and so it begins.....RTW16

[cbb]

Floridiana- Hawaii is indeed beautiful. We are returning in December with extended family for a reunion aboard NCL's Pride of America. Never sailed with NCL before.

 

I am currently trying to plan some activities for us to do but not presuming to know what the "other" side wants to do...rather I think we'll just rejoin each other some evenings at dinner and exclaim over the day's events!

 

the "others" have never been to Hawaii before and they come from the dry part of the US so they're in for a treat!!! c

[hypercafe]

You will have a great time. NCL is like Oceania with better shows, more people, and pay for specialty restaurants.

[cbb]

hypercafe,

 

we were in Kauai at the same time Pride was and all we Insignia people could do was exclaim over its size!

 

I expect to get lost on board, especially having been on Insignia for almost 6 months...I'll just turn the wrong way every time I leave the cabin!

 

Don't know about dining often in the specialty restaurants since we'll probably be tired from doing all sorts of activities and we have a munchkin who will want to spend time in a pool.

 

I'll let the parents dine and the munchkin, Mr Wonderful and I can grab something from a cafe on board--parents and munchkin can have a break from each other! Pizza with a kid I love....awesome!!!

[cbb]

Monday, June 13, 2016 Day 163

 

Today is our 4th day of 5 at sea heading to Los Angeles. Many of the RTW people are headed to the RTW Ambassador on board, to have some luggage sent home via Luggage Free.

 

We Worldlies (or Worldies, depending, I suppose, on our level of sophistication) are treated by O to free delivery of 4 suitcases, or 200 lbs, maximum to be sent home. Many are doing that from Los Angeles rather than from Miami.

 

We aren't sending anything home from LA since there is no one at home to receive it, and we can't send it to a family member since they are all gainfully employed! You just know FedEx would attempt our delivery in the middle of the day!!

 

We have done a minimum of re-packing and probably will leave the ship with just about the amount of luggage we came on board with. I've been told by some of the other RTW people that I haven't done my fair share of shopping, to which I reply..."earrings are small--you buy bigger things!"

 

And it is true about the big things. Some have bought large and gorgeous hand-woven baskets, silk parasols, framed art and rolled art (that will be framed upon return home.) I saw some looking at hand carved masks in African ports and paddles in the South Pacific ports. They are gifted shoppers!

 

We have taken more than 55,000 pictures between the two of us. We would like to do a coffee table book but realize that it will probably take 6 books and I'll have to double check the structural integrity of the coffee table to see if it will hold them!

 

We've never done any photo books and understand we will be limited by the number of pages per book--hence the need for 6 of them. If anybody has the names of some of the publishers that have worked for them let me know.

 

We just think it would be neat to have them where we could just pick them up and thumb through them, marveling at the places we've seen and enjoying OUR pictures.

 

Today was the County Fair but it had to be held in the Lounge due to the inclement weather. No one is in the hot tub or pool due to their wave height! In fact, all of the outside activities have been closed.

 

We are doing about 18 knots and the wave height is at 11.5feet. We hit some boomers periodically that really throws the spray up; 7th and 8th decks are catching it on verandas!

 

One woman approached Ray Carr, cruise director, a couple of days ago and asked when we would be in Los Angeles. He said he kind of stuttered and said "Ma'am we are on Day 2 of 5 days at sea and will be in Los Angeles as scheduled on Tuesday, June 14."

 

Her reply...."well, wouldn't it just be faster if we all flew?" His audience at Trivia was stunned into silence for a couple of seconds and then we all laughed...loudly....I guess she doesn't understand the definition of "at sea" or "cruise ship"...!! (and yes, Ray reports she was serious; it was not a humorous quip!)

 

I'm not sure, but....I think I hear my pillow calling me....something about "nap" but I'll have to get closer to it to be able to hear better.......

[hypercafe]

You sound like my wife. When we fly and I talk about not buying to much stuff she just turns to jewelry😂

[cbb]

when i wasn't paying attention, evidently a nap did occur...who knew pillows held that much power?!

 

i have bought earrings from many of the ports of call and I made sure that are made in that country. I only want ones "made in China" if I'm in China!

 

I'm not talking diamonds and rubies but rather small silver hats that the Vietnamese people wear in the fields, silver drop earrings with the symbols for "long life", "happiness", "prosperity", handpainted ones from Borneo, ones from a Zulu artisan, Maori, Namibia, Aboriginal, etc....

 

every time i put a pair on, I remember where i bought them because I had the foresight to put tiny pieces of colored card in them with their address. I love them and of course, they don't cost like diamond and rubies would!!

 

Several of them will fit into a small box... well, yes I did buy the box, too-- AND no luggage problems!!

[Aspect]

Maybe Ray IS flying to Los Angeles because the rest of us (and the ship) will arrive on Wednesday 15th June.

 

We Worldlies (or Worldies, depending, I suppose, on our level of sophistication) are treated by O to free delivery of 4 suitcases, or 200 lbs, maximum to be sent home.

 

This is only true for North Americans. The rest of the Worldies do not get this option, neither did they get free or subsidised flights.

[LHT28]

We've never done any photo books and understand we will be limited by the number of pages per book--hence the need for 6 of them. If anybody has the names of some of the publishers that have worked for them let me know.

 

 

Maybe ask Sukey she may have some info ;)

[cwn]

cbb, I have been making travel books from our Blogs for maybe 10- 12 years. I use the blog for the story part and fill in with favorite pictures. I make the 12 by 12 books for our trips...it takes about one full book (100pages) for a month of travel for us. We did a 5 month trip around the world the world in 2009....took five books and last years 4 month trip went into 3 books, but I could have used another book or at least part of one.

 

The system I use is a spin off of the old Creative Memories turned Panstoria and now is Forever.com. I love the program and the books look very nice. It is very easy to use...and you can do a lot of adjustments to the photos and be very creative with the pages.

[cbb]

aspect....yeah, that's my bad....I was looking at my white board and hadn't updated it to this day so you are totally right....Wednesday, not Tuesday!! Sorry, you're right, I was writing as a North American re: Luggage Free.

 

cwn....i've written your suggestion down and when we're at home I'll check out your ideas....thanks so much. (Internet better but still spotty!)

 

LHT28; I'll ask Sukey and see what she says.

 

There are some people on board who have done the photo books and they are giving me some suggestions and ideas. We do plan on using some things from our photo blog and from my thread here.

 

One of us is going to do her photo books based on 2 months per book. Our first decision is how we're going to organize ours. Decisions...decisions!

[Not landlubbers]

We have used Apple Books with great success! Excellent quality and you can choose the number of pages you wish,page format,etc.

[cbb]

Not landlubbers--we don't use Apple products in our house. Mr. Wonderful worked on IBM PCs back in the day....it would be like asking a guy who worked at Ford trucks all his life to buy a Chevy truck....just isn't done!!!!

 

but hey....thanks for the suggestion!!

[TenerifeSharon]

Although I have most of my books done in Germany, I have had good experiences with photobookamerica. I was surprised that they did the printing and shipping in/from Malaysia (IIRC). The quality was excellent.

 

I also received one beautiful book from a company in CA, aandibooks.com, but their software was a bit difficult for me, as a novice, to use at that time, and I thought it was more geared to professional photographers

 

You'll find that the most work will be in pre-sorting which pix to use of all the many thousands. We had almost 10,000 from a 4-week trip to Asia and it took me just about that long to pick the ones to use. I did several rounds of elimination (hard to choose when you've grown attached to so many places!)

 

I only use the lay-flat page option (lots of extra costs) if I have several wide pictures that are covering a double-page. Otherwise, just upgrade to a slightly better quality paper instead. You will have put too much effort, time and expense into taking beautiful pictures, sorting, choosing, etc. to have less than optimal paper.

 

The software is quite varied. Some companies have lots of options, others bare-bones. You might want to download a couple of different ones before deciding on a company.

 

AND, last but not least, if you're a bargain hunter like I am (and especially if you're planning on doing at least 5 books), watch for discount codes on Groupon, Living Social or google for codes to any companies that have software that appeals to you. And you'll probably want all 5 books from the same company, since the sizing and finishing can be slightly (to massively) different from each one.

 

It does get easier after you've finished the first one. :D

 

Just another thought ... you might want to check out adorama.com, located in NYC. They do great photo work and offer free webinair tutorials on producing your own photo books.

[cbb]

TenerifeSharon--wow, lots of great suggestions. Thank you so much. He did know of Adorama and knew it was reputable. I'll continue to canvass the people on board.

 

I have a feeling HIS first job will be to decide how to organize it all. I'll offer "helpful" suggestions which won't be needed, and then we'll go from there.

 

I figure this project will give him something to research, might last 6 months minimum, and then I give final approval! Works for me!!!!

[Paulchili]

NCL is like Oceania with better shows, more people, and pay for specialty restaurants.

 

I beg to differ - at the moment Oceania is thankfully nothing like NCL.

Unfortunately, however, lately (since the "merger"?) it seems to me that Oceania is indeed doing its best to be just like NCL :(

cbb - sorry for the OT post but I just couldn't resist.

Back to the topic.

Edited June 15, 2016 by Paulchili

[Not landlubbers]

OK!!!! My bad! But we do love them!!!!! Once again thank you for allowing us to go around the world with you and Mr. Wonderful! Such a positive account and amazing photos! The books we have made of our adventures are constant reminders of how lucky we are to travel!

[cbb]

Paul,

 

interested in why you think O is becoming more like NCL. We're having a great time on board Insignia and except for entertainment, which has never been something O could brag about, it seems like life aboard is as it always has been.

 

Not landlubbers--hey, no worries!

[Paulchili]

Paul,

 

interested in why you think O is becoming more like NCL. We're having a great time on board Insignia and except for entertainment, which has never been something O could brag about, it seems like life aboard is as it always has been.

 

Cynthia,

This is a topic best left for a different thread (IF I even want to there :D)

This is your thread and we all are enjoying traveling along with you and we want to focus on that :)

[Floridiana]

Cynthia,

This is your thread and we all are enjoying traveling along with you and we want to focus on that :)

 

I second that!

[cbb]

Paul...never have met you but know you are a sweetie.....and thoughtful!

 

floridiana...I second the above!

[cbb]

June 15, 2016 Day 165

 

Today is another changeover day on board. Many of the RTWers were glad to see the backs of some of the segmenters as they left this morning.

 

We heard some of the most ridiculous things from some of them, but then there were others we could have cruised around the world with....and they probably thought the same about us.

 

One of my favorite lines was standing in line yesterday waiting to "cash in" our Big O Points. I only play trivia and we don't always finish in the points so it has taken me this long to amass 100 BOP for 2 O tee shirts.

 

I am so proud of them because it was my trivial brain....wait,.....er....brain filled with trivia for 5.5 months that got us those shirts!

 

This guy was evidently upset first at the wait outside the Lounge door while staff set up the display of O items. Then he saw several people come up to people already in line and talk to them....but never once tried to cut in line...just a simple greeting or joking among RTW people who had known each other for a long time.

 

He turned to his neighbor and said, "It just really makes me mad that they have been on board all this time and have been able to play the games to get that many points."

 

I didn't even bother to point out how many thousands of $ those BOPoints really cost us RTWers to be "on board all this time!!!" Just buy the stupid visor in the store and quit "twitchin" about it!

 

Since it was a changeover and we wanted to be far away from the ship and walk and see stuff after being on board for 5 days we took a shorex titled "Discover Los Angeles" that lasted about 5.5 hours. Many RTWers took the same tour for the same reasons!

 

Our driver battled the traffic for us while our guide pointed out many things as we drove along, knew some interesting facts about buildings, and we got to make some photography/bathroom stops...always a good thing!

 

We passed by the Coliseum which we had seen on TV during Olympic coverage, the Staples Center, home to professional sports teams and took some interesting pictures of street art.

 

We stopped at the Music Center where we found bathrooms, the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, the Walt Disney Concert Hall (a Gehry designed building with very cool stainless-steel structures,) and some other theaters as well.

 

On to the TCL Chinese Theater (newly renamed) where we saw young people walking through the big ornate doors dressed in caps and gowns, as well as the famous Hollywood stars embedded in the pavement. Off in a special niche was Mohammed Ali's and a few people were taking pictures or selfies there.

 

We saw the Dolby Theater entrance where the stars walk the red carpet to get their Oscars.....or not.

 

We had free time to walk around that area which was very cool and then back on the bus headed for lunch at the Farmer's Market. We had about an hour there and everyone on the bus went their separate ways. Some of us headed to Magee's Deli since we had a craving for deli sandwiches and coleslaw....ahhh...good food!

 

One of our guys said "It's about time we eat....geez, it's been at least 2 hours since we've eaten!" There speaks a dedicated RTW diner!! (shout out to Bruce!)

 

We then had time to wander the Grove and other parts of the Market which was great fun after being on the ship for so long.

 

This was a really fun tour to do and, although touristy, it will be great to see these places on TV and say "hey, I saw that!"

 

Later I saw Sukey and she couldn't get over the beautiful green grass and trees; there hadn't been a lot of green in the past 5 days and we reveled walking in the sun and warmth....we hadn't had either of those on the Pacific crossing either!

 

We came back to the ship and then walked down to the USS Iowa but decided that we didn't have time to do it justice on a ship's tour so we'll get our WWII fix tomorrow when we visit San Diego and the USS Midway.

 

We did take BB 61 pictures and then walked back to our home for the next 15 days. Lost a bunch of our favorite crew today and more will leave in Key West...sigh.

 

Life boat drill this afternoon and then hopefully Happy Hour....if it was just reversed......

[tropicalkerry2002]

Sounds like Melrose Place!

Edited June 16, 2016 by tropicalkerry2002

[cbb]

Last boat drill tonight: the RTW people all blew their life jacket whistles during the drill...that was pretty cool and the crew liked it!

 

first impressions of the newbies---whew, there are some mean ones aboard. One woman questioned the need for standing on deck and said it was the "stupidest thing (she'd) ever gone through." She and another female passenger exchanged some words...

 

Lastest word from the Captain tonight is that we ARE going to Acapulco after all...to which a newbie announced loudly on Terrace Veranda that HE wasn't going off the ship....

 

this is the first 4 hours of them being on board..........I need to buy more wine tomorrow......

[Paulchili]

Paul...never have met you but know you are a sweetie.....and thoughtful!

 

 

cbb - I don't know about the sweetie part :D, but thank you.

Those words are much appreciated, especially coming from you.

Cheers.

[sitraveler]

I've enjoyed your reports, don't think I will ever be willing to spend 180 days on any ship. BTW you do have at least one more lifeboat drill, O likes to do it often.