From the cow kings to an Empress, Norton goes on a little Sojourn

[Roxburgh]

:o

 

So they reduced the budget for the fir trees! :D

I feel bad shaming the fir/pine trees. ;)

 

First world problem but an ideal topic for CC.

[BrisbaneGran]

I have it on impeccable authority that the 10 or so potted palms (RIP) were purchased in Darwin for $3000+ ... Each!

 

anyone who would pay $3000 for a potted palm in Australia, really needs to find a new job that doesn't involve "buying". I cant believe that would be true at all!

[RustyRollock]

I can assure you my source would know. I’m sure there’s a palm grower in Darwin who’s pretty happy though.

[BrisbaneGran]

I can assure you my source would know. I’m sure there’s a palm grower in Darwin who’s pretty happy though.

 

as I said, the person who paid this, (if they in fact did) should be sacked immediately! He or she should not be allowed access to Seabourn money! This is just pure waste. Are you sure they weren't $300? NOT $3000?

[turtlemichael]

$3000 each for palm trees? I wonder if some one made a killing on the firs too? :) https://www.bunnings.com.au/200mm-conifer-leighton-green-cupressocyparis-leylandii_p3560106

Edited June 4, 2018 by turtlemichael

[Emperor Norton]

How much for a herring to cut them down?

 

 

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[SKP946]

$3000 each for palm trees? I wonder if some one made a killing on the firs too? :) https://www.bunnings.com.au/200mm-conifer-leighton-green-cupressocyparis-leylandii_p3560106

You can buy a Bangalow Palm in a 200mm (8") pot for A$20 (US $15) at Bunnings. Of course, in Darwin you would just dig them up beside the road:D

https://www.bunnings.com.au/our-range/garden/plants/outdoor-foliage/palms

[ab21au]

SB can have the ones in my back yard for a lot less than $3000. :p

[BrisbaneGran]

SB can have the ones in my back yard for a lot less than $3000. :p

 

LOL....I have a few Cocos palms, complete with fruit bats they can have free!! The ones I saw in pics, I think looked like Golden Canes......not an expensive palm at all......as they say in the Classics, "someone is pulling someones leg"!

[BrisbaneGran]

I see a couple of people posted Bunnings links, I was going to do that...great minds think alike eh! (most of my plants come from Bunnings)

[lincslady]

The price of all the greenery might explain why Seabourn can only afford $500 in 'compensation' to the passengers?

 

I see that Sophie was apparently the CD on this cruise - no doubt as a trooper she would cope, but some of it can't have been much fun for her either.

[Emperor Norton]

Here's a little video of some of the construction that marred the pool deck. Sadly they didn't fix everything and some of the "fixes" were failing before I disembarked. In 4k where available;)

 

T7sR7HHMBdA

[lincslady]

Thanks, Emperor. I must admit it looks worse than I had imagined. I hope we are going to get a final review from you, and others, when you have had time to digest and before it all becomes a distant memory. Did you get your fabulous $500 credit?

[Emperor Norton]

I did indeed get the credit, but then burned it on a future cruise credit. I don't think I'll be on Sojourn in the future however.:evilsmile:

[Roxburgh]

The decking is clearly an ongoing problem. We had it, albeit in a different place when we cruised Cape Town to Singapore. I think that the reality is that the whole deck needs to be lifted and relaid and that is a job for dry dock. The crew did their best to fix it 'on the fly' but it clearly didn't work.

 

We were fortunate in that it didn't interfere negatively with the enjoyment of our cruise. Hopefully it will be fixed permanently by the time we board Sojourn again on December 11.

[Chairsin]

Yes, as Roxburgh mentioned this has been an ongoing problem. I believe it started when the ship was in dry dock. I was told by one source that they believe the damage was caused when heavy shipping containers were set on the deck. When we joined in February they tried quick fixes and realized that did not solve the problem. When we were in, I believe Port Elizabeth for two days, they closed the entire pool deck and replaced the decking. Within a few days the problem of buckling boards resurfaced and remained thus until we disembarked in late March.

 

 

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[Emperor Norton]

Getting to Kobe was interesting. My TA had arranged a car to the hotel and the hotel itself. Clearing customs/immigration in Osaka was a breeze. The car ride from Osaka to Kobe was like an hour long bumper car experience. The car would accelerate, then slow, then accelerate. Over and over. Traffic wasn't involved with this.

 

I arrived at the hotel and was greeted by the very polite staff. Check in took all of maybe 45 seconds. I was escorted to my room and shown the room and its features (the "this is what this does and this is what does/doesn't cost" tour). After having been up since sometime the day (or was it two?) before it was time for sleep.

 

The next morning I went down for the included breakfast. There were two options available, one Japanese and the other Western. This time I opted for the Western version. The food was very good. After a nice calm, quiet and well paced breakfast it was time to wander out.

 

I was in the Hotel La Suite Harborland and had a suite with a view of the harbor. I think the Jacuzzi tub was bigger than the childrens pool at my local swimming club.

[Emperor Norton]

The hotel is definitely in a touristy area. These were across the street.

 

 

 

The view from the terrace of the hotel wasn't too bad either (though IMO it paled in comparison to the night version)

 

 



 

 



 

 

[Emperor Norton]

The hotel was located a few hundred meters away from what appeared to be a local family friendly tourist stop, similar to a smaller version of Pier 39 in San Francisco.

 

They had some interesting looking mascots outside some of the shops

 

 



 

 



 

 



 

 

[Emperor Norton]

There were also things for children to see and do.

 

 



 

The Sojourn would end up hiding behind that bridge.

 

Dinner that night was in a Teppanyaki restaurant and the menu was laden with Kobe beef. Sorry, as I was expecting to be elbow to elbow with others I didn't bring a camera. Had I known I was going to be one of three I would've had some pictures of some amazing food. I figured in a place dedicated to beef (Cow King) that if the octopus starter was the best octopus I'd ever had the rest of the meal was going to be excellent. It was. The service (like everywhere else I'd experienced it in Japan) was excellent.

 

 

After dinner I went up to my room to enjoy the view.

 

 



 

 

[Emperor Norton]

The hotel was rather retro in their approach to door locks (perhaps not such a bad thing after learning of how easy it was to hack some of the electric locks). It was an interesting experience to not only need to carry a key again, but one with a rather substantial fob.

 

After a restful nights sleep and some time in that Jacuzzi it was down to the lobby level for breakfast. The elevators were rather interesting as well as you needed the key to operate them. I thought the bench was a nice touch.

[Emperor Norton]

Galleries:

• Getting there
  
• Kobe, Japan
  

[ab21au]

Love the photos, and I agree the room view is stunning at night. Thanks for posting.

[mamapirk]

Here's a little video of some of the construction that marred the pool deck. Sadly they didn't fix everything and some of the "fixes" were failing before I disembarked. In 4k where available;)

 

 

 

T7sR7HHMBdA

 

 

 

If that had occurred on our first Seabourn cruise last July, it would have been our last. Unbelievable!

 

 

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[Emperor Norton]

In this video you can hear some of the wonderful noise generated by the deck repair and then the deck and pool repairs. In the second segment you can see the tools producing some smoke. That smoke the stuff coming from the smokers corner smell heavenly. Unfortunately YouTube seems to have tamed the audio levels a bit. This is quieter than in person/original video.

 

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