Two days in Callao (Lima) Peru

Thursday January 29th, we were already docked in Callao when we awoke. Callao is the port city for Lima, Peru’s capital, the two cities have all but merged into one metropolis of 8 million inhabitants. The port provides a free shuttle from the quayside to the port gates and a private company runs a $5 each way shuttle from quayside to the Marriot Hotel in Miraflores. We had booked a morning tour of Lima’s highlights and after meeting in the Cabaret lounge onboard, we boarded our bus quayside. A long drive through a somewhat run-down area brought us to our first stop,Plaza Mayor, the city’s main square and home of the Cathedral (shown below), Presidential palace and City Hall.

Next stop Miraflores Park high above the Pacific Ocean with sweeping vistas along the coast. Then it was on to the Indian market and while Izzy explored the market, I took a harrowing 5 minute taxi trip to a nearby grocery store to buy some wine. With 4 bottles in hand I took the reverse trip and was soon back at Indian market. The 4 bottles cost about $30 plus about $4 taxi fares, compared to the average price of a bottle on board ship at about $30, the effort was well worthwhile. The traffic was incessant and drivers seemed to follow few rules, constantly on the horn, moving into any space available. Back at the ship, we had lunch then vegetated the rest of the day watching the events dockside. One of the ‘events’ we did not witness but saw the results of, was a failure in the pipe joint pumping fuel oil onto the ship from a tanker trailer on dock. The joint failed under pressure and sprayed oil over a large area of dock, the side of the ship and part of the gangway, fortunately it did not affect any passengers and when we saw it they were washing down the side of the ship and sweeping up oil soaked sand from the dock. I’ve never seen so many seagulls in one place there are thousands of them around and there effects can be seen all over the dock, like a Jackson Pollock painting, every square meter is dappled white with little of the underlying surface visible, it’s quite a nice effect. Two medical emergencies yesterday, an old guy passed out in the restaurant right behind our table and an older woman broke/injured her ankle and was stretchered off, presumably for treatment at a local hospital. Considering the age of the average passenger, I expect they won’t be the last medevacs we see. After dinner we watched a movie, had a couple of drinks and then went to a folkloric show in the main lounge.
Friday January 30th, slept late as we didn’t have any plans for the day, even though we were still docked in Callao until 01.00pm. The small local market set up dockside yesterday, was still there today so we took a walk ashore and bought a couple of teeshirts before having lunch then watching the sail away from the promenade deck. I was surprised at Lima, it was different than I had imagined and I could probably live here, except for the fact that they have constantly humid conditions that might get a bit wearing after a while. I’ll may not post again for 3 or 4 days as it’s 2032 miles of ocean to Easter Island, so the next 4 days are sea days and unless something unusual happens I‘ll vegetate and enjoy the warm weather.

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Two glorious days of doing nothing

Two days at sea as we head South about 60 miles off the coast of Peru on our way to Callao (Lima). We’re 10 degrees South of the equator, the temperature is 25 degrees, the sea state is small waves with whitecaps and the sun is shining. Yesterday I was at the peak of my head cold and slept most of the morning before having lunch then spending enough time laying in the sun to get sunburned. Fortunately I wasn’t sufficiently incapacitated to prevent me from my afternoon visit to the casino. We consider we’re doing well as we’re both ahead of the game, yesterday we both played blackjack and had good wins, how long will it last?. We’ve been shadowed by the Saga Rose since we passed through canal and I can see her now off the port side, I guess she’s heading to Callao too. Still in the same time zone as home, we aren’t scheduled to change the clocks ‘til February 4th at Easter Island.
This morning my cold was quite a bit better and I read my book while lazing in the sun while Izzy did her mile walk around the upper deck, maybe tomorrow I’ll join her. Later we took part in the trivia competition at 11.30am, missed the big prize (a luggage tag) by one point. After lunch I went to a very interesting lecture by John Maxtone-Graham on the history of the big Atlantic liners, then entered the blackjack tournament but didn’t qualify for the final.
We’re in cabin 4008, which is on deck 4 toward the front of the ship. We were pleasantly surprised that the cabin was fairly spacious though it lacks drawer and closet space for a 3½ month trip though as time progresses it’s working out quite well as we learn to put things back in their place. We have a nice big window, a kingsize bed, 2 side tables, an easy chair and coffee table, desk and stool, fridge, tv, closets and bathroom (no bath, just a shower). Under the bed is packed with all our empty cases and the window well doubles as a storage shelf, but there’s plenty of free space for moving around.
Tomorrow we have a morning tour in Lima.

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Manta (Ecuador) and the day before

HAPPY AUSTRALIA DAY
Another sea day, yesterday, after a brief but heavy rainfall in the early morning, the skies cleared and we had hot sunny weather most of the day. In the afternoon we crossed the equator and there was a traditional ceremony on board to mark the occasion, it was very entertaining as ‘volunteer’ passengers, first time crossers (known as pollywogs) were initiated into the select group of previous crossers (known as shellbacks). The ceremony was in the form of a messy ritual to placate King Neptune and his servants, all played by crew members and basically finished up with everyone covered in icecream, chocolate sauce, ketchup and various other food items… good fun. Wonder of wonders, I doubled my money playing blackjack last night, that puts me definitely on the plus side, but there’s still 101 days to go.
This morning we arrived in Manta, Ecuador, I pre-booked a Princess organized tour, ‘Ivory Nut Factory and Montecristi’. The distance from the pier to town is about 10 to 15 minutes by taxi, walking is not recommended due to security reasons and taxis are available pierside. If I’d known that the local authorities provided a free shuttle service from the ship to town, with several stops along the way, I might not have booked a tour, but as it worked out, we did enjoy the day. The town is typical third world, derelict lots, half finished buildings and garbage in abundance, but we found the people to be friendly and helpful. At our first stop, Montecristi, true home of the Panama hat, we each supported the local economy with the purchased of a fine hat, before settling on a seat in the main square talking to about 10 or 15 kids and adults, some trying to sell something, others just happy to sit and talk. Leaving Montecristi, we stopped at an ivory nut factory, a cactus fiber weaving outfit and a shipbuilding site along the shoreline. We enjoyed the trip, mostly because of the people and the shipbuilding was very interesting. I’ve got a head cold developing so once back on board we had a late lunch then a snooze ‘til just before dinner. It amazes me at how quiet the ship is, this morning, I took some pictures on board, walking around the main decks, I hardly saw another person. There’s never any problem getting loungers around the pool and any evening after about 08.00pm there’s hardly more than a few people on deck. It’s quiet, just as I like it.

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Two Days for the Price of One

The internet has been very slow and last night I was unable to upload some photos, so hopefully it will improve as I’d like to include as many pictures as possible.
Yesterday, after breakfast, we went to an interesting lecture by Apollo 9 astronaut, Russel Schweickart. It was quite moving at parts and after the Q&A we spoke to his wife for a short time. It was a beautiful day and we had lunch on deck by the pool, listening to a calypso duo, who were very good. The walking track on the upper deck was full of people doing their morning exercise routine and Izzy was inspired to join them (I think I’ll do some exercise one day), she must have been feeling good as she danced by, swinging her arms almost in time to the music. I felt happy for her, or maybe it was just the effects of my lunchtime cocktail. Last night was Captains Welcome reception, where we all lined up to shake hands with Captain Vincenzo Lubrano and drink as many free cocktails as possible, before rolling along the deck for dinner. We did try to make it to the cabaret last night, the headline star was the world renowned singing sensation, Tony Cherry, (what!… you haven‘t heard of him?), unfortunately when we got there, no acceptable seats were available so we spent some time in the casino, then had an early night since we wanted to get up early in the morning for our transit through the Panama Canal and a special Champagne breakfast offered for the occasion.

This morning we awoke early and after breakfast we found a good viewpoint on the upper deck enjoying a coffee and watching the ships slip through the Atlantic side locks into Gatun lake. We had done this part before, two years ago on Celebrity Galaxy when we had turned around in the lake and went back through the same locks, today we would see the complete passage. Once we were in the lake, the ship anchored in place for about two hours, there were about eight ships making the same trip and we all waited for the ships coming the other way to clear the narrow sections of the canal and the Pacific side locks. After lunch, we moved down to the Promenade deck which was quiet and shaded where we settled into a couple of comfortable loungers. The lake water was quite muddy, nothing like the beautiful blue we’d seen at Cayman Islands, we passed amazingly close to small islands, I wondered how much longer they’d be there as the erosion around their perimeter was quite evident. The sail through Gatun Lake was spectacular, the jungle vegetation was only broken occasionally by small clearings created by the dredger work crews. When we got close to the pacific locks, the decks became busier with the ’sign people’. Princess had arranged for a couple of their photographers to be on shore taking pictures and had offered supplies to anyone interested in making a sign to hang over the edge of the ship to be photographed, most of the signs were messages to family, presumably back home. When we reached the locks, the observation building was absolutely jam packed with people and as we passed through with another ship, the Saga Rose, they all cheered and shouted, don’t know who they were or if this was a normal occurrence, but it was fun. We cleared the canal system about 4.30pm and headed South. After dinner, we finally made it to an evening show, starring Patrick and Matilda, a ventriliquist act, they weren’t bad.

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A Day in the Life

This morning, we awoke early at 8.30am, just in time for breakfast to be delivered to our cabin. I was hungry so my fruit bowl, scrambled eggs, toast, 3 danishes, coffee and orange juice went down quite well . By 10.30am we were boarding the tender across to Georgetown, Cayman Islands, it was 25 degrees, slightly overcast with the sun breaking through and the water was the most beautiful azure blue. I was looking for a jewellery shop ashore, but couldn’t find any, so we strolled around for a while the settled into Jimmy Buffet’s for a cool beer. By 12.30pm we were skipping back toward the ship and after dumping some junk in the cabin, we headed up to the buffet for lunch and an hour relaxing in the sun before catching a movie, Kite Runner, it was quite good. There was barely time for a nap before getting ready for our dinner reservation at 6.00pm. Dinner was excellent, I had a smoked chicken and asparagus terrine, followed by a Caesar salad, followed by some nice fettucine, then an excellent Salmon steak and chocolate cake with icecream, which I couldn’t quite finish. The chocolate cake was a surprise to celebrate my retirement which along with some additional surprises back at the cabin, made it all a really nice day.
We didn’t do anything special on Grand Cayman as we’ve been to Cayman Islands two or three times before. Where we are tendered in is right downtown Georgetown, shop after shop and not much else. What I hadn’t expected was the cross section of people on board, few walkers or wheelchairs, I’d guess the majority are in their sixties with a good number of youngsters (in their fifties). We’ve met so many nice people, from all walks of life, quite a few Canadians but mostly Americans and a few miscellaneous others. Right now we.re having an early night, it’s about 10.30pm and we’re in the cabin watching ‘7lbs’ on the dvd player we brought with us, I’m glad we brought it, it works great. Tomorrow another sea day as we head South to the Panama Canal.

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First Day at Sea

Busy day today, slept in ‘til 8.30am. Seas were rough and I didn’t feel to good in the morning, so we spent the morning unpacking cases and finding places to put things. The cases didn’t arrive at the cabin ‘til about 10.00pm last night, long time considering we were onboard before noon. Went to our Cruise Critic ‘meet and greet’ this afternoon and met most of the folks we’ve been communicating with, an eclectic group, it was nice to put faces to all the names. Right now we’re passing Cuba, heading South East toward Cayman Islands where we’re scheduled to drop anchor at 07.00am Air temp is currently 23 degrees, 20mph fom the North with medium seas. Our seventh dinner guest, Martha, arrived tonight, so the table was full and conversation was a bit more relaxed as we got to know each other. It should be a good table and it looks like we should all get along, apart from Martha there’s Mary and Andy from Austin, Texas in their 60’s and June and Jim from Utah 50ish . Not sure where Martha is from but I think she said she grows grapes. Managed to double my money in the casino (started with $10 and quit with $20) well at least it’s not a loss.

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Arrival Fort Lauderdale

Well, we made it on board about 11.45am after a fairly good flight from Toronto. Had a great view of the Kennedy Space Center about 10 minutes before we landed as it was clear most of the way. Weather in Ft Lauderdale was overcast and 25 degrees so we spent some time on the top deck, before going for the lunchtime buffet. It was nice that the cabins were ready as soon as we boarded, the cabin is fairly spacious (see pic), though I’m sure we won’t have enough storage space, but on a more positive note, I can get wireless internet in the cabin, set-up was relatively easy. Dinner was average except the New York Sirloin was pretty good, we’re are 6 people at a table for 7. Dead tired tonight, didn’t get the bags til after dinner, so we spent the evening unpacking.

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The Day Before

The last day before we leave and a strange calmness has come over the household. All the packing is done (see the pic), three 50lb cases and one 44lb to keep us looking good for 107 days (it'd take more than 4 cases to do that). Only two items on my 'to do' list, pay any outstanding bills and cash my winning lottery ticket (unfortunately only $5). Fortunately the weather looks good for our flight tomorrow morning, 7.20am from Toronto which means getting up at 3.30am.

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Onboard Entertainment Announced

Guest Lecturers

January 20 – February 24, 2009

Russell Schweickart – Retired Astronaut
Takes you on a unique and beautiful tour of planet Earth from a distant perspective few have experienced.

Lynne Truss – Best-selling Author
What do the collapse of literacy, the breakdown of social cohesion, the beauty of a semicolon & the value of an apostrophe have in common? Keen observer of the world & best-selling author Truss humorously ties it all up in a common sense look at the world we live in.

Arthur Hiller – Director of Love Story
Countdown to the Oscar telecast show, let this former Motion Picture Academy President regale you with tales from behind the velvet ropes, and lead you down the red carpet to the best seat in the house.

Sue Cameron – Hollywood Journalist
Hollywood has never lacked for scandals: tantrums, cover-ups and murders. From Garbo to Kidman, veteran Hollywood journalist Sue Cameron has personally interviewed them all. Ask a question and she'll know the answer because she was probably with them at the time.

Dr. Dean J. Papavassiliou-Caribbean Destination Lecturer
Follow world traveler and former diplomat Dr. Dean J. Papavassiliou through the Caribbean and Central America as he explains the people, history, and culture of this wonderful and exotic region of the World.

John Maxtone-Graham – Maritime Historian
Relive heroic tales of North and South Pole explorations, the Titanic's gripping final hours and other maritime stories.

Les Evans – Former Concorde Pilot
Former Concorde pilot, talks about the glorious past of flying this technological marvel and casts his gaze forward to discuss aviation's future.

Norman Caisse – Astronomer
Embark on a fascinating journey from our own Solar System, through the Milky Way, and on to the edge of the known Universe. On clear dark nights Norman can be found surveying the South Pacific heavens. Be sure to join him on deck.

Douglas Pearson – Australasia, South Pacific and Polynesian Naturalist
South Pacific and Polynesian expert Douglas Pearson lives on the idyllic island of Moorea. His unusual selection of objects enhance his unique " menu of stories," giving depth and color to his talks.

February 25 – March 19, 2009

Donald Blair – Space Travel/NASA Expert
He amazes you with photos seldom seen by the public and explains some of the most complicated machines ever built by man – the Space Shuttle and Space Station. It's literally out of this world.

John Maxtone-Graham – Maritime Historian
Relive heroic tales of North and South Pole explorations, the Titanic's gripping final hours and other maritime stories.

Glenmore Trenear-Harvey – Espionage and Intelligence Expert
Receives regular briefings from MI5 and MI6, Britain's secret intelligence and security services. A featured speaker at conferences worldwide, he has been involved with the clandestine world for over 40 years.

Heather Clement – Japanese Cultural Historian
What obi should you wear with that kimono? What’s the difference between Shinto and Zen? How deep should I bow? Join us as Heather Clement de-mystifies one of the most advanced societies on the planet.

Marylou Blakeslee – Oceania, Micronesia Naturalist
From Australia's Great Barrier Reef to ancient turtles that swam with dinosaurs, to mammals of the South Pacific, explore the varied natural treasures this world has to offer.

Gunn Seawell & Don Schenzel – Ballroom Dance Instructors
Ballroom Dance Instructors teach the graceful movements of the Waltz, the rhythmic steps of the Salsa, and the fluid steps of the Cha Cha, among other dances.

March 20 – April 10, 2009

Michael Irving – Naval Maritime Historian
Naval Maritime Historian who has spent more time on water than on dry land. His personal favorites include James Cook, Lord Nelson, the Portuguese, the Spanish and the Dutch, and the ravages of scurvy.

Hassan Eltaher – Holy Land Cultural Historian and Expert
The story of the Suez Canal is like sailing through World History. Senior Analyst for Arab and Middle Eastern Affairs with the Government of Canada, Hassan Eltaher brings this part of the world to vivid life.

April 11 – May 8, 2009 Lainie Kazan

Lainie Kazan – Hollywood Personality and Legend
You may know her from her 26 appearances on the Dean Martin Show, or her reoccurring role on The Nanny, or her critically acclaimed role in My Big Fat Greek Wedding. Chanteuse and actress Lainie Kazan shares her life story, from her Brooklyn beginnings to her starring roles on Broadway.

Thomson Smillie – Opera/Broadway Lecturer
Celebrate the musical cultures of Italy, Spain and France, and learn about the turbulent life of Greek diva Maria Callas.

Debbie Fraioli – Mediterranean Cultural Expert and Port Lecturer
Explains the highlights no traveler should miss in the ancient and historical ports of Europe.

Guest Entertainers (hopefully not all of them)

January 20 – February 24, 2009

Tony Cherry – Vocalist
The many voices of Tony Cherry.

Dick Gold – Comedian
Eloquent humorist.

Paul Emmanuel – Vocalist
International male vocalist with a tribute to the legendary Nat King Cole.

Patrick Murray – Ventriloquist
You're sure to enjoy the hilarious comedy of Matilda and Patrick Murray!

Chris Contillo – Piano Entertainer
Has performed with The Boston Pops and also at Carnegie Hall.

Kaitlyn Carr – Vocalist
A touch of class from Scotland's premier singing sensation.

Rikki Jay – Comedian
From the London Palladium, international comedian Rikki Jay! He's fast...he's funny and he's calorie free!

Bret Sherwood – Magician
Master magician.

Emma Sinclair – Vocalist
From Opera to West End... An evening with London's singing sensation.

Leo Ward – Magician
Award-winning slight of hand act.

Nicola Loud – Violinist
In concert...internationally acclaimed violin virtuoso Nicola Loud.

David Williams – Piano Lounge Entertainer
An evening with Gershwin & Porter and all your favorite Broadway tunes.

February 25 – March 19, 2009

Glenn Amer – Piano Headliner and Vocalist
An exciting entertainment combining the fingers of Liberace with the voice of Mario Lanza!

Claude Eric – Vocalist
Direct from Montreal...the sensational voice of Claude Eric.

Tom Fletcher – Comedian
A Princess favorite; no thinking required.

Kenny Martyn – Multi-Instrumentalist
Specializing in the clarinet, tenor sax, alto sax, ukulele banjo and 5-string banjo in his extensive repertoire that encompasses popular standards, Bluegrass, Swing and Mozart.

Michelle Montouri – Vocalist
From Big Band to the West End musicals, Michelle can perform it all.

Gary Arbuthnot – Flautist
International flautist, Gary Arbuthnot presents hits from the stage and screen.

Tian Jiang – Piano Entertainer
Piano showman from Shanghai.

Nick Lewin – Comedy-Magician
Comedy that amazes.

March 20 – April 10, 2009

Goronwy Thom – Comedy-Juggler
His mix of comedy & skill has made him one of the U.K.'s top variety acts.

Chris Hamilton – Piano Entertainer
The unique playing and singing of Chris Hamilton.

Jacqueline Roche – Instrumentalist
Passion and pizzazz with virtuoso violinist Jacqueline Roche.

Tony Pace – Impressionist
The man with the voice... who just happens to be funny.

Mel Mellers – Magic Act & Mind Reading
Mel Mellers casts his comedy perspective in this unique act alive with action laughter and intrigue.

April 11 – May 8, 2009

Gary Williams – Vocalist
Star of the West End's Rat Pack and BBC Big Band.

Maria King – Piano Entertainer
Virtuoso piano entertainer with a twist.

Backbeat Beatles – Tribute Act
According to the Daily Mail, "The Backbeat Beatles are probably the nearest you will get to the real thing."

Annette Wardell – Vocalist
By Royal Appointment – the stunning voice of opera singer Annette Wardell.

Don Bryan – Ventriloquist
The vocal magic of master ventriloquist Don Bryan with Noseworthy.

Karen Grainger – Singing Impressionist
Canada's premier female impressionist.

Mark Donoghue – Multi-Instrumentalist
Show-stopping vocal routines complement dynamic performances on the mandolin, guitar, harmonica and violin.

Onboard Media

Super Bowl (Satellite dependent, February 1)
Academy Awards (February 22)
NCAA March Madness (March 17 – April 6)


First-run movies:

including popular titles like:
Appaloosa – R
Australia – PG–13
Bedtime Stories – PG
Body of Lies – R
Bonneville – PG
Bottle Shock – PG–13
The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas – PG–13
Burn After Reading – R
Changeling – R
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button – PG–13
The Dark Knight – PG–13
The Day the Earth Stood Still – PG–13
Eagle Eye – PG–13
Encounters at the End of the World – G
Everybody Wants to Be Italian – R
Flash of Genius – PG–13
Frost/Nixon – R
Ghost Town – PG–13
Gran Torino – R
Henry Poole Is Here – PG
In Bruges – R
The Incredible Hulk – PG–13
Mamma Mia! – PG–13
Milk – R
Nights in Rodanthe – PG–13
Quantum of Solace – PG–13
Rachel Getting Married – R
Revolutionary Road – R
Secret Life of Bees – PG–13
Slumdog Millionaire – R
Synecdoche, New York – R
Vicky Christina Barcelona – PG–13
Wanted – R
Yes Man – PG–13

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Pre-cruise update

One week ‘til sailing day and time for a pre-cruise update.

Packing:
Is well underway, we started collecting everything in one room about 3 months ago and actually started filling cases last week. At the moment we’re hoping to keep it to 3 large cases, one garment bag and two carry-ons. The plan is to have enough clothes for a 3 to 4 week turn-around, using the ships laundry as required, unfortunately there’s no drycleaners on board so we’ll have to be creative (or carry a lot of deodorant:)

Private excursions:
We’ve arranged private excursions for Easter Island, Papua New Guinea, Osaka, Vietnam/Cambodia/Thailand, Mumbai and Istanbul. It’s much more work to arrange your own tours but the benefits are worth the extra effort.

Our Easter Island arrangements are with Haumaka Tours and were the first we arranged back in September. Unfortunately I recently noticed their website had disappeared so I emailed them last week to confirm everything was still in place. Stay tuned for an update when (if) I hear back from them.

Our Papaua New Guinea arrangement were thanks to the hard work of new found friends, Bob and Elaine from Leicester, England. They will join the ship in Sydney for the second quarter of the cruise and Bob arranged the entire PNG tour through the Rabaul Hotel, our itinerary will cover all the top sites, from the Volcanological Observatory to the Japanese Submarine Base.

In Osaka, we’re very happy to be meeting a volunteer guide with the SGGC, who will help and guide us while there. The Osaka Tenma Yomiuri SGG club provides guiding and translation services, free of charge, with the exception that you are expected to pay for their travel expenses, admission to tourist facilities and to pay for the guides meals if you eat with them. We’re very much looking forward to our visit for a closer experience of Japanese life (and we might even try some Takoyaki).

In Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon) we have arranged to leave the ship and travel overland to Cambodia and Thailand. We will fly HCMC to Siem Reap, stay 2 nights, fly to Bangkok, stay 2 nights then rejoin the Royal Princess. Everything was booked online without problems with one exception. Initially we booked (and paid for) our Vietnam to Cambodia flight with Siem Reap Airways and about a month later, they were banned from flying due to safety concerns. After some anxious days, Bangkok Air assumed responsibility for the flight and re-booked us on a Vietnam Airlines flight at no additional cost. Arranging it ourselves meant that the cost for the 5 days is approximately one third of the cost quoted by Princess for the ships tour of 3 days.

In Mumbai, we had originally planned to take the ships tour to the Taj Mahal but upon reflection and some reading of others’ experiences with the tour, we considered it too long and gruelling with no options once the 15 hour trip had commenced. So we’re happy to have found an acceptable alternative with an excellent itinerary shared with a couple of fellow passengers and we are now looking forward to an interesting experience.

Our tour in Istanbul will take us to all the main cultural highlights of Istanbul's opulent past - the grandiose Topkapi Palace, the glittering Grand Bazaar, the magnificent Hagia Sophia Church, the elegant Blue Mosque and ancient Hippodrome, set among the cobbled streets of the old Imperial quarter and heart of ancient Byzantium & Constantinople...

Ships excursions:
We’ve booked excursions with the ship in 14 ports and we’ll wing it in the remaining (approximately 18) stops, but we’re especially looking forward to our four day overland in China.

Port problems:
On any vacation you run the risk of local events affecting your plans and our trip is no exception. Civil unrest in Bangkok, terrorist bombings in Mumbai, Gulf of Aden pirates, all out conflict in Israel and street riots in Athens, it certainly won’t be boring. I expect we may miss out on at least one of these ports but hopefully for the sake of those subjected to the violence, peace will return sooner rather than later. Either way, it won’t spoil our trip, I’ve got my ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ Tshirt with me for the trip through the Gulf of Aden.

Visas:

We were required to provide our own visas for China and India while Princess will take care of visas for Australia, Papua New Guinea, Vietnam, Cambodia and Egypt (costs will be charged to our shipboard account)
Accordingly we sent our passports off to the Indian embassy in Toronto, mid November. The Indian embassy would not accept ‘in person’, only ‘mail in’ applications, so we carefully tracked their progress over a two week period ‘til they came back ($62.00 each).’’Then, since we were leaving the ship in Vietnam and needed individual visas, we sent off to the Vietnamese embassy in Ottawa. After an anxious two week period where Canada Post lost them, they eventually returned ($79.00 each). That left the Chinese visa, which had to be an ‘in person’ application, they wouldn’t accept ‘mail ins’, so we drove the hour and a half to Toronto first Monday in December and waited in line with at least a hundred other people to put in our papers. The following Thursday we drove back and collected them without too much delay ($75.00 each). Including postal services, the three visas cost $347.58, we could have used a private visa service who would have handled all the applications for about $500 extra.
We needed one other visa, Cambodia, since we would not be covered by the ships group visa. This was a very easy online process which took 12 hours to receive the completed visa ($25.00 each)

What’s your favourite disease:
Hepatitis A/B, Measles,Mumps,Rubella(MMR), Polio, Tetanus-Diphtheria --
We had the vaccine 6 years ago so no further vaccination planned.
Rabies, Typhoid, Yellow Fever -- no vaccination planned.

Malaria: Do we need to take Malaria pills and if so, when? According to the CDC Malaria is a significant threat in 5 of the ports we visit, they are: Rabaul, PNG – Inchon, S.Korea – Siem Reap, Cambodia - Port Blair, Andaman Islands – Mumbai, India. There are other ports where Malaria is a threat but the likelihood of getting the disease is very low and risking the side effects of the anti-malarial drugs is considered not worth it. Weighing the threat of contracting the disease against the side effects of the drug is a personal choice but after extensive reading, taking into account the time we were there, we opted for mosquito repellent (Off with 25% deet) and protective clothing in PNG and South Korea.
After discussing the options with our family doctor we decided to take the drug (Malarone) for 27 days to protect us in Cambodia, Andaman Islands and India where I considered the risk too great to rely on anything else.

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