Day 21

Day 21 – Mumbai – Dubai Tuesday 5/6/12

Weather – Fine and Sunny 30C - 33C

Sunrise – 5.06am

Sunset – 6.53pm

Time difference - minus 6 hours ex Sydney. (another 60 mins back overnight)

Throughout the day Sun Princess maintained a west-north westerly course through the northern Arabian Sea and then the Gulf of Oman. At 9.30pm we approached the Iranian coast near Jask at a distance of 8 miles starboard side. We maintained north-westerly courses, following traffic lanes at at midnight we entered the Hormuz Strait Traffic Separation Scheme, passing 10 miles portside of Musandam Island. Shortly after, we passed 7 miles portside of Didamar Island (Little Quoin) and As Salamah Island (Great Quoin), as we entered the Persian Gulf. The pilot will scramble aboard at 6.45am Wednesday morning, 6th June.

Today the heavy swell finally eased, and we sailed most of today through what seemed a millpond Gulf of Oman. The weather on deck is a little spooky, it is like we are sailing through a heavy sea fog. The heat and humidity, add to the eerie feeling outside. Visibility this morning was less than a km or two I would guess. As the day progressed the visibility did improve somewhat, but there was still a heavy fog out there. Suffice to say the Security folk were out on deck all day, on the lookout for those dastardly pirates.

We had a lazy start to the day, which was a tad nice. I did some photo maintenance and blog updating as well as getting decidedly frustrated with Telstra's website which was probably designed by the same people as the Indian government visa people, the company called Bastards Inc.

In the end I gave up and put out a plea on Facebook for some help to get through to the incompetent monolith. Thankfully some very kind friends helped me navigate there, and even got inside the system on my behalf. I am currently waiting for some sort of email response.

Whilst I was doing all this technology stuff, Donna laid in bed and watched a movie. I am thinking she has grasped the holiday bit a little better than me this morning. A late breakfast meant Donna missed her daily dose of Zumba, but she made it in time for Line Dancing.

The ship's program is heavily occupied with celebrations for Lizzie's Diamond Jubilee. They are running SKY live through the big screen, Trivia questions are all related to her reign, there is a huge cake down in the Atrium on level 5, it would be about 5ft long long by 3ft wide (wild arse guess). I will post a photo of it for those interested. A few 'regal' activities on top deck also. Even lunch was a little British with Fish 'n' Chups, with mushy peas on offer in Terrace Grill.

All afternoon and evening they are running as a continuous loop on the Stateroom TV Diamond Jubilee Documentaries : Queen Elizabeth – The Biography and : A Queens is Crowned. They have also got a couple of movies playing tonight , The Queen (Helen Mirren) on top deck big screen, and The Kings Speech in the Princess Theatre. So Lizzie's big day has not been missed.

Today is the last day of the first sector. This cruise has five sectors which in effect are 5 separate cruises. So in Dubai tomorrow, I understand about 600 people are leaving the ship, and about 300 people are joining us.

Today is Bingo Jackpot day. As usual everyone (including us) crawls out of the woodwork on the final day in the hope of winning $4,900 prize on offer. Nobody won it in the morning session, so it was standing room only for the last session where we just kept playing until somebody won it. A lucky lady from Sydney won it, by which time the jackpot had ballooned to $6200. Unfortunately I do not know her, so I cant be looking to squeeze a drink out of her:)

Tonight was the Baked Alaska Parade through the Dining Rooms, always a special night, although it is the first time we have experienced it when we have not been getting off the ship.

I have mentioned a couple of times the jam I have in regard to getting the Nikon camera battery charged. It is down to the last bar, so I was going to save what charge I had left for the day at the Pyramids, and in the meantime hope to find in some country somewhere, a place where I could buy another. Well fantastic news (for me), when I got a call from a wonderful wonderful lady from Arizona, the lovely Pam, who is a on-board with us for the whole cruise, who had read my trials and tribulations on our blog. Pam has a charger that fits my battery, so I am outa jail on that one. Made my day, so that is one tech dilemma solved. Thank you Pam. :)

Our tour organisor for tomorrow , Narelle, received an email from our tour guide in Dubai tomorrow. The temp was 38 there yesterday, and is tipping a bit hotter for us tomorrow. Really looking forward to seeing this city we have heard so much about. We are still finding it a little difficult to believe that we are in the middle of the Arabian Sea, on a ship, doing a cruise all around the world, some days we just pinch ourselves.

Day 20

Day 20 – Mumbai – Dubai Monday 4/6/12

Weather – Fine and Sunny 29C - 33C

Sunrise – 5.44am

Sunset – 7.15pm

Time difference - minus 5 hours ex Sydney. (another 30 mins back overnight)

Throughout the day Sun Princess maintained a north-westerly course, crossing the Arabian Sea.

A very relaxing sea day today. Only did a half hour of laps this morning, I have a huge burst blister on the sole of my foot (never eat whilst reading this blog :) . I will have to give it a rest for a day or two and let it heal up, as we have a lot of tours coming up, so we need the feet in good nick.

This morning I attended a presentation by the First Officer, Goran Favro, who provided an insight into the Bridge operations of Sun Princess, which was quite interesting.

Donna had a crack at the Bingo jackpot. We have not been playing, and we usually dont join in until the last day or two of a cruise, or in this case, sector, as that is when the jackpot goes off.

Meat BBQ Grill up on Riviera Deck was something different for lunch, slow learner me, cant resist yummy food.

I mentioned a few days ago we had a Pirate Drill. Well since then Security have had a guard on lookout on the port side deck pretty well continuously. Interesting that they dont have a guard on lookout on starboard side, I did not know Pirates were so predictable in what side they would attack a ship from :)

On rear of deck 11 they have a type of sound blaster permanently setup and manned. Around Promenade deck 7 they have fire hoses tethered to the rails in preparation if needed. My small contribution to the ships security and pirate defence is I always try and have a beer bottle in hand whilst on the outer decks, which I can turn into a projected missile if the need arises, but only after contents has been emptied of course, priorities.

Pre dinner entertainment was comedian Tom Pepper from Liverpool, not the funniest man going around, but I did raise a smile.

Carl – Warm Citrus Fruit Soufflé, with Orange Lemon Zest sauce on the menu tonight, as a desert to the lobster tail !! Formal night number 3.

After dinner we went up to the Movies Under The Stars – tonights offering – The Artist, did not pass the 20 minute test, so we hit the sack.

My hopes of the Nikon camera battery being charged by the ships studio have been dashed, as they dont have a charger to fit my battery..bugger. We will have to continue to keep an eye out for a solution when we are out and about. We still have the little Panasonic Lumix, which will have to be our back up.

On the subject of photos, I have a few blog posts of photos prepared and ready to publish, once we can get some wi-fi. Mumbai terminal did not have it, and we just did not have time to look when ashore there. I understand Dubai terminal does have it, so we may have time to upload there when we get back from our tour.

I have written an email to Telstra to see if they cant get their shit together and sort out our phone issue, but based upon prior experience, dont hold out much hope – customer service is a foreign alien to them.

Until tomorrow...:)

Day 19 - Mumbai

Day 19 – Magical Mumbai – Sunday 3/6/12

Weather – Fine and Sunny 29C - 32C and bloody humid

Sunrise – 6.00am

Sunset – 7.13pm

Time difference - minus 4.5 hours ex Sydney. (another 30 mins back overnight)

Sailing against the strong currents over the last few days has put us a few hours behind schedule. This morning at 9am we passed 23 miles starboard side from Nanwell Point. An hour later we set an easterly course and made our approach to the Mumbai Pilot station through the safety fairway. At about 10.30am the pilot jumped aboard as we passed 2 miles portside of Colaba Point and 2.5 miles from Karanja Reefs on our starboard side. We had expected to to be alongside Ballard Pier Cruise Terminal by 11.30am, but heavy outgoing traffic delayed us until 12.15pm.

Well that was an another amazing day. What a city Mumbai is. The lesson for the day – dont judge a city based upon the opinions of others. Our expectations on Mumbai we quite low based upon being told it was a filthy, smelly, hot , humid, dangerous, god forsaken dump. It is such a vibrant city, with the friendliest and most courteous people you could hope to meet. Yes it could do with a clean up, yes it was warm and humid, but not unbearably so. Yes it had an aroma of its own, but it was not an offensive one. At no time did we ever feel in at risk anywhere.

I just loved the sounds of the city, it was just such an 'alive' city, even though it was a Sunday. The traffic is incredible, the pedestrians crossing the roads have an art form all their own. .How they can merge 4 lanes of traffic into a two lane roundabout, with pedestrians walking between it all, and not collide or kill just beggars belief

We did a private tour organised by Pam, a CC colleague. We were late departing obviously due to the late arrival of the ship. We elected to forgo the planned lunch to maximise our time there. We had 2 x 20 seater buses for 26 of us, so there was plenty of room for all. It was a comfy air-conditioned coach, with an guide for each.

First stop was what used to be called Victoria Terminus train station. It is the same station that was bombed by terrorist in 2008 . What an amazing experience. Down the stairs into the subway that goes under the road, and then the sounds and sights hit you. Whoa, there are people everywhere, the concourse is just a hubbub of people coming and going.

Our guide took us to a central area and explained the history, architecture and general operation of the station. She did say that as it was a Sunday it was much less populated than usual, and that on a weekday we would not be able to stand where we were as we would have been swept away by the crowds. A train arrived near at a platform near us, there were people hanging off the doors, quite a sight. The front carriage was a ladies only carriage – it was like a sardine can in there, I am sure the passenger numbers were just a tad above spec :)

Next stop Crawford Market, a produce market. What a marvellous place, Victoria Markets has got nothing on this place. The market houses a wholesale fruit,vegetable and poultry market. We were expecting that we would be hassled and harassed as soon as we walked in there, but it was quite the opposite. Mangos were the popular item on sale through the markets in the fruit and veg area. One end of the market is a pet store, with different varieties of dogs, cats and birds on offer. Our guide steered us away from animal section as previous experience has taught her that western tourists can be a little disturbed when they see the conditions that the animals are kept in.

Next visit the fascinating open air Laundromat of Dhobi Ghat. The washers, known locally as Dhobis work in the open to wash the cloths of Mumbai's hotels and hospitals. The rows of open-air concrete wash pens, each fitted with with it's own flogging stone. Quite a sight to see it in operation, and it is next to a train line, where we again witnessed the amazing sight of men hanging out of the trains. We did not see any of the famous train surfers though.

Next stop was Mani Bhavan, known as Mahatma Gandhi's house (although it was not his house, but where he stayed) which is now a small museum dedicated to his life and philosophy. It was hard not to be moved by this place. The displays have been prepared so well, and are so informative. There is the library downstairs which just smells so wonderful, that old book smell. Upstairs there are figurine sets that model the many events and times of Ghandi. It is a unique tale well told.

Next stop Krishna Temple. The saying of “seen one temple, seen them all” could not be more wrong after a visit here. After going through security, and checking your shoes into the 'cloakroom', it is upstairs to the temple room. An incredible room with sensational decorations and monument. We had timed it well as they had just started a chanting as we climbed the stairs. Such a vibrant and intoxicating atmosphere. Donna was hooked, we had to drag her out of there

Next stop Kamala Nehru Park and Hanging Gardens. Time only permitted a short visit here, but it was lovely to sample this place. Mumbai City is does not have a lot of open green areas, so this one is quite a treasure, and immaculately maintained.

Last stop Gateway of India, and Taj Mahal Hotel. The SHB had its photo recorded here. I could not believe the number of people here. Take a full MCG on Grand Final Day, and multiply by 10. Just a sea of people. We were quite the novelty here, which I did not really understand why as I would have thought that Mumbai locals would be quite familiar with western/European/Caucasian tourists

so it was an unusual feeling having all this people staring at us , and taking our photos etc. The guide explained that the crowd was so big because it was a Sunday, and domestic tourists from other Indian states come here on weekend visits. Tourists from the neighbouring state of Bengal do not see many overseas tourists, hence their fascination with us. One enterprising guy was were charging domestic tourists to have a photo taken next to us and printing it off on a portable printer.

We got back to the terminal to do a little souvenir shopping then on board. A 7.45pm departure had us late leaving the berth due to the late return of a tour bus. We retraced our morning courses through the fairway and once in the open waters, we set sail a north-westerly course through the Arabian Sea.

Day 18

Day 18 – Penang - Mumbai – Friday 2/6/12

Weather – Fine and Sunny 28C - 31C

Sunrise – 6.36am

Sunset – 7.32pm

Time difference - minus 4 hours ex Sydney.

Throughout the day Sun Princess maintained a north-westerly course through the Arabian Sea keeping approximately 15 miles off the west coast of India on our starboard side. This evening at 9pm we passed 28 miles from St George Island and 30 miles from Mormugao Head (Goa) on our starboard side.

Wow, what a day. I have mentioned that sea days usually mean RELAX days, well not today for us. After our morning laps, and breakfast Donna was straight to Line Dancing in the Vista whilst I did my photo maintenance , updated the blog and cleared the emails.

What I call my photo maintenance is downloading all the photos off the SD card onto the netbook, and culling the unwanted ones and filing away the ones we want to keep. We are not too particular about what and when we click away, which is clearly a huge benefit of digital cameras. We just hold down the button, and on average keep about 1 or 2 out of 10, as there are many very similar photos, so we just pick the best of each.

I then also download the keepers onto the iPad, so we have multiple storage repositories. I have not yet stored any to the iCloud yet, not quite sure how that works with photos, but if we find ourselves with idle time on shore with free wi-fi, I will check it out, but our priority on shore is to soak up the port/city we are visiting. From the photos on the iPad I select a few to publish on the blog. I prepare the post off-line and have it ready on the iPad, then publish when ashore.

We then got ready for our 2nd Cruise Critic lunch in the Regency Dining Room. The inaugural lunch was attended by about 85-90 people which I thought was outstanding, so I was staggered when we filled and additional two tables of 10, so we had over 100 join us. We sat with people who we had not yet met, which was really nice.

After lunch it was straight down to the Vista for a dance lesson, which this time was for me. I have committed to at least learn how to dance the Waltz properly. I got the hang of the basics, and was learning how to turn, but had to take off and race back to the cabin to prepare for the big race meeting. Then it was down to the Patisserie on deck 5 for our syndicates pre-meeting meeting, finalising the last of the decorations. The co-owner who was going to introduce how horse to the crowd piked out on us, so I was elected to step in, go on stage, introduce the horse. I can now give the details of our horse as secrecy is no longer required.

Horse's name

• PISTON BROKE

Breeding

• By JOHNNIE WALKER BLACK out of WHITE HARLOT
• Half Brother to I CAN'T GET NO SATISFACTION and THE PUB WITH NO BEER

Colours

• BLACK and WHITE

Born

• In the infamous suburb of Sydney's Kings Cross

Owners

• REGENCY 151 SYNDICATE (our dinner table)

Jockey

- One of New Zealand's famous, the gorgeous BABE RUTH ( she looked fantastic)

Trainer

• Craig Thompson in the Red Light District

Former Trainer

• In Queen's Square by Slippery Pete

It was a fantastic race, very exciting all way. Our horse was very slow out of the gates and was a lap behind at one stage, but he stormed home to be just pipped at the post. Pam and Randy's syndicate were the winners of the $900 winners take all purse. Our horse was voted the best decorated for which we were awarded a few trinkets. It was just the best fun. The Vista Lounge was packed with people who all got into the spirit and excitement of the event.

We then went up to the top deck to grab a coffee, and chill out as it had been so hectic a day, and we bumped into some of our co-owners, so a 10 minute cuppa became another extended social chat.

After another yummy Regency dinner it was back down to the Vista Lounge for the Country and Western party, for which we were dressed appropriately, including Cowboy hats. We finished the evening with a relax at the Movies – watching “We bought a Zoo”

Another great day

Day 17

Day 17 – Penang - Mumbai – Thursday 1/6/12

Weather – Fine and Sunny 28C - 30C

Sunrise – 6.25am

Sunset – 7.06pm

Time difference - minus 4 hours ex Sydney. (another hour back overnight).

Through the day Sun Princess continued crossing the Indian Ocean towards Mumbai. At 9am this morning we approached the south coast of Sri Lanka and passed 6 miles starboard of Dondra Head. We left Sri Lankan waters at 11am and set a north-westerly course through the south part of the Gulf of Mannar. At about 8pm this evening we approached the coast on India, entered the Lakshadweep Sea which is part of the Indian Ocean Basin, and passed Cape Comorin at a distance of 25 miles starboard. We then maintained our north-westerly course keeping approximately 15 miles off the west coast of India on our starboard side.

Another sea day on our way to Mumbai. As predicted by the Captain, once we had rounded the point of Sri Lanka and headed North-West the weather calmed noticeably, the sun returned and passengers withdrew from their indoor hibernation and returned to the outdoor decks.

A little excitement amongst the early morning lap walkers this morning as a whale came quite close to the ship. I raced downstairs to scramble Donna out of bed, grabbed the camera and back out to the deck, but it was gone, and no friends about. However about 20 mins later whilst lining up for our Indian Visa processing we saw quite a few of them in the distance, blow holes puffing out spray high into the air.

Today we had to finalise our Indian Visa and Passport control process with 3 Indian officials who came aboard the other day in Penang...good job for them, nice perk of the job, a 4 day cruise, and get paid for it. Every passenger had to go to this face to face process. First Official at the desk checked your face with the passport photo, and then the visa photo. He passed all the documents to official number 2 who initialled one of the shore cards. Then he passed the documents to official number 3 who gave the passport the rubber stamp. Suffice to say the queue was quite long. Unavoidable for those wanting to go ashore in Mumbai.

We have been advised that we will be 2 hours late getting into Mumbai. This is due to the effect that the heavy weather has had on or progress. Generally when the weather is heavy the Captains generally sacrifice speed rather than passenger comfort, whilst the ship is more than capable of maintaining its normal cruising speed in the heavy stuff the impact is a more aggressive pitch and roll. The stabilisers do moderate the roll from side to side, but it is not possible to minimise the pitch up and down unless speed is reduced.

The racehorse syndicate had a meeting over lunch to determine significant matters of state, like naming the horse, describing its history, bloodlines, trainer, jockey, colours, training regime, diet etc. As some owners of opposing horses are reading this blog I will not yet reveal all the details of the horse until they are publicly known. I can announce that our racehorse has been named appropriately - PISTON BROKE.

Our jockey is one of the co-owners, a lovely lady named Ruth, who is officially known as Babe Ruth. Our colours are black and white, which may sound unimaginative, however it was selected as all our owners have black and white apparel to wear on race day, so we should look an absolute treat in the owners enclosure.

A few of the syndicate spent a few hours this afternoon decorating the horse. It does look quite impressive, even if it does look very much like a Collingwood horse in its black and white regalia, with the jockey in black and white stripes vice a Collingwood style shirt. More information will be released at a later date :) There are 5 couples in our Syndicate, and we are all taking turns is 'minding' the horse for the day.

Tonight's pre-dinner entertainment was the production show Rock This Town, with one of the Cruise Directors staff filling for the dancer who is still injured and will be getting off in Mumbai, with a replacement waiting to board. The show was really good, thoroughly enjoyed the performance.

After another yummy dinner (strawberry soufflé on the menu) in the Regency it was to the top deck for the 'Ultimate Deck Party' which used to be known as Hawaiian Night. The music started at 9pm, with the party starting at 10pm. We had a good time, with a few drinks, and a few dances.

Tomorrow is the second of our Cool Cruisers lunch, hoping for another big turnout.

Without doubt this by far the most social cruise we have ever done, and we are only 17 nights of 104 in. I am not sure how much longer we can keep this pace of social interaction, but it is just great fun!!!

Day 16

Day 16 – Penang - Mumbai – Thursday 31/5/12

Weather – Generally fine with heavy cloud cover. Heavy seas, Strong Winds 28C - 32C

Sunrise – 5.53am

Sunset – 6.43pm

Time difference - minus 3 hours ex Sydney.

Throughout the day Sun Princess maintained a westerly course, crossing the Indian Ocean towards Mumbai.

Another howler of a day outside as we are still in the grips of South Monsoons. Whilst the winds are strong, skys grey with heavy cloud cover and seas have a big swell, it is fine and dry. The ship is getting tossed around a bit, but nothing too severe.

Today we had a piracy drill, which did give rise to a few jokes about the place, and a bit of comedy. Yeah , yeah, security is no laughing matter, and the crew took it very seriously, as well they should. All we really had to do was go back to the cabin, and chock the door open so listen to instructions.

The Captain reports that there has only been two reports of pirate activity in the last 6 months, and they were both well south and west of our intended track. The Monsoons at this time of year make it difficult for them there pirates to get out an about in their little boats..and when you look out on deck at the seas, I believe it. The weather, combined with the Naval presence, has diminished the likelihood of an attack significantly. The Captain gave a good summary of what would be the procedures, and what tactics, and items they would employ to repel the bastards if need be (my words, not his :)

I think I will cease reporting Trivia as it is getting a bit repetitive. We are consistently a few correct answers off the winners, so take it as given that we did attend Trivia, and within the team we knew all the answers to all the questions, we just did not put all the correct ones down on the answer sheet and we finished a few off the lead !!

We attended a pre-arranged lunch with a few CC folk today which was nice. We have another Cool Cruiser lunch coming up on Saturday, if it is as well attended as last time we can expect 80 – 90 people there. We have still not met everyone, so this will be another opportunity to do so.

I forgot to mention in my update yesterday, in the bit on the Captains Circle cocktail party that they do a little announcement on who are the most travelled passengers on this cruise. Some staggering facts – the 40th most travelled passenger on this cruise has done over 400 days cruising with Princess. This may prompt you to ask - If that was the 40th most travelled, how many days has the highest travelled passenger done with Princess ?? Get this, one couple has travelled, just with Princess, not including travel with other lines, over 1600 days on board..work that out..about 5 years..wonder if they enjoy cruising huh??

Donna paid a visit to the hairdresser today. I think the constant windswept look was wearing thin, so she has had a fairly radical change in style – Tony - keep an eye out for the photo's when I can upload, which will be Sunday in Mumbai at the earliest, and only if we can find wifi.

A note on the little navigational narrative I put on each blog. The description is taken from the navigation notes that are in the Princess Patter (the daily programme). I am putting them there primarily for my own use. When we get home I want to plot on a map, with some degree of accuracy where we actually went, the track we took etc. I also thought they be of some interest to some readers.

Tonight was Racehorse auction night. For the uninitiated, one of the activities on board is a stage game where wooden horses are raced down a track, with the progress dictated by the roll of a dice. There are 6 horses in each race, with real money, $3 per bet ticket, wagered on each race. There is one of these race meetings every few days, with one special owners race per sector. This first sector it is the Melbourne Cup. The 6 horses are put up for auction, with the winner taking all the money raised in the auction.

Our dinner table decided to form a syndicate, with a $50 per head max input, which gave us up to $400 with which to bid. I did the bidding on our behalf. From previous experience I knew that the first horse up for auction usually goes the cheapest, with the auctioneer calling it quite early to get the enthusiasm of the crowd up. I opened the bidding at $50, and with a few $10 increment bids got the horse for $110. The syndicate is very pleased to have secured a horse, and so cheaply. The total prizemoney up for grabs to the winner is over $900.

The deal is that the winners of each horse comes up with a name, breeding lines, training regime, diet, and decorate the horse for the big race n a few days time. The owners must also take the horse with them, wherever they go, and guard it from theft, nobbling and injury. Our syndicate are having a lunch meeting to discuss these very important matters of state. In the meantime the horse has been named an honorary member of the SHB. Photo to come. A bit of fun for the next few days.

Day 15

Day 15 – Penang - Mumbai – Wednesday 30/5/12

Weather – Generally fine with heavy cloud cover. Heavy seas, Strong Winds 24C - 28C

Sunrise – 6.23am

Sunset – 7.02pm

Time difference - minus 3 hours ex Sydney.

At 8am this morning we passed 5 miles north of Rondo Island which lies off the northern tip of Sumatra, leading us into the Great Channel and the Bay of Bengal, part of the Indian Ocean. Around midday we sailed 36 miles south of Indira Point at the southern tip of Great Nicobar Island. We maintained a westerly course through the Bay of Bengal towards Sri Lanka which we will pass on Friday morning.

The smooth seas of through the various Asian straits are behind us, and Indian Ocean has welcomed us with some real ocean going conditions for the first time since we left Sydney. Strong South Monsoon winds have buffeted the ship most of the day, with some heavy seas and strong swells actually make a pleasant change – says he who sits in a low midship cabin that is as least affected as any in the ship :) Port side of Promenade deck 7 was closed most of the day due to the conditions, mainly the wind issue I think.

The heavy seas colliding with the bow of the ship make for some good photos which I will post when possible. The splash of the water against the ship rose well over deck 7 as you will see in the photos, so the deck was a tad wet. It was quite good sitting out there (in a sheltered spot) and just watch the strength of the relentless seas buffet the ship this size and move it about at will.

As you would expect, the pool deck was not as popular as usual, and there was noticeably more people indoors on the lower decks. Trivia crowd gets bigger by the day, speaking of which, our team bounced back to form today, only 3 off the leader.

It has been nice to have a break from port days after having 3 in a row. Four days at sea now until next port – Mumbai. We received all our excursion tickets for the ports between Dubai and Dover. This is the sector of the cruise (which starts next Wednesday 6/6/12) we are really excited about, as there are some big items on the agenda for us over the next month and a bit.

The Suez Canal, The Pyramids, The Lost City of Petra, Acropolis, Valley of the Kings, Anzac Cove, Pompeii, Mt Vesuvius etc etc, the list goes on for this upcoming sector through the Middle East, Africa, and Europe. Still we must not get ahead of ourselves as we still have two more big ones in the next week with Mumbai on Sunday, and Dubai on Wednesday!!.

We slipped straight back into relax mode today, with a bit of reading, and ocean watching. We got down to the Vista Lounge a bit early for our Trivia today and the dance lesson was still going, so we joined in and learnt the basics of the Jive. I reckon we did OK given we missed the first bit of the lesson. Donna thought it was a success simply because I did not happen to squash her toes with my size 10s for a change :)

Line Dancing and Zumba was back on the program today for Donna, although it was straight after lunch which today we elected for the Quatro pizza (4 quarters with your choice for each) from the Pizzeria – Double toppings (Thanks for the tip Joanne !!)

Captains Circle cocktail party this evening for us. It is not that grand an event, but it is an opportunity to catch up with friends with free booze on offer :)