russg140

Thanks!  Have friends going on in 3 days and were wondering.  They're so excited to hear he will be there.

Does anyone know if Iko is the Maitre D on Queen Elizabeth now?  Would love to see him again!

3 minutes ago, Tutuma said:

We booked this cruise for November 2019...so extremely interested!

Tutuma

Definitely read through this thread.  It might answer some of your questions.  I've also posted 3 short videos from the trip.  If you have any other questions let me know.  It was amazing!

Russ

On 11/21/2018 at 4:02 PM, SLSD said:

Great video.  Would you provide a link to your you tube channel?

SLSD

Did you find it?

Russ

Here is the final installment.  This video also includes a short section at the end of our 2 night stay in Dubai.  Enjoy!

So here is the second of three installments from our Holy Land and Arabian Gem cruise.

Please like my YouTube channel so I know someone is watching!  LOL!

Thanks!

5 hours ago, SLSD said:

Great video.  Would you provide a link to your you tube channel?

SLSD

If you go to YouTube search by R Gibson

See if that works.

Here is the link to the first part of my video series from this cruise.  Don't forget to subscribe to my YouTube channel to be up to date on the remaining videos.  Thanks!
 

OP here

Got that letter too and not at all surprised based on the last email we got back in September.

We were booked on a February 2019 trip and wanted to cancel, but were told that we would forfeit our deposit.  Called mid-October  to find out if they would take another payment, which they would have had I not proceeded with the call.  Personally I think they knew the ship wasn't going to be ready even then, but were still willing to take my money.  I even got a payment request 2 days ago, which I ignored.

Now the question is: Do I call and ask when I can expect a refund?  I think I'll wait until tomorrow.  I'm sure they are being bombarded with call and don't want to be on hold for hours.

1 hour ago, Tranquility Base said:

Thanks for all the information.

What company did you use in Salalah ?

We used Oman Day Tours and our guide was Ali.  He was a bit hard to understand but very enthusiastic and thorough.

Greetings from Dubai!

Yesterday was an awesome day on Sir Bani Yas Island.  After breakfast we had a little time to hang out by the pool before taking the tender to shore at 11:15.  Essentially the beach was set up for use by cruise ships and has several seas with chaises, palapas and tables as well as a large shaded area for lunch.

Sitting in the water we heard a siren that got progressively louder.  A few minutes later we realized it was coming from an inflatable headed for the shore.  Of course this was announcing the arrival of the champagne and caviar!  Only Seabourn could make something like this exciting.

Not long after the corks were popping and people were wading into the water to have a little nibble.  SO much fun!  The beach barbecue was fantastic as well.  Proper china, silverware and napkins accompanied everything from burgers to grilled lobster.  Of course there were a couple of bars set up and everyone was enjoying their beverage of choice.

The sun was really strong, but as long as you stayed in the shade (like we did) you were okay.  The last thing we needed was to get sunburnt on our last day.  We headed back to the ship to begin the disappointing task of packing.

We enjoyed a final evening in the Observation Lounge and a wonderful dinner in the Restaurant.  This morning we were up and finished with breakfast by 8:15.  The disembarkation announcement was made at 8:45.  We said goodbye to Encore and are now lounging on the beach at the Waldorf Astoria Palm Jumeira.

So kind readers ends my Seabourn journey.  I hope I was able to convey at least a small part of how exceptional this trip was at every level.  As I mentioned before I will post the link to my YouTube video here once it is finished.  Thanks for coming on this adventure with me.  Happy Sailing!

11 hours ago, SwankPooch said:

I will be staying in Dhabi for a couple of days prior to hopping on your reversed itinerary.  Would you be able to provide me information in regards to booking your Abu Dhabi tour?  Thanks.

 

SP

Our tour was booked by our TA, but I believe the tour company was Gulf Adventures. Our guide’s name was Yasin.  He was excellent!

Amazing Abu Dhabi.

After our serene day at sea we were excited to visit Abu Dhabi, having heard so much about it.  Our TA offered us a 4-hour tour, which we gladly accepted.  Our driver and guide were right outside the terminal and off we went.

Our first stop was the Sheik Zayed Grand Mosque.  On the ride there ourguide, told us about the history of modern Abu Dhabi and the importance of Sheik Zayed to the USE and initiating change in AD.  He spoke with a true reverence.

We came upon the Grand Mosque in the near distance and it was breathtaking; gleaming white in the morning sun.  The beauty of the architecture and the detail of the design and craftsmanship is mind boggling.  Not to wax poetic but words can’t begin to do the GM justice.

IMPORTANT NOTE: The UAE takes the dress code in the Mosque very seriously. Very.  Men need to wear long pants and long sleeves, women must be fully covered, including your head.  They do sell coverups outside the Mosque, but I understand they were very pricey.  So when you pack make sure to bring a scarf or plan on buying one in Oman.

Our next stop was the Royal Abu Dhabi Hotel.  With average room rates at $3000US/night (the Grand Suites sell for $30,000US/night (no, that’s not a typo).  Let’s just say this place exudes wealth.  Friends went for afternoon tea and spent $30US for 2 cappuccinos (one with gold flake on top - seriously!).  Oh, that price didn’t include the service charge or tax!  The hotel is owned by the Royal Family, so it’s not like they need the money.

Our third stop was the AD “Heritage Village”, a recreation of an historic Bedouin village from AD’s past that quite honestly this was a bit disappointing; shops selling local wares wasn’t what we were after.  People were buying things, so if that’s your thing you might enjoy it.

Fourth on our tour was a drive through the “wealthy” (haha!) part of AD on our way to a desolate area that is being developed as part of the Aby Dhabi 2030 master plan.  The neighborhood we drove through included the Royal Palace (well, one of them at least).  Suffice it to say AD has money.

Prior to being dropped off at the Louvre Abu Dhabi we stopped at the date market and sampled numerous types of dates (there were over 30 available) and were offered a traditional coffee brewed with saffron, turmeric and cardamom.  Interesting, but nothing I would want to bring back.  However we did buy a 1/2 kilo (1 lb) each of salted cashews and pistachios as well as chocolate covered dates.

As I just mentioned we asked to be dropped off at the Louvre AD.  The onboard speaker, Alessandra, held a talk on LAD and got us very excited to see it.  The structure itself is fascinating.  We opted to purchase the multimedia tour ($25US p.p., including admission).  You have several tour options from the whole collection to a 20 minute quick walkthrough.  We opted for the 60-minute overview, which was perfect for the amount of time we had.  Basically you go through each of the 12 “Chapters” (which is how the collection is arranged) and 2 pieces are discussed.  Truly we barely scratched the surface.

We hopped into a taxi and got back to the ship.  We missed lunch, so ordered room service.

At 6:00, the time we were scheduled to leave, they held a Seabourn Signature event: Deck Party with the ship’s officers and a farewell from the crew.  Plenty of nibbles available, cocktails and live music from the SB band.  Then came the farewell; always a sad moment in every cruise, but a great chance to cheer for all the wonderful people who made this voyage so spectacular.

After another delicious dinner in The Restaurant we enjoyed the final production show “It Takes Two” featuring the SB singers and dancers.  Great music and a lot of fun.

Today we’re in Sir Bani Yas (sp?) island, where SB is holding 2 Signature Events: Caviar in the Surf and Beach Barbecue.  I’ll recap those tomorrow, after we’ve disembarked 😔.

5 hours ago, Corony said:

Russg140 do they offer busses into Tel Aviv and Jerusalem from the ports or are we on our own to take tours or independent transportation into these places?  

Hmmm.

I know SB offers (paid) excursions to Jerusalem.  Tel Aviv I’m not sure about.  Haifa is a good distance to both.  Ashdod a little less so.

There were certainly plenty of taxis in every port who you can hire to take you there.

Hope that helps.

Russ

7 hours ago, fdnycruiser said:

I hope that you enjoy the Louvre,we were quite impressed. Nice to hear that you're enjoying the cruise so much. Definitely a great itinerary.

FDNY

Abu Dhabi was amazing, and we were lucky that, after our private tour, we are able to spend a couple of hours in the museum.  Others were only able to drive by.

The itinerary has beyond exceeded our expectations.  See notes about our experience below.

Russ

p.s.  Did you work for the FDNY?  We live in Hudson, which is the home to the FASNY Museum and Retirement community.

On 11/5/2018 at 8:28 PM, SLSD said:

Another great report russg140.  I enjoy these live reports most of all.  I've decided to take my laptop on our May cruise and do a live day by day report.  Narratives like yours have encouraged me.  Have a wonderful rest of your trip!  

 

(By the way, I'm like your husband and like table service best---even for breakfast.  I'm often one of the few in the MDR for breakfast, while my husband goes to "feed at the trough" as one of our past cruise friends put it!  I don't believe that--but heard him say it many times. ) 

 

 

SLSD

LOL!

i would agree with the “trough” analogy on every other cruise we’ve taken except this one.  I’ve yet to see some plate piled high to overflowing and plates with half the food still on it.  Since everything is so well prepared I think there is greater reluctance on guests part to waste it.

Russ

4 hours ago, frantic36 said:

 

Hi Russ,

 

Thanks for the extra information. I know in some ports drivers can find it hard to get port access, so if the driver is parked outside the gate is it far to walk to the gate and is this allowed or did you have to use a shuttle to get you to the gate?

 

I hope the last few days of the cruise have been good for you.

 

Julie

Julie

In both Aqaba and Salalah the distance was fairly substantial.  Additionally, the access to the port is very restricted so you wouldn’t be able to just walk in and out.

In Aqaba we had to take a shuttle bus to the visitors center about 15 minutes away. In Salalah another driver, who was aware of the situation, drove us to meet out driver.  Coming back, in Aqaba we hitched a ride with a (rather surprised looking) bus of German tourists to get back in the port.  In Salalah our driver had a flashing light that somehow gave him access.

I’ll be posting our (fantastic) visit notes from Abu Dhabi today.

Let me know if you have any other questions.

Thank you everyone for letting me know you’re out there 😁!

Yesterday we were in Muscat, Oman- our second Omani port.  We arrived late morning (around 10) and didn’t leave until 11:00p.m.

We took a SB excursion “Dolphin Watch and Snorkel”.  We were told repeatedly that seeing dolphins was not guaranteed.  Well, they were right; we didn’t see any.  In all honesty the Captain on the boat did look for 45 minutes, but the seas were fairly rough.  Not sure the water was conducive to dolphin watching.  Personally I thought we were going to be swimming in an area frequented by dolphins (how cool would that be?!).  My bad.  After searching we were taken to a sheltered cove and went snorkeling, which was pretty terrific, for about 45 minutes.

After a pretty bumpy ride we got back to the dock then on to the bus for the short ride to the ship with a quick stop to snap some photos of the Sultan’s Palace.  We were back onboard and having lunch at The Patio by 3:15, which was the time it seems all the other tours got back because it was really crowded.  Ordered a Napa burger, which was perfectly cooked, and afterward just chilled for the rest of the afternoon.

Our drive to the harbor took us past the souvenir shops, which we opted to pass on. I found out today, from a crew member who ventured into town, that there really wasn’t a lot to buy, unless you wanted an “Aladdin” style lamp.  Don’t know if the genie is included or extra - LOL!

The Colonnade has an Arabian Market dinner offered, but my husband prefers table service over buffets for dinner, so we enjoyed dining with some of our new friends in The Restaurant.

 I know I’ve mentioned the phenomenal service, but I also wanted to point out another area where Seabourn, or I should say Seabourn guests, really shines: Everyone is so friendly both staff and guests.  We’ve never been on a cruise where the guests almost always say hello or good morning, to a fault.  At night in the Observation Lounge there’s always a lot of laughter and camaraderie, which just makes things so much more fun.

Today was a relaxing day at sea, but we did attend the lecture by the onboard UNESCO Specialist on the Abu Dhabi Louvre.  It was an hour, but the lecturer (who we sat next to 2 nights ago at dinner), was so enthusiastic and energetic about the museum that I’m now really looking forward to going to see it.

We arrive tomorrow morning at 6:30 and are required to participate in a face to face meeting for immigration for the UAE.

Since we only have 3 days left - can you believe it?  I can’t!  I’m already putting my CC Review together in my head.  Also, I’ll be creating a YouTube video of the journey after we get home and will post a link for it here. Since there are SO many videos of the ship, the video will focus almost exclusively on the ports and excursions.

Hopefully I will have it done before the holidays.  You can check out videos from other cruises I posted by searching YouTube using Russ Gibson as the search term.

19 hours ago, basor said:

 

JMI - We were planning on going to Antarctica on a "smaller" ship but after comparing routing, time spent ashore in Antarctica, cabin, what is included in the price and the price......we chose to go on the Quest and it was the absolutely best decision.   We left Buenos Aires the middle of January for a 21 day cruise ending in Santiago.  When traveling to Antarctica , Quest only carries 380 passengers and has an expedition team of 12.  The enrichment lectures, the landings and the zodiac trips (now kayak too) were outstanding.  Our cruise on Seabourn was the same price as a 10-11 day cruise on a smaller ship and we spent 1 more day in Antarctica.  We also walked off the ship with no bill - so actually ended up being less expensive (no bar bill, no gratuities, etc.).   I encourage you to look at Seabourn when you begin your investigation of a trip to Antarctica.

Basor

We’ll definitely keep that in mind.  Thanks for your advice!  It seems that Antarctica is a/the new hotspot. So we’ll see where things stand in 2 years.

Russ

On 11/4/2018 at 4:56 PM, frantic36 said:

Enjoying your reports russg140. I haven't done this itinerary yet and I am especially interested in your experiences with private guides as we prefer to do private tours.

 

Julie

Julie

We’ve done two private tours so far with another one planned for tomorrow in Abu Dhabi (courtesy of our TA).  Both times we had the same issue: the driver we were using did not have authorization to enter the port, causing us a bit of angst.  Just confirm with whichever company you select that the guide will meet you AT the ship.  That will help you avoid any problems.

To be honest the SB tours we’ve done have been pretty good in general.  The overnight Jerusalem excursion was exceptional.

Russ

I am assuming that, even though nobody has responded to my posts, there are people that are interested in this journey.  But that’s just a guess.  So onward...

Yesterday we were in Salalah, Oman, with an early afternoon departure scheduled for 2:00.  We booked a private tour and our fingers were crossed that we would have a better experience than we had in Aqaba.  When we disembarked the Encore there was a man with our name.  Hooray!  Unfortunately he told us that he wasn’t our guide, but that our guide was waiting for us just outside the port as he didn’t have authorization to enter.  We met up with our guide, Ali, a short time later and for the next 4 hours we explored the seaside outside Salalah, the mountains and finally the city itself.

The scenery was really stunning: cliffs that cascaded into the sea, beautiful  sandy beaches with crystal clear water and camels, camels, camels!  Oman is a main supplier for the world’s frankincense, and a stop at the souk showed how much of it they have.  If you’re not familiar with frankincense just think of the incense that is used in most churches on high holy days.  That’s frankincense.

Now normally we don’t go in for the touristy souvenirs that scream “made in China”, but when in Rome...So we bought a gift set for a friend and one for us.  Not sure how often we’ll burn it, but we wanted to support the locals.  The sad thing was that the souk consisted of not just a few booths selling the stuff but row after row of essentially identical booths.  You could also find scarves and “perfume” and, of course, frankincense soaps, the latter of which we passed on not wanting to smell like church all.day - LOL!

Ali got us back to the ship on time and was able to get through security with no problem, driving us right to the gangplank.

AIDAvita was in port with us as they were in Aqaba.  Don’t know if they’re following the same route.

At 6:00 there was a showing of a movie produced for Seabourn highlighting Antarctica.  It was interesting but we will probably do that trip on a ship smaller than Seabourn Quest.

We introduced a couple of our new friends from Australia to sushi.  Again it was excellent.

In case I haven’t mentioned it I want to tell you how exceptional the service is on this ship.  We’ve heard some guests making some borderline outrageous requests or complaining about the most insignificant of issues (“the watermelon is too dry”, I kid you not).  Each request/complaint is met with a smile and an assurance that they will do what they can to make the guest happy.

We can see why Seabourn has such a loyal following.  They’ve certainly got us hooked!

Thanks for reading!

Today is our last day at sea before we arrive in Salalah, Oman.  Yesterday was Halloween, and there was a festive dance party in the Grand Salon (costumes optional).  We had a fun time dancing to the Seabourn singers and most of the crew in attendance were in costume.

We enjoyed dinner last night with new found friends from the Jerusalem overnight at The Patio.  It’s lovely eating outdoors and, as always, the service was excellent.  The previous night we dined in the Restaurant as the TK selections included an appetizer of Hudson Valley foils Gras.  Unfortunately they ran out of it.  The chicken, though, was outstanding.

Speaking of Thomas Keller; the general consensus among the friends we’ve met is that The Grill is nothing special, certainly no better than the Restaurant.  We have a reservation tonight which we were considering canceling, but we’ll try it again.  Of course I’m sure there are other guests who would disagree.  To each their own.

Any way, the sea today is almost flat and the sky is hazy.  Kind of eerie.

We’re on Encore right now and went to TK two nights ago.  The food was okay but nothing better than the Restaurant.  There were four of us; one had the Caesar salad (prepared table side, big deal) and Dover sole, another had crab cake and Dover sole, the third had shrimp cocktail and NY strip, and I had the globe artichoke and lamb chops.  The food was good not great.  What seems to fuel the interest in dining here is that you are limited to the number of times you can eat in TK, which creates a sort of exclusivity about it.

Desserts were here chocolate cake and coconut cake.  The icing on both was not buttercream or whipped cream - not really sure what it was.  Certainly not as good as the wonderful soufflé that are offered in the Restaurant.

The service was fine.

We have our second reservation in two days.  We’ll give it another shot.  Stay tuned...

Great comments all!  Thanks for your thoughts!

Today is our second Sea day, and we woke up to very hazy skies.

Last night’s dinner was great, although there must have been an issue in the galley as our entrees took a bit long to arrive.  No worries though as our wine glasses were kept filled and in no time we were enjoying another fantastic meal.

Encore is sailing at a very leisurely pace, 13 knots.  Seas are calm and there is very little breeze (see below).

Went to a lecture on the Rosetta Stone and Deciphering Egyptian Heiroglyphs.  Really interesting, but how much can you cover in an hour?  LOL!

Tonight is the second of two Formal nights, and were opting for the Sushi restaurant.  We’ll be in our tuxes (which you really only need for the main restaurant) but we figure we brought them so we might as well wear them.

As a p.s. to SBT

Ran into my friends who took the Wadi Rum excursion.  They weren’t offered champagne.  Instead they had coffee, tea, cookies and dates with the Bedouins.  Lots of flies.  They said they would rate it “barely fair “

Just FYI.