Live from the Pride

[mariners]

You've brought back wonderful memories for me, RHN. Thank you.

 

clarky, I hope that you are still having a great time.

[MillieMeter]

Hi Nancy!

 

Indeed we are neighbors as I am an Alabamian. I am so enjoying your trip. I love every description and every detail as I am vicariously on your cruise.

 

We never thought cruising would be for us but all it took was one Seabourn adventure and I was ready to give up any other kind of travel. My husband enjoys travel only to the extent that I plan it (with a TA holding my hand) and tell him where and when he is going. He will protest a little--knowing that I will not give in-- then once we leave the house he gets into the groove and has a great time.

 

I want to also get on the band wagon and ask you to give our regards to Connie and Niels. Just tell Connie it's from the guy who had a big crush on her because she sang Patsy Cline songs for him! We both have white hair and southern accents. BTW they have CD's of some of their songs for sale--ask them about buying one if you are interested. Also don't miss their Name That Tune night! It is great fun.

 

Please keep up the reports as I have several months before I can board another Seabourn ship. I need my daily dose Seabourn updates.

 

Keep having fun and keep posting!

 

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

[Chairsin]

Millimeter,

 

I am with you -- I call Seabourn the anti-cruise!

[juicyjuju]

Loving the live updates! Thanks for sharing with us. Who is the Captain on board?

[redheadednancy]

Juicyjuju: The captan is Vagn Jensen. He is very nice and very visible on ship. I had heard that no one saw him much but he seems to be out a lot to me. We had dinner with him and he was very personable.

 

I think Clarky is fine. She had a bad day or two of not feeling well but I saw her at lunch yesterday and she was on the mend.

 

Today is our fourth sea day in a row. All have been wonderful. Staying up late, sleeping in and generally doing nothing but being pampered. It's a hard life! Aaron our assistant CD put on a show in the Magellan Lounge one day. It was outstanding. It was titled..."I haven't met you yet" and he did the song plus everything from Johnny Cash to closing with Bocelli's "Time to Say Good-by" Very versatile and he got a standing "O". We had the Rock the Boat Show last night and deck barbecue. Food was wonderful as usual and we left as soon as Danielle quit her lovely guitar dinner music and the young folks (fifty-ish types) started all the noise and dancing with rock the boat! We needed to retire before midnight anyhow!

 

Liars Club was a lot of fun too...we came in second! Trivia has a nice group but our team is still holding on to last place. Sitting in the Veranda for lunch and watching the world go by is a several hour occupation! Nice breeze. Weather never changes, 90, hot and humid and from sunny to partyly cloudy. Seas are perfectly calm. Lots of whales to be sighted and we have seen quite a few.

 

We are in the Arabian Sea (Persian Sea). Just passed Siri Lanka yesterday and the Maldives today. Many small fishing boats and other container ships. It's not a deserted ocean at all but the barbed wire, etc. is out for prevention and I notice the Captain zig-zags away from any small boat that is even remotely close to us. We feel very safe. I know there are other security measures in place we don't know about yet.

 

Yesterday at 4 was the fashion show. It was really cute and fun in the Constellation Lounge. I was one of the five guest models and they did our hair and make-up. Several of the entertainment staff modeled and of course Aaron the Assistant CD (He's a former gymnast so he did a hand stand on the way in) one of the staff from the engine room was complete in dress pants, shirt and sport coat on his shoulder and a spiky-haired member (Bennie) of the Seabreeze Band wore a very debonair white yachting style outfit and really did a great job. They had all the young folks in those high stilettos (Van Anh, our classicial pianist who has great legs had short shorts and the heels.) Everyone wore the REAL jewelry on board. I had only about $6,000 on but some were in the $20's. It was funny, fun and everyone had a little champagne beforehand and was very relaxed!

 

I missed the cooking demo yesterday that Chef Christian did because getting ready for fashion show but everyone said great. Lecture this morning by Geoff DeVito "My, My Mangalore and Marmagao and Mumbai" and this afternoon Richard Wilson is doing "A Passage to India". THis afternoon is Team Water Balloon Throwing Contest"

 

This is the first time we have been on since the new loyalty program started. Love the laundry!! I filled my bag full and 48 hours later all underwear came back neatly folded and all shirts on hangers and my white cotton pants had been pressed. I was impressed. Great job in Seabourn style!!

 

We have been looking at future cruises on the little ships. I think I want to go through the Corinth Canal for the last time and then some of the Greek Isles where you can go right in and of course my last Ephesus. It would have to be on the Legend as we are looking at fall of 2014. It is said that this group on here will move to the Legend...Jan., Aaron, etc, but that is a goodly time away so who knows. Someone said last night that Captain Anderson had AGAIN come out of retirement and will be on the Quest...never know how accurate information is.

 

Have to get into my "busy" day. More from Mangalore India tomorrow! Goa the next day and two days in Mumbai after that!

[redheadednancy]

Any one joining the Pride in Athens? Your comments are great. My sister and I are looking forward to again sailing on the Pride.:D We love the small ships and are already looking for another sailing before they join Windstar. Look forward to meeting you all if you are still on in Athens.

We get off in Athens but there are two couples getting on in Dubai that are continuing on. They started a thread, so look on the Roll Calls for the Pride.

[clarky]

Thank you Mariners we are having a wonderful time. The food and service have been fantastic. Our last port of Sebang seems a distance memory as this is now our fourth sea day. Sebang was a high light for us. The whole town turned up to see our ship sail into port. They even bought a bus load of school children to greet us. I have some great pictures and I will post the link to our gallery. The gallery will be by port and then on board ship. Feel free to have a look. It is much easier than posting individual links to pictures.

 

We like to participate as much as possible in the events on sea days. My husband won 1st prize and I 2nd in Baggo. Unfortunately we did not do as well in golf but our traveling companions made up for us by winning both 1st and 2nd prize yesterday and today. I would love to say we are doing as well in Trivia but after a flaming start our light is swiftly fading. We are now in third place. Today will be the last day of our first Trivia game and I think we may have to bet the lot to have a remote chance of a win. It has been great fun though.

 

Last night was rock the boat and it was a very balmy night. Lots of dancing by guests and a great show.

 

I heard this morning that a fishing boat came a bit too close to the ship and the bridge warned the vessel that if it came any closer or stopped it would be fired upon. Will try and get confirmation of this. We now have barbed wire at the back of the ship and safety is being taken very seriously. Yesterday we were treated to a whale and dolphin show. The sea was so calm and the dolphin were swimming very close to the ship. We also saw flying fish. The sea as I mentioned is so clam and so blue. Having all these sea days in a row really makes me feel that I'm on an ocean adventure.

 

Please feel free to check out our gallery. We have pictures of the ports we have stopped in and also pictures on board the ship

 

http://freenet-antennas.com/v-web/gallery/v/Cruise2013/

[seabournaddict]

thanks to clarky and RHN for your reports on my favourite ship! Have looked at the photos clarky, are there only 2 onboard or am I missing something?. signed "your vegemite friend" nudge nudge. ;);)

[clarky]

Latest news from the Pride. The Captain just made an announcement that the bridge has spotted a sinking boat and we were slowing down to inspect and make sure there was no-one on board. My husband went to the observation bar (outside) to have a look. He said he had never seen passengers move so swiftly up the stairs.

 

The Captain just announced that it looked like the vessel had been in the water for some time but would contact local authorities to report his finding in case a missing person case had been reported.

 

We are now back on track to our next port. Sorry about the lack of pictures on board. Our traveling companions normally take the on board photos. I will ask my husband to take a few more. I will certainly get him to take a picture of the Indian night were most passengers dress in the sari's they have bought while in Mumbai. Not the men of course. Not sure what they will wear.

 

Here are some pictures of the sinking boat.

[PrincessCruiser]

Nancy-Your updates are great! They are really getting me excited about our upcoming 10 days on the Quest beginning May 3. Tell Bob I think he needs to surprise you with a little bling from the "world" jewelry collection. Enjoy the warm weather. It's 29 degrees in Nashville this morning.

Jamey

[CraftyEC]

Thanks to both Clarky and RHN for their updates. If we can't have our wish of being on board then the next best thing is these entertaining updates.

 

I'm glad that the boat which was spotted was thought to be a serious incident, but I'm pleased the captain took the trouble to find out and is following it up.

 

Now I just have to continue to contain my excitement until the Quest in late October :(

[kiltie]

Hello again Nancy and Clarky - so looking forward to Dubai. Can either of you tell me if there are pilates or zumba classes being offered at the moment? If not, what fitness classes are there? Also, Nancy, save me some Bailey's as the Legend ran out (shock, horror!!) last year. Make sure the bar manager stocks up in Dubai!!

 

So enjoying your posts - keep it up and enjoy India!

[Host Dan]

Hello again Nancy and Clarky - so looking forward to Dubai. Can either of you tell me if there are pilates or zumba classes being offered at the moment? If not, what fitness classes are there? Also, Nancy, save me some Bailey's as the Legend ran out (shock, horror!!) last year. Make sure the bar manager stocks up in Dubai!!

 

So enjoying your posts - keep it up and enjoy India!

I have a feeling that Dubai is not a port where you'd "stock up" on alcohol! ;) :D

 

Host Dan

[English Tim]

i have a feeling that dubai is not a port where you'd "stock up" on alcohol! ;) :d

 

host dan

 

:d:d:d:d

[kiltie]

I have a feeling that Dubai is not a port where you'd "stock up" on alcohol! ;) :D

 

Host Dan

 

OK - very funny. Point taken! How, then, do Royal Caribbean and Costa get supplies when they use Dubai as their hub?:confused:

[stamfordian]

I have a feeling that Dubai is not a port where you'd "stock up" on alcohol! ;) :D

 

Host Dan

 

Ever been there Dan?

[Host Dan]

Ever been there Dan?

No, just trying to make things light... :)

 

Host Dan

[redheadednancy]

Hello again Nancy and Clarky - so looking forward to Dubai. Can either of you tell me if there are pilates or zumba classes being offered at the moment? If not, what fitness classes are there? Also, Nancy, save me some Bailey's as the Legend ran out (shock, horror!!) last year. Make sure the bar manager stocks up in Dubai!!

 

So enjoying your posts - keep it up and enjoy India!

I will check. I know there is yoga and stretching, etc and I think Pilates. I wish rumba but none of that. New fitness instructor, Simon, from Ireland. He's good but sells a package, not cheap.

 

Interesting the ship RAN OUT OF POPCORN after for the lat week for trivia!!! So sad but the curry pretzels were delis also. Just missed the popcorn. Having my Baileys now as we dock. in Mangalore. Pilot just came aboard. We have to go to lounge with copies of visa and passports and have a face to face inspection so I had better get going. Your would think India was the most "desirable" country to live in the hoops you have to jump through.

[D999]

Thank you for your fantastic updates Clarky and Nancy. We're looking forward to joining the Pride in July for our very first (not just Seabourn) cruise and your reports are making me very impatient.

With you both posting reports while onboard how are you finding the internet connection? As a fellow West Australian Clarky, you may sympthise with me on this but my other half is very keen to get footy results as they happen and I am sure he will be very grumpy if that doesn't happen!

Hope you had a great day onshore.

[redheadednancy]

Thank you for your fantastic updates Clarky and Nancy. We're looking forward to joining the Pride in July for our very first (not just Seabourn) cruise and your reports are making me very impatient.

With you both posting reports while onboard how are you finding the internet connection? As a fellow West Australian Clarky, you may sympthise with me on this but my other half is very keen to get footy results as they happen and I am sure he will be very grumpy if that doesn't happen!

Hope you had a great day onshore.

I find it slow but its just the satellite. My computer saves all the time because it does kick me off frequently and then I get back on right away. I take the unlimited internet pkg that is $399...if you are in owners suite or I think have like 300 days you can pick it for free I think. We are in calm waters and it seems to be performing well overall. In New Zealand etc and that area last year I had a lot of problems of missing it for a day or so. Great day in Mangalore. I will post more later as am sure Clarky will. She takes great pictures. Saturday is Indian Night...the end of Mumbai...and we all will wear what we bought!! I am sure she will take pictures!

[English Tim]

I find it slow but its just the satellite. My computer saves all the time because it does kick me off frequently and then I get back on right away. I take the unlimited internet pkg that is $399...if you are in owners suite or I think have like 300 days you can pick it for free I think. We are in calm waters and it seems to be performing well overall. In New Zealand etc and that area last year I had a lot of problems of missing it for a day or so. Great day in Mangalore. I will post more later as am sure Clarky will. She takes great pictures. Saturday is Indian Night...the end of Mumbai...and we all will wear what we bought!! I am sure she will take pictures!

 

At that price, I think I'll make do with wi-fi ashore, like the crew! My wife will be delighted if I'm not forever on the 'net'!

[kiltie]

No, just trying to make things light... :)

 

Host Dan

 

So was I!!

[redheadednancy]

At that price, I think I'll make do with wi-fi ashore, like the crew! My wife will be delighted if I'm not forever on the 'net'!

You won't have an easy time finding places offshore in this part of the country. It's not like the Med, etc. or Europe. However, we are on so much with family that it pays for us. We are also on ship 42 days so that makes a difference. They have smaller packages that work for people on shorter cruises and you can compose offline and then send, so there are definitely ways to do it cheaper. This just makes life easier for us when we are on more than 30 days....and we usually always are!

[wripro]

Nancy,

 

Just fyi you only need 250 days to get free internet.

[clarky]

Hi D999,

 

My husband buys the unlimited package as he need to keep in touch with his business. He has found the internet to be fast compared to previous cruises. He says it is plenty fast enough for him to do his work. Go the Dockers!!! I understand your husbands need to keep up with the football scores.

 

We had one of the best tasting menu dinners at 2 last night. The night have been balmy but with a gentle breeze eating outside in the evening has been wonderful. I don't normally like to make a fuss about being Gluten intolerant as I usually leave the bread alone and order food that I know does not contain gluten and on board this ship it is very easy. Last night at 2 they had these little bread rolls and one of our friends happen to ask what they were. Rice flour rolls. Yeah I could eat them, when they staff found out that I was gluten intolerant they adapted my menu for me. How considerate. The wine as I have mentioned has been very good this cruise much better than previous cruises.

 

We had lunch with the HOTMAN Manfred yesterday and he is a very charming man. He worked on the Europa for many years and is very experienced. He is every where as is the Captain.

 

On a darker note. We heard from many guests who went on one of the tours yesterday of an event that gave them a terrible shock. They thought the bus driver they had was a reckless driver but that proved to be true when he hit a pedestrian. They felt an awful thud and then the bus stopped. A couple of guests got off the bus, one being a doctor and put the man in the recovery position. He was quickly whisked away to a local medical centre. The bus driver and passengers followed and were delayed about an hour at the centre. The tour guide came back on to the bus and said that god was with them that day as the man (a drunk) had minor injuries. The bus driver then proceeded to drive one handed while yelling into his mobile phone. I think they were all glad to be back on board the ship but it left them all feeling unsettled.

 

We had a lovely day in port. We took the shuttle into the city centre and then took an auto- rickshaw around the sights. We paid $6.00 including a $2.00 tip and had a wonderful tour, including the back streets of Mangalore. No drunks were run over!