Jump to content
Cruise Critic Community

Discover 7 Continents with Bill & Mary Ann as we sail on the 2012 World Cruise

WCB

By WCB,
in Holland America Line

Recommended Posts

Rahi

Rahi

Posted
Posted
Thanks so much for that information. One of the prescriptions came through today. The other one (mail order) is a totally different story! I called again today - not shipped yet! So I will have to call my doctor to request another prescription, get a 60-day supply from a local pharmacy, and hold out till Mumbai. The mail order company reminded me that I wouldn't get a 90-day supply. I reminded them that a 60-day supply gotten before I leave beats a 90-day supply that would have sat and waited till I got home!

 

I really appreciate knowing that I can most likely get something that will work while on the trip. I'll take the Rx bottle with me when I go.

 

Look forward to meeting you soon! :)

 

Barb

Why is it so difficult to get an advance on your prescriptions? This would be a worry for me as well if I ever did a long cruise. Sorry to hear it is such a headache. I use a local pharmacy, do you all use the mail order 3 month at a time type place for your pills? Is that the problem, or even at your local pharmacy do you all have trouble?

Link to comment
Share on other sites
bet410

bet410

Posted
Posted
Why is it so difficult to get an advance on your prescriptions? This would be a worry for me as well if I ever did a long cruise. Sorry to hear it is such a headache. I use a local pharmacy, do you all use the mail order 3 month at a time type place for your pills? Is that the problem, or even at your local pharmacy do you all have trouble?

 

It is only one particular prescription, and it is only the mail-order 3 month supply - thank goodness. Fortunately the same medication is available OTC, but it's far, far more expensive!

 

I am calling my doctor and requesting a prescription to be sent to my local pharmacy, which I am sure will be able to handle it very well, although it will only be a 2 month supply. (The mail-order keeps telling me that the doctor didn't write the prescription correctly - just sent my name and the name of the prescription. My doctor has been in business for about 30 years. Really? He doesn't know how to write a prescription? :eek: Somehow I have more confidence in him than in the Rx company, which has given me a different story every single time I've called about the prescription! :mad:)

 

Sorry, Bill & Mary Ann - didn't mean to hijack this thread! I do appreciate finding out about the place in Mumbai that I can get enough meds to get me through the rest of the trip!

Link to comment
Share on other sites
WCB "Live from...." Rare

WCB

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Hi Barb,

 

Guess we are not alone with this last task. We have done this same procedure on every world cruise, and have never run into such hold-ups. Even when the prescriptions got the override for 5 months, the pharmacy did not have enough product on their shelves to fill them. They blame the holidays and the fact that they are swamped due to flu, etc. That is understandable, but we started this process weeks ago! So don't feel alone.

 

Bill & Mary Ann

Link to comment
Share on other sites
bet410

bet410

Posted
Posted
Hi Barb,

 

Guess we are not alone with this last task. We have done this same procedure on every world cruise, and have never run into such hold-ups. Even when the prescriptions got the override for 5 months, the pharmacy did not have enough product on their shelves to fill them. They blame the holidays and the fact that they are swamped due to flu, etc. That is understandable, but we started this process weeks ago! So don't feel alone.

 

Bill & Mary Ann

 

I guess misery loves company, so I'm glad to know I'm not alone in this! I started the process on December 6th. I've gotten a different story every single time I've called, and three of the past four people had assured me that the prescription had shipped. Then last night the rep told me that the Rx had been written wrong and hadn't even processed! (Good grief!!!) So I find the whole thing ridiculous!

 

The upside is that I will be able to get through till Mumbai, and then I will hopefully be able to get more. I guess I'll take this hassle over staying home! So excited about my first World Cruise! (But we'll miss reading your blog till we get home! ;))

 

We're leaving Sunday - hopefully we'll get a chance to meet you on the ship sometime!

 

Barb

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Leslie K

Leslie K

Posted
Posted

Bill and MaryAnn - I so enjoyed your posts from last years world trip and am excited to be joining you again. It truly helps us landbound, workbound people get through the wintery days. Have a great trip. Looking forward to traveling with you!

Link to comment
Share on other sites
WCB "Live from...." Rare

WCB

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Report # 3 Friday December 30, 2011 Where in the world are we going???

 

Now that the luggage is gone, we can relax a bit before the journey begins. However, all is not exactly correct, since three of the duffels are on their way to Florida, and the fourth one is lagging behind somewhere along the way. We do have Fed Ex tracking numbers, so we shall moniter their progress, and hope for the best.

 

Our journey begins in Ft. Lauderdale on Friday January 6th, where the Amsterdam is scheduled to leave the port around 5pm. That usually does not happen for many reasons. It doesn't matter a whole lot, since we have two sea days before we reach Roseau, Dominica, a new port for us. The only other Caribbean port will be Barbados, an island we know quite well.

 

This cruise has several stops in Brazil.....Belem, Recife, and 2 days in Rio De Janeiro. We're planning on attending a samba dinner in Rio, another first for us.

 

We have two days in Buenos Aires, Argentina, with the highlite being a tango show one evening. Don't know how they can top the Tango show with the horses we saw on the 2010 SoAmerica/Antarctica cruise. It was a fantastic.

 

Montevideo, Uruguay, will be our last South American port for several days, since we will be heading for Port Stanley, Falkland Islands. At least that is the plan right now. Rumor has it there have been some uprisings with the political tensions between England and Argentina over these islands. Hope we make it there.

 

Then comes the Antartica Experience portion of the trip, where we will view the Antarctic Sound, the South Shetland Islands, and the Wilhelm Archipelago. We're really keeping our fingers crossed for this one, because weather can be a major factor in the success of sailing here. On our last visit, the Drake Passage was calm and smooth, which is rarely the case.

 

We will cruise around Cape Horn, once again hoping the weather gods will be on our side, then we have two stops, one in Ushuaia and Punta Arenas. The final viewing will be of the Chilean Fjords in Chile. From here we will head west.

 

Things should warm up by the time we hit Easter Island, also belonging to Chile. It really is a mystical place to explore. Two days from Easter Island, we should be bringing some folks from Pitcairn Island onboard to sell their wares. Can you imagine being able to talk to descendants from Fletcher Christian and the Bounty crew? Quite exciting.

 

We only have one stop in French Polynesia, and that is Papeete, Tahiti. Two days from there is an island similar, but very different. That is Pago Pago, American Samoa.

 

This is the time we cross the International Dateline. Even though everything feels and looks the same, we lose one whole day crossing this imaginary line. We gain this day back one hour at a time, as we sail west as we put the clocks back one hour every couple of days.

 

The following day finds us in Easo, Lifou, New Caledonia. There must be little to do here, because HAL does not sell any tours for this stop. It is also a new port for us to explore on our own, which can be fun.

 

Two days later, we will be spending a couple of days in Sydney, walking our legs off, hopefully. And finding good places to enjoy lunch out. Cairns will be a one day stop, mostly for the folks that want to go to the Great Barrier Reef. That is another place that the weather can make or break your experience. On the 2011 world cruise, it flooded there badly.

 

A fairly new concept, they have added a Great Barrier Reef Experience to the itinerary. We expect this will be scenic cruising around the several small islands in that reef.

 

From Australia, we head for Indonesia, and the ports of Komodo and Lembar, Lombok. Dragons shoiuld be seen on our tour in Komodo, and small horse-drawn carts and rice paddies will be part of what we see in Lombok.

 

After four restful days at sea, we arrive to the fabulous city of Hong Kong, and stay for two full days. We can never see all of Hong Kong, no matter how long we stay. It is vibrant and thrilling, especially if they get sudden thunder and lightening storms.

 

There are two stops in Vietnam, Nha Trang and Phu My. Nha Trang is very picturesque and rural, while Phu My is basically a spot on the river where we tie up the boat. We're taking a short tour to see other things here.

 

Singapore is next on the list, with a two day stay. Like Hong Kong, it is one of the safest and wonderful cities to explore. It is also one of the most civilized and friendly spots in the world....a good place to walk any time of day.

 

Our final Asian stop will be in Phuket, Thailand. It is one of the prettiest spots, we think, for scenery. We intend to take a speedboat to Phi Phi Island where a famous movie, the Beach, was shot a few years back.

 

Then we will be on our way to Sri Lanka, Colombo to be exact. This will be our third time there, but the first time to explore Colombo itself. We always went to see the elephants and Kandi, their holy spot.

 

India offers three ports......Mangalore and Marmagao, both new to us. Mumbai will be a two day visit, with lots of shopping and walking to do.

 

After six sea days, we will be in Egypt with stops in two ports. One is Safaga, and is not really a port at all. It is the dropoff point for tours to Luxor. And we plan to visit Luxor and the Valley of the Kings this time. Because of the violence and overturning of the government, we opted out of that tour this year. Sure hope things remain OK for our short time there.

 

Sharm El Sheikh is the last Egyptian port before we transit the famous Suez Canal. It is such a contrast to transiting the Panama Canal that we stay outside most all day to watch it. Settlements line the banks and you get a glimpse of what life is like living here in this ancient country.

 

There are many stops in Europe starting with Athens (2 days) and Katakolon in Greece. Messina, Sicily, is a new port for us, but Naples is not new. The number one job there is to find the best pizza restaurant.

 

Corsica is also going to be new to us. We have booked a tour to see it, since we are not familiar with the area.

 

Spain offers two ports.......Barcelona (2 days) and Cadiz. We know these cities well, but still plan on taking some tours.

 

Finally, our last port..........Funchal, Madeira, and a farewell lunch with our hosts and fellow guests.

 

Seven days at sea, mostly packing days for the passengers, will bring us full circle to Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. But wait, we're not getting off! Yep, we will be sailing through the Panama Canal to San Diego for a cruise with a whole different flavor. We will end our trip in San Diego on Mother's Day, May 13th.

 

Hope we can provide some interesting stories along the way!

 

Bill & Mary Ann

 

PS While we are in Ft. Lauderdale on January 5th, we will be attending a banquet given by our travel agency. At that dinner, we may have the chance to visit with one of the Mariner Society gurus, Gerald, representing Holland America. He had promised some changes in the Mariner tier program by the time the 2012 world cruise begins, so we will surely find out the details. Hope we have something good to report!

 

To be continued from Ft. Lauderdale.................

Link to comment
Share on other sites
WCB "Live from...." Rare

WCB

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Thanks to all for your encouraging comments!

 

kweenkaren - Bon Voyage to you also!

 

bluewhale - You will see us waving back at ya..............Bon Voyage!!

 

jimbri - It is too costly to post pictures to the CC site, although we take tens of thousands.

 

Bill & Mary Ann

Link to comment
Share on other sites
stki

stki

Posted
Posted

Thank you for doing this Blog.

 

Our Aunt & Uncle, John & Wendy (from OZ) are with you from Fort Lauderdale to Sydney, so will enjoy reading your posts & being jealous of you all:)

 

Cheers

 

Tanya

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

Guest
This topic is now closed to further replies.
Go to topic listing
  • Forum Jump
    • Categories
      • Welcome to Cruise Critic
      • ANNOUNCEMENT: Set Sail Beyond the Ordinary with Oceania Cruises
      • ANNOUNCEMENT: The Widest View in the Whole Wide World
      • New Cruisers
      • Cruise Lines “A – O”
      • Cruise Lines “P – Z”
      • River Cruising
      • ROLL CALLS
      • Cruise Critic News & Features
      • Digital Photography & Cruise Technology
      • Special Interest Cruising
      • Cruise Discussion Topics
      • UK Cruising
      • Australia & New Zealand Cruisers
      • Canadian Cruisers
      • North American Homeports
      • Ports of Call
      • Cruise Conversations
×
×
  • Create New...