World cruise

[superdog]

Love this thread. So cool.

[LeonidYrc]

Sounds good!

[RichardBartlett]

Small update
Second Mexico stop cabo San Lucas
Not as nice as Vallarta but ok in other ways. Deffo had a spring break feel about it and very much geared up to the USA market
Popped into the Rolex dealer. Nothing to sell no great surprise but actually had a 36mm Tiffany OP. Never seen one of that colour in any size. Still bashing myself up by not buying a 41 below 10k when I had the chance (our Rolex dealer hasn't had one in of any size)

We walked around the marina to the beach. Sand ok not Carribbean nice though. Sea much colder as we are heading north

San Diego:
We have been waiting for US customs to validate us and we were told they would board at Mexico and work through the ship till S.D
Well that didn't happen. So we got a message that it was going to happen at San Diego custom control. The talk was it would be quick and easy as everyone had a visa, exemption or were American. No exceptions were allowed before boarding in Europe..
I said at dinner the previous night "The Americans will find a way to **CK us over"
And they did. 6 custom officers for 2750 people whole ship had to be done
They started at 07.39 . Our slot was 08.45 so we started queuing at 08.35. we cleared customs at 12.45. people were ranting at how inefficient they could be at not providing sufficient staff as they knew the ship was planned for today since October. Now a world cruise is full of old , and infirm and making them wait minimum of 3 hours in line with no seating is quite disgusting IMHO. I could say more about this but I won't except to say once cleared we went into San Diego (see below) and customs we're only just packing up when we returned at 18.30..

San Diego
I liked it. I loved the old buildings with the metal fire escapes on the front in the gaslight area of town. Looked really cool and reminded me of old US TV shows such as Ironside..had a chat there to an Iranian watch dealer as he was opening up shop . Great guy and friendly
However Jeepers America isn't cheap. 30 bucks for a burger fries and 2 beers. !! Lums
That's 5*hotel level where I come from
Although the burger whilst small was very good and the IPA beer really good.

Finished off with a harbour cruise which was great too

Day at sea then San Francisco

[RichardBartlett]

[URL=https://imageshack.com/i/pnqKZIwlj][IMG]

[Vivalas]

Shame about the delay with customs - we had to do a similar one when going to St Thomas years ago mad we’re lucky our slot was early in the day.

I’m guessing you are cleared now for San Francisco and any other US stop offs?

Fantastic trip seeing all these places :-)

[Maleg]

Passport control sounds like Chicago (ORD). Terrible that you had to deal with it on holiday.

Is that entry good for follow on stops? Or, will you have to reenter at other US ports?

[RichardBartlett]

Yes apparently we are good to go for San Fran and then Hawaii ��
It's left a bad taste towards US customs tbf. The staff rarely get to onshore and a lot were scheduled to go. Sadly all shore time was cancelled for them
We have 2 days in SF so hopefully they get a chance there
Looking forward to SF as my uncle and Aunt lived there in the 60's to the late 90's . They loved the place

We'll all forget pretty quickly so onwards we go .. bit cold there I understand!

Still trying to get pictures up but on my mobile and sloooowww internet isn't helping



.

[RichardBartlett]

Delete

[RichardBartlett]

San Francisco day 1
Up and off the ship by 09.00. walked to fisherman's wharf. Most still closed so we continued on up the hill.
Lots of nice places to see , heading towards the main California masons building. Not an overly attractive building as it looks more like a conference centre, I knew it was closed today but just wanted to get my bearings. That part of town Nob Hill seems the nicest with the best buildings.
We're heading back tomorrow to hopefully go inside then cocktail drinks at the ridiculously expensive Mark at the top.

I can only assume Americans earn gazillions as everything is so darn expensive!

We don't tend to dine out when on shore as we load up with sandwiches etc and coffee in our Thermos and enjoy a picnic in a park experience which is actually nicer than taking a chance on a restaurant and wasting hours when we could be exploring.
Anyhow onwards we went and wandered into the tram museum. Quite an accomplishment to think all those years ago to design and engineer such a hugely complicated set up and keep it going. Amazing engineering.
After that we wandered into China town area right into a big celebration party part of Chinese new year celebrations.

Then onto the business area then back to the boat

Total distance walked 14.9km.

Later we will wander back to fisherman's wharf to see what the evening brings

[Tri-Tip]

Originally Posted by RichardBartlett

Small update
Second Mexico stop cabo San Lucas
Not as nice as Vallarta but ok in other ways. Deffo had a spring break feel about it and very much geared up to the USA market
Popped into the Rolex dealer. Nothing to sell no great surprise but actually had a 36mm Tiffany OP. Never seen one of that colour in any size. Still bashing myself up by not buying a 41 below 10k when I had the chance (our Rolex dealer hasn't had one in of any size)

We walked around the marina to the beach. Sand ok not Carribbean nice though. Sea much colder as we are heading north

San Diego:
We have been waiting for US customs to validate us and we were told they would board at Mexico and work through the ship till S.D
Well that didn't happen. So we got a message that it was going to happen at San Diego custom control. The talk was it would be quick and easy as everyone had a visa, exemption or were American. No exceptions were allowed before boarding in Europe..
I said at dinner the previous night "The Americans will find a way to **CK us over"
And they did. 6 custom officers for 2750 people whole ship had to be done
They started at 07.39 . Our slot was 08.45 so we started queuing at 08.35. we cleared customs at 12.45. people were ranting at how inefficient they could be at not providing sufficient staff as they knew the ship was planned for today since October. Now a world cruise is full of old , and infirm and making them wait minimum of 3 hours in line with no seating is quite disgusting IMHO. I could say more about this but I won't except to say once cleared we went into San Diego (see below) and customs we're only just packing up when we returned at 18.30..

San Diego
I liked it. I loved the old buildings with the metal fire escapes on the front in the gaslight area of town. Looked really cool and reminded me of old US TV shows such as Ironside..had a chat there to an Iranian watch dealer as he was opening up shop . Great guy and friendly
However Jeepers America isn't cheap. 30 bucks for a burger fries and 2 beers. !! Lums
That's 5*hotel level where I come from
Although the burger whilst small was very good and the IPA beer really good.

Finished off with a harbour cruise which was great too

Day at sea then San Francisco

Wow, surprised at the Custom's delay.

I just got back off a Hawaiian cruise that stopped in Ensenada, Mexico the last day. Customs the next day in Los Angeles was a breeze, no forms, no passport, just facial recognition, stop for 2 seconds, look into the camera, move on.

Maybe lighter screening since it was only a 6 hour stop in another country, most people didn't even get off the ship.

[RichardBartlett]

Originally Posted by Tri-Tip

Wow, surprised at the Custom's delay.

I just got back off a Hawaiian cruise that stopped in Ensenada, Mexico the last day. Customs the next day in Los Angeles was a breeze, no forms, no passport, just facial recognition, stop for 2 seconds, look into the camera, move on.

Maybe lighter screening since it was only a 6 hour stop in another country, most people didn't even get off the ship.

If you're American starting off from America it's a different kettle of fish to our trip

One American asked security why are were queuing? The answer was "oh we didn't know there were Americans onboard"

Security then put a call out to US and Canadian citizens who then went through like you did. Everyone else had that and fingerprint readers.

The main issue was the complete lack of customs officers on duty for the number of people on board

[RichardBartlett]

Our table is a mobile electronics albatross

I left my wife's iPad in Tenerife security on departure, lady lost her iPhone yesterday and my one month old Google pixel 7 has completely died on me so I've got even less access than before

Leaving San Francisco soon Honolulu in 5 days.

[JasoninDenver]

Originally Posted by RichardBartlett

Our table is a mobile electronics albatross

I left my wife's iPad in Tenerife security on departure, lady lost her iPhone yesterday and my one month old Google pixel 7 has completely died on me so I've got even less access than before

Leaving San Francisco soon Honolulu in 5 days.

Might I suggest a group trip to…

https://www.apple.com/retail/alamoana/

[RichardBartlett]

Originally Posted by JasoninDenver

Might I suggest a group trip to…

https://www.apple.com/retail/alamoana/

Sadly I've hated Apple with a passion since the late 90's. They were the choice of arty marketing and pr types back then and I was in my ex's office waiting and had a play on a Mac thing whilst she finished up . What a frustratingly irritating heap of s***t!
Several partners later including my daughter today all had Apple and my partner has the 13 and iPad pro. (Admittedly the iPad is currently sitting in Tenerife lost and found see previous) so reluctantly I've 'lived' with Apple ever since....

To this day l honestly and seriously cannot see why they are so popular. Terrible terrible devices IMHO, poorly thought out, very user unfriendly and counter intuitive. The two most popular phrases I heard on a regular basis from then till now: "how do I get it to..?" And "why won't it..?"
For example. In San Francisco there is free WiFi in parks Ok my pixel when it worked, connect to WiFi which automatically brings up the registration webpage. register and you're good to go. Perfect.
My partners iPhone connects to the WiFi but doesn't automatically bring up the registration page so whilst it's WiFi connected you still can't use it.. just rubbish things about Apple like that drives me mad..

Then there's the (massive way way way over) price issue..

For me they are a "look at me" buy only and I personally don't take anyone in business with an Apple 'ianything' seriously......Girls but them because other girls buy them. Men buy them because they think girls will like them..

Safe to say not really for me. But thanks for the tip :-)

Sea was a bit choppy last night, waters calmer this morning.. 08.40 off to eat way too much. In desperate need of a professional fat shamer..

[Knappo 1307]

Originally Posted by RichardBartlett

Sadly I've hated Apple with a passion since the late 90's. They were the choice of arty marketing and pr types back then and I was in my ex's office waiting and had a play on a Mac thing whilst she finished up . What a frustratingly irritating heap of s***t!
Several partners later including my daughter today all had Apple and my partner has the 13 and iPad pro. (Admittedly the iPad is currently sitting in Tenerife lost and found see previous) so reluctantly I've 'lived' with Apple ever since....

To this day l honestly and seriously cannot see why they are so popular. Terrible terrible devices IMHO, poorly thought out, very user unfriendly and counter intuitive. The two most popular phrases I heard on a regular basis from then till now: "how do I get it to..?" And "why won't it..?"
For example. In San Francisco there is free WiFi in parks Ok my pixel when it worked, connect to WiFi which automatically brings up the registration webpage. register and you're good to go. Perfect.
My partners iPhone connects to the WiFi but doesn't automatically bring up the registration page so whilst it's WiFi connected you still can't use it.. just rubbish things about Apple like that drives me mad..

Then there's the (massive way way way over) price issue..

For me they are a "look at me" buy only and I personally don't take anyone in business with an Apple 'ianything' seriously......Girls but them because other girls buy them. Men buy them because they think girls will like them..

Safe to say not really for me. But thanks for the tip :-)

Sea was a bit choppy last night, waters calmer this morning.. 08.40 off to eat way too much. In desperate need of a professional fat shamer..

Is this BC?

[Tri-Tip]

Originally Posted by RichardBartlett

Sadly I've hated Apple with a passion since the late 90's. They were the choice of arty marketing and pr types back then and I was in my ex's office waiting and had a play on a Mac thing whilst she finished up . What a frustratingly irritating heap of s***t!
Several partners later including my daughter today all had Apple and my partner has the 13 and iPad pro. (Admittedly the iPad is currently sitting in Tenerife lost and found see previous) so reluctantly I've 'lived' with Apple ever since....

To this day l honestly and seriously cannot see why they are so popular. Terrible terrible devices IMHO, poorly thought out, very user unfriendly and counter intuitive. The two most popular phrases I heard on a regular basis from then till now: "how do I get it to..?" And "why won't it..?"
For example. In San Francisco there is free WiFi in parks Ok my pixel when it worked, connect to WiFi which automatically brings up the registration webpage. register and you're good to go. Perfect.
My partners iPhone connects to the WiFi but doesn't automatically bring up the registration page so whilst it's WiFi connected you still can't use it.. just rubbish things about Apple like that drives me mad..

Then there's the (massive way way way over) price issue..

For me they are a "look at me" buy only and I personally don't take anyone in business with an Apple 'ianything' seriously......Girls but them because other girls buy them. Men buy them because they think girls will like them..

Safe to say not really for me. But thanks for the tip :-)

Sea was a bit choppy last night, waters calmer this morning.. 08.40 off to eat way too much. In desperate need of a professional fat shamer..

I don't know how you're doing it with the food. On my recent cruise, day 12 of 15, I hit the wall after breakfast. I said enough was enough, ate a very light lunch and definitely not as much for the last few days of the trip.

[Trailboss516]

Painting with a broad brush here...Apple is a luxury goods company, Google is a technology company.

[Star Ferry]

Originally Posted by Trailboss516

Painting with a broad brush here...Apple is a luxury goods company, Google is a technology company.

Apple’s business is making countless millions of poor people feel like they have patronized a luxury goods company.

[JasoninDenver]

Originally Posted by RichardBartlett

Sadly I've hated Apple with a passion since the late 90's. They were the choice of arty marketing and pr types back then and I was in my ex's office waiting and had a play on a Mac thing whilst she finished up . What a frustratingly irritating heap of s***t!
Several partners later including my daughter today all had Apple and my partner has the 13 and iPad pro. (Admittedly the iPad is currently sitting in Tenerife lost and found see previous) so reluctantly I've 'lived' with Apple ever since....

To this day l honestly and seriously cannot see why they are so popular. Terrible terrible devices IMHO, poorly thought out, very user unfriendly and counter intuitive. The two most popular phrases I heard on a regular basis from then till now: "how do I get it to..?" And "why won't it..?"
For example. In San Francisco there is free WiFi in parks Ok my pixel when it worked, connect to WiFi which automatically brings up the registration webpage. register and you're good to go. Perfect.
My partners iPhone connects to the WiFi but doesn't automatically bring up the registration page so whilst it's WiFi connected you still can't use it.. just rubbish things about Apple like that drives me mad..

Then there's the (massive way way way over) price issue..

For me they are a "look at me" buy only and I personally don't take anyone in business with an Apple 'ianything' seriously......Girls but them because other girls buy them. Men buy them because they think girls will like them..

Safe to say not really for me. But thanks for the tip :-)

Sea was a bit choppy last night, waters calmer this morning.. 08.40 off to eat way too much. In desperate need of a professional fat shamer..

Sorry to have struck a nerve.

I get sick of the hype as well but, for some reason, Apple products and OS always seem to work for my simple brain. Put me in front of a PC and I am like my mom trying to figure out how to turn off the flashing light in the VCR.

[RichardBartlett]

Hawaii done. Internet pre 1998 on the way to Samoa

[RichardBartlett]

Couple of updates. The one month old google pixel 7 which is not a very good phone imho. Esp the poor battery life. Real world is around 4 to 5 hours max. With the huge advances in battery tech driven by the auto industry how google can release such a poorly undersized mobile is incredulous..
After spending hours and hours it seems its the battery responsible for the crash. It's discharging from 100% to 5% in around 1 minute.
Anyhow in Honolulu we walked to best buy and bought a cheap Motorola power with a decent battery 2021 power G). It's everything as good as the pixel except the camera which is way worse. However it was 130 $ against 680$ so that's reasonable.
Woke up this morning to two things.
1 the internet was working way better
2 torrential rain

The rains stopped but the internet remains better than most other days..

Tonight at 12.00 we cross the international date line meaning we go from the 14th to the 16th.. Still trying to get my head around how that works exactly !

Then one more day to Samoa..

[Moondoggy]

Bring on the pictures!

[RichardBartlett]

Originally Posted by Moondoggy

Bring on the pictures!

Sadly hampered by
a, poor internet which slows down uploading
B, lack of image reducing software
C, my mobile going tits up one month after buying it
D, on sea for 5 days unable to do anything
If there is anything that can reduce pictures to an acceptable size for me to post left me know

I used to use outlook which would let you reduce to medium small etc but it now doesn't seem to.


Anyhow
Tonight marked a double whammy, we crossed the equator and the dateline so jumped from 14th to 16th in less than a second.. still can't my head round it

Super night valentine's plus the above. Boat had a real NYE feel everyone was up for it...

Almost half way now though which is a bummer.

[Tri-Tip]

Originally Posted by RichardBartlett

Sadly hampered by
a, poor internet which slows down uploading
B, lack of image reducing software
C, my mobile going tits up one month after buying it
D, on sea for 5 days unable to do anything
If there is anything that can reduce pictures to an acceptable size for me to post left me know

I used to use outlook which would let you reduce to medium small etc but it now doesn't seem to.


Anyhow
Tonight marked a double whammy, we crossed the equator and the dateline so jumped from 14th to 16th in less than a second.. still can't my head round it

Super night valentine's plus the above. Boat had a real NYE feel everyone was up for it...

Almost half way now though which is a bummer.

Do they make a big ceremony out of that like when you cross the equator for the first time?

[RichardBartlett]

Originally Posted by Tri-Tip

Do they make a big ceremony out of that like when you cross the equator for the first time?

They ie ships are supposed to make a big deal out of it Everytime they cross apparently this includes"kissing the fish" where a large dead fish is brought around the ship so everyone can kiss it..

Ours did that plus a massive pool party inc eggs and God knows what being thrown around.

Pool had to be emptied and cleaned after

[JasoninDenver]

So, is it like a late night food orgy buffet every night like a typical cruise or a bit more sedate on a day to day basis?

How is the interaction with fellow cruisers on the longer sea transit segments? Can you feel comfortable just doing your own thing?

[RichardBartlett]

Originally Posted by JasoninDenver

So, is it like a late night food orgy buffet every night like a typical cruise or a bit more sedate on a day to day basis?

How is the interaction with fellow cruisers on the longer sea transit segments? Can you feel comfortable just doing your own thing?

There is fine dining type eating for breakfast lunch and dinner. Or buffet if you prefer. You can stick to one or as Most do mix and match. We started the restaurant breakfast but no longer bother. It's more formal which we reserve for the evening.

Interaction
We have our dining table of 2 elderly ( but amazing) Canadian ladies, an Indian chap (retired surgeon) who loves to be controversial but with a twinkle in his eye
A lovely lady from the Philippines who lived in UK most of her life, A south African lady who was a high powered business woman for IBM and us two.
We have a tremendous 2 hour dinner every night which gets quite raucous at times but never personal or nasty and we all love it.
After and before that it's just 2 minutes of chit chat we cross paths during the day. The two Canadian ladies (cousins ) have a rule where if one wants out they are free wander and do their own thing and we often see one or the other wandering around either on their own or sitting with someone else.

As a couple we're fairly self sufficient. Dalia isn't great in groups and we love being a couple so happy to be on our own. Dalia has work so I can wander off to do other things to get out the way.

Part of the issue for me at least is my lack of languages and I'm not an overly forward person. With such a mixture of nationalities you're never quite sure if they speak English. However if you smile and say hello, etc most respond , some look at you like your asking for a loan but the majority are ok. Different cultures and different people react differently at different times...
Best of course are the Americans who are always easy to talk to and always seem happy to shoot the breeze.

There is always different things going on plenty of small single interest groups knitting, sewing tennis, bridge, even a ukulele group have a twang together.

Then there's group things going on. Silly games or keep fit, learn to dance, stretch classes or quizzes.

The Indian chap for example just meanders around chatting to people or watches TV or sleeping he never ever gets involved in any activities , you find your own level.

Boredom is a state of mind. There's always something going on or someone to talk to . After 6 weeks onboard there are still people I look at and think " hmm never seen them before?" Others you bump into all the time.. it's a microcosm of the world. Remember there's 3000 people here, that's a small towns worth of folk milling around in a much smaller footprint

Over all for me at least it's working out great 👍

[Vivalas]

How’s the cruise now Richard?

I’ve went to the Caribbean 10th February and had a two week cruise and been back over a week now and you’re probably only 60% in :-)