Comments on James Cusick's Blog: Barbados

James, You'll have to move to Ventura for und...

2010-02-04T16:17:59.845Z

James,

You'll have to move to Ventura for underwater lights. I think she's got them. I'm sure they were on when divers went down to inspect if she'd got stuck on a sandbank off Catalina Island last March. She hadn't and they were turned off just before we left.

Keep up the good work.

Gday James, Well not long now until Australia Day...

2010-01-23T08:44:20.089Z

Gday James,

Well not long now until Australia Day.We have had Prince William Down Under, he first went to NSW, then on to VIC, He had huge gatherings wherever he went.He also went to the Australian open Tennis.I think the Royals are always good for business.

Just Checked the Aurora webcam and she is in Dubai berthed behind the QE2, with a big space in between.

Hi Abi,

I wont be having Lamb on the 26th but will be having a nice T-Bone,cooked on the Barbie,with maybe one or two cold refreshments.

Regards to all on the Arcadia.

Geoff Witts Perth

Hi James, Grey Nomads tuning in for your blog. Ca...

2010-01-23T08:04:35.931Z

Hi James, Grey Nomads tuning in for your blog. Cannot believe it is almost a year since we set sail with you from Brisbane. What a great time we all had.

You seem to be all settling into the World Cruise and about to tackle the Panama - what a great day that is. Enjoy and our kindest regards to you.

Christine and Julian West

Hi James. If you see Beckie Emberton today (23rd J...

2010-01-23T01:26:02.963Z

Hi James. If you see Beckie Emberton today (23rd Jan) please wish her a Happy Birthday from me (her Mum).....I am an avid follower of your blog as Beckie is not the best correspodant!!! (although she has text me today to say that she did scuba dive with the turtles in barbados and hated every minute of it!!!) You wished her Happy Birthday for me last year and she loved it!!!....Best wishes to all currently enjoying the World cruise....Julianne

Hi Elaine, Cruise for 62 nights then land/fly/lan...

2010-01-22T23:12:25.389Z

Hi Elaine,
Cruise for 62 nights then land/fly/land based then home. 3 months in total.

Anon Bet your so excited. What are you doing? C...

2010-01-22T23:09:28.511Z

Anon

Bet your so excited. What are you doing? Cruise, land based hol??

Elaine (aurorabore) :-)

Hi Elaine, The tunnel joke made me have a good la...

2010-01-22T22:09:58.905Z

Hi Elaine,
The tunnel joke made me have a good laugh over my early morning coffee.
My husband says similar things.
It is good to have several holidays booked, it really does keep you going.
Only 36 sleeps till we go!

Anonymous I'm more than happy with my life. ...

2010-01-22T19:10:33.276Z

Anonymous

I'm more than happy with my life. You only have to look at things like Haiti and realise just how lucky you are and we have nothing to grumble about.

Not sure I'd want to share my loved one with several wives - not sure he'd be able to cope with all that nagging!

OH made a great joke just after our renewal of vows! He said he's been digging a tunnel for the past 30 years to his escape but he's only got a teaspoon. He loves me really :-o)

Looking forward to James's next instalment. Oh I wish I was onboard. Only been home 12 days and I feel like I've been home for ages! And with nothing booked until December, I need something to keep me going!

Elaine (aurorabore) :-)

Hello James, what an interesting blog! I've l...

2010-01-22T14:31:24.341Z

Hello James,
what an interesting blog! I've loved ships since travelling form Trinidad to Southhampton in 1967!

Now, I'm wondering if you could help me with some questions. I'm a novelist an dhave some historical seafaring questions I'm sure you know the answers to, concerning travel from England to Bombay in 1925.
If you care to help, please contact me through my blog!

All the best,
Sharon

Hi Elaine, Who knows if they are as humble and hap...

2010-01-22T11:20:30.450Z

Hi Elaine,
Who knows if they are as humble and happy as us poor peasants though?
Would rather go on a P&O Cruise any day!
We have quite a few of those big private ships stay here each year and stay for a few months, most are wealthy Arabics that have apartments in Surfers,[Qld. Australia], and don't stay on their ships, the crew have the ship all to themselves. We deal with a lot of them in our business, some even have a few wives and kids travelling with them.
They never seem to be happy to me, I am still to work out if they can actually smile.
As I said, would rather go on a P&O Cruise any day!
Cheers!

Been following the link to the super yacht that yo...

2010-01-22T10:46:27.466Z

Been following the link to the super yacht that you were parked next to in Barbados.

Wouldn't life be just hunky dory if you could go around the world at your leisure in something like that? Even a massive lottery win wouldn't get us on of those.

;-o(

Wonderful Blog again James and Great pictures. I h...

2010-01-21T20:08:27.797Z

Wonderful Blog again James and Great pictures. I hope you are being commended for your work with this James. It's the best form of "marketing" I have seen from P&O! I wonder will you be "meeting" with Ventura while she is in the Carribean?
Stuart

We spent a month in Barbados last February and got...

2010-01-21T19:45:12.379Z

We spent a month in Barbados last February and got married whilst out there. A gift from one of the locals we met over there was a fully paid for dinner at Champers and it was absolutely fantastic. We had a lovely table overlooking the beach etc, great food, wine & service. I would definetely reccommend it!

Hi James, Do you know if "The Champers"...

2010-01-21T16:32:38.367Z

Hi James, Do you know if "The Champers" used to be called "The Carambola" years ago. It looks mighty like the classy place we visited when in Barbados in 19???.
As for the yacht, well fantasmagorical, I think.

Swim with the turtles? Yes I'd like to do that. I have swum with the sting rays, lovely.

Snow came back yesterday, but is gone again today, your pictures warmed me up!!
Regards to all Judith

Barbados - a wonderful island though busier than m...

2010-01-21T15:10:58.482Z

Barbados - a wonderful island though busier than many. It was lovely to see Ocean Village(Arcadia 3) there. She was the first P&O ship we cruised on and a lovely ship we thought.

As for the yacht, you should see some of those we see when visiting our son in Nassau. The harbour at Paradise Island has yachts so big - some with 4 and 5 decks - they could almost be cruise ships.

Aruba is an island I am very fond of - very American I always feel despite the Dutch influence. Then the Canal - oh how we loved that transit in April on Coral Princess - our best cruise ever I think.

Gill

Melnichenkos yacht isn't the biggest. Abramovi...

2010-01-21T14:44:07.555Z

Melnichenkos yacht isn't the biggest. Abramovich's new Eclispe will have that distinction.
Great blogs as always James. Nearest thing to being on the trip itself. Keep up the good work.

Carol and John, Thank you for your message. We ar...

2010-01-21T13:49:42.123Z

Carol and John,

Thank you for your message. We are missing you this year. Fond memories of our Grand Voyage 2009.
Hope you are both well and it is great to know you are keeping an eye on us.

James.

Hi James, So glad that you had prime position in B...

2010-01-21T13:03:20.863Z

Hi James,
So glad that you had prime position in Barbados.When we were there we had to have a shuttle bus from Arcadia to the terminal.Fantastic yacht, and what a super report about her by Carol & John Porter.Enjoy your sea day, andlook forward to your next blog.
Norma & Peris

Superyacht: Andrey Melnichenko's battleship he...

2010-01-21T12:10:02.108Z

Superyacht: Andrey Melnichenko's battleship heads to sea
The superyacht built by Melnichenko and his wife Aleksandra
Superyacht: Andrey Melnichenko's battleship heads to sea - Times ...
For an alpha male, it is an ideal statement of one-upmanship. ... For an alpha male, it is an ideal statement of one-upmanship. A Russian billionaire has christened his futuristic ...

www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/europe/article4364047.ece

Love the blog - thank you! We have friends on Arca...

2010-01-21T11:13:00.642Z

Love the blog - thank you! We have friends on Arcadia going all the way! Keeps us in touch. We are off today to join Oceana in Acupulco! How exciting! Look forward to catching up on our return!

Great blog James, super photo's and writing, i...

2010-01-21T11:11:59.868Z

Great blog James, super photo's and writing, it is a great voyage. Pity that the ships tracker on the website cannot keep up with you as it is still showing Arcadia being of the coast of Africa !!!! Nearly a week since the ship moved !!!
Regards,
Derek.

Wow, that is a fantastic story! Nice boat though, ...

2010-01-21T11:03:44.084Z

Wow, that is a fantastic story!
Nice boat though, wonder where the mother ship is.

This is the futuristic superyacht set to sink Roma...

2010-01-21T10:38:12.114Z

This is the futuristic superyacht set to sink Roman Abramovich's claims to rule the high seas among Russian oligarchs.

Owned by a fellow billionaire from the former Soviet Union, the £200million stealth ship has taken to the water for the first time.

And the first voyage Andrey Melnichenko took in it was to Norway to take delivery of three Claude Monet paintings.
Enlarge Andrey Melnichenko's new superyacht

Supersize me: Andrey Melnichenko's new superyacht positively dwarfs a speedboat, lower left

The 400ft long superyacht is said to have its own discotheque featuring a glass roof which is situated directly under the swimming pool.

There is a large 'owners' suite' as well as six luxury cabins for up to 14 guests and enough room for a staggering 42 crew members.

Other details of the interior have been kept strictly secret by its German boat builders Blohm and Voss along with its renowned designer Philippe Stark.

But it is rumoured to have a helicopter hangar, as well as two 30ft speed boats kept in hatches on both sides of the hull.

Mr Melnichenko's boat is 23ft longer than the 377ft Pelorus, the largest of four superyachts owned by Chelsea FC boss Abramovich.

He bought the boat from a Saudi businessman in 2003 before giving it an extensive face-lift.

However fellow Russian Mr Melnichenko is believed to have topped this with his new cruiser, simply called 'A'.
Enlarge Andrei Melnichenko's superyacht, named A

Maiden voyage: The vessel is named simply A, after Melnichenko's model wife Aleksandra
Andrey and Aleksandra Melnichenko

Loaded: Andrey Melnichenko, 35, and wife Aleksandra Melnichenko

The 36-year-old is worth £4.6 billion and named the spectacular yacht after his model wife Aleksandra, 31.

Yacht 'A', known as Project Sigma during construction, docked in Kristiansand, Norway, last week to collect the Monet paintings.

Each work of art was placed in its own crate surrounded by dozens of security guards before being loaded on-board.
Roman Abramovich on his yacht Pelorus

Sinking feeling: Roman Abramovich on his own megaboat, Pelorus

It came days after one of Monet's famous Water Lilies paintings "Le bassin aux nympheas' sold at Christies auction house in London for 41 million pounds.

Mr Melnichenko is currently 172nd on the Forbes rich list after making his wealth from the banking and energy industries.

He was a founder of worldwide MDM Bank and went on to become its president from 1997 to 2001.

The billionaire has also invested in a number of Russian industrial businesses including Siberian coal company SUEK and mineral company Eurochem.

His futuristic yacht is registered in Bermuda, weighs a whopping 5,900 tons and can travel at speeds of up to 27 miles per hour.

Shipmakers Blohm and Voss constructed the battleship Bismarck, the pride of the Nazi fleet in World War Two.

The world's largest superyacht - at 452ft long - is owned by Larry Ellison, a sailing enthusiast and founder of Oracle Software.

Carol & John Porter

I'm intrigued now James by the yatch. It'...

2010-01-21T10:11:26.873Z

I'm intrigued now James by the yatch. It's an odd looking yatch isn't it so you'd think it would be easy to find, but I haven't found anything yet.

Let's hope some of the other bloggers have an idea what it is!

Elaine

Hi James, It was lovely to see John King he was a...

2010-01-21T09:58:32.737Z

Hi James,

It was lovely to see John King he was at sea when i was he was a Captain then, I last saw him on the Victoria or Sea Princess as it was then back in about 1984/1985.How long is Commodore King on for?

The Ocean village is coming to Australia, but she will be known as Pacific Pearl.

Barbados was always a great run ashore for everybody, i remember you have to be careful of the sea urchins, many a crew member got a spike in the foot, most painful.

Looking forward to more updates to come.

Regards Geoff Witts Perth