CRUISE CONNECTION by LIDDY & SCOTT

Hello Everyone.  We are Scott and Liddy Paulsen, long time friends of Roger and Diana’s.  Scott and I met in college and moved to Newport Beach when we were first married.  Three children, nine grandchildren, and fifty years later we are still living in paradise.

Scott is a retired middle school principal and I was a “Newport Beach house wife” and later worked as a project manager for a company that sold products to schools.  Scott is the past president of the Friends of OASIS, now head of the travel office, and I am a volunteer at the welcome desk and in charge of decorating the center for various holidays. OASIS is an amazing active senior center in Newport complete with a library, dance room, fitness center, and travel office. The Friends own two sailboats that have been described as the most active pleasure boats in the harbor.  Scott is also very involved with the Newport Schools Foundation.  The Foundation provides direct grants to the teachers in our district.  We are on the Board of the Newport Beach Sister City Association, where I currently serve as President.  Our active Sister Cities are Okazaki, Japan and Antibes, France.  We have been to Okazaki several times and hosted delegations from the city.  I am trying to talk Scott into traveling with our delegation to Antibes to celebrate Bastille Day, take in the jazz festival and meet with friends we have made there. 

Roger and Scott were friends in high school and we met Diana at a planning meeting for one of their high school reunions.  The rest is history.  We have cruised with them to the Caribbean and the Mediterranean, so we know that this cruise will be amazing.  If I can keep Scott out of the Casino, we too like to play cards.  We will definitely be in the cocktail lounge before dinner. We look forward to seeing long time friends and meeting new ones.
Thanks Roger, Diana and Alex for making all this happen.

Traveling With a Camera ...by John Working

John Working

Peggy & Rocky Alby

I do like to travel, taking either long or short trips; and when I travel I love to take my camera(s) and take pictures. It's fun; and when the trip is long past I can look back at all the pictures or bore friends with them all the time remembering the wonderful time we had. I have a friend who never takes pictures, or for that matter never brings a camera which makes me wonder how he remembers all of it. I've found pictures help me remember and many times remind me of a funny story or an unplanned adventure. So anyway, Diana asked me to share some travel photography pointers and while I'm certainly no expert I'll give it a go. 

When I travel I see many people using their cell phones as a camera. On our last trip I saw two people using their IPads and thought it seemed real awkward. I think I'd worry more about dropping the IPad then getting a good picture. If you are a member of Costco there is a  question about using one of the new smartphones rather than a camera in the December 2012 issue of "The Costco Connection" (page 15). Marc Saltzman, high tech reporter, answers it better than I could. For those of you not members he basically says the camera takes much better pictures because a camera manages the light better, has longer battery life, use optical zoom rather than digital zoom, meaning pictures are clearer when you zoom. Many of the new digital cameras allow uploading directly to websites or your computer using Wi-Fi. The newer cameras also allow for GPS "geotagging" to mark geographical information. A person I often travel with wondered why people spend all the money on the trip and then use their cell phone for pictures. I wonder that too because cameras are not really that expensive and they do not take up much room. 

Here are some things I do:

• When you get to your destination remember to check and set the time and date on the camera. And if you're traveling around like we will be check the time occasionally, making sure it reflects local time.  Every time you take a picture it is stamped with date and time and if you're like me and take many many pictures it really is helpful when organizing your pictures. You might also forget where a picture was taken, the correct date will help. 
• Be sure to bring along an extra memory card for the camera just in case something happens to the first or you end up taking more pictures. A memory card is where the camera stores the pictures and like a computer memory has limited storage. Pictures take up lots of memory. 
• If your camera allows consider organizing your pictures by date or a separate folder for each day. I did this the last two trips and it helps with organization when you get home. You could also keep a small diary to go along. 
• I usually bring my lap top and, when I have time copy the pictures off the memory card to the lap top doing some organizing and editing (deleting) as I go.   My pictures are then saved in two locations, the camera memory card and the lap top. If you cannot upload to Facebook from the camera you can off the computer and that's always fun. I notice Princess has WiFi Connection of sorts. 
• Be sure to keep your camera with your carry on. The scanners used for checked luggage can be stronger and possibly damage the camera, memory card or both. Plus checked bags get banged around, possibly damaging things inside. 
• Take as many pictures as you want because you can easily delete either on the trip or once back at home. This last trip my wife and I took 1.900 pictures!
• Don't forget to pack your camera battery charger and maybe an extra battery. 

So bring a "real" camera and take lots of pictures, you will not regret it! 

CRUISE CONNECTION by MICHELE & BOB

Hi, gang!  We are Bob Di Nunzio and Michele Lovenduski and will be joining you on what we hope will be a memorable journey filled with lots of laughter, great food (we love to eat), and a chance to experience a once-in-a-lifetime adventure with good friends.

Bob and I have been a couple for the past three years.  We met while I was taking a walk on Balboa Island.  To say our story is unusual is an understatement. Unfortunately, there isn’t enough time to share it right now, but meet us before dinner for drinks and we’ll regale you with all the details.  You won’t be disappointed.

Bob is a Real Estate Broker (semi-retired) with over 50 years in the business (and yes, he did start at 18 years of age.)  Surprise, his specialty area is Balboa Island. 

I worked for the City for nearly 25 years, splitting my years between Community Services and Public Works. I’m probably best known among my City colleagues for putting on “shows” at the City and making everybody sing…all the time! Once I retired I dove into Hollywood with both feet and began acting in television commercials.  I’ve even dragged Bob into the business.  He now has three commercials under his belt.

I met Diana and Roger while working for the City of Irvine in the Community Services Department.  When I think back to those days beginning in the mid 80’s I am blown away by the great times and truly ground breaking achievements we were responsible for.  

I knew Roger (swordmeister) and his lovely wife, Diana, were into travel, but I didn’t get “on board” until the Mediterranean cruise, where I also met our fabulous travel agent, Alex.  Marsha Burgess and I were roommates and we had a terrific time.  So when I got the email from Diana about the next big adventure to Asia, I was in…even though it was scheduled for three years out.

Bob and I made the decision to join the tour.  With such a great group of traveling companions, the trip can only be an awesome experience.  See you all in the cocktail lounge onboard the ship!  

P.S.  Good idea to start warming up those vocal chords in case we have to sing a few songs!

Let’s hope not, but .... LOST & STOLEN PASSPORTS

Back in September, I recall giving all of you a heads up to check your passport for expiration dates and applying for passports if you needed too. And because I know each of you are very conscientious travelers you have all ready completed this task or in the process of doing so. Fantastic! 

Now many of you probably made copy of your Passport and Driver License for your China Visa? If you haven’t copied your passport and ID to Alex. I might highly recommend you do so. This way she can be your “friend” who has a copy to assist in case you needed it.

Now also make a few copies of your passport and leave one at home and be sure you bring a couple with you. Also bring a couple of recent passport size photos of you these extra copies will be handy in case you need it for replacement due to loss or stolen passports. These are the “just in case” back-up. This should not be a bad burden as we currently preparing to check off our checklist for our China Visa and so grab a couple of extra photos. Remember if you are a Costco member, this service is very inexpensive and they give you plenty of extra photos. 

Below is a link to the Lost and Stolen Passport article I came across. The article had additional tips like scanning and emailing your passport to your In Box for access. Great idea especially if you are the technical type. There is good information and I always find that preparation is a key to avoiding potential mishaps.  Enjoy the resource and tips....

Lost and Stolen Passports

http://www.independenttraveler.com/travel-tips/troubleshooting/lost-and-stolen-passports  

Photo provided by Flickr.Rakka

CRUISE CONNECTION by KELLY

Is it Bon Voyage time yet?
  
Xin Chao, my name is Kelly Feldman and Wendy Brown is my roomie for this amazing Asian adventure.  It seems like this trip has been years in the making...oh wait it has been! 
I requested the time off of work over 3 year ago when Di first started planning this cruise. After the 2008 Mediterranean Cruise with the Davis Clan, I was hooked and knew I would never miss another one of their famous adventures.  I had heard about them for years but after experiencing it, travel as I knew it had forever been changed! 

You ask, how was I lucky enough to get in with the Davis Clan. Well I was kind of adopted in 1994. Diana hired me as her full time Program Coordinator and ever since that first day Di has not only been my boss but my friend and mentor. We have been through a lot of life together and I am blessed to have had her by side through the laughter and the tears.  I have known Di for almost 20 years and although she has been retired for 7 years plus, we still remain very close. We not only have fun but we have a bond that is very special and unique; when you spend as many years together as we have it truly is an incredible relationship.   

Buckle up and get ready a Davis Clan Cruise is nothing like you have ever experienced.  Let me share with you that this is an incredible opportunity and you are gonna love it! My favorite part about traveling with the Davis Clan besides always being able to find someone to play rummy with is that everyone is very easy going and friendly.   Be warned it is addictive and your stomach will hurt long after from all the laughter. You will make lifelong friends that you swore you had known forever and wonder how you ever managed without them before.  

So, if you are new to the group welcome and I look forward to meeting you and to those returning, I look forward to our reunion. I am counting down our departure day and looking forward to embarkation on the Diamond Princess, see you on board in the casino or at a table playing cards!!!!

The Best Way to Carry Money Overseas

Some of you cruisers have begun to inquire about foreign exchange, use of credit card and ATM’s. Though I have heard that some Southeast Asian countries will accept US dollars such as Vietnam. I would not count on this as a for certain option. Plan on either getting some cash ahead of time at your local bank. Keeping in mind of course, that this could easily take a week or more. So please plan ahead. 

I’ve been finding out that the best exchange rate is by using an ATM, but understand that this option has a service charge so think about the amount you will need to make it worth your while. And its very important to get a PIN number in advance for usage as using an ATM in another country is not like the USA. The article I found below may be more specific in detail to address your specific needs or questions.

Also to my surprise, credit card usage is not widely accepted in the Asian countries like in Europe. Small vendors for shopping and eatery prefer to deal with CASH and so exchanging to the local currency would be your best bet. Of course the hotels we will be staying at will easily accept your credit card for services. And on the Diamond Princess you will need a Credit Card for all your purchases and expenses as upon check-in you will be required to provide a credit card for the cashless purchases onboard with the Cruise Card. I also found out that the Diamond Princess also has an ATM machine for foreign exchange. But AGAIN plan on a service charge for this service.  

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Of course, on our flight to and fro you will need a credit card. As most airlines have stop using cash and only deal with credit card transaction for bar drinks, headphones etc.. Be sure to check on line with your specific airline to see what their procedure requires.

Lastly, think about taking extra credit cards. There has been incidents where you might put in your credit card in an ATM machine and for one reason or another. It does not return and holds your card due to circumstances. Yes, this actually happened to someone in our group in Europe. So be prepared with a couple of backups.

I will continue to keep my eyes open and post information regarding this issue. But in the meantime, these articles may assist you in getting prepared for what you will need to do to address your specific monetary needs. Happy Countdown!

IndependentTraveler - Best Way to Carry Money Overseas

http://www.independenttraveler.com/travel-tips/money-and-insurance/the-best-way-to-carry-money-overseas

Get the Best Exchange Rate

http://www.independenttraveler.com/travel-tips/money-and-insurance/get-the-best-exchange-rate

About.com - How to carry Money in Asia

http://goasia.about.com/od/Planning/a/How-to-Carry-Money-in-Asia.htm

Travel Money

http://seniortravel.about.com/od/seniortravelbasics/f/TravelMoney.htm

Photo provided by Flickr.borman818

CRUISE CONNECTION by LINDA & BILL

My name is Linda. Me and my friend Bill are cruising with you this spring. We are very excited to be going.!! We got involved through Bill’s friend Stephen Baldwin, who unfortunately, is sounding like he will not be joining us. We have not yet met our hosts, Diana and Roger but, are looking forward to meeting them in Las Vegas (where we both live) this December for Roger’s birthday.

I am an occupational therapist and Bill is a screenwriter. We both have the freedom to work when we want to and play when we want. I am a retired civil servant as Diana and Peggy both are and it sounds like many others are as well. Bill has retired from working for the state of Michigan. I have lived in Las Vegas for the past 34 years and Bill is the newbie at 10 years.

I have been more of a happy wanderer than Bill, but he’s trying to catch up. Bill and I cruised to the Caribbean this past January on a Jazz Cruise and loved it!! I have been on many great cruises and traveled to some exotic locations, two of my favorites were the Galapagos Islands and the Amazon. Bill and I have both cruised Alaska and I have also, sailed the Panama Canal, Tahitian Islands, Mediterranean and many of the Caribbean Islands.

This cruise will be the longest trip we have both been on and the longest I will have been away from home. We will be sailing the 16 days and staying several days both in Bangkok and Beijing, before and after the cruise

We are looking forward to meeting everyone and sharing the trip and our experiences with you all.

REMINDER RSVP for CRUISE ORIENTATION & LUNCHEON

Last call for those of you who have not RSVP for our Asia to Alaska Cruise Orientation and Luncheon.

This event will be held at the Capital Seafood Restaurant in the Irvine Spectrum Mall located at the 5 & 405 Freeways in Irvine. The restaurant is located on the 405 freeway side of the Irvine Spectrum mall, near Nordstrom.

We will be having our own private room which will allow us to have an opportunity to introduce, mingle, answer questions and inform you of details
of our upcoming trip.

For those not able to be with us. Please visit us here at our blog as after the event, I will summarize the details of what was shared.

Thanks for those who have already RSVP'd and I look forward to hearing from
everyone else!

Diana & Roger

CHINA VISA APPLICATION.... Due February 15th!

Below are the general guidelines that Alex has provided for us to follow for our China Visa Application. I understand those cruisers out of the Southern California region have been contacted directly by Alex. There is a VisaCentral Application Kit that I will be sending to you via email. So please check your Inbox. Remember, all of your information needs to be delivered and received by the following date below, no exception. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Alex or myself. 
Countdown Time Everyone,
Diana

IMPORTANT DUE DATE: FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 2013 - Before 5pm

Cruisers that are living in Southern California can opt to drop off their passports and paperwork with the receptionist at my office in Newport Beach.  Innovative Travel Planner, Inc, 4570 Campus Drive, Newport Beach, CA 92660.   If the receptionist is not there, she may have stepped away for a few minutes.  Call me if you have any problems.  I will go over all the applications and take them in together.

The following should be included:

1. Filled out and SIGNED APPLICATION.  Whatever question you are not sure of, leave it blank and I will fill it in.  Please use a black inked pen so that it's easier to match.

2.  Valid passport (must have at least 2 full blank pages for our 2 entry visa)

3.  A good color copy of your passport AND a good color copy of your Driver's License.

4.  1 Passport type color photo with a white background.

5.  A check for $208 per person for consulate fees and processing made out to Innovative Travel

6.  If you did not do your air with me, a copy of your air itinerary.  I will provide the rest.

7.  If you do not live in Southern California, I can still process your visa for you but there will additional Fed Ex charges to ensure the safety of your passport.

8.  Those of you doing the 16 day cruise, we will be staying at the Beijing Crowne Plaza, Phone: 86-10-5911999

9.  We will be doing 2 entries.  We will be visiting Shanghai, China on April 28, 2013 and Beijing, China 0n May 3, 2013 (16 day cruisers, from 3-5 May, 3 days), unless your return flight is different than May 5th.

Most importantly, relax, it's just a process.  We just have to make sure all our t's are crossed and i's dotted.  I will be on jury duty as of Tuesday, Jan 29th so not reachable by phone but just email me.  I will be checking emails throughout the day.

Can't wait to start having fun on our Asian adventure!

Alex
Innovative Travel Planner, Inc.
4570 Campus Drive
Newport Beach, CA 92660

CRUISE CONNECTION by CRISTIN & MIKE

Greetings to all our fellow travelers,

Mike Thompson and Cristin George are joining you on the 32 day cruise.  What a bucket list!  We were not asked formally to join the group though, we are quite happy that Diana and Roger was open arms to have us join them.  Rocky and Peggy Alby joined a group of retired Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Homicide Sergeants for dinner on June 2011, and told us about a 32 day cruise starting in Bangkok and ending in Anchorage in April 2013 that they were going on.  Mike and I were excited for Rocky and Peggy and then began to think wouldn't it be wonderful if we could go on the cruise also.  We asked if they minded that we joined them and Rocky gave us all the contact information and so here we are joining y'all.

A little history on us: Mike is an Army brat and lived in MA, TX, NV and Germany.  He worked as a prison guard in MA, before moving to Las Vegas to become a police officer.  After 28 years, he retired as a detective Sergeant in Homicide.  Mike loves scuba diving, became an instructor at 17, taught diving and repaired equipment for 25 years and for the last 12 years has owned and operated a scuba repair business here in Las Vegas.  I am a retired dietitian, lived mostly in UT & NV, plus a little in CA, CO, TX and have had the travel bug for years; studied in Europe for 6 weeks one summer, took continuing education classes in (what was then) the Soviet Union and China, and have visited Argentina on a FAM trip.  We lived less than a mile from each other, but we met in Grand Cayman scuba diving.  I was newly certified and this was my first ocean dive. We have dove most of the Caribbean, Channel Islands in California and dove the Philippines in May and October 2011 (had another bucket list adventure there with 2 typhoons).  Our cruising experience includes the Caribbean twice, Bahamas, transiting the Panama Canal and multiple non ocean liner trips.  We are still debating about bringing our dive gear on this cruise...is it worth sacrificing all that weight??? hmm???

We will not be missed by any children...don't have any, but will be missed by our four legged children...three Maltese and a Miniature Poodle.

The high adventures have already started for us on this trip.  We booked our own airline reservations...I'm retired and have all the time in the world, for detecting bargains.  Rocky and Peggy were in Europe in October 2012 and he emailed me that there seemed to be an “issue” with our flights to Bangkok.  I emailed back that everything looked fine to me.  Thank goodness Rocky emailed back “Was I sure?”  I examined all the flights forward and backward and a cold sweat started, “holy cow the airline has done something to the flight and we are starting at LAX".  Long story short our flight had been canceled by the airline.  I called the airlines and thanked them for rescheduling the flight, but we did not live near Los Angeles / LAX, we lived in Las Vegas / LAS.  After an hour on the phone with the airline, they arranged for us to get from LAS to LAX.  Then spent another hour with the wholesale booking agent getting them to neaten up the itinerary so that a regular person (me) could understand what was going on.  Lesson learned from this: a travel agent (Alex) would have detected this sooner and taken care of it before we even knew anything was amiss.

The much less "stressful" fun stuff has also started.  I really love to shop for the bargain and not just any bargain as I enjoy the art of recycled bargains (Mike is learning to appreciate it as we have both lost a combined total of >80# since January on Weight Watchers online and our clothes continue to get too big).  A cruise, especially one lasting for more than a few days requires extra stuff...like fancy clothes for the evening formals, larger luggage than carry ons or dive bags and just plain stuff.  We have some great recycle shops here in Las Vegas and I have found our needed larger luggage, formal wear and stuff for a fraction of the cost at the regular department stores.  Hooray and happy dance!

We consider this trip part of our combined bucket lists and do not have an agenda of accomplishments other than the Great Wall, which Mike has not seen.  Savoring every moment, meeting new people and having the time of our lives will be the biggest must "have to do".