Saga Rose Greenland Voyager August 2007

[Druke I]

That 92 sounds refreshing, after 3 days of 100 plus in our part of Northern CA. It is now cooling down as the high pressure ridge breaks down.

 

Local TV weatherman says it might dip into the mid 80s after the weekend!

[MMDown Under]

Vancouver is in the grip of a sweltering heat wave. Yesterday the temperature reached 33.8C (92.8F), breaking the all-time record of 33.3C (91.9F) for the city, set in 1960. During my daily walk along the waterfront, the large fountain in the park looked cool and inviting; other people sat with their feet in the water, but I removed my sandals and T-shirt, stepped in and laid back in the 2-ft. deep water until just my head was above the surface. Ahh!!!

 

Donald.

 

You must be a wonderful free spirit, Donald, to be brave enough to do that on your own! I'd be like the other people, with my feet in the water though.

 

Hope the weather cools for you soon. I had seen on TV news reports of the record temperatures in Vancouver and Seattle. Memphis had their heatwave in Spring!

[Kapricorn]

You must be a wonderful free spirit, Donald, to be brave enough to do that on your own! I'd be like the other people, with my feet in the water though.

 

Hope the weather cools for you soon. I had seen on TV news reports of the record temperatures in Vancouver and Seattle. Memphis had their heatwave in Spring!

 

Being an individualist, I pretty much march to the beat of my own drummer.

 

It was another sweltering hot day. I'll have to check the weather report in tomorrow's newspaper to see if we stayed in the low 90s. The forecast is for temperatures in the 80s over the next three days, then 70s and finally 62 and RAIN on Friday August 7!

 

Today I sent a one-word post-cruise report to my travel agent: "FABULOUS!!!" and promised to write more later. He replied that that one word pretty said it all. :)

 

Donald.

[seabourndt]

when i was there in april it was glorious in alaska but as soon as i got to vancover it was cool,wet and dreary a great shame as i was there for a week. ended in a hostel which did not help either!

dave

[Kapricorn]

when i was there in april it was glorious in alaska but as soon as i got to vancover it was cool,wet and dreary a great shame as i was there for a week. ended in a hostel which did not help either!

dave

 

The weather in Vancouver is unpredictable. Yesterday we once again shattered the all-time record in the city, with a 34.4C (93.9F). Today the forecast is for the temperature to plummet to a colder 27C (80.6F). What a relief after four consecutive days of 30+C! It appears as though global warming is indeed a fact.

 

One thing to note is that Vancouver's temperatures are taken at the International Airport in Richmond, beside the sea. It would be a few degrees hotter in the downtown district of Vancouver where I live. I wouldn't be surprised at all if it was actually over 100F when I did my Anita Ekberg's La Dolce Vita in the park fountain.

 

Donald.

[Host Sharon]

Vancouver is in the grip of a sweltering heat wave. Yesterday the temperature reached 33.8C (92.8F), breaking the all-time record of 33.3C (91.9F) for the city, set in 1960. During my daily walk along the waterfront, the large fountain in the park looked cool and inviting; other people sat with their feet in the water, but I removed my sandals and T-shirt, stepped in and laid back in the 2-ft. deep water until just my head was above the surface. Ahh!!!

 

I did my laundry last Monday, and a few shirts still need to be ironed. Ugh, it's simply too hot to think about that.

 

Writing a post-cruise report during this hot time? Nah, no energy for that. I promise, it'll come eventually. I still have fond memories of last week's cruise.

 

It's continuing hot today, but I hope that not another record will be broken. Yesterday was hot enough!

 

Donald.

 

Could you send some of your weather over here PLEASE!! We have had non stop rain and high winds since I got home from QM2. And it's cold too! I spent tonight watching TV with a blanket round me. Summer, what summer :(

[MMDown Under]

Could you send some of your weather over here PLEASE!! We have had non stop rain and high winds since I got home from QM2. And it's cold too! I spent tonight watching TV with a blanket round me. Summer, what summer :(

 

My younger daughter must have taken your full quota of summer sunshine, as she enjoyed beautiful warm summer weather during her visit. Maybe it was when you were on QM2.

 

I thought the glorious weather may have been because Wimbledon finally put a roof over its Centre Court, at huge expense. Got to use it only once! :)

 

It is winter here, as you know, and we're going to an outdoors concert at the Royal Botanical Gardens this evening. I may have to put a blanket around me tonight, as it can get cold outside at night.

Edited August 1, 2009 by MMDown Under

[Druke I]

I do hope the rain stops in England.

 

We're hopping over to Woking Surrey, next Wednesday, to see ex-pat daughter and grandkiddies.

 

My daughter, a true California girl, does complain about English weather!

[MMDown Under]

I do hope the rain stops in England.

 

We're hopping over to Woking Surrey, next Wednesday, to see ex-pat daughter and grandkiddies.

 

My daughter, a true California girl, does complain about English weather!

 

Everyone complains about the English weather. It is a national pastime. :)

 

However, all that rain is what makes the countryside so beautifully green.

 

Enjoy your trip to the UK to see your daughter and grandchildren. Hope it is fine for you.

[Saga Ruby]

One thing to note is that Vancouver's temperatures are taken at the International Airport in Richmond, beside the sea. It would be a few degrees hotter in the downtown district of Vancouver where I live. I wouldn't be surprised at all if it was actually over 100F when I did my Anita Ekberg's La Dolce Vita in the park fountain. Donald.

 

Donald, has your local temp dropped into a more agreeable range? Or are you in scuba gear in the park fountain?

 

The Dallas/Fort Worth area is considered a "heat island" by the National Weather Service. It takes a powerful storm system to stay together long enough to pass over this area but, when the storms do pass over the heat island, the high temps combine all this energy to whack us with powerful winds, heavy rain, and strong lightning.

 

Interesting trivia - a pound of water vapor contains enough heat to boil a pint of water which explains the incredible and devastating power of hurricanes. One of the best books I ever read, The Ship and The Storm about Hurricane Mitch in the Caribbean in 1998, has fascinating and horrifying information on the subject of a Force 5 hurricane. The author, Jim Carrier, tells a riveting story about the mismanagement of Windjammer Cruises in Miami which led to the loss of the Fantome and her entire crew.

 

I used to travel back and forth to Maui quite a bit so the front desk staff started to recognize me. As a Texan, I had a habit of asking about the weather forecast for the week. One time the receptionist looked up and said, "The same." Amazing.

 

Michael - have a wonderful time in Woking Surrey visiting with your family.

 

 

Ruby

[Kapricorn]

Today the temperature in Vancouver is down to 26C (79F), much more comfortable! It was hot over the weekend, during which I had company from Portland. They remarked it was "cooler" here, as it had been over 100F for several days in their city.

 

I'm aware of the Dallas/Fort Worth area being an unique weather area - I've seen the thickest clouds there as the aircraft climbed, climbed and climbed before finally breaking into sunlight. Heavy rain? Seen it, too, as I waited for my aircraft to sit out a sudden thunderstorm.

 

The Ship and the Storm sounds like an interesting tome. I've heard of the loss of the Fantome. Fortunately the ship was not carrying passengers at the time.

 

Now that things are more or less back to normal here, I'll see if I can get started on my Mercury post-cruise report to my travel agent, parts of which I will publish here.

 

Donald.

[Kapricorn]

I'm still pretty busy, but finally here are the best of the photographs which I took during the cruise:

 

1) Sitka;

2) Mercury in Sitka;

3) Hubbard Glacier;

4) Juneau; and

5) Inside Passage on the way home, with NCL's Norwegian Sun astern.

 

Donald.

[Kapricorn]

This is what I sent to my travel agent:

As soon as I embarked on Mercury, the onboard marketing officer (Christian Vitiello) welcomed me back, addressing me by my name. As he accompanied me along the deck, he described the new Captain’s Club benefits which had been implemented July 5 on the ship. These included 90 minutes’ free Internet, some complimentary laundry and dry cleaning, and the use by Elite members of Michael’s Club for morning continental breakfast and late afternoon drinks and appetizers.

As I ate lunch in the buffet, more than a dozen of the bar and food servers also welcomed me back. Afterwards, I went to the Guest Relations desk, where both staff on duty smiled and greeted me by name. It sure was nice to be back at my “home-away-from-home”!

To my pleasure, my cabin attendant is Agnelo, whom I had twice before, and his assistant Vaz, whom I had three or four times. They knew just what to do with me.

After checking out my cabin, I relaxed on a pool lounge chair. An activity staff from Australia (Maria A. Kelly), whom I hadn’t seen before, stopped by to chat with me. She then asked for my name, and when I told her, she beamed, threw her arms wide and exclaimed, “Oh! OUR Donald! Welcome back!” There must have been some sort of briefing among the officers and managers about incoming passengers.

I was assigned a 10-seat table just off to the side of the base of the grand staircase. The two servers - Ivino and Stanley - were just great. Four weeks previously, sommelier Renato had served my table on the upper level. This time he was also assigned downstairs. To my surprise he even remembered which wine I had on the previous cruise.

The Elite and Select Members Senior Officer’s Cocktail Party on Tuesday was sparsely attended. That may be because there were only 16 Elite members (10+ cruises) aboard, plus perhaps twice that number of Select members (6-10 cruises). Normally the Most Frequent Celebrity Cruiser is announced at this event, but this time it was done at the Captain’s Club Celebration on Saturday afternoon, the day before disembarkation. There were a total of 180 Captain’s Club members aboard including Elite and Select. This time only the Most Frequent Celebrity Cruiser was announced, a couple from Columbus, Ohio, with 31 cruise credits. No runner-up was announced, as was done four weeks previously. Perhaps my complaint at that time about the runner-up being invited to the Captain’s Table, but not me, may have had something to do with this change.

While I was not invited to the Captain’s Table on this cruise, I did not mind at all because I had interesting variety of companions at my table, including both of the Enrichment Series guests - the naturalist from Austria (Milos Radakovich), and the watercolour artist from California (Denise Tabari and her husband).

The new Elite perk which I consistently used was the Exclusive Lounge Access to Michael’s Club twice daily. From 8:00am to 10:00am there was continental breakfast buffet as well as champagne cocktails and five different varieties of coffee (including cappuccino), and from 4:00pm to 6:00pm the Cocktail Hour with complimentary wines and cocktails, as well as appetizers.

With only 16 Elite members aboard, Michael’s Club was not well attended during these hours, but some of the officers and managers visited the lounge, and I enjoyed interesting chats with them. Some even sat down with me. After the first two days the servers remembered my drink and breakfast preferences, to the point that every morning I simply sat down and a server would bring to me my usual meal.

I thoroughly enjoyed this cruise!

[Saga Ruby]

Donald, thanks for your report. I have a few questions:

 

On this cruise, was it only traditional dining or did pax have an option for freestyle dining?

 

Was the same cruise hostess onboard from your last, less-than-stellar Mercury cruise?

 

In these troubled times, even during high season for Alaskan cruises, the bookings may have been affected. Was the ship full?

 

It sounds like you had a marvelous time. Which is what cruises are all about.

 

Ruby

Edited August 5, 2009 by Saga Ruby

[Kapricorn]

On this cruise, was it only traditional dining or did pax have an option for freestyle dining?

 

Was the same cruise hostess onboard from your last, less-than-stellar Mercury cruise?

 

In these troubled times, even during high season for Alaskan cruises, the bookings may have been affected. Was the ship full?

 

Ruby, Celebrity sticks with traditional dining. On this cruise, first sitting is 6pm and second sitting is 8:30pm. Passengers also had the option of $2 dining in the buffet, on tablecloths and with silverware, and served by trainee waiters.

 

Hostess Angela was still aboard. When I met her after embarkation, she seemed wary but cordial. I immediately put her at ease by asking about recent weather in Alaska. During the cruise, she was the perfect hostess with me, always with a smile. She chatted with me in Michael's Club. When I mentioned that some of the movies on the cabin television were scheduled at inconvenient times, she immediately had a DVD player installed in my cabin, and offered me a selection of DVDs. Wow! She also gave me a cruise journal with a friendly message written on the inside cover. I do like her, and really appreciated all her efforts to make this cruise a most pleasant one for me.

 

An officer mentioned to me that on board this cruise were 950 Canadians, 500 Americans and 300 foreigners, mostly "Latinos" which I took to mean mostly from Mexico. That is a total of 1,750 passengers, almost full capacity. Of these, 180 were Captain's Club members (having already cruised at least once on Celebrity), so that meant that 1,570 were first-time cruisers on Celebrity. The economic troubles certainly has not affected bookings to Alaska.

 

Donald.

[Host Sharon]

I'm still pretty busy, but finally here are the best of the photographs which I took during the cruise:

 

1) Sitka;

2) Mercury in Sitka;

3) Hubbard Glacier;

4) Juneau; and

5) Inside Passage on the way home, with NCL's Norwegian Sun astern.

 

Donald.

 

Wow - wonderful!

[MMDown Under]

I also enjoyed the photos and your report thanks, David.

 

For some reason, I couldn't make the photos bigger.

[Kapricorn]

I also enjoyed the photos and your report thanks, David.

 

For some reason, I couldn't make the photos bigger.

 

David? LOL! I'm Donald. Clicking on the thumbnails didn't make the photos bigger? How odd! Here's the one which I took at Hubbard Glacier.

 

 

Donald.

[Saga Ruby]

I'm in a snit about Prinsendam being renovated to add more profit, oh excuuuuse me! more cabins on the ship. What a dreadful thought that she'll be in drydock for only two weeks then construction continues after she sets out to sea. Good ole Carnival - always looking for a way to ruin a good ship.

 

Fran - I have a vague memory of you going on a 40-ish day cruise at the end of this year on a Discovery ship. Is that correct? And I smiled when you said you were born in NYC. Did you slip on a banana peel at an early age and wind up in Toronto?

 

I see that Saga Cruises has finalized their purchase of Astoria, quite a small ship. Does anyone have direct or indirect information on her?

 

Ruby

[MMDown Under]

David? LOL! I'm Donald. Clicking on the thumbnails didn't make the photos bigger? How odd! Here's the one which I took at Hubbard Glacier.

 

 

Donald.

 

WOW!!! You really don't need to get off the ship. :)

 

No, but it is working today - not as big photo as yours. Maybe computer problem ?

[MMDown Under]

I'm in a snit about Prinsendam being renovated to add more profit, oh excuuuuse me! more cabins on the ship. What a dreadful thought that she'll be in drydock for only two weeks then construction continues after she sets out to sea. Good ole Carnival - always looking for a way to ruin a good ship.

 

Fran - I have a vague memory of you going on a 40-ish day cruise at the end of this year on a Discovery ship. Is that correct? And I smiled when you said you were born in NYC. Did you slip on a banana peel at an early age and wind up in Toronto?

 

I see that Saga Cruises has finalized their purchase of Astoria, quite a small ship. Does anyone have direct or indirect information on her?

 

Ruby

 

I'm amazed that anyone would go on a cruise on a ship when construction was scheduled to take place. What happened to delivering the dream?

 

I know a couple, who were given a return visit to an island resort, after their honeymoon was spoilt by construction taking place.

 

Re Astoria, I seem to recall someone on the Costa site being disappointed that another small ship was being sold.

 

My waitlisting on HAL's Maasdam Boston - Rotterdam return across the Northern Route came through too late for me to be able to join the ship.

 

Looks like Prisendam is off my wish list.

 

Still thinking of longer Antartica cruise, if a single bargain comes up too good to refuse. :) Otherwise New York or London are both looking tempting, with the lower airfares currently available. Thank goodness competition on the Pacific route finally.

 

Fran - Please tell us more about your pending Discovery Cruise.

[Conte Di Savoia]

I too became concerrned about the alterations to be made to Prinsendam so when I got word of a sale price on a nearly identical North Cape cruise on Silver Sea I decided to jump ship. For almost the same price as the HAL trip we will be cruising next July on Silver Cloud and Silver Sea includes air, transfers, tips and most importantly Martini's!

[MMDown Under]

I too became concerrned about the alterations to be made to Prinsendam so when I got word of a sale price on a nearly identical North Cape cruise on Silver Sea I decided to jump ship. For almost the same price as the HAL trip we will be cruising next July on Silver Cloud and Silver Sea includes air, transfers, tips and most importantly Martini's!

 

July should be wonderful on your North Cape Cruise.

 

I'll be interested in hearing your comments on Silver Cloud.

 

What are your ports of call?

[Saga Ruby]

I'm amazed that anyone would go on a cruise on a ship when construction was scheduled to take place. What happened to delivering the dream?

 

A business story about RCI and Oceania - in 2006, RCI came within a cat's whisker of buying out Oceania and, due to that merger, RCI had every chapter of Oceania's business plan in their hands. When the merger suddenly fell apart, RCI used those confidential business plans to launch Azamara. The first Azamara ship set sail under full construction - the pool wasn't available, passengers had to ease by work crews in corridors and public areas, the food service was only faux, not real. It was a total, unpleasant hurly-burly that went on beyond the maiden voyage.

 

People rave about Azamara nowadays as the ships finally were finished and the service onboard was brought up to Oceania standards while undercutting Oceania's prices. RCI has their powerful sales department and deep pockets to push their Azamara brand into the public eye. Personally, I believe that, while it's easy to copy, it's a lot harder to be the original. Especially when corporate thieves stalk the hallways.

 

Ruby

[MMDown Under]

A business story about RCI and Oceania - in 2006, RCI came within a cat's whisker of buying out Oceania and, due to that merger, RCI had every chapter of Oceania's business plan in their hands. When the merger suddenly fell apart, RCI used those confidential business plans to launch Azamara. The first Azamara ship set sail under full construction - the pool wasn't available, passengers had to ease by work crews in corridors and public areas, the food service was only faux, not real. It was a total, unpleasant hurly-burly that went on beyond the maiden voyage.

 

People rave about Azamara nowadays as the ships finally were finished and the service onboard was brought up to Oceania standards while undercutting Oceania's prices. RCI has their powerful sales department and deep pockets to push their Azamara brand into the public eye. Personally, I believe that, while it's easy to copy, it's a lot harder to be the original. Especially when corporate thieves stalk the hallways.

 

Ruby

 

That is an interesting business story, Ruby. I've always wondered about firms having access to full business records/plans of companies, when the takeover/buy-out falls through.