During this week, we have safely crossed the Equator, visited Singapore and Kuala Lumpur and tomorrow we will be in Langkawi. Have lots more to post but no time now. Having a superb cruise - it definitely is the only way to see the World.
Message here for Sheree: Aileen said to tell you that she is so relaxed, she is comatose - think we all are.
Dawn Princess - 104 Days - Around the World
Click here to see Itinerary (this will take you to Princess website)
Thursday, June 3, 2010
Monday, May 31, 2010
Darwin and Bali
Our first port, Darwin. Busy day spent shopping and catching up with phone calls to our girls before we leave Australia. We watched the rain pour down as we ate breakfast but it had gone by the time we went ashore. However that just increased the humidity. It was a very very hot day.
Well, can’t believe we have completed twelve days of our Adventure.
Yesterday we arrived in Bali at about 7am. Our original port of call in Bali had been changed about two weeks before. So we anchored at Benoa Bay not really knowing what to expect. We would use the tender boats to go ashore and Capt McBain announced that he would also have available, a local catamaran that would hold 150 people. He was hoping to have everyone back onboard by 5.30 to enable us to negotiate our way out of Benoa Bay before the sun set. However things don’t always go as planned. The ’Bali Hi’ Catamaran they hoped to use, couldn’t get alongside our ship because of rough seas so instead a couple of larger tender boats were lowered. As a result some of the shore excursions were a little late getting away but that would work out OK for most.
We had booked the Taro Elephant Safari Park. It was a long drive to the Park but we saw many villages along the way and it was interesting seeing how the locals spent their days working at various industries – rice paddys, batik, silver work, stone carving, wood carving and duck farming. Each village has its own family temple which is the most well maintained part of the village. Roads were narrow and traffic chaotic with many motorbikes. We watched women with young babies strapped to them, clinging to the back of bikes, young children not much more than 10 yrs old riding bikes (although we were assured that could only happen within the confines of their own village) and even a ladder propped up between two people on a motorbike. We saw old people with antiquated farming equipment working away in fields.
On our arrival at the Elephant Safari Park, we were directed to wait for our ride on the elephant. They have 30 Sumatran elephants at the park including 3 young babies less than a year old. We loved watching the very delicate way the elephants walked – one foot at a time, placed slowly and purposely. About 8 or 9 were saddled with a two seater contraption and when our turn came, on we hopped. The elephant driver sits between the elephant’s ears and from there seemed to be able to get the elephant to do almost anything. Our elephant was called Krishuma. – and during the ride Krishuma stopped to do what all elephants do at some time but what our driver called a ‘Bali Tsunami’- interesting experience – his whole body rumbled as if it had a motor running – then whoooshh..............
After our 30-min ride through the jungle, we walked around to the enclosure where the elephants were resting and there we were able to feed one of the baby elephants – a sweet little female who then wandered over to a sleeping baby elephant and proceeded to wake it up so that she could play with it – they pushed and shoved each other until one of them got sick of it and walked off – very cute to watch...
These elephants are endangered and this park is helping to maintain the species. The elephants are all extremely happy and well cared for – there is no doubt they are loving what they are doing. Our elephant driver was a young boy from the local village who previously had only worked in the village. Now he is at school learning to be an elephant driver.
The Restaurant at the Park provided a great buffet lunch.
On our way back to the Ship we stopped at a local Batik Centre and watched the ladies working. Very delicate work. We bought a couple of bags from them- but no bargaining for us here although others later skited about their bargains. We felt the items were already priced much lower than we would have paid at home and were happy to see the money go to these ladies who were working so hard.
As we returned to the dock, we saw the most aggressive of traders we have ever seen - refusing to accept ‘no’ as an answer. We were just happy to be on the bus and not having to deal with these people. Apparently since the bombings in Kuta, their businesses were lost and now that they are starting to recover, they are desperate. After entering the security of the wharf we alighted from our bus and found a delightful area set up where we could get ice creams, drinks and a variety of local touristy items. We bought a Magnum Ice Cream for $Aus 2 each – at home we pay $3-60.
They also had a band playing and Balinese dancers. There were long queues waiting for the tenders and we were given tender tickets (855 and 856). They were only up to 451-500 so that meant a long wait. No good being bothered by these sorts of delays – we know from past experience they will try to get us all back onboard as quickly as they can. Our ship was moored a long way out and the seas were rough. There will be no chance of us getting out of Benoa Bay before Sunset. Then we heard that four buses had been delayed by a religious procession taking place just out of town – we had passed it just before it started. Anyway we finally hopped into one of the tender boats for the return to our ship which was more like travelling in a washing machine than a boat but we made it – exhausted and wet but fully satisfied with our day in Bali.
Later we heard stories of those last tenders returning to the ship - one blew a motor and the whole cabin was full of smoke. Water was so rough, they had to turn the ship around to try to protect the tenders so people could alight. People were turning green and worse........ Guess that is all part of this great adventure. Can only say the Captain did a fabulous job. We were told in calmer seas, decisions had been made not to visit some ports so he did well to get us all into Bali and safely returned us to the ship and then managed to negotiate the tricky exit out of Benoa Bay much later than he had hoped.
Well, can’t believe we have completed twelve days of our Adventure.
Yesterday we arrived in Bali at about 7am. Our original port of call in Bali had been changed about two weeks before. So we anchored at Benoa Bay not really knowing what to expect. We would use the tender boats to go ashore and Capt McBain announced that he would also have available, a local catamaran that would hold 150 people. He was hoping to have everyone back onboard by 5.30 to enable us to negotiate our way out of Benoa Bay before the sun set. However things don’t always go as planned. The ’Bali Hi’ Catamaran they hoped to use, couldn’t get alongside our ship because of rough seas so instead a couple of larger tender boats were lowered. As a result some of the shore excursions were a little late getting away but that would work out OK for most.
We had booked the Taro Elephant Safari Park. It was a long drive to the Park but we saw many villages along the way and it was interesting seeing how the locals spent their days working at various industries – rice paddys, batik, silver work, stone carving, wood carving and duck farming. Each village has its own family temple which is the most well maintained part of the village. Roads were narrow and traffic chaotic with many motorbikes. We watched women with young babies strapped to them, clinging to the back of bikes, young children not much more than 10 yrs old riding bikes (although we were assured that could only happen within the confines of their own village) and even a ladder propped up between two people on a motorbike. We saw old people with antiquated farming equipment working away in fields.
On our arrival at the Elephant Safari Park, we were directed to wait for our ride on the elephant. They have 30 Sumatran elephants at the park including 3 young babies less than a year old. We loved watching the very delicate way the elephants walked – one foot at a time, placed slowly and purposely. About 8 or 9 were saddled with a two seater contraption and when our turn came, on we hopped. The elephant driver sits between the elephant’s ears and from there seemed to be able to get the elephant to do almost anything. Our elephant was called Krishuma. – and during the ride Krishuma stopped to do what all elephants do at some time but what our driver called a ‘Bali Tsunami’- interesting experience – his whole body rumbled as if it had a motor running – then whoooshh..............
After our 30-min ride through the jungle, we walked around to the enclosure where the elephants were resting and there we were able to feed one of the baby elephants – a sweet little female who then wandered over to a sleeping baby elephant and proceeded to wake it up so that she could play with it – they pushed and shoved each other until one of them got sick of it and walked off – very cute to watch...
These elephants are endangered and this park is helping to maintain the species. The elephants are all extremely happy and well cared for – there is no doubt they are loving what they are doing. Our elephant driver was a young boy from the local village who previously had only worked in the village. Now he is at school learning to be an elephant driver.
The Restaurant at the Park provided a great buffet lunch.
On our way back to the Ship we stopped at a local Batik Centre and watched the ladies working. Very delicate work. We bought a couple of bags from them- but no bargaining for us here although others later skited about their bargains. We felt the items were already priced much lower than we would have paid at home and were happy to see the money go to these ladies who were working so hard.
As we returned to the dock, we saw the most aggressive of traders we have ever seen - refusing to accept ‘no’ as an answer. We were just happy to be on the bus and not having to deal with these people. Apparently since the bombings in Kuta, their businesses were lost and now that they are starting to recover, they are desperate. After entering the security of the wharf we alighted from our bus and found a delightful area set up where we could get ice creams, drinks and a variety of local touristy items. We bought a Magnum Ice Cream for $Aus 2 each – at home we pay $3-60.
They also had a band playing and Balinese dancers. There were long queues waiting for the tenders and we were given tender tickets (855 and 856). They were only up to 451-500 so that meant a long wait. No good being bothered by these sorts of delays – we know from past experience they will try to get us all back onboard as quickly as they can. Our ship was moored a long way out and the seas were rough. There will be no chance of us getting out of Benoa Bay before Sunset. Then we heard that four buses had been delayed by a religious procession taking place just out of town – we had passed it just before it started. Anyway we finally hopped into one of the tender boats for the return to our ship which was more like travelling in a washing machine than a boat but we made it – exhausted and wet but fully satisfied with our day in Bali.
Later we heard stories of those last tenders returning to the ship - one blew a motor and the whole cabin was full of smoke. Water was so rough, they had to turn the ship around to try to protect the tenders so people could alight. People were turning green and worse........ Guess that is all part of this great adventure. Can only say the Captain did a fabulous job. We were told in calmer seas, decisions had been made not to visit some ports so he did well to get us all into Bali and safely returned us to the ship and then managed to negotiate the tricky exit out of Benoa Bay much later than he had hoped.
Life On Board Dawn Princess
This Ship is great. The crew ensure it has a friendly relaxed atmosphere. All aspects of “service” are beyond superlatives – our Cabin Boy is a treasure. Shipboard life is awesome.
FOOD: The quality of the food is excellent and available 24 hours. For the first time, we have an allocated dining time and table. The three couples dining with us are all doing the full World Cruise and are around our own age group. However, we have only dined in the Restaurant a couple of times, because we prefer the casual dining options provided in the Buffet area.
SHIPBOARD ACTIVIIES: From the moment we stepped onboard, activities have been endless with a huge variety to suit everyone. We have participated in - table tennis, shuffleboard, water volleyball, Wii bowling, PS3 car racing, horse racing, line dancing, ‘500’card game, destination lectures, Movies Under the Stars with fresh cooked popcorn and blankets provided,.
Some other options include, Ballroom dancing, scrabble, basketball shootouts, Pictionary, golf putting, computer lectures, photography lectures, Art Auctions, Trivia, scholarship lectures, ceramics, library book club, Rugby League game (Qld vs NSW). Sudoku and Quizzes are available every day in the library.
There is a variety of entertainment every night – the Princess Dance Troupe, Princess Big Band, John Denver type singer, storyteller, horse whisperer; female singer, comedian/magician, the Ugly Dave Grey, string quartet, Alan and Alanna at the piano and doing music trivia, a band called Derringer, and Allan and Ladonna who do music to dance to in Wheelhouse Bar every night.
INTERNET TIME is costly but we will become Captain’s Circle Platinum Members after Dubai and will be eligible for $600 each. In the meantime, I have only bought a minimum package to get us through to Dubai. So far access has been good, but last years’ World Cruisers complained it was slow, so maybe the service will change as we cruise on.
COFFEE CARD - We paid $33 for one Coffee Card but this entitles us to 15 specialty coffees for the price of 10 and also entitles us to free brewed coffee and hot chocolate, so long as we have one Crown left unpunched
MEDICAL CENTRE - Unusually we have already been forced to use the Medical Centre twice. Consultation is $75 and any medications extra. .Ray has strained his hamstring playing water volleyball and I managed to come down with a upper respiratory tract infection (I think aggravated by the air conditioning),. 3 x medications cost me $75 but I think it was well worth it because I was back on deck quickly. And it is all claimable under our Travel Insurance.
INSIDE CABIN No complaints here. We are sleeping well and it is a quick hop step and a jump onto Promenade Deck if we need photos etc.
TIP: Recommendation for anyone using an Inside Cabin – at night, turn the TV to the ship’s webcam and the volume to ‘mute’. As the sun rises on the webcam, the TV will mimic a window in your cabin. BTW, we have not done this yet because we prefer to sleep in.
FOOD: The quality of the food is excellent and available 24 hours. For the first time, we have an allocated dining time and table. The three couples dining with us are all doing the full World Cruise and are around our own age group. However, we have only dined in the Restaurant a couple of times, because we prefer the casual dining options provided in the Buffet area.
SHIPBOARD ACTIVIIES: From the moment we stepped onboard, activities have been endless with a huge variety to suit everyone. We have participated in - table tennis, shuffleboard, water volleyball, Wii bowling, PS3 car racing, horse racing, line dancing, ‘500’card game, destination lectures, Movies Under the Stars with fresh cooked popcorn and blankets provided,.
Some other options include, Ballroom dancing, scrabble, basketball shootouts, Pictionary, golf putting, computer lectures, photography lectures, Art Auctions, Trivia, scholarship lectures, ceramics, library book club, Rugby League game (Qld vs NSW). Sudoku and Quizzes are available every day in the library.
There is a variety of entertainment every night – the Princess Dance Troupe, Princess Big Band, John Denver type singer, storyteller, horse whisperer; female singer, comedian/magician, the Ugly Dave Grey, string quartet, Alan and Alanna at the piano and doing music trivia, a band called Derringer, and Allan and Ladonna who do music to dance to in Wheelhouse Bar every night.
INTERNET TIME is costly but we will become Captain’s Circle Platinum Members after Dubai and will be eligible for $600 each. In the meantime, I have only bought a minimum package to get us through to Dubai. So far access has been good, but last years’ World Cruisers complained it was slow, so maybe the service will change as we cruise on.
COFFEE CARD - We paid $33 for one Coffee Card but this entitles us to 15 specialty coffees for the price of 10 and also entitles us to free brewed coffee and hot chocolate, so long as we have one Crown left unpunched
MEDICAL CENTRE - Unusually we have already been forced to use the Medical Centre twice. Consultation is $75 and any medications extra. .Ray has strained his hamstring playing water volleyball and I managed to come down with a upper respiratory tract infection (I think aggravated by the air conditioning),. 3 x medications cost me $75 but I think it was well worth it because I was back on deck quickly. And it is all claimable under our Travel Insurance.
INSIDE CABIN No complaints here. We are sleeping well and it is a quick hop step and a jump onto Promenade Deck if we need photos etc.
TIP: Recommendation for anyone using an Inside Cabin – at night, turn the TV to the ship’s webcam and the volume to ‘mute’. As the sun rises on the webcam, the TV will mimic a window in your cabin. BTW, we have not done this yet because we prefer to sleep in.
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