Thoughts, impressions, and observations for the World Cruise.

[RFerrington]

14 hours ago, CSHS1979 said:

Plus you could leave your stuff in your cabin. Very generous.

Thanks for this little tidbit.  I was wondering about this.

[orville99]

15 hours ago, CSHS1979 said:

John was an emergency request, and they made it happen

I hope he is ok.

[Ocean Boy]

19 minutes ago, orville99 said:

I hope he is ok.

He is OK. There are other urgent things that he needs to tend to.

[Cherful59]

@LadyZolt  Thank you for all of the pictures and information regarding the locations you are at.  I hadn’t been on in a while and have enjoyed them.

[firefly333]

22 hours ago, CSHS1979 said:

 

No, I return in Barcelona

Arent you tempted now to return with john and book the extra legs? 

[CSHS1979]

55 minutes ago, firefly333 said:

Arent you tempted now to return with john and book the extra legs? 

 

Rolling Stones in June 

[sgmn]

6 hours ago, CSHS1979 said:

 

Rolling Stones in June 

Good reason 👌 

[Oceansaway17]

20 hours ago, CSHS1979 said:

 

Rolling Stones in June 

I saw them 15 years ago.  Wow they are still going.

Well enjoy having John back and I guess he can miss China and Japan.  two places I am reluctant to go to on my own.

[LadyZolt]

We docked in Tianjin yesterday and those of us on the included excursions had a choice of going to either just the Great Wall (and having a shorter, more manageable day), or the Forbidden City and the Great Wall (which was about a 17-hour excursion). My husband and I did the latter one. It was a long day -- we didn't get back aboard the ship until about 1 am. We went first to lunch, then the Forbidden City where our guide spent about two hours telling us about it. We then went to dinner and after the sun set, we drove to the Badaling section of the Great Wall.  We didn't know it until our guide told us, but the Great Wall is usually only open at night in the summer months. They had it open especially for this Royal Caribbean cruise, and the only people on it last night were those of us who went on this excursion! We were *very impressed* with how Royal Caribbean handled this included experience.  Both lunch and dinner were fabulous as well with lots of choices in food served "family style" as they do in China. And not only was the Great Wall open for us, but they had groups of performers doing dances, including dragon dances, and music, to welcome us as we entered the area. The souvenir shops were also open so we could get a souvenir. We could not be more impressed with how things went yesterday. Kudos to Royal Caribbean! 

[sgmn]

16 minutes ago, LadyZolt said:

We docked in Tianjin yesterday and those of us on the included excursions had a choice of going to either just the Great Wall (and having a shorter, more manageable day), or the Forbidden City and the Great Wall (which was about a 17-hour excursion). My husband and I did the latter one. It was a long day -- we didn't get back aboard the ship until about 1 am. We went first to lunch, then the Forbidden City where our guide spent about two hours telling us about it. We then went to dinner and after the sun set, we drove to the Badaling section of the Great Wall.  We didn't know it until our guide told us, but the Great Wall is usually only open at night in the summer months. They had it open especially for this Royal Caribbean cruise, and the only people on it last night were those of us who went on this excursion! We were *very impressed* with how Royal Caribbean handled this included experience.  Both lunch and dinner were fabulous as well with lots of choices in food served "family style" as they do in China. And not only was the Great Wall open for us, but they had groups of performers doing dances, including dragon dances, and music, to welcome us as we entered the area. The souvenir shops were also open so we could get a souvenir. We could not be more impressed with how things went yesterday. Kudos to Royal Caribbean! 

Fascinating,  this is so truly a world cruise in every sense. 

Great photos and sounds a great day 

[BecAus]

28 minutes ago, LadyZolt said:

We docked in Tianjin yesterday and those of us on the included excursions had a choice of going to either just the Great Wall (and having a shorter, more manageable day), or the Forbidden City and the Great Wall (which was about a 17-hour excursion). My husband and I did the latter one. It was a long day -- we didn't get back aboard the ship until about 1 am.

 

What a great day you had! Seems like it was very worth the effort of doing the 17hr day!  Thanks very much for your wonderful photos and regular reports you've been doing. Beautiful!!

[DbPA]

Wow!  That looks amazing trip to Great Wall. 

[RFerrington]

Thank you @LadyZolt.  What a truly incredible once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.  So glad you got the chance to experience it and for helping us enjoy it as well.

[pstone1]

9 hours ago, LadyZolt said:

We docked in Tianjin yesterday and those of us on the included excursions had a choice of going to either just the Great Wall (and having a shorter, more manageable day), or the Forbidden City and the Great Wall (which was about a 17-hour excursion). My husband and I did the latter one. It was a long day -- we didn't get back aboard the ship until about 1 am. We went first to lunch, then the Forbidden City where our guide spent about two hours telling us about it. We then went to dinner and after the sun set, we drove to the Badaling section of the Great Wall.  We didn't know it until our guide told us, but the Great Wall is usually only open at night in the summer months. They had it open especially for this Royal Caribbean cruise, and the only people on it last night were those of us who went on this excursion! We were *very impressed* with how Royal Caribbean handled this included experience.  Both lunch and dinner were fabulous as well with lots of choices in food served "family style" as they do in China. And not only was the Great Wall open for us, but they had groups of performers doing dances, including dragon dances, and music, to welcome us as we entered the area. The souvenir shops were also open so we could get a souvenir. We could not be more impressed with how things went yesterday. Kudos to Royal Caribbean! 

 

Wow!  Your day looks amazing!  Very glad you had a perfectly Royal day!

 

[Gardener5b]

@LadyZolt   Thank you for sharing those amazing photo.   It must have been an incredible experience.

[Luckynana]

On 4/8/2024 at 2:38 AM, LadyZolt said:

We docked in Tianjin yesterday and those of us on the included excursions had a choice of going to either just the Great Wall (and having a shorter, more manageable day), or the Forbidden City and the Great Wall (which was about a 17-hour excursion). My husband and I did the latter one. It was a long day -- we didn't get back aboard the ship until about 1 am. We went first to lunch, then the Forbidden City where our guide spent about two hours telling us about it. We then went to dinner and after the sun set, we drove to the Badaling section of the Great Wall.  We didn't know it until our guide told us, but the Great Wall is usually only open at night in the summer months. They had it open especially for this Royal Caribbean cruise, and the only people on it last night were those of us who went on this excursion! We were *very impressed* with how Royal Caribbean handled this included experience.  Both lunch and dinner were fabulous as well with lots of choices in food served "family style" as they do in China. And not only was the Great Wall open for us, but they had groups of performers doing dances, including dragon dances, and music, to welcome us as we entered the area. The souvenir shops were also open so we could get a souvenir. We could not be more impressed with how things went yesterday. Kudos to Royal Caribbean! 

 

Your pictures are outstanding!  Thank you!  I love both Royal Caribbean as well as Celebrity, but I will say that Royal's excursions were much better than the Celebrity excursions we've done.  

Well done, RCCL on the Great Wall of China experience for your cruisers!

[ticketsunlimited]

Great photos and great updates.

I love the picture of the tour guide all decked out in his authentic attire including his Nike sneakers. 😝

[BPyser1]

Welcome to Nagasaki, Serenade of the Seas!  Here's the ship just about to dock at the Nagasaki Cruise Terminal from their webcam on Youtube.

 

Edited April 10 by BPyser1

[LadyZolt]

We docked in Nagasaki today and my husband I didn't do a planned excursion -- we just went off by ourselves and explored the city a bit. We rode the Nagasaki Ropeway cable car, rode around town on a "streetcar" (I would call it a "trolley," though), and went to Glover Garden.  Here are some photos I got....

 

[ticketsunlimited]

LADYZOLT,  looks like another awesome day on your own.  Love the pictures as usual. Very interesting part of the world.

My wife saw the McDonald’s “uber eats” scooters and thought the same as me. If those keys are in the ignition it’s time for a quick ride!!

[LadyZolt]

We're in Kagoshima, Japan, today. We went to the Sengan-en Garden and House and also saw an area near Sakurajima, an active stratovolcano. We learned "Sakura" means "cherry blossoms" and "jima" means "island," but now due to the active volcano, it's a peninsula and no longer an island. Our guide said that they are currently at the end of the cherry blossom blooming period, so we did see a few along the way, but not as many as we saw in Korea. She said that they might still be blooming in Tokyo, so we'll see if the are when we're there in a few days. The Sengan-en Garden was very beautiful and peaceful. We learned a bit about the history of the people in this area and how they modernized so that they would not be colonized by one of the European nations. It was an interesting day! 

Edited April 11 by LadyZolt

[BonTexasNY]

@LadyZolt  Stunning pictures! Thank you for bringing us the beauty and culture of a region I'll probably never get to experience in person.  Continue to have smooth sails and wonderful experiences.

[LadyZolt]

My husband and I went to Tokyo Disneyland yesterday. I'd only been to Disney World in Orlando before, so it was fun to see familiar things as well as new things at this theme park. 😀 The Cherry Blossoms were still blooming in this area, so that was nice to see. (By the way, for those who aren't Disney fans -- there is a sculpture of Walt Disney and he holding Mickey Mouse's hand as he guides Mickey somewhere.  There's also a sculpture of Walt's brother, Roy. He sits on a bench and Minnie Mouse places her hand in his palm.  The significance is that "Walt leads" and "Roy supports." That's how the brothers worked together to make Disney so successful. The castle in Tokyo, like the one at Magic Kingdom in Orlando, is Cinderella's Castle.) 

[Coralc]

Great photos! Thanks so much for sharing them with us. ☺️

[LadyZolt]

We were overnight in the Yokohama port, so we explored Yokohama today. We rode the subway and went on the Cosmo Clock 21 Ferris wheel.  In the amusement area, there were many coin machines selling a lot of stuff that (I assume) children would enjoy. Coin and vending machines are all over the place place in Japan! It was a beautiful day and we enjoyed seeing Cherry blossoms and lots of flowers and people. There seemed to be a food and garden event going on, so it was busy. We enjoyed our day!