Final Visa Arrived And More

This afternoon, FEDEX delivered our passports with the new 1-year, Multi-Entry Chinese Visas.  This was the last visa we needed for the upcoming world cruise with the exception of visas that the ship will obtain for everyone (Australia, Vietnam, Dubai, Jordan, Egypt).  There wasn't any requirement for us to obtain a visa from India, since ours is a 10-year and still in effect.

With the visa preparation out of the way, it's on to deciding what we really need and what can stay at home.  On the last world cruise we prepared a list near the end of the cruise of items that we really needed and the quantity for each.  This has come in handy for getting everything together in one room for sorting and packing.  When you are planning for a total of 119 days on board a ship at sea it is important to really do a little planning so something isn't left behind.  Of course if you aren't careful this can lead to taking too many items as well!!

We went online to the US Postal Service (USPS) yesterday and setup a Temporary Change Of Address to our Daughter's home.  All our mail will go to her during the time we are gone.  This is important since the USPS will only hold mail for 30 days.  One good thing about a temporary change of address is that the USPS won't forward "junk mail".

Several  administrative items were taken care of yesterday.  We made arrangements with our Cable TV and Internet Provider to put each of them on "Vacation Hold".  This allows us to keep these services in an inactive status and not have to pay the normal bill for services and not incur any reconnection fees.  In December we will do a similar thing with our automobiles and their insurance coverage.  Insurance companies allow a procedure called "Garaging".  In our state our insurance company allows you to remove most of the coverage with the exception of limited comprehensive coverage with substantial savings.

One administrative item that has not been accomplished is our Taxes.  The forms to file an extension of the filing date are already available from the Internal Revenue Service.  However, we won't have the exact figures to use for filing until sometime in January.

World Cruise Trivia

Here are some pieces of trivial information about the upcoming world cruise. 

How far will the Pacific Princess travel?

• 56,658.05 Kilometers
• 31,672.81 Nautical Miles
• 36,448.41 Statute Miles

How many ports will we visit?

• 39 Ports

To how many continents will the Pacific Princess travel?

• Six

Will the Pacific Princess cross the Equator?

•  Yes, twice.  Prior to arriving at American Samoa and after leaving Australia.

What affect will crossing the International Data Line have on the cruise?

• This will cause us to loose or not have February 12, 2012.

How many laps around the Pacific Princess Jogging Track equal a mile?

• 13 laps

What are the vital statistics for the Pacific Princess?

• Passenger Capacity 680
• Length 593 feet
• Gross Tonage 30,200

Stateroom Assignments

This morning we checked the Princess Personalizer and there it was.  Yes, we finally have a stateroom assignment.  Our original booking was for a Category BD Balcony Guarantee, basically anywhere on the ship in that particular category.  So, to our surprise, we received a Category BC on a higher deck and a good location.  We are now assigned to stateroom 7102 which is on the port side just 6 staterooms from the aft of the ship, our favorite location.  Well, as we continued looking at the Princess Personalizer this morning we got our second surprise.  On our extension of the World Cruise to the Holy Land we originally had a Category BF Balcony Guarantee.  But, Princess surprised us again and assigned us to 7102 for this cruise.  So, now we won't have to move between these two cruises.  This will really make things much more enjoyable and we will be able to enjoy "turn-around day" in Venice instead of packing up to move to a new stateroom.

 Thanks to Princess Cruises for giving us an excellent stateroom and understanding that moving between cruises isn't fun.  We really appreciate this nice gesture!!!

Yesterday we received an email from China Visa Service saying that they had received our visa paperwork on Monday and had begun the processing.  Hopefully our applications will get processed quickly and our passports will be back to us soon.

This morning we are down to 58 days until embarkation at Port Everglades and Sail-Away.

62 Days And Counting

(PACIFIC PRINCESS CREST)

We are counting the days down until embarkation.  Just 62 days remaining.  Sent off our request for a 1 year, multiple-entry VISA to the Chinese Consulate in San Francisco through a visa service yesterday.  It's our plan to use this visa for both the World Cruise and a return visit to China later next year when we will spend 3 weeks on a land excursion.

Princess has not yet assigned us a stateroom number for the cruise.  We are still in a Guarantee Balcony status.  But we will be happy with any stateroom in any location, since the price for a guarantee was outstanding.  Probably won't know anything more until we get to Fort Lauderdale and embark the ship.

Our friends Leslie and John have graciouly volunteered to pick us up at the airport when we fly down to Florida.  Also, we will be shipping a box to them loaded with all the heavy items for the cruise.  This will really help with the airline luggage weight restrictions!  Thanks Leslie and John!!!!  They will be joining us for a week in Fort Lauderdale just prior to the cruise. 

Princess finally added several overland excursions for the world cruise.  We selected a 4-day through Egypt that visits Safaga, Temple of Luxor, Valley of the Kings, Sound & Light Show at the Karnak Temple, Colossi of Memnon, Queen Hatshepsut's Temple, Aswan High Dam, Philae Temple, Unfinished Obelisk, Felucca Ride on the Nile, Abu Simbel, Cairo, Dinner Cruise on the Nile River,  Egyptian Museum Of Antiquities, The Great Pyramids, and The Sphinx.  This trip will mean that we will travel the full length of Egypt, traveling by motorcoach, airplane, and river boat and will rejoin the Pacific Princess at Port Said.

Captain Announced

Captain John Foster was born in the maritime city of Liverpool, on the banks of the river Mersey, North West coast of England.

He started his seagoing career as an Officer Cadet with Esso Tankers at the age of 16. After completing his cadetship, he joined his first Princess ship - the Royal Princess. He was also assigned to the new build projects of the Dawn Princess, Grand Princess and Island Princess. He gained is Master Mariners certificate in 1996 and has most recently served onboard Sea Princess and Grand Princess.

He still lives in Liverpool and when not at sea, his hobbies include golf and fishing.

Email from Captain Foster:

Holy Land Extension

We have decided to add a Holy Land cruise on the end of the world cruise.  Since we will already be in the area and to keep from having to fly back to Europe, this addition to our itinerary made sense.  Have added tabs at the top of the page that show the itinerary and map.  The cruise is April 30 to May 12, 2011.

Our Cartouches

Been working on our cartouches so we will have some reference/guide when we arrive in Egypt.  We would both like to get one made during our visit.

Cindy's Cartouche

Curt's Cartouche