Travel Snippets and More

Changes to Tourist Sites in France

noreply@blogger.com (diane) — Tue, 28 May 2019 23:13:00 +0000

If you visited the Eiffel Towers several years ago, you won't recognize it now. A bulletproof glass wall is working its way around the base, meaning you can't just wander under the tower anymore. And add at least 30 minutes to your visiting time, just to get through security. If you want to get to the summit, buy the tickets online. They are no longer available for purchase on the second level.

La Grande Arche de La Defense is open again and an elevator is available to take people to the top. It is pricey, and better views are available elsewhere, but the La Defense district is a fascinating piece of Paris that a lot of tourists miss.

The Grotte de Font-de-Gaume cave in Dordogne is one of the only caves in France where you can still see original drawings. But it is now almost impossible to get in because the site is no longer taking reservations. Tickets are available to local guides and your best chance of getting in is contacting a local guide at least 6 months in advance of our visit.

Some Hints For Visiting Lisbon

noreply@blogger.com (diane) — Fri, 24 May 2019 23:00:00 +0000

Monastery of Jeronimos: There is sometimes a crowd problem here. If you buy a combo ticket at Belem's Archeology Museum, you can avoid the line at the monastery.

Classic Trolley Cars: Riding the trolleys is a very Portuguese experience. But they can be crowded with pickpockets targeting tourists. A less crowded option for the trolley experience is the line number 24E, back in service after not running for decades. The route doesn't pass any tourist sites but it will give you a view of everyday Lisbon.

Alfama Quarter: Not the wonderful tourist experience it once was. Instead, head to Mouraria, a new colorful zone located on the back side of the castle. This is where the Moors lived after the Christians took the city back from the Muslims. It is a colorful and gritty district of immigrants. And don't wait to see it before it becomes gentrified like the Alfama.

Book Ahead For Sightseeing in Barcelona

noreply@blogger.com (diane) — Mon, 20 May 2019 22:59:00 +0000

If you are going to Barcelona this summer and expect to visit many of the sights it is famous for, be sure to book ahead.

Tickets for the Sagrada Familia sell out fast. You could arrive at Park Guell and find out the next entrance tickets require a 2-hour wait, if available for that day at all.

Other sites that you should consider pre-purchasing tickets are the Picasso Museum, La Pedrera, and Casa Batllo.

Some sites require a guided tour, such as Casa Amatlier and Palace of Catalan Music and those should also be booked in advance.

Travelers Get Ready For New Tourist Taxes

noreply@blogger.com (diane) — Fri, 01 Mar 2019 14:29:00 +0000

Countries continue to find ways to increase revenue by hitting up the hapless tourist. I know there have been times I've checked out of a hotel to find, in addition to sales tax, a tourist tax added to my bill. I've been to countries that require a departure tax. Sometimes it is built into your airfare. Sometimes you have to pay it in cash, in US dollars!!, even though that might not be the currency of the country you are in.

Several new countries have added tourist taxes. Japan now has a departure tax of 1,000 yen, charge to any traveler leaving the country by air or sea. (Is there any other way to leave the country????)

New Zealand is charging a tax of NZD35 to any traveler arriving from any other country other than Australia.

And cities are now getting on the bandwagon. Amsterdam is charging Euro 6 to any passenger arriving on a cruise ship for a one day visit and Euro 8 per day for an overnight stay, even if it is on the cruise ship. For cruise passengers, the specifics of this will be invisible because it will be added to their taxes and port charges part of their cruise fare. Because of this new tax, two cruise lines have actually changed their itinerary to dock in Rotterdam instead of Amsterdam.

Venice has the approval of the Italian government to tax each visitor a city-entry fee. While the specific amount has not been determined yet, it is possible that it will vary based on the season.

Around Australia - Sea Princess - Last day in Sydney

noreply@blogger.com (diane) — Thu, 20 Dec 2018 12:01:00 +0000

Even though we were spending an extra day in Sydney post-cruise, we were up early to watch our ship sail into Sydney Harbour.

Then we took our time preparing to get off. This time our hotel was in the CBD. I had booked at Meriton Suites on Campbell Street. Unlike our first hotel, where we squeezed into the room, this time we had a full one bedroom apartment.

The weather today was not the brilliant sunshine we had before. Cloudy and a bit cool but no rain in the forecast so headed out to take some more ferries and buses and use up the balance on our Opal card.

We took the train to Circular Quay and got our first ferry, this one to Watson's bay.

Enjoyed the ride and rode the same ferry back.

Then we took the ferry again to Manly but got off this time to walk across the small isthmus to Manly Beach.

We wandered a bit, including on the beach. There was a Sunday crafts market we spent some time at. Then found a place for lunch and afterwards we made our way back to the ferry.

Based on previous research, I knew there was a bus right by the Quay which would take us to Bondi Beach ( and also perfectly stop at a bus stop near our hotel for the return). So off we went again, getting a scenic tour of the outskirts of Sydney from a public bus, mainly small shops and apartment buildings.

Plenty of people at Bondi Beach in spite of the weather. We wandered a bit, again :) including on the beach, and then headed back to our hotel.

Around Australia - Sea Princess - Brisbane

noreply@blogger.com (diane) — Wed, 19 Dec 2018 23:58:00 +0000

We were docked at the commercial port located about 45 minutes out of the central business district (CBD). Our original plan was to take the Princess shuttle into Brisbane, take advantage of the free bus transportation in the CBD, visit the botanical garden, and then head back to the ship. I did some asking on the Cruise Critic forum about the cost of the shuttle and got varying answers but most people agreed it was about AUD$25 per person. Princess had an excursion that did essentially what we wanted to do for AUD$65. At this point, having caught the same cold about 3/4 of the passengers had, and not having slept well for several days, I decided for the bit of extra $ to make it easier on us and we'd take the excursion.

(As it turns out, there was no cost for the shuttle. Brisbane was the first port of call after an international port and EVERYONE had to exit the ship to go through immigration. For those that had no plans, it meant sitting around the terminal for 2 to 3 hrs. Princess made it an easy decision for those that wanted to get into Brisbane for a couple of hours.)

Our excursion was to be a drive-by in the CBD and then a visit to an overlook and the botanical gardens. This is a city on steroids that doesn't know what it wants to be when it grows up. There is construction everywhere. And some of the strangest building designs I've ever seen. And then stuck in between these towering buildings are small/medium 100+-year-old buildings from early Brisbane. Touring the CBD was quite an eye-opener.

Traffic was awful. And I'm sitting on the bus thinking that we made the right decision not to do it ourselves.

Our next stop was the Cliffs Boardwalk, where we stopped for pictures.

And then the Mt. Coot-Tha Summit.

What I didn't know was that Brisbane has two botanical gardens, one in the city and one well out of the city, on Mt. Coot-Tha. And what the tour description didn't do was specify which gardens we would be going to.

In the end, it really made no difference which gardens we went to. The one on Mt. Coot-Tha was lovely but it would have been nice to know .....

And with the temperature much higher than we expected, we were very happy we did not have a lot of walking to do, with the excursion bus delivering us door to door.

Around Australia - Sea Princess - Alotau, Papua New Guinea

noreply@blogger.com (diane) — Wed, 19 Dec 2018 14:55:00 +0000

This will be a very short post because we were off the ship all of about 45 minutes. Our least favorite port. (We were told that the ship stops here so the itinerary can be called 'international' and the ship could sell bottles of liquor dutyfree. A couple of days before the stop, a sheet was in everyone's mailbox listing liquor and pricing. Apparently, the pricing is very good because a lot of people said they'd be putting in their orders.)

Hearing that the town was a short walk from the pier we headed out. NOT! After about 20 minutes of walking (at our slow pace) I don't think we got even halfway.

Alotau is hot and poor, both we expected. I really wanted to get into town and spend some money. Didn't happen. There is garbage all along the road and ... well ... it was more than I could handle. We turned back.

The pleasant surprise when we returned to the pier was a youth dance group doing some traditional dances in traditional costumes. We stayed and watched that for a while then went back on board, thinking we'd have a quiet day on the ship.

Wrong! It turns out that the ship uses this port of call for all kinds of required testing and emergency drills. Admit it was interesting to listen to the announcements "for exercise, for exercise" all kinds of medical, fire and evacuation emergencies. But quiet it wasn't.

A recommendation for this port is to take a ship's tour. Those that we spoke to that did one enjoyed it.

Around Australia - Sea Princess - Cairns and the Great Barrier Reef

noreply@blogger.com (diane) — Mon, 17 Dec 2018 12:57:00 +0000

Finally! The day for my excursion to the Great Barrier Reef had arrived. I've been wanting to snorkel here for years and my chance has finally arrived. (Jerry stayed on board the Sea Princess. Snorkeling is not his 'thing' and, enjoying a quiet ship like he does, just relaxed on board.)

For this excursion, I booked the one offered by Princess. Two reasons for this. One is that the timing of our port hours made it very difficult, if not impossible, to book with another company. And second, being 1 1/2 hrs away by water, wanted to know Princess was in charge in case something happened ... like an engine on our boat quitting.

Looking from our boat across the reef to another excursion boat.

Well, the day couldn't have been more perfect. The weather was clear with bright sunshine. Minimal wind. Unbelievably calm seas. Lots of coral. Lots of fish.

The excursion started at 10 am and 100 people left the Sea Princess in a long line to walk to the boat. Although it can hold 300 people, Princess limits the excursion to 100 so there was plenty of room to move around and spread out gear. The boat was Reef Magic and the crew was friendly and helpful.

No shortage of food for the guests: morning pastries, buffet lunch, afternoon pastries and fresh fruit, tea, coffee, water. There were optional things to buy, like if you wanted to do a dive or if you wanted the picture taken of you while snorkeling.

I had my own snorkel and mask. I used the fins and life jacket provided by the boat company. The anchorage was set up very nicely, with two lines off the back corners of the boat at an outward angle. This was the safe area to swim in. Staff acted as lifeguards on the top and lower decks.

My lunch plate

Once I was geared up, I was off the back and into the water. I snorkeled for about an hour and then took part in a very nice lunch buffet. Then I was back in the water for about another 1/2 hour.

At this point, the tide had changed and I found that if I just floated while watching the fish, I was getting pushed away from the boat. I'm an OK swimmer but decided to play it smart and return to the boat.

But once I got back to the boat I decided to do something I've wanted to do for a long time. I stripped off my gear and just slipped into the water, unencumbered, to just swim. It was great! A little bit of the crawl, breaststroke, backstroke, and floating. With actively moving, the tide wasn't a problem. I loved it and looking back, should have stayed in the water longer.

Glass bottom boat

For those that didn't want to (or couldn't) snorkel, there was a glass bottom boat. As a last minute decision on my part, I decided to go for a ride. Pretty cool!

We left the reef area about 4:00 pm, heading back to the Sea Princess. The day couldn't have been better.

Around Australia - Sea Princess - Darwin

noreply@blogger.com (diane) — Sat, 15 Dec 2018 14:43:00 +0000

Our next stop was Darwin and it was probably our second least favorite port of call. As predicted and warned, it was hot and humid. Our plan was to visit the George Brown Darwin Botanical Gardens and then wander in the city center a bit.

There was a bus from the ship that took passengers to the Visitor's Center. From there a couple of buses were running loops, one of which stopped at the Botanical Gardens. We hopped on that and were dropped off in the garden's main parking lot after driving through the central business district filled with uninteresting architecture. When we got to the gardens, we found out that only the early buses were doing the garden route. For the return bus, we would have to walk to the casino, a bit over 1/2 mile. Shouldn't be too bad but we turned the wrong way coming out of the gardens making the hike longer. And our pace was a crawl in the heat and humidity.

After the beautiful gardens in Perth, the Darwin garden was a disappointment. Yes, there were some beautiful trees and blooming shrubs.

But that I felt it was unkempt. I had no problem with dead leaves and branches on the landscaping. That's natural. But no attempt was made to hide unnatural things like the black hoses used for watering the plants. At one point, a small bridge we came to was closed because of rotten planks. If the gulley under the bridge hadn't been dry, which we scrambled across, we would have been looking at a long walk back the way we had come. It would have so nice, and so easy, for someone to put up a sign at the beginning of the path that said "no outlet."

Sailing out of Darwin

By the time we got back to the city center, we were done. While there was a pedestrian mall nearby for shopping (we talked to one lady later who had gotten a pedicure .. wish I had thought of that), we were done. Even the idea of stopping for something cold like ice cream didn't appeal to us. We were ready to go back to the ship.

Around Australia - Sea Princess - Cruising the Kimberly Coast

noreply@blogger.com (diane) — Wed, 12 Dec 2018 14:41:00 +0000

Broome is part of the Kimberly Coast. The following day, we sailed along the majestic cliffs that make up part of this pristine area, with the timing approaching sunset to set the cliffs aflame. Not much else to say here. Just some pictures of the stunning scenery.

Around Australia - Sea Princess - Broome

noreply@blogger.com (diane) — Mon, 10 Dec 2018 23:08:00 +0000

Yay!!! Beach day!!!

Broome, located on the northwest coast, is famous for its Cable Beach and camel rides on the said beach. We decided to forego the camel rides and just enjoy the beach.

Words can't describe how beautiful this beach is. Miles of hardpacked sand in each direction with some rocky outcroppings along the way. And beautiful blue water. We had a clear day with perfect beach temperatures. Couldn't have asked for a better beach day.

The ship docked at 2 am. Yes, that's not a typo. There are extreme tides here and to be able to have enough water under the keel, we docked at 2 am. But nobody could get off the ship before 7 am.

We were among that first group off the ship. A free shuttle ran from the ship into town. Once in town, public buses were available for AUD$10 pp for an all-day pass. (It was cheaper to pay by the ride if you were an Australian senior.) Besides the normal bus routes, there was a bus going straight from the Visitor's Center to Cable Beach. We were on the first bus and at the beach at 7:45 am.

The place that rents chairs and umbrellas was just setting up. Perfect timing on our part.

Jerry enjoyed the ocean breeze and reading and napping under the shade of our umbrella.

I walked one way up the beach, then walked the other way down the beach, then went into the very warm water. Not a swimming beach as it has rolling waves but it was still great. Then I rested a bit and then, of course, had to go back into the water again :)

We left about noon and caught a bus back to the Visitor's Center where we spent a few minutes and then walked to the ship shuttle pick up stop.

And here is where part of the day fell apart. The Broome tourism volunteers didn't do a very good job organizing the return to the ship. They were hampered by the fact that one of the buses had broken down. So the area was overcrowded. And although shade and water were provided, it was hot and a lot of people ready to return to the ship. And what made it worse was that there was no organization. All the pax were in a clump ... no line so when a bus did show up, it was mobbed. Not a good situation.

I wondered if we had stayed a bit longer if things would have been better, as in miss the rush. But according to others who came back around 2 pm, it was the same. And with a 3:30 pm sailing, wouldn't want to push it much later.

Those are the camels in the distance

Me enjoying the lounge chair

Around Australia Cruise - Sea Princess - Fremantle / Perth

noreply@blogger.com (diane) — Thu, 06 Dec 2018 20:30:00 +0000

We docked in Fremantle which is right next to Perth. Since we were in port from 8 am to 11 pm, there was no need to hurry off the ship.

The train from Fremantle to Perth is about a 15-minute walk at a slow pace (ours lol). The shortest way is to use the bridge over the railroad tracks but I understand that if you walk past the station, there is a place to cross at track level. We used the bridge.

The station was crowded with Sea Princess passengers and a large group of Asians, all trying to get tickets to catch the train. There were two rail agents helping everyone so it went pretty fast. We were soon aboard a very comfortable train for our 25 or so minute ride into Perth.

Once in Perth, we picked up the CAT bus transportation which is free. A bit of a caveat here. First, check your surroundings when you exit this station. I took a quick scan but I know if I had to find it again from streetside, I wouldn't be able to without some help (suggestion is to take a couple of pictures). Second, before arriving in Perth with plans to take the free transportation, check if any of it is on strike. Yes, strike! (Although I understand this doesn't happen too often.) In Perth, the bus lines are identified by color. And when we were there, the drivers for two of the lines were on strike. Fortunately, it didn't affect our plans.

Our first stop was the Perth Mint which has a very interesting history, existing because of Western Australia's gold rush. The mint is privately owned and its customers are bullion investors. We took the tour and enjoyed it, including seeing the largest gold coin in the world, 1 metric tonne of pure gold (around 3 feet in diameter) worth (at that time) over AUD $50,000,000.

Can see people in the background for size perspective

Our next stop was King`s Park, with Perth`s botanical garden. We started with lunch at the cafe in the park. Jerry had the fish and chips and I had the hummus platter. Both very good. The weather was great and we walked and walked and walked. Just beautiful with lots of plants in bloom and views over the Swan River and central Perth in the background.

Finally, time to head back to the ship. Fortunately, we didn't have to find our way back to the station we got off at. We caught a bus at the park and spoke to the driver. At one of the bus stops, she very nicely told us this was our stop and directed us towards one of the underground stations which she said would connect with the Perth/Fremantle train. (It did but a long walk from the platform we got off to the platform for the Fremantle train.)

For those that want to know, there is a Coles supermarket right across the street from the station in Fremantle. And we had hoped to spend some time in Fremantle but by the time we got off the train, we were exhausted. Time to head back to the ship for dinner because we wanted to see that night's show.

Princess had brought aboard the Western Australia Marching Police Pipe Band. We really enjoyed the show and recommend it.

Around Australia Cruise - Sea Princess - Busselton Margaret River Region

noreply@blogger.com (diane) — Sun, 02 Dec 2018 01:49:00 +0000

It was another day that dawned cloudy and looked like rain but we lucked out again and the skies cleared as we started our tour.

For our stop in Busselton, I had arranged a private tour with Dirk of Margaret River Nature Tours. I posted the tour on our Roll Call and two other couples joined us. This was a tender port, so we met our tour companions at 8:30 to make sure we got on a tender together. Since they were Elite, we ended up getting off the ship a lot faster than I thought we would.

We were ashore by 9:00 and then had to wait for Dirk. Our arranged pickup was 10. We spent our time browsing through the visitor's center. (And for those that don't want to go far from the pier, there are some very interesting options. There is a tram that runs along the VERY long jetty and also an underwater observatory, accessible from the jetty.)

We had a list of possible things to do and see which I received from Dirk. Putting our heads together via email, the three couples ( the ladies actually ... the men seem to just go along for the ride) narrowed the list down and I had emailed it to Dirk. We stopped for olive, wine, and chocolate tastings. Along the way, we saw kangaroos in the wild.

We went to Hamlin Beach which is supposed to have a school of stingrays swimming near the shore that you can hand feed. But the water was rough and they weren't there. :( Still, I got to put my feet in the Indian Ocean, a first for me. :)

Dirk is very knowledgeable about the geology of the area and the Hamlin Beach dunes and cliffs were a perfect place for a lesson about the ice ages and the resulting land formations.

We drove through magnificent forests where, at stops, Dirk pointed out various plants including several types of orchids.

He took us to lookout points with stunning views.

We stopped to see one of the many caves the Margaret River region is known for. A delicious lunch with local wine at Dirk`s B and B broke up the day.

And after a long, exhausting but most enjoyable day, we were dropped back at the jetty at 5:10 pm, in plenty of time for the last tender at 5:30.

Then we managed to finish our wonderful day with a beautiful sunset.

Around Australia Cruise - Sea Princess - Albany

noreply@blogger.com (diane) — Wed, 28 Nov 2018 23:43:00 +0000

The day started off cloudy and cool but I had plans for the day so off we went.

I had tried to make arrangements for a private tour but the major (only?) tour company in the area, Busy Blue Bus, told me that Princess books almost all of their vehicles. But they did let me know that they offer a 4-hour 22-passenger bus tour that can be booked the morning we dock. It is their The Gap Plus Natural Wonders tour and costs AUD$50. I was told they would have a kiosk set up right where the ship shuttle buses drop off passengers in town, with the tour starting at 9 30.

First, a heads up to anyone going to Albany from the US. The name is NOT pronounced like the capital of New York State, that is 'Awl-bany.' Instead, first say 'Al' as in a man's name, and then follow it up with 'bany.' If you pronounce it wrong you'll get some very strange looks. And the times we did it right, we got big grins and 'great job!'

Anyway, not wanting to be shut out of the tour, we were in town a bit after 8 am and got our tickets. We then wandered, browsed through a Target :) and the day got sunny and warmer. And it is a good thing we got our tickets early. Others from our Roll Call who wanted to take the tour and didn't get into town until 9:00 am found the tours sold out. And, yes, tours. It was so popular, the company put another bus on the same routing, leaving at 10 am.

The tour was a scenic coastal tour. Albany is on a bay and the bus took us around the bay to the other side. Our first stop was this beach on Frenchmen's Bay. The sand was like talcum powder.

Our next stop was an area with WW I and WW II lookouts. The views were beautiful.

Our next stop was The Gap and The Natural Bridge. The bridge overlooks a big gap in the cliffside.

Very exciting while we were there is that we saw lots of whales. If you click on the picture to enlarge it, you'll see them in the lower right corner.

Then we were out on the bridge overlooking The Gap, watching the whales WAY out in the water ... until someone shouted LOOK DOWN! And there were whales right at the bottom of the cliff we were standing over (on the bridge.) For us, very exciting.

Our next stop was a wind farm. This was the closest I've ever been to one of these and I never realized how much noise they make! There were some nice walking trails around the wind farm and we had some beautiful views from there also.

The wind farm was our last stop. We headed back to town seeing Albany across the bay, and our ship at the pier.

Around Australia Cruise - Sea Princess - Tasmania

noreply@blogger.com (diane) — Sun, 25 Nov 2018 15:46:00 +0000

Ever since we visited Hobart Tasmania (southeast) 14 years ago I've wanted to come back and see more of the countryside. This trip we had both Burnie (north) and Hobart as ports of call. For Burnie, I booked a private tour and it was great.

I contacted Robyn of Play A Round in Tassie. I believe I was the first one to contact Robyn with the date of our stop in Burnie but by the time the date arrived, there were a total of 9 of us off the ship. To handle this size group, Robyn and her husband rented a minivan, with Robyn sitting in the back to do the commentary while her husband drove. Worked out very well.

There was a shuttle running from the ship to the visitor's center. Robyn and her husband were waiting there with a sign. We were off early so had a few minutes to browse in the center.

Very interesting, including demonstrations by craftspeople. Well worth a few minutes.

Our first stop was Fern Glade, advertised as one of Tasmania's 60 Great Short Walks, and known for its large ferns. If we were going to see a platypus in the wild, this was the place. While we were not successful in seeing a platypus, we did get to see a wild wallaby.

We drove through beautiful countryside.

Koala

And our next stop was Wings Wildlife Park. It had the expected collection of kangaroos, that we could pet and feed, emu, ostrich, koala, Tasmanian devil, etc

Tasmanian Devil

and loads of birds. What caught me most by surprise was that I had no idea there were so many beautiful birds in Australia.

Golden Pheasant

After our visit to the wildlife park, we took a break at the picnic tables there and Robyn brought out some snacks. She had made Anzac biscuits and gave us information on the history behind them. She had also made a delicious rolled pastry which, she told us afterward, had vegemite in it. Then we traveled along the coastline to a park with a beautiful trail and waterfalls.

When we got back on board ship, after sailaway, the Captain came on the public address system. Looks like we are finally going to pay for all that beautiful weather we have had. He told us that we would be running into some high seas due to a weather system in the south seas. It would alter our time in Hobart and perhaps also Adelaide. The captain asked everyone to make sure anything fragile in the cabin was secured and to be careful when walking in the hallways and on deck once we hit these seas which will be later tonight.

Our originally scheduled time in Hobart was supposed to be noon to 8:30 pm. For anyone visiting Hobart for the first time, this is less than an ideal schedule. On our first visit, we had a full day of daylight hours and took an excursion to Mt. Fields. This time it would be hard to squeeze in anything outside of the city during the daylight hours (sunset around 6:15 pm) so we planned on just a visit into town. This worked for us with the new times in Hobart of 11 am to 6 pm, but I'm sure other passengers had to change their plans.

The ship docks very close to downtown in Hobart. We walked off the ship and strolled around the area with our goal being Mawson's Hut Replica Museum. We have cruised to Antarctica and visited two stations there so we were curious to see this one. We found it very interesting and highly recommend it to anyone interested in Antarctica history.

Our original itinerary from Hobart was to take us south around Tasmania and then north on the west side, to Adelaide. Because of the weather, we were retracing our path from Burnie, going north on the east side and then northwest, on to Adelaide. Most of the bad weather was during the night and it did not affect our stop in Adelaide. For us it didn't matter as we planned on staying on board. We had been to Adelaide in the past and the majority of shore excursions I found outside the city was to the wine region, something not tops on our list. We ended up having a very quiet day on board ship and resting up for our upcoming two days at sea. :)

Around Australia Cruise - Sea Princess - Melbourne and Puffing Billy

noreply@blogger.com (diane) — Wed, 21 Nov 2018 11:22:00 +0000

We had cooler weather in Melbourne than in Sydney and it was also cloudy. We had been here 14 years ago and did a DIY tour at that time. Melbourne is very easy to get around. There is a tram that stops right by the port which takes you into the central business district. From there you can ride free buses around the city.

This time we opted to get out of the city to see some of the countrysides. We tried for a private tour through our Roll Call but there wasn't much interest. So we opted for the ship's tour. I'm kind of a train nut, so the obvious choice was the Puffing Billy excursion.

Our bus took us through downtown Melbourne which, of course, didn't resemble at all the Melbourne we remembered. There had been a tremendous amount of construction and the buildings are all on top of each other as we saw in Sydney. And the traffic was awful.

We made our way to Belgrave, for the beginning of our train ride on Puffing Billy a century-old steam train that continues to run on its original mountain track through the Dandenong Ranges outside of Melbourne. While our ride was limited to a 1/2 hour, it is possible to make a full day of this if you are visiting Melbourne and not limited to the time your ship is in port. (Actually, I investigated doing it on our own using public transportation into Melbourne, and then a train our of Melbourne to Belgrave, the starting point for Puffing Billy but the timing just didn't work with our time in port, from 7 am to 3:30 pm.)

The train is now run by volunteers and we enjoyed our too short ride through some beautiful areas forested with eucalyptus trees.

The railway crossed a lot of roads and we were amazed at the number of people pulled over at the side of the road to take pictures of the train. When we disembarked, we had time to take a look at the engine and then it was time to board our bus.

Our next stop was Grants Picnic Ground in Dandenong Ranges National Park, a 'cool temperate rainforest.' Tea and scones were laid out for us by the park volunteers.

We had time to take a short walk on one of the hiking trails, see some beautiful birds and visit the gift shop. Then it was back on the bus for the return trip to the ship. It was a nice excursion and well-run.

Kookaburra

Parrots (See green one in the background?)

Around Australia Cruise - Sea Princess - The Ship

noreply@blogger.com (diane) — Sun, 18 Nov 2018 19:06:00 +0000

This was our first time on this class of Princess ship. She is 20 years old and was refurbished in November 2017.

Basically, she was in very good shape. The only issue we had was with some of the 'soft goods' in the open areas around the ship. They seemed a bit tired and we ended up avoiding those areas. Too bad because those areas looked like they should be nice quiet, comfy areas to sit and read.

That said, except for one small thing, we loved our cabin. We had a mini-suite and on the Sea Princess, the cabin is L-shaped.

The bathroom had a door from the bedroom and a door from the sitting area, with a door between the sink/toilet and shower/tub area. The loveseat in the sitting area opened into a bed so this, along with the curtain between the bedroom and sitting room, made a perfect cabin for three people.

The only place I had an issue with was the bathroom. As you can see where my husband is washing up, the sink area is small. Just to the right of the toilet are two small, triangular-shaped shelves (you can see the edge of one in the picture ... glass shelf with gold-colored rail) for storage. Essentially, very little storage space. But we adjusted ... kept minimal in the bathroom and the rest we put elsewhere. Plenty of tabletop space in the cabin with a desk in the sitting area and another in the bedroom.

Looking through door to toilet, then through door to shower/bath

We had a long balcony, with sliding doors in both the bedroom and the sitting room although the upholstered chair in the sitting room was in front of the door and would need to be moved to get out onto the balcony that way. Besides the table, there were two chairs with footrests. I'm sitting on the second chair to take this picture and there is another 'cutout' - opening - to my right like you see in the picture where my husband is sitting.

And some pictures around the ship.

Sailaway

Beautiful wide promenade deck which many passengers made good use of. We did too.

Loved the lounge chairs with the comfy cushions. :) And I don't think we ever had a problem finding two together. (I have to admit I was amazed at the number of people who never stepped outside during sea days.)

Opposite side of the atrium from Crooners

Near the Patisserie

Atrium

Rigoletto MDR

Princess Theater

Library

Internet Cafe

Vista Lounge

Horizon Buffet

Wheelhouse Bar

All service was excellent except for one of the waiters at Crooners who acted like he had better things to do than take my order. No problem. I just came back every day or so with the same order just to bother him. :)

We were disappointed with the lack of variety of the menu in the main dining room. Over 28 days it got very repetitive. Lamb was offered a lot. Very little chicken on the menu unless it was part of a pasta dish. Sometimes there were two fish offerings, which I usually don't eat. That said, I did have the 'available anytime' Tasmanian salmon and it was excellent. But one night my husband and I were reduced to ordering the Aussie Burger off the 'available anytime' menu which I think is a pretty poor option for the MDR.

And only two nights were we offered Chocolate Journey. (For non-Princess cruisers, these are Norman Love chocolate designer desserts that are to DIE for.) This was a 28-day cruise! We sailed the Med last year (21 days) and they were offered about every 3rd or 4th night. The only reason I can think of is that there were a lot of short segments within those 28 days. But still ... And lobster tails also only one night.

That said, the food we had was good to excellent. We were happy with the buffet, although sometimes it took a while to find a table. And the room service we ordered twice came very fast and was 100% correct.

Oh ... if you are a lover of Princess chocolate chip and double chocolate chip cookies, they are still available at the dessert area of the buffet but most times you had to ask for them.

As for activities, there is no shortage. My husband and I love trivia and there were at least three per day ... two in the Vista Lounge during the day and one in Legends in the evening. On sea days there was an additional one in the afternoon. Sometimes there would be another one in the evening.

During the sea days, there were your typical classes i.e. health, fitness, etc. There were culinary displays and, of course, the opportunity for lots of shopping. But we also had lectures about Australia and WW II and they were very well attended. We had a memorial service on the open deck when the Sea Princess passed near the site of the sinking of the HMAS Sydney II. And that was extremely well attended.

The Princess Theater was always filled to capacity for the evening shows. If you wanted a seat, you had to get there 20-30 minutes before show time. We are not big show people but we went to a couple. Generally, the song and dance from the Princess performers were good but people complained it was too loud. We enjoyed the individual performers and comedians and many times they would do a second performance in the Vista Lounge the following night. That's where we usually went because the after dinner timing worked out better for us and there was never a problem getting a seat. (Our tablemates went to all the shows in the theater and enjoyed them. They also spent their evenings in Crooners and enjoyed the music.)

Did any of this affect our cruise? No, not really. We know as travelers that there are times you have to adapt. And adapt we did so that things worked for us. Our cabin was comfortable. We loved the balcony. The ship was easy to get around. We had a great cabin steward and waiter and assistant waiter. We never had an issue with lines. In the end, I always ask myself if this is a ship I would sail on again. Absolutely!

Around Australia Cruise - Day 3 in Sydney - The Rocks and Embarkation

noreply@blogger.com (diane) — Sat, 17 Nov 2018 01:47:00 +0000

Our day to embark was here and we took a taxi to the Overseas Passenger Terminal which is located in The Rocks historical area of Sydney. (Taxis in Sydney are expensive!) We got there early and were very pleased to see that Princess had things set up to take checked pieces of luggage. We dumped our large bags and headed out to explore.

The sign for Argyle Street immediately caught my attention. I had directions for getting to the Sydney Harbor Bridge Pylon Lookout from Argyle Street. I pulled the papers out of my tote and off we went, uphill, upstairs, across the street, and up more stairs. A lot more stairs. (Note: There is a lift that goes from the upper street level to the bridge level. Of course, it was under maintenance when we were there.)

We finally arrived at the car/pedestrian level of the bridge. We walked towards the pylons, cars streaming by us on one side, and a fantastic view that included part of our ship and the opera house on the other side.

Sydney Harbor Bridge pylon

We finally arrived at the Pylon Lookout. I decided I was up for the climb. Jerry stayed at bridge level and guarded our tote bags. :) The cost for seniors (me) was AUD$10 (about US$7.20).

You can see part of the staircase in the picture above. It starts out narrow. But then it widened to a steel staircase that was very open. I have to admit it was a hike getting to the top but along the way, there were some very interesting things to read about the design and construction of the bridge. There were also benches.

And the climb was well worth it. Beautiful 360-degree view of Sydney and the harbor. (Turn on your volume if you'd like to hear my narration.)

We then made our way back down to the passenger terminal. When we got there, check-in had started. Next post will be about the ship.

Around Australia Cruise - Day 2 in Sydney - Touring The Sydney Opera House

noreply@blogger.com (diane) — Wed, 14 Nov 2018 01:01:00 +0000

As I mentioned in a previous post, we had been to Sydney before. It was a post cruise stay and we did a bunch of touring but never got up close and personal to the opera house. That was a mistake I planned on fixing this trip.

We were up early ... thank you time change ... 14 hrs. ahead of home. We headed out for breakfast at this little cafe, Spring Espresso, right up the street from our hotel. The weather was beautiful, we ate outside, and had a great breakfast.

The Sydney Opera House offers several different types of tours. We decided on the basic Sydney Opera House Tour. I made reservations and paid for the tour from home. The website was very easy to navigate and I had my receipts in hand when we approached the tour counter.

We arrived around 10:45 a.m. for our 11:30 a.m. tour but there was still space in the 11:00 a.m. tour so we moved it up. There were about 20 people on the tour and everyone received headphones and a receiver box.

The tour started with pictures taken of each tour member in front of a green screen. After the tour, these photos showing the tour member in front of the opera house was available for purchase. (We declined so I don't know how much the pictures were.) After this bit of fundraising, the tour started for real.

We learned about the history of the opera house, got to see several of the theaters (we could not take photographs in most of them), and generally enjoyed this quick overview of the building. A heads up to anyone with mobility issues ... there are a LOT of steps on this tour.

One of the main lobbies

One of the sets of stairs between theater levels.

One of the main concert theaters

We had several opportunities to rest between stair climbs.

This was a Saturday and, as mentioned previously, a weekend with a major sporting event. The area around the opera house was mobbed, including its many restaurants. We stopped for ice cream, calling it lunch, and then decided to take the ferry to Manly. Again, we just got on and stayed on, riding it round trip.

On the ferry to/from Manly

On the ferry to/from Manly - Fort Denison in the middle of Sydney harbor

On the ferry to/from Manly

Ditto

By this time we were pretty wiped again. Headed back to our hotel and dinner this night was at a restaurant across the street, Fratelli Paradiso, a bit overpriced but good food and excellent service.

Around Australia Cruise - Our First Day in Sydney - Riding the Ferries

noreply@blogger.com (diane) — Sat, 10 Nov 2018 21:57:00 +0000

Of course nothing ever totally goes as planned but that's to be expected when you travel. With a bit of luck it turns out positive and that's the way it worked for us today.

A very long trip to Sydney with flights to Atlanta, then Los Angeles, and then Sydney. It was easy to find an ATM at the Sydney Airport and also the WH Smith store to buy our Opal cards, the tap on tap off cards used for Sydney public transportation. We took a taxi to our hotel (taxis in Sydney are EXPENSIVE) and we were lucky that our room was ready. Very nice which gave us an opportunity to shower and rest a bit.

We were booked for 2 nights at Hotel Challis located in Potts Point. (This was our second visit to Sydney and previously we had stayed in the Rocks area. This particular weekend was the finals for some major sporting event and hotel prices in the Central Business District (CBD) were very high.) Hotel Challis is a small boutique hotel located in a residential area. It was about a 10-minute walk to the train station, with some of the walk uphill and some downhill. Our room was very comfortable but very small.

Today's plan was to take the Parramatta ferry in the morning (anticipating only being able to drop the luggage at the hotel) to the town of Parramatta, wander around a bit, have lunch, and then take the ferry back to Circular Quay in Sydney proper.

Well with our room ready the morning plan turned into an afternoon plan and it turned out to be perfect.

We took the train into Sydney proper and then walked to Circular Quay. Fortunately, my husband was not wearing polarized sunglasses like I was and he easily found the destination and time listings for the ferries. Me? I walked right by the updating display and had to take off my sunglasses to see the ferry destinations and times of departure. :(

Our ferry to Parramatta turned out to be simply a ride on the river. We were tired and decided not to get off. We just stayed on the ferry for its return trip to the Circular Quay.

It was a great day to be on the water. Partly cloudy with a nice breeze and temps in the 70s. It was a delightful afternoon. And we got a great view of the Opera House house and the Sydney Harbour Bridge.

Sydney Opera House

Sydney Harbor Bridge

Riding Along the Parramatta River

Time to head back to the hotel. The walk to the train station from the Circular Quay was uphill so this time we grabbed a bus right by the Quay to take us to the station, transferred to the train and made our way back to Potts Point. We stopped for dinner at The Fish Shop just a few steps from our hotel. Excellent dinner. Then time to call it a day.

Using the Sydney Australia Tap On Tap Off OPAL Card

noreply@blogger.com (diane) — Fri, 09 Nov 2018 01:04:00 +0000

First thing I'm going to do is put the link for the New South Wales transport authority that can be used to plan itineraries on the bus, train, and ferry system. I used it extensively while still home to get an estimate of what our transportation costs would be so I could put the appropriate amount of dollars on our Opal cards.

Once in Sydney, I used the NSW transport authority site to find out the numbers of the trains and buses we would need to get from 'here to there.' Very easy to use and very helpful.

When we arrived at the airport, I bought our Opal cards at the WH Smith store, located after the customs area. For a couple of reasons, I decided to overestimate the amount of AUD$ we would need on the card. Essentially, (not having a smartphone) I didn't want to deal with checking what the balance was and then finding a place to top off the cards if necessary.

Well, it turns out that keeping track of the balance is really easy because every time you tap off when exiting a bus, train or ferry there's a small monitor that tells you what the balance is. And every station had a kiosk for buying or topping off a card. Topping off the card would have been a very simple thing to do and I could have put less money on the cards to start with.

So we did end up with money left over on the cards but not because I didn't do a good job estimating our pre-cruise transportation costs. We ended up with money left on the cards because of a couple of things I didn't expect. For instance, our plan for the day of arrival (figuring we'd be tired and just want some easy sightseeing) was to take the ferry to Parramatta, wander a bit, then take the ferry back. But instead, we ended up staying on the ferry for the return trip back to Circular Quay. I really thought that when we tapped the Opal card on exiting the pier back at Circular Quay that it would deduct round trip to Parramatta. It didn't. Only one-way was deducted.

Ditto with a ferry ride to Manly. We rode over getting some nice water views of the Sydney Opera House and then rode back. Again, only charged for one way. We didn't realize that there was no tap off on rides to and from Manly because they were nonstop.

And after our ferry ride, we took the bus to the train station and then the train back to our hotel area. Because we got on the bus less than an hour after tapping off the ferry and then tapping on the train less than an hour after tapping off the bus, there was no charge. These were transfers and the ferry fare covered both additional fares.

OK ... no problem. We'll just hang onto the cards and use them for more train/bus/ferry rides for the day we had post-cruise. That day we rode all over and was surprised that after a small deduction, all the fares were $0.00! Well, what I found out later was that being a Sunday, adult fares were capped at AUD$2.70 for the entire day!

So my recommendation is to start off with the minimum that you think you will need. And then top off as you go along.

How Dry Is The Air On An Airplane

noreply@blogger.com (diane) — Mon, 05 Nov 2018 00:55:00 +0000

The answer is very. That's in VERY! And the longer the flight, the worse it is. I've always known it was important to keep myself hydrated while flying but it was only recently that I had a demonstration of how dry the air really is onboard a flight.

On a flight from Los Angeles to Sydney Australia, I managed to spill a full cup of water right into my lap. Not partially on my leg. But squarely in my lap, if you get the picture. My pants got soaked and my underwear got soaked. We were in Delta Comfort + which has non-fabric seats and there was even a puddle of water on the seat when I stood up that need a bunch of napkins to mop up.

Now you can, if you want, picture me heading to the bathroom, stripping down and wringing out my underwear. (And of course, this would be the one time I didn't have a change in my carry on ... lesson learned. )

But here's the point of this post. My pants are made of quick dry Supplex nylon and they were dry in minutes. But what amazed me was how fast my cotton underwear dried. While still on my body!

And now the purpose of the post. Sure, we've heard this before but now I'm really emphasizing it for my readers. Drink lots and lots of water when flying. Use lip balm and lotion to keep your skin moisturized. Consider bringing eye drops to avoid that gritty feeling in your eyes and a saline nasal spray for your nasal membranes.

But especially drink water. And a lot of it, the longer the flight.

Museum For James Bond Fans in the Austrian Alps

noreply@blogger.com (diane) — Wed, 31 Oct 2018 22:08:00 +0000

In July 2018, a new James Bond museum opened on the peak of Gaislachkogl Mountain at an altitude of 10,000 feet.

Called 007 Elements, the futuristic-looking building, and its Ice Q restaurant were used for location shooting for the 2015 Bond movie "Spectre." In the museum, you'll find nine galleries, each with a different theme, plus a screening room.

The only way to get to the museum is by taking the 12-minute Gaislachkogl Gondola from Solden. Open daily from 9.a.m to 3:30 p.m., the cost for the gondola and museum admission is 54 euros (about $63).

Tickets can be purchased at the base of the gondola or ahead of time online. It is recommended that you wear warm winter clothing for touring the museum.

Model Aircraft Exhibition at Shannon Airport, Ireland

noreply@blogger.com (diane) — Thu, 25 Oct 2018 22:02:00 +0000

This exhibition went on permanent display in July 2018. It is the world' largest collection of die-cast model aircraft. The gallery is located off of the Departures lounge. There are 1,500+ models of military, commercial and other aircraft, each at 1:200 scale. The models are on loan from Michael Kelly of County Limerick and reflect his 30+ years of collecting.

Some of the highlights include the Spruce Goose, the Queen of England's personal BAE 146, and every Aer Lingus plane from its beginning to the modern day.

New Czech Glass Museum in Prague

noreply@blogger.com (diane) — Tue, 16 Oct 2018 21:52:00 +0000

The Museum Portheimka is showing glass art by contemporary Czech artists. Located in a Baroque-era summer palace, in opened in June 2018. There are six themed galleries which hold permanent collections and there will also be temporary exhibits.

It is open Tues through Sun from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and the cost is CZK 120 (about $5) for adults and CZK60 for seniors.