Yaya_in_Oz

Some recent Patters

I hadn’t even thought of it before but some folks like to book a hotel on these overnight stops and do their own thing. Great idea if you can afford it!

Apparently one port required passports so to avoid confusion or inconvenience it was decided it was best we carry original passport. Visby is a hidden gem. I walked a bit in the old walled town then went on ships excursion to old country church, coastal fishing village, interesting boat shaped grave, stone gallows and another walk visiting landmarks in the old town. Fog horn went most of the night or so it seemed, every couple of minutes. I went outside about 2 am and it was foggy. About 5 am You could see the houses etc. on islands that were very close so looking forward to sail away when I should be wide awake. Recent Patters

We had immigration on the ship in Cobh as previously mentioned. Word went out rather late in Zeebrugge so some on shore excursions had to reboard to get their passports. We have been asked to carry them at every port since although they have never been checked. I’ll ask why at some stage. I’m over on the Suomenlinna Fortress giving my ankles a break from the cobblestones. 17K steps in Riga yesterday mainly on cobblestones and Tallinn tomorrow… more cobblestones! Am I having fun yet 😄!

Tomorrows Patter

June 10. I'd not been to Amsterdam so booked on the ships tour of Amsterdam on your own plus Canal Cruise. It rained the whole time except for most of the canal cruise. Cold and a bit windy. By the time we arrived back at the terminal it was blowing a gale and walking the few hundred meters from the terminal to the ship was an obstacle course. At one point I was blown off my feet into a stack of wooden crates (not too hard). Deck 4 was open but they wouldn't let me on pointing me to a ramp further down the ship. I just said well thats not fair but thats not what I was thinking! To get there I had to walk through puddles and arrived back at my cabin looking and feeling worse than the wreck of the Hesperus. My steward said 'are you all right, you're soaking wet. I was wearing an emergency poncho which kept my stuff and torso dry but my hair and feet were dripping. A lady walking near me thought it was a good idea to use an umbrella. Needless to say most things she had blew away but as luck would have it the prevailing wind was blowing towards the cruise terminal and not the water. Another lady who was doing her best to shelter herself walked too near the dock and got roused at. Thats all I saw but you get the drift. I guess they weren't allowed for security reasons to let the bus drive onto the dock and pull up in front of the ramp. The IJMuiden Cruise Terminal is about 1 hr from Amsterdam and not easy to get to by public transport, so I would recommend a tour or on your own with the ship. As it was there were 4 people who tried to get on our bus who had gone independently. Luckily, the guide sorted it all out. My bus was full and a couple had to split up with one going on another bus so no room for stowaways as the guide put it. Anyway, June 11 was another day. I was so happy my shoes had dried overnight and I didn't have to attack them with a hairdryer and I felt a lot better too. Coming up now, we have 6 port days. 5 I have been to before so if the weather is like that again I won't be spending much time onshore if at all. But there is always something new. Tomorrow we are in Riga and I haven't seen the Art Nouveau buildings or the KGB museum. I'll see how far I get with that. Anyway, busy, busy. A couple or recent Patters.

Close enough. Its the Bad Doberan Minster, the largest of the Cistercian churches in Europe, about 20 km from Warnemunde. The pic is almost taken in real time. I went there yesterday on a shore excursion. No wonder I thought I'd stepped into the Temple of Time😄. We then went for a ride on Molli ending up in the seaside town of Kuhlungsborn with its quaint beach baskets. Your turn

Yes, its in the North. You are less than 200 km away now!

Try the other end of the country.

Not Munich and not a major city.

Yes, its somewhere in Germany.

Not Ireland but in Europe

I thought I was in Hyrule at first🤣. No such luck but it was pretty good anyway.

Miners Memorial, Broken Hill.

June 6 at sea. I was informed by letter my immigration time was 7.30 am! Seriously. I haven't been up that early in days. Apparently some people got 12.30 pm. Not sure how they worked it out but it only took a few minutes. No lines at that time. The ports will be coming thick and fast now. Very chilly today so I might need some warmer clothing tomorrow when I venture over to Spike Island. I've been to Cobh twice before and the surrounding area by land travel so its time I went over there.

June 5 at sea. Had a medivac this evening. A short while after asking people, particularly after on the Port side to stay off the open decks and off their balconies, the Captain in a terse tone told the people on the Port side "to go back to their rooms, shut their balcony doors, Now!" Some people, at best, were acting like school kids wanting to take pictures of the helicopter and see what was going on. They weren't asked to shut the curtains. You would think common sense would prevail as anything could be thrown around and why would you make a difficult situation, more difficult. I'm on the Starboard side so didn't hear anything.

June 4 , I took the ships excursion for a walk through the medina and a visit to the museum, refreshment stop at the Intercontinental hotel and then a visit to St Andrews Anglican Church. I had been to Tangier years ago, the vendors were no where near as pushy as before or perhaps now I'm much older they know I don't want to hoard junk! and don't bother. A few postcards and a fridge magnet are my regular souvenir staples, You can walk through the medina yourself but I was so thankful for the guide's helper as there are a lot of steps and no rails to hang onto so he took my arm in places to stop me falling head first onto concrete! Very warm day.

On June 2, I went on the ships excursion to Mogan with a brief stop at Maspalomas dunes. You can't walk on the dunes as they are protected and roped off but some people do 🙄. In Mogan I enjoyed wandering around and taking pics of whitewashed buildings with hanging bougainvillea. I could have chosen an excursion with more substance but I'd been to Gran Canaria before, Our departure was delayed 2h as the divers were still down cleaning the hull.

I too got the e-mail reconfirming my trips on the Explorer (Melb-Freo-Exmouth) Jan/Feb 2025. So yes, another once, never to be repeated cruise. It doesn't mention where the Explorer is going after it sails out of Australian waters....perhaps off the edge of the Earth. I just assume that Melbourne won't have any cruise ships home-porting there. But who knows. The cruise lines seem to be chopping and changing things around at a rapid rate of knots with less than a years notice. Anything is possible. If I want a short break, as I'll need to go to the airport anyway, I may as well just go for a week to a Pacific island. I do have family in Brisbane so could cruise from there now and again but on Carnival? I feel a headache coming on 🙃. I'm just so glad I got to do all these great cruises in the past year before all these adverse (to me) changes come in.

This is the Port info we were given, a bit light on for info for some of them, but the destination expert Luka does go into more detail in his talks which are available on the TV to refer to. He's also available to answer questions each day. I must say his photos are a cut above other experts, probably a cut above most people and I look at them and think "oh, I must go there". I have only been to 2 of the actual ports before but have been to just over half of the places on land travel. A couple of recent patters.

I did plan to get off in Walvis Bay but.... In Cape Verde, I actually managed 20K steps. with no ill effects the next day. That was good for me as I usually do about 15-17K steps when in port. So I haven't atrophied at sea 😄 I know I could walk round and round the Promenade deck or go in the Gym but thats not for me. Too much of a chore. I've included a few pics of my walkaround and one from Mount Verde when I went on the island drive.

I was watching the ceremony which started around noon. Even if you'd stayed in bed I think they'd give you are certificate. Those watching still participate by calling out 'guilty' ra ra etc. We actually crossed the Equator around 7am. This photo was taken at 6:48 am at 0.03 degrees S, so near enough. I was too busy with selfies after that🤣. I know, how old am I! .....And breakfast at 0.01 degrees N at 7 am.

Well, a line of 10 sea days in a row is about to come to an end, which is a record for me. Its been OK. I've made use of my balcony. Did some of the activities, talks and shows. I have my laptop with its user friendly screen and plenty of programs to entertain and have been working through the destinations and read a 400 pp book. All good. I just got back some laundry this morning thats been on the go for 8 days. Apparently, there are 801 of us that as the FCCord put 'don't know where the laundry is' so we probably all put it out at once. One couple told me they pack a collapsible bucket in case they do laundry. Never heard of it. Apparently you get them in Aldi. I say bring on the ports. I tend to go for half day excursions so I can get in about half a day of wander time, my favourite. Included are the last 2 day Patters and the certificate they present you with for Crossing the Equator. I hope to get a matching one on the Diamond in a couple of months.

After leaving Walvis Bay around 7pm we went a short distance to an anchor point and the bunkering took place there, a short distance from the wharf. Apparently, the Walvis Bay authority would not allow any bunkering while the ship was alongside the wharf during the day. I think they did do some bunkering in Cape Town as well but I was off the ship and also on the mountainside so didn't notice but it makes sense as they ship had come all the way from Mauritius. Bunkering would have been done while ship was at the terminal as we didn't stop anywhere.

We are pretty much sailing in a straight line from Walvis Bay to Cape Verde. Smooth seas and great sunny weather. The Officer on the Bridge in his daily midday update yesterday said we would be crossing the prime meridian at 5.15 pm later in the day. We are still about 5 degrees S so we won't be anywhere near Null Island. Thanks for the info, I'd never heard of it before.