scapel

July 21, 2015

Thanks for the update

July 3, 2015

Windows Cafe at lunchtime usually has a small selection of sushi available. It's not the greatest sushi I have had, but is certainly good, as is all of the food on Azamara. We also enjoyed the Yum Cha Brunch in Discoveries Restaurant which is held occasionally. The sushi there was also very good and I recall there was a little larger selection available.
The best Sushi we have had on a cruise is the Sushi Bar in the Asian Restaurant on Crystal Cruises. Sit on a stool at the bar, select your ingredients from the wide selection in front of you, and watch the Sushi chef make it fresh and hand to you. As a lover of good sushi, I wish all our preferred cruise lines (Seabourn and Azamara) had a great sushi bar.

Perhaps the new Tapas Bar coming to Azamara in the 2016 refurbishments will include sushi. ??? Pass it on Bonnie !!!!

Just got off the Carnival Breeze this past Sunday--I'm not much on Sushi, but they had some great stuff to eat. Too big a ship for me and I did not like their anytime dining, but the food was really good.

June 2, 2015

Hi We are sailing to Antarctica February 2016 on Infinity , 10 sea days & 4 landings, 2 by tender. Not sure if we need walking shoes, snow boots or muck boots as we are hoping to see lots of penguins. Definitely needed snow boots on deck & land when we went to Arctic a few years ago. Appreciate any help!

We used the Infinity to go from Valparaiso to Buenos Aires in 2004. Where in Antarctica would the Tender be landing? On my Antarctica cruise in 2009 we used Zodiacs and only had one landing on the Antarctic continent at Brown Landing. All the other landings were on Antarctic Islands. We did two landings a day weather permitting.

One should be able to see Penguins from the Infinity with binoculars if the ship finds a rookery. You said four landings--where would the landings be and were two done with Zodiacs. Only 100 people can be on an Antarctic island at a time. A Zodiac holds about 10 people. Do the math and ask Celebrity. Also what is the alternate program if weather does not allow you to cross the Drake passage. I flew across the Drake when I did Antarctica. The ship for the Antarctic cruise was the Professor Multinovskiy 50 passenger max, but we had only 25.

May 30, 2015

May 5, 2015

Thank you for this information. I reserved our tour with Solo Expediciones for next March @ $88 US pp vs. $169.95 pp with Princess.

Always have a back up ready in case the weather is too bad for the boat to make the trip. I hope you have good weather, because this is a great trip. Punta Arenas is an interesting city around the main Magellan square. Not a whole lot to see, but that egg sandwich they make is really good.

May 5, 2015

Other suggestions in Puenta Arenas I suggest not going to see the penguins. Very long drive and a very dusty road and not many penguins and you cannot get close to them. Go on a city tour. The best place to see penguins is in the Falklands and also Puerto Madryn. Both of these areas a great but both are very long rides but worth it.

Kandy from Texas

I agree that our 2004 was not as good as the 2009

Mangellenic island- 2009 -A short ride and nice boat ride.

https://onedrive.live.com/?cid=F6FE23A6E5A9EC3F&id=F6FE23A6E5A9EC3F%21247&sc=photos

2004—Otway was long and dusty to get there.

April 28, 2015

For my Antarctic Cruise I had to fly to Punta Arenas and spend a day and then fly to King George Island. I was looking for something to do and here is the report.

Here is how the day went.

I was up early but no tour agencies opened until 10AM. I went in the Turismo and told a lady I wanted to take a tour. I would like a city tour in the morning and a Mangellenic Island tour in the afternoon. She said that I could take a Mangellenic Island tour this morning. I said the hotel clerk told me that the ferry only ran in the afternoon. She said Yes, but today is a special and you can take one this morning so I said. Go For it. She said you have to hurry and go one and a half blocks here to which she gave me a map and I boogied on over and got on it. I went back this afternoon to thank her and give her 1000 Chilean Pesos ($2) but she had left so I talked to her boss and thanked her for the expert service. She would see that she got the thank you.

This was not a ferry but was better. We rode a van (14) people which included 4 from HAL Vendam. We rode about 20 or 25 minutes north and were let out on the side of the road by a wooden pier. In about 15 minutes along comes this 40 to 50 ft cigar looking boat with 3 175 HP outboard engines and we board taking life perservers from those getting off.

Having done the Otway and the Mangellenic Island tour, I must say that the Mangellenic Island tour is far superior. It was only 1 and a half hours each way. We spent one hour on the Island and then went to Marta island to see the biggest sea lions I have ever seen. Only one passenger in 41 got a little sea sick. The motorman had to slow for some rough chop and the pitch combined with a roll got to him.

I didn't bring any of the Scopace that I had and felt bad that I could not help him.

I thought it was nice of this agent at Turismo to refer me to another tour agency.

The tour agency is Solo Expeditions. I talked to Carmen Gloria at Solo Expeditions and she said that they did book cruise passengers of course which I found out later with the 4 from the Vendam.

I just lucked out, so I would contact Carmen Gloria at canoles@soloexpediciones.com and make arrangements.

We dropped off the Vendam passengers right at their ship on the way back, so I assumed they were pícked up there.

We got back to the dock at 3PM and the Vandem passengers were aboard by 3:30 PM

We probably boarded the Cigar Like boat about 11:30 AM or possibley 12 noon. The motorman did say that there was no guarantee that we would get to Marta Island and if it got too rough, he would not be able to make it. We just stopped at Marta Island and didn’t get off the boat. Those sea lions must have been 1500 lbs each. I had a 25 year old man walk in to our clinic the other day and we weighed him on the laundry scale and he weighed 697 Lbs. These sea lions would dwarf him.

We did bounce around a good bit, but it was a good trip.

Best part of the trip is that I didn’t fall down. One lady tripped and went to the ground, but only embarrassed and bounced right up.

If you all can make the arrangements, I would recommend it over the Otway trip. They had some coffee and cookies complimentary. Of course dress warm since the wind is the chilling thing and there was a lot of that.

April 28, 2015

http://imagizer.imageshack.us/a/img4/2407/n7rs.jpg

PANAMA CANAL OVERVIEW

http://www.beyondships3.com/panama-c...stination.html

Few notes on Summarizing the Path Between the Seas

PATH BETEEN THE SEAS 1870-1914-SUMMARY

1870-1899 France tried to build the canal. Ferdinand de Lesseps

Builder (promoter) of the Suez Canal decided he could build this canal before he ever went to Panama.

Alternate sites of a canal were Atrato River route, Nicaragua by Menocal a member of the Congress International d 'Etudes du Canal I teroceanique.

136 delegates with Americans made up Henocal and others. The American Geographical Society, The National Academy of

Science, The United States Board of Trade, and the City of San Francisco.

There were 14 different points on the map of Central America that the Technical Committee of the Congress would have to hear. San BIas plan Tehuantepec by the Mexican Delegate. Finally the last two were the Nicaragua plan favored by the Americans and the Panama plan favored by the 'French.

The Charges River would have to be controlled and build dams to hold water to use to fill locks. The damming would form the Gatun Lake.

On Panama Giant there were "cedar" trees that towered 100' high the trunks like concrete. Gatun was a native village seven miles from Colon that would disappear with the formation of Gatun Lake.

Mount Hope or Monkey Hill as it is called is just out of Colon.

Declasses took the train to inspect the site of the canal. The train track would have to be relocated later to build the canal.

The train crossed miles of swamp including the Black Swamp that was 185' deep.

On the train trip, 23 miles from Colon or about 1/2 distance to Panama City at Barbacoas (Indian word for "bridge") the railroad crossed the Chagres river about 300' wide.

The Chagres River has had a history of rising 46' in just 3 days.

Passenger walked over a bridge and got to another train to get to Panama City. This was the PANAMA RAILROAD

Days with a torrential rain.

Aedes Aegypti- the YELLOW FEVER mosquito.

Dr.Gorgas- MALARIA caused by Plasmodium a protozoan- transmitted by many species of the Anopheles mosquito. Plasmodium vivax, plasmodium falciparum jungle fever).

Rx. Quinine (from a tree bark). Atabrine, Chloroquine

Flagyl.

January 20, 1982 (Friday) the actual digging of the great trench began at Emperador.

Among the more curious facts about the French canal at Panama is that about a third of it was dug by Americans.

The work was organized in three divisions

1. Limon Bay and the lower reaches of the Chagres

2. Upper Chagres and the hills between Matachin and Culebra

3. From Culebra to the approaches to the Bay of Panama.

The Chagres River was always a problem because it had been known to rise 10-14 feet in 24 hours.

Work was plagued by landslides repeatedly that set the work back.

Cucaracha formation was composed chiefly of dark-green and reddish clays, lava mud flows, and gravel.

In 1883 the death toll was reported at 420/yr but was more like 1300 because the sick didn't go near a hospital. That was a death warrant at that time.

Phi lip Bunau-Varilla- a fascinating figure in the Panama story was as important and controversial as Ferdinand de Lesseps. He was an engineer and was made a division engineer in charge of operations at Culebra and the Pacific End.

DOWNFALL

The New Canal was to follow the same line as the old. There were to~be two huge flights; of locks, five locks to each flight, at Bohio Solado on the Atlantic side and between La Boca and Paraiso on the Pacific side.

On February 4.1889 the official end to French project of the

Canal came to an end. The Compagnie Universelle du

Interoceanique was no more.

PANAMA CANAL

SECRETS OF PANAMA

May 15.1889 the liquidators ordered work be halted in Panama.

No one ever got to the bottom of the Panama affair. Many lost all they had in the investments. Fraud was proposed and misuse of funds suggested. Cornelius Herz born in France in 1845 involved. He moved to America and graduated at bottom of his class in 1864. He went to France to study Medicine and qualified to be an assistant surgeon in the French Army.

Herz prospered in San Francisco- but ran back to France with $30.000 and $80,000 in checks along with beating others out including his partner of $20,000. Got involved in panama deals and was a scoundrel. He died in 1898 at 53.

Charles de Lesseps son of Ferdinand de Lesseps was a victim of supporting and protecting his father. He fled to London after he was sentenced and served a year in prison. He was ordered to pay Bhihaut's fines and make good on his indemnity 900,000 Francs which he could not pay. Ferdinand de Lesseps died 6 years after the fall of the canal Company. He was 89.

The canal had cost the French about $287,000,000 and 22,000 deaths. Shortly before the French suffered from the Sedan affair and then the Edouard Drumont's anti-Semitism spilled over into the Dreyfus Affair in which an officer in the French Army was discriminated against and jailed because he was accused of being a Jew. He had been accused of being a Traitor and tried and convicted unjustly and sentenced to Devil’s Island.

The Maritime Canal Company chartered in 1889 to build a Nicaraguan canal went down in defeat. The Americans were thought to be able to build a canal in Nicaragua --

1890-1904

~--------------------------------------- ---------------------------~--------------------------------

Theodore Roosevelt had to get the materials left in Panama from the French. He then had to get Panama to succeed from

Columbia which they did and Teddy sent battleships and men to threaten Columbia if they tried to fight the Panamanian. He later would have to pay Columbia several million dollars for a statement that he took Panama from Columbia. A deal with Panama of $10,000.000 a year was tobe paid. An area 10 miles wide was to be for the United States to build the Panama Canal.

The United States had to negotiate with Great Britain to insure that if a canal was, built it would allow all nations to use it freely.

This was necessary to neutralize an old Clayton-Bulwer Treaty. Mr. Hay negotiated the new treaty.

On January 9, 1902 the U.S. House voted 308-2 to proceed with a Nicaraguan Canal.

THE LOBBY

William Nelson Cromwell at 33 became senior partner in the Legal Firm of Sullivan and Cromwell. He had the largest fees for corporations to this date. Some as high as $250,000. Cromwell formed the U.S. Steel Corporation for J.P Morgan and made $2.000.000 for putting up a bare 12 1/2%. He flattered men- They liked him for it.

Philip Bunau-Varilla, Cromwell's counterpart in France saw himself as a gallant crusader. Panama had no volcanoes as did Nicaragua (the Stam has a volcano on it)

Bunau-Varilla had become and independent contractor for the Culebra cut after resigning from the French govt.

The French Panama Company was sold for $40,000,000.

AGAINST ALL ODDS

To change the decision to build a canal in Nicaragua to Panama, MARCUS ALONZO HANNA spoke to the senate and changed votes in favor of the Panama Canal over a Nicaraguan canal.

On June 26, 1902 the house passed the Spooner Bill 259-8.

ADVENTURE BY TRIGONOMETRY

This involved Columbia's anger over The U.S acquiring the French companies assets and support of the Panamanian uprising against Columbia.

REMARKABLE REVOLUTION

Panama revolts against Columbia supported by U.S and makes payments after the fact to Columbia for illegally gaining access to the Canal.

THE BUILDERS 1904-1914

Dr. William Henry Welch of Johns Hopkins urged Roosevelt to tackle the sources of disease prior to any efforts to build a canal in Panama.

An Army doctor a former student of Welch's COLONEL WILLIAM CRAWFORD GORGAS who since the death of Walter Reed (of appendicitis in 1902) was known in professional circles as the outstanding authority on tropical disease.

Stegomyia fasciata the household mosquito was felt to be the carrier of Yellow Fever. This is also known as Aedes Aegypti. Credit for finding the cause of malaria belonged to the English physician Ronald Ross where in a hospital in Secunderabad, India he had addressed the problem.

Dr. Gorgas had become immunized against Yellow Fever by contracting the disease and surviving.

For the mosquito to become infected it must suck the blood of the yellow-fever patient within the first three days after the patient has contracted the disease. Then once the mosquito has taken the blood, another twelve to twenty days must pass before the mosquito can transmit the infection. Finlay had the idea but timing was off.

PANIC

The Isthmian Canal Commission had 7 members. Their requirement that they pass on every equipment request impeded the progress of the canal greatly.

JOHN STEVENS

John Finley Wallace started the canal for America, replaced by John Stevens. Walker head of the Panamanian commission was replace by

Theodore Perry Shonts an Iowa lawyer.

John Stevens was 52 born in Maine on a small farm.

Stevens started to clean up the cities first. He stopped the digging until he got Colon and Panama City cleaned up.

The Panama railroad was important to getting the canal built. Stevens realized this whereas de Lesseps did not.

The creation of Gatun Lake would mean that approximately 164 square miles of jungle, and area as large as the island of Barbados, would vanish under water. A new railroad would have to be built. Stevens' headquarters was moved from Panama City to Culebra 1 year and 3 mo since John Stevens had taken charge.

THE MAN WITH THE SUN IN HIS EYES

Theodore Roosevelt was the first resident to leave the country while in office and he went to the Panama Canal. He sailed on November 9, 1906 on the new 16,000 ton Louisiana the largest battleship in the fleet.

He was the first president to be photographed in a steam shovel.

Steven resigned his job. and Maj or Goethals later Lieut. Col. George Wlashington Goethals was appointed. He worked his \-way through City College in New York and went on to West Point.

THE CHIEF POINT OF ATTACK

When the work at its height in the Culebra Cut Goethals crew was excavating the equivalent of a Suez Cana every three years. In one year 1908 enough dirt was moved as half as much as two French companies had moved in 17 years. (37,000,000 cubic yard)

In the Culebra Cut 50 -60 steam shovels were at work in one day.

Goethals and Major Gaillard arrived and were greeted by Stevens (who had retired) and Dr. Gorgas Goethals took over at midnight March 31,1907.

Goethals changed the, way work was proportioned out. Formally it was according to type of work such as excavation and dredging, labor and quarters and so forth. Goethals divided the work into the ATLANTIC

DIVISION. THE CENTRAL DIVISION. AND THE PACIFIC DIVISION.

Major Gaillard was assigned to the central division, which was the 32 miles of canal between the Atlantic and Pacific divisions including the Culebra Cut.

The Atlantic side was run by Army men with Major Sibert as head. The nine mile stretch between Bas Obispo and Pedro MIguel was the Culebra Cut. -------------

The construction of the Canal used 61,000,000 pounds of dynamite.

La Boca was renamed Balboa. (Large dump located here.)

SAN BIAS INDIANS

The term for four tribes of Indians that live on the San BIas Islands off the eastern coast of Panama. Most of the 20,000 Indians belong to the Cuna tribe. These Indians live much as they did before Europeans came to Latin America. Tribal law prohibits marriage with whites.

The highest portion of Albino births in the world occurs among these Indians. About 7/1000, births.

In 1963 an agreement provided that both flags be flown wherever the United States flag was displayed by civilian authorities. On Jan. 7, 1964 students at Balboa High School in the Canal Zone raised the American flag alone and not the Panamian flag. This led to three days of rioting; American troops were called out and there were heavy casualties. Panama broke off diplomatic relations with

The United States, but relations were resumed on April 4.

Late in 1964 the United States announced its willingness to negotiate a new treaty. In 1974 the United States and Panama reached an agreement on final negotiating principles and in 1977 signed two new treaties.

Panamanian students rioted to protest continuing United States control of the canal, and there was strong opposition to the treaties in the United States. The treaties were approved by the Panamanians in a referendum in

1977, however. But were ratified by the United States Senate in 1978.

One treaty guaranteed the neutrality of the canal. The other treaty abolished the Canal Zone as a United States jurisdiction and prepared for the gradual takeover of the canal by Panama by the year 2000. With the Treaty’s implementation on Oct. 1. 1979, the canal came under the control of the Panama Canal Commission, an agency of five Americans and four Panamanians. Although the United States appointed all members of the

commission, the Panamanian government recommended the Panamanian members.

Until 1990 the administrator was to be an American; after that date, a Panamanian. The annual payment to Panama was increased to $10 million, with a fixed annuity of $10 million. 30 cents for each ton of shipping and an

annual amount of up to $10 million to be paid out of profits.

The need to improve or replace the canal has been discussed for many years. In 1985 the United States, Japan and Panama signed an agreement to study the relative feasibility of three alternatives: widening the canal.

constructing a new sea-level canal, and constructing additional transport.

Many technological improvements have been made in the areas of traffic control including maintenance and capacity expansion. Computers and a closed-circuit television surveillance system are used to control traffic. For the first

time, the canal was closed for about a day to prevent damage to ships when United States troops invaded Panama on Dec. 20, 1989. in order to overthrow the regime of Gen. Manuel Noriega.

Facts about the Panama Canal

Size. Length, 51 miles from deep water to deep water. Minimum width of the navigable channel is 500 feet.

Locks. Six pairs, or a total of 12. Each is 1.000 feet long and 110 feet wide. Normal permissible transit draft is 39 1/2 feet of tropical fresh water. The lock system lifts ships to 85 feet above sea level.

CONSTRUCTION. WORK BEGUN BY UNITED STATES MAY 4. 1904. Opened for traffic

Aug. 15. 1914. Earth and rock excavated before opening. 239 million cubic yards. Initial cost. $380.000.000.

Approximate distances saved (in nautical miles). New York City to San Francisco, California 7,900; From Liverpool, England, to San Francisco. 5,600; New York City to Yokohama. Japan (compared with a Suez Canal route), 3,300.

TOLLS LADEN MERCHANT SHIPS. $1.83 per measurement ton. (A Panama Canal measurement ton is each 100 cubic feet of s ace usable for revenue.)

Ships in ballast without cargo or passengers, $1.46 per measurement ton.

Special vessels, $1.02 per displacement ton (each long ton--2,240 pounds--of water displaced) .

Government. In 1979 Panama Canal Commission, with joint U.S.-Panamanian membership, replaced Panama Canal Company, whose ex officio resident had been U.S.-appointed governor of Canal Zone. SEE ALSO: BALBOA, VASCO NUNEZ

DE

CANAL CANAL ZONE GATUN, PANAMA GOETHALS. GEORGE WASHINGTON GORGAS. WI LI M

April 25, 2015

I just happen to find some nice links for people going through the Panama Canal.

These may be old to some of you, but they were new to me.

PANAMA CANAL OVERVIEW

http://www.beyondships3.com/panama-canal-cruise-destination.html

HISTORY

http://www.beyondships3.com/panama-canal-history.html

HOW IT WORKS

http://www.beyondships3.com/panama-canal-how-it-works.html

PARTIAL TRANSIT

http://www.beyondships3.com/panama-canal-partial-transit.html

PANAMA CANAL CRUISE PORT

http://www.beyondships3.com/panama-canal-cruise-port.html

COLONIAL PANAMA CITY TOUR REIVEW

http://www.beyondships3.com/panama-canal-tour-review.html

EXPANSION

http://www.beyondships3.com/panama-canal-expansion-project.html

April 15, 2015

It should be a very nice cabin. You are beneath a portion of the Oceanview Cafe (buffet) but the floor is carpeted, so noise should not be much of an issue. For more specific info, you might ask on the Celebrity board here at CC. EM

That is certainly a good cabin, but I prefer 7202 or 7199

http://www.cruisemates.com/gallery/view.php?id=2016

March 24, 2015

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/RMS_Empress_of_Britain_(1955)

Thanks for that very interesting information. It is nice to hear what happened to old cruise ships.

Any info on some of these in this list.

PAST CRUISES: 1.Stella Oceanis 1975 South America, 2. Stella Oceanus

1977 Black Sea and Crimean Peninsula. 3. Mermoz 1979 Med. Rome,Sicily,and Nice,Malta. 4. SS Freeport to Gulf Mexico. 5.Vistafjord to Caribbean 1981. 6. Sagafjord to Alaska 1983. 7. Stella Solaris to Aegean, Israel and Egypt 1984. 8. Mississippi Queen out of New Orleans. 9. Nantucket Clipper out of Boston 10. Fairsky to Caribbean 1987. 11. Royal Odyssey Med.& Dubrovnik 9/1988. 12. Carnivalle to Bahamas 1990. 13. Crown Odyssey to Eastern South America 1991. 14.Monarch of the Seas Eastern Caribbean 1995. 15 Royal Odyssey (Old Royal Viking Sea) Panama Canal 1995. 16 Egypt-Nile River Cruise 1996.

17. Splendour of the Seas- Fjords of Norway 1997. 18 Sun Viking –Orient Cruise 1997.

19. Renaissance R-4 Barcelona-Lisbon 1999. 20. Paradise- Caribbean 1999.

I assume the remainder still as they started.

21. Millennium to Baltic Capitals 2000. 22. Summit to Caribbean 2001.

23. Constellation –Fjords of Norway 2002. 24.Horizon –Mexico 2003. 25. Infinity to Alaska 2003. 26. Holiday to Mexico 2003. 27. Infinity -South America Cape Horn 2004. 28. Constellation- Transatlantic 2004. 29.Legend of Seas- Western Caribbean 2005 out of L.A.

30. Millennium- Panama Canal 2006. 31. Rhapsody of Seas- Western Caribbean 2006 out of Galveston. 32. Constellation- New England/Canada 2006. 33.Millennium-Caribbean 2007. 34.Voyager of the Seas- Caribbean out of Galveston Jan 2008 35.Mercury- South Pacific 2007. 36. Mariner of Seas-Mexican Riviera 2/09. 37. Summit to Southern Caribbean. 4/09. 38. Amadeus Symphony- Rhine River Basel-Amsterdam 6/09 combined with Switzerland Trip.

39.Antarctica on Prof. Multanovskiy 2009 40.Voyager of the Seas out of Galveston Jan 2010

41. Silver Whisper New York to Bermuda October 2010. 42.Silver Shadow Seoul Korea to Anchorage,AK May 2011

43. Silver Cloud Fort Lauderdale to San Juan Jan 2012

44. Statendam cruise tour Southbound to Alaska 2012

45. Millennium Gems of Southeast Asia January 2013

46 AZAMARA QUEST JAN 2014 CENTRAL AMERICA

February 26, 2015

We too sailed on the Atlas out of Santa Domingo in 1985. It was 8 ports in 7 days and we had a blast for about $700 incl flight and taxes. The ship was a rust bucket but who cared. We got a flavour of the Caribbean and cruising in general. Those were the days my friend. You never forget your first cruise.

This June will be # 48 cruise. I guess I got hooked.

You are so right that you never forget your first cruise.

1975 CRUISE ON THE STELLA OCEANIS TO SOUTH AMERICA

We had planned to cruise to the Aegean and the Mediterranean but the war in Cyprus caused the cruise to be cancelled and the ship moved to the East coast of South America.

We flew on Trans International Airways; We flew into Montevideo, Uruguay to board the ship. We had an inside cabin and put our cabin key on a hook in the hall and the cabin steward then knew that we were not in the cabin and he could straighten it up.

We sailed to Buenos Aires, Argentina and had nice scenic tour also a lunch at a nice hotel with a beautiful view. Dr. Arthur Herald and his wife June were travelling with us. Arthur had a patient he had been managing her diabetes from the states and he finally met her in Buenos Aires. We visited a local hospital and when we asked about the medical system in Argentina a doctor said that in a country where dictators changed often it was hard to make steady progress. We sailed through the Rio Plata a muddy colored river that was the estuary formed by the Uruguay River and the Parana River on the border between Argentina and Uruguay. The estuary is about 1.2 miles wide when it starts and becomes about 149 miles when it meets the Atlantic Ocean. After Buenos Aires we went to th port of Santos where we docked to visit San Paulo, Brazil and saw many fantastic buildings, some very old. The cars were mostly Volkswagen beetles. We had a beautiful lunch high above this very large city reported to be on the top three for size along with New York and Tokyo. We visited a snake farm where they made snake anti venom. There were little mounds about a foot high round and domed in which the snakes lived in a yard with a little pond for them to swim. The largest buildings seemed to be government buildings. The large parks were beautiful. Santos being the port had a wonderful beach.

We then sailed into Rio de Janeiro. Rio is one of the most beautiful ports to sail into with the Sugarloaf Mountain and the Christ the Redeemer Statue being seen. We toured the city and went up on sugarloaf via a cable car and then went to the Christ the Redeemer Statue via our cab.

STELLA OCEANUS

The Stella Oceanus was built by Contierl Riunitio dell’Adriatico ; Monfalcone, Italy The Stella Oceanic (Star of the Ocean) was built as the Ferry Aphrodite in 1965 and the rebuilt for Sun Line in 1967 and refurbished in 1995.

The ship was 350 feet long and 5500 GRT- Passengers 159-300 and a crew of 140.I sailed this ship in 1975 to South America and in 1979 to the Crimean Peninsula in the Black Sea. There were many fine pieces of Art Work.

She arrived at Alang December 31, 2003 as S.Ocean and finished off by April of 2004

Alang is a census town in Bhavnagar district in the Indian state of Gujarat. In the past three decades, its beaches have become a major worldwide centre for ship breaking. The longest ship ever built 'Knock Nevis' was sailed to and beached here for demolition in December 2009. [1]

The shipyards at Alang recycle approximately half of all ships salvaged around the world.[2] It is considered the world's largest graveyard of ships.[3] The yards are located on the Gulf of Khambat, 50 kilometres southeast of Bhavnagar. Large supertankers, car ferries, container ships, and a dwindling number of ocean liners are beached during high tide, and as the tide recedes, hundreds of manual laborers dismantle each ship, salvaging what they can and reducing the rest into scrap.

On the Road to Alang,[6] a documentary on passenger ships scrapped at Alang, was produced by Peter Knego[7] in 2005.

Japan and the Gujarat government have joined hands to upgrade the existing Alang shipyard. The two parties have signed a Memorandum of Understanding, which focuses on technology transfer and financial assistance from Japan to assist in the upgrading of operations at Alang to meet international standards

February 11, 2015

My wife and I spent our honey moon on this ship in 1983. There was no where to plug in any thing electric. I think it was converted to a cruise ship from some other type of ship. I remember standing in the dining room and you could almost touch the ceiling. What ever happened to her?

We sailed to the Bahamas on the Carnivale in either 1990 or 1992. I can't fine out how she died.

January 27, 2015

xcountry, enjoyed your great report. Thanks for taking the time to share with us.

We are booked to go on the Silver Explorer on January 3, 2016. We were planning to go to Buenos Aires for 2 nights before the charter flight to Ushuaia. We were going to use Hyatt points for our hotel but it sounds like everyone stayed at the same hotel in BA ? Maybe we should stay in the same hotel as the group especially with such an early morning queuing up. Appreciate your opinion. (this will be our first cruise on Silver Seas).

I have been on three different Silverseas ships. They deliver some of the best service I have seen in my 47 cruises. My friend has been on the Silver Explorer two or three times and just finished the North Passage through the Artic. Quite an adventure. With Silver seas you won't be disappointed.

I hope you make it to Antarctica, but always be ready to adapt. I hope you have the Drake Lake and not the Drake Rake. For serious sea sickness I always have Scopace tablets available.( by prescription) I used one in the Branfield Strait in Antarctica. I don't like the patch on the skin delivering medicine when you don't need it. The crew said the ship would move tonight. I thought "Of Course it is moving to the next stop" Not what he meant. Boy did it move. HA!! This is not a cruise it is an adventure but one of a lifetime. What a trip.

I think it is a good idea to stay in the same hotel as the others.

See if this works:

January 13, 2015

I always use the same TA, If I see what I think are better deals, I either get the same or better with my TA or an explanation about why it is not better. We have been working together now for about 10 years. She just seems better able to find the cabins I want.

November 10, 2014

Ricky Ricardo did a great job for us in January of this year. I would recommend him highly. We had two magnificent tours.

September 30, 2014

I had a sailaway party for all cruise critic people in this cabin on one cruise

https://onedrive.live.com/?cid=F6FE23A6E5A9EC3F&id=F6FE23A6E5A9EC3F%211868

The Penthouse is really too large, but cabins 7199 and 7202 are to me the best cabins on the ship.

They each have 270 degrees of viewing angle. I have a picture of 7202 somewhere if anyone is interested.

September 20, 2014

I just wanted to post my thanks for your excellent review of the trip. My DH and I are booked on the trip for Feb 2016 and I now have a better idea of what to take and what to expect.

Barb

Thanks for posting that you enjoyed it. You are in for a wonderful trip how ever you go. Good luck.

https://onedrive.live.com/?cid=F6FE23A6E5A9EC3F&id=F6FE23A6E5A9EC3F%21302

This was our Infinity trip in 2004 around cape horn

September 14, 2014

My first cruise was at age 10 with my parents, at that time Capt. Mel and Jackie Ouder, USAF, in April 1954 aboard, I believe, the General Patrick in route from San Francisco to Okinawa. I have a Certificate and photos of myself and the ship commemorating the Golden Dragon Ceremony when we crossed the International Date Line.

1954 Thanks for the post.

September 14, 2014

My First cruise Ship off the Eastern Coast of South America

September 12, 2014

Azamara has or had a good product. Who is the idiot that wants to change it?

I don't know and don't care what the perks are, but it looks like they have displeased some of the good cruisers.