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Live from the Ocean Princess Top of the World Explorer June 25 to July 13

DonahCBrown

By DonahCBrown,
in Princess Cruises

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DonahCBrown

DonahCBrown

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Starting anew - Docked in Dover, went to Canterbury on the bus - very easy to do. Tina and Ken went out to climb around on the White Cliffs of Dover. Lenny Windsor continues on as our entertainer - I think we also have Chris the violinist on this cruise as we saw him getting off when we did but without luggage.

 

More after we meet our new shipmates. CC get together today at sailaway and the 'formal' gathering is tomorrow at noon in Sabatini's.

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DonahCBrown

DonahCBrown

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Questions -

 

Yes there is a Power Hour - everyday after 8 PM on selected cocktails and beers -not on wine though.

 

Top of the World Explorer June 25 – July 13 Dover to New York

 

Embarkation Day – Dover.

 

We were in transit, but it seemed that the disembarkation/embarkation process went pretty smoothly, although there were some late arrivals due to a traffic accident between Heathrow and Dover, and one of the ship’s shuttles was a bit late and people were still boarding at 5 PM when we were scheduled to depart. Sailaway was still pretty warm and clear, but subsequently we’ve been in and out of fog. Just now it is bright and sunny, but the fog is visible on the horizon. The sun is still up and it is around 8:30 PM, but it looks like we’ll actually have a sunset at 9:11. Sunrise will be around 4:45 tomorrow.

 

Our passenger mix has shifted from predominantly UK to predominantly US and Canadian passengers and we have quite a few children on board, as well.

 

Entertainment is pretty sparse tonight – Lenny Windsor, who has been on for a couple of shows and a talk during our Land of the Midnight Sun cruise is the headliner tonight. The casino is closed until after our port call in Edinburgh (DH says this is like getting a $50 OBC!)

 

Pete Nilson Duo and Cinnamoon continue as the deck/Tahitian Lounge entertainment, and it appears that Heather is taking a well deserved night off – I’m hoping she hasn’t disembarked, as she is very good.

 

Dinner was the usual first night one and I somehow always forget and ordered the Hawaiian Luau Pork. It is a decent sliced pork roast but bears absolutely no resemblance to luau pork. Maybe now that I have written it down, next time I’ll remember and not order it again! Dennis and Ken had the prime rib and Tina had the chili.

 

Looked around on the deck at sailaway for Cruise Critic members wearing beads but didn’t see anyone. Just got our Patter and our time has been changed since the last time I spoke to our on board coordinator. It is now at 11 AM. Oh well. At least it got listed and hopefully people will look at the Patter, but I’ll put something up on the Roll Call as well.

 

We have a new bridge lecturer, the Princess Book Club will be discuss ing the Time Traveller’s Wife, we have new port Lecturer, Carla Meisenger who will be talking on Newcastle and Rosyth, Lenny Windsor will be doing his talk on life with Benny Hill. We have a new enrichment lecturer, Joseph Marchi, talking on the Magic of the American Musical, usual round of games, meetings etc. Movie is Nine. Formal night tomorrow, Production Show is Cinematastic, Heather is back in the Casino Lounge (yea!) and Cinnamoon and Pete Nilson Duo continue to split the evenings in the Tahitian Lounge.

 

Heard that there MAY be a shuttle between Rosyth and Edinburgh – tour desk said about 80% set, but didn’t have any indication of price at this point, so we’ll keep our reservation for our private van transfer until it is settled for sure, and most likely will keep it anyway, as it will allow us to determine our pick up and drop off points and times.

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Pia1913

Pia1913

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Questions -

 

Yes there is a Power Hour - everyday after 8 PM on selected cocktails and beers -not on wine though.

 

Top of the World Explorer June 25 – July 13 Dover to New York

 

Embarkation Day – Dover.

 

We were in transit, but it seemed that the disembarkation/embarkation process went pretty smoothly, although there were some late arrivals due to a traffic accident between Heathrow and Dover, and one of the ship’s shuttles was a bit late and people were still boarding at 5 PM when we were scheduled to depart. Sailaway was still pretty warm and clear, but subsequently we’ve been in and out of fog. Just now it is bright and sunny, but the fog is visible on the horizon. The sun is still up and it is around 8:30 PM, but it looks like we’ll actually have a sunset at 9:11. Sunrise will be around 4:45 tomorrow.

 

Our passenger mix has shifted from predominantly UK to predominantly US and Canadian passengers and we have quite a few children on board, as well.

 

Entertainment is pretty sparse tonight – Lenny Windsor, who has been on for a couple of shows and a talk during our Land of the Midnight Sun cruise is the headliner tonight. The casino is closed until after our port call in Edinburgh (DH says this is like getting a $50 OBC!)

 

Pete Nilson Duo and Cinnamoon continue as the deck/Tahitian Lounge entertainment, and it appears that Heather is taking a well deserved night off – I’m hoping she hasn’t disembarked, as she is very good.

 

Dinner was the usual first night one and I somehow always forget and ordered the Hawaiian Luau Pork. It is a decent sliced pork roast but bears absolutely no resemblance to luau pork. Maybe now that I have written it down, next time I’ll remember and not order it again! Dennis and Ken had the prime rib and Tina had the chili.

 

Looked around on the deck at sailaway for Cruise Critic members wearing beads but didn’t see anyone. Just got our Patter and our time has been changed since the last time I spoke to our on board coordinator. It is now at 11 AM. Oh well. At least it got listed and hopefully people will look at the Patter, but I’ll put something up on the Roll Call as well.

 

We have a new bridge lecturer, the Princess Book Club will be discuss ing the Time Traveller’s Wife, we have new port Lecturer, Carla Meisenger who will be talking on Newcastle and Rosyth, Lenny Windsor will be doing his talk on life with Benny Hill. We have a new enrichment lecturer, Joseph Marchi, talking on the Magic of the American Musical, usual round of games, meetings etc. Movie is Nine. Formal night tomorrow, Production Show is Cinematastic, Heather is back in the Casino Lounge (yea!) and Cinnamoon and Pete Nilson Duo continue to split the evenings in the Tahitian Lounge.

 

Heard that there MAY be a shuttle between Rosyth and Edinburgh – tour desk said about 80% set, but didn’t have any indication of price at this point, so we’ll keep our reservation for our private van transfer until it is settled for sure, and most likely will keep it anyway, as it will allow us to determine our pick up and drop off points and times.

 

Donna, are the trivialists still aboard? Silly me. Of course they are.

 

The next time we cruise together, I will remind you not to eat the luau pork.

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Kiwi Kruzer

Kiwi Kruzer

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Map and Itinerary for those following....

 

26map.jpg

 

 

25-Jun-10 07:00 25-Jun-10 17:00 Dover, England 2743 MSC Opera

25-Jun-10 17:00 27-Jun-10 07:00 At Sea

27-Jun-10 07:00 27-Jun-10 17:00 Newcastle Upon Tyne, England 688

27-Jun-10 17:00 28-Jun-10 07:00 At Sea

28-Jun-10 07:00 28-Jun-10 19:00 Edinburgh, Scotland 688

28-Jun-10 19:00 30-Jun-10 07:00 At Sea

30-Jun-10 07:00 30-Jun-10 16:00 Torshavn, Faroe Islands 688

30-Jun-10 16:00 01-Jul-10 10:00 At Sea

01-Jul-10 10:00 01-Jul-10 18:00 Seydisfjordur, Iceland 688

01-Jul-10 18:00 03-Jul-10 07:00 At Sea

03-Jul-10 07:00 03-Jul-10 18:00 Reykjavik, Iceland 2640 Arcadia

03-Jul-10 18:00 06-Jul-10 08:00 At Sea

06-Jul-10 08:00 06-Jul-10 17:00 Qaqortoq, Greenland 688

06-Jul-10 17:00 09-Jul-10 08:00 At Sea

09-Jul-10 08:00 09-Jul-10 17:00 St. Johns, Newfoundland, Canada 688

09-Jul-10 17:00 10-Jul-10 08:00 At Sea

10-Jul-10 08:00 10-Jul-10 17:00 St Pierre, France 688

10-Jul-10 17:00 13-Jul-10 07:15 At Sea

13-Jul-10 07:15 13-Jul-10 17:00 New York, New York, United States Of America 688

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paul929207

paul929207

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Donna, are the trivialists still aboard? Silly me. Of course they are.

 

The next time we cruise together, I will remind you not to eat the luau pork.

Yes, the Trivialists got on June 7 in Dover. Fortunately they got on the day we got off.

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paul929207

paul929207

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Why?

Did you guys ride to the airport together? :eek:

No, they had booked to get on in Cape Town where we got on. However, their dinner table was occupied by someone who had boarded in Singapore. I thought it was a great reason to cancel.

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LuAnn

LuAnn

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Yes, the Trivialists got on June 7 in Dover. Fortunately they got on the day we got off.

 

I'll "bite"...who are the Trivialists??? Are they the type of passengers who always play Trivia...and "somehow" always know the answers??? :cool: OR..??? LuAnn

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Pia1913

Pia1913

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I'll "bite"...who are the Trivialists??? Are they the type of passengers who always play Trivia...and "somehow" always know the answers??? :cool: OR..??? LuAnn

 

Sorry.......didn't mean to start this nonsense again. It was really only a question for Donna. And Paul. And Keith. And...............:eek:

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paul929207

paul929207

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I'll "bite"...who are the Trivialists??? Are they the type of passengers who always play Trivia...and "somehow" always know the answers??? :cool: OR..??? LuAnn

Lets just say they are not the most popular travelers with either the staff or fellow passengers

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coo359a2

coo359a2

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We had a great walk out to the South Forland lighthouse in Dover. Had accurate instructions on how to get there (thanks Carolyn and John) even with a few moments of doubt. From the Cliffs Visitor Center it’s a 2 mile walk to the lighthouse and about 2 miles from the ship to the visitor center. The 8 mile roundtrip with a detour through the town center was about 5 hours but well worth it. Just beautiful views from on top of the cliffs.

 

Today is a sea day with clear skies after a very foggy beginning. There must have been 8 walkers on deck 10 by 6am. Last cruise there might have been 2 or 3. There was even a line waiting to get into the gym at 7. I think that all the machines were in use by 5 after.

__________________

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DonahCBrown

DonahCBrown

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Day 1 – Sea Day enroute to New Castle

 

Another lovely day – hope our good weather continues on to the port days. Our Patter says Clear Sky and 15C. The pool bar is open, fair number of folks on deck around the pool, one guy and his little girl in the pool when we passed by. Lots more folks using the gym early in the morning this cruise – we pretty much had it to ourselves from 7 to 8 last cruise. Today all the machines were filled by 7:15.

 

Had a well attended Cruise Critic get together at 11, in spite of all the changes and misprints along the way. We had a group of around 50, and the Captain, our Cruise Director Susan, and Assistant Paul (Smith – for whoever asked me last cruise) and several other officers attended as well.

 

The lunch bunch has grown to around 40 or so and will be on the 29th – Bill is handling those arrangements.

 

Our new port lecturer is good, providing useful and well organized information, and more on how to get from point a to point b than is frequently the case, so her talks are very useful to the ‘on your own’ travelers. Turns out the shuttle in Rosyth is just from the pier to the train station and will be $6. There is also going to be a free shuttle in Newcastle from the pier to the metro station, but from those points you are on your own. Taxi costs are pretty expensive in both of these ports, running around 30 to 40 GBP per hour.

 

I’ll be checking out our new enrichment lecturer in a bit, too. More later.

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Pia1913

Pia1913

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Day 1 – Sea Day enroute to New Castle

 

Another lovely day – hope our good weather continues on to the port days. Our Patter says Clear Sky and 15C. The pool bar is open, fair number of folks on deck around the pool, one guy and his little girl in the pool when we passed by. Lots more folks using the gym early in the morning this cruise – we pretty much had it to ourselves from 7 to 8 last cruise. Today all the machines were filled by 7:15.

 

Had a well attended Cruise Critic get together at 11, in spite of all the changes and misprints along the way. We had a group of around 50, and the Captain, our Cruise Director Susan, and Assistant Paul (Smith – for whoever asked me last cruise) and several other officers attended as well.

 

The lunch bunch has grown to around 40 or so and will be on the 29th – Bill is handling those arrangements.

 

Our new port lecturer is good, providing useful and well organized information, and more on how to get from point a to point b than is frequently the case, so her talks are very useful to the ‘on your own’ travelers. Turns out the shuttle in Rosyth is just from the pier to the train station and will be $6. There is also going to be a free shuttle in Newcastle from the pier to the metro station, but from those points you are on your own. Taxi costs are pretty expensive in both of these ports, running around 30 to 40 GBP per hour.

 

I’ll be checking out our new enrichment lecturer in a bit, too. More later.

 

Good Morning Donna and Tina (and Carolyn/John and Dee/John)...

 

Happy to be cruising along with you, albeit much better in person. :)

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