Natuna Sea

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    • Day 84

      Mar. 15: Singapore "City in a Garden"

      March 14, Natuna Sea ⋅ 🌬 82 °F

      Singapore is one of the world's greenest cities. Even though it's filled with skyscrapers, nearly half of Singapore’s land area is under green cover. I love this the most about Singapore. There are gardens and small trees on rooftops, which helps to keep the buildings cool in the very hot and humid country. The Pickering Hotel is known for its hotel-in-a-garden concept and its four-story cascading vertical garden. Singapore is a very beautiful city; safe, clean and friendly.

      Today we took a city tour where we learned that Singapore is a multiracial, multiethnic, and multicultural Asian society. Major religions include Buddhism, Christianity, Islam, Taoism, and Hinduism. Although Malays are recognised as the indigenous community, 75% of the citizens are ethnic Chinese, with ethnic Malay and Indians comprising 15.0% and 7.5% respectively.

      Later, we took a tour through the city after dark to view the sights from the Singapore River. The lights and activity in the city were amazing and full of young people have fun in a Friday. We visited the famous Raffles Hotel,
      One of the few remaining great 19th-century hotels in the world. We visited the hotels bar and had a Singapore Sling while eating peanuts (and throwing the shells on the floor)! It was a wonderful day!
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    • Day 76

      Mar. 6: Sailing the Java Sea

      March 6, Natuna Sea ⋅ ☁️ 82 °F

      We had a wonderful, busy sea day today. Calligraphy class, lunch with Ursula & Stacy, Needle Felting class, private piano recital by Allison, Afternoon Tea with Sheila & Allison and dinner with Jason & Fernando, whew! Allison's piano recital was very special. In her day job, she is Dr. Allison Field, Anesthesiologist at Loma Linda Hospital. But her real passion is playing piano. We we were so lucky to have her play for us today.Read more

    • Day 92

      Über den Äquator

      April 7, 2023, Natuna Sea ⋅ ☁️ 28 °C

      Heute mal wieder ein Seetag vor den aufregenden Metropolen Singapur und Kuala Lumpur.
      Wir kreuzen bei ganz stiller Wasser in der Javasee nördlich von Sumatra.
      Heute geht's noch über den Äquator, dann sind wir nach zwei Monaten wieder in der nördlichen Hemisphäre.Read more

    • Day 50

      Day 50: Sea Day & Captain’s Table

      February 10, Natuna Sea ⋅ ☁️ 82 °F

      Good morning, Smoothie of the Day - a bit of catch up on emails & blog posts. At 8:30 Aoibhin (Cruise Director) hosted a Coffee Chat in the Wintergarden. This morning’s guest Chantelle Grundling, from South Africa, the Shore Excursion Manager told us all about the ins & outs of what it takes to plan and organize the many excursions we embark on at each port. Example an upcoming excursion sure base to organize over 850 passengers to watch the March of the Penguins coming up soon.

      We will be arriving Melbourne this evening at around 9:00pm but will not be cleared to leave the ship until the morning.

      Donna and I attended a Genealogy Workshop present by Ms. Brenda Wheeler. She continues to provide helpful information as I complete the work my mother started years ago. Mom’s work was all on paper - I am using Roots Magic 9 to have the family tree digitized.

      Some reading and relaxing with the highlight of the day being dinner at the Captain’s Table with fellow passengers; Susan & Morris Abell, Andy & Andre Franssen. Crew members; Ronald - Hotel General Manager, Ovar - Chief Engineer, & Chantelle - Shore Excursion Manager.

      As always the meal, the wine, the conversation was refreshing - a good time was had by all - it’s nice to get to know other passengers and the crew better.

      Donna and I closed the day watching the sunset from deck 7 Explorer’s lounge. Paul had his first Expresso Martini.

      #myVikingJourney #myVikingStory #vikingNeptune
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    • Day 126

      Bintan Island, Indonesia

      May 19, 2023, Natuna Sea ⋅ ⛅ 84 °F

      Known as one of the exotic tourist destinations in Indonesia to some, we never heard of it.
      Today was a tender port, we had to take a small boat from the ship to the island.
      A day before I did a little research and the only thing I found is a resort 1km from the docking location.
      Our usual gang of 6 took first tender boat to the island and walked 10min to the resort. We paid entrance fee of approximately $8pp and settled under umbrellas. It is not a beachfront resort, but it has a huge salt water lagoon.
      We went swimming right away and I spent most of the time in the water. I took one picture only.
      By 10:00am Erin and Mui went to get a massage, but we continued to enjoy lagoon.
      By 11:00am it became too hot. The umbrellas did not provide enough shade.
      We moved to another location, still too hot.
      By 11:45 Younga and David decided to go back. We thought we can stay longer, by 15 min later we gave up.
      Then we spot Erin and Mui all massaged and started our way back. It was hot!
      Luckily, the car passed by and gave us a ride to the dock. Erin and Mui decided to walk.
      And that was our day. Since I can post 10 pictures, I decided to share Boris’s art work.
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    • Day 78

      Singapore, Singapore

      March 5, 2015, Natuna Sea ⋅ ⛅ 57 °F

      March 5th and 6th.
      Some of you probably know that the 5th was my birthday (I love birthday’s). First of all, our suite was decorated beautifully by our team that takes care of our room - champagne, balloons, rose petals spelling “happy b-day” on the bed. Then the 4 of us had freshly made hummus that Jeff had ordered and champagne on our balcony while we sailed in to the harbor at Singapore.
      We have been planning for months to meet our friend Mark Zimmerman during our visit; Mark has lived in Singapore for 5 years and seemd willing to take the 4 of us on for 24 hours. Mark is the son of some dear friends of ours from home (Maurertown), Zip and Phyllis Zimmerman. He had supplied us with a wonderful itinerary before we arrived so we were very excited to see him as we came out of customs to begin our adventure. We were also very happy to turn ourselves over to Mark as our guide after some of the cities we have been trying to get through on our own the last couple of weeks.
      We proceeded in the maxi-taxi to one of Mark’s special restaurants called “Jumbo’s” for pepper and chili crabs. We sat at our reserved table and were waiting for Mark’s friends Barry and Laura from Canada to join us. We were settling in with our drinks when I heard Jeff say “oh my, oh my” and Nancy say “holy crap”! I turned around to see Zip and Phyllis walk up to the table. They had been visiting Mark in Singapore for several weeks and planned it so it would coincide with our stop in Singapore. This was one of the biggest surprises we have ever had! They even kept their trip a secret from people back home for fear that someone would slip and give us a clue that they were going to be there. When Mark, Zip and Phyllis set their minds to a project like this, they are unstoppable. In any case, there were hugs all around and it meant a great deal to us to have a touch of home in the middle of our trip.
      Our “tour guide” Mark arrived the next morning to take us to some of the popular sites in Singapore. We viewed the city state from the top of the Marina Bay Tower and sampled a special breakfast dish and, of course, a Singapore Sling. The best part of the day was a visit to Mark’s home “Bliss” where Zip and Phyllis were waiting. It felt like a calm oasis in the city, especially when we went up to the roof to see the infinity pool that looked over the city. Singapore is a very clean and organized city which was an enormous change from what we have experienced recently.
      All too soon, it was time to go back to the ship. We did manage 45 minutes of power shopping before reboarding to be on our way to Kuala Lumpur.
      The first photo is my birthday dinner.
      The second photo is the Marina Bay Sands Tower.
      The third photo is Mark's Bliss rooftop.
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    • Day 75

      Day 75: Java Sea Day, Karimata Island

      March 6, Natuna Sea ⋅ ☁️ 82 °F

      Yesterday around 6:00 PM we left port; Semarang (Borobudur), Indonesia heading towards Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) Vietnam. This gives us a couple of sea days. One would think I should be able to catch up on my blogging.

      Here is today’s schedule:

      7:30 - Get up, take a shower, head towards World Cafe (Deck 7) for breakfast. I need to get up earlier like I did at the beginning of the cruise.

      8:00ish - Breakfast with Brian & Sue - I finally got my first taste of Vegemite. Brian was happy to give me a taste from the stash Sue carries in her purse. So, not only was this my first taste of Vegemite - most likely it may be my last taste as well. Brian says, “It’s an acquired taste.” He’s right!

      9:15 Head to The Restaurant (Deck 2) to be sure to get a seat for the 10:00 AM Calligraphy Workshop. People were already there when I got there 45 minutes early. Already with only a couple of hours of practice Donna and I are slowly getting better.

      11:00 Attended an informational meeting about our upcoming Mekong Delta overnight excursion in Vietnam in The Torshavn (Deck 2)

      11:45 Paul goes back to The Restaurant to get on the list for today’s Wool Felting class - Making Turtles - we must return by 12:30 or loose our spot.

      11:53 Paul & Donna head to the World Cafe (deck 7) for a very quick lunch.

      12:19 iPhone Alarm goes off - get Chocolate Cookies for Gail (our felting instructor). Yes, sucking up to the felting instructor pays dividends. She can be bought with Chocolate Chip cookies.

      12:28 With a huge leap over tables, I crossed the finish line and located a table, by the window, at The Restaurant (Deck 2). Then we started learning how to make our turtles. We will finish them up tomorrow.

      (1:00) We could have attended a Desert Wine Tasting - but signed up too late for today’s and are on the waitlist for the next one. And felting with Gail is more important to us over tasting wine. We get to taste wine every day - 24 x 7 if we want.

      2:30ish Felting class is over - Donna wants to get some steps in and I land at the Glass Table (Deck 8) in the Explorer’s Lounge and get to work on some posts.

      3:19 That is what time it is RIGHT NOW as I am writing these words.

      Today’s Crystal Ball: So, I think the plan is to get caught up on a couple of the back due blog posts, most likely dinner at the World Cafe, unless I am told otherwise, then attend the 9:00 PM show with Jennifer Gray in the Star Theater.

      I have attached a couple of pictures of our Sea Day sailing the Java Sea. We are at -1.89480 Long. 108.74611 Latitude. It’s gray skies, raining on and off, with calm seas.

      I did miss a few of the other offerings on ship during a sea day. The Spa, Dance Classes, Lectures, find a quiet place and read, play cards with friends, there are tons of things to do.

      3:39 PM. BUT WAIT, THERE’S MORE!

      All of a sudden 10 of the Neptune Supermodels appear from the door behind me (on Deck 8) . Under the fine leadership of Christian the Ship’s Gemologist leads a showing of over $ 1,000,000 dollars of jewelry to the audience below on Deck 7.
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    • Day 201

      Seetag 2

      March 21, 2017, Natuna Sea ⋅ ⛅ 29 °C

      Wir schwimmen weiter im Meer (Natunasee) herum.
      Neptun, der König der Meere, stattet uns einen Besuch ab, denn wir überqueren den Äquator und das muss rituell gefeiert werden. Wobei die Mitglieder der Mannschaft deutlich mehr zu leiden haben als die Passagiere!
      Ein bisschen müssen wir heute arbeiten, denn wir brauchen ein Hotel in Hongkong und vor allem einen Weiterflug, denn sonst werden wir dort nicht eingelassen 🙁! Beides müssen wir noch heute an der Rezeption nachweisen - nicht so einfach bei Zeitlupeninternet, aber Dirk kriegt das hin!
      Ansonsten vergeht der Tag wieder sehr angenehm und sehr schön ruhig!
      Morgen ist Action angesagt - wir gehen gleich früh auf Wanderschaft 😃!
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    • Day 8

      At Sea

      December 20, 2018, Natuna Sea ⋅ 🌧 26 °C

      Today was a great way to settle into the cruise before we arrive at our first port tomorrow. The beds on the cruise are really comfortable, so we both had an amazing sleep last night. We have two independent tours lined up for this cruise but I haven't had the chance to meet the organisers yet, so I left notes for them at their staterooms.

      Breakfast didn't really stack up either, as both of us found few options to eat. When you're vegetarian or diabetic, your options are always limited! Ted was feeling woozy today from the ship movements, so he needed to lie low today. I went to an acupuncture workshop which didn't provide a free session and then headed to trivia which I almost won!

      The ship seemed to be vibrating quite a bit, so after checking out our boarding photo, headed back to the room to relax. The movie under the stars was Black Panther but it wasn't so easy to watch with all the screaming kids in the pool underneath! I had a vege burger at the pool restaurant where we met a couple from the UK, Mark and Richard.

      We went back to trivia in the evening (almost won again!) before trying out the formal dinner. The meal was really quite good, and it removed the temptation to overindulge like we do in the buffet restaurant. But as it turned out, we ended up going back to the buffet later when we were still hungry!
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    • Day 11

      Seetag Nr 3

      February 13, 2019, Natuna Sea ⋅ ⛅ 27 °C

      Wir haben nun zwei Seetage auf dem Weg nach Ho-Chi-Minh-Stadt, Vietnam vor uns.
      Das Wetter war herrlich, man spürte auch endlich die Wellen, sodass wir uns zum ersten Mal richtig wie auf einem Schiff fühlten.
      Zum späten Nachmittag erwischte uns dann plötzlich ein starker Tropenregen. Abends schauten wir uns noch die ABBA Show an.
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