Live from Seabourn Spirit, Oct 25 - Dec 20 2008

[Seabourn-nail]

Hallo Christian!

I see you are "on line" now!

It was so nice seeing you on the Legend!

And once more have a great cruise on the Spirit. I hope all goes well. We'll be thinking of you!

Marja

[homolog]

Marja,

 

yes, but online just for some days before we depart for Dubai.

It was indeed a nice surprise to see you and your husband in Alicante. And the sequel will follow in April!

Until then, get well soon

 

See you in Ft. Lauderdale

Christian

[cands]

Day 34 – At Sea.

Today was the last day for team trivia and I’m glad to say our team “Panorama” won the competition. Our prize was a little belt worn coin wallet complete with Seabourn logo.

After trivia our whole team went to lunch in the Restaurant. The dining room was packed as today was the Galley Market buffet lunch. It was a fitting end to our ‘trivia time’ together. Chris and I normally avoid buffet meals because of our lack of restraint. Today’s lunch was no exception and we consumed way too much food including Seabourn’s delectable version of Baked Alaska.

After a mandatory rest in the cabin this afternoon it was off to the pool for 100+ lengths to try and work up an appetite for dinner. Between 6pm and 7pm is a great time to be up on deck; it is very quiet with almost no one around. After a dip in the Jacuzzi it was time to get ready for dinner.

Tonight was an Indian themed night in the Restaurant with one choice in each of the 5 courses being Indian. We had all five courses and they were exceptionally good:

Chicken Tikka Masala with Kachumber salad and mint chutney

Tamatar Shorba – Spicy Tomato Soup

Aloo Chana Salad – Chick pea and potato salad

Indian Thali – Platter of Coconut prawn curry, lamb curry, dhal with spinach, pappadoms and Indian bread.

Rice Pudding with mango sauce

After dinner we attended the Liars Club followed by a drink at the Sky Bar.

We are pleased Seabourn has made an early decision not to visit Mumbai and are looking forward to seeing a different aspect of India in Goa.

 

Pirates!

 

Always smiling

 

Arnold serving Salmon

 

The wonderful Chefs

[Aussie Gal]

Steve,

 

You will enjoy your time in Goa. We had a day there and loved that part of India which is so tropical. I thought that Seabourn and other cruise lines would be very safety conscious and not put their passengers in any danger. Enjoy.

 

Jennie

[BlueHerons]

Steve, I'm so enjoying your posts! Thank you for taking the time out to share!

[JaneBP]

Love the photos. Is that Michael from Germany/Austria with the pepper grinder? Do take more pics, they are wonderful. How about another teaser photograph, a la the one of the bell. Captain G-A always had a photo contest, you can continue the tradition.

 

Thank you for all of your efforts on behalf of those of us who are currently land-bound and jealously dreaming.

[cands]

Yes, that's Michael. Good idea about the photos.

 

To those who wanted hellos sent to Daniel - will find the right time in the next couple of days.

 

Cheers,

Steve.

[cands]

Day 35 – Muscat, Oman

Today we finally made landfall in Oman. This was an extra stop for just the morning. We decided to do a more comprehensive tour on our visit next week. Today we just needed to stretch our legs and so headed out on our own to find the Souk.

We were told a taxi to the Souk would cost USD5 but once we were outside the port gates all the drivers wanted 10, so we belligerently headed off on foot. After 15 minutes walk we were near the waterfront and close to the Sultan’s yacht. Totally lost we found a cab who agreed to take us to the souk for USD6. We headed off and after about 10 minutes drive arrived at the entrance to the souk. Happy to have saved all that walking we entered the souk. We walked from one end to the other. When we came back out into daylight we saw the Sultan’s yacht and realized that we were about 200 metres from where we had boarded the taxi!

We couldn’t stop laughing for about 5 minutes. The good thing was that the people in Muscat are friendly and charming, even when gently ripping you off! We went back into the souk for a much more detailed investigation of the shops and ended up purchasing some traditional garments.

We walked back to the ship in under 15 minutes. Everyone we talked to had enjoyed themselves and we have a list of things to do on our longer visit next week.

Cheers,

Steve.

 

Chris goes local.

 

 

The Sultan's Yacht

 

 

Souk

 

Giant Incense Burner

[cruiseyguy]

Hmmm. The Sultan's yacht looks like the new Seabourn Odyssey. Could it be......?

[josephone]

Hello

A few questions from one of your avid followers. When you return to Muscat would you please check on the health of the Sultan and found out if a designated successor has been named?

Also, we are wondering if the 20 mm canon we saw was part of the French Navy detail or is it part of the armory on the ship? My DH thinks it can be permanently attached to the ship.

Thanks for the marvelous blog and we look forward to your continuing journey!

Josephone

[cands]

Day 36 – Khasab, Oman.

We were originally scheduled for only an afternoon stop but due to the port changes we were here from 8am until 6pm.

Chris and I took the first shuttle to town at 9am. Khasab is a quiet town of about 25000 people. Some of the passengers took one look and headed straight back to the ship.

We decided a walk was in order and headed off in the direction of some date palms. What we found was a residential area with small plots of cultivated land interspersed among the palms. We saw lots of the local people. The men all waved and we respectfully averted our gaze from the women, most of who were totally in black with only parts of their faces showing. We politely declined an invitation for tea.

After an hour we headed back to the ship.

We had an early lunch followed by a four wheel drive tour into the mountains. The vistas were spectacular. Dusty, but satisfied, we arrived back at the ship for a dusk sailaway.

Tonight was formal night. We had originally planned to eat in the cabin, but an invitation to the Captain’s table rekindled our enthusiasm for formal dining. I must say the duck a l’orange was excellent.

Dubai tomorrow,

Best wishes,

Steve.

 

PS. The two guns on the back of the ship were French Navy. We were surprised and in awe to see them. My understanding is that no cruise ship can carry offensive weapons. We were in a unique situtation as far as I could tell.

 

S.

 

Downtown Khasab

 

 

 

 

 

[Flopsy2008]

Hi CandS,

 

You probably have seen this report by now.

 

Pirates attack cruise ship off Somali coast

 

Shots were fired after the luxury cruise ship Oceania Nautica was chased by pirates in the Gulf of Aden.

 

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/cruises/3538744/Pirates-attack-cruise-ship-off-Somali-coast.html

 

Thank you for the wonderful travelogue and photos. Happy memories of places we have visited but in no way near your style!

[GrannyLorr]

Granny reporting in from Budapest Hungary........waiting on flights to get home...was supposed to be going via Bangkok......that would be too simple......now doing the milk run through Europe........just had a quick look at the blog, cant hog the computer too long....and cant figure out this keyboard too well anyway...will read properly when we make it home in a day or three......glad to see its still all going well......:D

[josephone]

Hello Cands

Thank you for the reply about the weapons. They certainly looked formidable.

Sorry you didn't stop and have tea. It would have been a very rare opportunity. When we were in The Oman we had the opportunity to visit some Bedoins and that was fascinating. We bought a few things from them and saw their way of life. Do take advantage if invited again. The folks in The Oman are as interested in you as you are they. The invitation was sincere.

Josephone

[cands]

Dubai.

 

Hi all,

We had a big day in Dubai today ending with the 'Seabourn Experience' tour to the desert. I'm too tired to post tonight so will catch up tomorrow.

 

Cheers for now,

Steve.

[jagi]

Cands--Love your posts and photos. Waiting for the next installment.

 

Granny--what are you doing in Budapest? En route from? to?

[GrannyLorr]

Judith....just to hog Cands blog a second longer...we have just done a River Cruise Amsterdam to Budapest...then all flights home were cancelled due to problems in Bangkok......ship company had to make last minute plans for us and we have now reached Singapore....almost spitting distance from home...one more flight and we will be there.....then I can look at all these pics and read the blog again more fully.

[GrannyLorr]

Cands....can you please mention to Lorraine and John that i have received their emails and are extremely disappointed that they havent received the promised "referral credit"......of course that means I wont receive mine next year either....and then I will be even MORE extremely disappointed....:(:(:(....anyone else had this problem??

[hoya68]

Steve and Chris,

 

Now that we are checked into our hotel in Dubai and have a decent internet connection, we can find out what REALLY happened on our cruise.

 

We already miss you guys.

 

Steve and Linda

[cands]

Steve and Chris,

 

Now that we are checked into our hotel in Dubai and have a decent internet connection, we can find out what REALLY happened on our cruise.

 

We already miss you guys.

 

Steve and Linda

 

Hi Steve and Linda,

Sorry we never got to say a proper goodbye. Have a safe trip home. We'll be in touch soon.

 

Steve and Chris.

[cands]

Cands....can you please mention to Lorraine and John that i have received their emails and are extremely disappointed that they havent received the promised "referral credit"......of course that means I wont receive mine next year either....and then I will be even MORE extremely disappointed....:(:(:(....anyone else had this problem??

 

Sorry Lorraine, Lorraine and John have already left. I'm pretty sure they'll read this when they get home though.

 

Regards,

Steve.

[cands]

Day 37 and Day 38 – Dubai.

We had wondered if we would see QE2 on this trip. There she was, berthed in front of us in Dubai, empty and slightly forlorn; a wisp of smoke from her stack the only sign of a recently busy life.

We started our visit to Dubai with a morning orientation tour, driving from the port to the Burj al Arab hotel along the coast. We then headed back to ‘old Dubai’ for a visit to the museum, a boat ride across Dubai Creek and then shopping at the Spice Souk and the Gold Souk.

After lunch and a rest on the ship it was time to venture into the desert for our “Exclusively Seabourn Experience” trip into the desert.

We were loaded into Toyota Landcruiser 4wds for the 45 minute trip out of Dubai. At the side of the road the 4wds prepared for travelling on sand by decreasing the air pressure in the tyres and we were then off for a hair raising 10 minutes of loose sand driving until we reached the mock Bedouin camp which was the venue for the night’s entertainment.

First we took a quick ride on a camel (only elephant left to tick off on this trip!) It was fun watching and photographing our fellow passengers too.

The camp was set up in a U shape around a carpeted performance space where a band played traditional music. Low tables with cushions were set for dinner.

We had decided to participate in all of the available activities, which we enjoyed between courses of dinner. We tried the apple scented tobacco from a water pipe contraption. There was a sand dune set aside for sand boarding and I’m pleased to say I made it all the way down before falling over very gracefully.

We are both now the proud owners of henna tattoos, which we are told will disappear after about 2 weeks. Mine is a scorpion and Chris’ is a cobra.

A belly dancer appeared after dinner and soon after that it was time for the return journey to the ship. It is sad that this is the last such event that Seabourn will host in Dubai, due to the contraction of the Seabourn Experience program. All have been excellent and well attended on our journey so far, so this can only be seen as a cost saving measure by Seabourn.

Day 38 started with the blasting of the PA in our cabin, calling for disembarking passengers to leave the ship. We sat by our window eating our breakfast and watching some dear friends leave the ship. CCers Steve and Judy, Steve and Linda we are sorry you’ve left us – have a safe journey home. (Steve and Camille – sorry we didn’t see more of you, take care).

After breakfast we headed by taxi to the new Atlantis resort on Palm Jumeirah and specifically to their water park called Aquaventure. Most of the water slides start from a central structure called the Ziggurat. We had a lot of fun and totally exhausted ourselves and sadly realised that the 10 or so years since we last participated in this sort of activity have not been kind to our levels of stamina!

Two of the slides were interesting in that they descended in Perspex tubes though a shark infested aquarium!

We were back to the ship in time for the ‘parade of newbies’. That is, the lifeboat drill for the new passengers. All we old hands looked from above, with glasses in hand, as the roll was taken.

There are lots of new crewmembers aboard also. A few have welcomed us aboard! The dining room did not seem the same tonight with some of our favourite staff members missing and new waiters serving us without knowing our preferences. We will miss Craig, Cyril, Andre, Weyden and possibly some others we haven’t noticed are gone yet.

After two days in Dubai we depart for India tomorrow at 11am.

Cheers,

Steve.

[cands]

Photos.

 

 

 

 

 

Crossing Dubai Creek

 

Chris and Steve ride a camel

[cands]

Marla rides a camel

 

I can't believe I did this

 

Sad Farewells

 

 

 

All that exertion!

[cands]

Chris in a tube in a tube in an aquarium!

 

Yes, that's Chris.