Journey to Southeast Asia

If you are considering a cruise to Southeast Asia, but are apprehensive about the flights, our experience should help ease your mind.  Don't let your fears prevent you from experiencing an amazing destination.

When we booked this cruise, during our Crown Princess South American cruise a year ago, we were so excited about seeing one of the trending travel destinations, that we hadn't even considered the travel times involved.  Once we started looking at flight schedules, the trip seemed daunting.   We had never flown that many hours (15) before on a single flight.

Flights for our 15 night Southeast Asia cruise were booked via Princess EZair.

There are several advantages to using the cruise line air, especially for a destination so far from home. 


Advantages we saw to this option:

• Options presented will work with the itinerary (no hassle planning)
• Didn't have to pay for flights until final cruise payment
• Prices were locked in; could go down, but not up
• Cruise line is aware of schedule and can assist if something goes wrong
• Easily adjust schedule for pre/post cruise stay

Our journey to Southeast Asia began in Chicago with stopover / plane changes in Los Angeles and Hong Kong before we arrived in Singapore.  Here are some highlights from our flights and each of the airports along our path.



Los Angeles

This was about a four hour flight which landed about 10 or 15 minutes early.  We were scheduled to arrive in Terminal 4 but arrived in Terminal 5 instead, perhaps since we were a little early.

Connecting passengers don't need to go through security, despite changing terminals. We followed signs to Terminal 4 which led us to an underground passageway.   We had  a couple hours between flights, so we could take our time getting to the gate.  Arriving at the gate, we found a couple seats that had charging stations.  Finally they started boarding by groups and we were onboard waiting for our 15 hour flight to begin.

Hong Kong

The flight to Hong Kong was long, but wasn't as bad as expected.  We watched movies, got some sleep, and had 3 meals during the flight.  We got up every so often to help with circulation.

Tip: Perhaps the best things we purchased for our trip were compression socks and a comfortable wrap around neck pillow.

When we arrived in Hong Kong, around 8 am, there was no need to fill out landing cards, since we were transiting passengers. We stopped at the rest rooms and then followed the signs for transferring passengers.  No water or other drinks are allowed through the checkpoint, so we finished our water before proceeding. After showing our boarding passes, we went thru security with our hand luggage.

Connecting passengers can check the monitors to find out their gate assignment, but since it was too early for our gate to be posted, we stooped at an information desk to have them look up our next gate. Currently our gate assignment was listed as gate 64, but they suggested we check around 10 AM to see if there were any changes.

We found some seats near the monitors. There was a museum exhibit of tea vessels nearby, so we checked that out while we waited for our flight to be posted on the monitors.  The gate had not changed, so off we headed to gate 64.

There were several shops along the way to our gate. We sampled some cookies and stopped at the Disney Store.   We made a couple purchases and then proceeded to our gate.

Nearby our gate was a charging station.  Since the airport had free wi-fi we decided to make a call back home while we waited for our flight.  It was a good connection over wi-fi.

Singapore

The final leg of our journey was a four hour flight from Hong Kong to Singapore on Cathay Pacific Airlines.  This was our first experience on them and we were quite pleased with the service.

We had an aisle and window seat on the left side of the plane, so we had a great view as we arrived in Singapore.  One of the nice features of their in seat entertainment screen was the ability to switch the flight view to outside cameras.  We were able to capture the landing in an image.

Singapore is an award winning airport and it didn't take long for us to understand why.  Check out the floral arrangements in the accompanying pictures. There are luggage carts which you can use free of charge.

Flight attendants had passed out landing cards, which needed to be completed by each passenger staying in Singapore.  We followed the signs to immigration, where we turned in our landing cards. Make sure to retain the stub - you will need that when you depart for home.  Please note that you will also be finger printed upon entry.  Next stop was baggage claim.  Once again there were larger baggage carts there for use. Finally we exited through customs to the terminal.

We were staying at the Crowne Plaza located across from Terminal 2.  Since we landed in Terminal 1 we asked for directions at one of the airport information desks.  They suggested we follow the signs for shuttle bus to Terminal 2 / MRT station.  Once we arrived there, we took the elevator to the bridge between Terminal 2 and Terminal 3 / hotel. At the hotel we learned that we could also have taken the skytrain from Terminal 1 which would have been easier.

Singapore airport and Cathay Pacific are very efficient.  We landed at 3:45 PM and by 4:16 PM we had already collected our baggage.  We had just missed a shuttle bus, so we had to wait a bit. By 5 PM we were checked in at our hotel.

Click on the image to the left for more Blog posts about this trip.

Related Album:

Chicago & LA Flights
Hong Kong Airport
HGK to SIN Flight
Changi Airport Singapore

Additional photos can be found on our Southeast Asia Shutterfly page

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Taking a Ride on Train 61

click image to enlarge

Oslo to Bergen 

By Rail

After a good nights sleep and breakfast, we were ready for our adventure in this winter wonderland to begin. A short walk from our hotel, and we were inside Oslo Central Railway Station.

Checking the departure board we found that our train's departure track wasn't posted yet.   We'd given ourselves plenty of time so that we didn't have to run through the train station to get to the platform on time.  Once the track was posted, we headed to the entrance gate.

Traveling by Rail

The European rail system is a very reliable way to travel.  The train arrived at the station on time and we made our way to car 7, stowed our suitcases, and found our reserved seats. We were off on a six hour journey through the Norwegian countryside.

Onboard the train we were able to communicate using free Wi-Fi.  When we got hungry, we purchased sandwiches from the dining car.

Winter in Norway brings lots of snow in the mountains.  We got our first glimpses at the beautiful scenery we'd be experiencing throughout the rest of our adventure.

Additional photos can be found in our album:

 

Train 61 - Oslo

Click on the image to the right for more Blog posts about this trip.

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Norway Journey Begins

Chicago to London

click images to enlarge

Anticipation was at its peak as we got in our car to head to O'Hare Airport.  The Chicago weather was cooperating so we had figured there shouldn't be any delays in our departure.

Even though our flight wasn't scheduled to depart until 6:45 PM we arrived at the airport around 4 PM. after dropping our car off at a local parking lot.

Since we were on an international flight, we weren't able to print off boarding passes in advance.  That meant we also could not get our seat assignments for our second flight (more about that later).   We checked in our bags, and headed for security check-in.   One of us had TSA pre-check and the other didn't so we split up at the check-in.  All the electronic gear went to the pre-check line which made things very nice.  It took a bit to complete the check in but we were now headed towards the gate.

We decided to get a couple of burgers and fries from McDonanld's which was conveniently across from our gate.  Despite knowing we'd have dinner on the plane, we knew it would be awhile before we'd be served and this light meal would hold us over.

AA Flight 86 (ORD / LHR)

We boarded our flight and stowed our hand luggage by our seats.  We always like to have a carry-on with a couple of days worth of clothes so we don't need to open our big suitcase in the pre-cruise hotel.  It is also comforting to have some clothes for each of us, should our luggage not get to our destination at the same time we do.

We had an aisle and window seat on the right-hand side of the plane in the last cabin of the B767.   There were plenty of empty seats, and boarding was completed, so we spread out.   The plan was for me to lay down in the middle section of seats once dinner was over and try to get some sleep.  Shortly after dinner, I would put that plan in motion, but it wasn't a sound sleep.

Looking out the window, as you can see in the picture above,  it was a clear night over Chicago as we took off.  We bid good-bye to the lit up checkered city below.  Gazing out the window, the moon was reflecting off the wing.    We thought that that these were good signs of things to come.

We had dinner which was a choice of pasta or chicken, typical for an AA flight over the pond.   Our selection was one of each - the chicken was the better choice for the record.  One and a half hours before landing in London, we had a light breakfast served to us.

Good Morning from London

Opening the window shades we got glimpses of the England countryside and a clear blue sky.

Our flight arrived a few minutes ahead of schedule and we had to park until our gate was freed up.  After deplaning, we followed the signs for connecting flights.  It wasn't necessary to claim luggage or go through customs in Heathrow.  We did have to go by bus from terminal 3 to terminal 5 for British Airways.

British Airways to Oslo

While we didn't need to collect our checked bags, it was necessary to go through security.  There are two checkpoints - at the first one, they checked our tickets & passports and gave us hand-bag tags for our luggage.

The agent said that our plane was small and said the we needed to check one of our rolling bags as it wouldn't fit.  We weren't happy about that because there went our safety net of having some clothes if the other bags weren't in Oslo when we got there, but we couldn't argue.   It turned out that the plane wasn't small by our standards and the bag would have fit especially since the plane was almost empty.

Since we had made this slight detour to drop off our bag, we weren't sure where to go next.  We were directed up the lift to the security checkpoint.  Here, all large electronics needed to be removed and put in bins along with coats, shoes, belts, and 3-1-1 bags.  Even the bag itself had to be put in these large bins to go through the screening.   We collected our bins and headed off to find out what gate we were at - all we knew so far was we were departing from the "A Gates".

Our next flight would be boarding after 10 AM.   Signs indicated that it was a ten minute walk to A gates from where we were at, but the departure board still didn't have a gate posted - instead it had a time when it would be posted.  That time came and went and still no posting, then finally it appeared. We headed off to A21 where we found seats in the departure lounge.  

The plane boards by rows, but since we had status on American Airlines, we were able to board with the first group. Recall that we didn't know what our seats were for our BA flight until we checked in at Chicago.   You could pay $30 per person if you want a specific seat or you can wait until 24 hours in advance and get a seat assignment for free.   We opted for the latter.  Once again, the flight was pretty empty, so there certainly wasn't a problem with waiting until day of departure to get seats assigned.

We took off on time and shortly after that we were served  a light breakfast and beverage.  

The story continues in our next post.  Be sure to bookmark our Diary Hurtigruten Classic Voyage Bergen
 page so that you can easily navigate the entire journey.

Costa Concordia the Final Journey

Costa Concordia
Giglio to Genoa

Approvals have been given for the salvage team, directed by Titan Micoperi, to commence one of the final stages in the salvage of the Costa Concordia.


Refloating To Begin

Refloating stages

The refloating operation will be divided into 4 separate stages. The refloat will be complete when the greatest possible amount of water has been pumped out of the sponsons and the ship is virtually parallel to sea level.

• Stage 1: Partial refloating and eastward movement of the wreck 
• Stage 2: Attachment and tensioning of the chains and cables and final positioning ofthe starboard sponsons
• Stage 3: Actual refloating - At this stage the actual refloating will commence
• Stage 4: Final maneuvers and departure of the ship from the island

Salvage experts will conduct the refloating operations from the Remote Operations Center (ROC) located on the Concordia. The monitoring systems will be handling the ballast in the sponsons and guaranteeing vessel stability, trim and the even distribution of the forces acting on the hull.

UPDATE:  22 JULY 2014 Today, Costa Concordia departs from Giglio on its final voyage. A convoy of several tugs and support vessels has begun the slow journey from Giglio to the final port call for Costa Concordia in Genoa, Italy  where it will be dismantled and sold for scrap. We have followed this story since that fateful Friday the 13th in 2012.  This final journey, will take about 4 days as the convoy proceeds at about 2 knots, roughly the speed of walking.   Here are some images and stories which we have found on the web.   Most interesting may be how Giglio gets back to "normal" whatever that means.   It was a small town that was not very well known until it became center stage with a global audience watching.    CNN:  How do islanders feel about the Costa Concordia departing? The answer may surprise you: http://cnn.it/1A4XoTq  Costa Concordia Begins Its Final Voyage http://on.wsj.com/1nV1nrO  via @WSJphotos  In Focus: Final Voyage of the Costa Concordia - 30 photos of the 30-month salvage operation - http://goo.gl/cYFUyi  pic.twitter.com/rPuE5DTKtT gCaptain.com: Track Costa Concordia Live – AIS MAP http://goo.gl/fb/z68mz4   15 Spectacular Photos of the Refloated Costa #Concordia… And she's off! http://gcaptain.com/15-spectacular-photos-of-the-refloated-costa-concordia/ … pic.twitter.com/J4ze421wpo

  


This video shows the refloating phases of Costa Concordia salvage operations (limited hours of operation)


Once it is afloat, the wreck will be ready for transportation to its final destination, namely the
Port of Genoa Voltri.  Two possible courses have been selected with the actual course determined by conditions at the time of towing commencement.  The course pictured above, courtesy of Titan Micoperi, would cover 208 nautical miles.  The second course would be slightly shorter.

Costa Concordia Live Web Cam Links: 
 http://costaconcordiawebcams.com/

The Parbuckling Project: Concordia wreck removal project informative website Main article: Costa Concordia Listing after Deadly Accident  Re-floating Concordia    Courtesy: Parbuckling Project UPDATE 03 July 2014: Costa Crociere: installation of all sponsons completed, ten days to possible refloating Genoa, Italy has been selected to receive the vessel for salvage “Following installation of the last sponson, we can start the countdown to refloating and final departure of the wreck from Giglio Island,” said Costa Crociere CEO Michael Thamm. “Now all our energies are focused on the successful conclusion of this unprecedented engineering challenge to respect a precise commitment: remove the Concordia wreck as soon as possible, in compliance with the highest environmental and safety standards.” Watch footage from Italian police divers in the sunken ship just before it is scheduled to be towed:  Inside Costa Concordia Now & Before

100th Anniversary of Titanic Sinking

RMS Titanic Remembered

Events Around the World

Events across the world are marking the Centenary of the Titanic Sinking in the Atlantic.  The RMS Titanic was a British steamliner built by the White Star Line. For her time, she was the largest passenger steamship in the world. It employed the latest technology available at the time, and was thought to have been "unsinkable". Unfortunately, as you know, that wasn't the case.

The Titanic left Southampton, UK on April 10, 1912, with 2,200 passengers and crew onboard. This was the maiden voyage of this amazing new steamship. Four days after leaving Southampton, the Titanic collided with an iceberg and sank. Over 1500 people perished making it one of the most deadly peacetime disasters in history. The high casualty rate was later believed to be due to the insufficient number of lifeboats onboard, something that has been corrected in modern day cruise liners.

Belfast

Titanic Belfast - Opened March 31, 2012

Just in time for the Centenary of the Titanic sinking,  a large interactive exhibit, Titanic Belfast®, has opened in Northern Ireland.  It extends over nine galleries, complete with special effects, dark rides, full-scale reconstructions, and other interactive features for the visitor to explore everything about the Titanic.

Your visit starts with the conception in Belfast in the early 1900s, through her construction and launch, to her infamous maiden voyage and catastrophic demise.

The journey goes beyond the aftermath of the sinking, to the discovery of the wreck and continues into the present day with a live undersea exploration centre.  This will surely be a must-see attraction for years to come.

Harland and Wolff Shipyard - builder of the Titanic

For most of the century following the Titanic disaster, it was a taboo to mention the "T-word" in Belfast, Northern Ireland, site of the shipyard that built that ship and her two sister ships, Olympia and Britannic.  It was a reminder of the industrial failure that followed the disaster.

The cranes are silent now in the shipyard, as their focus shifted to servicing ships and marine infrastructure.  They are staying out of the spotlight on the anniversary of the Titanic.  The only involvement is sponsoring a requiem mass.  Some 16,000 people packed the Belfast slipways where the Titanic was built for a free, open-air concert Friday ahead of the 100th anniversary of the luxury liner’s sinking.

Observances in Belfast include a choral requiem at the Anglican St. Anne's Cathedral and a nationally televised concert at the city's Waterfront Hall on Saturday, where  thousands were expected to attend.

Southampton

Southampton, England was the departure port for the ill-fated Titanic.   The anniversary is being marked by an orchestra which will play composer Gavin Bryars' work "The Sinking of the Titanic".

About 600 of the Titanic's approximately 900 workers hailed from Southampton, a port city in England. More than 500 from the city died.

Maritime Museum, Southampton

The Maritime Museum, Southampton hosts a permanent exhibition featuring the story of Titanic’s crew.  Visitors can find out about the Titanic crew roles onboard and personal stories.  The Museum has collections of audio of crew member’s memories of the night Titanic struck the iceberg and the consequences for them and their families.  

At Sea in Atlantic

The MS Balmoral and Azamara Journey are enroute to the spot where Titanic sank (41°43'57"N, 49°56'49"W) where a memorial service will be held some 400 miles (640 kilometers) off the coast of Newfoundland.   Miles Morgan Travel offered two cruises, Anniversary Cruise from New York on the Journey, and  Memorial Cruise from Southampton on the Balmoral.

According to details released by Miles Morgan, at 2:20 a.m. ship's time on Sunday — 0547 GMT or 12:47 a.m. EDT — a minister will lead prayers, floral wreaths will be thrown into the sea and a shipboard band, which has been entertaining guests in the evenings during the cruise, will play "Nearer My God To Thee," the tune the Titanic's band kept up as the vessel went down.

In 1912 "ship's time" was determined by predicting when the sun would be at its highest point and making that moment midday. On some vessels the clocks were constantly updated.

It is an outdated practice but to ensure that the memorial is held at exactly the right time, the Balmoral's clocks have been put back to four hours and 27 minutes before BST. That means the ship is now effectively on Titanic time.

Halifax

Halifax, Nova Scotia, has a grim connection with the Titanic disaster.  The White Star Line chartered several ships to assist in recovery efforts following the sinking of the Titanic. Two Halifax-based ships, the MacKay-Bennett and the Minia, were part of that recovery fleet. The ships' crews recovered 328 bodies, with 209 being returned to Halifax. The badly damaged or deteriorated bodies were buried at sea. Of the 119 buried at sea, 60 were unidentified at the time and 49 remain unidentified today.

The Maritime Museum of the Atlantic has an extensive exhibit, Titanic: The Unsinkable Ship and Halifax, which was recently updated. The exhibit, recognized as the world's finest collection of wooden artifacts from the vessel, has 20 artifacts and dozens of photographs, including many that had never been published or displayed before. Two well known articles in the exhibit are the only intact Titanic deck chair and the shoes of the Titanic unknown child. Consult the museum's Research Page for more Titanic information.

Besides the exhibit at the museum, visitors to Halifax can also visit the graves of the Titanic victims buried there. 

• On April 14th, watch live webcast of
  Titanic Eve Night of the Bells
  from 9:30pm to 12:30am AST.
• On April 15, watch live webcast of
  Titanic Spiritual Ceremony
  from 3:00pm to 4:30pm AST.
• On April 14th, experience Titanic wireless messages in real time on Twitter
• Titanic events in Nova Scotia

Related Blog Articles:

Titanic's Unknown Child Identified 

Titanic: The Unsinkable Ship and Halifax

Retracing Titanic Cruise

Note:  Updated links on April 14, 2020 - some original links have been removed - since they were active only for the anniversary.  Click on the links to learn more about the Titanic.

Happy Thanksgiving 2010

Norwegian Epic - Main Pool

HAPPY
THANKSGIVING

 

Where is Chris?

Treetops - Vancouver, Canada

It's hard to believe that Thanksgiving is here already. Where did 2010 go? As has become my tradition, I'd like to share with you some of the things that I'm thankful for and highlight some of my adventures this year.

I hope that you, your family, and friends have plenty to be thankful for this holiday season. I know that I have plenty of things to be thankful for, including my health, family, and friends and the ability to share my love of cruising with all of you. I’m grateful that I’ve been able to explore new worlds with family and friends again this year.

While this has been another tough economic year, it appears that the cruise industry has weathered the storm once again. Just this month, we have been highlighting the introduction of Allure of the Seas. Just a year ago, her sister ship was added to Royal Caribbean International's fleet.  The two ships are the largest ships afloat.

The value of cruising has never been stronger. Even in these tough times, more and more families have taken to the seas.  Indications are that the record discounts offered the past two years will be coming to an end.  In the meantime those discounts have made cruising an even better value, and consequently we have seen a surge in first-time cruisers.

The photos above are from some of our cruises this year.  Cruises Inc. and Cruise One held their National Conference on the brand new Norwegian Epic and we were fortunate to be able to attend.  Just like the Oasis of the Seas and Allure of the Seas, several new innovations were introduced on the Epic.   Although it isn't quite as large as the RCI ships, it is no small ship.   The entertainment and food on the Epic take center stage along with the studio suites, which allow solo travelers their own haven at a price point to match. The Epic has much to offer cruisers.

Norwegian Epic alternates between Eastern and Western Caribbean itineraries.   Our conference was on the latter itinerary which included stops in Costa Maya, Roatan, and Cozumel.   The picture of me in front of the Epic was in Roatan where we hired a local cab driver to take us around the island after we did a bit of shopping near the pier.


In June this year we attended Cruise3Sixty, CLIA's annual conference.  This year it was held in Vancouver, Canada.  We extended our stay following the formal conference which allowed for touring of some of the local attractions, which despite many trips there in the past, we had not had time for.  I'm pictured here hiking through Treetops at the  Capilano Suspension Bridge.

Boardwalk

The highlight of the year is yet to come.   We will be sailing on Allure of the Seas for one of the pre-inaugural sailings.   The final cruise of the year will be on Azamara Club Cruises Journey.   We will tour the West Indies on that cruise.

We wonder what the Pilgrims, who came to the New World in Tall Ships, would think about the Allure of the Seas.  Their ships measured 110 feet, held 150 passengers at most, and took months to cross the Atlantic.  The Allure is more than 10 times that length (1182 feet), holds almost 8000 passengers and crew, and took just a couple weeks to cross the Atlantic.

Thank you for making our blog column a part of your lives in 2010.   I hope that the information we share helps you to dream about future cruises of your own. I'd be honored to help you plan those trips. I have the best job in the world - helping make dreams come true. For that, I'm truly thankful.

Happy Thanksgiving to All

  

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