Still at sea

There is a lot of water in the world!  ...and we've seen a fair bit over the last few days.  Apart from a few tankers in the Red Sea, a Russian frigate yesterday, a couple of jet fighters & a helicopter from an American aircraft carrier ( which is apparently in the area), we have had the world to ourselves.  We are now well away from pirate territory, although there were 2 on board last night - the ship's photographers. It's all about taking money from the passengers, so it was apt - agreed that the biggest pirates around here are Princess Cruises (just kidding)

We are now off the coast of Oman and have another day & a half at sea before Dubai.  Just looking out the cabin window, a little boat is going by.  Amazingly small this far out to sea.  No, we are happy that it Is not a pirate boat, so assume it must be a fisherman, of some sort of trader.  It is really just a bit bigger than our boat (well, probably twice the size, and only appears to have one person on board.  We still have our security at full strength and this morning we had breakfast on the back deck.  From there we can look up to the security deck and saw the famous scarecrow - dummy dressed in uniform, sunglasses and binoculars, so that anyone approaching would see that someone is always watching.  And yes there is always at least one real person up there all the time.  We also saw the sonic cannon and spotlight.  The sonic device apparently sends an earsplitting sound which means no one can approach from the back of the boat - if they go around the sides, high-pressure showers are in place.

Today, being Sunday, they decided to have a brunch and what a magnificent spectacle. However we are more in favour of the traditional breakfast & lunch, but we went along with it.  We also had a port lecture on Dubai, which was interesting but hasn't really solved our problem on what to do on Day 1.  We are 2nd on the waitlist for the 4WD safari.  If this doesn't eventuate, we'll probably take a taxi to the comfort of one of the Malls.  Too darned hot in the middle of the day and local shops etc. close at 1.00, which is about when we arrive.  We already have a tour booked for Wednesday.

We have been extremely lucky with the weather, and today is a much more pleasant 26 and cloudy.  It actually looks as though it may rain, but we'll see. It is 5.10 as I write this, and the sun has officially set!  I can only assume that in the next couple of days we'll readjust our clocks to get some normality in the day.  We are soooo busy that we don't wake up until 7.00 in the morning, so the extra daylight at that end is wasted.  I note with interest however that daylight saving started in NZ this weekend, but with the reverse effect.

Forgot to mention that Vivian got a haircut last week.  Way back in Santorini I saw a hairdresser advertising EUR15 for ladies haircut, but Vivian wasn't interested.  By last Monday however, it was necessary so up to the Lotus Spa.  Now surely the name would give it away, but anyway Vivian came back and hour later looking like Cilla Black - dead straight shortish hair.  Apparently the Irish hairdresser had given her the works!  I later looked at the receipt and found that it was a very reasonable haircut at only USD86.25 (including gratuity).  On top of that she sold some French shampoo, only USD24.  I think that I'll be waiting until Mumbai :-) :-)

It is now pitch black outside and once again time to prepare for yet another feast.  Vivian is already dressed and is reading her book.  There is an excellent library onboard, which puts the Royal to shame.  I am still working through the 10 or so I loaded on my Tablet.  A lot less weight plus I can always find my place in the book.  Failing anything exciting happening, next instalment will be from Dubai.

At sea - somewhere

Well, we are just about halfway through our sea-days.  We are sitting on the Promenade Deck, watching out for the pirates.  Actually we are at the end of the Red Sea and approaching the narrow stretch of water between Somalia & Eritrea.  It is very hot (34 degrees at 10.00) and quite humid.  Fortunately there is a small breeze generated by our ship.

We have a pretty standard routine on sea days.  We generally wake up about 7.00, order a cup of tea, get up etc and head to breakfast by 8.00.  We much prefer breakfast in the dining room as not only ate we served & have "controlled" portions, but it gives us the opportunity of meeting other passengers, as we are always "happy to share", as our Italian Head Waiter greets us.  As an aside, while a large number of our waiters are from India, today we had Elena from Ukraine.  The American couple opposite were complementing her on her English and she said that she is an English interpreter, with a Masters degree from US.  She finishes her current assignment in December (when the ship is in Tahiti) and then fly's home to winter in the Ukraine. Pretty extreme climate change.

After breakfast, it's deck time.  There are very few on deck down here, so have no trouble getting loungers.  11.00 is time to go into the cafe and have our lattes.  They know how to make a decent coffee in the cafe and we have them trained to make it hot. 
Lunch, once again in the main dining room and then Vivian has her bridge at 2.00.  4.00 we meet up for formal afternoon tea and before we know it, it's time to get dressed for dinner, which is at 6.00.  A show sometimes after that and off to sleep, ready for another day.

The ship is lovely and traditional, with everything close at hand.  The shows are great and being a smaller lounge, are more cabaret style.  Food is of course great, but I am down to 2 courses now & only 1 at lunchtime.  The beauty of this sauna environment is that I reckon the weight is pretty stable.  Our dinner companions from Canada are retired teachers - David was a maths teacher and his wife is not very well.  The other couple, Margaret & Norman are from Perth.  Norman is a homegrown magician/illusionist and has us both amused and bewildered.  Both couples are great company and it is s pity that they will be leaving the ship in Singapore.

Continual maintenance goes on, and they are just re-varnishing the handrails, so I think we'll go in for coffee a bit earlier today.

Royal Princess - part 3

Day 7
After a sea-day and our first formal night, we awoke to the island of Mykonos.  There is a strong wind blowing, but we tender over without any problems.  We are impressed with the white buildings and of course the windmills.  After exploring the little side alleys, we work our way to the end of the town and head back.  Lynne & Ivan stopped off for a coffee and free WiFi, while Vivian did some shopping.  The prices seemed reasonable, particularly as they appear to increase the nearer one gets to the port.  Vivian also managed to put a hand in the water, which was quite a feat as the wind was creating some reasonable waves.

As the visit was only for half a day, we set sail for Istanbul just after lunch.

Day 8
We have a ships tour to the Topkapi Palace, Harem & Grand Bazaar.  We were originally going to do it " on our own" but the Palace is closed on Tuesday's, except to ship's tours :-)  A longish drive through Istanbul to the Palace (which I am sure was just to confuse us).  The Palace is magnificent and the artifacts amazing.  Similarly, the associated Harem was really interesting - gave a whole new understanding of the life of those times and that it's purpose was primarily to educate women (as well as find the sultan with a wife or two, or more!). 

We were then bussed into the centre of Istanbul, to the Grand Bazaar - we elected to leave the tour and the carpet weaving demonstration.  Had a quick look at the Bazaar and were not overly excited, but found where the ship's shuttle departure place was, picked up a map and headed off on our own.  Soon got onto the tram line and in no time made it to the Blue Mosque, besieged on the way by well-dressed gentlemen employing us to go to their carpet shops.  I fooled them by wearing my Aussie hat!!

Well, we missed entry into the mosque by 10 minutes as afternoon prayers started at 12.15.  So we went in search of the Hagia Sofia and were really surprised to realise that it was right beside the Topkapi Palace (boy, that bus trip really confused us).  Went through the Hagia Sofia, which is impressive, but like so many things we have seen, is in the course of restoration.  Scaffolding etc. does not add to the ambience.

Headed back towards the Grand Bazaar and decided we needed something for lunch.  Once again Mr McD came to light (never been to so many).  After lunch Vivian wanted to go back to the Blue Mosque, so in the middle of the day, surrounded by carpet salesmen again, I willingly complied :-) :-) :-)

Infidels enter through the back entrance and we are given plastic bags for our shoes and enter.  Luckily, both men & women are allowed into the viewing/public area, whereas Muslim women have their separate area at the back of the Mosque, while men have the main chamber.  What surprised us were the number of the devout who were wandering around the body of the mosque taking photos etc.  An experience.

Found our way back to the shuttle meeting point, only to find that we had to retrace our steps to where the buses were parked.  The problem was that you needed a ticket to board the bus and you could only get that by going to the meeting point.  By this stage we were feeling so fit that nothing really mattered any more.  Ah, back on the ship.  We loved Istanbul and would liked to have had more time in Turkey.  A very interesting & friendly place from what we saw.

Day 9
Today we arrived in Kusadasi, which is still in Turkey.  The main reason for visiting here is to see the ancient ruins of Ephesus.  Once again, the history is unbelievable.  This is the town (for want of a better word) where St Paul & St John preached 2000 years ago.  To say that the site is amazing is an understatement.  Although one could say that it is just another site of old history, it is simply magnificent.  We enjoyed the whole experience and never complained about the walking or the heat that prevailed.  After this experience, we journeyed up to the top of the surrounding hills and visited the house of the Virgin Mary.  A very, very small building, which we passed through.  Once again, amazing to be standing in a piece of history.  New Zealand is solo new, we'll never have such experiences at home.

All set for another full-on day as we head across the Agean Sea to Athens tomorrow.  This is sort of our last port, if we ignore our destination of Venice and in some ways I'll be pleased as we have seen so much in such a short space of time, my brain hurts !!

Day 10
Athens on our own.  This gives a bus trip from the port to the edge of the Plaka, which is the shopping area at the base of the Acropolis.  As these are the only 2 things we want to do in Athens, it looks like a good choice.  Our guide, Anna, is useless, but anyway we strike out and buy our tickets for the Acropolis from the south gate.  It is an easy, pleasant walk up around the hill and we are pleasantly surprised.

But wait, there's more - a lot more - a lot, lot, lot more.  Our pleasant path leads us to the main line coming from the main entrance.  Next minute we are sandwiched between 10-15,000 other people going either up or down, or standing, or listening in groups to their guides.  Yuck!  It was bedlam.  Nobody was in control, the marble steps uneven, pushing and queue-jumping.  Unbelievable - all the while the temperature was climbing to mid-high 30s.  To cut a long story short, got to the top, took photos and headed down.  It was just as bad going down.  Saw an elderly woman who had cut her leg badly and as we found out later, Lynne (who was not with us) fainted and had to be taken down by emergency elevator.

All that aside, we were not that impressed, I think that we'd been spoilt in many ways with all the ruins we have just seen and once again, the Acropolis is a work in progress, with so much scaffolding and so much of what you see is replacement (have to go to London Museum for the original!).  Still, we are pleased that we have done it, and we certainly will not be doing it again.

After coming down, we were pleased to sit down in a cafe on the side of the avenue which has fine mist sprays going to keep everyone cool.  Boy, the beer did not touch the sides.  After lunch Vivian had an energy burst, so off to the Plaka in the afternoon sun.  Bought a tablecloth and a runner, so that made her happy.  Got back to the other end of Plaka and bought a Sprite and went across the road to Zeus Park.  Suddenly Vivian has a thought - oh oh, tablecloth is the wrong size (read the wrong measurement).  So with Boy Scout precision, we manage to locate the shop, which is no mean feat, and find our way back. 

Boy, it's been a hot tiring day so we buy another Sprite and sit on the steps of a disused Greek Bank and watch the traffic go by.  Forgot to mention that there are 6 cruise ships in port & all of the passengers are doing the same thing.  Also, most have bus pickup point at the same place - hence dozens of buses.  Enter the Athens Police with lights & sirens.  No, buses may not stop and are moved on.  This is really funny to watch, until it comes to our bus arriving. Luckily the bus is able to stop 50 odd metres away and we are soon home.  Exhausted.

Day 11
Well, today is our last full sea-day and we have had such a great  experience.  Tonight will also be our 2nd formal night, as well as the Captain's cocktail party for Platinum & Elite passengers.  Nice to actually meet the captain, who was captain on the Diamond Princess earlier this year.  Very pleasant and is great to have a day to enjoy the ship - even if we are supposed to be thinking about our disembarkation.  Tomorrow we arrive in Venice and will cruise up to our berth. We are looking forward to that and although there are some things which we do not like about Royal Princess, there are a lot of great features and all the staff are so friendly & helpful. 

This is the last entry for our Mediterranean cruise and I trust it has painted a little picture of our adventures. Now on to the rest of Italy and the journey to reach our little ship for our cruise home.

Aqaba

Tuesday 24th
We woke early as today we have arrived in Jordan and have our trip booked to the ancient city of Petra.  Buffet Breakfast and listening to the Captain's 7.00 update from "the commanding bridge".  He then had a special announcement.  There had been some protesting in Petra overnight and the "Authorities" directed that visitors cannot enter Petra.  We are all devastated, as Petra was the highlight for so many, particularly with the cancellation of our Egyptian ports.

However there is nothing we can do about it, so there is an alternative trip to Wadi Rum, which is not as far as Petra and is closer to Saudi Arabia.  As an aside, we are absolutely amazed at Aqaba, which is situated at the end of the Gulf of Aqaba, off the Red Sea.  What is intriguing is that Aqaba is on one side of the harbour and Israel just 1 km away on the other side.  Just back a couple of km on the Israeli side is Egypt, while the Saudi border is just past the port where we are docked.  It all seems so civilised, despite the media reports.

We bus out of town along Kings Road, which apparently has much biblical significance, back to Moses!  It is about an hour and we reach the Wadi Rum information centre, where we transfer to 4WD vehicles.  I now know where all the Land Cruisers go to die!  Because there were so many people on this tour, they had roped in every Bedouin for hundreds of miles with anything looking like  4WD.  Six to each vehicle and off we go across the desert.  Our vehicle had a problem with the back wheel becoming loose and almost came off.  Fortunately our driver managed to stop the last vehicle behind us ( who had a wheel brace).  The other vehicles had all gone, so we could have been stranded - but we weren't.

Stopped at a Bedouin camp site for herbal tea.  There were also ancient writings on the rocks, depicting Lions, tigers, gazelle and other wild animals that used to roam the Wadi thousands of years ago.  Perhaps I should explain, the desert/wadi and indeed the whole of Jordan that we travelled through is very hilly, with magnificent granite & sandstone structures - nothing at all like I expected.  We were expecting straight desert, more like the Sinai, along the Suez.

After our little cup of tea, we just had to - yes moved up to riding Camels now.  Just a very short ride, but got the photos to prove it!  Vivian had a little one and I think that mine was it's mother.  But the camels are a lot smaller than the Australian ones thankfully.  After this, more 4WDing and stopped off in Lawrence of Arabia territory - magnificent rock formations and another Bedouin camp, with stuff for sale but no free tea.  Finally out of the mountains and on to the Wadi, where there is another more commercial camp complex, where people can stay overnight.  More tea & biscuits, as well as local dates. 

After a further rest, back onto the buses (which had come around the road from where we started our adventure and a leisurely drive back to the ship.  We really enjoyed the day and the experience.  Our guide was so knowledgeable and we almost suffered information overload, particularly the biblical significance, as Muslim & Christian history is the same.  Jordan is unusual in some respects as it has many different nationalities and welcomes all beliefs.  They also have over 1 million refugees from Syria as well as about the same from Iran.  All these hot-spots just a few hundred miles away, yet Bedouin still tending their sheep, hosts & camels as they have for centuries.

Back on board and currently sailing down the Gulf of Aqaba, where we have 6 sea days until we reach Dubai.  We have extra security on board until then and our water-canons are all prepared and tested by the crew a couple of days ago.  We are aware that this is the most dangerous part of the cruise as we head down towards the Somali area.  Not that anyone expects anything to go wrong, and we are sure that Princess has all systems in place.  With all those sea days coming up, I'll be sure to complete the entries for our trip on the Royal.  Boy, we were lucky there, we hear today that it has broken down in Naples and they are cancelling the next 2 cruises.  That puts missing Petra into perspective.  We are truly lucky with what we have.

Royal Princess cruise - part 2

Day 4
Not well and today is a big day too.  We have to be up early, so go upstairs to the buffet.  I simply can not eat.  The place is crowded with 3,000 starving individuals and the noise is unbearable.  Cough medicine & a number of panadols later, we are ready for our adventure in Rome.  Vivian & Ivan have agreed a plan and Lynne & I are just going along.

The port is about an hour away from Rome and our package is "Rome on your own by private train".  First we were bussed to the train, which would look modern by NZ standards, but in reality just made it out of the 60s.  Carriages are cute and probably date back to the 20s.  Anyway, it works and within the hour we are pulling in to the station behind the Vatican.  This is far better than being in the main train station in Rome.  Our guide has already told us that it would be best to get a taxi to the Colosseum, as we'd waste too much time walking that distance.  Good advice and good taxi driver too.

We did not go into the Colosseum as we simply did not have the time.  However we got a good view, particularly as we were pretty early and ahead of the crowds.  We walked back towards the Trevi Fountain (which was a little disappointing) and the Spanish Steps.  On the way we found the signs for the Pantheon and found s building which we thought was that, but of course it wasn't, but it was a lovely church which had a great history.  Our main objective however was to reach the Vatican in time for our scheduled visit at 1.15.

Needed some lunch before going to the Vatican and we came across the golden arches-so that should be safe food.  Went to the McCafe section and had a muffin & drink.  Very busy place and apparently even busier upstairs, in the main area.  Although we were relatively close to the Vatican, thought it would be easier on our bodies to take a taxi.  He was not such a good driver and took us pretty well back to the Colosseum, before crossing the river.  I was checking our location on the GPS on my tablet and even though I continually made comment about heading out of town, he insisted on giving us the grand tour.  At least he got us to the main entrance in good time and we entered the ticket area just before 1.00.  Well organised and got our tickets and entry with no problems.

Vivian had already decided which rooms she wanted to see in the museum and in particular wanted to see the Roman chariot.  Well to cut a long story, she couldn't find it and took off looking for it.  It was a bit scary to find her gone and we had to backtrack through the crowd and were very lucky to locate her, back near the entrance.  Got pictures of the chariot however and moved on.  The halls & rooms of the Vatican Museum were absolutely stunning and we were enthralled.  Not so much so when we eventually reached the Sistene Chapel.  We found that the crowds, the guards and the light did not inspire as the halls & rooms previously.

Anyway, I had read on Trip Advisor that there was a quick way to get to St Mark's without going all the way out and around.  The trick is to tag onto a tour group and go out the special exit marked "No exit - authorised tours only". So we hung around waiting for a Princess tour to go through (as we had similar badges).  This wasn't really happening fast enough so we just tagged along at the end of some other group.  At least we got through to St Marks in no time.  All the chairs etc. were set up I'm St Mark's Square and we saw that the following day over 50,000 attended the Pope's address on peace.  Thankfully not on our day!

A relatively short walk back to our train and then back to the ship.  We were quite pleased with ourselves and that we had achieved Rome in a day!  After all this, I am feeling a lot better, but both tired, knowing that tomorrow is yet another big day - Amalfi Coast & then Pompeii.

Day 5
Another early start.  Hey, I thought that this was supposed to be a holiday :-)  Anyway we are in Naples and ready to board our bus to head down the Amalfi Coast.  Great scenery and amazing how people live in these houses just clinging to the cliffs.  Even more amazing is the skill or stupidity of the drivers along the coast road. Cars etc were literally MMS away from both the walls and each other.  Surprisingly there was little evidence of unfortunate incidents.  We eventually stopped at Amalfi and enjoyed a break before continuing on to a restaurant for lunch.  Had a most pleasant 3 course lunch & bottle of wine along with an older American couple (she is well into her 80s and still as practising Attorney) who were travelling with their nephew and his much younger partner/girlfriend.  They were also both in the legal world.  Anyway, wine in the middle of a hot afternoon is not the best, but made our ongoing journey to Pompeii pass quickly.

Pompeii is so worthwhile and an absolute eye-opener to the life of a past civilisation.  We were enthralled and our guide was very helpful, even if a little grumpy with other people she thought were jumping the queue.  The only downside was that there were so many tour groups as well as individuals, that it became a bit jumbled - I am sure the wine had worn off by then :-)   We could easily have spent more time exploring and appreciating the excavations etc. but we had to get back to the bus, and the ship awaits.  Thank goodness tomorrow is our first sea-day.  We love sea-days and we also love a relaxing morning.  I think that we have earned it after a full-on 5 days onboard, not to mention Barcelona.

Royal Princess cruise - part 1

While we have a day in the Red Sea, I thought it time to record our first cruise on the mighty Royal Princess.
Day 1
Had yet another superb breakfast and packed our bags, ready to say goodbye to Barcelona.  My understanding was that we could drop our bags at the port entrance and later get a free shuttle to the ship.  We also decided that it was too hot & hard to wheel our bags down, so elected too take a taxi.  The hotel kindly arranged this and our driver was a smart young woman - somewhere money changed hands between her & the hotel, but who cares.

I was wrong (again), and we found ourselves traveling a number of kilometres through the port, over the bridge and down to the pier, alongside the very large Royal.  Men descending on our taxi and scooped up our bags and before we knew it, w were waving our green priority boarding pass and being processed.  A minor hiccup was that Vivian's card was in someone else's name.  This was soon rectified by the ship's IT Manager - Dean from Christchurch.

Well, by now it is only 11.30 and boarding is not due until 2.00, but as we know, official times mean nothing so we were onboard and in our cabin (stateroom) just after midday.  Our luggage was there too, so we unpacked before lunch.  Once again, an amazing coincidence as we were checking out the shop.  We were down in the International Cafe, when an English voice calls out "are you stalking us?". It was Julie & Tony from Bath in UK, we met on the Diamond in February.  Hate to think what the odds would be of 2 couples from opposite ends of the world meeting up twice in a year.

Caught up with Lynne & Ivan, who about 12 cabins away and after the usual lifeboat drill, it was time to go and find out about Anytime Dining.  We have always had set dining, do this was a new experience.  Having read some horror stories, we were surprised how easy it was when we said that we were happy to share with others.  After a while we got so friendly with the head waiter that she saved us special tables each night.  Being friendly & polite goes a long way.

Day 2
Today we arrived in Toulon (France).  We docked across the bay from Toulon proper, but once again I had done my research and refused to pay the ship's price for a ferry ride across.  By now we had been joined by more kiwis from Christchurch, Karen & Merv.  Well, we set out to walk to the town along from the dock, where there was an information centre where we could buy tickets to cover ferry, buses & cable car.  Well, I may have been right, but not today - the info. centre did not open.  Not deterred, we walked a bit further, had a drink and worked out where the ferry left from.  Caught the ferry and arrived in Toulon town, where the information centre quite happily sold us the aforementioned tickets.  Just cost an extra 2Euro for the first ferry across.  Still a lot cheaper  than Princess transfer.

Took the bus & cable car up Mt Faron, with great views over the city.  Not much else to do, so we went back to town.  Karen & Merv had had enough of Mahurangi Tours so went to have lunch, Lynne wanted to go back to the info. centre, where there was a market (later to find that the market closed about half an hour before we got back down from the cable car.  Ivan & Vivian and I took a city tour on the little train.  Very interesting.  Toulon is the centre of the French navy and as well as all the ships including the aircraft carrier Charles deGaulle, most of the beach front ( apart from the centre of town) is defence property.

We all met up and took the ferry back and found a shortcut back to our ship.  Had a late lunch on board.  Pleased to be back in airconditioned comfort.  I am feeling a bit run-down, but pleased with what we have seen, as Toulon was an unknown.

Day 3
Another early morning and my cough has started and feeling a bit heady.  Today is a big day, with tour to Pisa & Florence.  Our tour guide was excellent and gave us lots of information along the way.  We went past the US Defence base, which is the largest outside of USA, and is home for all Mediterranean & Middle East activity.  The base covers many hundreds of acres and was taken by US as reparation after WW11.  Apparently activity takes place at night and there is an air force base across the road.  From here you can see Pisa.

Had about an hour in Pisa - I was not feeling too good and later on the way to Florence I felt like fainting.  Not good, however kept going for the team.  In Florence we were on our own, however our objective was to get to see the original David.  We had tickets for 1.30 and although we found the Academia, we could not get any sense out anyone as to how to turn our e.tickets into entry tickets.  Eventually some kind tourists pointed us across the road & from there on it was easy.  We were in and out in less than half an hour, as really there was little else to see, particularly after everything we saw in Barcelona.  David was impressive at 4m high - I did think that his hands were disproportional ( too big).

Following this we went our separate ways and Vivian & I had a late pizza & beer before heading off to the river to admire the bridges and back to our bus.  I think we were last bus to leave and pretty well last back to the ship.  We sailed soon after.  Both of us were exhausted and we went straight to bed without dinner and slept through.  Tomorrow is another big day - Rome.

Suez Canal

We reached the entry to the canal at dinner time (Saturday), where we stopped and waited for the rest of our southbound convoy to assemble.  The Captain told us that we were expected to start our transit of the canal at about 1.30 on Sunday.  We are the lead ship in the convoy, so we jokingly referred to us as the "decoy".  We watched a large number of ships coming out of the canal and a lot were tankers of one sort or another.

Sunday morning we woke about 1.30 and we were still stationary, so went back to sleep.  Heard some noises about an hour later and saw that we were moving and passing what I assume was Port Said.  Lots of people still about, big buildings and a big mosque right down to the water.  We were also amazed by the flocks of birds flying/hovering around the ship at that hour - I think it must have been our lights.  Later we worked out that our 2.30 time was actually 1.30 Egyptian time as the ship decided not to put our clocks back for this sector, as we'd have to put therm forward again tomorrow. (OK forward/back/forward - whatever:-) )

Next woke up just after sunrise, 6.30 so decided to go up on deck and get some photos.  Some great photos, but it is very hazy, so probably won't look as impressive when we get home.  The difference between the West & East banks is striking.  Individual soldiers all the way around, although what 1 soldier is going to do is a mystery.  However they were friendly and waved out to us, as did all the local fishermen ( I doubt that their fish are minimum, 30cm!!!).

By 10.00 we reached the Great Bitter Lake, where we anchored to wait for the northbound convoy to come through the last part of the canal & the rest of our southbound convoy to catch up.  Have no idea how many are in our convoy, as we can only see the 2 container ships behind us in the haze.  However there are currently about 30+ ships anchored here. We are the only passenger ship, the majority of the others are very large container ships.  Many billions of dollars worth surrounding us.  An army helicopter has just flown over to check on us all.  Our own ship's security staff are also far more evident.

It is incredible that we are sitting on a dead flat lake, surrounded by sand (oh yes,and some town in the distance too).  Fortunately the sky has clouded a bit and the temperature at 11.00 is pleasantly in the midish 20s.  The only annoyance is the abundance of flys. 

11.45.  We are underway again and all the supertankers are at the end of the northbound convoy, so clearly they have the least dangerous first to the most dangerous at the end.  The Cruise Director has just given an announcement on the history of the canal and apparently the cost of transit is .25 million.  Still a lot cheaper than going around Africa.

2.30.  We have cleared Suez and are now sailing in the Red Sea.  It has got hot again, but like an idiot I stood on the top deck taking photos for an hour (so no wonder I am hot).  Another sea day tomorrow and then the big journey to Petra on Tuesday - already some folk are cancelling as there is considerable walking involved.  We are going, no matter what - watch this space.

Unfortunately I am unable to upload photos at this time, but hopefully when we reach land and free WiFi, I will do so.

Sorrento & Santorini

Barely have time to get our sea-legs and we are in Sorrento.  The sea was a little rougher than we have previously experienced, but of course this is a much smaller ship.  According to the passengers who embarked in Dover, they missed a couple of ports due to bad weather.  Even the Captain said that we were lucky to get in as the sea was abating.

On our other cruise we docked at Naples, so it was good to be right in Sorrento and it also meant that we beat the other tourists who had to drive from Naples.  We had elected to take a ship's trip (overly expensive for what we got), which involved a transfer to the Isle of Capri by large fast ferry.  This was a public ferry although was full of tourists of all types.  We were talking to a couple from Norway, who were staying on the island for a week.  Anyway, as mentioned, the sea was rough and before long the sick-bags were being distributed.  Luckily, none were required before we docked on the Isle.

From there we were taken in small busses to Ana Capri, which is above Capri town.  The roads are very narrow and it is amazing how 2 vehicles pass each other, but they are experienced.  We had an hour or so to fill in, so wandered around and got some photos of the view over Capri and we were then bussed down to Capri town for lunch.  This was a 3 course meal, including a bottle of wine for 4 of us - not a good thing in the midday sun!  After lunch, we were invited to go to the gardens (very small) & then fill in another 1.5 hours until we were able to college t tickets for the funicular ride down to the port.  Yet another half an hour hanging around until we got more tickets for the ferry back to Sorrento.  Fortunately the ship's tender was waiting for us and were very pleased to be back on board.

Although we were pretty tired, we did go to the show, which was a little preview of tomorrow night's show, plus a comedian.  He was English and must admit he had us in tears.  Fortunately the next day was our first sea day.

Sea day meant it was the Captain's welcome party and we did get to meet him on the formal reception line.  Great dinner and show afterwards.  Being a smaller ship, there are only 6 dancers & 2 singers but boy they put on a fantastic performance without a break.  Of course they also have day jobs, with line/ballroom dancing instruction, mustering passengers going ashore etc.

The following day we called at Santorini.  Apparently there is only 1 anchorage in the bay (& this was taken by a larger Costa ship), so we just floated around the bay.  It was extremely smooth and we had a good ride ashore.  Vivian had told all in sundry that they used to have donkeys on the farm and that she had been thrown by a donkey and that there was no way she would even look at a donkey.  You can see where this is going - yes, we elected to take the donkeys up the 800 odd steps to Santorini. It was fun and we have a couple of good photos to prove it-  they had a photographer about 2/3rds way up and by the time we got to the top, there were our photos.

Wandered around & did some shopping after having coffee at probably the most expensive place, but it was well worth it for the views.  As it was getting hotter and more crowded we decided to take the cable car down to the port (we certainly were not going to walk, as we had seen how much the donkeys left behind, and there are hundreds of them).

A huge queue for the cable car as the Costa ship was sailing just after 2.00, but we got back to our ship just after 1.00 and enjoyed a leisurely lunch at the back of the ship.  Missed the show (was puppet show of sorts) and after completing the previous blog, was soon asleep.

Today, Saturday, is the first time I have caught up with this blog, so hopefully future entries will be more relevant.  Another sea day today and this morning we had Pirate Drill, yes we enter the Suez Canal early tomorrow morning and are due to complete the transit about 5.00 tomorrow afternoon.  Vivian plays bridge on sea days, so this is a good opportunity to do my housework, before grabbing my book.

Goodbye Mediterranean - it's been a great 3 weeks.  Now that is quite scary to think of how the time has flown and all the things we have experienced.

Ocean Princess

Well, we are well & truly onboard and really enjoying a small ship.  However, first things first.  Going back to Assisi, Tuesday broke with a cool and threatening morning.  Down for s lovely breakfast, made fresh by the receptionist/housekeeper/cook, all rolled into one.  Surprisingly there were 6 Australian's also in residence (only 8 rooms).  After breakfast we walked through town again, including the church/basicilca next door, which was built over the home of St Francis' family - have a photo of the original door, dating back to 1200AD.  Yes, the buildings are absolutely fantastic.

Too soon it was time to check out, as we had to catch a local bus down to the railway station and they only ran at 30 minute intervals from the far end of town.  Luckily we made it and the bus came along 10 minutes later.  Before that however, I had to take our bags down the 48 stairs - the guy from yesterday was not there!

About 5 minutes after arriving at the station, the heavens opened!  Boy we were really lucky.  Train was on time and we had an uneventful trip to Rome Termini.  As fate  far end of Platform 2 and as we walked, about 1 km, to the main part of the station, found that our onward journey to the port left from Platform 29 (which is the last and furthest away), with 19 minutes to get there.  Of course we made it with at least 90 seconds to spare.  Seems like a feature of this trip.

The trip to the port is just on an hour and when we arrived, were quite happy to pay EUR15 to be taken to the ship - some folk walked them 2-3km, but we thought that we had earned a break.  Quite funny that there were no queues, so embarkation was simple and were in our cabin in no time.  Only had time to unpack 1 bag before it was emergency drill.  As we are on early dinner, had to ready by 6.00! 

We are at a table for 8, which includes 2 Aussies & 2 Canadians who joined at Dover, so are on leg 2.  The other seat was taken by a Russian lady, who spoke not one word of English.  By sign language, pen & paper we established that she is a History Professor from Moscow.  It was quite hard work.  As an update, she has subsequently met a Hungarian woman and the ship has found a Russian waitress, so she seems to now be dining elsewhere.

A small ship seems a bit strange after the Royal - everything is within a couple of decks and it is not far from one end to the other.  A couple of times Vivian has taken off down the passageway, past the stairwell, which is only 5 cabins away.  Great food & company and I know that we are going to have a great time.

Assisi

Well, an exciting day with an early start and a very pleasant train trip from Venice to Florence - speed up to 250 kph in places.  The amazing thing was that we must have come through at least 50 km of tunnels in the last stretch to Florence. Quite an experience at that speed.

Fortunately I had bought our onward ticket to Assisi while we were waiting in Venice, as the crowds in Florence were massive.  We had just over an hours wait for our onward journey.  When the train arrived, there was a mad rush to board and these hustlers literally took our bags and put them in the overhead compartment (no mean feat when they weigh over 20+ KGS each.  We remonstrated that this was not 1st class and another "one" came along and all 3 said there was no 1stclass. I hopped off and found the conductor who confirmed that 1st class was about 5 carriages down.  Rushed back to rescue Vivian & the bags - adrenalin cut in and we just managed to board our correct carriage in time.  To make it worse, a beggar of sorts came through our cabin with a note for every seat asking for money - I threw it in the waste bin.  He was back 30 seconds later to collect his notes ( no money), so I opened the bin and indicated he should retrieve his note.  He did so with the most dagger-eyes you have ever seen.  Sorry, but it was not the day for me or him.  BTW, he got off at the next stop, before the conductor came around.

More tunnels out of Florence and then great scenery all the way to Assisi.  We decided to have a sandwich & coffee at the railway cafe, which was a cafe, pizzeria, bottle store, bar, purveyor of religious items & a casino all rolled into one.  Anyway, good coffee & fresh sandwiches.  Also bought our bud tickets up to Assisi proper (where  we are staying).  The bus dropped us off, at what is the end of town, but is actually a good kilometre away from the hotel.  A big hike and just as well we had sustenance.  Found the hotel, which is really quaint - I think we are on the 4 the floor, as it I's at least 50 steps up.  Luckily the manager carried our bags, even though he underestimated the weight.  He has promised to carry them down tomorrow too!!!!!!

Our room is the attic and is unique with the shower being between the door & the toilet.  Just a couple of shower curtains and a wooden board for drainage.  However we also have the terrace at the top of the building with unobstructed views over the surrounding area.  We feel that we could stay here for a couple of days, but no, off about 10 tomorrow for our next adventure to Rome & Civitavecchia, to board the little Ocean Princess and start our 48 day journey home.

Have walked through the old city to St Francis Basilica.  Absolutely stunning - we did all 3 levels.  I commented to Vivian that I thought it surpassed The Vatican in many ways.  Fantastic.

Probably time to think about food soon, so hopefully this blog will continue when we get to a "friendly" port.

Early cup of tea

Our train

The loft in Assisi

From our front door

The castle from our terrace

View to south east

More view

St Francis basilica

From St Francis'

The lawns of St Francis'

Our hotel is up the stairs to the right of Vivian - our room is beyond the roofline

Venice

Well, we have left the ship and were able to get into our hotel just after 10.00, so while Vivian has a little snooze, I'll try to update some details in our blog.  Clearly the issue is with the sattelite internet connection, as now we are on land, everything is back to normal (fingers crossed), so it seems that I will only be able to post when we get ashore & have free internet.

We arrived in Venice yesterday about lunchtime & there are heaps of other ships in port - most left last night.  Venice was packed and we took the opportunity of locating our hotel - which is no mean feat as it is a closed door in a courtyard, just back from the Grand Canal and opposite the Railway Station. Cute.

We then went to Lynne & Ivan's hotel on the other side of the Grand Canal & only 10 minutes away.  Ivan was talking with the hotel staff and they offered us a free water taxi to the island of Murano, where they make the glass.  It was a bit of a rip-off and we didn't like the style, so walked off.  I don't think we were supposed to do that.  Anyway, purchased water bus tickets and went to St Marks Square.  Really enjoyed the beer, as it was very hot still.

Final dinner was a bit sad although it was great that so many of the people we had met on board were in the dining room so we could say goodbye.  Early night, as we had to pack bags and have them outside our cabin by 11.00.  Up this morning at 6.30 and after final breakfast went to the Premium Checkout lounge and found ourselves off the ship before 9.00.  Took the "people mover" and then walked the 1 km to our hotel.  The kindly receptionist said that the room would be ready in half an hour, so we went to have a coffee. 1. Very strong. 2. Very expensive - 8.40 Euros.  While sitting there, Lynne & Ivan came past, so we have arranged to meet them @St Marks at 1.00.  Ivan wants to climb the tower!!!

So this is up to date with huge holes in our story, but I'll update later and hopefully have this blog in some order, along with photos.  We are off to get a water bus over to St Marks.

Approaching Venice

St Marks

Venice

This ship is actually leaving

St Marks

Our hotel !

Down the lane - railway station across Grand Canal

Administrative update

While I have aimed to post regular updates of our travels,  we re getting a little behind. Plus Princess internet doesn't like my blog, so it seems that I can only post when onshore.

Currently we are sitting in a cafe in Florence, where the temperature at 3.00 is 33 degrees.   Yesterday we had a more relaxing (& a little cooler day in Toulon).  Tomorrow is the big one in Rome.  Keep looking at the blog, as I will update as much as I can - they may show the same date, but will be consecutive.  Oh well., hot to walk down to our bus pickup point.

Montserrat & a catch up - updated with photos

Our day at Montserrat started relatively early (Spanish time) as we planned to catch the 9.36 train, meaning we needed to catch the Metro in plenty of time to allow us to locate the overland train. In reality it was very simple and were waiting along with many, many others to board when the train pulled into the station.  It was just as well we were a lot earlier than we had planned as the train was more than full, with many having to stand for most of the 50 km journey.

We had elected to purchase the TOT (or total) ticket, which included Metro, train, rack railway up to the Monastery, Funicular to the peak of Mt St Joan and most importantly lunch.  Well it was a busy day all around and we thought that it would be a good idea to go up the funicular first (on the assumption that most people would look around the Monastery etc. and the local stalls set up.  Not sure whether we got it right as there we hundreds up the top and we missed 2 return trips - once by less than 1 minute and the other by being 6 behind the cut-off for the full funicular.

All in all it was a fantastic experience and the extra delay was a minor glitch.  When we got down to the Monastery we decided that we should get our lunch and the restaurant was at the far end of the village.  We had assumed the "self serve" lunch would be rolls or something, but no - it was 2 big plates of almost anything you could think of PLUS dessert and a drink.  Certainly well over-filled.

After lunch we went to the Monastery, audiovisual presentation and the museum (all included in our ticket).  Great, but, the museum turned out to be more art works almost identical to what we saw yesterday.  Naughty me though, I had taken photos of the paintings at the National Art Gallery, where there was a restriction on using a flash.  I assumed it was the same here and happily snapped away, until I saw a sign saying "No photos permitted" or something similar.  Given that all the rooms had CCTV, I was luckily that the burly & grumpy security guards did not take my camera from me.

Before we knew it, it was time to get down the mountain and back to Barcelona.  Vivian had a little rest when we got back and
Lynne & Ivan decided to do their own thing for dinner, given the size of
Iunch.  So about 8.00 we went out and walled La Rambla in the evening.  It was like a mad house when we walked up, but a bit quieter when coming back.  Despite the reputation, felt relatively safe but was a bit mm ore scary on the way back to our part of Barcelona.  Even though we were walking past the maim Police Station.

Forgot to mention that we also checked out the Gothic Centre and the Cathedral, which surprisingly was still open.  As we walked in, we were surprised by the number of people facing the back of the building.  We soon established the reason - it has the largest rose window in the world 10 metres of it.  It was magnificent, particularly given the dark background and the glowing stained glass.

Had a pizza at the bar next door and soon to bed.  Have really enjoyed our last day in Barcelona.  Tomorrow is the start of the next phase of our holiday - the mighty Royal Princess.

Note: photos will be added at a later time, when we have better internet connection.

From the train stop

The group

Going higher

On the way down - Barcelona in far far distance

A better view

Going up further - note Ivan's camera

Another busy day

On Sunday many museums and galleries are free, so we decided to make this day our cultural experience day.  After all the activities yesterday, we were obviously more tired than we thought - we slept in a bit so breakfast was a bit more rushed.  First however we planned to take the funicular & cablecar up to Montjuic, which has commanding views over both the city and the ocean.  There is a castle on the point and the rest of the "mountain" is a park/walking/cycling tracks - goes on for miles.  Adjacent at the bottom is the former Olympic Village (time did not allow us to visit).

The highlight of the day was visiting the Museum National D'Art De Catalunya.  Not only were the paintings etc. magnificent, but the whole building a masterpiece.  Time just rushed along.  After a drink for lunch we decided to walk down to "town" and it is a great boulevard (probably not the right description).

Once again, there were some escalators to help us down and someone made a joke/comment to the guy in front of us.  As to be expected he and another couple were from NZ, but not only NZ but Hawkes Bay, but wait there is more - how about Waipukurau?  To add more, they had been over to London to visit a friend, who happens to be the brother-in-law of one of Vivian's bridesmaids (Julie Kynoch).  Now if that was not bad enough, how about that they ate joining us on the Royal Princess cruise!!!!!!!Yep, a very, very small world.

After we parted company and reached the bottom of the avenue (new description), we dropped into the train station and bought our tickets for our visit to Montserrat (Monday trip).  Opposite is the site of the former Bull Ring which is now a shopping centre.  Fortunately it being Sundays, shops apart from food were closed. We took the glass elevator up to the top.  From a distance I had thought that the lift was some sort of crane they were using for the building, but no, it is a permanent structure.  The sign said €1 pp, but Ivan spotted a small sign saying senior citizens "gratis", so said to the disinterested security guard, was looking away from us "is that OK?" to which he replied, still not looking at us "get in".  Some people really love their jobs!

Back home for a rest and freshen up and back to the same tapas bar as last night.  We are getting the hang of tapas now and the meal was even better.  To add to the excitement Barcelona was playing Valencia and all the bars had TVs in their windows.  We were delighted that our team won 3 2.  It was noticeable that the supporters were really vocal when we scored, but when the opposition scored, there was just a deathly silence - so unlike a NZ reaction.

A great night and all set for a big trip to Montserrat.

At the castle

Looking down on cruise ships

View from Art Gallery

Pipe organ in the Gallery

Simple ceiling in the Gallery

Looking back up at the Gallery

The old Bull Ring/Shopping Centre

From the elevator

Watching the game

Tapas

Almost all gone

Yum

So much to see and so little time

Surprisingly we woke at 7.00 on Saturday and decided to make a day of it.  Our hotel is on Av Parallel, which is a main road from the waterfront and not far from the famous La Rambla.  While only a 2 star, it's location and facilities are excellent - even more so the breakfast (included) is certainly a 5 star quality and sets us up for the day.

I have the map of Barcelona downloaded on my tablet - thanks to Trip Advisor and the GPS works to accurately show where we are as we set off exploring.  We thought that we would head to La Rambla, and explored the back streets.  This is where the GPS was invaluable. We walked up to Catalunya Square, which is basically where our friends, Lynne & Ivan from Snells Beach are staying.  They had just arrived from Singapore, so we arranged to meet and start sightseeing in earnest.

Found the Metro system very easy and went out to Parc Guell, but hadn't anticipated that it was a substantial climb from the train station.  Luckily there were numerous escalators on the way.  We climbed further up the hill for spectacular views over the city.  The park etc. was developed by the famous architect Gaudi.  Very, very unusual and unique in the world.

Being a sucker for punishment, we then tracked DOWNHILL to catch another metro to see Gaudi's other masterpiece - the cathedral la Sagrada Familia.  This most unusual cathedral has been under construction for over 100 years and still has much to be done.  The interior is also most striking and the building is a landmark from all vantage points - particularly the cranes where the current work is taking place.

Somehow we still hand enough energy to go out for a meal, and being in Spain decided to eat accordingly - so went to a Tapas Bar, which was very highly rated on Trip Advisor.  This happened to be just down the road & we were well satisfied.  Very tasty and we eventually got back to our hotel and some well deserved sleep.

Tomorrow is another day and it looks as though the weather is going to be as hot (28+30), as it was today.

La Rambla

Catalunya Square

On the metro

City view

Parc Guell

Sagrada Familia (x 3)

Looking straight up

Barcelona

Well, I tempted fate when I posted my last entry.  Just after sending it Hong Kong was struck by a lightening storm - a Code Red apparently, which meant that we were taken away from our comfortable departure lounge and processed through the terminal down to the ground floor as there was to be a change to our departure gate.  All good so far, but it seems there was a total lack of communication within the Cathay Pacific ground staff.  Even the crew were milling around and no-one had any idea when/where if we were leaving.  The time ticked by.

An announcement was eventually made that we would be departing 2 hours late and that if we went back up 6 floors to the food hall we could get 75 HKD food.  Not that we actually needed food, but for something to do, rather than sitting on the floor (yes 100s of passengers, with no seats), we went up with another passenger, a nurse from Havelock North.  The food hall is huge and was mainly of Asian food, which did not appeal.  As we kept walking around, we spotted the Golden Arches, with a McCafe beside it - at least it was "normal" food.  And they had Flat White coffee!!!

Well, it was the best coffee we have had - or likely to have this side of New Zealand.  I had a crayfish sandwich ( no expense spared), so my share of Cathay Pacific's loss was about 45 HKD :-) , Vivian had coffee & a muffin, about 35. HKD.

Time rushed by and we made our way back downstairs to find that confusion will reigned.  We were getting grumpy.  Then, out of the blue, they announced that we were going to board.  With great speed we were sort of processed and boarded a bus for transport to our plane sitting miles away.  Luckily we boarded in between showers.

Turned out to be a full flight, and although we were all aboard and set to go, there was a backload of planes, so further delay until we eventually took off.  The pilot, an Australian assured us that he would try to make up time, but clearly it was only about half an hour.  So, the next 12 hours was devoted to eating, sleeping a bit and worrying about what would happen to our onward flight/bags etc.  Oh, when travelling on Cathay Pacific 777, never be seated in Row 52. The food is served from the front & the back of "Cattle Class" and 52 is pretty well the end of both lines:-)  One meal I got was not even on the menu for either menu, so it was probably a left over from a previous flight designated for the crew.

Our problems didn't improve as we approached Heathrow, as we were stuck in holding pattern and when taxiing in, were further delayed by another aircraft being pushed out.  The long and the short of it was that we disembarked 45 minutes before our BA flight to Barcelona left.  Heathrow is a big airport.

Somehow we followed signs for Transit Passengers to Terminal 5 (we were in Terminal 3).  We ran into what we thought would be a check in facility, but it was a queue (empty) for a bus to take us to Terminal 5. The electronic sign said the bus was leaving in 1 minute. We made it.

It is at least 10 minutes bus ride to T5 - it seemed like at least 10 hours. Thoughts were, where are we going to sleep tonight, what will happen to our bags as they had been checked in at Auckland all the way to Barcelona.  Worry, worry. Made it to the BA counter and most obligingly, we were checked in and told to run to Gate 2 and we may just make the flight - down to T-10 by now.  Oh also our bags would probably come later and we would need to fill out a request when we got to Barcelona.  Not good news.

Next hurdle - &*%#(! airport security).  The strictest and slowest in the world.  Got through sans belt & Vivian shoes in hand, running through departure is funny now.  OK, departure gate (basically scheduled departure),calm, smiling woman says "no more running & no more worrying, enjoy your holiday", the sweetest thing we had heard in ages.  She also said to check with the bloke at the aircraft door re our bags. Well, we did and was able to confirm that they had been loaded. Amazing.  Stress releaved.

Had a good short flight over, sitting with a bloke who worked for BA and has been all over the world.  He was actually Spanish, so gave us some good information and background.  Got through immigration in no time and of course as soon as the baggage carousal started, guess who's bags were first out:-)  Out in under 5 minutes and into a taxi to our hotel.  Got in about 10.30, unpacked a bit, had a showed (yes, after 36 hours flying, we did need one).  Then we went out of the hotel and it was full of activity, as there are numerous eating places around. We just got a coffee & a pastry and watched the activity.  When Vivian found out that it was after midnight, we thought it was time to call it a day.  After all, it was really only a day - a very, very long Friday 30th.

This has been a long entry and I plan to update all the good things that Barcelona has to offer tomorrow.