Safaga, Egypt (Luxor/Karnak)

April 22

At 6:00 a.m. we embarked the local pilot and navigated through the shallow waters of the harbor. We were docked at our pier by 7:00. Safaga is merely an industrial pier, no town nearby. This port is the gateway to Luxor, Karnak and the Valley of the Kings. We have done all three in the past so we stayed on the ship as the tours are very expensive and you spend 7 hours on a bus. The dock we are at is probably the worst we have ever seen including the one in Chennai in 2008. Nothing here, no welcoming party, no shops, just sand and dust from nearby work being done.

We are in port until 11:30 p.m. tonight as the tours are 14 hours long. It was actually nice on the ship today. Some people took the shuttle to the port gate and were harassed by cab drivers so they just took the shuttle back to the ship. We played trivia, then had an excellent lunch of Corned Beef, cabbage and potatoes. Dinner was good also as we had Irish Stew. Not bad from a bunch of Italian chefs. After dinner there was the Safaga Oriental Show of Egyptian Folk dances. Betty went early and got seats in the front row. When the show started, Betty said to me, the one time I get the front row the show is terrible and we just can’t walk out. Lucky for us the show improved tremendously as two of the men came out and performed the Whirling Dervishes dance for approximately 10 minutes without stopping. How they did all this without getting dizzy is amazing. I wish I brought my camera and took a movie of it. The Whirling Dervishes were originally a sect of Islam in Turkey taught to love everything. 

When they finished, one of the young woman came out and did three different belly dances. She was a beautiful, had a nice body and a belly dancers belly. Glad Betty got the front row seats, but again, wish I had my camera.

We left the dock at 11:45  and cleared the shallow waters of the harbor. Once clear we disembarked the local pilot, and altered our course towards the north. We will continue on various northerly courses throughout the night as we steam towards the Suez Canal.

Aqaba, Jordan (Petra)

April 21

We are docked in Aqaba, Jordon. Aqaba is a coastal city in the far south of Jordan, it is strategically important to Jordan as it is the country’s only seaport. We have a tour here that was on Betty’s bucket list, she booked it before we left. We almost cancelled it do to my breathing problems and the fact that the tour guide stated that those who sign up for the daylong shore excursion to Petra should expect a strenuous walking tour covering three to five miles. Petra may not be as famous as the Acropolis or the ruins of Pompeii but it ranks among the great monuments of Antiquity. Perhaps the most majestic and intriguing archaeological sites in the Middle East, the “lost city” is carved in vivid red sand stone, this ancient city boasts numerous monuments including the Khazneh, a tomb carved into the cliff face, the 3,000 seat Roman Theater, and the Royal Tombs, which are carved into the face of Jebel Khubtha, a sandstone mountain.

We were up at 4:30 and had a light breakfast as our tour left at 7:30 and we had a 2 hour bus ride to Petra. Eleven buses were going just from our ship, in excess of 500 people. Cost of the tour was $219.00 per person, over $100,000.00 spent. Since there were so many buses, we made a stop at a place to take some pictures of the beautiful desert valley. Of course there was a gift shop where we bought a Christmas ornament. On the continued drive we saw many Bedouin tents and camels roaming everywhere. The Bedouin’s herd sheep and goats as well as do some farming. It is hard to believe people still live as nomads.

 

We really lucked out with the weather as it was forecasted by the ship to be 93 degrees, but yesterday I checked online and saw it was going to be 75. I wasn’t sure who to believe, but early this morning it was actually cold as we sailed to the dock, we even took a couple jackets with us that we never wore.

We finally arrived at Petra at 10:00 a.m. From the bus lot we walked to the gate of Petra, of course the walk included walking past trinket stands and kids selling postcards, necklaces and bracelets. They were not bad, if you said no they walked away. But they first would show you a nice looking item and say $1.00 but if you showed interest the price would be higher and if you say, you said it was $1.00 they would show a inferior item you would not take for free. We reached the gate, our tour guide gave us our tickets, he told us we had a 1 mile walk to the “Siq” which is the narrow gorge and entrance to Petra. It was all downhill, a gradually grade and it was a easy walk except for the unevenness of the cobblestone area and the sandy area with many loose stones. We had to be very careful. Plus they had mules that were pulling carts to take people down, and would coming storming down the path, and as our tour guide pointed out they didn’t have brakes. They also had mules that would take you down, but they smelled bad, I mean really bad. They also had horses but they were not very tame.

   

Once we enter the Siq our tour guide would stop at intervals so people would catch up. I would have liked to go on our own but that would have been a mistake because we would have missed many things. Some of the rock walls were 600 feet tall. We walked through the portion that was used in filming Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. Portions of the Siq were no more than 16 feet wide. The Siq was very interesting and beautiful. The Siq was approximately 1/2 mile long.

Entering the Siq

   

       Tour Guide and Vendors                 Walking thru the Siq

As we came to the end the tour guide told us to stay to the left, I think he did this so when we stepped out of the Siq, we would get the best view of the “Khazneh” known as the Treasury. And what a view it was!

Pretty amazing that this was not discovered until 1812, as the only entrance way was thru the Siq. The desert Bedouins were the only group aware of Petra until it was rediscovered by Europeans just two centuries ago. The condition is amazing. It is actually an ancient tomb carved from solid sandstone. Legend has it that pirates left treasure in the urn that sits on it’s upper level. The bullet marks on the urn were made by treasure seekers trying to shoot the urn open. One of the main reason of it’s great condition is because the way it was located it never gets rained upon.  Truly amazing!

Betty standing with Treasury Guards

Bill with Tab Hunter by the Treasury

Camels at the Treasury

Security

We then headed for the Roman Amphitheater a 8,000 seat  amphitheater was carved out of the rock, but today archaeologists believe it wasn’t carved by the Romans but by the Nabatean people in the second century BC. Who ever did it, it was a amazing feat.

Betty at the Amphitheater

At this point we left the tour group and decided to head to the resort where we were having lunch, it was near the entrance to Petra. It was a long walk and almost all of it was uphill. We were holding out pretty, I didn’t mention but Richard came along with us on this tour because he was by himself. He tends to stray at times. The gradually incline wasn’t to bad, we stopped and rested a couple times for a couple minutes. I was breathing pretty heavy but not stressed from it. Betty is just amazing, she is strong woman even with her MS. Richard was doing very good, he is in his 80’s. I hope I can still do this in my 80’s. Some people could not make it and used the carts out of necessity, the cost was $40.00 just from the entrance to the Siq to the Main gate. Betty and I were determined to make it. The problem with this stretch was that it was totally in the sun, with no shade available. It was hot in the direct sun and we all struggled to the entrance gate. We were relieved we made it. Once we got out of the gate, we could see the Movenpick resort and my pace picked up as I could smell the beer that was available.

Once at the resort, and after finally seated because Richard strayed away again. I ordered a beer, she said it was included in the meal but then she came back and apologized for the error. After she told us that the beers were $13.00, everyone cancelled their order for beer and drank tea and coffee. Betty’s coke was $6.00, but she said it was well worth it. I thought my beer was so good I ordered another. I can not understand how people can spend $50,000 for a cruise and not pay for a beer or coke. I could not drink coffee or tea after walking thru the desert.

Enjoying a Cold Amstel Beer

Not sure what we ate beside the Pulled Camel and Kubba and rice. It wasn’t very good but the beer was cold!

Once done with lunch we boarded the bus and after a couple hours we were back at the ship at 5:15 p.m. And at 6:00 we sailed out of the port of Aqaba and into the Gulf of Aqaba. We set a south-westerly course and will maintain it until after midnight we will enter the Strait of Tiran and once clear of the strait we will enter the Read Sea again  and set a south south westerly heading towards Safaga.

Oh No!!!! 4 days at sea

April 17 Day 1 

Day 1 started out well, we both had a good night’s sleep. It was very comfortable on the balcony so we sat out there for the better part of the day. Not many days left on the cruise and once we get to Croatia things will cool off so we may not be able use the balcony. Master Chef Alfredo Marzi returned to the ship and held a Culinary Class, Betty didn’t go because she fell asleep and I didn’t wake her.  Also the UN official gave another talk, titled “The Arab Spring-The Struggle for Human Rights in Todays World”. Betty went to this one and found it informative. I spent the afternoon on the balcony drinking a few cold ones, and watching the crazy dolphins. We’ve been seeing a lot of them lately. Also in the distance sailing parallel to us was a Navy Cruiser, makes us feel more secure.

During the night we will continue sailing through the Gulf of Aden.

April 18   Day 2

Again we had a good night of sleep. The weather is very hot and sunny today. At 12:30 p.m. we entered the traffic separation scheme for the Bab el Mandeb, this is the southern entrance to the Red Sea. Then at 3:30 p.m. we exited the Bab el Mandeb and entered the Red Sea setting a north westerly course, we passed Hanish Al Kubra, Yemen at 5:30 p.m. We will continue this north westerly course during the night.

Master Chef Marzi had another culinary class and Betty went to this one. This afternoon we had celebrity speaker Tab Hunter discuss his 50 years in Hollywood. Also showing on TV are his movies, The Burning Hills, That Kind of Woman, and Damn Yankees. Of course we did trivia also with our usual average showing. Tonight’s show was the International Crew Show, and it was very funny, as these usually are. They only had 5 people performing from the working crew and all were talented. The ship’s dancers also put on a skit and we were rolling on the floor with laughter, we haven’t laughed like that for a long time. Then the Cruise Director’s staff did a song If I wasn’t on the sea I would be a _______ and each one was different. A lot of passengers don’t like it since they have seen it a hundred times but being our first time we found it amusing.

We will to continue to sail a north westerly heading through out the night.

April 19     Day 3 

It is very hot and humid this morning and very hazy. BBC reported a sand storm for Egypt and Jordan for today and Friday. Let’s hope it is over by the time we get to Petra. Not much going on around the ship. Did trivia twice, it was Italian day at lunch and both of us ate too much. We did not go to the dining room for dinner and got hamburgers and took them to the cabin, hoping to sit on the balcony but it was too windy. Earlier in the day we watched the movie Battle Cry with Tab Hunter, it was a good movie considering how old it is. Betty is feeling 90% better and will be good to go for our tour in Jordan. We started packing our suitcases, giving away lots of our clothes and other items. Our cabin steward said the ship will donate all items left to charity. I packed my suits so now we will miss the last formal night. Looks like we will be able to get everything into 4 suitcases along with one carry-on and a backpack. Not bad considering we came with 5  suitcases.

April       Day 4    

Finally we reached our fourth sea day, still sailing the Red Sea on the same course. It is very windy, the sea was rough during the night and continues to be that way today. We had breakfast with Tab Hunter this morning as I had a few old photographs of him that he said he would like to have. Surprisingly he had never seen these, they were publicity photos from the old Cleveland Press. He is in pretty good shape for his age and we had a very enjoyable talk. They had another Culinary Class with Chef Marzi and Betty attended. We had a port talk on Alexander, Egypt, most passengers will be going to Cairo from here to see the Pyramids. Having seen them we will visit the city of Alexander so the info will come in handy. Our table-mate, Woody, is sick and quarantined to his room under doctors care. Hope he gets better soon. We went to the show tonight as it was a encore performance of the Jimmy Tamley, a ventriloquist as people said he was good and they were right.

Early tomorrow morning at around 1:00 a.m. we will enter the Strait of Tiran, once clear of the Strait we will enter the Gulf of Aqaba and set a north easterly course. At 6:00 a.m. we will embark the local pilot and set final courses towards Aqaba and should be docked by 7:00 a.m.

Salalah, Oman

 

 

April 16

Tax Day!! I wish I had my taxes done but that will have to wait until we get home. We arrived in Salalah, Oman at 8:00 a.m. The port looks different from 4 years ago, it is built up with many tankers here loading and unloading who knows what. Also lots more security present.

 

It started out comfortable this morning but by 10:00 it was HOT. We decided not to go to town as the taxis were charging $50.00 one way, and $200.00 to drive around the city. Lucky for us we have been here before, so we have seen most of it. There is Job’s tomb, however no one is sure if it is the real one or not!

Ship Greeters not!

No blondes here; these are the ship’s dancers.

Many people took the shuttle bus to the gate then returned refusing to pay the high prices. Betty and I got off the ship to check out the vendor on the dock, but everything was over priced. Things that we bought 4 years ago were 4 times higher, our dollar is only worth 38 cents so we didn’t buy anything. It is a shame that the ship did not provide a shuttle to town, but the taxi drivers protested and then they overcharged. We all agreed that cruise ships should refuse to return to ports that do not allow shuttles then rip you off.

Both us were having a hard time breathing as the air was very heavy and sand filled. We returned to the ship and Betty did the laundry and all the ironing. (The highlight of my day.) We went to Morning Trivia and we won, mainly because only 8 people showed up so there was no competition. After leaving here tonight we have 4 sea days, that could drive us crazy. But hopefully Betty’s cold/allergy will be gone, because our next port is Jordon.

Almost everyone was back on the ship by 3:00 p.m. They were all complaining about the cost of a taxi, but if you haven’t been here you are stuck. We sailed away at 4:45 and went back out the way we came, sailing a south-south-westerly heading through the Arabian Sea. We will sail through the Gulf of Aden with Somalia on one side and Yemen on the other. Not the best place to sail between, sure hope they put the dummy with the gun back on the top deck!

For the second time during dinner, a group of approximately 25 or more dolphins put on a show, they were jumping out of the water as high as 10 feet. Of course we did not have our camera. We went to the show, it was Count Domas from Transylvania. He played the piano and told inane jokes so we left after 10 minutes. I swear we have seen him before which should have tipped us off.

Special Note: My computer is acting up again and I had a hard time getting it to turn on. So if you stop getting the blog, it is because it died for good, not because the pirates have it. I hope.

Sailing to Salalah, Oman

April 14

After exiting the Straits of Hormuz, we entered the Gulf of Oman and settled on a south-easterly course. Tonight at approximately 9:30 p.m. we will round Ra’s A Hadd on the east coast of Oman then alter onto a southerly course as we enter the Arabian Sea.

After a decent nights sleep, we both still feel tired. Betty seems to be improving, we intend to relax all day. My eyes are still irritated from the sand. We sure hope Oman doesn’t have a sand storm. I did trivia this morning, Betty sat out and returned to the cabin to rest.

We had a Scholarship at Sea lecture today by a new lecturer named John Renninger, he is a UN official and adjunct professor at NYU. The talk today was “Why are we in Afghanistan & How do we get out”.  Later we had port talk on Salalah, Oman, our next port of call. I played trivia in the afternoon with bad results, we needed Betty. We did make it to dinner, which was good. But we skipped the show tonight which was Seonaid Aiken, star of a hit show called Barrage. I never heard of it so I think it must be a show in England. During dinner we had a bad storm, a lot of lightning but the seas never got very rough so Betty was disappointed.

We will continue the same course, than at 2:00 a.m. we will alter onto a south westerly course passing Masirah at 5:30 a.m. and continue a south westerly course all day tomorrow.

April 15                      Happy Birthday Brandon!!

 

This morning the skies are still cloudy but no rain. The balcony was pretty wet, but dried quickly. I sat out this morning for a while and it was refreshing as it was very windy which made it comfortable. Today we were invited to the World Cruisers only cocktail party. The problem is that it was at 10:30 a.m. So we did not go, why a morning cocktail party I don’t know, maybe they figure that people won’t drink at much. Betty returned to trivia today, we didn’t do better with her there. She is still very congested, hoping she gets better before our stop in Jordan which is in 6 days. As we will have a long walk to visit Petra.

The sand in my eyes as finally worked itself out and they feel a lot better. We watched a movie in the afternoon, it was called In Time with Justin Timberlake, it was pretty bad. Tonight’s show features Zach Winningham, we skipped his first show and we are sorry as he was excellent.

Tonight we will maintain the same course then around 4:00 a.m. we alter onto a westerly heading and commence making our approach to Salalah. We expect to embark our pilot at 6:45 and will enter the buoyed channel, pass the break water and make our approach to the berth.

Dubai, United Arab Emirates

April 12

Throughout the night we set various east-south-easterly tracks towards Dubai. During out initial approach the ship rounded the Palm Deira and picked up a pilot and passed through the breakwater into an area of the harbor called Mina Rashid to our dock. We docked at 1:00 p.m. While in port the Pacific Princess will change berths once another cruise ship sails away. We will be at the same terminal but closer to it. It is very hazy, they had an unexpected sand storm in the morning and the sand just stays in the air. Not good for your eyes.

Today we booked a narrated tour, an a introduction to this Middle Eastern city. Our first stop was the Jumeirah Mosque, supposedly one of the most photographed sites in Dubai and a fine example of Middle Eastern architecture. I was not impressed by the mosque, we have seen better, even in Cleveland.

Then it was off to see the Burj Al Arab hotel which is 60 incredible stories high and built in the shape of a towering sail. Again we did not go in, they don’t want tourist traipsing thru the place. But we can go for tea, I offered to take Betty but she declined after learning the price was $120.00-$150.00. The air was so filled with sand, we did not get a good look at the hotel. The cheapest room here is $3,000 USD per night. Trust me the pictures you see of this hotel in advertising are all photo shopped.

Burj Al Arab Hotel in sandstorm!

Next we went to the Mall of the Emirates, home of the Ski Dubai, the first indoor ski resort in the Middle East. Now this was pretty amazing. Here we are in the middle of the desert and all these people are bundled up in ski outfits and winter clothing. It is enormous in size with downhill skiing, snow tubing and bobsledding. It was packed, lots of children having a good time. (If you look at the picture on the right you can see a couple of giant snowballs. The kids climb inside and they push them down a long hill!)

 

Next we headed to the Dubai Mall to see the World’s largest Aquarium. Although it is large we don’t think it is the largest but it is billed it as such. Dubai’s goal is to have the largest everything in the world. It did contain many types of fish, quite amazing to see in a mall. Next was the Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world and the highlight of our tour. If anyone has watched the newest Mission Impossible movie you have see this building. We went to the top which in reality is not the top but 124th floor. It is very high, our view was hampered by the sandstorm and the darkness as we went up at 6:30 p.m. We watched the dancing water show from above. The water show is very similar to the one at Bellagio in Las Vegas. Actually the whole area is like Vegas on steroids. Once back to the bottom we watched the water show at ground level.  

 

We hate tours, as generally there is always a couple idiots that hold everything up. We had to walk back to the tour bus and upon arrival we were short a passenger and to wait for them. We would have voted to leave her but we waited and she finally arrived. Once back to the port we were unable to get aboard the ship as there were going to move it to the other location along the dock. Originally they informed us that they would do this between 5:00 and 6:00. Then they told us that they would not move the ship at all. But here it is 9:30pm and they are moving the ship. They said it would take 45 minutes to move the ship, so we headed to the terminal and waited, we were both tired. Finally at 10:30 p.m. we are able to board the ship.

April 13------------Friday the 13th!!

Being Friday, which is the Muslim's holy day some shops would be closed. The Gold Souk was closed and I would have like to gone there as I would buy a gold ring if I could find what I wanted. The quality of gold here is very good and prices tend to be lower here.

Betty’s sore throat now has turned into a runny nose. She thinks that she is allergic to sand! The sky is still full of sand, very irritating to our eyes, I feel sorry for people wearing contacts. But she still wanted to go ashore. We took a taxi to the Dubai Mall. I got ripped off by the taxi driver as I was charged more than double the fare. The mall has more than 1200 stores. There is 140 restaurants including three Starbucks, 20 Banks and money the money exchanges. The Burj Khalifa, Dubai Aquarium, Dubai Ice rink, The Waterfall, Big Fun World, Underwater Zoo and Sega Republic and KidZania are the main attractions. We walked around the mall and probably covered half of it. We had lunch at Texas Roadhouse because we wanted some plain old American food. No alcohol is served in the restaurants, and it is almost impossible to buy it. They were out of non-alcoholic beer, so I ordered a non-alcoholic margarita which was tasty. After lunch we decided we had enough and Betty was not feeling very good so we took a taxi back to the ship. The fare was half the price we paid in the morning.

       

Betty standing at Waterfalls and Ice Skater in Ice Rink. The penguins are to help the children learn how to skate.

Dubai was one of the main reasons we took this World Cruise, We enjoyed our time here but the sand storm put a damper on the experience. I would never want to return but very glad I had the opportunity to see it. Desert life is not for us. Due to the sand storm the temperatures were lower than normal which was a good thing. At sail away it was actually very cool on the balcony with the breeze.

We departed Dubai at 6:00 p.m. Once out of the harbor we settled onto a north-easterly heading then in the early morning hours we again passed through the Straits of Hormuz. We have two days at sea and I welcome them.

Manama, Bahrain

April 11

We did not know that Bahrain is a group of islands, the main island known as the Kingdom is thought to have been torn from the Arabian peninsula around 6000BC. It has been inhabited since prehistoric times. Oil was discovered here in 1932, it was the first discovery of oil on the Arab side of the Gulf. Bahrain’s oil production is minimal now only producing 50,000 barrels a day. For hundreds of years, and still continuing today, Bahrain is known for its pearl fishing.

Whew!!! We made it here safely. Must have been the black dummy watching over us on deck 10. He is the perfect Princess employee, he works 24/7 and does not need to eat or sleep.

We arrived at the dock at 7:30, docking right behind the USS New Orleans LPD 18. The U.S. has a large military base here in Bahrain.

The ship is docked across from a refining plant, Bahrain refines oil from Saudi Arabia. There is an oil pipe line under the water from Saudi to Bahrain. Since we are not near the city, we are taking the shuttle bus to the Bahrain City Centre Mall as the tours offered did not seem very interesting. Our dress must be conservative, women cannot wear revealing or tight fitting clothes. There cannot be public display of affection and you cannot photograph females wearing traditional Arab dress. Consumption of alcohol ashore is not permitted and can lead to legal complications, so maybe I should stay on the ship.

Welcoming committee of Arab Bagpipers, one of the strangest things we have seen!

Bahraini Falcon

We got off at 9:30 and took the shuttle to the Mall, it was a 45 minute drive that took us all over the city. The drive took us by the Bahrain World Trade center, the twin towers are over 700 feet high and are linked by three sky bridges equipped with wind turbines.

We also drove by the Al Fateh Grand Mosque, named for the founder of the Al Kalifa dynasty. It is one of the largest mosques in the world and accommodates over 7000 worshippers.

The mall was very large and included a water park and 20 screen cinema. Everything was quite expensive and the US dollar is only worth 37 cents. We walked all three floors but the only thing I bought a book on Dublin as it was on sale. We tried to buy a camera card but none of the 6 camera-related stores sold an XD card. So much for buying Olympus cameras. They had a Fuddruckers so we stopped for lunch and had a couple burgers, I had to drink Pepsi as they do not sell beer here in restaurants. The restaurant had a 8 lane bowling alley and some pool tables and video games. All the workers in Fuddruckers were from the Philippines, and we were told that most of the construction workers were from Pakistan.

We returned to the dock at 3:00 and I had to have a beer here in Bahrain so I bought a six pack of Corona in the duty free store in the terminal. I also bought some Cuban cigars to go with it.

We sailed away from Manama, Bahrain at 5:00 and will set reciprocal courses out of the buoyed channel and once past the break water we will set various east-south-easterly courses toward Dubai. I am sure we will be on the outlook for trouble as we sail during the night. We are scheduled to arrive in Dubai around 1:00 p.m. tomorrow.