Full Version: Rodney, how was your cruise ?
From: Rodney Gold (RODNEY_GOLD) [#2]
16 Jan 2006
To: Peter [#1] 16 Jan 2006
The boat is a floating 6 star hotel , exceptional food , entertainment etc. PPl aboard: 1000 yanks (loud and a little pushy/demanding) , 1000 brits (who never stopped moaning about just about anything , no matter how trivial) and 1000 Aussies (who were mostly too drunk at 12 noon to moan about anything, down to earth , rough and ready - their war cry "Aussie Aussie Aussie - Oi Oi Oi) (Ps im only joking and being typically stereotypical, all the ppl were real friendly and we met some amazing ppl from all over the world )
If you like eating , this is the holiday for you , mountains of high class food 24 hrs a day all free. Eventually you have to start skipping meals as there is just too much food. the ship is a floating city , a prison , a full hospital , laundry , watermaker, library , wifi internet etc , it generates almost 100 megawatts!!! Finishes were beautiful and we had a huge cabin. Most of the ppl were in their late 50's etc , cruising seems the domain of mainly an older crowd , not many familys with younger kids , circa 250 kids between 3 and 18 yrs old on the cruise.
A fair sprinkling of ppl our ages (lateish 40's)
Tons of stuff to do onboard , laze , eat , swim , watch movies , play quizes , lectures , computer classes , spa , massages , ballroom lessons , arts and crafts , casino , dancing , discos , bars by the million , 7 pools. the ship is VERY stable , almost too much so , the weather really had to be bad to feel any significant motion. Staff are mainly contract youngsters from all over the world , but all were very obliging.
FOOD and ppl eating it is an eyeopener , we called the buffet the "trough" as ppl shoved and elbowed their way , almost as tho they had never seen food in their lives.
I have NO idea how some of the ppl on board can be as comfortable with their bodies as most of this crowd , poolside one saw some really hideous sights , obese wrinklys wearing bikinis with thighs like kneaded bread dough and so forth. almost enough to but you off your triple ccholestreol on a bun cheese burger or supersized pizza slices:)
On formal nights , what was amazing was the way ppl dressed , ultra smart , tuxes with jewelled studs , gowns , jewellery dripping etc. Just about everyone got smart , even the aussies (albeit they refused to wear any other shoes but slip slops:).
As to tours :
I loved Malaysia , went to a batik factory , river cruise , mangroves , temples etc, very expensive place however , real tourist rip off prices at the so called "duty free tourist shops" (us$95 for a silk shirt)
Thailand (bangcock) was very dirty and gridlock traffic , but the golden temple and thai dancers/food were good , shopping isnt bad so long as you avoid tourist places. Was amazed at the electrical system , 100's of wires spliced into boxes in the sidewalks , amazed ppl dont get electrocuted.
Singapore (an amazingly clean city) was wonderful , we saw tons of stuff there , highlight was a laser/fire/fountain show on Sentosa , very humid and very cheap boys toys. Shoppers paradise if you have the money . (we were there 3 days but didnt have the moola for the louis viutton/gucci stuff)
Vietnam is filthy , beggars , a zillion scooters , very backward but VERY cheap(was cheaper to buy silk shirts there than to have em dry cleaned aboard , pirate Dvds were $1 a pop , amazing craftsmanship and laquer work) wouldnt want to visit there again or even eat the food or drink the water. Ho chi minh city was a waste of time. Lots of US ppl went there to remember fallen kids , pals etc , most came back disgusted , the general comment was "what the hell were we doing there"
Darwin is a very small - nothing to see there of any major interest as it was destroyed in 74 by a cyclone , the tour guide actually stopped at a small woolworths and a holiday inn and waxed lyrical over it , VERY hot and humid , beautiful houses tho , no ideas why the ship stopped there apart from the fact it took 4 at sea days to get there.
Cairns and the Kuranda rainforestation are great , good tour that , we saw a lot of stuff , abo shows , spear throwing , zoo etc , Went on a scenic railway tour and came back by a skytrain cable car.
The great barrier reef (el cid harbour/Yorky's knob)was a little dissapointing as a lot of it is dead but snorkeling and going on the sub were a highlight , went on reefworld pontoons , it was a great day tho , nice trip on a cat to get there , my daughter had her first snorkeling experience there (but was petrified of getting stung by a box jellyfish or eaten by a shark)
Brisbane zoo (Steves zoo) is not bad at all but no great shakes , we saw and spoke to him and got a "holding a koala" pic - major highlight for my wife and kid. We went to resort in brisbane , Noola , great place , expensive shopping tho, had lunch at a surf lifesaving club.
Sydney is beautiful, we were only there for a few hours however would have liked to stay longer , went to the vantage points and to a beach , I would go back there.
Melbourne (where my sister is) is a little "grubby" (3 days there) but has quite a few things of interest (museum , aquarium , south bank , yarra river , bot gardens , cooks cottage etc)
The flies in melbourne were VERY bad , there were 100000000's of em all over you and your food!!! Evidently its not always like that , but was real bad when we were there. I didnt like melbourne , cos the ppl were rude and stupid (tour guides waiters and shop assistants especially) and we constantly got ripped off by the taxi drivers (not the aussie born ones who were great , mostly immigrants) an amazing contrast to the other places in aussie we went to where ppl were ultra helpful and went out their way to make us feel welcome.I wouldnt want to go back there or even live there.
Quantas city flier airlines (sydney to melb and back) is the pits , they can take some good lessons from singapore airlines , very curt stewards , really rubbish in flight snack and generally a "shove em in and treat em like cattle attitude" , bad even
From: BrianC (INKSQUIRTER) [#3]
16 Jan 2006
To: Rodney Gold (RODNEY_GOLD) [#2] 16 Jan 2006
You certainly have a gift of presenting information Rodney. Do you have a personal typist? ;-)
Seriously, you have been very open about sharing information on this forum and it is really appreciated.
Sounds like you had a great trip and the photos prove it. Thanks for sharing with us.
From: Stunt Engraver (DGL) [#4]
16 Jan 2006
To: Rodney Gold (RODNEY_GOLD) [#2] 17 Jan 2006
Thank you for taking us along on the cruise. Loved the pictures.
Were you in any of the photos, or are you going to keep yourself a mystery to us? :-)
From: Rodney Gold (RODNEY_GOLD) [#5]
19 Jan 2006
To: Stunt Engraver (DGL) [#4] 19 Jan 2006
Hiya , if you look at pic
http://www.rodg.fotopic.net/p24935403.html
From left to right is
my neice , my daughter , my mom , my nephew, my wife , myself (baldy) and my sister.
Regards
Rodney
From: Stunt Engraver (DGL) [#6]
19 Jan 2006
To: Rodney Gold (RODNEY_GOLD) [#5] 19 Jan 2006
Thanks for the introductions. I kinda thought that was you.
Very handsome group.
Do you have another mega-vacation lined up for the future? If so, where this time?
From: Rodney Gold (RODNEY_GOLD) [#7]
19 Jan 2006
To: Stunt Engraver (DGL) [#6] 19 Jan 2006
I really liked cruising and think from now on this will be the way I travel , its actually quite cheap if you take what you get included.
I would like to go to Beijing or Alaska next time round. I would also like to do the USA at some time, Greek islands , Russia etc -;)
From: Stunt Engraver (DGL) [#8]
19 Jan 2006
To: Rodney Gold (RODNEY_GOLD) [#7] 19 Jan 2006
I remember you said the ship you were on was very stable, but I don't know if they've built one that I can travel on, without getting seasick. :S
Let me know when you go to the Greek isles. I'll fly over and meet you there. I'm OK for short distances on boats. :-)
From: Harvey only (HARVEY-ONLY) [#9]
20 Jan 2006
To: Stunt Engraver (DGL) [#8] 20 Jan 2006
The best seasick medication is Bonine. It was recommended by a pharmacist Uncle many years ago. I had friends who got terribly seasick on Dramamine when take as directed, including Wifey.
One Bonine before the trip and all was well, except Wifey. It put her to sleep on the trip. Next time she took 1/4 of a pill and was amazed at how good she did. No seasickness, no sleepiness. It just works.
From: Ed (EMANA) [#10]
20 Jan 2006
To: ALL
I did a cruise to Alaska last summer. They have a patch for sea-sickness that worked wonders....
Ed