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Ring of Fire - April #214664 04/01/09 05:42 PM
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McKeever Offline OP
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Our Captain made a public announcement this noon letting us know the status of the Voyager and that some of the Voyager's guests would be joining us in Bali.

Ardis


none
Re: Ring of Fire - April #214665 04/01/09 05:58 PM
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Marc Offline
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Ardis, any word on how many Voyager pax would be joining you in Bali? Any word on whether they would be staying on until Seward or continuing to Vancouver?

How is it doing the Ring of Fire clockwise versus counter-clockwise like in the past GAP?

Say hi to Stan for us,



Re: Ring of Fire - April #214666 04/01/09 07:02 PM
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The only word on numbers came from our General Manager who said it would be somewhat under ten pasengers. YES, there is room after Seward in spite of their saying that the ship is full in Alaska.

The route has been beyond great! We have such a compatible group of people, too, although there will always be those who complain. I feel a sense of excitement with peace and calmness that was often lacking from Voyager. I would love to see John Barron as CD on the 2010 World Cruis e.

By the way, Handre did not go on vacation. He followed Barry Hopkins to Seabourn. Handre told me.

Ardis


none
Re: Ring of Fire - April #214667 04/01/09 10:11 PM
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The Captain announced at lunch that they have the names of 22 guests who will join us in Bali from the Voyager. I wonder what they will think if we refer to them as "new segmenters"???

Doing this voyage clockwise allows us to follow the warm weather and we really been lucky with the weather. Tomorrow in Darwin the temperature is forcast to be 92 degrees.
Jim

Re: Ring of Fire - April #214668 04/02/09 03:59 AM
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ssclbc Offline
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What are the world cruisers doing for the few days between leaving the Voyager and arriving in Bali?


Lauri
Re: Ring of Fire - April #214669 04/02/09 05:12 AM
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I think you should refer to them as full segmenters if they were full cruisers however, then I'd guess we'd be repeat segmenters since we are re-boardinging the Mariner in Osaka.(yes, the baby is beautiful and healthy) Hank and Sondra probably will be repeat multiple segmenters as well. Oh well I guess we are all Mariner segmentists to some degree. Sounds like Regent is doing I great job. As a part time travel planner for our company I can just imagine the comments that they are receiving.

Re: Ring of Fire - April #214670 04/02/09 05:23 AM
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Hopefully they will be staying in Bali, at some nice resort?


Wendy
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Booked: Uniworld Egypt, 2015
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Paul Gauguin, Societies & Tuamotus 2016
Re: Ring of Fire - April #214671 04/02/09 06:14 AM
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From what I understand, some Voyager world cruisers will be joining you in Singapore so keep the welcome sign. I might be wrong but I heard that there will be a total of 50 or so that will embark from the Voyager between Bali and Singapore.

Re: Ring of Fire - April #214672 04/02/09 10:02 AM
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What's interesting in all of this is that both ships appear to have been not much more than half full. Sad to see this, but not surprising I guess. I wonder what the rest of the year will bring.


Wendy
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Booked: Uniworld Egypt, 2015
Tauck Amsterdam to Budapest, 2016
Paul Gauguin, Societies & Tuamotus 2016
Re: Ring of Fire - April #214673 04/02/09 12:04 PM
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YES, latest from John is that 21 are arriving in bali taking 14 suites. There is a lot of excitement as we wait to see old friends.

Ardis


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Re: Ring of Fire - April #214674 04/02/09 01:30 PM
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petlover Offline
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This will be a fun reunion for many friends.

All the emails I've received from Voyager friends are very upbeat and they continue to be enjoying themselves in spite of the circumstances. They have commented how helpful the staff has been in helping to make alternate arrangements..


Marcie

Re: Ring of Fire - April #214675 04/02/09 01:59 PM
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Marc Offline
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Hopefully everyone moving to Mariner already has another entry on their Chinese visa or can somehow get a new visa along the way (mabye during three days in Hong Kong).

For Petropavlask, does the ship get the visa for everyone?



Re: Ring of Fire - April #214676 04/02/09 03:33 PM
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Only you, Marc, would think of this!

I think Peggy said before they are not needed for Petropavlask.

I'm sure Regent will figure it out for China, weren't the WC people already there?

Re: Ring of Fire - April #214677 04/02/09 03:39 PM
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Yes, they were already there. They would have only needed a single entry visa. If they were lucky enough to have a double entry or multiple entry visa AND the visa has not expired, they will be ok.



Re: Ring of Fire - April #214678 04/04/09 01:30 PM
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Komodo today and lots of anticipation. Linday is still debating whether to go ashore because of the heat and Luke being so active so it is possible for a sitter to be found for Luke so she can enjoy this unique experience.

Tomorrow is BALI and the Balinese are dancing three feet off the floor. Our wonderful Balinese approached John some time ago and asked if they could put on one of their colorful cultural dances for the guests. John asked them how much they wanted for it and the answer was, "Nothing." Plans have gone ahead, costumes ordered and will be picked up in Bali and the dances are planned for next week. I asked one man the cost of the costumes since they are so elaborate and was told about $500. And the Balinese are willing to cover this cost themselves. Needless to say, some have been quietly helping out with the cost. They practice each night until about 2 a.m. for this program which will run about 45 minutes.

Ardis


none
Re: Ring of Fire - April #214679 04/04/09 01:41 PM
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What a wonderful trip - so happy John's family could join him - he must miss them terribly - Lyndsay is a special gal - and now they have adorable Luke - :hug: :hug: to the 3 of them


Joanna
Re: Ring of Fire - April #214680 04/04/09 02:28 PM
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Ardis, one of my most magical cruise memories is spending a day in Bali. Now you get to see it again when you weren't expecting to be in that part of the world. Sometimes good things happen from bad situations. Enjoy.


Donna

I write about active travel for baby boomers: www.myitchytravelfeet.com
Re: Ring of Fire - April #214681 04/08/09 04:23 PM
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WOW, I can give no greater expression of the talent and enthusiasm of our Balinese friends on Mariner. The show last night was wonderful. Many of their items did not arrive and they had to make do. The monkeys were to have white painted stripes on their chests and when the paint did not arrive, they used toothpaste! A couple of dark wigs also were missing so the salon let them use BLOND wigs they had on hand. What a wonderful performance and John has said it would be repeated later in the cruise, I would expect in Alaska. The cast got a standing ovation at the end. Today they are walking three feet off the ground and just cannot wipe the grins off their faces.

Ardis


none
Re: Ring of Fire - April #214682 04/08/09 06:22 PM
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My apologies, Ardis. For some reason I thought you were one of the World Cruisers who moved over to the Mariner. Duh, where is my brain? I've been reading your reports from the Mariner since the beginning. Guess I had one of those senior moments.

Loved reading about the Balinese performance on the Mariner. Sounded really special.


Donna

I write about active travel for baby boomers: www.myitchytravelfeet.com
Re: Ring of Fire - April #214683 04/11/09 07:03 PM
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McKeever Offline OP
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No appologies needed, Donna.

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.No apology needed, Donna.

Transferees from Voyager are being welcomed on board and being referred to as the "refugees." Captain Felicci is going out of his way to welcome them all. Some have already been invited to dine with him. A great thing about the Captain is that his tables are small with only five or six people so all can converse. It has been great to see old friends.

There are both sides of the story from those boarding. Some arrived in Bali and had four nights there. These were full cruisers and it was their first trip on Regent. They are greatly impressed and plan to travel with us again. One couple I talked to had absolutely no idea there was even a problem. They arrived in Dubai to board the ship, were taken to one side and given twenty minutes to make up their mind. That would blow me away.

Bangkok today with about 70 of us choosing to stay aboard. We are offered a shuttle bus to the beach city up the way but they are charging $50 for it. That seems grossly overpriced, especially for the full world cruisers.

Another plus for John. In spite of most guests being gone, he has games and also Trivia organized for us. This is something that Voyager did not do. Sure would be great to see him on WC 2010.

Ardis

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none
Re: Ring of Fire - April #214684 04/12/09 02:36 PM
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Ardis or Jim, with the protests in Bangkok, is the port visit being skipped? Or, are most people taking excursions outside of Bangkok?



Re: Ring of Fire - April #214685 04/12/09 03:29 PM
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There was some talk of demonstrations at the beach town up the way (Petaya?) but nothing heard from Bangkok. Guests will start returning in about six or seven hours.

Ardis


none
Re: Ring of Fire - April #214686 04/12/09 03:43 PM
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dfb Offline
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Marc, One of the full RoF bloggers from Mariner got caught by one of the protests and talks about it here.
http://www.jetsetway.com/

Re: Ring of Fire - April #214687 04/12/09 04:48 PM
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dfb, thank you. I cannot understand why Regent would skip Sri Lanka even thought there was no problems in Colombo itself but put passengers into Bangkok (and Pattaya Beach) under the current conditions. Regent should never have arranged for passengers to go to Pattaya Beach during the East Asia Summit and, when the summit had to be cancelled due to protests, should never have allowed passengers to go there.



Re: Ring of Fire - April #214688 04/13/09 12:05 AM
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There were protesters in Pattaya (yellow shirts) the day before we arrived. There was an ASEAN summit that quit when the protesters messed things up. We went to Pattaya for an overnight instead of Bangkok and everything was fine. We saw lots of crew in Pattaya which was crowded due to today's New years celebrations and also the aircraft carrier USS Stennis and 4 escort ships were in port adding another 10,000 people to the area. The bars and girls were happy.
Jim

Re: Ring of Fire - April #214689 04/13/09 01:04 AM
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Those who came back from Bangkok said it was the most organized trip Regent had put on and there were no disruptions at all. Nothing but priase.

Ardis


none
Re: Ring of Fire - April #214690 04/13/09 02:57 AM
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Jim and Ardis, thanks for the reports! Glad everything worked out. Enjoy your time in Vietnam.



Re: Ring of Fire - April #214691 04/13/09 05:29 AM
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The crew always seems to like to go to Pattaya as I remember. In 2007 we were lucky to be able to stop in Sri Lanka...a day or two later we probably would have had to skip it too like Silversea did.


Marcie

Re: Ring of Fire - April #214692 04/13/09 07:37 AM
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Yesterday Bangkok was superb! Typical tourist charming city, despite the news showing on the media... all was just great.


Mariner
Re: Ring of Fire - April #214693 04/13/09 05:22 PM
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Welcome to LCT, Mariner, are you on the ship?


Karen

Live long and prosper
Re: Ring of Fire - April #214694 04/13/09 05:42 PM
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MARINER WELCOME!! How is the trip???? Share more and more


Joanna
Re: Ring of Fire - April #214695 04/14/09 12:34 PM
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Would love to hear more about Ring of Fire Mariner...we were disappointed we had to cancel it. Please keep posting....Are you on the ship now?


Marcie

Re: Ring of Fire - April #214696 04/14/09 05:07 PM
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jbittle Offline
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At the Captain's welcome party Captain Felice announced that John Barron was voted (from comment cards) as the best cruise director in the fleet. I'v got a photo of John, Lindsay & Luke in their formal dress that I'll send to Ken to post.

We're anchored off Saigon until 3:00pm because a freightor is in our berth until 2:00. There will be 3 hydrofoils to take us ashore before then - tours first and independents at 11:30.

Chef Mike has been trying some new menu items with great success and has done an excellent job of serving local dishes with locally purchased ingredients at most ports.
Jim

Re: Ring of Fire - April #214697 04/14/09 05:14 PM
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What a great "update" about John - no surprise to us - If Regent loses JB they are fools - I say this after reading about recent Regent departures - He is simply the BEST - we'll follow his career, as it will tell me much about Regent -


Joanna
Re: Ring of Fire - April #214698 04/14/09 05:48 PM
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Take notes, Jim. I'll be asking Viet Nam questions before we leave on the Mariner this fall.


Donna

I write about active travel for baby boomers: www.myitchytravelfeet.com
Re: Ring of Fire - April #214699 04/15/09 01:34 AM
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I don't know if it's been posted on LCT but aparently Rose Clarke has left the company.

The container ship stuck at our docking spot is still there with "technical problems." It's 5:30pm and the last hydrofoil is on its way back to the ship and nobody can go back ashore tonight. A tender will be sent until all guests & crew are back and, if we aren't docked by 7:00 tomorrow we'll likely leave. That will be a problem for those who are having clothing made to be picked up tomorrow noon. We'll see what happens and report back.

Saigon is getting more and more prosperous and looks cleaner and busier than 1 1/2 years ago. Prices are still great - a 4 course Vietnamese lunch with 2 beers for under $12.00 or ladies silk slacks for $40.00 is hard to beat.
Jim

Re: Ring of Fire - April #214700 04/15/09 10:37 AM
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Ken Offline
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Photo of John, Luke, & Lindsay in their formals courtesy of Jim.

[Linked Image]

Re: Ring of Fire - April #214701 04/15/09 11:41 AM
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Such a great family!! Thanks Ken...


Marcie

Re: Ring of Fire - April #214702 04/15/09 01:35 PM
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Mr. Bean sure has a beautiful family. Glad he is getting the recognition. He certainly added to the fun we had on our segment.

Re: Ring of Fire - April #214703 04/15/09 02:40 PM
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They look like movie stars!!


Joanna
Re: Ring of Fire - April #214704 04/15/09 03:09 PM
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Gosh, I remember the night they got engaged and thought they wer e the best looking couple. What a beautiful boy! They should have lots more!!

Re: Ring of Fire - April #214705 04/15/09 03:09 PM
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What a beautiful family!

Re: Ring of Fire - April #214706 04/15/09 03:53 PM
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What wonderful news for John - he is the best! His family is so beautiful!!!


Sue
"A vacation is having nothing to do and all day to do it in" Robert Orben
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Re: Ring of Fire - April #214707 04/16/09 03:32 AM
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Great photo of the Barrons! Thanks Jim!
cheer


Betty

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Re: Ring of Fire - April #214708 04/16/09 05:11 AM
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What a fantastic photo of a beautiful family. Both John and Lindsay are exceptionally talented and I think he's the best cruise director I've ever experienced.


Lauri
Re: Ring of Fire - April #214709 04/18/09 05:53 PM
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Viet Nam! One of the most beautiful green countries I have ever seen. The traffic is dreadful and no traffic laws are followed. Traffic goes anywhere it wants including sidewalks, motorbikes miss busses by centimeters and pot holes add excitement to it all.

Stan and I did the two nighter to Hoi An with one delightful couple and one "other." With only six of us we had all the room in the small bus we could want. We were put up at the Furama Resort on the beach which was a gorgeous five star resort with great food, service and accommodations. The heat was much greater than we had anticipated with humidity in the 90% range. We traveled with plastic bags filled with wet wash cloths which we would drape around our necks. That helped a lot. It was a trip I would recommend to others IF they were willing to handle the heat and humidity.

We are told that seventeen people from Voyager will join us in Hong Kong along with Marc Conroy.

Ardis


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Re: Ring of Fire - April #214710 04/19/09 11:49 AM
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Ardis or Jim, can you ask John about "tokens" and "regent rewards." If tokens are, in fact, going to disappear at the end of Ring of Fire, maybe we all can mail you are hoards to Anchorage so you can redeem them; makes no sense to hold on to them if they are worthless.



Re: Ring of Fire - April #214711 04/19/09 04:05 PM
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Marc: I asked John that question last night and he said he had "heard the rumor, too" and was looking into it. So we are all still in the dark.

Ardis


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Re: Ring of Fire - April #214712 04/19/09 06:53 PM
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John just came through with his latest information. The tokens are gone for Voyager and will be gone for Mariner at the end of the World Cruise. They are being replaced by RR's (Regent rewards?) which are good for THAT VOYAGE only. The RR's will be in different denominations, l,5,10, 25. The treasures on the table will be the same or similiar.

So, change but NO change. It may be of interest to people on short cruises not that is all.

Ardis


none
Re: Ring of Fire - April #214713 04/19/09 08:06 PM
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Ardis, thanks. Just like a country that wants to replace its currency but without any notice or ability to turn in the old currency. Their accountants probably told them to do this to get the potential liability for future redemptions off their books. :D



Re: Ring of Fire - April #214714 04/19/09 08:49 PM
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Thanks Ardis!

Re: Ring of Fire - April #214715 04/20/09 01:04 AM
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Our Trivia team has won the last two days! Score another one for LCT.

Ardis


none
Re: Ring of Fire - April #214716 04/21/09 03:49 PM
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We won trivia again yesterday keeping the LCT string alive.

I'm leaving ROF tomorrow but a couple of people asked me to repeat the link to my blog covering Buenos Aires to Hong Kong and here it is:

http://bittleringoffire.blogspot.com

Jim

Re: Ring of Fire - April #214717 04/21/09 04:24 PM
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Jim, I've really enjoyed reading your blog and reading your posts on LCT. Wishing you and Pat a safe trip home.

Nancy

Re: Ring of Fire - April #214718 04/22/09 01:36 AM
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We hate leaving the ship and all our friends here, but the end has to come sometime. Our trivia team won the last one of the segment and now it's up to Ardis & Stan to carry the LCT banner by themselves. John Barron isn't sure when the tokens will disappear and it all depends upon when the new "rewards" cards arrive so they're encouraging everyone leaving to cash in. At least they had enough items to clear out our cache of tokens and add to the suitcase weight. We're outta here at 7:00am tomorrow and will be home about 35 hours later.
Jim

Re: Ring of Fire - April #214719 04/24/09 04:08 PM
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Our three full days at Hong Kong were great. I must admit that the weather was constant overcast and very humid but actually comfortable to move around in. The crew LOVE hong Kong as they get so much time off here.

LCT took Trivia again. OK, OK, so there were only four teams!

Our Balinese dance group was such a big success that it is going to be continued from time to time and possibly extended to the rest of the fleet. Our Balinese friends are grinning from ear to ear. Mark Conroy joins the ship in Beijing and I am hoping a performance is put on for him.

We saw the great light show last night from our balcony. In spite of the overcast it was still impressive.

Ardis


none
Re: Ring of Fire - April #214720 04/24/09 04:53 PM
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jhp Offline
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Anything new you found in HK, Ardis? We have a few days there before DRAGON with Peggy and Jerry, and we sure hate to have to spend the whole time shopping before we get on the ship. Last time, we went to Victoria Peak.

Did you do one of the excursions which we might duplicate on our own?

Re: Ring of Fire - April #214721 04/24/09 07:59 PM
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M
McKeever Offline OP
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I'm sorry, Peggy, but Stan and I just do not do tours in Hong Kong. I'm sure there are many but we just enjoy walking the town. We walked to the Chinese mall by the Shangri La Hotel, the jade market, the vegetable market, the Avenue of the Stars, Kowloon Park, the store called the Opal Mine, etc. Stan ordered some shorts so we were in that area also.

Ardis


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Re: Ring of Fire - April #214722 04/25/09 07:14 AM
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dougburns Offline
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You really don't need a tour guide in HK. Do it on your own and use public transportation; ie ferry and bus/tram. If you want a good how to and what to e-mail me back channel and I'll send you my trip report from our last visit to HK. You'll find the city safe and the people very nice. You can book the outer areas( Lantau, Macao, etc ) thru Greyline or one of those tour agencies once you get there. If you're over 65 you pay next to nothing for public transportation.

Re: Ring of Fire - April #214723 04/25/09 09:08 AM
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dfb Offline
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Olivia, Pasted below is a link to a do-it-yourself day in Hong Kong (from our WC blog)that you might enjoy. Debbie

http://westwardworldcircumnavigatio...-59-saturday-feb-25-hong-kong-day-3.html

Re: Ring of Fire - April #214724 04/25/09 07:44 PM
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jhp Offline
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Thank you Debbie! I followed you on your 2006 cruise and never knew from one day to the next what adventures you were going to have! One thing for sure, you and Clay have far more energy than me when you strike out on your own!

I've also emailed Doug for his "how to and what to", but as I remember it from a few years ago, it was quite challenging as well!

Ardis, a re-visit to the Jade Market is definitely on our list. Peggy and I had a great time there for a couple of hours last time bargaining our way up one aisle and down the other! This time we are staying at a hotel close-by.

Re: Ring of Fire - April #214725 04/26/09 01:53 AM
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RPM Offline
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Susan,We're lazy...just hired a van and guide to take us and our friends, everywhere outside around HK,(Stanley market, Fishing villages,etc).
The Peak and everything In HK and Kowloon side we did ourselves. The subway was a breeze to use.
Wish I was going to be back there.


Pat and Ray
Re: Ring of Fire - April #214726 04/26/09 08:17 AM
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pwolftx Offline
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Loved the Jade Market!!!! How about this time hiring a driver to take us out to Aberdeen--we could have dinner at the world famous Jumbo restaurant. Is it still there--didn't they have a fire not long ago?? Or--maybe a day trip to Macao, Jerry went there with Al Wolf the last time we were there (while we were at the Jade Market), but I've not been there.


Peggy
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