Who's booked?

Ngaire and Ken
Sheila and Ken
Pat and Jim
Pam and Jim
Carolyn and Don (Pt. 1)
Pat and Al (Pt. 1)

Some wonderful people on this one Olivia, there are about 28 booked so I am sure they will post under here soon.

Well let's hope so, or I will be eating with you and Ken every night! We have so many lct group cruises coming up. Not sure whether there is a roll call for all of them?

I get confused too - not for me but for all the LCT trips - I hope my PVB group will book a 2010 trip to Asia after experiencing the B2B - little steps

Hi Olivia...........we're on this too. Such a treat to have a short flight home after a cruise.It's a wonderful itinerary, I think we'll have a great time.

So glad to hear this, Sheila, I just told all my friends about the ghd hair thing! You're right Joanna, SO many LCT cruises to choose from! Let's hope your PVB group "may" want to go to Viet Nam in 2009 rather than wait for another 2 years for a cruise!

Well??? we will see after B2B - I will so miss sea days on B2B but Venice so OK!!!!

Put us on the list. I'm trying to find some way to sail back to the U.S. also-- hate thinking about that flight!!!!

Add Pat & me to the list. We're thinking of spending a week at a time share in Vina del Mar before getting on the ship.
Jim

Although we are not booked thru B&K, we will be on this segment of Ring of Fire on the Mariner. We just did the Sydney to Auckland (where we met a few of you getting on LAMB)trip on the Mariner and have done the PG in FP, but looking forward to seeing all these places again, along with some great sea days. Hope to meet more LCTers on this trip. Linda & Larry

We are really looking forward to this. My husband has always wanted to go to Easter Island and I was not keen on just going there from Chile without another reason. We will probably fly into Chile a few days early and than add Tasmania on at the end. We have done alot of Australia but not there. Trying to figure out flights on ff miles is a nightmare. May have to suck it up and actually pay for part of the fights. I hate that ff miles charge the same whether it is one way or round trip. Trying to find airlines that service both Santiago and sydney is not proving easy with the miles we have. Mainly AMX. Though a goodly amount on USAir. Looking forward to meeting many of you who I have read your remarks for years. We will also be on Roar 2. Pam and Jim

WhoooooHooo! Can't wait! Add us to the list please....Pat and Al.
Pat

We're going to be on this one too. Really excited -- looking forward to meeting all the LCT'ers . . . .

Welcome aboard, everyone!

Right now we're booked from Buenos Aires to Sydney -- two segments. We're hoping to spend some time in Buenos Aires before the trip. And we'll certainly spend time in Australia after -- would never pass up a chance for time in Australia!

Betty

Some good POOCH players along for those afternoons at sea. We will spread the addiction to those who are interested. I am out of POOCH pins so just ordered some more - magnets this time.

Oh goody, two of my favorite lct travelers have signed on! Tomato juice at noon in OL, here we come! Lots of sea days for that!

I WISH I could love cards and want to be good at POOCH!

Olivia I hate cards - pooch is very card friendly

Al, Jerry, Olivia -- and sometimes Peggy -- are BIG on tomato juice!!

For the rest of you, appreciate that this is 'well doctored' tomato juice (sometimes known as a Bloody Mary). By all accounts, Observation Lounge on Mariner had the BEST!!

I just hope it is SO good in Explorer II in about a week, Betty! I can't wait for you and Al to meet my sister and her husband! Nooner's would be great after a trek on the ice for the a.m.!

Tom and I are also booked on this (# 735)....but not certain we'll keep it.

I'm with you Peggy!! Us too....

Thanks Olivia for the welcome! Didn't you and Todd both stay at the Ritz-Santiago on the Chilean Fjords cruise? I'm already looking into pre-cruise stays and would love to hear your opinion of the Ritz. Was it in a central location to everything etc. and did you guys encounter any language problems?
I'd love to learn Pooch if anyone is willing to teach me. We'll certainly have enough time on board to play during the 24 days.
Pat

Olivia, please add us to the list. We are looking forward to all these sea days, as close to heaven as you can get on earth.

Before KOALA we will see you on CAMEL.

Carolyn and Don

Carolyn: You are so right about sea days - we did Auckland to LA, 19 nights, and I loved every second of the many sea days - doing B2B port intensive in May/June and so excited about Venice but to be honest, at our age, sea days the way to go!!!

Carolyn,

Lots of great days for spa hanging and afternoon tea.....where we can get our dessert fix, while the guys do their reading.
Pat

We are looking at pre-cruise options. Should we stay in Santiago (Ritz?) or in Valparaiso or Vin de Mar (sp?) before KOALA? Any suggestions would be appreciated. Also, what exactly is pooch? Thanks in advance, Linda & Larry

Linda & Larry,
I recommend Vina del Mar over Valparaiso for a stay. It's a suburb and Valparaiso & the port are a short taxi ride. More to see & do in Vina. If you haven't spent time in Santiago, it might be worth a couple of days there and then time in Vina if you have free time to spare. We'll be in Vina del mar for a few days before Koala.
Jim & Pat

Pat, yes, Todd and I stayed at the Ritz-Carlton in Santiago when it first opened. It's a lovely hotel, but we were only there for a night, as I remember. I can't recall how central it was, but it was not right in the middle of the commercial part of the city. Todd arranged for a guide to pick each of us up at the airport (he came in after me), who returned to pick us up for a half-day tour of the city. The next morning, he took us to a winery on the way to the ship, and we stopped in Vina del Mar for lunch before getting on the ship. Todd took tons of pictures of the hotel that you can check on his ofoto site.

Ritz is in the northeast quadrant of Santiago, as are most of the name brand hotels. Hyatt and Marriott are closer together. The website says Ritz is 1/2 an hour from the airport; Hyatt/Marriott 15 minutes.

Cheers, Anne

We stayed at the Ritz a little over a year ago. It is in a nice neighborhood (El Golf)with lots of restaurants nearby, probably 20 -30 minutes from the airport. It is a short walk from the hotel to the metro which is very easy to take and felt totally safe to us.

The rooms were terrific - we stayed on the club floor and they always had some food presentation going on along with complementary wine, soft drinks etc. Wi-fi was free in the club if you brought a lap top (we didn't); the business center was on the floor below the lobby and only had one or two computers. The service was fantastic as well. highly recommended.

Does anyone have hotel recommendations for Lima, Peru ?
If we fly to Santiago, we may stop in Lima for a couple of days as we have spent hardly any time there.

Miraflores. Great views, service, in a safe part of Lima. Near good resturants. they will arrange tours, and cars to transport to dinner. Shopping nearby, Rooftop pool and spa. Nice breakfast on rooftop. Rooms are large.

Lots of great info about pre-cruise hotels.....thank-you! I'll have to check out Vina del Mar too and search for Todds pics. I love the Ritz Club floor also but have found certain Club Levels better then others depending on where it is but it's nice to know that you liked the one in Santiago Leslie.
Pat

Marcie - we stayed at the Country Club, Lima which was very nice, although I thought the spa was a bit weird. Our room was huge and as I recall the breakfast was very good. The other recommended hotel in Lima is the Miraflores Park. Either the San Isidro or Miraflores neighborhoods are where you want to stay.

We were pleasantly surprised by Lima - there are fantastic restaurants and terrific museums there. We never felt unsafe, although we did have private tours and didn't walk around by ourselves. You get so much more out of a trip to Cusco, Sacred Valley & Machu Picchu if you tour the museums in Lima.

Thanks for the recommendations! We were only in Lima after visiting Machu Picchu and Cusco so that's why we're considering a stop over there.

We did alot of walking around the Miraflores area during the day and felt comfortable. Night time they recommended not walking around by yourself. Lots of security around the hotel. Small but nice spa treatment rooms on top floor.

Miraflores and San Isidro are both lovely neighborhoods. One of my clearer memories of Lima is the taxi support system. There are tire changing stations seemingly on every other corner. When you get a flat, the taxi pulls in, and --whoosh!-- five minutes late, the replacement tire is on the car and your journey continues. A very efficient system for their needs.

The Inca market in/near Miraflores is worth a visit if you haven't had a chance to stop at the Pisac market in the Sacred Valley or spend much time in Cuzco looking at the handicrafts. Some of the best sweater selections are actually at the airport. If you're looking solely for good buys, there's a co-op that does handmade sweaters in a couple of shops in Cuzco. I didn't specifically look for them in Lima at the Inca market. The label is Artesanias Illary from Cusco. If you are buying the handmade sweaters, look at them very carefully and don't buy unless you try it on. Make sure the sleeves are equal length, the pattern is regular, the size holds true throughout the garment, etc. We had to fish through about 4 sweaters before we found one without obvious sizing problems. I love it and still wear it many years later.

The Gold Museum is a bit controversial locally (don't remember why anymore) and, of course, the sex museum is a must-see. We also came across the changing of the guard at the President's Palace. It was mobbed by local school children all wearing uniforms - in this case, track suits. The uniforms are quite ornate. The design dates back to the early 1800s.

Lima gets about 4 inches of rain per year, so it's often hazy from the dust in the air.

My 'ah hah' shopping moment was finding Carlos Chaquiras silver works in Cusco. I learned later he's considered one of the best, if not the best, silversmith in Peru. I don't know if his work is available in Lima, but ask the concierge. I find it remarkable and enjoy wearing it. My only regret was not buying one of his icon statues when I visited several years ago. Here's the link: http://www.carloschaquiras.com/

Enjoy! Anne

Pat and I are also booked on the Valparaiso - Sydney leg of the Ring of Fire – in Suite #821 again, just like on Panda, and are really looking forward to it. We also plan to do some before and aftering in Santiago and Sydney, plus perhaps coming home heading west, stopping off in SE Asia (Singapore or Bangkok), India and Europe! We too really hate those long trans-Pacific flights - 14-15 hours. Ugg! And we'd both like to see more of India. Depends a lot on the air deals we can get, most likely. We used up most of our stash of Reward points and Skymiles getting to and from PANDA, so we're kind of low on semi-freebies, and will likely have to lay out cold hard cash! Horrors!

Editing to add:
NEW DEVELOPMENT ON US-AUSTRALIA AIR ROUTES

There is GOOD NEWS, however: according to CNN as of four days ago, the US and Australia have signed an "Open Skies" agreement allowing US and Australian owned airlines to fly between the two countries without the limitations currently in place. [http://edition.cnn.com/2008/BUSINESS/02/14/australia.us.opensky.ap/index.html?iref=24hours] Qantas and United now fly the route, as does Air New Zealand and Air Tahiti Nui, but as far as I know, that's it. Continental did fly to Carnes from Guam, and from there to Hawaii, connecting into the main USA Continental system, but that seems to be a thing of the past, and in any case, the Carnes-Guam-Hawaii legs were flown in Boeing 737s! Not my choice of airplane for long Pacific legs!

The Open Skies agreement should open Australian destinations to American, Delta & Northwest and US Air, plus perhaps one of the Hawaiian airlines or Alaska Air. Moreover, it may lead to direct non-stop service from more American cities (e.g., Dallas or Atlanta.) More competition usually results in lower costs, which doesn't solve the long flight times, but does tend to make the tariff less painful. I think (not sure) that more than one of the airlines currently flying this route offers premium economy seating, so new carriers are more likely to offer this amenity, which does make life somewhat better for not too much more money.

With the fuel prices raising daily (perhaps by the minute), does anyone know how soon we can book those flights,. Was thinking of doing it on our own -- but, it sounds like the airport is fairly far from the ship.

Flights open up approximately 330 days before the date of departure. I just checked and American Airlines is up to the 15th of February right now.