31st May

Penang. Sunny Temp 32c.

After 10am we caught the shuttle bus into Georgetown. It dropped us off at the Komtower where there is a shopping mall. Outside the shopping mall we had been told there is a stop for the free bus which takes you round passed most of the sites.  After more enquiries and some ups and downs on escalators we found what we believed was the stop and indeed a bus came along but as we were not sure it was the right we let it go. We later found out that it was the free bus and they only run every 30 minutes. Bev & Ian who were with us decided that they did not want to wait in the heat so they left but we stuck it out. Once on the bus all was fine as it was air-conditioned but there was no commentary so we were not sure what we were looking at. However we decided to stay onboard until we returned to the stop where we got on. We got on at stop 9 but by the time we reached stop 16 we were told that we had to get off the bus and get another one as it was time for the driver’s break at least that is what we thought he said in broken English. Once off the bus we realised that we were close to where the ship was docked so we decided to head back there. It all confirmed with us that if you want to see the sites of a place when you are only there for one day it is best to take a proper tour . Back on the ship and after a late lunch we were able the use Viber to talk to Tanya and surprise, surprise, Ashley.

Just before we sailed for Langkawi the Penang Folkloric group entertained us in the Princess Theatre with “Windows of Malaysia”

The entertainment tonight in the Vista Lounge was Ian McLaren a comedian who was billed as coming direct from the UK but he actually now lives on the Gold Coast Qld. He was very funny with jokes coming thick and fast.

30th May

Pt Kelang.  Partly cloudy Temp 30c.

Pt Kelang is the port for Kuala Lumpur but as we have been here 3 times we decided to go on the shuttle bus to the Bukit Tinggi shopping centre. It turned out to be a lovely centre with a lot of shops we are used to such as Harvey Norman, Starbucks and MacDonalds, as well as a very nice department store called Aeon where I managed to find a new pair of pants and a mod shirt. Betty got nothing but then again it was not her birthday. We returned to the ship for a late lunch and spent some of the afternoon in the terminal where they had free WiFi which was attractive not so much that it was free but that it was about 3 times as fast as on the ship. We were even able to talk to Aaron back in Oz on Skype. For dinner tonight we went with Bev & Ian to the Pizza café, they went today  on a ships tour to Kuala Lumpur where they saw the Royal Palace, the Blue Mosque, the National Museum, the National Monument, the Central Market and went up the Telecom Tower. Tonight they did not come to the show because they are tired out. The show tonight was Cameo Rascale, a young couple who were in the final of Australia You’ve Got Talent. Their act was amazing with dancing and juggling and comedy, we loved it.

29th May

Singapore, Partly Cloudy, Temp 29C. No rain.

Breakfast in our cabin today as we prepare to go ashore. Our tour today was an independent one to the Gardens By The Bay. We went from the ship by taxis as Princess now dock at the new Marina Bay terminal which is yet to get decent public transport, it is still being developed. I am sure most of you have seen pictures of Gardens By The Bay. It is the area where those very tall imitation tree arrangements are. We took a shuttle trolley from the entrance which gave us a tuor of the whole park with an audio commentary. It was a good way to appreciate the size of the complex. As well as the tall super trees, there are numerous garden rooms and 2 very large domed buildings both of which are air-conditioned. One is called the Flower Dome with plants from Mediterranean and Subtropical regions. The other one is the Cloud Forest with plants from the cool-moist tropical regions. It has a 35metre man made mountain and waterfall. There is also a sky walkway inside which winds around the top of the dome giving spectacular views of the gardens below. Extensive use is made of vertical gardens with lots of orchids and other exotic plants. To do justice to the whole garden you would need more than a day so we have left something to do at another time. As we walked around the sky walk in the Cloud Forest we were surprised to meet Wal McDonald and Kay from our village. They are on their way back from doing a River Cruise  with Debbie  our travel agent and had been staying in Singapore for a few days.

Very close to the Gardens By The Bay is the very distinctive Marina Bay Sands Hotel, this is the hotel which has slopping sides and has what appears to be boat spanning the top of the 2 towers. The is a walkway from the gardens to the hotel so we went across there to get something to eat and to use their free WiFi. We returned to the ship in time for sailing at 4.30pm. but the terminal is so new even the taxis driver had trouble finding his way there.

The entertainment tonight in the Princess Theatre was Ashley Carruthers, an Australian pianist who was fantastic. I don’t know where he has been hiding because we had never heard of him but he is very good. He also holds the record for being the fastest piano player in the world. He will be performing again in a couple of nights and we will definitely be there. This is my last night in the seventies so I think I will go to bed.        

28th May

28/05/14

Sea Day Smooth Seas Temp 31c.

Hair washing day today for Betty so she decided to have breakfast in the cabin. I went to Horizon Court on my own, well not quite on my own because I sat with a couple who come from Bribe Island in Qld who are getting off in Southampton to visit relations. The lady had a new knee just 7 weeks ago and is still in pain, they are brave coming at all.

The Port Talk was for Dubai but we did not think we needed to learn more about Dubai so we did not go. Instead I went to the “Classical History Presentation Series” entitled “The Life & Influence of Alexander the Great” who considering he died at age 32 accomplished a lot and influenced the course of the western world.

There was a fish barbecue buffet today after which we would have normally gone to the Ballroom Dancing however today he was teaching the Paso Doble. I have never been to or played for a dance where they have done the Paso Doble so we gave it a miss. We wondered why he chose this dance, maybe he did not but was told to do it. It turned out to be a good decision because immediately after was the 2^nd round of “Dancing with the Strips”. You will recall that this is where one of the professional dancers. dance with another staff member in a competition. This proved to be very popular and those dancing the Paso Doble had trouble getting a seat when they had finished. We disagreed with the result of the heat today but they were all so good it was hard to separate them. The final will be before Dubai.

Tonight we once more went to see Jacques Renay give his last performance as he gets off the ship tomorrow. T maybe because we have seen him 3 times but, he did not seem as good as before. For those that were interested they had the State of Origin rugby match on the big screen on deck 12. Needless to say we were not, we are waiting for the World Cup of the real game.    

 Coffee in the Atrium.

In the Atrium Lift.

27th May

The Port talk today was for Mumbai, as we will probably not get off the ship in this port we decided to give it a miss, if we change our mind we will be able to see it on our cabin TV. We have done tours on previous cruises so we will just relax for the day. Not going to the Port talk means we have more time for breakfast so we went to the dining room. Eggs Benedict were not on the menu but it was nice to be served at your table. We like Eggs Benedict but they only have them on the menu now and again. We spent some of the morning reading the books we have on our iPads and also I have been trying to download the game Candy Crush but I am having problems, I think it may be due to the slowness of the system. I will wait until Singapore when I should be able to find a hot spot somewhere which will be faster. I think I can hear some of our family saying, you will become addicted to it. The buffet lunch today was International but we had so much breakfast we settled for a small amount of salad before headed to the Vista for dancing. Today he put on a Square Dance which he did mainly in one big circle not squares but it was a bit of fun. Immediately afterwards was, “Dancing with the Stripes” the ship’s version of Dancing with the Stars or Strictly Come Dancing. A dancer from the ballet was paired with a crew member to dance a dance they had put together themselves. There were 5 couples and we all voted so that 3 could be selected for the final. 5 more couples will dance tomorrow, with 3 more selected for the final. It was all a lot of fun and they had put a lot of work into their routines, we look forward to the next session.

As I write this Betty and Bev are at the Runway At Sea Fashion Show, Ian and I hopped out. I believe the clothes are being modelled by passengers but I will report on it later. Betty says the fashion parade was OK with both Lady’s and Men’s clothes but she managed to resist buying anything.

Showtime tonight was “Country Jam” with the singers and dancers in the Vista Lounge. Once more the show only went for about 45mins but it was nonstop with music we love. Sometime tomorrow we will cross the Equator. As is the custom at sea if you have never crossed it by sea you are called a Pollywog. If you have already crossed by sea you are a Shellback. Tonight at 8.45pm there was a ceremony for the nautical rite of passage. It all took place on decks 12 & 14 around the pool. Those Pollywogs who were game conga lined around the deck finishing up in an area where they were showered with all sort of substances like chocolate, eggs, spaghetti  etc. King Neptune has now granted us permission to cross into the northern hemisphere . It is not uncommon on these occasions for the Captain to be thrown in the pool but tonight we have been passing through quite a lot of fishing boats so he decided not to leave the bridge so they threw the Customer Services Director in instead. Our evening was finished with a walk around the deck which was delightful on such a warm night.