Don't Come Knockin' If Ship a Rockin'

Mother Nature Had Other Plans 

On Day 4, Sapphire Princess would have been sailing the course shown above from Kota Kinabalu, Malyasia to Nha Trang, Vietnam.  During breakfast on Day 3, we learned that Mother Nature had other plans for us.

The first week of January saw Typhoon Agaton tracking from the Philippines into the South China Sea.  In her wake, the South China Sea had high winds and swells forcing our captain to alter our planned itinerary.   We were scheduled to have a sea day on Friday, January 12th with a call to Nha Trang, Vietnam on Saturday January 13th.

click images to enlarge

Since Nha Trang is a tender port, it was determined that Sapphire Princess would not be able to safely operate tender service and our schedule changed.  Having sailed for more than 30 years, we have come to appreciate who is in control - it's not the Captain or Cruise Line, but Mother Nature.  Safety of the ship, passengers, and crew has to come first - so itineraries can change.


Kota Kinabalu Stay Extended

We stayed overnight in Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia, with a 5 PM departure on Friday. Additional tours were added for Friday.

Since we had already done the tour we were interested in on Thursday, we opted to just stay onboard and enjoy an extra relaxing day. We hung out at the enclosed pool area on Sapphire Princess, our favorite hang-out.

On Thursday, we hadn't been able to get good pictures of the Tun Mustapha Tower, a 30-story circular glass and steel tower that's one of only three buildings in the world constructed in this "suspended" manner, we captured some images from our balcony when we finally departed Kota Kinabalu.  Saturday was another relaxing day, as that became a sea day sailing to Cambodia.

As we crossed the South China Sea to our new destination, Ho Chi Minh City (Phu My), Vietnam, the ship was a rockin'.  The captain was using the stabilizers, so that helped a bit, but you needed to hold on as you walked around the ship.

Tip:  If you are prone to get motion sick on land or sea, you will want to discuss options with your travel professional and your doctor prior to any cruise.   Unexpected rockin' could happen anytime.

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Related Album:

KK Sailaway
Nha Trang

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3 Top Things To Do in Hellesylt Cruise Port

Hellesylt, Norway

Recall from last time that we left the Jewel of the Seas in Geiranger, Norway for an all day tour, Journey to Briksdal Glacier . Usually you begin and end your tour in the same port of call, but that isn't the case with Geiranger. The ship stayed there for most of the day so people could stay in town if they chose to. At 3:30 PM, it set sail for Hellesylt, where the majority of the passengers, who'd been on tours, would rejoin the ship.

During My Cruise Stop in Hellesylt I'd...

Photograph a Waterfall

The site of the village on the mountain sides at the end of the Sunnylvs Fiord is exceptionally picturesque. Right through the centre, 100 meters from Grand Hotel, the Hellesylt waterfall gushes down into the Fiord. This waterfall is one of the most photographed sites in Norway. Of course, we were obliged to get a few pictures of our own.

Relax & Enjoy Picturesque Views

Hellesylt is a small village in the Stranda Municipality, which is a part of the Møre and Romsdal County in the western part of Norway. Our motor coach arrived in this little town and parked near the dock where we would board a tender boat to rejoin our ship.

Hellesylt is well known for for its colorful history, and in the old street most of the old buildings are still intact.  Our tour was behind schedule, so we didn't have much time before we had to board the tender boat.

Not Miss Sail Away

Before boarding the last tender boat, we clicked a few more pictures of the waterfall and of our ship, which despite its 90,090 gross tons, was dwarfed by the fjords.  Words cannot describe the view - you must bring a camera, or at least your smart phone, with you to capture this moment in time to cherish forever.

The tender boat had an upper level, which we selected so that we could capture images of the fjord and our ship from this vantage point.  The ship grew larger as we approached, but it was still dwarfed by its surroundings.


We had late dinner plans, so we were able to relax on our aft balcony verandah, enjoying a glass of wine with friends, as we sailed away (see photo album).

From Hellesylt we sailed for our next port of call, Flåm , where we would see an even more amazing waterfall.

Our 12 Night British Isles / Norwegian Fjords cruise continued to be an exceptional cruise with wonderful memories. When updating my website, and posting to this blog, I can't help but recall those fabulous days in the Norwegian Fjords. I do hope you get to experience this magnificent country some day. 

Continuing Santorini Exploration in Fira

Welcome to Fira

The village of Fira, the capital of Santorini,  is known for its striking mix of Cycladic and Venetian architecture. The main square of Fira is "Plateia Theotokopoulou," a colorful meeting place. From here, one can easily walk to shops, jewelry stores and tavernas.  From here we could see our ship, Star Princess, anchored below in the Aegean Sea.

Fira is perched on the edge of an impressive cliff 260m high and offers a great panorama over the submerged volcano. It is made of many white painted houses in stepped streets with blue domed churches and sun-bathed verandas. 

The Orthodox Metropolitan Cathedral is the first sight you see when entering the town of Fira.  The cathedral was built in 1827 and then rebuilt after the terrible earthquake of 1956. 

It is quite a striking building with rolling arches forming a courtyard. The arched design is mirrored in the impressive belltower above. The design is quite different from the churches we had seen in the village of Oia in the morning.

From the church we continued our stroll through the narrow lanes of Fira, passing white-washed buildings with splashes of color all around us.   Doorways open to the sea and frame our ship anchored below in the Aegean Sea.   Cafes hang over the cliff which offer their guests views of the volcano, the sea, and the rest of the village perched on the side of the steep cliff.  The views from Fira are amazing.

Getting to/from Fira & Tender Boats

There are two different tender points in Santorini.   One is for passengers on ship-sponsored shore excursions and the other is for independent guests.

Since we were on a Princess shore excursion, our motorcoach took us from our tender point to the winery, then Oia, and finally to Fira.   In Fira, we were on our own to explore at our leisure and return to the ship whenever we wanted to.  Once we were done, we needed to make our way back to the second tender point for return to the ship.

There are three options for getting between the tender boats and the town of Fira located on top of the cliff.   As you can see in the photo, some people decided to walk.   This is several hundred steps, so unless you are in good shape, and don't mind the walk, this wouldn't be your best choice.   Another option is by mule.   This is easier than walking but could be a little bumpy and smelly.   The final option is the cable car, which was complimentary for us since we were on a shore excursion.   The mule and cable car rides are the same for either one-way or round trip rides.   The cost currently is 3.5€ each way.

We explored the many shops and cafes on Fira and made our way to the cable car point.    We could have stayed there all day, just relaxing and looking out to sea, and enjoying the ever changing views.   Words just don't do justice to the scenery, so view our photo album, Village of Fira, on our Facebook Fan Page.

Entering our tender boat and sailing back to the ship, we had entered the live postcard of Santorini, Greece from a different perspective.  Once back onboard the ship, we would continue capturing postcard images of the entire island and surrounding area.   Santorini is a must see destination in the Mediterranean.

Additional photos can be found on our Facebook Albums.




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