Starting a new thread so we can find the sea mail on this trip in the future. Heard from some people in Bali already. Coincidentally bumping into people you know among the throngs of people around.

Just arrived in Hong King. Flew Cathay Pacific, my new favorite seat for sure. It is a one - two - one configuration in business. We were in the middle two seats together. 777-300ER

Such a smart design. A box for shoes or whatever you want to store in the large armrest on the alise side. Plus a large bin for stuff on the other side of the seat near the leg area. A big cabinet with easy to access above the large counter space. The cabinet has a door that when opened has a mirror for makeup, brushing your hair etc. You can leave this open during the flight and it serves as a partition between you and the other person in the adjoining seat. I kept mine open most of the time as I had tons of junk with me as usual. Ken asked me in the morning if I did not like him anymore!!What is really great is all this storage area can be accessed at all times no matter if you are sitting up or lying in the bed position. Pure genius.

Plus charging port easily accessible I charged all my devices during the flight. The whole cabin has seats slightly angled. Sitting in my seat t could not see the faces of anyone else and they could not see me. Super privacy.

Food, super clam chowder, a hamburger snack that was good, fantastic fruit, and an eggs Benedict with hash browns and bacon that was cooked perfectly. Pretty good. Kens main chicken dish was not great but overall very good.

Seat a bit hard for sleeping, but Ken slept with comforter under him and he said that was perfect. Next time I ask for two comforters, one under me and one on top. I slept well probably six hours. Feel great and now just a day flight ahead of me. I did however manage to spill orange juice all over me. Totally wet jacket and pants but I am drying out nicely.

Waiting now for a connecting flight to Bali will see everyone on board tomorrow.

SEA MAIL!!!!

Keep it coming; want to hear everything about the goings on on the Voyager!

So much fun to see every one. A group of 42 and only one couple we have not met before. Hugs every time we turned around. Nice dinner in Prime 7 tonight with Ralph, June, Ken and Linda. Seas are calm, food is great, life is good.

So happy you made it on board and know so many nice people. I'm not sure I know Ken and Linda but I'm sure they're a delight. Keep the seamail coming....you know we love it !!

Have a great time! The Cathay Pacific business class seats sound wonderful.

I wanted to be on this trip, but can't do everything! We were going to do the Hong Kong to Bangkok segment, but decided on HIPPO instead. So, I'm really looking forward to some great photos and sea mail! We flew Cathay from Boston to Hong Kong for PAGODA when we won the "free" cruise and it was awesome in just Premium Economy.

Still have not had a chance to visit with everyone. Today 23 of us are going to Borobudur. Three hours in a bus each way. Should play musical chairs and visit! Looking forward to dinner with everyone, so nice to catch up. Loved my meal last night. I made a seafood platter with Dover sole, scallops and lobster tail. A nine hour tour something I never do but I have always wanted to go to Borobudur. A tick on the list.

Will be back on how our long day went

Lot's of folks on the Navigator were so disappointed that they missed Semarang and the tour to Borobudur. Hope you guys make it!! It is on our bucket list for sure!

Had a great day. We were able to have a private bus for our group. That was really nice. Took about two hours to get to Borobudur. It was not very crowded, mainly the seven regent buses. We went convoy style with a police escort. It was hot but not as hot as I thought it would be. At the end it really started heating up. We took walking up each level pretty slowly so it was not really hard. Amazing temple I have been wanting to come here for years. The carvings were very well preserved.

After we climbed the temple we had a lunch that was better than I anticipated. Normally I have a lot of trouble as I do not like spicy and I am allergic to onions. But they had fried shrimp, fresh vegetables and fruit. That was great for me. Plus of course other items for normal people. Big fans blowing moist air at the tables helped a lot. I think everyone was surprised at the food as expectations were low.

The ride back seemed long but we got back on time. So nice to get cleaned up and had a lovely dinner. All in all a wonderful day.

Ngaire, thanks for the report on Borobudur; still on our bucket list; waiting for Ken's pix. Borobudur, Kuala Lumpur, and Borneo are primary reasons that there is still another Asian cruise in our future.

Have you had a chance to see the Regent Orchestra in Horizon Lounge? I don't know if any of the fellows from our cruise are still there; regardless, say hi from Arlene and me.

Yesterday’s tour exceeded my expectations. Initially we considered looking into a private tour in order to be able to spend more time at Borabadur but heard horror stories about the traffic and the probability of not getting back to the ship on time. This actually happened to people on a cruise that Chris and Linda were on. The ship had to leave the port even though the passengers had called in with their predicament. Getting from Samarang to Our next port, Kuching, probably would be complicated.

The Regent buses had police escorts so our drive wasn’t bad. Plus they’ve apparently put in a new highway in the last few years.

An hour and a half visit to Borabadur was fine, especially in the heat of mid day. And the buffet lunch was at a restaurant right there, so the logistics of all that were very easy. Could have missed the shopping stop on the way back, but it wasn’t interminably long, so it was ok too.

Some pix:

Great collage Leslie. This was definitely one time doing the Regent trip was the way to go for sure. Thanks for posting those you really captured the day.

Going to Borobudur:


Our bus ride was long but had some interesting scenery on the way.


Our police escort blocked traffic for us.


The hotel where we had lunch, with a view of Borobudur.




Anne, Mark, Bert, Suzanne, Brad, Mitch & Leslie.

Leslie those are fantastic photos.

Thanks Ken for the people pix! The other scenic ones are gorgeous!

Just finishing two sea days. Lovely seas so far everyday. Today at trivia the sea looked like glass. Enjoying the Compass Rose seafood and off to Prime 7 tonight. Lots of cards and Mark sat with me and watched me play and I learned a lot from him. Really enjoyed the trip so many nice people in this group.

Sorry Arlene and Marc we have not really seen the orchestra. We do not go to the shows after dinner so not really in the theatre when the are playing

Crossed the equator this morning. We hadn’t been onboard for a Neptune Society ceremony before. Presided over by Ray as King Neptune and some mermaids and pirates; guests attempt to whack a rat with a ping pong paddle. If they don’t succeed they have to kiss a fish. Some are looking like they drew the short straw...

The Navigator had an Equator crossing ceremony a couple of days ago and did it a bit differently. At 5:30 pm there was a ceremony celebrating the event. Normally the Roman god King Neptune is called to approve the crossing of Pollywogs (those who have never crossed the Equator by sea) and proclaim them Shellbacks. This ceremony was a bit different because the Greek god Poseidon also showed up. There was conflict between the two and the Captain, who is Italian, said Neptune was the true authority however, the Staff Captain, who is Greek, supported Poseidon. After a lot of enjoyable sparring & off script ad libs they shook hands and continued the ceremony. All Pollywogs were called to the pool end and instructed to step to either Neptune’s or Poseidon’s side to find out their sentence which is “Kiss the Fish.” Neptune’s side kissed a small flounder and Poseidon’s side kissed a jellyfish. It was a fun change to the old way of doing it.

Sorry for the lack of sea mail. No time. It seems every day is jam packed. Ken has pictures to post hopefully he will get to this in the next two days. Quick overview.

Enjoyed our tours so far. We did a water village and river cruise in Brunei and went into one of the water village houses. Ken will post pictures. Ornate furniture, kids everywhere hopefully the pictures will tell the story. Saw the outside of the sultans palace - huge.

In Kota Kinabalu we did a basic city tour. A city with lots of flowers and trees, very clean with some stunning buildings. Visited a village showing houses from the past. The best was the head hunters house with a trampoline made with bamboo. Brad had to try it out of course.
Great museum with examples of the ceremonial dress of the different tribes. We visited a craft market but the smell from the food market next door chased me out of the craft market.

Lots of fun at trivia and cards. Such a big group of great people busy visiting all the time. Life is good.

It has been a struggle to get any photos uploaded. The internet is incredibly slow and it was impossible to get even one photo uploaded, but this morning I had a breakthrough and was able to get some collages uploaded to SmugMug.

Our first stop on our tour in Brunei was a mosque, which we were able to go into ~ usually they have been just drive bys or exterior photo stops. In this one everyone had to cover up and put on purple hooded robes. So here are a few photos from there. Doesn’t Brad look fetching?

Wondering if you guys are using the "included" internet? Has anyone paid the extra fee for "faster" internet and is it any better??

Just using included internet. I have heard that the faster internet isn’t really any faster, but don’t know first hand.

Our next stop on our tour was the Royal Regalia museum, full of ceremonial items including huge chariots constructed for inaugural parades and various anniversaries of the current Sultan’s rule, a reconstruction of the golden royal hall, gifts given by various heads of state and other historical and cultural items.

This is a country that loves pomp and circumstance where money is no object. Our guide pointed out that most items were used only once. No photos were allowed in the galleries, so these were taken in the entrance hall.

Next was our visit to the water village, located in the heart of Brunei’s capital city, with views of a major golden domed mosque and the Sultan’s palace. There is a combination of new and old houses, connected by wooden walkways. Resident’s cars are kept in large free parking lots on land and the homes can only be reached by water taxi, stopping at various jetties. Even though the government provides subsided modern housing, many families have chosen to to continue living in the water viallge. The community includes schools, both public and private, fire department, police, mosques, etc. Some are served by utilities, but some still discharge their waste into the water. About 13,000 people currently live there.

We rode a boat around for awhile and then stopped for a snack and tea at one of the homes.

And finally, some mosque drive by and photo stops:


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KLT Cocktail Party in the Constellation Theater:






Cheron and Suzanne having a good time.

Yesterday we were in Kota Kimbalu, aka KK; the capital of the state of Sabah, located in east Malaysia. Many of us took the city highlights tour which involved driving around with photo stops at a mosque and administrative buildings, a visit to the Sabah Museum featuring traditional village buildings outside and a history/cultural museum inside. I think everyone’s favorite part there was the headhunter exhibition. On the way back to the ship we spent some time at the local market - handicrafts, food, seafood and fish, all wrapped up in one particularly smelly outdoor market along the waterfront.

We all particularly enjoyed the signs inside the bus instructing us not to fart in the bus (see graphic), durian carrying also prohibited.

Market pix

Manilla, Philippines - I took a walk from the ship:


Sherwin, my Tuk Tuk driver after I got tired of walking.








These kids were happy to pose for a photo.


Jeepneys are the most popular means of public transportation in the Philippines.

Getting around in Manila

Great pictures Leslie. See you this summer.

Not mentioned it yet but of all the cruises I have been on this has to be the best weather ever. Beautiful sunny days and perfectly calm seas. Fantastic.

Just finished two days in Manila. So lovely to see all the families of the crew on board. Today we decided to blow off the tour. We slept in, ate breakfast for the first time, and took the shuttle bus to the Mall of Asia. It was HUGE. A combination of outside and outside. Did not buy anything but it was interesting.

Food continues to be excellent. The lobster in Compass Rose has been exceptional.

Going to miss this group of people on the next segment. Some are leaving but it truly has been a wonderful group of great friends. At least some of them are staying on. In the whole scheme of things the people do make a big difference.

Our stop in Boracay was canceled as the island is temporarily closing to visitors due to environmental degradation, so we had two days in Manila, great for the crew and probably most passengers as well.

On our second day we took the tour to Corregidor Island, a trip back in history. During the Japanese invasion Corregidor was the temporary headquarters of the Philippine government and the last stand of the American and Philippine troops, who surrendered to the Japanese in May 1942. MacArthur was forced to leave Corregidor under repeated orders from President Roosevelt in March 1942 but vowed to return. The island was retaken from the Japanese in January, 1945.

The buildings and fortifications have been left untouched since the end of the war. Guides report that they still are finding shells, grenades and other artifacts in the island’s jungles. The island is now a designated national monument and war memorial. Most visitors go on a day trip, but you can stay overnight at the hotel and trek in the jungle and crawl through the tunnels at night for a more immersive experience.

This was a long, but very interesting excursion. The island is reached by ferry, almost a two hour journey across Manila Bay. Once on the island you visit the various sites by open air bus - old barracks, artillery areas, the Japanese cemetery, the Malinta tunnel which served as a supply depot, hospital and MacArthur’s headquarters, the Pacific War Memorial, a 19th century lighthouse.

We did the Corregidor excursion last year when in Manilla. We thought it was excellent. Sorry you missed Boracay - it is a beautiful place - so sad to see the environmental issues that are plaguing it.

Corregidor is one of my top all time favorite excursions. Long day but so worth it!

Did you have armed guards on the boat to Corregidor. We did when we were there a few years go. W also loved this tour. Loved that in the Department store the workers wore different color uniforms depending on which department they worked in. t How wonderful the crew got to spend more time off the ship with family or just to get a little more down time. Love to watch the young people getting off the ship at night to party

Pam, I don't remember any armed guards, but I do remember the prayer for a safe journey at the beginning of the boat ride.

Ngaire, please say hello to Margaret from Arlene and me. Also, tell her we missed her on Mariner in January.

thanks,

Marc

Marc, I did say hello to Margaret for you she was very complimentary about you two. Happy to have her on the ship.

Did the cruise around Halong Bay and the islands, it is so beautiful. We have done this before but really enjoy it. The sail in was spectacular as well. Our guide was the best yet. Most of the ship did the long tour to Hanoi. Since we had done that before we did not do that again. They will be a tired group when they get back tonight.

Weather continues to be good, calm seas and sun. Miss all the friends that left in Hong Kong, keep looking for them around the ship but they are not here.

We won trivia yesterday. Good joint effort everyone contributed something. There is a Mexican incentive group on board of 160 passengers. All ages, small children, young adults to people my age. Changing the dynamics of the ship. Trivia is not as full, they eat late so more room in the dining room in the earlier hours. Not causing an issue at all just strange to hear so much Spanish being spoken.