Yaya_in_Oz

After leaving Walvis Bay around 7pm we went a short distance to an anchor point and the bunkering took place there, a short distance from the wharf. Apparently, the Walvis Bay authority would not allow any bunkering while the ship was alongside the wharf during the day. I think they did do some bunkering in Cape Town as well but I was off the ship and also on the mountainside so didn't notice but it makes sense as they ship had come all the way from Mauritius. Bunkering would have been done while ship was at the terminal as we didn't stop anywhere.

We are pretty much sailing in a straight line from Walvis Bay to Cape Verde. Smooth seas and great sunny weather. The Officer on the Bridge in his daily midday update yesterday said we would be crossing the prime meridian at 5.15 pm later in the day. We are still about 5 degrees S so we won't be anywhere near Null Island. Thanks for the info, I'd never heard of it before.

I've absolutely no idea why this image appears upside down or how to fix it. I'm half way through the sea days so I got the Internet today for $23 as a plat/elite for the day. Quite reasonable considering they wanted $750 for the cruise. I don't have a package and certainly not worth it for just checking e-mails. I have been impressed with the number of activities offered on a small ship. Dare I post a patter or two. They may be upside down. Also very happy that they have ABC24 as a channel (as well as Sky 🙃) and BBC News among others. I like to be kept informed while away but its a bit to get used to watching Afternoon Briefing, Planet America and so on at 8 am! All the previous Destination Guides that have been presented are available for viewing also. The only thing I saw or heard in Walvis Bay was the bunker boat whirring till all hours of the morning. Fortunately I'd been through Namibia before. The Captain said Walvis Bay was not up to the standard required for a cruise ship.

I didn't bother with a private transfer. I had read to just take an authorised taxi from the airport. The attendant at the carousel must of thought I'd fall over if I tried to retrieve my bag so she grabbed it and then wheeled it to the authorised taxi man who wheeled it around the airport to their booth where they gave me the price of 450 Rand (about $40) and then to the taxi. I stayed at the Pullman in the CBD as I had read it was a nice hotel used by cruise passengers. It was $184 compared to $5-600 they were wanting for a waterfront hotel at my time of booking which was fairly last minute. Nice hotel, large rooms, pool. They had a shuttle every hour to the waterfront which you had to book in advance (about 1/2hr). The shuttle drops you off about 5-7 min walk on the flat from the cruise terminal. On the day the shuttle bus driver just took me around there although they don't have too. Oh, the advantages of being an old lady😄. This pic is from my balcony on the ship and you can see the hotel with that pyramid thing on top (right of centre) so not far.

I embarked Cape Town yesterday. I arrived at about 11.30 and my bag was taken by a porter. With the ship delayed I guess I waited about 2 hours to start checking in. Supposedly the terminal is new but there is only about 80 seats for people waiting. Ok but I wouldn’t want 2000 arriving at once. Most still had their suitcases which were later taken. Then a long line of new crew got on and so on. Finally we got to check in but only 5 at a time as that is all the staff they had. Inside the check in area was packed with people as all the staff had to come down and go through immigration and then get back on the ship. After getting the medallion there was a small waiting area with maybe about 30 seats and I didn’t wait there long before being called to the ship. This part only took a few minutes from entry to exit. Once at the gangway this couple said where did you get the medallion 😱. Someone took them and showed them and then announcements were made for people to check in first before heading to the ship! I think the staff were a bit confused as guests who were already on the ship were returning for the day and somehow a few made it to the gangway without checking in. It all worked out in the end I think. Cape Town is a great place to visit. I’ve been here before for a week so had done a lot of tours already. It’s nice to be aboard. Had the best time in economy with a spare seat next to me the whole way, 30+ hours! 2h in line to get through immigration at the CPT airport only 2, sometimes 3 officers for hundreds of people and planes kept landing. Landslide people very nice to me! So all good. Sat night the Waterfront was pumping, it was great. Anyway, I don’t have Internet so if anything of excitement happens I’ll post in port. It’s 11 am and the Mountain is still covered in fog.

Yes, this was what I didn't quite understand. I thought skimming pretty much happened anywhere and just so long as you take as much care as possible, thats all you can do.

Thanks, I hadn't seen that article. Having been before I'll mainly being hanging around the waterfront which has a security presence anyway. I just use the tap and go as I think its safer than putting your card in a machine and manage my settings not allowing certain transactions and keep the amount transacted low. If I suddenly see something expensive I can increase those limits if I want to purchase it but first I have a dialogue with myself about buying more stuff when I have way too much stuff already! 😆

Prices have certainly gone up a lot in the last year. I would normally pay around $300 solo per day for interior or ov obs. Around $480, forget it. Japan is flavour of the month in travel destinations so no doubt the ship will be full even at those prices. I'll look for Drop and Go fares (not always cheap) or go see some more grain silos.

Whats the problem with using a CC in Cape Town? I hadn't heard of anything. I usually tap and go and never let the card out of my sight. I got a great eyecatching fridge magnet last time I was in Cape town. It says 466/64, Nelson Mandela's prison number.

I've often wondered how they work out who goes where when there are number of ships in port. I doubt it would be to save money on port fees as the alternative to docking at the cruise port seems to be more trouble than its worth. I'm surprised the Captain didn't relay the reason for the last minute change at Darwin. I assume it was last minute as the transport into the City was poorly organised and sounds like it was half the way to Katherine. Thanks for the heads up, if it happened somewhere like Darwin where I've been a number of times I would stay on the ship, if not I'd book a shore excursion to actually see something and minimise wait times.

Thanks again @OzKiwiJJ. Blue skies can be deceptive. I'm following you all on the bridge cam and map 🙂

Thanks. I do have the paperwork but they just give a final price not an itemised list of excursions. The ones I've paid for are listed in my travel summary so I've printed that off too. If Princess are aware of it hopefully it will be sorted out by the time I board. Its more the principle of it. You shouldn't be asked for more money once you've paid in full.

These are plus fares. Standard fares are a lot cheaper and a still showing 7K for a solo balcony, I assume "E" grade which is what I paid 3 weeks ago. All up with cruise, airfare, transfers, a night at the Pullman pre cruise it comes in under 10K solo so I'm more than happy with that and I got $250 OBC. I've just added these details as there maybe people reading the thread and considering it. I certainly won't be mentioning it once on board, 🤐 Having said that, its a great itinerary. Some sea days at the beginning to get over any jet lag then lots of ports. I wouldn't book a cruise because its cheap, eg. I couldn't cope with all those sea days going across to CPT on the first leg, even though it was also a bargain. I've also paid more than I thought was reasonable for a cruise because I really wanted to go to those places.

I was looking to do a European cruise when I saw this so I booked and bought a ticket about 3 weeks ago, so I'll be joining you on a short sojourn from CPT to London. The airfare was the price of a ticket to Europe (in economy of course) but I have to go the long way through Dubai as I want to go on Emirates to maximise my time on an A380 and also they've always given me good service. I appreciate your info @OzKiwiJJ and last night I was printing off my receipts for excursions as I notice they've all gone up about $30 since I paid for them (only 5) and they might want more money. My CC has been debited for my medallion and I'll pack next week. Max 17-18 kg that I can manage and 5 kg in carryon. I'll see you all in about 2 weeks although I don't surface much on sea days. I look forward to sailing across the TOCapricorn, Equator, TOCancer while reading a book or playing games and sitting in the sun on my balcony, then we hit the ports and away we go. I'll be following your blog each day until then.

I'm surprised it hasn't sold out by now but I guess airfares/routes would become limited close to sailing.

Can hardly wait to try the 20 Knots Merlot 😆

Most of the time I have been able to choose my own cabin as I book up to a year in advance but when its closer to sailing like 3 or 4 months I've booked a reserve guarantee cabin a few times. That way I don't end up in an "F" class cabin. They are in the worst places. "E" and above a fine. I've been right at the front, down the back and anywhere in between, upstairs, downstairs, all good. When I choose my own I tend to go for aft, mid aft. I like to feel the boat move a bit.

Thanks so much for all this @yes!yes!yes!. I'll be going on my first P & O cruise in Jan so all this info is really helpful.

I like the last one 😎 I don't know where it is, maybe Sydney?

I'm getting the pop-ups on my laptop. NCL has taken pop-ups to a whole new level. I've never had them coming to me on every single page before. At least I can see the X and can close it. It doesn't seem to happening on my phone where I am logged out atm.

The Netherlands?

What can I say? Pearls before the swine comes to mind 🙄

Correct, I think of it as Mt Sinai but the peaks are close to each other. I only went up a little way, not to the top. Its the Burning Bush or descendent (of Moses fame). Its also a UNESCO world heritage site. Your turn

Not Israel, but right part of the world.

Not Europe.