Live from the Cloud - Sailing Arabia Deserta from Muscat to Athens

[BritishAccent]

Enjoying your reports immensely, thank you. My husband and I will be on the Cloud in October “transiting” the Panama Canal as part of an expedition cruise to Peru. It will be our first Silversea voyage after a number of wonderful Regent cruises and we would love to hear more about the ship, the SS cruise experience, the food, etc. Both good and bad would be appreciated. Already thinking of bringing our own cutlery…

[RachelG]

We were in Alexandria several years ago,  my impression was the same.  We went to El Alamein and it was quite impressive though.  

[Fletcher]

Journal 20: Saturday in Crete

We left Alexandria last Thursday when those who went to Cairo returned to the ship.  The weather changed almost immediately, the seas were moderately rough and the temperature plummeted.  That’s the Med in May for you.

 

The Cairo group reportedly had a good time, barreling along one of Egypt’s new motorways which tear through slum quarters and 17 new towns.  Egypt is set on a course of resettlement to help assuage its population explosion. Social engineering never works. At the pyramids, Silver Cloud guests were privileged to enter the atrium lobby of the brand new Grand Egyptian Museum at Giza which is not yet open to the public and perhaps never will be. It’s taken longer to build than the pyramids themselves. I think this bonus to the excursion was initiated by a Cloud passenger, a woman from Texas travelling alone who seems to be well connected in the cultural and philanthropic worlds.  There was also a lunch at the historic old Mena House Hotel which hosted a 1943 conference between Roosevelt, Churchill and Chiang Kai-shek.  It was an Oberoi when we stayed there and is now a Marriott.

 

Yesterday we were at sea which was decidedly choppy until the afternoon and decidedly chilly all day.  I’m not sure where everyone spent the day as the back of the Panorama Lounge was unfathomably empty a lot of the time.  On days like this it is tempting to drink too much alcohol - egged on by the waiters - and we wish we were back in Saudi for that reason alone.  Dinner was at The Grill, often the best option because the food is simple.  I wore two jumpers and a blanket and an extra layering of Malbec.   

 

Today we were in Chania at the western end of Crete.  Expedition Leader Schalk got his co-ordinates in a twist at last night’s briefing by saying we would sail around the western tip of Crete rather than the eastern tip which is what we did.  He didn’t mention the fact that Odyssey of the Seas with nearly 5000 passengers is also unexpectedly here today, berthed around the corner in Souda Bay, a major NATO naval base.  The Odyssey would have been visiting Israel had not a few missiles prevented it from doing so (I understand the Silver Spirit is also taking evasive action). While Cloud people went directly into Chania town by zodiac, the great unwashed Odyssey people came on coaches in their thousands, so the little streets were clogged by midday.

 

Chania is what they call a Venetian port, meaning you get five percent off everything at the shops and cafes which line the waterfront.  From a distance it is all very pretty, less so the closer you get.  We noticed a sort of large terrace on the old city walls above the harbour which might be a photo-op.  We couldn’t spot the way up and asked the young manager of a restaurant immediately below it.  She spoke perfect English and, no, she hadn’t noticed the terrace directly above her before.  That’s like asking a waiter in Trafalgar Square where Nelson’s Column is.  ‘Dunno mate.’  You just despair these days.  Of everything.  We eventually found the way up and despaired all over again.  The vista was magnificent, taking in a former mosque, the harbour, the Cloud in the bay and the distant mountains still with patches of snow, shining in the sunlight.  Sadly the whole terrace area was shocking - a once great building fallen into near ruin, stray dogs and cats, graffiti, broken chairs, smashed bottles and the detritus of drug-taking.  I’m treating you to a picture of it.  Flippin’ heck, another Simon Reeve moment. Plus the nicer angle so two pics today because you deserve it.

 

Tomorrow is our last proper day and we’re at a place called Gythion, in Sparta, which gives access to an inland monastery of some repute.   Hope to see you there.

[spinnaker2]

1 hour ago, Fletcher said:

Journal 20: Saturday in Crete

We left Alexandria last Thursday when those who went to Cairo returned to the ship.  The weather changed almost immediately, the seas were moderately rough and the temperature plummeted.  That’s the Med in May for you.

 

The Cairo group reportedly had a good time, barreling along one of Egypt’s new motorways which tear through slum quarters and 17 new towns.  Egypt is set on a course of resettlement to help assuage its population explosion. Social engineering never works. At the pyramids, Silver Cloud guests were privileged to enter the atrium lobby of the brand new Grand Egyptian Museum at Giza which is not yet open to the public and perhaps never will be. It’s taken longer to build than the pyramids themselves. I think this bonus to the excursion was initiated by a Cloud passenger, a woman from Texas travelling alone who seems to be well connected in the cultural and philanthropic worlds.  There was also a lunch at the historic old Mena House Hotel which hosted a 1943 conference between Roosevelt, Churchill and Chiang Kai-shek.  It was an Oberoi when we stayed there and is now a Marriott.

 

Yesterday we were at sea which was decidedly choppy until the afternoon and decidedly chilly all day.  I’m not sure where everyone spent the day as the back of the Panorama Lounge was unfathomably empty a lot of the time.  On days like this it is tempting to drink too much alcohol - egged on by the waiters - and we wish we were back in Saudi for that reason alone.  Dinner was at The Grill, often the best option because the food is simple.  I wore two jumpers and a blanket and an extra layering of Malbec.   

 

Today we were in Chania at the western end of Crete.  Expedition Leader Schalk got his co-ordinates in a twist at last night’s briefing by saying we would sail around the western tip of Crete rather than the eastern tip which is what we did.  He didn’t mention the fact that Odyssey of the Seas with nearly 5000 passengers is also unexpectedly here today, berthed around the corner in Souda Bay, a major NATO naval base.  The Odyssey would have been visiting Israel had not a few missiles prevented it from doing so (I understand the Silver Spirit is also taking evasive action). While Cloud people went directly into Chania town by zodiac, the great unwashed Odyssey people came on coaches in their thousands, so the little streets were clogged by midday.

 

Chania is what they call a Venetian port, meaning you get five percent off everything at the shops and cafes which line the waterfront.  From a distance it is all very pretty, less so the closer you get.  We noticed a sort of large terrace on the old city walls above the harbour which might be a photo-op.  We couldn’t spot the way up and asked the young manager of a restaurant immediately below it.  She spoke perfect English and, no, she hadn’t noticed the terrace directly above her before.  That’s like asking a waiter in Trafalgar Square where Nelson’s Column is.  ‘Dunno mate.’  You just despair these days.  Of everything.  We eventually found the way up and despaired all over again.  The vista was magnificent, taking in a former mosque, the harbour, the Cloud in the bay and the distant mountains still with patches of snow, shining in the sunlight.  Sadly the whole terrace area was shocking - a once great building fallen into near ruin, stray dogs and cats, graffiti, broken chairs, smashed bottles and the detritus of drug-taking.  I’m treating you to a picture of it.  Flippin’ heck, another Simon Reeve moment. Plus the nicer angle so two pics today because you deserve it.

 

Tomorrow is our last proper day and we’re at a place called Gythion, in Sparta, which gives access to an inland monastery of some repute.   Hope to see you there.

Egads. The remnants of a Breuer chair, perhaps an antique????

[Fletcher]

8 hours ago, BritishAccent said:

Enjoying your reports immensely, thank you. My husband and I will be on the Cloud in October “transiting” the Panama Canal as part of an expedition cruise to Peru. It will be our first Silversea voyage after a number of wonderful Regent cruises and we would love to hear more about the ship, the SS cruise experience, the food, etc. Both good and bad would be appreciated. Already thinking of bringing our own cutlery…

Think about bringing your own food as well.

[carefreecruise]

7 hours ago, Fletcher said:

Think about bringing your own food as well.

In Athens at the Silversea hotel and will start collecting olives and feta cheese to board Monday... 

[Fletcher]

Journal 21: In the footsteps of Pausanias

Our last full day arrived and it really couldn’t have been better.  We sailed into a place called Gythion, in the Peloponnese, just down from the legendary town of Sparta.  This is the ancient Sparta, known for its 300 warriors, and was not the birthplace of Kirk Douglas who was born in Thrace.

 

We zodiacked into the town which was far less touristy and thus much nicer than yesterday’s Chania.  Octopuses hung on wires, boats seemed to be for work and not for pleasure, and souvenir shops were a rarity.  And this being a Sunday everything was closed.  Our coaches were waiting and we sped off north towards the aforementioned Sparta.  If someone asked you, ‘What does Greece look like?’ you could do worse than take him or her on this coach ride.  It was 40 miles of olive groves, roadside orange and lemon trees, drifts of wild flowers and in the background towering snow-capped mountains.  It was Greece in all its scented, surpassing beauty.

 

Sparta’s archaeological site wasn’t deemed good enough for Silversea cruisers so we went instead to a nearby UNESCO site called Mystras, an assortment of churches, a citadel and attendant buildings dating roughly from the Byzantine age.  Mystras was a place of importance yet was destined for a slow fade-out, just like DC and London.  A few nuns remain in the monastery but it was essentially abandoned in the 19th century after 500 years of  influence.  Today its ruins are scattered higgledy-piggledy up a steep hillside.  Readers, it is utterly magical.  While I tend not to be routinely excited by Christian stuff, Mystras poured adrenalin into my weary legs and knees and got me clambering and climbing like a 20 year-old.  The buildings, the flowers, the hillside, the mountains and the view down towards ancient Sparta would have had someone like Pausanias in paroxysms of ecstasy.  It certainly mesmerised me.

 

We returned from the Mystras excursion to find our suitcases had been placed on luggage racks in the middle of our cabin. Nothing annoys me more than this, these hints that it’s time to pack and basically get lost.  We threw out the luggage racks and headed to La Terrazza for our last lunch on board, overlooking the pretty harbour.  I devoured an almost entire roast duck and two slices of cake which more than made up for a catastrophic dinner at The Restaurant last night. This is my penultimate Journal.  My last, a general up-summing of our 24 days on the Cloud, is on the way.  Have your stress pills to hand.

 

Today’s photo is courtesy Mrs Fletcher.

 

[TLCOhio]

On 5/14/2023 at 2:42 PM, Fletcher said:

Journal 21: In the footsteps of Pausanias

This is my penultimate Journal.  My last, a general up-summing of our 24 days on the Cloud, is on the way.  Have your stress pills to hand.   Today’s photo is courtesy Mrs Fletcher.

 

Say it ain't so.  Don't want this adventure to end.  Like the visual by Mrs. Fletcher.  More, more, more!!!  What's next for your future travel plans and dreams?

 

THANKS!  Enjoy!  Terry in Ohio

[Fletcher]

 

Journal 22: Home sir, goin’ home . . .

Let me tell you a little anecdote.  First some background. There was (and still is) an Englishman named Peter Jay.  He was (and hopefully still is) incredibly brainy.  He was the economics editor of The Times, later the presenter of Weekend World which was the best political programme ever on British TV, and later still our Ambassador to the USA.   His wife, Margaret, was the daughter of UK Prime Minister James Callaghan and she famously had an affair with Carl Bernstein of the Washington Post who was then married to writer Nora Ephron.  This menage gave birth to Ephron’s novel and subsequently Mike Nichols’s movie Heartburn.  Now the anecdote: the editor of The Times read an article written by Peter Jay and he told Peter he couldn’t understand a single word of it.  Peter said, ‘That article was written for two people and you are not one of them.’  That’s it. Make of it what you will.

 

Our passage through Arabia Deserta aboard the Argo, aka Silver Cloud, is at an end.  I did not take home a golden fleece, merely some Iranian saffron and some photos. We arrived at Piraeus and spent the night at the Grande Bretagne Hotel in central Athens.  We had dinner at the buzzy, casual, bracingly expensive roof terrace restaurant which allows a grandstand view of the Parthenon from dusk to floodlight.  That was as near as we got on this trip because in eons gone by we scrambled all over Athens’s fallen agoras, temples and theatres.  And anyway, recent photos of the Parthenon show it to be partially covered in scaffolding and entirely covered in tourists.  The whole Acropolis is like a termite mound.

 

We last went to Athens in 1976.  That’s so far back in the mists of time that Pericles was still sounding off to anyone who would listen.  And that’s just what I have been doing here for the last four weeks or so.  Sounding off about places that you probably have not been to and probably don’t want to.  Saudi isn’t high on many people’s bucket lists and Djibouti?  Djibouti??? Didn’t @RachelG say US marines thought it the worst place on Earth?  Marines have peculiar insights and needs, if you ask me.  They arrive in chaos and leave in carnage.   Looking back, Djibouti was probably the highlight of the trip for me as well as Al Ula and Madinah.  We knew  roughly what to expect from Saudi, and it fully measured up to those hopes, but we didn’t know much about Djibouti.  It was an assault on the senses from which I am still reeling.

 

One thing I have not really described are our impressions of the ship. We started off by liking the Cloud in the way one likes a timeworn but hugely comfy old sofa.  Not remotely luxurious, just homely.  That was with about 150 passengers.  At Jeddah another 50 or so climbed aboard and the Cloud’s weaknesses became blindingly obvious. The main weakness, of course, is the chronic lack of outdoor seating if, like us, you avoid pool decks and like to sit in the shade.  Fourteen awkwardly placed seats on the back of Deck 8 is not nearly enough for a ship with over 200 passengers, especially not on sea days.   We liked the forward Observation Lounge though it was a faff to get to and we could see how tricky that could be in polar regions.  But the lack of a proper open front deck is another major drawback and surely an absolute no-no for any expedition ship.

 

Now, dear readers, brace yourselves, grab a handrail because it’s going to get bumpy. We had massive problems with the food which was, overall, the worst we have experienced for many years.  Some passengers got on board in Chile and are carrying on to Greenland.  If I were doing that, by the end I would be a poster boy for Oxfam.

 

While breakfasts and lunches were generally OK, every night was hit and miss and mostly miss, especially in La Terrazza where the crew haven’t a clue about Italian food.  Not a clue.  Dinners there were often appalling which is such a shame as that terrace on a pleasant evening is a bewitching place to be.  Dinners in The Restaurant were woefully inconsistent and sometimes just downright inedible and unprofessional. I could example several dishes but let’s take a regular ‘posh’ item on the menu.  A classic lobster thermidor is a beautiful thing, chunks of succulent lobster flamed in brandy, added to a rich, mustardy béchamel sauce, returned to the shell and with a cheese topping glazed under the grill.  The Cloud version tasted like tinned mushroom soup, with added bits of stringy shellfish, put into some sort of crustacean shell, topped with mozzarella cheese.  The most disgusting dish I have been served for years.  The fundamental things about European-style cooking do not apply here.  La Dame is a joke on a ship like this. We never bothered with it and, anyway, it was closed most of the time.  It’s for people who want to pay for more fawning. The Grill was our preferred option because it has a simple menu, though the setting can be a thermo-challenge and we don’t like the messy, smokey ‘hot rocks’ thing so we always got the kitchen to cook for us.  The Grill was fairly consistent but you can’t eat steak and chips every night.

 

The bar and restaurant crews have been excellent with few lapses, mostly due to   language issues and trainees learning as they go. The standard cabins are fine, the bathrooms showing their age.  We are low maintenance and never made use of our butler and, frankly, we find the whole Silversea butler thing a bit creepy, especially on expedition ships where grown men and women in tail coats just look ridiculous.

 

The lecture programme was excellent.  The huge expedition team have been . . . well, let’s not beat around the bush. This has not been a proper expedition cruise and on the excursions there were many organisational mistakes.  I’m sure our expedition team would be brilliant out at sea, landing zodiacs on small islands and so on, and they are great at birds, but this cruise was essentially a classic one, with coach trips ashore.  And on land our expedition team were simply way out of their depth.  In many challenging situations in Djibouti and Saudi no one appeared to be in charge.   Some of the team seemed wholly ignorant about where we were on any one day. Lessons were learned and sometimes quickly because a group’s mess-up one day was remedied the next.  However, I have a hunch Silversea will never repeat this trip. So you might ask, after all that, did I enjoy the trip?  I could have said, “Me sir? On the whole, I wished I’d stayed in Tunbridge Wells.”  The true answer is, I wouldn’t have missed it for the world.

 

Finally readers, many thanks for all your support and encouragement. Only one snide comment, which might be a record for me, perhaps more will ensue.  In due course I will post a link to my photos of the trip.

 

Yassu,

God speed to the Gallant Men,

Mission accomplished,

Farewell my friends,

And so the legend ends.

 

 

  

  

[Aussieflyer]

Thank you so much Fletcher and MrsF. I have really enjoyed reading along. I am glad (based on your comments on Cloud) we decided to cancel an expedition cruise on her leaving next month. We booked something closer to home on Muse for December. Interestingly we received a tome from SS yesterday which is showing Jeddah as a port stop in every itinerary transiting the Red Sea. 

[Silver Spectre]

Many thanks @Fletcher, have thoroughly enjoyed following you along.

[spinnaker2]

Thank you Fletcher for sharing your trip with us. I savored each delicious post that you authored. A treat. 

[Tothesunset]

Possibly the first cruise blog that should come with a content warning: Contains themes which Silversea diehards may find distressing. 

 

What a well-considered and superbly written travelogue. 

 

Perhaps we could club together to send Mr and Mrs F on another trip just for the pleasure of reading the reports? 

 

Chapeau.

[Stumblefoot]

Glad to see you finally got out of that jacket and stocking cap in a lovely setting.

[TLCOhio]

On 5/16/2023 at 3:45 AM, Fletcher said:

While breakfasts and lunches were generally OK, every night was hit and miss and mostly miss, especially in La Terrazza where the crew haven’t a clue about Italian food.  Not a clue.  The lecture programme was excellent.  The huge expedition team have been . . . well, let’s not beat around the bush. This has not been a proper expedition cruise and on the excursions there were many organisational mistakes.  So you might ask, after all that, did I enjoy the trip?  I could have said, “Me sir? On the whole, I wished I’d stayed in Tunbridge Wells.”  The true answer is, I wouldn’t have missed it for the world.  In due course I will post a link to my photos of the trip.

 

Yes, agree with Stumblefoot that "Glad to see you finally got out of that jacket and stocking cap in a lovely setting."  Nice pix in an excellent setting.  

 

Appreciate all of the honesty and details.  From doing four cruises on the Silver Cloud, it has its charm and character, but with older ships there are also challenges and design differences for what works best these days.  

 

Super looking forward to seeing ALL of the pictures from this adventure.  Plus any other interesting background items to share.  Silversea is going back to the Saudi stops on the Silver Moon in early 2024.  We'll see how things work out at that time.  

 

For certain of the issues with some crew members, it is mainly a question for their lack of experience and not having best learned what is expected on Silversea ships and by their luxury customers?

 

Spins summarized it well in expressing: "savored each delicious post that you authored. A treat."

 

THANKS!  Enjoy!  Terry in Ohio

 

From late 2018, see “Holy Lands, Egypt, Jordan, Oman, Dubai, Greece, etc.”, with many visuals, details and ideas for the historic and scenic Middle East. Now at 21,811 views.  Connect at:

www.boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2607054-livenautica-greece-holy-lands-egypt-dubai-terrypix’s/

[maryogreen]

Thank you @Fletcher for your fantastic trip reports. A pleasure to read, as always!

 

Mary

Travel Blog: https://www.themodernpostcard.com

[kej1]

Thank you for taking us on this fascinating trip!  Enjoyed it all.

[Fletcher]

The first tranche of my photos from this trip are now up on Flickr, covering Oman, Djibouti and Saudi Arabia.  

https://www.flickr.com/photos/up70mm/albums/72177720309694074

 

[WesW]

Fletcher/Adrian; outstanding even tho we have seen some of these spectacular snaps on here and elsewhere, still an absolute delightful feast for they eyes; people, animals, architecture.  You made us sense the culture and complexity and beauty of these middle eastern countries.  I was taken back to my time in 1991 Saudi Arabia for Operation Desert Shield where my focus was on our mission not the land and people.  Thank you so much for sharing.

[TLCOhio]

5 hours ago, WesW said:

Fletcher/Adrian; outstanding even tho we have seen some of these spectacular snaps on here and elsewhere, still an absolute delightful feast for they eyes; people, animals, architecture.  You made us sense the culture and complexity and beauty of these middle eastern countries.  I was taken back to my time in 1991 Saudi Arabia for Operation Desert Shield where my focus was on our mission not the land and people.  Thank you so much for sharing.

 

YES, super nice job by Fletcher on the pictures posted to Flickr.  Especially like seeing the various visuals from Oman that brought back nice memories from exploring that often-forgotten Middle East country that has so much great to offer.  Look forward to more pictures being posted.  Will be interesting to follow and see how the Saudi tourism efforts progress and are received by consumers/travelers for the future years. 

 

THANKS!  Enjoy!  Terry in Ohio

[lincslady]

Thank you, Fletcher, for the fantastic photos.  They really bring all the atmosphere of the places to life.

 

Lola

[spinnaker2]

Bravo.

[A Tucson Guy]

Beautiful photos Fletcher!! Thanks.