Blogs from Oceans and Seas - page 7

What an amazing place. Worth the trip down all the way. The ocean is so beautiful here. The people are even more lovely. We chose a shore excursion that was going to give us many different things. First we boarded a nice motor coach and drove about an hour to Rototura. The drive was very nice with grazing sheep, cows and horses in rolling mountains that provided many snap shot opportunities. Once we arrived in city of Rotorua we boarded WWII amphibious water crafts, called "Ducks" and rode in those through the local parks. We also received duck calls so we could quack as we drove around. very annoying and fun. And then we splashed into two lakes. Our driver was entertaining and even played the mission impossible theme as we went onto the water. We ... read more

8 am appointment with Mary in the Spa for a ginger & lime body scrub and full body massage. Most of physical and mental stress has been relieved with all my massage treatments with Mary. She is a wonderful young lady from the Philippines. I told her if she ever moved to Tampa, I’d be her first client. Played cards where Pat shared that the only thing she won’t discuss is “belly lint.” Lots of laughs over that and of course some “downhill” jokes. Today was a day of packing and saying goodbye to close & dear friends – sad time, but we will keep in touch and see each other as often as possible. We come from different states – FL, IL, CO, AZ/WA and MN.... read more

Full body massage in the morning and then played a little Rummikub. Took in the daily movie – “War Horse.” Awesome movie – just remember no horses were injured or abused in the filming process. Last formal night and off to dinner of lobster and prawns. Started watching Shindler’s List on Roxie’s PC, but after such an exhausting day we couldn’t finish it all. Hopefully, we’ll finish it tomorrow night.... read more

I am not into astrometry and know little about it. We booked this trip for the voyage and it so happens that it's title is Solar Eclipse Cruise. I just experienced an astonishing, amazing, epic natural celestial phenomena . Wow. A total eclipse of the sun. Our ships navigator worked very hard to make sure our position was in the optimum viewing location. And he did not disappoint. We had a beautiful clear view. Amazing. At the totality I never thought I would see what I did. It was like God was looking at us with his/her eyeball through a microscope. In fact that view is called the cornea. The next view you see after total coverage, (and just before) is what as known as the "diamond ring". I feel like I received a celestial diamond ... read more

Suva, Fiji has a piece of my heart. Bula from Fiji. This is an amazing chunk of earth. The natives are very proud and loving people that instantly grabbed my heart. Today we were transported in the best island busses I have seen in a long while to the village of Navua, where we were all treated like family. We were escorted into the gathering house to witness a Kava Ceremony, also know as the yagona. The men and women were segregated from each other. They explained that is because they are a male dominated society. And made no apology for it even though some women were not to pleased with their claim. After the ceremony they provided us with entertainment that included them dancing and chanting. I find the further south we travel the native ... read more

Col and I have been a tad slack the last couple of days as I noticed we haven't blogged since Montenegro. We have had a wonderful time we have been to Brindisi in Italy, Corfu and today Katakalon in Greece. I will update my blog sometime maybe now when we get home and I will down load some photos also. Tomorrow morning we arrive in Athens and will catch our flight to Dubai, we will be there a couple of nights and then homeward bound. We have had a marvellous time, today we spent time at the Ancient site of the Olympics which was fascinating we saw where they light the flame each Olympics and many of the ruins are still very visible. Col and I continue to pinch ourselves we are so fortunate to be ... read more

Up early for an 8 am stone massage. Awesome!! Then played “golf” and wizard card games until it was time to get ready for the Captain Party’s at 5p. Barb & Gary went to the afternoon movie – “The Odd Life of Timothy Green.” Off to dinner where several of us had prime rib, one had NC BBQ and others seafood. Barb, Gary and I went to the evening performance by Seonaid Aitken from Scotland. She played an incredible violin, the piano and sang. Her degree is in classical music and symphony. She performed an hour’s worth of songs from Ireland, Scotland, Canada and some jazz. Even played on the violin a song she composed called “The Mad Piper,” which featured of the orchestra members. One of the best shows I’ve seen on Princess. Then off ... read more

Up around 9a and went and ate breakfast. Then played Rummikub until noon – ate lunch and went to see a movie – “The Magic of Belle Isle” with Morgan Freeman and Virginia Madsen. Excellent movie! I highly recommended it for everyone. Read until time to get ready for dinner. Tonight was formal night so we had to dress up a little – most just wore black pants with a fancy shirt/blouse. Had a group picture of all 10 of us on the grand staircase and then went to dinner. After dinner we went to see comedian, Darrell Joyce, and a ventriloquist, Jimmy Tamley. Jimmy was good and pretty funny – I didn’t care for Darrell at all. Now it’s time to turn in as I’m getting an early wakeup call for an 8 am spa ... read more

Up early for an 8:00 am seaweed wrap & massage - 2 hours of heaven. Then up to breakfast and started playing “golf” for most of the day. Veteran’s Day celebration and memorial on board today – 2 minutes of silence, wreath in piazza and memorial service this afternoon. Drinks before dinner with Barb & Gary and dinner with the gang. Watched 2 World Champion Ballroom Dancers do 2 dances. Nothing else going on and time goes back again tonight. Let’s see what tomorrow has in store for us – Captain said we could have high winds and rough sea.... read more

Pago Pago America Samoa Talofa- from Pago Pago. Pronounced Pango Pango. The "G" is pronounced with the "N" sound as well. November 9th, 2012is a rainy day on the island. Our ship arrived early in the morning to many waves from happy smiles from the locals with energetic music that made you want to dance. I found America Samoa a conflicted island with much potential. The inhabitants are either Catholic or Mormon LDS. But yet hold their island heritage and belief of their gods in their hearts. They can only marry with permission from their local chief. They wish for higher education but only have a community college with a 2 year Associate Degree. And with very limited enrollment. They praise their island to be pristine, but there is garbage every where. They don't have a ... read more