Ramblings from the Sailing the Suez Oct 26 to Nov 16th.

[Hambagahle]

Interesting to learn about the one way traffic...I have done the Panama canal but not the Suez!  Thanks for the clarification Belfasttaxman

 

flossie, thanks to you for the photos.  I think they are super.

[forgap]

Don’t they have a new canal that parallels the old one?

 

[SusieQft]

43 minutes ago, forgap said:

Don’t they have a new canal that parallels the old one?

 

 

They do in Panama. 

[forgap]

Ah ha!  I’m not as forgetful as I thought.  I remembered from a lecture on our cruise that every dredging vessel in the world was used for this project and it was completed in a year’s time.   Some very good aerial pics are here:  https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/87948/the-new-suez-canal
Ships are now able to travel in both directions.

[Hambagahle]

1 hour ago, forgap said:

Don’t they have a new canal that parallels the old one?

 

Not the Suez Canal... only Panama and there the cruise ships go via the old locks and not the new ones.

[forgap]

From the article:  The second image shows a detailed view of the old and new canals in 2016. Wakes behind the ships show that those on the left side cruise southward while ships on the right move north. The new section of two-way traffic shortens the time spent waiting for ships to pass in the opposing direction. According to the Suez Canal Authority, completion of the new canal meant waiting times would drop to 3 hours instead of 8 to 11 hours, and transit times through the canal would become 11 hours instead of 18 hours.

[Hambagahle]

Yes-but!  From what Flossie said this “passing section” is limited and is not the length of the entire canal.

 

panama - have built new locks to speed up traffic and that canal was anyway two directions at one time.  Even in the narrow area called “the cut” there was two way traffic.

[Caroldoll]

On 10/27/2019 at 3:47 PM, flossie009 said:

Thanks to Kathy for leading the blog on this segment of the cruise.

 

As we booked the two segments at different times, we could not secure the same suite; so yesterday we moved a few doors along the same deck.
It was all very straightforward with a steward moving all our belongings as soon as the new suite had been cleaned & made ready.

Some issues with recoding our keycards to match the new suite but soon sorted by reception & security.

About 95 guests are continuing from the last cruise to this one.

 

Today was a lazy sea day:

 

Traditional champagne & caviar Sunday breakfast then a well attended M&M late morning.

We joined a new Trivia team this afternoon, but did not score very well 😥

Due to the expected popularity of Trivia on the numerous sea days, the venue has been moved from the Observation Lounge to the theatre for this cruise.

 

Many guests dressed up for the Formal Optional night and Captain’s welcome reception.

As Kathy reported, service was slow in CR tonight; then we popped into the theatre to catch some of the visiting singer’s numbers.

 

Looking forward to Malta tomorrow 

 

 

Did they move everything for you and put it away, or did you have to help?

 

I hope we can get on a Trivia team.  I love it.  

[flossie009]

1 hour ago, Caroldoll said:

Did they move everything for you and put it away, or did you have to help?

We moved our valuables from safe to safe.

We also chose to put all our “bits & bobs” from around the suite into a case to make things straightforward.

The steward moved all clothing, shoes etc from closet to closet without the need to pack/unpack. 

All very simple.

[Caroldoll]

Thanks.  May have to do that someday

[flossie009]

For those that may be interested, the following has been the range of entertainment during this cruise:

 

Resident performers

Regent band (often mis-named as orchestra) - 5 piece

Production Cast - singers & dancers - cast of 12

Kathy - Pianist

Nature’s Rythm - trio

Plus Margaret (CD) and Marla (Social Hostess) also sing occasionally 

 

Visiting entertainers (usually two shows each)

Martin Beaumont - comic

Lisa Lawton - singer

Chris Ritchie - singer

Stephen Clark - Flautist

 

In Haifa a local folk group, the Halleluya Dance Troupe, came on board to present a show in the theatre (after the evening deck BBQ)

 

Lecturers

Hassan Eltaher (Middle East specialist)

Laurence Young (Professor of Astronautics)

Victoria Goldberg (Photo Historian)

 

[flossie009]

Hard working & cheerful crew members are always to be found around the ship doing all those jobs required to keep Voyager in good order and looking her best:

 

 

 

 

 

 

[1982CruzStart]

Beef carpaccio in CR last night. 

 

Chateaubriand 

 

Both were delicious.  

[flossie009]

Today we are in Sharm El Sheikh, the popular tourist destination at the southern tip of the Sinai Peninsula.

 

Some have opted for long tours today but we are staying on board this morning and will then take a short trip after lunch that includes a look underwater in a glass-bottomed boat.

[Hambagahle]

Hope you can take some photos of the underwater life...friends who go to Sharm in winter say that the marine life is abundant and very colourful.

[1982CruzStart]

Today is a self imposed 'sea' day.  We were supposed to go to St. Catherine's Monastery. I would have liked to see the countryside and the monastery but couldn't face the 7 hour round trip bus ride with only 2 hours of actual tour.

Here in Sharm el Sheikh it is the hottest day so far. Supposed to get to 88F/31C so we are not even going to take the shuttle into town. We are not beach people so no interest in going to a beach and not much into shopping either and those are really the only choices in town.  

Off to see the cruise consultant late this afternoon to see if we will book something for 2021 or early 2022.  If we think we will, the smartest thing to do is to book onboard, the savings and more importantly the reduced deposits make it a no brainer to book if you think you will want a cruise. The only cost is 200 if you end up canceling as a lot can happen in 2 years. 

[jimbri]

Beautiful photos!

[boblerm]

Susan, 

Thank you for your regognition of the unsung heroes earlier, whose hard work make our cruise experience that much more pleasant. 

Bob

[flossie009]

On 11/4/2019 at 11:25 AM, Hambagahle said:

Hope you can take some photos of the underwater life...friends who go to Sharm in winter say that the marine life is abundant and very colourful.

Our glass-bottomed boat trip was excellent. We saw many species of fish and beautiful corals (but difficult to photograph)

 

 

We then watched the sun sink over the bay:

 

 

 

[flossie009]

Today was the first of our two-day overland trip to Luxor. 
We saw wonderful things, and will no doubt see more tomorrow.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Hambagahle]

Fabulous photos - and thanks so much for the underwater one!  

[1982CruzStart]

I have been very remiss but tomorrow is another long day being off to Petra. Will do my best to catch up on our 4 days at sea. 

Overland to Luxor was great especially our time in the tombs today. 

Yeah old stuff. Love it.

[Hambagahle]

You are not remiss.  You are on a cruise to enjoy it and NOT on a cruise to”entertain” us. We can wait.  And we will.  Please enjoy every second and don’t be cncerned about us!!

[flossie009]

We thoroughly enjoyed our 2-day trip to Luxor.
Very poor Wi-Fi on the ship tonight so just a couple of images from inside the tombs we visited today. The artwork is truly stunning and remarkably well preserved.

 

 

 

 

.

As Kathy said, it is a busy day again tomorrow in Jordan, but hopefully we can catch up with further reports on our experiences during the 4 sea days that follow.

 

[ronrick1943]

Wow, very nice photos, looking forward to more---looks like you're having a great trip.