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Jan 2016 World Cruise live report


Waynetor
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Well when we looked outside this morning we were met with some familiar surroundings – lots of mixed feeling but most goods things do have an end point.*

 

The final chapter of this voyage closes today as my fellow traveling companions scatter to the four winds.* The voyage has been a fantastic one! We have visited 5 continents, 44 countries, and 87 exciting ports. We crossed the Equator 6 times, lived 1 day twice, and crossed over the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans plus a bucket load of various Seas.

 

We’ve seen lots of travel TV shows and read lots of articles but nothing takes the place of seeing a place in person.* After seeing so many places it makes us realize how beautiful and special the world is but also makes us appreciate our own home that much more.

 

We have learned a great deal about the areas of the world we were sailing from the extensive on-board enrichment program as well as notes in the daily Currents.

 

We have dined on an endless supply of exotic foods (I’m afraid to look at a scale), and made new friends.

 

The highlights of places visited and sites seen, wonderful cultural experiences, and breathtaking sights plus fauna and flora experiences are too numerous.* We often get asked at the end of a vacation what we enjoyed the most – on vacations that are a month or 2 long that can be hard – after this voyage it seems hardly fair to narrow all the joys down to a #1.* I expect long after the suitcases have been unpacked a mental slide presentation of the vast, wonderful impressions we have experienced will linger.* The mental slide presentations will be one of great contrast but all part of a wonderful experience.* Hopefully I will not be boring our friends/family too much with stories once we get back home.

 

As mentioned along the way, it has been a wonderful voyage.* What more could we ask from a voyage.* We had a dream and we have been very fortunate to live it.* To quote from Olife magazine "Life's milestones are best celebrated in nautical miles."* This is certainly true for us right now.*

 

Having said all the wonderful things about this voyage and how last days are always so sad, this time we are actually ready to go home.* We have missed a lot and it will be good to be home again and to enjoy what home has to offer.

 

We also thanks to Oceania management for putting this voyage together and to the many staff on board that have done a wonderful job.

 

Since we are disembarking not on a weekend we're not in Ft. Lauderdale or port of Miami the same time as either of the Behemoths of the Seas or other mega ships so the port and airport shouldn't be too awful. I can see 1 other ship here in Miami.

 

Buried deep in some promotional material for the 2015 cruise was the estimated distance based on original itinerary of: 46,753 Nautical miles sailed – I did not see a pre-sail estimate for this voyage but the actual was 46,501 nautical miles - we saved a bit by not going to Tasmania.

 

Our flight home is a direct flight on Air Canada leaving here around 12:10 and we should touch down around 3:30pm.* Originally they had us booked not leaving here until around 2:30 on Delta going through Atlanta with a very short time to change planes and not getting home until after 7pm,* that got changed twice including the last time just over a week ago– thanks to Oceania for making the change.***

 

Today’s thought for the day - What is a Canadian? A Canadian is a fellow wearing English tweeds, a Hong Kong shirt and Spanish shoes, who sips Brazilian coffee sweetened with Philippine sugar from a Bavarian cup while nibbling Swiss cheese, sitting at a Danish desk over a Persian rug, after coming home in a German car from an Italian movie... and then writes his Member of Parliament with a Japanese ballpoint pen on French paper, demanding that he do something about foreigners taking away our Canadian jobs.* Anonymous

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Allow me to add my voice to the many others who are appreciative of your efforts in this blog. It was a truly unselfish thing to do. Checking in with your voyage has been a genuine delight. Thank you from the bottom of my heart - and may you and your bride have a wonderful journey together for years to come!

 

Donna

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Thank you for such a wonderful travel blog. I love your sense of humor, geographical information, personal commentary and disability information- all was great!

Happy trails to you and Freda!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

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Thank you Wayne for the wonderful words that described your incredible experiences and the ending humor added to each posting. One day soon I will follow in your footsteps.

 

Safe travels home to you and Freda.

 

Joe :)

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I have been especially interested in how your dear wife decided what to venture off for. Thank you for mentioning that in your posts as it helps my future planning.

Best to you both and hope you arrived home safely.

Edited by Going Coastal
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Well today did not go as planned. Hard to tell where the problem was as it was likely very shared but many people missed their flights. We were supposed to be off the ship around 8:15am. That should have got us to the airport around 9 giving us plenty of time for our 12:10 flight – we got to the airport at 11:50 obviously missing the flight – our only hope was the occasional thunder and lightning in the area had delayed the flight – no such luck but we were fortunately able to transfer to a 8:08 flight that ended up being late so we did not land in Toronto until midnight – once we had to go through the slow wheelchair disembarking, getting through customs and getting a ride and getting everything up to our condo it was 2am – so much for a Happy Canada Day.

 

The staff on board were blaming the port for the delay. My understanding is after a long voyage, the ship had to go through an inspection – not sure how much impact that had, but Oceania should have known this would happen. Luggage was being loaded 1 bag at a time into metal cages that were taken into the port – a 3 step process that looked like it could be done much more streamlined (but would cause some longshore man his job.) With around 200 passengers disembarking from the world cruise, there was a lot more luggage than normal but Oceania should have anticipated this. This slow luggage process was a big part of the problem. The first passengers got of the ship around 10:15 – about 30 people made it off but once someone on shore found out there were not all the first colour to be called, they halted all disembarking for 10 minutes and then started a process of only allowing 10 passengers off at a time with a delay of a few minutes between each group to make sure they were the right colour. Most of the first to get off had their own luggage so they would not have been blocking the luggage area but that seemed to be the concern that the port did not what too many people in the luggage area at a time.

 

We had arranged with the shore excursion desk to make sure a bus could handle a wheelchair. We got off the ship at 10:55 and quickly got our luggage and through customs. Once outside we were told our bus was waiting for us and to hurry. We got to the bus and the driver said he could not take a wheelchair even though he had a wheelchair symbol on the bus. He said we had not arranged ahead of time to be on his bus and to take the next bus over. Same story there so we got a supervisor who said to get on the 4th bus in line and it would leave as soon as we got on – well the driver had never operated the lift and it took him more than 10 minutes to figure it out and then once we were on, he spent 15 more minutes allowing other passengers to get on. The driver told us the other drivers we just too lazy to do it.

 

I know others had early flights and they likely also missed them. I don’t know how O arranged the colour tags – some that went before us had later flights or were doing their own thing.

 

We met 2 couples at the airport – 1 said they got off at 1PM and the other said they were last off at just after 1.

 

When we started the World Voyage, we wondered if 180 days might drag on, but it didn't -- the time has actually flown by. Despite the small cabin we felt as comfortable as we could considering Freda’s health. It was easy to begin to think of the ship as our home that was being magically transported to places around the world. Many destinations that we thought we would never visit in our lifetimes turned out to be equally intriguing and exciting as well. For us this was truly an once-in-a-lifetime special experience.

 

All through this voyage I have been noting various holidays. Today is one of the most important to us - Happy Canada Day to all my fellow Canucks. With the holiday falling on a Friday this year it works out as a great long weekend. I hope everyone does something special for the day. I’m wearing a flag pin. Canada is now 149 years old.

 

Today’s thought for the day - What is a Canadian? A Canadian is a fellow wearing English tweeds, a Hong Kong shirt and Spanish shoes, who sips Brazilian coffee sweetened with Philippine sugar from a Bavarian cup while nibbling Swiss cheese, sitting at a Danish desk over a Persian rug, after coming home in a German car from an Italian movie... and then writes his Member of Parliament with a Japanese ballpoint pen on French paper, demanding that he do something about foreigners taking away our Canadian jobs. Anonymous

 

Thanks to everyone that has followed us through this travelogue experience, it has been a labour of love for me. Thanks for sharing your comments with us along the way. We hope that we have answered your questions and appreciated all of your kind thoughts. Your support has been most appreciated. It has truly been my honour and pleasure being your virtual guide through this wonderful experience. Safe sailing to all. My Best, Wayne

 

One final conversation we overhead, this time at the airport -

A group of seniors were sitting around the waiting area talking about all their

ailments.

"My arms have gotten so weak I can hardly lift this cup of coffee," said one.

"Yes, I know," said another. "My cataracts are so bad I can't even see my coffee."

"I couldn't even mark an 'X' at election time, my hands are so crippled," volunteered a third.

"What? Speak up, I can't hear you," said a fourth.

"I can't turn my head because of the arthritis in my neck," said a fifth, to which several nodded weakly in agreement.

"My blood pressure pills make me so dizzy I can hardly walk," exclaimed

another.

"I forget where I am and where I'm going," added an elderly gent.

"I guess that's the price we pay for getting old," winced an old man as he slowly shook his head.

The others nodded in agreement.

"Well, count your blessings," said one woman cheerfully.

"THANK GOD WE CAN ALL STILL DRIVE!"

 

I will close with some final bonus thoughts for the day -

 

Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover. - Mark Twain

Don’t cry because it’s over. Smile because it happened.” – Dr. Seuss

Thanks to our wonderful fellow travellers - Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter. --Izaak Walton

Ocean, if I'm not in it, by it or seeing it....I'm Dreaming of it!

Life is like a roll of toilet paper ...the closer it gets to the end, the faster it goes...so have fun, think good thoughts only, learn to laugh at yourself, and count your blessings!!!!

Not I - not anyone else, can travel that road for you. You must travel it for yourself. - Walt Whitman – Dream your road and go for it - Wayne

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It was very hard to plan what to do in ports. I did all the planning. As Freda is less able to do things she could do when we started planning for what was to be a 2015 voyage that added to the problems and we had to cancel many private tours she was booked on.

 

O had very few wheelchair tours - one was at a tender port.

 

Part of the problem is getting tour companies and you the customer, to agree on what "ACCESSIBLE" means - we have been told in many places it is accessible but find out there are steps included or there is a lot of up and downhill a lot.

 

I was very fortunate in that Freda was content in many ports to stay on the ship and do her thing. This cruise would have been very hard if she had really wanted to do something in every port. In ports where she considered taking the shuttle to town, I tried to find out a couple days ahead if it would be accessible. If not, we had the choice to get a taxi to take us around or have her stay on board.

 

I did a lot of research and tried to get wheelchair info in many ports but not a lot available. Looking a photos online is useful forgetting a feel for the location.

 

There were others on board a times that used a wheelchair much of the time - I often saw them doing private tours in a car or van - more expensive but sometimes necessary.

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Well, we made it home. With no one to fix our meals, no one to make our bed, do our laundry etc., it is going to take some adjustment. At around 1,900sq ft this condo unit is so big compared to the ship cabin it seems like we are in a mansion.

 

We have quite an avalanche of mail to go through (half are Oceania brochures). It will seem strange to go to a restaurant and not be able to just walk out with a thank you at the end. – We had about 20 phone messages from the Census people and a note on our door trying to get us to fill out the form.

 

I had a real panic on the way home. I thought I had all my memory sticks in my pocket but at 1 point I was missing the 1 with all my photos from Capetown to Columba. Fortunately it showed up this morning. (remember I did not have my own computer so hard to have a backup) I’ve gone through the photos somewhat but I have a feeling it is going to take the rest of the summer to give them a full review and renaming.

 

Thanks for all the recent messages.

 

Today’s final quotes - No one realizes how wonderful it is to travel until he comes home and rests his head on his old, familiar pillow. - Lin Yutang

All journeys eventually end in the same place, home. - Chris Geiger

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Such a shame disembarkation was in such shambles ... glad to hear you arrived home safe and sound, though much later than planned. Your experience confirms what we were discussing about getting a late flight out of Miami on debarkation day next summer.

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Wayne,

Add me to the multitudes of others that vicariously enjoyed your journey with you and wished we too were onboard Insignia (speaking for myself, maybe not for 180 days but some of it anyway :D).

Thank you for your detailed and informative daily reports and your entertaining "Thoughts of the day"

Till we hear from you again :)

Paul

Edited by Paulchili
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Thank you both for the colorful and voluminous postings over these last six months - you cannot know how much they were/are appreciated.

 

Wherever you are bound to next…Bon Voyage!

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What an exit experience. We've done three world cruises out of Fort Lauderdale and never had a problem clearing the ship in a timely manner. We are booked on a Cuba cruise out of Miami in August. Hope yours was an unusual experience and not a characteristic of port operations.

 

Insignia came to Port Canaveral on Saturday. We live a few minutes away and went down to see her as we're thinking about the 2018 world. I could envision you and Freda looking over the railing from your great descriptions.

 

One friend works in the Port supporting the cruise ships and sent us this, " by the way, the Insignia came in over 3 hours late....actually anchored off shore due to electrical problems....then came in around 11 am....I did the LH tour this morning...then went and helped on the Insignia, but by 12:30, all the cruisers were on their way here and there....first time I had every heard of anchoring offshore due to problems....." I guess the ship was missing you and just gave up.

 

Happy post Canada Day. Smooth sailing.

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Welcome home Wayne and Freda! Your postings have been fun, inspirational and informative. To think you did it without your own computer and a small medicine cabinet:D Many thanks for allowing us to tag along for the last six months. Keep on traveling!

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Another "thank you"! My DH and I enjoyed you're posts so much. He never read any of them, but often at dinner he'd ask me "Where are the Canadian's on Oceania today?" (He's horrible with names!) I'd recount your adventures and insights. On days you were at sea, I could sense a little disappointment!

 

Any chance you could let us Oceania followers know if you and Freda travel again, even if it is on a different cruise line? I know I'd love to read about any future travels.

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  • 1 month later...

I have copied everything I posted on this thread into a word doc. I corrected some spelling/grammar and removed the * that were popping up but it is otherwise as posted. If anyone would like a copy they can email me - it is 321 pages at font 11

 

waynesmithtor at yahoo dot ca (that's CA not COM)

 

Also at towards the end of the cruise I made a list of lessons learned - geared towards long cruises but most can apply to any cruise. I seemed to have missed posting them. They are:

 

You can not book ship tours for future segment while on the ship. If doing multi segments try to book ahead of departure. (down side is can't use OBC)

 

For world cruise, 1 card is used for the full voyage and all credits/charges pass on until end of cruise.

 

If doing private tours try not to have to have too many participants especially if going places with large crowds. Large groups are hard to keep together and for everyone to hear any info being given.

 

If doing private tours get clear plan for the day as far as where going, time line and what is included such as meals, leader should bring copy of latest itinerary provided by supplier.

 

Investigate local culture as far as gratuities.

 

If doing a private snorkelling tour make sure it is clear if equipment is included and if not, if it is available to rent.

 

When negotiating tours off the dock, once a price has been agreed upon, write it down showing the currency agreed to and the time agreed to and get the driver to agree that is correct. Also agree on cost if tour goes over time due to you adding extra stops or taking longer at stops.

 

On any tour make sure there is an agreed upon meeting place if people get separated.

 

Some tours accept local or US$ - check the rate offered on the difference as it can be a large premium to pay in US$.

 

Be aware of what countries do not readily accept US$, sometimes tour companies will, but many merchants will not including public transit and taxis.

 

When doing planning look for special days when there may be extra activities (holidays) or days where places may be closed (Sundays).

 

Think ahead about what you will do if someone close to you is critical or passes while you are away. You don't want to be making rash decisions while under stress - same applies to pets - make sure person taking care of pets has clear instructions and what care authority limits they have.

 

Some passengers become very close to some crew and other guest, so be prepared for lots of sincere goodbyes.

 

Oceania has a habit of changing port times. If doing private tours don't rely on original schedule but check current itinerary before sailing. Some will change even after that.

 

A world cruise can become like a small town with all the gossip that goes with it. Crew are often limited on what they can say about some instances so rumours start. Many are pure guesses that take on a life of their own while others have a level of truth that gets out of hand. This is not a 7 day cruise - you have to keep seeing many of the people involved so be careful.

 

If you are travelling with someone that you have only met for the purpose of saving money by sharing a cabin, things like eating and tours are not that important, the important things to agree on are in cabin activities.

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  • 2 weeks later...
I have copied everything I posted on this thread into a word doc. I corrected some spelling/grammar and removed the * that were popping up but it is otherwise as posted. If anyone would like a copy they can email me - it is 321 pages at font 11

 

 

 

waynesmithtor at yahoo dot ca (that's CA not COM)

 

 

 

Also at towards the end of the cruise I made a list of lessons learned - geared towards long cruises but most can apply to any cruise. I seemed to have missed posting them. They are:

 

 

 

You can not book ship tours for future segment while on the ship. If doing multi segments try to book ahead of departure. (down side is can't use OBC)

 

 

 

For world cruise, 1 card is used for the full voyage and all credits/charges pass on until end of cruise.

 

 

 

If doing private tours try not to have to have too many participants especially if going places with large crowds. Large groups are hard to keep together and for everyone to hear any info being given.

 

 

 

If doing private tours get clear plan for the day as far as where going, time line and what is included such as meals, leader should bring copy of latest itinerary provided by supplier.

 

 

 

Investigate local culture as far as gratuities.

 

 

 

If doing a private snorkelling tour make sure it is clear if equipment is included and if not, if it is available to rent.

 

 

 

When negotiating tours off the dock, once a price has been agreed upon, write it down showing the currency agreed to and the time agreed to and get the driver to agree that is correct. Also agree on cost if tour goes over time due to you adding extra stops or taking longer at stops.

 

 

 

On any tour make sure there is an agreed upon meeting place if people get separated.

 

 

 

Some tours accept local or US$ - check the rate offered on the difference as it can be a large premium to pay in US$.

 

 

 

Be aware of what countries do not readily accept US$, sometimes tour companies will, but many merchants will not including public transit and taxis.

 

 

 

When doing planning look for special days when there may be extra activities (holidays) or days where places may be closed (Sundays).

 

 

 

Think ahead about what you will do if someone close to you is critical or passes while you are away. You don't want to be making rash decisions while under stress - same applies to pets - make sure person taking care of pets has clear instructions and what care authority limits they have.

 

 

 

Some passengers become very close to some crew and other guest, so be prepared for lots of sincere goodbyes.

 

 

 

Oceania has a habit of changing port times. If doing private tours don't rely on original schedule but check current itinerary before sailing. Some will change even after that.

 

 

 

A world cruise can become like a small town with all the gossip that goes with it. Crew are often limited on what they can say about some instances so rumours start. Many are pure guesses that take on a life of their own while others have a level of truth that gets out of hand. This is not a 7 day cruise - you have to keep seeing many of the people involved so be careful.

 

 

 

If you are travelling with someone that you have only met for the purpose of saving money by sharing a cabin, things like eating and tours are not that important, the important things to agree on are in cabin activities.

 

 

 

Please send me a copy. Thanks for everything.

Billk7@mac.com

I was on from Singapore to Shanghai.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

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  • 6 months later...
I mentioned earlier a bit of our cruise history – our longest cruise to date is 60 days. We have also done a 48 day followed by 6 days on land and then another 21 days at sea. Patching together 4 cruises we have circled the world – Fla to Rome, Rome to Sydney, Sydney to LA and LA to Rio (same trip) plus Fla to Buenos Aires – a total of 144 days while just duplicating Rio to BA. So in our combined trip we went around South America and used the Suez Canal to bypass Africa and this time we use the Panama Canal to bypass going around South America while going around much of Africa.

 

The Fla to Buenos Aires cruise was the start of my love of longer cruises and vacations. I say ‘MY love’ as Freda does not share it to the same extent but thankfully she agrees to come along. A lot of people have asked how we can go away for such a long time voyage. We will certainly miss a number of things, but we feel there will be a lot more of upsides than downsides.

 

My love of travel came from my parents –I got the wanderlust early, some of my greatest childhood memories are travelling with my family. I was fortunate my father was in the airline business and we travelled a couple times a year back in the late 50’s and 60’s on his free passes at a time when not many people we knew could afford air travel.

 

 

I know this is an old post but I just found it this morning. I fantasize about taking an ATW cruise when DH and I retire. I just turned 40 so I'm gonna live vicariously through the travels of others for quite some time but part of what you said made me sit up and vigorously nod in agreement! When I mention wanting to do an ATW cruise people are stunned and wonder why I'd want to be gone so long. My daddy always says "home will always be here" and when it comes to travel I wholeheartedly agree! Enjoy your journey!! DH doesn't have my burning desire to sail for months on end but like your DW he would go along for the ride because he loves travel and more importantly he loves me. [emoji4]

 

Unlike you, my parents don't possess my love of travel. We went a few places during my formative years but not many. Quite honestly, vacationing was and still is an annoyance to my daddy. My mom will usually go along to get along but she can't walk for long periods of time so it decreases her options sometimes. My children (DD7 & DS10), however, did inherit my sense of wanderlust. They've been traveling with us since they were 3 months and 7 months, respectively.

 

Looking forward to continuing your live report but for now I must stop and head off to work. Years to go before I will board my first ATW but your account is the next best thing! Thanks for such a detailed report!

 

 

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