cookies to follow would be just perfect:) . Then we can celebrate getting back to the ship late in the evening with caviar or foie gras;) .

 

Steve.

[Seabourn-nail]

Thanks for all your wonderful reports Lorraine! And yes, please do continue to write about the crossing. I hope you and John will enjoy that part of your cruise as well. I'm sure I will in a few weeks on the Legend, though I must admit, I will Miss the Pride too in a way, which means most of all some of the people, both from the guests and from the crew!

But you have to make choices at one point and these choices are the best you will ever have to make (the easiest anyway).

Please give my love to Nelson, Karl and Mandy Muden!

And to Martha, Paul, Uwe and Christian (from Germany), who you all will meet for sure.

Marja

[fhcfac]

Dear GL and John,

 

Home again and missing you all. My bed is not rocking and the GSD is not at all interested in trivia. Have a wonderful crossing and safe trip home. FAC

[marazul]

Lorraine,

thanks again for your posts. I'm looking forward to your future adventures.

M

[GrannyLorr]

I suppose Granny has been a bit slack again, but she has been sooooooo busy the last few days! Eat, sleep, read, eat again, maybe a movie, sleep, read and of course eat again…..no I haven’t joined Paul in “deck walking”, but I did see him striding along up there as we went to breakfast in the Veranda this morning.

Back to the end of the last cruise. We arrived in Fort Lauderdale while I was still asleep! Couldn’t sleep in too much though, as we had to move suites and wanted to be able to shift as soon as our new suite became available. Wasn’t a very painful experience….we were pretty organized and had also done some packing of stuff we didn’t think we would need for the Crossing so that freed up some wardrobe space. Was a bit sad to know that a lot of people we had got to know over the last 72 days were all leaving, but I am sure we will see a lot of them again one day. Equally as sad was knowing that a lot of the crew we had come to really like would also be leaving. I just don’t know why they need vacations!

There were only 11 of us left onboard, so I had the laundry all to myself, thought I had better try and work out how you use an iron again as it wont be long before I will be reunited with mine!

We were about to go to the Veranda for lunch but decided to make sure of the opening time, so checked in the Herald. Just as well, the Veranda wasn’t open at all…..lunch was in the Restaurant which never happens on embarkation days! Very surprised to see so many tables set for lunch when there were only 11 of us….and some of them had gone shopping……soon after though the masses arrived…..the masses being from the Seabourn office. Mostly women? Didn’t actually do a head count but it seemed to be mostly women! Of course I tried to do a bit of “eaves dropping”……didn’t hear anything of interest….I am sure us guests know more about how Seabourn works anyway than those pushing pens in the office! ****Waves to David**** btw….David Bloome visited and came to speak to us, and pointed out a BIG mistake I made at the beginning of this blog….that NONE of you have picked up on! I had noticed the mistake straight away, but because of the high cost of internet on Seabourn, I wasn’t about to waste valuable minutes editing!!! Sorry David!!

Our previous Stewardess has gone home and we now have Samantha. This is our third Stewardess….hope we don’t wear them out too much!

So now The Crossing begins………

Went up to the Sky Bar loaded up with St Paddys decorations that had been donated by Fran and Frank (see above post). Wasn’t hard to work out which lady was “Martha”, so introduced ourselves and gave her the goodies to hand out. Met a couple of her friends and later was introduced to Paul. I will leave most of the writing on “The Crossing” to Paul, just throw in my 2 penneth worth every now and then.

We are now into Day 3 and we haven’t seen much of Martha, no parties yet…unless we haven’t been invited!! We don’t spend much time in the Sky Bar so maybe that’s why we haven’t seen her much. (Certainly not in this weather!!) As Paul had reported, the seas are pretty rugged but the rougher it is the better I sleep! Keeping everything crossed, John hasn’t been affected yet…….he has some sea sick pills so hope it calms down before they run out! Sounds as though the rough weather might be with us a bit longer though.

I was interested to read Pauls report on his dinner with the Staff Captain, Sigurd……we have dined with him twice……what a great young man he is…..he also told us about his ear enhancements but we also know of other body piercings he has!!! Probably won’t be too much longer before he is a Captain……Captain Andersen pointed out last night that Sigurd is after his job…..and we saw him counting his stripes!

We weren’t going to join a Trivia team this time, but then decided to give it a try. Had heard the Crossing teams could be too serious which wouldn’t be any fun for us. Well we have joined a team and they aren’t serious so is all good fun again. Yesterday we came a miserable equal last but today WE WON….yes another bookmark…..but Christine Markey felt sorry for us as we have about 10 bookmarks so far….so we got a pen!!

Last night we had dinner with the Hot Man, had never met Laurent before, but I can quite happily listen to a French accent all night! (Karl is still around……may not have French accent but is still gorgeous!!) Tonight we are having dinner with Ambassador Hart….oops, didn’t go to his lecture the other day……

Next Day……..

Had dinner with Ambassador Hart and he when he asked where we were from, went on to say “oh I asked in my lecture if there was anyone from Australia and there weren’t any”…..we got sprung! Think we might go and listen to him today! Actually haven’t “heard” any other Aussies at all on this part of the cruise, so we may be “it”!

GRANNY HAS BEEN INJURED IN THE ROUGH SEAS!!!!! Well a little bit injured….well my middle toe is sore anyway! Last night we went to Mandy Mudens performance, and a man near us decided to move seats right in the middle of a huge swell! I am sure he was wearing biker boots and mashed my poor little toe! I had to wear a sock to bed to save the sheets from being covered in blood…..well maybe that’s a slight exaggeration…..but it is sore! He also thumped me in the shoulder so I can probably add to all my other bruises now…..anyway Mandys’ show was great again. It’s a shame though that some people have a little bit too much champagne then think they need to be part of the performance as well!

I am now going to enter into the “Dress Code” discussion that raises its head on the Seabourn site regularly……I saw the thread just recently again but didn’t reply as I wasn’t sure if different cruises had different codes……

It is two years now since we first sailed Seabourn and it’s very obvious the dress code has become more casual. I thought maybe that was just because of the heat etc in South America, but the Crossing dress code is also more casual. Two years ago, we had our Formal nights, we also had first and last night were casual…..then most other nights men required jackets and ties……the only ties men need now are bow ties for Formal nights. Most nights are classed as “Elegant Casual” which is jacket, NO TIES required…..think other cruise lines use the words like “ Country Casual” etc. We carried about 8 ties and John has worn ONE, once…….

On the Crossing of 13 days….we have 3 Formal, 3 Casual, and the rest Elegant Casual.

I know there are a lot of die hard “Formal” fans in CC, but that isn’t the case when you speak to the majority of passengers actually on the ship. Most passengers have been professionals and wore suits and ties every day of their working lives…..now they prefer to relax. The statement “that isn’t the Seabourn way” is changing….and another statement I have read here a lot is “that if you don’t like Formal, go to a different cruise line”……that doesn’t work any more either. There are a lot of reasons why people chose Seabourn….and Formal nights is just one, for a few people…..others choose Seabourn because of the food, service, crew, all inclusive, itineraries, small ships, other passengers etc etc etc……Our next cruise is to the Baltic, and with luggage restrictions on air flights from Australia to Europe,I doubt we will be carrying heavy clothes like tuxedos…..

Another question that came up was that of taking picnic lunches from the ships….JaneBP and I have both done it so Cands, hope you can arrange something on your cruise. Of course it will depend on what country you are going to, whether or not you are allowed to take food off the ship. When we were in Chile, no food was allowed to be taken in, seems they have the same rules as in Australia, we even had sniffer dogs check our bags before we got on a tour. However some people still managed to take food……fruit….probably one of the worst things to take……some people either don’t listen, or don’t care…….I couldn’t believe it when I saw them sitting on the bus merrily chomping away on forbidden fruit! Anyway either the Chef or Maitre d’ will know what you are allowed to take where…so just ask. We had thought chicken and salad would be nice, but were told by the Maitre d’ “not in this climate”…..we then ordered sandwiches….egg…..but the next day Chef Markus phoned us and said that wasn’t possible either, some “health regulations” I think about eggs……so, the crew will advise what can or cant be taken…….you can take wine if you like…or champagne….we just took water! John driving on the wrong side of the road was scary enough without the addition of wine or champagne….then again maybe I should have taken it just for myself!

Today’s Trivia will not be mentioned………

So that is about all the news I have for now

Until next time

Bye from Granny

Fhc….email is on its way…..

[JaneBP]

>"Our next cruise is to the Baltic, and with luggage restrictions on air flights from Australia to Europe,I doubt we will be carrying heavy clothes like tuxedos….."

 

Granny,

 

It was interesting to me to read that on our 12 day Baltic cruise, with only the first and last days at sea, it is "suggested" to have 3 formal nights. I find that in a port intensive itinerary, changing after touring for a formal night is a pain .

 

Sorry you got caught by the Ambassador, next time reply that you were watching it in your suite and couldn't respond. <G> Perhaps you can catch his replay.

[harrodsfan]

So sorry about your toe....hope it is feeling better.

totally agree with you about the formal wear....It may go by the wayside with the airlines allowing less and less weight... and with more port intensive European cruises it is difficult to change into formal wear after a day of say touring...Rome.

[cruiserbunny]

Hello, Granny,

 

My husband and I have so enjoyed reading your travelogue. Please keep up the good work.

 

Hope your toe is better now...:)

 

We are very interested to know what Karl will be doing at the end of the crossing.

He was the MD on our Spirit cruise last June/July and we were really hoping that he would be on our Spirit cruise in June/July this year.

 

Would be very grateful if you could find out anything..

 

Many thanks.

 

Sue and Ralph Evans

[JaneBP]

>"and pointed out a BIG mistake I made at the beginning of this blog….that NONE of you have picked up on! I had noticed the mistake straight away, but because of the high cost of internet on Seabourn, I wasn’t about to waste valuable minutes editing!!!"

 

No, those of us who noticed it were just too polite to mention it, knew who you meant, and then figured we wouldn't bother to change it either!

 

Hope your seas have smoothed out and you are wining once again at Trivia. Check the pens you get; on the last Pride cruise I took we got ones that said 'Cunard'.

[GrannyLorr]

Nope Jane...not winning at Trivia. In fact think we are last or equal last.....we have all new pencils and notepads, all donated by a "passenger".....

Karl is now into "staff training", he just doenst look the same in "normal" clothes! Still looks pretty damn good though......

[cruiserbunny]

 

Karl is now into "staff training", he just doenst look the same in "normal" clothes! Still looks pretty damn good though......

 

Bad news for us then, but I'm sure he's doing an excellent job!

 

Sue

[lord of the seas]

Let us hope that he becomes Maitre D' on the Odyssey ;)

[GrannyLorr]

Granny is still sailing along........looks like our dog has joined us!!!

 

[GrannyLorr]

[terrafirma]

Granny is still sailing along........looks like our dog has joined us!!!

 

Those towels are so much nicer looking than your dog GrannyLorr :D

[AuntieAnne]

What will you do when you get home? There will be no one to entertain you--or more important--to entertain us.

 

Looking forward to sailing with you again sometime.

 

Judith