Saga Rose Greenland Voyager August 2007

[MMDown Under]

The nightly Olympics fireworks burst into spectacle at 11 p.m. last night. I had a vantage viewpoint from my 5th-floor balcony (first picture). Notice the people gathered on the corner to watch it.

 

Afterwards, thousands of spectators flocked to the Canada Line station beside my home (second picture).

 

After two weeks, I will be glad when the Olympics will be over tonight and life is back to normal around here. The cats certainly won't miss the fireworks noises!

 

 

 

 

Donald.

 

Sharing Canada's joy! Just watched the Canadians win Olympic Gold in Ice Hockey, in extra time (it may have been delayed telecast here).

 

What a way to finish the Winter Olympics!

 

Now you can enjoy having your neighbourhood back, Donald.

[Saga Ruby]

Donald - Vancouver was an excellent host city for these Olympics and, although I'm sure the hullabaloo became a bit wearisome, it was fun seeing the media coverage and then enjoying the photos shot from your very own front window. Canada was an outstanding host city.

 

Does anyone know if there will be debt to be cleaned up in the coming years for these Olympics? One takes due note that Greece spent billions for their 2004 Olympics and now has fallen on their financial sword.

 

Ruby

[Druke I]

The Canadians put on a wonderful show.

 

My wife commented that you are lucky to have a National Anthem that anyone can sign, as opposed to our Star Spangled Banner, which few have the voice to carry off well.

 

I still think it is time for the US to change our anthem to something singable, like America the Beautiful.

Edited March 2, 2010 by Druke I

[Kapricorn]

After the exuberant electricity of the Olympic crowds and activities for two weeks, now it feels quiet all of a sudden. The difference is palpable in the air ... (sigh!) back to normal.

 

According to the newspapers, it "seems unlikely" that the Games will run over budget and B.C. taxpayers will be stuck with the bill.

 

Hockey is to Canada what football is to the U.S.A. Here is a picture of Canadians celebrating the hockey gold medal last Sunday. Seldom is such patriotic fervor seen in Canada. This celebration was on Granville Street, Vancouver's main street.

 

 

Donald.

[Host Sharon]

Great photos Donald. That last one is really something! Amy Williams came home to Bath today and toured the city in an open top bus with her gold medal.

Well done to all the winners. They have far more courage than I - hurtling down those slopes or round tracks.

Edited March 3, 2010 by ships cat

[Saga Ruby]

Donald - has the adrenalin rush departed from Vancouver? That photo of Canadians triumphantly celebrating their hockey gold was a fitting finale to a wonderful 18 days of sports. Vancouver was a fine host for the 2010 Winter Games.

 

Michael - did you hear that the students at the People's Republic of Berkeley are agitating politically again with protests? Ah, the memories.

 

To All - do any of us book inaugural cruises? In Ye Olde Dayz, it was quite the feather in the cap. Now the trend seems to be to sell several cruises on a new ship and call all of them the inaugural cruise. Harumph!

 

Ruby

[Druke I]

Not only at UC Berkeley, but at many if not all of the campuses (campi?) of the University of California, and at the California State University venues also.

 

One of the rites of spring - and liable to bite them in the long run. Their sense of entitlement may be misplaced.

 

Odd, I don't really miss those demonstrations at all. Must be getting mellow in my dottage.

 

Reference maiden voyages or inaugural season - I prefer to wait until the ships have been out 6mos to a year, let some of the bugs get worked out.

Edited March 6, 2010 by Druke I

[Host Sharon]

To All - do any of us book inaugural cruises? In Ye Olde Dayz, it was quite the feather in the cap. Now the trend seems to be to sell several cruises on a new ship and call all of them the inaugural cruise. Harumph!

 

Ruby

 

I have always preferred to let the dust (and crew) settle down rather than act as guinea pigs, BUT I did succumb when it came to Cunard's new ship, so myself and two friends are on the Queen Elizabeth Maiden! It was quite an achievement as not only did she sell out in about 20 minutes, but Cunard's fluid pricing kicked in and prices rose every 3 minutes or thereabouts, so to keep within our price limit was not easy for our travel agent - not to mention securing one of just 18 three berth cabins! So we are VERY pleased indeed.

[Kapricorn]

Donald - has the adrenalin rush departed from Vancouver? That photo of Canadians triumphantly celebrating their hockey gold was a fitting finale to a wonderful 18 days of sports. Vancouver was a fine host for the 2010 Winter Games.

 

Michael - did you hear that the students at the People's Republic of Berkeley are agitating politically again with protests? Ah, the memories.

 

To All - do any of us book inaugural cruises? In Ye Olde Dayz, it was quite the feather in the cap. Now the trend seems to be to sell several cruises on a new ship and call all of them the inaugural cruise. Harumph!

 

Ruby

 

Ruby, there definitely was a palpable difference in the air on Monday morning after the final night of the Olympics. As I walked to the supermarket on a nearly deserted-street, it felt as if a plague had carried off 90% of the population. I looked around and wondered, "Where are all the people?" By the way, thanks to all who remarked that Vancouver was a fine host for the Olympics.

 

I hadn't heard about the Berkeley protests, but then I was in the Olympic Republic of Canada. What are the students protesting this time? I've noticed that photographs of young protesters still fit the same profile as back in the 60's ... long-haired, bandanna- or baclava-wearing and obviously lacking in sanitary hygiene.

 

I'd rather cruise on a new ship only after a few inaugural voyages, once the crew cohese as a unit and give the ship its spirit.

 

Donald.

Edited March 7, 2010 by Kapricorn

[Druke I]

The Berkeley protests (and most of the other protests in CA at the moment) are all about reduced state funding for the universities and increased student fees.

 

The state is close to bankruptcy!

[Kapricorn]

Michael, thanks for the explanation. These university protests were not mentioned in Vancouver newspapers, though there have been a few articles about California's dire financial situation.

 

Donald.

Edited March 7, 2010 by Kapricorn

[MMDown Under]

"Cunard announces QM2 Australian circumnavigation

Carnival Australia has just announced that Cunard's Queen Mary 2 will make Australia her "home away from home" in 2012 with a world first 'Royal Circumnavigation' to depart from Sydney on 14 Feb 2012.

 

The voyage will see QM2 return to Sydney, Fremantle, Adelaide and the Whitsundays, as well as making maiden calls at Cairns, Melbourne, Darwin and Brisbane.

 

Fares for the voyage will be available ex Sydney, Fremantle and Adelaide, with Carnival Australia ceo Ann Sherry saying that it will deliver an "economic windfall" for Australia.

 

More information in today's Travel Daily and tomorrow's Cruise Weekly.

 

Breaking news 1047am Cruise Weekly."

 

P&O Australia thread

[Host Sharon]

"Cunard announces QM2 Australian circumnavigation

Carnival Australia has just announced that Cunard's Queen Mary 2 will make Australia her "home away from home" in 2012 with a world first 'Royal Circumnavigation' to depart from Sydney on 14 Feb 2012.

 

The voyage will see QM2 return to Sydney, Fremantle, Adelaide and the Whitsundays, as well as making maiden calls at Cairns, Melbourne, Darwin and Brisbane.

 

Fares for the voyage will be available ex Sydney, Fremantle and Adelaide, with Carnival Australia ceo Ann Sherry saying that it will deliver an "economic windfall" for Australia.

 

More information in today's Travel Daily and tomorrow's Cruise Weekly.

 

Breaking news 1047am Cruise Weekly."

 

P&O Australia thread

 

I just wish I had the time...not to mention the money!!

[MMDown Under]

I just wish I had the time...not to mention the money!!

 

There are going to be more cruise line choices in the future in Australia/NZ.

 

You may have read that cruises originating from the US have decreased from 80% to 60% of the world market, so the cruise lines are looking for new markets.

[Kapricorn]

You may have read that cruises originating from the US have decreased from 80% to 60% of the world market, so the cruise lines are looking for new markets.

 

That is a very interesting development. Was an explanation made for this trend? Is the current economic situation in the U.S.A discouraging bookings on cruises, or has the rest of the world simply stood up and taken notice of the pleasures of cruising?

 

Donald.

[Druke I]

Not being an economist, I would think it is more a case of the rest of the world taking notice of the pleasures of cruising.

[MMDown Under]

http://www.pocruises.com/pdf/CruiseReport2010.pdf

 

This Cruise Report 2010 makes interesting reading.

 

I suspect, in the current economic climate, the cruise industry has decided that it is not a good idea to have all its eggs in one basket.

 

Currently, Australians pay too much to cruise. Either in overpriced old ships locally or overseas, with the cost of the premium class or business class flights often exceeding the cost of the cruise.

[MMDown Under]

Sorry, I got stats wrong from memory.

 

Princess Cruises by UK Director Peter Shanks from Report -

 

"In 2002, more than 80% of Princess capacity was cruising out of North American ports: now it is less than 60%, with European capacity nearly trebling its share from 7% to 18% and the exotic destinations, like Asia, South Pacific and Australasia, more than doubling from 12% to 26%.

 

The UK now accounts for more than a quarter of international (ie non North American) passengers on Princess."

[Saga Ruby]

ships cat - when do you sail the Eastern Med on Artemis? And what is the date for the QE’s Maiden?

 

Donald - “As I walked to the supermarket on a nearly deserted-street . . .” as a native Texan, I came to a complete stop at that remark. For decades in Texas, if one did not own a vehicle, one did not have a life.

 

Back in the 70s when I was a constant presence on Royal Viking, a scamp of an Irish steward with curly brown hair, white skin, and emerald-green eyes asked if he could come to live with me in Texas. Although I took it as a joke, I’m not sure he wasn’t serious. I had to break the news to him that he would have to have a car to work at any job in North Texas. He was stunned.

 

I am not proud that it has taken the Dallas/Fort Worth area so long to have usable public transportation that has feeder lines into areas where workers need to go. And there is still not a direct rail line from downtown Dallas to DFW Airport which is an embarrassment. DART has been in existence since the 70s and yet no direct rail line from downtown hotels to the airport has been completed. Europeans find that astounding as do I. You want tourist money? Give them transportation and a vibrant downtown area, like Fort Worth.

 

So good on you, Donald, for having a compact area in which you can live, shop, and board a ship a-sailing.

 

Marion - I agree that Australians pay too much to cruise. I enjoy intermingling on ships with Aussies and Kiwis and when they talk about their cruise prices, it is an astounding difference. As you know, Antarctica is much less expensive for Americans than Aussies. What is wrong with this picture?

 

Ruby

[Host Sharon]

Only six weeks to go Ruby and I am sure counting the days! I have had so much work on (that's good I know!), but combine it with trying to finish another book and my head is spinning. The QE maiden is 12th October and will be my first ever Maiden Voyage. Three of us sharing again, just like QM2, so should be fun.

 

Fortunately I can walk to the supermarket and the main shopping street too, and although we have reasonable public transport here, it is very expensive IMO anyway. It all comes to a halt anyway if we have bad weather like the recent snow - which is just when you need it!

[seabourndt]

on qe maiden, like to try her sometime if i get the money to do so. doing OCEAN COUNTESS april.

SPIRIT OF ADVENTURE june O/N

NCL EPIC june

CELEBRITY ECLIPSE NOV.

any thoughts?

dave

[Saga Ruby]

on qe maiden, like to try her sometime if i get the money to do so. doing OCEAN COUNTESS april. SPIRIT OF ADVENTURE june O/N NCL EPIC june CELEBRITY ECLIPSE NOV. any thoughts? dave

 

I am inundated quarterly with Spirit of Adventure brochures from Saga Cruises so will be interested to hear about your experiences. You've got quite a line-up of cruises upcoming. Enjoy!

 

Ruby

[Saga Ruby]

Holy smokestacks! We have passed 90,000 views on this marvy thread. Somebody make a note - Saga Ruby is speechless!

 

Ruby

[Druke I]

Hell, Ruby . . . .

 

That means we are coming up on 100,000!

[Druke I]

And the number of posts is pretty impressive, also.