Cheating On The Mouse Boats Part 2 - This Time It May Be Terminal

[PrincessInOz]

Stunning pictures of Khasab!

I really enjoyed looking at the wildlife pictures. Especially the one of the two dolphins. Stunning!

You look great in the blue dress.

 

[dolphingirl47]

Khasab looks really beautiful in the pictures

It is a stunning place.

When I sailed Alaska, all I wanted was to spot a mountain goat-no success yet.

We got lucky there, too. We saw goats on our Tracy Arm day.

Love formal nights in your cruise reports because your gowns are always stunning and this blue number is no exception--you look lovely!

Thanks. There is going to be a bunch of new gowns for the upcoming cruise. A lot of my gowns are quite heavy and as I am going to be gone for nearly 4 weeks I had to go lightweight.

I can see why the RC ships have such an appeal to you, there are all the photo options as well as the other relaxing things you seem to love about cruising.

Yes, they have a lot of the things I like best, but also provide some new experiences and of course all kinds of interesting itineraries. The Ovation adds to more things that I am familiar with and enjoy: rotational dining and characters. I am silly excited about that cruise.

The excursion looked beautiful and I'm glad you had the forethought to bring your snorkeling equpment.

Well, I am a bit of a planner so when we looked at that excursion, I did some reading up and realised that there was pretty good snorkelling to be had where we would go. There were a lot of people that commented that they wished they had snorkeling gear. I am actually surprised that they did not have any on the boat.

The pictures are one thing I really missed on our cruise.

I would really miss that, too. Fortunately on the Ovation it is back to electronic photos, which makes life easier.

Stunning pictures of Khasab!

Thanks.

Especially the one of the two dolphins. Stunning!

I had not even realised that there were two dolphins in that photo.

You look great in the blue dress.

Thanks.

Corinna

 

[tiggrbaby]

Your pics are stunning! The dolphins, underwater, reflecting clouds! We bring our own snorkel gear as well when we travel. I love the the two of you had matching formalwear!

 

[dolphingirl47]

Your pics are stunning!

Thanks.

We bring our own snorkel gear as well when we travel.

Even if I know snorkelling gear is provided, I prefer using my own. So if we go anywhere where there is a chance that we will do some snorkelling, the gear gets packed.

love the the two of you had matching formalwear!

I can't remember for which cruise I plotted this. I think it may have been the Panama Canal cruise in 2014. Graham has got vests to match most of my gowns.

Corinna

 

[Paula Sedley-Burke]

Just joining and catching up! I don't see the very first photo which I was gutted about never mind! See the rest.

Oh good old Asda to the rescue. One place is decathlon as well they do long sleeve t shirts with round necks that are very cooking. I found these good for the Middle East. I like to respect their customs. When in Rome!

I was pleased you made in standby on the flight.

Isn't Dubai duty free shopping amazing I could vacation right there!

The RC ship looks nice. Shame about Queen Elizabeth II but have you seen the new ship? Holy moly she is a beauty! I would love to sail her.

The food looks nice. Interesting cruise of the Middle East.

Looking forward to reading more. I do love the colours you select for your dresses and you both look amazing. You so pretty in those dressed and Graham by your side handsome.

 

[dolphingirl47]

Day 4

This morning a lie in won over getting up to see the sunrise. We got up about ‪8:00 and got ourselves sorted out. We then decided to get some breakfast. We opted for breakfast in the dining room that morning. We were asked if we were OK to share, which we were. We were seated and pointed towards the buffet area. This was one thing I really liked. For breakfast they have a small buffet set up with fruit, yoghurt, breads, cheese and cold cuts. Our assistant server took our drink order and brought around some pastries. We both had coffee and orange juice. Graham had a cinnamon swirl and I had a raspberry Danish. We also both had some fruit from the buffet.

Our server then took our order for hot food. Graham went with the traditional English breakfast and I had the Eggs Benedict. Once the order had been taken, I decided to go up to the cabin to get the stuff we needed for the day. This worked out great as our food arrived just as I got back. Graham enjoyed his breakfast, but my Eggs Benedict were the worst I had ever tasted. Yes, they were even worse than the Eggs Benedict that DCL once served me that had custard on them rather than Hollandaise. This one had Hollandaise, but the bacon tasted like fish, which I don't eat at the best of times. So most of this went back. Once Graham had finished his breakfast, we made tracks.

In the end we got to our meeting point in plenty of time. This time round, we just met outside the ship. There was a representative from Big Bus, who exchanged our excursion tickets for bus tickets. Then we still had a while until the bus arrived. We ended up chatting with one of the officers from the ship. Once the bus arrived, we got on. There were two other ships to in port that day and we stopped at one of them to pick up more people. Then we stopped at the terminal building. This was a strange exercise. Everybody had to get off the bus and our bags were x-rayed. We walked through the building and then the bus picked us up again on the other side. Once everybody was back on the bus, we set off.







A lot of people got off at the first stop, which was the souk. A member of staff explained that this is where the port shuttle would depart from later. We stayed on the bus. Our first stop of the day was the opera house. One of my colleagues had recently been to Muscat and I had asked her what in her opinion the “must do” sights are in Muscat. She did not hesitate to recommend the Opera House. So this was our first stop. The bus took us right past the opera house, but the closest stop was actually a little way away near the beach. We took a short walk along the beach, but it was pretty breezy and we soon went back to the original plan. The walk to the opera house was not particularly idyllic and took us past multiple building sites. However, it was well worth it. We first had a walk around the building. They have some quite nice gardens. I even found some Plumeria bushes. We then went inside. The foyer is absolutely stunning. We went through to the next room and were told that we could not go there. It turns out that you can only go beyond the foyer as part of a guided tour and they only have one of those per day, which starts ‪at 8:30. So we have to come back for this at some stage. Graham asked the lady who advised us that we could not come in if there was a bathroom somewhere. She pointed us to another door, but when we tried to go there, a security guard suddenly started shouting at as. We tried to explain that his colleague had advised us that we could use the bathroom, but I don’t think he understood us. So we went back the way we came and left the opera house. Fortunately there is a very upscale shopping centre attached to the opera house and they had bathrooms in there. Once we had both used the facilities, we made our way back towards the bus stop. This time round we found a nicer route, but it was still not particularly scenic.

 

[dolphingirl47]

We just missed a bus, but this actually suited us pretty well. We were both ready for something to drink and there was a Starbucks near the bus stop. So we went inside and both had a Toffee Nut Frappuccino, which we enjoyed in a blissfully air-conditioned environment. We took our time and by the time we left Starbucks and had walked to the bus stop, we saw the bus coming round the corner. This was perfectly timed. We stayed on the bus for a couple of stops and then got off again at the stop for Al Qurum National Park. Al Qurum National Park is the largest park in Muscat and is a bit of a gem. It has a little bit of everything including a rose garden, a boating lake, a replica traditional Omani village, some beautiful architecture, an amusement park for families with children and some quiet areas where you can just sit down, relax and watch the world go by. It is also packed to the gills with beautiful birds. We took a walk around the park first and then just sat down for a while and enjoyed our beautiful surroundings.

 

[dolphingirl47]

After a while we headed back to the bus stop. We had to wait a little while for the next bus. Once the bus arrived, we got on for a few more stops. We went through the commercial centre and then we headed back towards the old town of Muscat. We passed the parliament and the marina. We then approached the Al Alam Palace. The buildings in this area really caught our eye and we decided to get off the bus and have a walk around. The idea was that we would then get on the next bus to complete our journey. This is not quite how it happened. We did have a walk around and took some photos. Al Alam Palace is the ceremonial palace of Sultan Qaboos of Oman. Unfortunately it is not open to the public, but the outside of it and the surrounding buildings are very pretty. While I was taking photos, Graham started to talk to one of the locals. I joined them after a while and he told us about the palace and the surrounding area. I asked a few questions about the history of Oman. What I had not appreciated is that it was only fairly recently, within the last decade, that Oman opened itself up to tourism. At some stage Graham asked if it was possible to walk from where we were to the Corniche. We were told that it would take about 15 minutes so we decided to walk rather than wait for the next bus. Our newfound friend asked if we would be back and we told him that we were hoping to. He said that he would give us his card and to contact him when we come to Muscat again. It turned out that he was a taxi driver, but not once during our conversation was he trying to offer us his services.

 

[dolphingirl47]

Once he had given us his business card, he pointed us in the right direction and then we said goodbye. I don't think that we found the way that he had in mind as it took us significantly more than 15 minutes. Still, we had no regrets. We ended up with a great wander through old Muscat. This is when I hopelessly fell in love with the place. Old Muscat is a real gem. Literally there is a different treasure around every corner. We saw Portuguese forts, parts of the old city walls, countless beautifully decorated mosques, little parks and statues. We were also treated to some pretty stunning views over the bay.

 

[dolphingirl47]

When we got near the bus stop for Big Bus on the Corniche, we decided that we had done enough walking for now. We took the bus back to the souk. We did not have long to wait either. When we got to the souk, we spoke to a member of Big Bus staff to check when the shuttle back to the port would leave. We were told in half an hour. This was the perfect time to do a bit of shopping. I wanted to get an Arabic cotton dress and as the theme for the evening was White Arabian Nights, I was hoping to get a white one. In the first shop we went into, I was absolutely spoiled for choice. They did not have a white dress that I liked in my size, but they had a light grey 100% cotton dress with a beautiful embroidered design. So I decided to go with this. They did spoil my fun though. I have haggling down to an art form. Graham always teases me that the traders at the souks in Dubai are scared when they see me coming. However, the price that I was quoted was so low that I just got my card out and paid. This was lower than what I had planned to get the price down to. I later realised that the price I was charged was a quarter of what was on the price tag. They must have had a really quiet day.

















We still had some time so we went a bit further into the souk. I wanted to have a look at the traditional silver jewellery that Oman is known for, but I never saw any. All the silver I saw were swords and ornamental boxes. I did however make another purchase and this time round, I got to haggle to my heart's contend. I ended up getting some perfume oil that I really like.

When we got back to the bus stop, the member of staff took us across the road and pretty much as soon as we got there, the bus pulled up. There were only a handful of people on the bus, but as soon as we entered the port, the bus stopped and we picked up the people who were waiting for the port shuttle. I thought that was a nice thing to do.

Once we were back on the ship, we took our stuff back to the cabin and then we headed up to the pool deck. There was one place I had wanted to try even before we got on the ship and that was the Boardwalk Dog House. I do like hot dogs so this is right up my street. This were we headed. Graham had the Coney Island Dog, which was a kosher beef hot dog in a classic bun. I went with the German, which was a bratwurst in a caraway seed bun topped with sauerkraut. We both enjoyed this very much. This must have been fairly obvious as just as we were about to finish; we were brought another one each. This had definitely hit the spot.

Once we had finished our hot dogs, we went to the solarium for a while to just relax and then we headed up to deck 10 to watch the other two ships leave and to watch the sunset. We were reminded yet again that a nice sunset in the Middle East is a very rare thing indeed. Still, it was nice to enjoy the evening with virtually nobody around. After a while, we went back to our cabin and had a shower. When we were ready for the evening, we had another look at the shops. We did decide to get the ship model that they had out on display and fortunately what I had thought was some damage to the paintwork was actually just the residue of a sticker. This came off nice and easy. We stopped at the photo opportunities. They only had one backdrop out that evening. Then we headed to the dining room for dinner.







This was a really nice dinner. Everybody was sharing what they had done with their day. Graham decided to share the Indian food that was served family style again. This time they had garlic prawns, prawn curry, rice, dal and a couple of different kinds of bread. He very much enjoyed it. I decided to play safe and ordered of the menu. This time I could not make up my mind between two first courses so I had both. I had the Arancini, which are fried rice and Portobello mushroom balls with Romesco sauce and the chilled strawberry bisque with mint foam. Both were delicious. For my main course I had slow roasted pork shoulder with Provolone-potato bake, broccoli, carrots and black truffle sauce. I would have loved to try the Tiramisu, but I was too stuffed for dessert. Instead we got an early night as we had another early start the next day.

 

[PrincessInOz]

WOW! The architecture and surrounds of Muscat is just gorgeous. I am truly enjoying this 2D view of your trip.
What a gorgeous dress. You're right. The embroidery is beautiful and even though it is grey, its light enough to get away with the White Night theme. Great shopping!

 

[tiggrbaby]

Wow! So much to see! Your pics are stunning; I especially liked the one of the little bird. Is that your new dress? It's pretty!

 

[Paula Sedley-Burke]

I agree fabulous dress. Shame about eggs benedict. So many cooks/chefs get it wrong. They need to follow a simple rule lf tasting the dishes they serve.

Lovely photos oh my re the guy who did not understand you wanted the use the bathroom! The national park looks great.

I love the souks! In Dubai I would spend hours in the different souks, gold, electrical, cotton. Great that you got what you needed.

Hot dog yes please!

Dinner sounds better than breakfast thank goodness. Thank you for sharing.

 

[dolphingirl47]

WOW! The architecture and surrounds of Muscat is just gorgeous.

Muscat is a real gem.

I am truly enjoying this 2D view of your trip.

I am glad you are enjoying it.

Your pics are stunning;

Thanks.

I especially liked the one of the little bird.

This is actually a hummingbird. I know they are not meant to sit still, but looks like the Omani hummingbirds have other ideas.

Is that your new dress? It's pretty!

Yes.

I love the souks! In Dubai I would spend hours in the different souks, gold, electrical, cotton.

I love the souks as well. My favourite ones in Dubai are the Dubai Old Souk and the neighbouring textile souk. I could spend hours there.

Hot dog yes please!

Fortunately the Ovation of the Seas as a hot dog outlet, too.

Dinner sounds better than breakfast thank goodness.

Most of the food on the ship was absolutely delicious. It really was just that one dish that was not up to scratch.

Corinna

 

[dolphingirl47]

Day 5

We had another reasonably timed start. We got up around 8, got ready and headed up to the solarium for breakfast. I had some fruit and another breakfast burrito and Graham had some fruit and a breakfast sandwich. We both had some coffee and juice. Once we had finished our breakfast, we briefly headed back to the cabin to pick up the stuff we needed for our excursion and then we left the ship.

The meeting point was outside the ship again. Somebody from the tour company was already waiting when we got there even though it was still pretty early. He checked our excursion tickets and then we were directed to the bus. We got on and there were already a few people there. I was fascinated by the fact that the inside of the bus was decorated with drapes in the national colours of Oman. We waited for a while, but before too long everybody was on and we headed off. We had to stop at the port building again, had our bags x-rayed and got picked up at the other end. Then we were on our way.



We drove through the old town of Muscat and our guide told us a bit of the things we were seeing. Essentially we followed the same route that we had walked the day before. It was nice to find out a bit about what we had seen the day before. We then headed for the mountains, which surprised me somewhat considering that we had a boat tour booked. It was during this part of the tour that we found out about the special mountain goats we had seen on our day in Khasab.







Suddenly there was a break in the mountains and we saw the sea. The view was absolutely stunning. Unfortunately neither of us had our camera handy. Shortly afterwards we arrived at the Oman Dive Centre. This looked really nice. We walked past the pool that they use for diving lessons and then down to the beach. There I saw something that did not make me happy at all. Far off in the distance was our catamaran. Unfortunately the way to get there was via a seemingly endless floating dock. This was kind of like walking over a rope bridge. I would have been fine if there had been a rope at either side, but there was just the moving plastic walkway and the sea. I was scared stiff. This was totally irrational. The beautiful clear sea was just a couple of inches below the walkway, I was wearing my burkini anyway and the worst that could have happened is me falling in and having to swim to the boat. Eventually I made it to the boat, which was a great relief. We were asked to take off our shoes and then we got on board.

We sailed for a while. There was obviously some technical issue as there was a lot of scratching of heads going on and periodically some members of the crew disappeared down a hatch with some tools. Whatever was wrong did not affect our trip. We enjoyed the beautiful views. After a while, we arrived in a beautiful secluded cove and anchored. We were given instructions and then we were free to get into the sea. They have a really neat way of keeping track of people. Before we went into the sea, we were each given a silicone wristband, which we were asked to return when we got back on the boat. That way they knew when everyone was back.







Those of you who have read my trip report from our Panama Canal cruise in 2014 may remember that I got hurt when a wave caught me as I was going up the staircase back into the boat and smashed me into the same. So I was more than a little alarmed when I saw that this catamaran had the same setup. I was very tempted to chicken out and just stay on the boat. In the end the beautiful clear sea and hints of coral reefs nearby won out. I found out that in good conditions, this is a great setup that getting into the sea and back into the boat very easy. Fortunately that day, it was flat calm at least in the cove where we were and there.



I was glad that I did go in. We saw loads of beautiful fish and coral reefs. Unfortunately I also saw some dead coral reefs for the first time, which was really sad. We covered quite a lot of distance whereas most people stayed close to the boat. We were rewarded for this as further out, we saw completely different fish. At one stage, Graham pointed towards a sea cave and I decided to check this out. I swam a little way in, but realised very quickly that snorkelling in an enclosed space is not my thing. I quickly came out again. I snorkelled in the shallows for a bit and then decided to head back to the boat. At that stage we had been snorkelling for a little over an hour. We had not brought our wetsuits on this trip and although the sea was not cold, I started to feel a little chilly. As I came up the stairs into the boat, I was sprayed down with freshwater. I handed in my wristband and went back to where we had been sitting. I got a mango juice drink, which was quite nice. Graham was not far behind me.

 

[dolphingirl47]

The trip back was pretty breezy and I felt quite cold. Fortunately the trip back did not take too long. There was another issue. I was trying to take a few photos of the scenery, but suddenly noticed that my trusty underwater camera was no longer working. When I switched it on, it randomly took a photo, but when I tried to take a photo, it would not work. I also could not play back the photos I had taken. Fortunately it was still working while I was in the water. So this trusty old friend did not come back home with us. I am currently saving up my Amazon gift certificates that I get for various things to buy a new one.













Once we got back to the dock, I had to be brave again. I learned something useful on the way back. I did not particularly fancy putting on my shoes on a moving dock so I carried them. It turned out that I felt a little bit more confident navigating this without shoes on. I also was a little distracted as at various points, we saw sea turtles. This was really neat. Once we got back on dry land, we were pointed towards the changing rooms. A hot shower followed by some dry clothes felt heavenly. Once everybody was ready, we got on the bus and headed back to the port. Our guide initially checked if we wanted to stop briefly at the souk, but then realised that it would be closed by the time we got there so we pushed on to the ship.

Once we got back to the port, we were welcomed with cold towels and assorted flavoured waters. We partook in what was offered and then I decided that I wanted to check out the duty free shop in the port. Graham was quite happy to sit so I got on the port shuttle and left him to it. Having to get on the port shuttle amused me. The building with the shop was almost diagonally across from the ship and it was not even that there was a lot of traffic. Still, their sandbox, their rules. When I got to the shop I realised that even the duty free shop was closed in the afternoon. They did have floor to ceiling windows though and I could not see anything that would have taken my fancy anyway. So I headed back down the stairs and just as I got outside, another port shuttle pulled up. The driver checked if I was heading back to the ship, which I confirmed and then we were on our way.

When I got back to Graham, nobody was waiting to get on the ship. We got on, took our stuff to our cabin and hung up our swimming gear. Then we went in search for something to eat. This was the only time we found the Windjammer Buffet to be absolutely packed. We gave up on that idea. Graham found himself a lounger and I went off in search of some food. The Park Cafe came up trumps. They had carved roast pork in crusty rolls. I got a couple of those and headed back to where Graham was sitting. They definitely hit the spot. We both decided that we could eat another and headed to the solarium. We had no issue getting a table there. We each had a bowl of black bean soup and another carved roast pork roll. We also discovered the fabulous cookies they had there.

After lunch, we stayed in the solarium for a while and ended up chatting to one of the officers for quite some time. We learned that the crew on Royal Caribbean work much longer contracts than this is the case on Disney Cruise Line. After a while, we started to get cold. We said goodbye and took to the open decks. Initially we went for a wander on the promenade deck, which unfortunately does not go all the way around on the Splendour. After having explored the views on both sides, we headed up to deck 10 to stake out a spot for sail away. I took a bunch of photos and then I found myself a lounger and made myself comfortable.

 

[dolphingirl47]

We were even treated to a pretty nice sunset so I took more photos. At some stage, the captain made an announcement that we would get a little free excursion and that we would sail past the sultan’s palace. I liked the sound of this and was glad that we had staked out a nice spot. Before it got to that point, we had another treat to look forward to. As we were getting ready to leave, we suddenly heard some very distinctive whistles followed by splashes. Graham and I looked each other and said at the same time “spinners”. We knew that there are spinner dolphins in Oman, but at that stage we had no longer expected to come across any. Because it was dark, we did not see much, but it was still fun to hear them enjoying themselves and watch the splashes.







[



















Shortly afterwards we set sail. The captain made another couple of announcements about our little detour and not long after this, the sultan’s palace came into sight. This looked truly spectacular all lit up. Once we had turned round and were heading back towards Muscat, the deck emptied out. All over sudden, we pretty much had the deck to ourselves apart from some crew members tidying up and some runners using the running track. It was a beautiful balmy evening and we had nowhere to be so we stayed put. We moved a bit more towards midship at one point. I also went inside for a bit to get some photos. At around 20:00 we went inside to get changed and then got some photos.





























Then it was time for dinner. This turned out to be the last dinner that all of us would be together. Graham had the crab cakes with corn and peppers and snow peas slaw with basil aioli for his starter and then he went with the broiled fillet of Atlantic salmon served with chef’s choice of vegetables. I went with the chilled honeydew melon soup with a splash of Midori liqueur and strawberry salsa. This was lovely and refreshing. I then had the orecchiette pasta with short rib ragu and shredded Parmesan cheese. This did not look very impressive, but was utterly delicious. Graham passed on dessert, but I went with the Chocolate Sensation again. After dinner we said goodbye to our table mates and then headed to our cabin.

 

[Paula Sedley-Burke]

It is frustrating I can't see any photos! I get that sometimes on my ipad when the page is long. I would have liked to seen what you walked across to get on the boat on your excursion! Sounds scary!

I am glad you discovered walking without shoes helped and I bet that hot shower felt like little drops of heaven. Be great to get a new camera soon.

How lovely seekng Dolphins and the Sultans Palace! Can't believe I am missing out! Grrr!

 

[tiggrbaby]

Great pics of the little fishies! You were very brave to attempt the cave; I wouldn't have the nerve to go in.

Sorry to hear about the camera! That is very frustrating!

What lovely night shots as well.

 

[Pinkocto]

I'm sorry it took me so long to get back here. I'm back and was treated to several updates at once. What a fabulous trip so far!!!

Your excursion in Khasab looked gorgeous, what a treat to see all that beautiful scenery and able to snorkel as well. I really like the set up of the boat.

The food sounds delicious.

I really like the set-up in the theater with the love seats.

Too bad about the excursion cancelling in Muscat but glad they had it available for the second day. That excursion looked equally as lovely as the one in Khasab. Your hop-on hop-off bus on the first day was great too. Were you planning on doing that the second day or is this something that would have been a bonus? All the architecture is stunning, nothing I've ever seen before.

The pictures of the hummingbird are a real treat, wow.

I also liked the seagull pictures on the ropes.