Our departure date of January 27th finally arrived and we boarded our Qantas flight ready and eager for a new adventure in South America!
Our pre- cruise visit to Las Vegas was fun and even better than the last time we were there because it wasn’t so crowded at that time of year.
Our stay at Harrah’s was enjoyable and more than we expected for $69 per night.We had a nice room in the quieter Mardi Gras Tower and the hotel facilities were good.. The reception staff were very friendly and efficient and the hotel was in a great position in the centre of The Strip.

It was fun visiting some of our favourite hotels such as the Venetian, Bellagio, Paris, the Mirage and Caesar’s. I think the Venetian is our favourite. Bellagio had a beautiful display for Chinese New Year.

Our red eye Delta flight to Ft. Lauderdale was full and our carry ons were stowed way back from where we were sitting.

Once there we settled into our pleasant room at the Fort Lauderdale Grande for two nights pre-cruise. The first night we went out to eat with friends Deb & Joe from a previous cruise who live nearby. We had a nice meal at the Cheesecake Factory and swapped cruise stories – it was a fun evening!

The following day we met Gail & Murray who were sailing with us on the Splendor and went out for breakfast downtown in Las Olas Blvd. We joined them for a drive around Ft. Lauderdale to pick up necessities for our long cruise. Later in the day we joined some of the Cruise Critic members( Salsa 49ers) at the Bimini Boathouse for drinks and dinner.

Carnival Splendor cruise itinerary:
January 31st – March 21st 2009 – 49 days

First leg:
Jan.31st – Feb.17th 2009 – Fort Lauderdale, Florida – Buenos Aires, Argentina

Day 1

Embarkation day arrived and we woke up to sunny but windy weather. We walked along the road to the French Bakery for breakfast – good coffee in a giant mug and a delicious toasted panini!
We took a cab from the hotel to the cruise terminal ($10 with tip) and arrived there at 11.15am. Check in was smooth and we were onboard just after 12.00pm. Our suitcases were delivered early so we unpacked after lunch in the Lido.

It was just as well we boarded early because we found out later that there was a bomb scare. This meant that people who arrived later on were kept waiting in the arrivals hall until 8.00pm or later whilst everything was checked out. We were so lucky to have missed all the aggravation by arriving early!

We were on a table of ten in the Gold Pearl dining room. Luckily Ken, our wonderful maitre’d, had given us a table in the middle of the restaurant with good company and great servers too!

After dinner we went to a short show with the Carnival singers and dancers and the piano man.
We enjoyed a good sleep in our cosy balcony cabin for the first of forty nine nights on this exciting cruise!

Days 2 & 3 – Fun Days at Sea

We enjoyed two full days at sea to further explore this ship which we had first sailed on in the Baltic last September. The Carnival Splendor is113,300-tons, is 952 feet in length, has a cruising speed of 22 knots and carries 3,006 passengers. She’s a beautiful ship and we were happy to be sailing on her for a second time!
It was good to relax for two days and meet up with friends from Cruise Critic.

Day 4 – Dominica – Feb. 2nd 2009 (12pm-7pm)

Dominica is set halfway between Guadeloupe and Martinique and is the largest and most mountainous of the Windward Islands. The landscape is lush and green with rivers, waterfalls, rainforests and the Morne Trois Pitons National Park.

We went on a tour to the Emerald pool and Trafalgar Falls but it was raining so we didn’t walk to the falls. We enjoyed our drive around the island but unfortunately we didn’t have the time or the weather to get out much and explore further.

Day 5 – Barbados – Feb.4th 2009 (7am-4pm)

Barbados is a beautiful island with British traditions. It has wonderful panoramas of oceans and valleys, and pink and white sand beaches.

We had a really interesting tour here with Colin from Cameron Reid’s tours. He was an excellent guide and took us to a wide variety of places.

First we explored a local street at Cape Hill and then went on to Highland Park lookout where we tasted some rum punch. From there we visited beautiful Bathsheba to admire the views and on to Nicholas Abbey, Speightstown, the very interesting Church of St. John and Holetown. After the tour we spent an hour or so in Bridgetown and then walked back to the ship. We enjoyed Barbados and would like to go back there someday.

Days 6 & 7 – Fun Days at Sea

It was good to have two relaxing days at sea following our visits to Dominica and Barbados. We joined in some of the activities onboard but we also just lazed around on our balcony.

Day 8 – Crossing the Equator – Feb.7th
Crossing the equator is a rite of passage for cruisers who have not crossed the legendary line before. To make it more memorable, a ceremony is performed with King Neptune to mark the occasion.
We have crossed the equator before so we are referred to as “Shellbacks”. Those who have not crossed the equator before are referred to as “Pollywogs”.

Day 9 – Fortaleza, Brazil-Feb. 8th (7am-6pm)

Fortaleza with its lovely beaches, restaurants and nightlife, is a popular destination. The city has a Gothic style Cathedral with beautiful stained glass windows.
The Central Market offers delicious exotic tropical fruits and fine lacework, embroidery, leather goods, and ceramics. There is also an interesting market in the old prison.

Our Brasilian friend Marisa met us at the port and took us on a tour of the city. She took us to the market in the old prison where we purchased a bag for our waitress Martina who had to stay onboard. Marisa’s cousin was there to greet us in his shop where we bought cappuchino and caramel flavoured cashew nuts – yummy!

We visited Dragon de Mar with it’s colourful squares and buildings and met some of the passengers who were on a Carnival tour. We felt very lucky to have Marisa as our local guide!

A big surprise was a special lunch arranged for us at the L’O restaurant by Marisa. She has her own PR agency and as she was promoting this restaurant we were invited to a wonderful lunch there!

After lunch she took us to a supermarket to buy wine and to change some money into reals.

Marisa seemed to know everyone and phoned a friend to take us to Beach Park which is a seaside resort about half an hour’s drive from Forteleza.

When we returned to the ship we said our goodbyes and set sail once again. After sailaway I went to the Spa for a facial, mini manicure and a foot massage – a special for $69 which I had booked earlier – it felt so good! What a wonderful day!

Day 10 – Fun Day at Sea

We slept in and had a late breakfast in the Lido. We walked around the jogging track for almost an hour and then did some laundry and ironing. Later on we met some friends for a drink and went to bed early as tomorrow is a port day in Recife.

Day 11 – Recife, Brazil – Feb.10th (7am-6pm)

Recife is known as the “Venice of Brazil” because of its rivers and bridges. It is a modern city and a tropical beach resort. The city is a centre for culture and the arts.
Olinda, Brazil’s old colonial capital declared World Historical Monument by Unesco, is a few miles from Recife. It is a fascinating place to visit!

Our guide Carlos took us to Olinda first. It was very interesting with colourful historic houses and shops full of Carnival costumes.We visited the cathedral and admired the lovely views over the bay. Then we went to the market in a prison – a similar idea to the one in Foreleza. We looked around at the unusual giftware and bought some souvenirs.

Downtown Recife had some interesting public buildings and we strolled around for a short time before returning to the ship. We really enjoyed our tour and Carlos was an excellent guide.

Day 12 – Fun Day at Sea – Feb.11th

We slept in late and had breakfast in the Lido. We played Scattergories in the Cool Lounge and then joined in with a dance class. We went to the talk on Rio de Janeiro in the theatre and afterwards we joined friends at the Liner bar. Just before bedtime we walked around the top decks to enjoy the night sky and the sea.

Day 13 – Salvador, Brazil- Feb.12th (7am-4pm)

Salvador de Bahia is Brazil’s third largest city with a large population including Afro Brazilians as well as Portuguese. It has been designated a World Heritage Site by Unesco and has a pleasant tropical climate, miles of lovely beaches and lush tropical vegetation.

We were up early and had breakfast delivered to our room as we were on an early tour. We visited the historic area and also the colourful and vibrant Pelourinho district. T-shirts and other souvenirs seemed to be quite expensive in this popular area of Salvador so we didn’t buy anything.

Day 14 – Fun Day at Sea Feb.13th.

Day 15 – Rio de Janeiro- Feb.14th (8am-5pm)

Rio de Janeiro is a beautiful city with many beaches, including the famous Copacabana and Ipanema, set against a mountainous backdrop.Two of the main attractions are a cable car ride up Sugarloaf Mountain and a cog train ride up Corcovado to see the views and the wonderful statue of Christ the Redeemer. Rio is famous for its annual Carnival, an amazing five-day celebration that draws tourists from everywhere in the world.

A rainy day for our tour with Marcelo Neves but he helped to make it a great day despite the weather. We didn’t go by cog train up to Corcovado as it was crowded so we drove up to the elevator. There was a strange beauty in the mist-shrouded views from the mountain top and Christ the Redeemer statue was awesome! We took lots of photos here.

We visited Leblon, Ipanema and Copacabana beaches. We stopped at Ipanema for lunch with Marcelo and then he took us to a supermarket to buy wine.
Sugarloaf Mountain was our next stop and we bought T-shirts before riding the cable car up to the top. We saw some little monkeys with cute-looking faces.
On the way back to the ship we stopped off to see the Carnivale preparations. Unfortunately we were there just a little too early for the celebrations!
Back at the cruise terminal we used up our last 20 real to buy cashaca, a local drink made from sugar cane alcohol with limes.
Rio de Janeiro is a place we would love to go back to – preferably when it’s a sunny day!

Days 16 & 17 – Fun Days at Sea

Time to do our laundry! There were long lines most days but we struck it lucky and only had a short wait for the machines.
We spent the two sea days relaxing and made good use of the hot tub!

Day 18 – Buenos Aires, Argentina September 17th. ( 8.00am – overnight)

Buenos Aires combines South American flavor with European style. The city shows French influences in its architecture, cafés, beautiful parks and boulevards.
The Italian district of La Boca and the artists’ quarter of San Telmo are two of the interesting areas to visit.
You can take a flight excursion to Iguassu Falls from here but we didn’t have time to do that on this occasion.

We were looking forward to our morning tour of Buenos Aires but there was a hassle getting off the ship and we had to wait in long lines for more than two hours! Eventually we joined our tour and were pleased to get an overview of this beautiful city. We planned to visit some of the more interesting sights the following day.

We went back to the ship for lunch and we were delighted to meet up with our friends Marilyn & Steve who had just joined us for the second leg of this cruise. They had moved into the adjoining cabin so we opened the balcony door to make it into one big balcony.

In the evening we went on a privately arranged tour with other cruise Critic members to La Ventana Tango show in San Telmo. It was a wonderful evening with a great show, good food and wine for only $72.50 per person!

2nd leg:
February 18th 2009 – March 3rd 2009 – Buenos Aires, Argentina – Santiago (Valparaíso), Chile

Day 19 – Buenos Aires, Argentina – February 18th

We decided to explore the city on our own instead of taking a tour.
Together with Marilyn, Steve, Ada, Richard, Mei and Ed we headed for Recoleta sharing two taxis. We all wanted to see Eva Peron’s Duarte family mausoleum first! We were very impressed with the opulence of Recoleta cemetery and its varied mausoleums of the rich and famous – mostly crafted from marble. It would have taken days to see everything!

We took a taxi from Recoleta to one of the famous historic meeting places – the Café Tortoni. The décor was very original and interesting and we enjoyed our huge toasted sandwiches and delicious coffee!

Afterwards four of us went to the Italian La Boca district by taxi. We were captivated by the colourful buildings, architecture and liveliness of the Caminito area – especially by the tango dancing in the street cafes. We stopped for a while at one of the cafes to watch the dancers. Then we took a taxi into the main shopping street of the city to window shop and to buy some wine before returning to the ship.

Day 20 – Montevideo, Uruguay – February 19th.( 8.00am – 5.00pm)

Montevideo is a clean and very pleasant city. It has an old and a new town featuring many historical sites as well as restaurants, cafes, nightclubs and casinos.

The city is situated on the north shore of the River de la Plata. Statues of the country’s heroes are scattered throughout the town. An impressive equestrian statue sits in Independence Square, while the others fill the local parks.

On that hot, sunny day we took a tour with our very knowledgeable guide Marta. We travelled all around the city and then looked at some beach areas along the river (the ocean beaches are about 120 miles away from the city) We saw the contrast between the old and new areas of the city. Marta showed us a Gothic style church and also the palatial mansion of Reverend Moon as we explored one of the upmarket neighbourhoods.

We had lunch at a winery which was a welcome break! We thought it was very expensive although the tour itself was very good value for only $45 per person.

When we left the restaurant we had a bit of a drama because the van would not start due to a flat battery! Luckily Marta phoned to get another van to take us back to the ship so we all breathed a sigh of relief!

Day 21 – Fun Day at Sea – February 20th.

We were quite ready to relax on our sea day after three port days in succession!

Day 22 – Puerto Madryn, Argentina – February 21st – (9.00am – 6.00pm)

Puerto Madryn is situated on the Golfo Nuevo in Patagonia, Argentina. The city is the gateway to many natural splendors, such as Punta Tombo National Reserve (home to the world’s biggest colony of Magellanic penguins), as well as the Península Valdés (the world-famous wildlife sanctuary). The city also offers several attractions, from its beaches to its historic sites.

It was a nice day for our walking tour of the town. Together with Marilyn and Steve we went shopping for souvenirs which were really good value here compared to other places we had visited. We would have liked to have seen the penguins at Punta Tombo( especially as later on we missed our tour to see the penguins in Punta Arenas due to bad weather!) but it was a long drive to get there so we preferred to explore Puerto Madryn on our own. Another good day!

Day 23 – Fun Day at Sea – February 22nd
Another relaxing day at sea!
We enjoyed Dirk’s travel talk on Ushuaia, Punta Arenas and Cape Horn. It was very interesting!

Day 24 – Cape Horn Cruising – February 23rd

Cape Horn,named after the city of Hoorn (in the Netherlands) is the southernmost headland of the Tierra del Fuego archipelago of southern Chile. It marks the northern boundary of the Drake Passage and for many years it was a major milestone on the clipper route, by which sailing ships carried trade around the world.

We were looking forward to rounding Cape Horn and had planned a small party on our balcony to celebrate the occasion. We had the balcony door open between Marilyn & Steve’s cabin and ours so we invited Gail & Murray and Linda & Mike to join us for the afternoon. It was a cold, blustery and rainy day so we bundled ourselves up in warm clothes and enjoyed a few drinks and laughs together!
Luckily the sea wasn’t too rough that day so we all enjoyed the experience!

Day 25 – Ushuaia, Argentina – February 24th (6am-6pm)

Ushuaia is the southernmost city in the world and one of two main cities on the island territory of Tierra del Fuego. It is very scenic with a National Park framed by the sea, forests, lakes and mountains. Once a small fishing village,Ushuaia is today a welcoming, busy town with a growing population, at present numbering about 50,000 inhabitants.

Ushuaia is a departure port for Antarctic cruises. It is considered the capital of the Argentine Tierra del Fuego province. Located on the Beagle Channel and backed by the Martial Mountains, the city offers an abundance of eco-tourist activities and access to Tierra del Fuego National Park.

We had an early start to join our private tour of the Tierra del Fuego National Park with our guide Karina.We enjoyed the beautiful scenery and the sunny weather which warmed up as the day progressed.
We stopped at Ensenada Bay at the cute little post office on the edge of the lake.We bought postcards and had them stamped there.We had lunch at a lovely restaurant with great views over the park. The cheese pie and fruit tart was delicious!

At the end of the tour we had time to look around the pretty city of Ushuaia. We did some shopping and then met up with Terry at the Irish pub before heading back to the ship. It was a very good day!

Day 26 – Punta Arenas, Chile- February 25th -(6am-5pm)

Unfortunately this was one port that we had to miss out on due to strong winds. We were disappointed that we couldn’t go to the Otway Peninsula to see the penguins but Gail very kindly gave us some of the photos that she had taken in Punta Tombo!

Punta Arenas lies at the entrance to the Strait of Magellan and is the gateway to Antarctica, a land of snowcapped mountains, icebergs and frozen fjords. The city overlooks the Strait of Magellan and Otway Sound, home to colonies of sea lions and Magellanic penguins. We docked there to let the customs officials off the ship and continued on our sightseeing voyage through the Strait of Magellan.

Day 27 – Feb. 26th. – Strait of Magellan (cruising)
On a voyage through the wild untamed beauty of the Strait of Magellan you can observe the rugged nature and indigenous wildlife, trying to exist in often harsh and unpredictable weather conditions.

Day 28 – Chilean Fjords Cruising – Feb.27th

The Pacific coast of southern Chile is a fjordland which is very sparsely populated, with only a few towns and cattle ranches to be seen along the shores. The Chilean fjords extend south into Tierra del Fuego, the territory at the southern tip of South America that is divided between Chile and Argentina.

Day 29 – Puerto Montt – Feb.28th – (6am-6pm)

Located in the lake district of Chile, Puerto Montt is a city amidst snow-covered volcanoes, lush jungle ferns, hot springs, forested hills and narrow fjords. The city’s early German settlers left their mark with distinctive European-style architecture that gives this city a unique feel. Their legacy can be seen in the rose gardens of Puerto Varas and the village of Frutillar.

We tendered early to join our tour together with Ruth, Grace, Marilyn and Steve.
First of all we had a quick drive around the city of Puerto Montt but then drove on to the much prettier Puerto Varas. We visited the tourist center by Lake Llanquihe and walked around the main streets and the lake.

When we reached Petrohue Falls the weather had warmed up and we enjoyed the sights. We visited a Llama farm on the way and took some photos there.

After our visit to Emerald Lake we would have enjoyed a lunch break but there didn’t seem to be enough time! As we had made an early start to the day we were starving by the time we stopped at a German style café for coffee and cake at 3.15pm!

Back near the port we shopped at the nearby markets to buy alpaca scarves and a shawl as they were incredibly cheap!

Then the downpour started and we had to run to the cruise terminal! Unfortunately we had a long wait in dripping wet clothes to get the next tender. The weather was so rough that it was difficult getting close to the ship and we had to make a big jump from the tender boat on to the ship. It was pretty scary!

Day 30 – Fun Day at Sea – Mar. 1st

It was nice to relax in a warm dry place after yesterday’s wet and windy end to the day!

Day 31 – Fun Day at Sea – Mar.2nd
I stayed in bed until noon as I had a bad cold and didn’t want to miss out on the following day’s tour in Valparaiso. Marilyn and Steve packed everything for their disembarkation the next day. We were sad to say goodbye to them but also looking forward to the last leg of our voyage!

3rd leg:

March 3rd – March 21st 2009 – Santiago (Valparaíso),Chile – San Francisco, California

Day 32 – Santiago (Valparaiso), Chile – March 3rd.(7am-5pm)

Valparaíso, founded in 1536, is Chile’s oldest city. It is the gateway to Chile’s central valley and the beautiful Viña Del Mar, the popular seaside resort only a few miles away. Santiago, the nation’s capital, can be reached with a 90-minute ride across rolling valleys. With a population of over five million people, Santiago sprawls at the foot of the snow-capped Andes.

We said goodbye to our friends Marilyn and Steve, who were disembarking, before we went on our private tour of Valparaiso and Vina del Mar. Our guide, Eduardo, was very knowledgeable and it was obvious that he loved his city. The tour was well-paced and included some walking time in the upper level of the city which was reached by funicular. The views from the various flower-bedecked terraces were quite spectacular!

The area was really interesting with lots of old buildings needing restoration and many covered in artistic grafitti! We climbed up and down steps to explore the back streets and saw many cats and dogs roaming the neighbourhood.

We returned to the main square and had coffee before proceeding to the modern seaside resort of Vina del Mar. We joined up with some of our group to have lunch at a Chinese restaurant and afterwards we walked in the area. After stopping at a supermarket near a lovely park square we headed back to the ship.

Days 33 & 34 – Fun Days at Sea – March 4th and 5th

We enjoyed the company of our Maitre d’ Ken at dinner.

We enjoyed two relaxing days at sea. There was a formal night when we also attended the Captain’s cocktail party.

On the second sea day a male passenger went missing and the ship had to turn around and go back to a place where he had been seen during the early hours of the morning. We found out much later that his body had been washed ashore so it was a sad time for his friends and family, some of whom were travelling with him.

Day 35 – Arica, Chile – March 6th (8am-6pm)

Bordered by desert sand dunes and fertile valleys and founded in 1570, Arica is Chile’s fifth-oldest city and a commercial gateway for neighboring Peru and Bolivia.

Cruise passengers can visit markets or such sites as the Church of San Marcos and El Morro de Arica. Excursions visit Lake Chungara, surrounded by volcanoes and high-country wetlands or you can view the huge geoglyphs of animals and humans that line the walls of the Azapa Valley.

We docked in Arica at 12.30pm which was later than planned due to the search for the missing passenger. We explored the city with its markets and main street restaurants and shops. The church was light and bright and very different from the ornate churches we had seen elsewhere on our journey.

On our private tour we travelled through the arid desert landscape outside the city with views of green valleys where crops were grown. We tasted an Azamara cocktail (pisco sour) with our tour guide and afterwards we viewed some geoglyphs and petroglyphs on the valley walls.

We bought a lovely hand-knitted jacket for our granddaughter when we got back to the markets before heading back to the ship. It was a beautiful sunset sailaway!

Day 36 – Fun Day at Sea – March 7th

Another relaxing day at sea!

Day 37 – Lima (Callao), Peru – March 8th (7am-5pm)

Callao, founded by Pizarro and the Conquistadores, is the gateway to Lima and it is where the ships dock.

The Peruvian capital of Lima is the cultural and economic heart of the nation and once served as the seat of power of the Spanish Empire of South America. In 1988, its historic center was declared World Heritage Site by Unesco for its historical buildings from the Spanish colonial era. You can visit the catacombs of the Convento de San Francisco and the monumental Plaza Mayor with its 16th-Century Cathedral and the Presidential Palace. Lima is the gateway for tours to Machu Picchu, the “Lost City of the Incas” that sits high in the Andean peaks.

Some passengers flew to Machu Pichu from here instead of Arica as planned due to the delay in reaching that port on time.

We drove through Callao on our private tour to the Pachacamac ruins. We visited the museum and the little market close by.

Some people split up to go to Lima but we decided to go with our guide to the modern seaside resort of Miraflores where we had lunch at Mango’s in the mall near the beach. It was a good place to eat and I had a pisco sour special cocktail! It was very strong!

On the way back to the ship we visited the Inca market which was quite large and had some unusual souvenirs for sale.

Day 38 – Fun Day at Sea – March 9th

Day 39 – Manta (Quito), Ecuador – March 10th (9am-6pm)

The small port of Manta is the gateway to Ecuador and its capital, Quito, the second highest capital in the world. Ecuador has one of the world’s most varied terrains: the Galapagos, 600 watery miles to the west, and to the east, the Andes, home to Ecuador’s important cities, including Quito. Founded in 1534 and one of the best-preserved cities in South America, Quito was designated a World Heritage Site in 1978 by Unesco.

This place was a lovely surprise and our private tour turned out to be very interesting and quite different from what we expected! The tour with our charming guide Carolina was nine and a half hours long and included a variety of new experiences.

It was a fine and sunny day as we drove along past lovely beaches along the coast towards the Machalilla National Park. We admired the colourful fishing boats and frigate birds in flight along the way. People were looking for octopuses on the beach and we waved as we drove along. We saw a house where they were making Panama hats that were later to be finished off in Montecristi.

Wildlife, and especially birds, were in abundance. We stopped en route to watch howler and capuchin monkeys playing in the trees on the roadside. We saw donkeys laden with palms or bamboo being led by their smiling owners. It was a wonderful drive!

Our lunch stop was at a pretty blue and yellow painted hotel in a magnificent garden setting. For lunch we ate cerviche, shrimp and ice-cream for dessert with a glass of wine – it was good!

We visited an historic village with its museum and jungle walk. At a hot mud pool on the way back we took some photos of the children playing and daubing themselves with mud.

On the way back to the ship we visited Carolina’s home to view the howler monkeys. Her husband has his own restaurant there and we were introduced to him and their little son. Afterwards we visited the small town of Montecristi, where the panama hats are made, before heading back to the ship. It was a memorable day!

Day 40 – Crossing the Equator – March 11th

Once again we crossed the equator but we didn’t go to the ceremony this time!

Days 41 & 42 – Fun Days at Sea – March 12th & 13th

Another two lazy days at sea! We had fun walking around the ship, meeting up with people and sometimes just relaxing and reading.

Day 43 – Acapulco, Mexico – March 14th (8am-6pm)

Acapulco is a place where the rich and famous come to escape. The scenic highway has a striking panoramic view of the beaches and mountains, and you can view the beautiful homes and lush gardens as you pass through Las Brisas.

It was a hot and sunny day in Acapulco and also a public holiday so it was crowded with lots of traffic! We met Roberto, the port operations manager and Oscar, our guide, at the cruise terminal. It was good to meet them again and especially to have the same guide as we had the last time we visited.

First of all Oscar took us to see the thrilling cliff divers show at La Quebrada. From there he took us to the Casablanca, Los Flamingos and Princess hotels for the views and gardens.

We visited the lovely Peace church at Las Brisas and looked at some of the fabulous homes with excellent views. Then we went to the flea market where we bought a polo shirt and a cap for Les. We got a bit lost in the market but we eventually found our way back to the van finding Mei, Ed and Josie on the way! We had fun at Senor Frog’s for a late lunch and then stopped at a supermarket to buy some wine before heading back to the ship.

Day 44 – Fun Day at Sea – March 15th

Another lovely relaxing sea day.

Day 45 – Puerto Vallarta – March 16th (8am-6pm)

Puerto Vallarta is a beautiful beach resort that offers activities including sport fishing, golfing, horseback riding, hiking and whale watching. The mountains, jungles, beaches, rivers and waterfalls make Puerto Vallarta the perfect vacation destination. Since this port was discovered as a prime vacation spot in the ’60s, it has become home to luxury resorts and beautiful villas, but the city’s tranquil past is still evident in its charming courtyards, cobblestone streets and markets.

Another warm and sunny day to enjoy this port on our own. We had visited this resort before so we relaxed and enjoyed a walk along the Malecon admiring the wonderful sand sculptures on the beach.

We shopped along the way to the old town and re-visited the church and the square. Before lunch we stopped at a beach café for drinks. I had a huge Pina Colada which took me a long time to finish!

We found the Cafe San Angel where we had lunch the last time we were there and it was just as good this time around!

The shopping was excellent here so we bought a couple of beach bags and shirts plus an extra suitcase for the return journey home!

Days 46 & 47 – Fun Days at Sea – March 17th and 18th

It was St. Patrick’s day on the first of the two sea days so we celebrated with our Irish Maitre d’ Ken and our tablemates on a formal night in the Gold Pearl dining room.It was a fun evening!

Day 48 – Los Angeles (Long Beach) – March 19th (9am-6pm)

Long Beach is located on the Pacific Coast about 20 miles south of Los Angeles. The ocean liner Queen Mary retired to Long Beach in 1967 and now serves as a hotel. You can visit the Aquarium of the Pacific, home to more than 12,000 animals, and featuring a shark lagoon. Next door is Rainbow Harbor and Shoreline Village, offering restaurants and arcades. Los Angeles is served by both the Port of Los Angeles and the Port of Long Beach.

We joined Terry and Maureen, cruising friends from Canada, who had rented a car for the day. We drove to Fisherman’s Village at Marina del Rey and then decided to drive back down along the Pacific Coast Highway.

We enjoyed a nice lunch of clam chowder, crab sliders and shrimp baguettes at Joe’s Crab Shack in Redondo Beach and then walked along the seafront. On the way back to the ship we drove past some beautiful homes overlooking the sea at Palos Verdes.

In the evening we all had drinks on our balcony and watched the sailaway as we headed towards San Francisco.

Day 49 – Fun Day at Sea – March 20th

Day 50 – San Francisco – March 21st

We sailed under the Golden Gate Bridge into this beautiful city set on a wide bay. Some of our favourite sights here are Fisherman’s Wharf, Ghiradelli Square, Alcatraz and Union Square. The cable car rides up and down the steep streets are good fun and an exciting feature of this city by the bay.

We were a little sad to disembark from the ship that had been our home for the past seven weeks and to say goodbye to the friends we had made onboard. However, we were looking forward to spending two nights in San Francisco and another three nights in Hawaii on our way back home.

Our stay at the Chancellor Hotel in Union Square was most enjoyable and some of our cruising friends stayed there as well. The room was very comfortable and the hotel staff were friendly and helpful. It was very good value for San Francisco – especially as we got a group rate which included a voucher for meals or drinks.

We travelled on the cable car to Fisherman’s Wharf and had lunch at the famous Boudins – delicious clam chowder in a breadbowl!

In the evening we had dinner with some cruising friends at an Italian restaurant nearby.

Post –cruise – San Francisco – March 22nd

We took the ferry to Sausalito – one of our favourite things to do when in San Francisco. When we got back we looked in at Ghirardelli Square before catching the cable car back to our hotel.

That evening after drinks in the hotel we walked into Chinatown to have dinner with Diana and Paul who were also staying at the Chancellor. We had a good time in San Francisco and were now looking forward to our stopover in Hawaii!

Hawaii – March 23rd – March 26th

Our stay at the Aqua Waikiki Wave in Waikiki was really good. The hotel is close to the International Marketplace and only a short walk to the beach. The room was large and very comfortable with modern décor and a balcony with a partial sea view.

On our second day we rented a car and drove around the island. We had been there before so we knew our way around. The rest of the time we just walked along the beach or shopped in Waikiki or Ala Moana shopping centre.

In the evenings we enjoyed the sunsets and the ambience of Waikiki beach lit up at night with flares along the beachfront. It was a very pleasant stopover on our way back home and a good end to a wonderful holiday!

When we boarded the Sapphire Princess to sail on a thirty-one day cruise from Sydney to LA it was only three months since we had disembarked from our Bangkok to Sydney cruise on the same ship so it was a bit like coming home again! This was our third cruise on the Sapphire so we really knew our way around the ship this time!
This was the longest cruise we have been on and probably the most relaxing because of the many sea days.

Our Virgin flight from the Gold Coast to Sydney took only a little over an hour and we arrived at the cruise terminal at 1.00pm. The taxi from the airport was expensive. The trip usually costs around $35 but this time we were charged almost $60!

Sydney – Australia

Embarkation was smooth and we were on board by 2.00pm.We had lunch in the Horizon Court buffet and then got off the ship to have a walk around The Rocks area of Sydney harbour.
We enjoyed having a drink and a chat with daughter Fiona and fiancé Ben at the Orient Hotel in The Rocks after they arrived there from work.
We bought some wine to take onboard and checked to see that our suitcases had arrived at our cabin. We had a balcony cabin close to midships on Caribe deck and met our friendly and efficient stewardess Christina who would be with us until Auckland.

We met our Cruise Critic friends in the Oasis bar at sailaway and enjoyed the views of Sydney harbour at night with all the lights twinkling – it was a beautiful sight! We were on our way at last on a new cruising adventure!

Melbourne – Australia

After a nice relaxing day at sea we arrived in Melbourne on April 16th – my birthday!
Cruise Critic friends Ray & Mirella from Melbourne had organised a private tour for twenty-four of us with lunch at La Porchetta, an Italian restaurant. It was a well-organised tour but we were glad that we had visited the city centre before as the bus did a tour of the different suburbs around Melbourne and included a visit to the Royal Exhibition Hall.
We all stopped at Dan Murphy’s liquor store on the way back and loaded up with drinks to take onboard.
We had booked into the supper club Sabatini’s for my birthday and really enjoyed the meal and the service. Carnival surprised me with balloons on my cabin door and even brought me another little birthday cake to the cabin later in the evening!

Another pleasant surprise was a note in the door to let us know that friends Des & Dorothy from a previous cruise in Alaska were on the ship so we arranged to have dinner with them later.

The next day was a sea day and Les bought me some lovely pearl earrings for my birthday at the jewellery shop on board. We enjoyed the formal night and the past guest cocktail party with captain Philip Pickford.

Hobart – Australia

After a rainy start the sun came out and it was a beautiful day in Hobart. Cruising friends Roger and Heather, who live there, met us off the ship and took us out through Battery Point to the Huon Valley by way of Kingston & Kettering. It was a lovely day and we had lunch beside the Huon River.
The sailaway from Hobart was lovely and moonlit as we watched the lights fade into the distance.

That night we joined new friends Liz & Ian from Chester for a drink in the Wheelhouse Bar and afterwards in the Savoy restaurant for dinner.

Milford Sound – New Zealand

We had the next five days at sea because we had to miss out on Dunedin due to rough weather. Luckily we were able to sail into Milford Sound in New Zealand. It was misty and rainy with that air of mystery that fiords seem to have and is part of their attraction. We got up early and dressed in our hooded rain jackets to eat breakfast on our balcony and were glad we had because the weather worsened later on in the day and was quite rough and stormy.

Auckland – New Zealand

Everyone was pleased to get off the ship in Auckland after five days at sea! The weather was fine so we took the ferry over to the pretty little town of Devonport. We had been to Auckland before so we decided to spend at least half the day in Devonport. We walked around the town and then along the waterfront with a view of Auckland over the bay.
We went back to the ship for lunch before exploring some new developments that we hadn’t seen before in Auckland city centre.
We got back to the ship in time to see the Maori dance session which was quite entertaining. We ate in the Pacific Moon restaurant together with passengers from Scotland & Guatemala.

Suva – Fiji

It was about twenty years since we last visited Fiji and Suva is not the best place to stay on the island if you are planning a holiday there.
We were welcomed into port by the Fijian police band and they entertained us very well both on our arrival and on our departure.
We did some shopping in Suva as we were told that the other ports we would be visiting in the South Pacific would be very expensive – especially in Tahiti!
We ate lunch on the ship before taking a Princess tour to the Arts Centre at Pacific Harbour for a cultural show.

We remembered seeing the firewalkers years ago but we still enjoyed the show this time and the drive through the countryside.
That night we ate in the Vivaldi restaurant with friends Ray & Mirella and enjoyed the pleasant evening.
We had two April 27th’s as we crossed the International dateline between Fiji and Pago Pago!

Pago Pago – Samoa

This was the first place on our cruise that we hadn’t seen before so we were feeling excited as we joined Tisa’s private tour. This was a tour of the national park followed by drinks and lunch at Tisa’s barefoot bar which is a popular tourist attraction in Pago Pago.

The cost was US$60 per person and we enjoyed it but you can visit the bar independently by taking the bus or a taxi there.
The national park tour was lovely and we enjoyed the beautiful views from our open air bus. The bus was decorated on the sides with the red ginger plant and our bus driver Fred was quite a character! We were all feeling very happy as we sang a Samoan song that Fred taught us on the way back to the port!

We joined a sailaway party at the Outrigger Bar with our friends and dined in Horizon Court. We got into the hot tub and then went to bed early after such a fun-filled day!

Rarotonga – Cook Islands

It was a lovely morning as we sailed into Rarotonga and we were looking forward to picking up our rental car from Island Car Hire and driving around the island with cruising friends Hilary & Mick. It cost only NZ$59 for the Nissan Bluebird rental and that included the cost of a special tourist driving licence (NZ$5) for the day!

The island was just as you would imagine a South Pacific island to be with turquoise blue sea and beautiful white sand beaches. The people were friendly here and the island was relatively unspoiled by tourist attractions – it was very natural.
We drove along by the beach around the island which doesn’t take long. We visited a waterfall and a pearl factory and ended up at a place called Trader Jack’s for lunch. We had cheese pizza bread and drinks at a cost of NZ$31 for the four of us. The petrol cost only NZ$12 as we didn’t need to drive too far on the island.
We went back to the ship around 3.00pm after looking at the stalls near the ship selling souvenirs. We thought they were expensive and didn’t buy anything there.
There was an Island party by the Calypso pool that night and a good time was had by all!

Bora Bora – French Polynesia

Bora Bora is a magical island! It is incredibly beautiful but it is very expensive!
We took the local Le Truk ( US$5 ) to the lovely Matira beach where we spent the morning in and out of the water. We then boarded the bus to go to Bloody Mary’s Bar – a big tourist attraction and a must-see in Bora Bora! Just be prepared for the drink prices if you ever go there! It cost US$19 for a Pina Colada and wait for it – US$10 for a diet coke!!!

We went back to the ship for lunch and then walked around in Vaitape where the ship was docked. Everything was very expensive there so we just window shopped!
Hilary and Mick celebrated their wedding anniversary in the Savoy restaurant so we and many of our Cruise Critic friends joined them for dinner.

Papeete – French Polynesia

We had a bit of a hitch at this port because the guide that Hilary had booked didn’t turn up so we waited until 10.00 am and then set off to do our own thing.
We walked around the town and bumped into Ray & Mirella at the marketplace. Things close down in Papeete at midday on Saturdays so we decided to find a taxi to take us around the island.
I must say that we didn’t find the French Polynesian people very friendly or helpful to tourists! We spoke with one lady taxi-driver who wanted 8000 francs for two hours but said there would be no stopping anywhere! We declined her offer and eventually met up with Hilary & Mick so the six of us rented a nice air-conditioned vehicle to explore the island for two hours. Our driver William was quite happy to let us stop wherever we wanted to and we had an enjoyable drive around the island.

We had four sea days between Papeete and Honolulu and crossed the equator during that time. Princess put on a fun ceremony for crossing the equator and everyone got a certificate at the end of it to say that they were now Shellbacks not Pollywogs!

Honolulu – Hawaii

We took the courtesy bus to Hilo Hattie’s and did some shopping there before going into Waikiki. It was a long time since we had visited Waikiki and we saw quite a few changes! We had a walk around the Hawaiian International resort on our way to the beach and took photos around the place.

We walked along the beachfront and visited the International Marketplace as well as the Pink Palace. We took a taxi back to the ship and decided that we would return to Waikiki for a stopover on our way back from the US next year.

Hilo – Hawaii

This was the last port on our cruise before the final four sea days and then our disembarkation in Los Angeles. The time seemed to have gone much more quickly on the last half of the voyage than on the first half!
We had arranged to share an Alamo rental car for the day with Phil, Donna, Sultan & Lourdes. I think it cost only around US$100 plus the petrol so it worked out very economically when split between the six of us.
We went to the Volcano National Park and viewed the crater, the lava and the lava tube. It was very interesting and we popped into the visitors centre while we were there to find out more about the volcano. After a quick lunch of hot dogs we went on to visit the Mauna Loa macadamia factory and then to Rainbow Falls.

It was a nice day although a little cool up on top of the volcano so we were glad to have our sweaters to put on!
We enjoyed our last sailaway of the cruise and looked forward to some relaxing days at sea!

On Mothers Day we had a wonderful lunch( organised by Ray & Mirella) in the Savoy restaurant together with Cruise Critic members from our Koalas group.
Lorraine & Tom did a great job of organising the group and planning tours and activities so we were happy to meet them on this cruise as well as many of the other Koalas who brought us all together.

Los Angeles

We said goodbye to our cruising friends and the Sapphire Princess as we disembarked at 8.30am on the last day of our cruise. It felt good to know that we would be cruising again in August – so not too long to wait for the next one in northern Europe!
We had arranged to rent a car for the day as our Qantas flight didn’t leave until 11.20pm. Everything went smoothly at the Hertz depot and we were soon on our way towards San Diego which is one of our favourite cities in the US. However our plans changed when we decided to stop off at San Juan Capistrano to see the mission.

We ended up spending most of the day there. We had a nice lunch at the New York café and visited the historic centre.

San Juan Capistrano is a pretty place with beautiful flower gardens at the mission and in the old town. It’s well worth a visit if you are ever in that area.

I haven’t gone into many details about the ship as I did this on the last review when we sailed on the Sapphire Princess.
This time we had two cabin stewards Christina and Elmer who were both excellent – especially Elmer who went out of his way to make things special for us.
We enjoyed the anytime dining as we did on the previous cruise but the table service in the restaurants was sometimes lacking on this cruise. Most of the time it was very good.

The Princess production shows with talented singers and dancers were excellent and the Westenders singers were very good. The rest of the entertainment was mediocre and a few of the entertainers were so bad that people walked out of the show after the first ten minutes!

In conclusion this was a wonderfully relaxing cruise and very different from the shorter, port intensive cruises that we do in Europe. I like both types of cruises but I’m beginning to enjoy the longer cruises now! I’m looking forward to 49 days cruising in South America next year!

This was our tenth cruise and our second one on the Sapphire Princess. We sailed on this ship when it was new in 2004 and enjoyed it very much so we were interested in doing this longer cruise over the Christmas and New Year holidays.

My husband and I are in our sixties and live on the Gold Coast in Queensland Australia. We usually have long flights to join cruises in Europe and the US but this time it was only a seven and a half hour flight to Singapore where we stayed overnight in order to see the Christmas Lights.

The next morning we took a short one and a half hour flight to Bangkok for our operational overnight stay that we had booked with Princess. This turned out well because our transfers went smoothly and the Menam Riverside hotel in Bangkok was a pleasant place to stay. We had the advantage of being able to check in with Princess at the hotel so that embarkation was a breeze the following day. It took about 3 hours to get to the port but this took longer than usual because of road works.

Once on board we found our cabin on Caribe deck and were happy to see that we had a large balcony with nice blue mesh chairs and flooring. The cabin was nicely laid out with good storage space and plenty of coat hangers. The shower was quite small but manageable. We met Marvin, our cabin steward, who looked after us very well for the duration of the cruise.

We unpacked our suitcases before muster and then joined our Cruise Critic friends in the Oasis bar. We had already met some of them at the hotel but now we were able to match more names to faces. We were all excited to be at the sailaway together and were looking forward to our 20 day cruise!

The ship is large and beautiful. It’s one of the Grand Class ships and carries 2800 passengers. The décor is classy and elegant with lovely artwork and a pleasing colour scheme throughout. I won’t go into too many details as a full ship’s review can be found on www.cruisecritic.com
It takes a while to explore it fully and find your way around but we had been on this ship before so it was easier for us this time!

We had opted for anytime dining rather than the traditional dining and I’m glad we did because it was fun eating in the various restaurants and also convenient to eat at different times. We usually booked ahead when we had figured out our plans for the day. Sometimes we changed dining times and it was no problem. We ate with friends or on our own and at other times we joined a big table where we met some interesting people from all over the world and from all walks of life.

We rotated between the Pacific Moon, Savoy, Vivaldi and Santa Fe restaurants in the evening. In the morning we sometimes had breakfast in the International dining room and at other times we ate buffet-style in Horizon Court.

On port days we ordered breakfast in our cabin and ate on the balcony. The restaurant and the room service was consistently good. On occasion we enjoyed afternoon tea in the International dining room.
One time when we were at afternoon tea a passenger was being rude to one of the waiters. He told the waiter he was stupid and this irked me because the waiters are always trying so hard to give good service. I loved it when my husband defended the waiter and told the passenger that he would be more likely to get good service if he wasn’t so rude!

The food was very good everywhere on board and there were only a couple of meals we didn’t like. We usually had a drink on our balcony at sailaway and then ordered wine at the dinner table.

The entertainers were not as good as on our last Sapphire Princess cruise but the production shows with the talented singers and dancers were very good.
Lenny Windsor, the comedian, was quite amusing and we also enjoyed the dynamic singer Caron Kate Blackwell and her husband, comedian Marty Allen.

The best band of all was Deep Blue who managed to get everyone dancing and having fun. What a talented group! They usually played in Club Fusion or around the pool deck.

The captain was Attilio Guerini. The cruise director was Sammi Baker who was quite a live spark around the ship. Her assistant Sam was a wonderful teacher for the dance classes together with Tom who also organised the virtual golf team competition on some of the sea days.
We went once to the bingo and also to the wooden horse races on a sea day.
After attending one of Brad Coates rather uninspiring lectures on Achieving Personal & Financial Freedom in mid-life we decided to free ourselves of him before the next lecture!

Christmas Day

Santa arrived in the Atrium on Christmas Day. We listened to the announcement that he would be arriving by helicopter to give the children their presents! There were Christmas carols in the Atrium on Christmas Eve and again on Christmas Day. It was fun joining in and watching the children receive their gifts from Santa. The snow machine was an excellent idea and really helped to get everyone into the spirit of things.

New Year’s Eve

A fun time for everyone! We had dinner with friends and then got changed out of our formal dress to attend the pool deck party where Deep Blue was playing. We danced the night away and brought in the New Year with our friends and other passengers.

Now to the ports and what we did there.

Koh Samui

We joined four of our Cruise Critic friends on a private tour, Mr. Ung’s Magical Safari, in Koh Samui. We travelled in a jeep which was a bit bumpy but made for some good fun rides!
We visited the elephant, crocodile and monkey shows before going on an elephant ride along a winding path through the forest. We managed to get some great photos of us on the ride. We went to a waterfall and gardens before having a delicious Thai lunch at a scenic viewpoint high up in the mountains. We all enjoyed the day and had a lot of laughs together!

Singapore

We had been to Singapore before so we decided to explore the Tanglin Rd area and the Botanic Gardens, which are lovely and have some beautiful orchids as well as other tropical plants.

On the way there we were invited into the newly opened St. Regis hotel and had an interesting conversation with the assistant manager. She introduced us to the butler who took us around the hotel and showed us the bedrooms. They were absolutely lovely and the bathrooms had a plasma TV on the mirror next to the bath – quite an innovative idea! It was a hot day so on the way back from the gardens we called into one of the shopping centres and had a cool drink before catching the shuttle back to the ship.

Vietnam

We had booked the Ho Chi Minh City on your own tour with Princess.
We drove through little villages with run-down shops and houses. It was interesting to watch the people in cone shaped hats riding bicycles and mopeds and going about their daily business. In about two hours we arrived in HCM.
I’ve never seen so many motorcycles on the road all hurrying to get to their destination without stopping to let anyone across the road. We managed to survive by just crossing over and letting them go around us otherwise we would never have got to the other side!
Shopping was fun at the markets! We bought shirts, pants, sunglasses and hats at absolutely ridiculous prices! Finally we went up to the rooftop lounge of the famous Rex Hotel for a well- deserved drink! The buffet up there was quite cheap and the food looked good but we weren’t hungry enough so we decided to wait until we got back on board.

Kota Kinabalu

Another private tour booked on the internet with KK tours by one of our friends.
Henry was our guide and he spoke good English. First he took us to the water village which was situated in a sea of mud with rubbish everywhere! The houses were on stilts and living conditions were poor and far from sanitary! I thought of my own very comfortable home and was thankful I didn’t live there! It was an interesting experience!
The next stop was a Chinese temple and then we arrived at the Monsopiad Cultural Village to see the headhunter’s house of skulls and the traditional cultural show. It was all very interesting and I would recommend this tour to anyone else.

Darwin

It was a very hot and humid day so we just went into the city for a look around. We took a taxi to Mindil beach and walked along the sands( no one swimming here because of the deadly box jellyfish!) It was New Year’s Day so there wasn’t too much happening. We were glad to get out of the heat and back into the ship’s air conditioning!

Cairns

We live in Queensland so we have visited here before. We decided to go to the little tourist town of Port Douglas with the Princess tour bus. It was another very hot day so we walked along the main street to Four Mile beach for an hour or so and back to the Old Court House hotel where we sat upstairs on the verandah and had a light lunch and a cool beer. The pretty coastal drive was about 40 minutes each way and we were back on the ship by 3.00pm.

Airlie Beach

We were lucky with the weather again! After a quick shower at the start it turned out to be a beautiful day.
We visited the markets first and then explored the town. It had changed for the better since we were last there many years ago. A new lagoon area and boardwalk had been added as well as extra sand on the little beach.
We were very fortunate to miss out on the floods that came to this area after our visit!

Brisbane

We stayed on the ship as we live just a one hour drive from here. We had the ship to ourselves for the day apart from a few others who probably lived there too. We sat around the pool, read our books and had a nice lunch. It was a very relaxing day.

Sydney

We were lucky to get a late disembarkation time as our flight from Sydney to the Gold Coast didn’t leave until 1.30pm. It was very well organised and on time but we had to wait almost an hour for a taxi as there were two other ships docked in Sydney that day. But that was fine as we had plenty of time before our flight home.

Summary

On this ship you can really “ Escape Completely” as they say in the Princess ads!
We had a fabulous time but we didn’t feel as though we had to join in everything. We used our balcony a lot and enjoyed watching the sailaways before dinner.

Meeting up with new friends from Cruise Critic really enhanced our cruise and we hope to meet some of them again soon.

We met some people who were rude to the staff and complained about everything but
you will always get those unhappy people on cruises or anywhere you travel – just move away from them! We met some lovely people on board and all were enjoying the cruise as much as we were.

We saw some parents who let their children run around unsupervised on the ship at night but we also met some very polite children who were well controlled by their parents.
I wish Princess would ban children from running around the bars and lounges late at night. It annoys adult passengers and it’s also dangerous when drinks are being served. There are lots of activities for children to enjoy throughout the day.

We are looking forward to our next cruise on the Sapphire Princess when she sails from Sydney to Los Angeles in April.

OUR TRIP TO SHANGHAI AND EUROPE INCLUDING A 24 DAY BACK TO BACK CRUISE ON THE CARNIVAL FREEDOM. APRIL 12TH -MAY 16TH 2007

It was our first visit to Shanghai – an amazing place with so much to see and do there! We used Frommer’s Shanghai walking tours to give us some idea of where to go and what to do.
We stayed in the Puxi side of the river which is the oldest part of Shanghai. The other side of the river is the more modern business area of Pudong and has two towers which are worth visiting, the Orient Pearl TV Tower and the Jin Mao Tower.

On our arrival we took a taxi from the airport to our hotel. It was a fast and rather scary ride as our driver sped through the traffic constantly changing lanes and tooting the horn! He wanted to charge us 400 yuan but we got it down to 150 yuan in no time at all!
(At the time of writing A$1 = 6.4 yuan and US$1 = 7.5 yuan)

The first evening we explored the neon splendour of Nanjing road shopping area where our hotel was situated and ate in the Mosaic dining room of our hotel. We upgraded to a Sofitel Club room( a special treat for an extra 500 yuan per night!) We had a beautiful room with a view and enjoyed ‘Happy Hour’ drinks and hors d’ ouevres from 6.00 to 8.00pm on the Club Floor every evening.

The next day we ventured to the Old Chinese town by taxi for only 15 yuan and enjoyed walking around Old St.Market. We then visited the lovely Yu Gardens which is also open in the evenings. We had some kind of sweet pancakes for lunch which were very cheap – only 2 yuan each! We stood in the queue at a little kiosk and watched them being made.
We walked quite a distance from the Old City along the length of the Bund to look at the river and the mixture of European and Asian architecture. We wanted to see inside the old Peace Hotel but it was closed for renovations. My feet were very tired from the day’s walking so I had an hour long foot massage at a place near the hotel for only US$7! It was wonderful and a real bargain!

The following day we took a taxi to the Luwan or French Concession area where there are lots of European styled residences as well as some good restaurants and boutiques. We stopped in the park to take photos of youngsters dressed in army camouflage suits engaging in a very serious three-legged race!
After lunch at Keven Cafe opposite the Hengshan Hotel we travelled over to the Pudong area by taxi and went up the Jin Mao Tower. We returned to Puxi through the Bund tourist sightseeing tunnel which has tram cars and a light show at a cost of 35 yuan each.
We walked along the Bund in the evening to see all the lights and it was quite spectacular!

The city is very clean and our hotel was great. We enjoyed our stay and if we go back we’ll definitely stay at the Sofitel Hyland again. We rode the high- speed Maglev train back to the airport just for a buzz!

Helsinki is an interesting place with some beautiful buildings in the city centre. We used our Frommer’s walking guide and I can recommend it as we saw a lot in a short time as well as getting plenty of exercise! We started out in Senate Square and wandered through the side streets down to the harbour and then back through the oldest section of the city ending up at Market Square and the Esplanadi. In the afternoon we took the ferry to the fortress island of Suomenlinna. If you go there remember to wear flat shoes as it’s hard walking on the cobblestones! It was my birthday while we were there so we celebrated with a lovely meal in the restaurant of the Radisson Royal hotel where we were staying. I can recommend the hotel and the restaurant with it’s friendly service and helpful reception.

Rome was beautiful and we had great accommodation near the Pantheon so we walked a lot around the centre. We had been there before so this time we visited Trastevere and the Villa Borghese as well as re-visiting Trevi and the Spanish Steps in the evening. We enjoyed eating out in the piazzas and finding our favourite gelato shops from last time we were there. Piazza Navona is a lovely place to eat with its many fine restaurants but if you’re on a budget then the restaurants in Campo dei Fiore ( field of flowers) offer some bargain-priced meals inclusive of wine.
There is something magical about the evenings in Rome – we were so happy to be there!

The two back to back cruises on the new Carnival Freedom were most enjoyable. We had a wonderful time and the weather was perfect for most days.
The first one stopped in Naples,Rhodes, Izmir,Istanbul, Athens, Katakolon and Livorno. The second in Naples, Venice, Dubrovnik, Messina, Barcelona,Cannes and Livorno.

We did the Amalfi Coast on a private tour with a wonderful guide, Roberto from Drive Amalfi. On the second cruise we went to Capri by hydrofoil on our own.
In Livorno we went on a private tour to Siena and San Gimignano on the first cruise and then to Florence on our own on the second. We loved the walled towns and would love to spend more time in Tuscany.
Istanbul was a favourite as was Rhodes and Dubrovnik.

There are some interesting and informative reviews of these two Carnival Freedom cruises if you go to http:www.cruisecritic.comand click on the members Ship Reviews.

We loved the ship and the cabin as well as the great service from the staff. We shared a table with some of our CC friends on both cruises which we really enjoyed. The food was nice – not as good as Celebrity but still very good. We had the most wonderful Maitre d’ – the best we’ve ever had. Ken is Irish and a great singer so he sang to us most nights. He spent a lot of time at our table talking and joking with us and especially with my husband who comes from Scotland. The shows were excellent especially the New Orleans Big Easy show and the Ticket to Ride Beatles show. One night we had a singer who had played the lead in Phantom of the Opera in London and she was outstanding!

We had such fun with our tablemates from the first cruise that we have all booked a Baltic cruise together for August 2008 on the new Carnival Splendor!

To top off a great holiday we spent a couple of days in the Cinque Terre in Monterosso before catching the plane home. That was a memorable experience! It was such a beautiful place so we are glad we took the four hour train journey from Civitavecchia to La Spezia and then on to Monterosso. We took the boat that goes between the little villages and also did the Via Dell Amore cliff walk between Riomaggiore and Manarola.
I can recommend the Cinque Terre as a ‘must see’ place to visit if ever you are in Italy.

Here are some websites and e-mail addresses that you might find useful for booking accommodation and guides

http://www.superbreak.com for Radisson Royal Hotel Helsinki. Well recommended.

http://www.venere.com for the wonderful Best B&B Pantheon Rome. Lovely modern room in the historic centre of Rome.

http://www.accor.com for Sofitel Hyland, Shanghai. A great hotel and convenient position in Nanjing Rd. Upgrade to executive room if you can.

A lovely hotel in the main street of Monterosso. Carmen is a gem and will do everything to make your stay enjoyable. Modern rooms and nice breakfast.
albergomargherita@virgilio.it

On the Amalfi Coast Roberto was a charming and knowledgeable guide.
info@driveamalfi.com

A great cab driver in Rome is the popular Stefano.
romecabs@yahoo.com

Kagan Kosagan was a fantastic guide in Istanbul and Izmir.
kosagan@yahoo.com

In Katakolon we had the delightful Gemma as our guide for Olympia.
geconom@otenet.gr

In Helsinki we used Frommers walking tour. http://www.frommers.com/destinations/helsinki/0053010008.html

Trip Advisor http://www.tripadvisor.com is a great website where you can read reviews of hotels and plan activities and transport. I always use it to check on any hotels before I book them.www.tripadvisor.com
I get lots of tips and share information with others on the same cruise on http://www.cruisecritic.com
We have made some good friends on board through meeting them online on Cruise Critic so I would recommend it to anyone wishing to enhance their cruise experience.

Some of our photos from this trip will be posted on this website very soon.

Our next cruise will be in September on the Celebrity Constellation out of Cape Liberty New York to New England and Canada and a two week road trip in the US and Canada.

More to come later!

We will enjoy a Northern European voyage on August 30th 2008 aboard the brand new Carnival Splendor. We’ll visit some of Europe’s most interesting destinations in England, Denmark, Germany, Finland,Estonia,Russia and the Netherlands.
Some of our cruising friends will be joining us on this voyage so we are really looking forward to having a fun time with them!

For further details visit http://www.carnival.com/splendor/

Review coming soon!