frantic36

So happy you are able to stay onboard and finish the cruise. Good luck with your shopping for some loose fitting tops. You probably already know this but always put the affected arm into the clothes first. Capes are still in fashion so that may help to put over your clothes and allow you to eat outside.

Hi marazul, was busy on my return to Australia with multiple annual health checks and also training to do a 35km charity walk a few weeks after my return. I must admit I wasn't sure I would make the 35kms but I did and it only took me 24 hours to recover. 😀 Cruise was good and we enjoyed the ports.

@Fletchercould you share the name of your driver to visit this Villa please? When we do our Sojourn cruise next September we have a port day in Civitavecchia and this sounds like an ideal way to spend it. After our cruise this year we stayed in Tivoli for two nights and visited Villa D'Este so it would be nice to visit and compare. Julie

Agreed, but the very minor issues we had on Sojourn we still had a wonderful holiday and are looking forward to our next cruise. We do know some of the experienced crew on Sojourn were going to Quest for the Grand Voyage in January. Hopefully we will see them then.

@Fletcherthank you for your wonderful prose and ability to paint a picture. I am so glad you enjoyed Melilla and agree St Raphael was a small gem as well.

Lola, I will wait until I board Quest in January and make up my own mind. I didn't come back to this board while on my holiday because to be honest prior too and during my holiday too many seemed to be complaining or looking for drama. It was not my experience on Sojourn and it was disheartening to speak to experienced crew who said they try to avoid coming here of the other site because they feel no matter how much they try the comments online were disheartening. Was everything perfect, not always but mostly. We actually found most of the time the food was very good and service also. We had some issues with slow service some nights but that has happened before and on other cruise lines. We have stayed at a few five star hotels over the last 18 months and all have an issue with staffing. To be honest we have a cruise coming up on Regent next year and after being used to the more democratic atmosphere on Seabourn even though we have a Penthouse Suite I am thinking it may be one and done. Julie

I feel the quality of food and service has been very good. I'm sorry I won't give star ratings as I feel food is very subjective and I don't eat breakfast or dessert. For example we have only dined once in Earth & Ocean because for us the menus don't appeal that much. However I know others on this board and others cruising Sojourn at the moment love it. I will say the Indian feast in Colonnade was the best I have had on Seabourn because the head chef is Indian and really does his spices well. This was the fish of the day - Spiced Semolina Coated grilled Coal Fish with fresh beans and curry sauce. The accompanying side dishes were very good:

Very true. Also for us there is the issue of foreign transaction fees with our bank, so one final transaction works better for us.

I do remember you mentioning this to me and I thought it was sensible and tried to follow the same pattern. I must admit to not being as vigilant at the moment though as we are planning to go to the MDR tonight for formal night. Rightly or wrongly I feel much safer post recovery from Covid plus having our fourth injection recently. We are also highly unlikely to be passing anything on. Though I still try to avoid large groups of people.

Melilla, Spanish Morocco - The Citadel and Conventico Caves It was our first day of freedom with both testing negative. We boarded the bus as you had to take a tour bus or shuttle bus in the port area. We were asked to wear a mask by a Seabourn Rep which we did but when we boarded most other passengers weren't doing so and they were older and supposedly wiser. So I understand Seabourn's reluctance not to get into a fight with them. Our tour guide Jennifer was excellent and had a lot of knowledge. There was an extra guide Laura who helped one older lady who was on the tour to assist walking the multiple stairs. The older lady was very determined and I admire her resilience but the next day when my calf muscles were complaining I did hope she was okay. Melilla is a fascinating town wedged as it is next to Morocco and only 12km wide. They celebrate 525 years of existence next year. As you can see in the above picture it has been built as a fortress city but the beach is also nice. It had a small but interesting military history museum.The side streets were lovely but quiet on this hot Sunday morning. The Conventico Caves were tunnelled into the underground of the Citadel for storage and was used as a refuge for the population of Melilla during the siege by the Sultan of Morocco between 1774 and 1775. I would recommend this tour but do be aware when they say strenuous they do mean strenuous.

I am sorry you also got sick and hope you feel better soon and test negative soon. We went through the Guest Services Manager when we were uncertain whether we would be able to do the private cars we had booked. I ended up cancelling the day before Tangier as I decided by the time we had our test and got our result it would have been a rush to do the drive to "The Blue City" which was 2 hours away. They refunded our money straight away onto our cruise account. We weren't concerned that it wasn't straight back to our bank account as we weren't desperate for it and are used to similar happening when we stay at hotels and they take a bond.

Hi Fletcher, Yes it is Portoferraio today but we are only here until 2pm so will get of soon for a quick walk around. We did a tour in Melilla and enjoyed it. That was what I was trying to post pictures for. Our guide for The Citadel was excellent but the other tour, that was a small walking tour, apparently the guide was not good and passengers got their money back. Will try to post photos of our tour later.

Paula as Australians we don't have access to the online testing g anyway so we just got it done at a pharmacy in Rome. Our Hotel told us the closest one and we went there, we didn't need a booking. We got the results 20 minutes later via email. It was a bit tricky for us to get the certificate as in Italian so the hotel sorted it and printed us a paper copy. But the testing at the pharmacy was fine, you just needed to fill out the form. Talking about masks when we were there two weeks ago in Rome when you go into the pharmacy, even to buy something simple, everyone wears a mask. They frown at you if you aren't. On the ship all the crew where a mask apart from those constantly working outside in Patio area. Between 90-95% of passengers are not wearing a mask so I don't know how the ship is supposed to enforce everyone to wear them. Passengers push back about not wearing things like shorts and jeans in the MDR. I know the seating hostess finds that is the most exhausting part of her job. So trying to enforce everyone wear a mask when inside, which is only a suggestion not a requirement, would be impossible. For the one tour we did in Spanish Morocco before boarding the Seabourn team member asked people did they have a mask before boarding the bus. My husband and I wore ours but out of the other dozen people only 2 or 3 others did, and these were all people older than us apart from one young man. From what I have read on the other luxury boards it sounds like it is similar on other ships.

Thanks for the concern we are fine though I must admit one late night a couple of days ago wiped me out for a day or so. It was after we had spent most of the day in Cartagena in 40C heat. I think Covid wore me out more than I expected. That coupled with my frustration due to having trouble getting the orientation correct with photos. I have tried a few ideas I have read on CC for orientation but it isn't working. I will try again tomorrow. Stayed onboard today as change over day and we have been here many times. Julie

We are on Sojourn at the moment and have had no upsell pressure from the Sommelier the few days we were out on the ship. At Colonnade at lunch yesterday for about 1 hour there was a table set up with some wine and two assistant sommeliers where you could sign up for a degustation lunch next sea day. This wasn't what I call a pressure sale as you actually had to stop and ask about it, they didn't approach you at all.

What exactly are you meaning by your firsthand experience? From our firsthand experience Seabourn are being very cautious. The weak link is other passengers. For example we noticed a lot of people disembarking to board buses in Tangier wearing masks but about third and we saw a lot of people getting off. I asked the Guest Services Manager as I wondered if this was an indication of more Covid onboard. She said no, it is because Tangier requires masks on all tour buses. So I am wondering just how many tried to avoid wearing a mask even on the bus?

We do as well and are sad she isn't onboard. Good news...Keith has tested negative as well today. Even the head nurse was surprised because luck hadn't been going our way. So we will be able to go explore the Citadel caves in Melilla, Spanish Morocco.

Though I agree there is no legal requirement to check flights and check in early, in the current climate with multiple flight cancellations daily I think it is a wise idea to check the day before a flight and even the morning of. BA especially have had many cancellations so for my own peace of mind I would check. Even pre-Covid I have had late changes to planes and once ended up in Economy instead of Business class. Thankfully it was only a 4.5 hour flight. I have also had cancellations/changes though thankfully not often. That isn't to say Regent have dropped the ball in responding to and dealing with the Author's issues and yes they should get a refund. However in today's chaotic travel world " never assume anything" would be my mantra.

Thanks Everyone. @SLSD I must admit I had a little cry this morning. I spilt the milk when I was putting it back on the breakfast tray and in Tangier I had booked a private car to take us to the Blue City in the mountains so I was sad to miss that. Seabourn were quick to refund the money to our account. I'm fine now. 🙂

Today's update: We are in Tangier today and my view is of the ocean and the dock. There was a lot of buses lined up this morning and a few private cars. It is actually quite relaxing to hear the ocean and even the occasional squawk of the seagulls. I have now tested negative but Keith is still positive so I will stay in the cabin with him. Hopefully we will both be negative tomorrow. Julie

I knew I could rely on you all to help 🙂. Thank you @marazul for the detailed explanation. That looks delicious but I will have to see if he can do it for lunch as I am not a breakfast person. I am just having yoghurt these mornings. That dinner at Le Gavroche was wonderful, I still recall the shallow, flat pan soufflé being very special. Well your talk to the judge didn't help, we are still positive so here we stay. That's okay we are accumulating lots of FCC and there is a cruise next year that goes to similar ports. We will speak to the Cruise Specialist when we get out. I think I will blow the diet and have a burger today rather than salad. Gibraltar is hot and humid today and when we arrived the Rock had a table cloth on it. It reminded me of seeing a similar table cloth on Table Mountain in CapeTown. Julie

Thank you Mauzac. I have been trying google search with no success. We have looked at a couple of cruises for August/September next year that returns to the places we miss on this year. When we get to Cadiz I will surely ask at the tourist bureaux. Tonight for dinner we had the Chef's special. As I mentioned a few days ago he is Indian and his Indian food does not disappoint. It had wonderful spice without blow your mind chilli. The mango chutney and raita included photo wouldn't upload properly but they were delicious . CHEF’S SPECIAL – HYDERABADI CHICKEN BIRYANI raita, papadum, mango chutney

Thanks @Lois Rand @Lirio We are resigning ourselves to maybe being here until Day 10 where we then get a pass as a persistent positive and get a certificate of recovery. We have found a similar cruise we can do next year which would allow us to see the places we miss. Lirio, I might take you up on your offer for your ideas for Rio next February. Julie

Just an update re our Quarantine on our cruise. They came and tested us at 8am this morning and we were still positive. So we are still in our cabin. They will come and test us again tomorrow morning at 8am.

Thanks Fletcher. I have a question for yourself or anyone else with knowledge of Cadiz. What is this statue called and why is it atop this building? I can see it directly from my balcony. Julie