Something Old, Something New, Nothing Borrowed, Something Blue

I'm so glad that you did this! :worship: You deserve it!

It was really enjoyable and I am hoping to spend some time doing the same next cruise.

Booking that dream cruise is definitely better than a very expensive photo package!

I think so.

Glad you got back at that little monster!

It gave me a certain amount of satisfaction.

Pics on the steps are cute.

Thanks.

A very special one , a dream cruise ... with a fair price !!

I am very pleased with this.

What a wonderful way to celebrate your 20 years anniversary !!

Our 20th anniversary is not until 2018.

Marco and I will celebrate 40 years in 2017,

That is very impressive.

I have already booked our flight to Orlando for July 2017 !! I love to keep dreaming all year round about the next trip

I am with you on that. If I do not have a trip planned then something is missing in my life.

hat is IF my old parents will be doing "quite well" -otherwise we should have to cancel the trip of course

I hope that all will go according to plan and you parents will be blessed with good health.

having a trip to look forward to helps us keep going among our very demanding jobs and everyday chores/troubles and health issues !

Again, that is a sentiment I understand. I love my job and cannot imagine anything I would rather do, but it can get very stressful and having regular trips to look forward to definitely helps.

I am starting to work this morning :sad1:

I hope you have a successful and quiet school year ahead.

PS We loved RC line too very much !!

I am glad that you like them, too.

Corinna
 
Really enjoyed day 17 thank you. What a blessing that the crossing into the canal got bumped to 5am. As soon as I read that I thought wohoo how much better is that than a red eye viewing.

Breakfast sounds good. Strawberry trimmings with pancake is the best. I love the strawberry goey sauce on DCL.

Lazy? Lazy? Naughty lady. You are not being lazy daring to rest on a vacation!

Let me allow myself to come too from fainting $500 for 5 photos. I would have also voted with my feet. It sounded like a lovely solo photo of you but you could get one painted for those crazy prices. How silly to charge such amounts.

How amazing of Graham to suggest booking the next cruise! I would have been all over that like a rash too. I can almost hear your heartbeat waiting for the next cruise consultant. I am glad one freed up.

Wow! A transpacific cruise that includes Hawaii I did not even know they did this! This is fantastic! 24 nights. What an intinery that sounds. Good that you got it in pounds plus locking in the flights pre Brexit!

Finally Bumper kid gets his punishment at last! A bumper kid sandwich. Music to my ears.

I am sorry I had to reread that when you said those words....

A cookie skillet with vanilla ice cream and hot fudge sauce...omg. I want to be on that 24 night cruise!
 
What a blessing that the crossing into the canal got bumped to 5am.

I was pretty pleased with this.

I love the strawberry goey sauce on DCL.

This one was very similar.

Let me allow myself to come too from fainting $500 for 5 photos.

This is precisely how I felt.

How silly to charge such amounts.

I suppose this ship is really designed for the Chinese market and people there seem to be big spenders. I just read that the Wonder is getting a portrait studio, too. Be interesting to see what they charge there.

How amazing of Graham to suggest booking the next cruise!

I was both shocked and impressed.

I can almost hear your heartbeat waiting for the next cruise consultant.

I think they could hear all the way to home.

A transpacific cruise that includes Hawaii I did not even know they did this!

They did this for the first time this May. The itinerary was a little different to ours. They did not stop in Kona, had an overnight in Maui and one of the South Pacific islands was different, too.

Good that you got it in pounds plus locking in the flights pre Brexit!

I was very glad how all of this worked out.

Finally Bumper kid gets his punishment at last! A bumper kid sandwich. Music to my ears.

It gave me a certain amount of satisfaction.

A cookie skillet with vanilla ice cream and hot fudge sauce...omg. I want to be on that 24 night cruise!

Unfortunately to get this, you need to sail on a Quantum class ship (Quantum, Anthem or Ovation). The menus on those ships are different. The rest of the fleet have the same menus.

Corinna
 


Oh my the RC website Corinna is frightful! They need to do something about that. It really puts you off booking a cruise. I tried to look at their cruises and gave up. No accessible option, slow website, not easy to find a cruise to a particular destination..

It's a shame seems the cruises are good.
 
Day 14 was a busy day for you both.

That hydrofoil sounds pretty awful! Glad you got to ride the train back as opposed to doing that hydrofoil again.

The lemoncello sounds really nice, too bad the shipping was so high. and to be intrusted with the keys, you both must have looked pretty trust worthy.

Pompeii, is just beautiful, I was there in 1991, and loved seeing everything, I need to go back and see what new things they have found.
 
Day 15 - Lovely relaxing day.

I too would have signed up for the Spa Special, that was a pretty good deal.

I love all the pictures, it looked like you and Graham had wonderful time. Always smiling.
 


Oh my the RC website Corinna is frightful!

That it is. If you want to see what is around, the best way is to check out the website of a travel agent. I find Vacations to Go particularly useful in that respect as they list them based on destination. They are a US based agency, but once you know what you are looking for, the Royal Caribbean website is manageable.

It's a shame seems the cruises are good.

They are.

That hydrofoil sounds pretty awful!

It was.

The lemoncello sounds really nice,

It is delicious. Unfortunately the first bottle is getting a little low.

Pompeii, is just beautiful

We loved it.

I too would have signed up for the Spa Special, that was a pretty good deal.

It was a great deal. Funny enough, I am actually writing about this right now. I am usually two or three instalments ahead when it comes to the writing up.

it looked like you and Graham had wonderful time. Always smiling.

We did and we had plenty to smile about. This was an all round magical trip.

Corinna
 
Day - 16

Love the back story on your name and that you felt close to your grandfather all day, that is a blessed day.

Love, LOVE all the pictures, and so glad yo enjoyed the day. Your food and wine look very tasty I could have enjoyed that meal also.
 
Day - 17

I love my sea days, and I know you do too, and we try and plan them at the end of the adventure. Like a Europe to US transatlantic.

I love that dress it is beautiful on you! and those pictures, the one with the black and white wall paper is very lovely.
 
Day - 18
I am finally caught up, but i am sure i will get behind again. :)

I am so glad you got to book your dream cruise. That is amazing!!!

so glad you and Graham gave the little brat some of his medicine, good for you both.

I am amazed sometimes that David can tell how I am feeling by just looking at my body language, he can sense things about me too, I always feel like we can communicate without words, to me that is a sign of a really good relationship. Congratulations.
 
that is a blessed day.

It was indeed.

Your food and wine look very tasty I could have enjoyed that meal also.

It was very simple, but utterly delicious.

and we try and plan them at the end of the adventure.

This worked out nicely on this cruise as the bulk of the sea days was at the end of the cruise.

Like a Europe to US transatlantic.

That does not seem to work out for us. When we did the westbound transatlatic in 2010, we had most of our port days at the end of the cruise. We have another westbound transatlantic booked for November and we have 6 days at the beginning and then we have all the port days at the end of the cruise with two sea days between New York and Port Canaveral.

I love that dress it is beautiful on you!

Thanks.

the one with the black and white wall paper is very lovely.

I love this backdrop. Graham is not so keen.

I am finally caught up, but i am sure i will get behind again. :)

I need to be more disciplined about getting this done. I was hoping that I would be finished with this trip report before we head to Paris, but this is not going to happen. I am now aiming to have this at least typed up before we get to Paris with this and the two mini trip reports done by the time we go on our November trip. I may have to double up, but we will see.

I am so glad you got to book your dream cruise. That is amazing!!!

I am really looking forward to this.

so glad you and Graham gave the little brat some of his medicine, good for you both.

I think this was long overdue.

Corinna
 
Day 19

We got up just before 5:00 AM, got ready and then headed up to deck 14. I was surprised how few people were around. I was expecting that a lot of people would have had the same idea, but the ship was positively deserted. There was nobody in the corridors or elevators, we did not bump into anybody as we walked along deck 14 and there was hardly anybody in the solarium either. I stopped to take a photo of an empty deck 14 all lit up before we headed to the solarium. Once we go there, we found a round lounger right by the windows on the starboard side. This would become our base for most of the day. We settled in and Graham had a walk around. They had set up a station with hot drinks and pastries near the bar. He came back with some coffees and some pastries. I gratefully accepted the coffee, but it was too early for me to eat something. I have to admit that this was a big question mark for me before the cruise. I really like that DCL adds little touches like this on days like the Panama Canal crossing or the Tracey Arm day on Alaskan cruises and I was glad that Royal Caribbean took the same approach.











At some stage Graham had to go back to the cabin to get something. I asked him to bring my fleece blanket, as it was pretty chilly. Once he was back, I wrapped myself in my fleece blanket and promptly well asleep. I did not miss anything. Even though we were supposed to start our crossing at 5:00 AM, we did not actually get moving until gone 7:00 AM and by then I was awake again. This had its advantages. Not only did I get some extra sleep, but also the sun was up by then so we got the full effect of the crossing. Initially there was not a great deal to see other than desert, a road and a train track. There were a bunch of smaller boats around us. Graham pointed out a couple of black cars on the nearby road that were travelling at the same pace we were. They were obviously there for our security. At some stage I headed to the Solarium Bistro to get us some breakfast. I made bacon sandwiches with toasted English muffins. I also brought back some hash browns and fruit cups. This was easy to eat without having to move from our lounger and filled a hole.





























 
We had a real treat coming up. Graham had his telescope set up and he spotted flamingoes a little distance away. As we got closer, we got a better look. There must have been hundreds of them. So I finally got the see flamingoes on this trip after all. For the most part early in the crossing, we just saw desert. At one stage, we saw the skyline of a town in the distance and occasionally there were small settlements right by the canal. Late morning, we passed a sizeable city with some interesting architecture. Then it was back to predominantly desert also some of the area was surprisingly green. When we had passed under the bridge, Graham went to get something to eat from the Solarium Bistro. When he came back with his plate, I went. Graham had gone with nachos and some salad. I had barbecue pork loin, some taco meat and roast potatoes. Once we had our lunch, I headed to the bar to get some Coke for me and some water for Graham.













































We then settled in for a relaxing afternoon. The scenery stayed much the same consisting of desert, small settlements with beautiful mosques and areas of greenery. For the most part, the road was out of sight so our escort switched from black vans to a helicopter. At some stage we came past an ancient looking structure. I got quite excited about this. Once I got home, I found out that it was actually fairly modern. It was completed in early 1929 and commemorates the defense of the Suez Canal during World War I. So even it is nowhere near as old as I had thought, it is still a fascinating part of history.













 
During the early afternoon, we cruised past quite a large city for a while. People thought that this was Suez. Just as we passed the city, there was a beautiful bay with plenty of beaches and nice resorts, which seemed to support the theory that we had exited the Suez Canal. It turned out that the city was actually Ismailia and the bay was Lake Timsah. Lake Timsah is fed by water from the Red Sea and is therefore a saltwater lake, but it is still a fair way from the exit of the Suez Canal. Anyway, people started to drift away and the solarium started to empty out. It was getting really rather hot near the windows so we gave up our round lounger and moved to two loungers at the back wall of the area where we had been sitting. We still had a decent view and the temperature was more pleasant.













The rest of the afternoon was spent alternating reading and enjoying he view. There may have been a short nap in the equation, too. Mid-afternoon the captain made an announcement. Because we had started the crossing late, we now would not be able to make our scheduled arrival time at Aqaba and at this stage he estimated that we would arrive in Aqaba an hour behind schedule and our departure time was also delayed by an hour. This was also when I found out that we had not completed our crossing and that we were due to do so around 18:00.













 
Around 17:30, I developed a graving for fries. I took the stuff that we no longer needed back to the cabin, as I wanted to pick up my cup before heading to the Windjammer. The message light on our phone was blinking. So I figured that I might as well deal with this while I was there. It was the organizer for our private excursion the next day. He confirmed the new meeting time and asked me to acknowledge that I had received the message. So I quickly called back to confirm and left a message. I then grabbed my cup and headed back upstairs.

It was still nowhere near 18:00 when I got back upstairs and I was surprised that the Windjammer was already open for business. I washed my hands and filled up my cup with some grape Fanta and then headed towards the area where the fries were normally found. They were still setting up this area so I had a look around at the various offerings. I was very impressed. They had a similar selection to what they had at lunch, but apart from the made to order pasta station, they also had a made to order stir-fry station and a section with various kinds of meat and fish that a chef would cook to order for you. I thought that we would have to try this before the cruise was over. By the time I had done the rounds, the fries had come out and I get a plate of fries with mayonnaise and ketchup, which I took back to the solarium to share with Graham.

Graham had gone back to closer to the windows as it was now a bit cooler. I joined him and we shared the fries. We then settled back down to enjoy the last part of the crossing. By around 19:00 we had cleared the Suez Canal and our captain checked how quick his ship would go. From this point forward for the rest of the cruise, we pretty much travelled at top speed to make up for lost time. The ship was still silent and there was very little in terms of movement.











 
I had assumed that we would hang around at the solarium to watch the sunset. However, once we had exited the Suez Canal, Graham suggested that we should get dinner. Two of our tablemates had a reservation for one of the specialty restaurants that evening and the other two were planning to just get a bite to eat at the Windjammer so we decided to pass on the dining room, too. We decided on the Kung Fu Panda Noodle Bar. This is on the pool deck just outside of the aft elevator lobby. Items there are priced a la carte, but at $2 for a couple of pieces of dim sum and $5 for a noodle bowl. I thought this was very fair. We both had the beef noodle bowl and shared some steamed pork buns. The food was nice and we had a view so we got to see the sunset after all.











Once we had finished our dinner and the sun had set, we headed downstairs to get some photos. Graham was in a mischievous mood and then one of our buddies decided to get into a photo with us, too.





















When we had done the rounds, we headed to the Bionic Bar. I had wanted to try this as long as we had been on the ship. I had read reports from the other Quantum class ships that this was always busy with long waits. That was not our experience on Ovation. It never looked particularly busy whenever I went past and when we got there, we were directed straight to an iPad. There is a reader underneath that you have to touch your Sea Pass card against and then you have to confirm that you are 21 or over. You then can access the menu pages. They have a large selection of pre-set cocktails or you can select your own. I was a little disappointed that they had neither a Margarita nor a Mojito on the menu. As I know what belongs into the drinks, I thought I could build my own, but they had neither sour mix nor Club Soda. In the end I went with one of the pre-set options, the Apple Blast. This consisted of vodka, Apple Pucker and Sprite. Graham had some concoction with cranberry juice and Bourbon from the pre-set menu. It was fun watching the robots make our drinks. While they were working on this, we could see on a screen what they were currently adding. It is a bit of a gimmick, but the cost of the drink was the same as anywhere else so it was worth doing it once for the experience. One thing that I did notice is that the robots were very generous with their measures. This was the most potent cocktail I ever tasted.

Once we had finished our cocktails, we headed back to our cabin to chill out. Graham put some DreamWorks film on, but I wanted to finish my book. I had originally booked to see one of the shows that night, but after an early morning and a long day, I really did not fancy it. I tried to change the day for the show, but even though the show was not until 22:15, I could not cancel it. It turned out that it was listed for all day. So I decided to head down to Guest Services to get this fixed. There were a lot of unhappy people there, as the Internet did not work particularly well. My problem fortunately was easily fixed. They managed to cancel it their end and then I was able to rebook for another day on the app. I then went to the shop that sold all kinds of odds and ends in the hope that they sold water for the next day, but I was out of luck. I picked up some cookies for both of us, some coffee for Graham and some Dasani Sparkling Lime water for me at Cafe Promenade on the way back to the cabin. We enjoyed our drinks and snacks before setting the alarm for the next morning and retiring to bed.
 
Day 19 and the crossing was fabulous. Very interesting. I recall reading how much it costs to take a ship into the canal and was beyond shocked! They charge per stateroom I believe. A ship can over $100,000 or something ridiculous.

Nice photo of the rare empty deck. I love these. Nice to get some seats early. I am pleased you saw some beautiful flamingoes. I adore this majestic bird also. They have a lovely display at Seaworld.

I love those cows! Aren't Mosques just stunning buildings of worship.

I enjoyed the journey through the canal with your photos thank you.

How lovely fresh hot fries! Dinner at the noodle bar sounded good. I guess that was the surcharge?

What a glorious sunset.

I am loving the photos tonight. How funny to bring in the photographer! Graham is in good fooling. Great photos and lovely dress.

That is funny the robot cocktails! A metal Tom Cruise. That is different having to book to see the shows. I recall you saying that in the earlier posts. I guess not enough room in the theatre for all onboard. Or only one showing that is longer.
 
I recall reading how much it costs to take a ship into the canal and was beyond shocked! They charge per stateroom I believe. A ship can over $100,000 or something ridiculous.

I knew that they have this kind of arrangement for the Panama Canal, but I am not sure how this works on the Suez Canal. I would not be surprised if they had similar arrangements considering that both have essentially got a captive audience.

I am pleased you saw some beautiful flamingoes.

I was so happy about this.

Aren't Mosques just stunning buildings of worship.

I love them, too.

I guess that was the surcharge?

Yes, but it was very fair. The noodle bowls were $5 and the dim sum was a couple of Dollars.

How funny to bring in the photographer!

That was her idea.

That is funny the robot cocktails!

I loved the concept and was absolutely captivated by it.

That is different having to book to see the shows.

This only applies to the production shows. For the variety type shows, you just turn up.

I guess not enough room in the theatre for all onboard.

The theatre was pretty big, but they offered the two production shows that took place in the theatre 3 times each. Two70 is a pretty intimate venue and that did not take much to fill, but they offered Spectra's Cabaret lots of times.

Corinna
 
Day 20
We had a bonus hour in bed due to our late arrival in Aqaba. We got up at 8:00, got ready and headed up to the Windjammer for some breakfast. Graham had his usual fruit followed by a cooked breakfast. I had a strawberry pancake with whipped cream and strawberry compote followed by fried rice and sausage. We both had coffee and juice. On the way out, I decided to check at the bar if they sold bottled water, which they did. So I got a couple of bottles of water for us. A couple of days later, I had a distinct “doh” moment when I opened our fridge. They have a small mini bar in each cabin containing various cans of soft drink and bottled water. So all this running around was for nothing, I could just have taken it from the fridge. The cost would have been the same than getting it from the bar.












After breakfast, we quickly went back to the cabin to grab our stuff and then we went to our meeting point. We were still out at sea at that time. The new arrival time was supposed to be 9:00 and we were supposed to be our meeting point for 8:45. The meeting point was near the midship entrance to the casino. When we got there, most people in our group had arrived. We went to our organisers and checked in. Then we waited. Initially there was only our group there and that was fine. However, there were multiple private tours organised through Cruise Critic and obviously all the organisers had the same idea and the area got pretty congested. Somebody from the cruise director’s staff came down and tried her hand at crowd control. She got us all to line up in two lines by the staircase leading down to deck 2. Initially this worked well enough, but as more and more people arrived, the area got quite congested again. At that stage, the ship was still moving. Some conversations went on via the radio and then we were asked to go downstairs. This solved the problem for a short while, but then we had the added issue that we filled the whole elevator lobby and people who started to arrive in the lifts could not go out. At some stage, Graham and I had got separated at some stage and he was still on the staircase. He took this rather interesting photo of the crowds. This was the only time where I really felt that Royal Caribbean dropped the ball even though this was not entirely their fault.








Once the ship had been cleared, disembarkation was very quick and smooth. I know that they market the ship sponsored excursions by stating that people booking those would be first off the ship. That day this was not the case. We were off first. We made it off before even the photographers could get there. One of the organisers directed us towards the bus and the other one checked us off his list as we got on. We were on our way very quickly. It is about a two hour trip from the port in Aqaba to Petra. Our guide introduced himself and his driver and then told us a bit about Aqaba and the surrounding area. Aqaba is the only coastal town in Jordan and as such, it has a special status. The area around Aqaba including the city itself is a free trade zone. Before the cruise, I was under the impression that there is nothing of interest in Aqaba. I was wrong. They have some fantastic beaches there, a wealth of history (there has been a settlement there since about 4000 BC), beautiful architecture and world class snorkelling and diving. Had I known this before we went, it would not have changed my plans for that day, but there is a strong possibility that we will return to Aqaba for a holiday at some stage.





As Aqaba is a free trade zone, at some stage we had to cross a check point when we left that area. Our guide continued to introduce us to his country, pointing out Israel in the distance at one stage and also pointed out various sites that are significant to Christianity. This kind of surprised me. He also told us about the Bedouin culture and what the government is doing to support those communities. It was all rather interesting and time flew. The fact that we were treated to some pretty stunning scenery certainly helped, too. The scenery was even more stunning when we came back due to the changing light.

















Just past the half-way mark, we stopped at rest area that had bathrooms and a gift shop. Most people used the bathroom, but I had quick look around the shop before getting back on the bus. The day was definitely educational and one unexpected piece of education I got is that if you have dual nationality, it just means that sometimes you are ashamed of people of two countries rather than one. I definitely had ample opportunity to be ashamed of citizens of both countries that I am a citizen of. Just before we approached the rest stop, our guide checked if people needed a bathroom break or wanted to push on. A significant number of people needed a bathroom break, which was not that surprising considering we were waiting for quite some time before we even got off the ship and had been on the bus for just over an hour. So our guide said we would make a 20 minute stop. There was a couple from Germany that was sitting near us that were very vocal about complaining and stating that this was ridiculous as this would mean that this would mean we would lose the advantage we had leaving ahead of the other coaches. I could understand their disappointment, but was also a bit surprised by how forceful they were with their complaint. Anyway, soon everybody was back on the coach and I don’t think we lost much of the advantage. I saw a couple of buses going past while I was waiting for the rest of the group to come back.





After we set off again, it did not take us long until we reached the modern town of Petra. I had not appreciated that there was a town by this name, too. Our guide pointed out his neighbourhood and also shared that he comes from a Bedouin family and that up to the age of 11, he lived in one of the caves within the historical site. Then his father took a job in the modern town of Petra and the family moved there. Up to the mid-1980s, members of a Bedouin tribe still lived in the caves of the historic site. Once Petra became a UNESCO World Heritage Site, they were forced to move out and a new village was built for them on the opposite side of the historical site from modern Petra. Most people from that village work at the historical site as tour guides, animal handlers or at the shops and restaurants. Our tour guide shared with us that we would likely encounter children from the village that would try to sell us postcards, jewellery and various trinkets. He asked us not to buy from them. The kids skip school to sell their goods to the tourists and the locals are hoping that if they can’t sell their stuff, they will return to school.





We arrived at the entrance of the historical site shortly afterwards. The historical city of Petra is completely hidden. Even from the entrance, you cannot see it. We passed the visitor centre and a square with a fountain and various shops. There were bathrooms there and we stopped at those before setting off for the site proper. Near the visitor centre, we saw the first tombs and we stopped while our guide explained what we were looking at. Then we headed towards the Siq. The Siq is a canyon leading down to the historic city itself. We were lucky on the day we visited. A cold front had come through a couple of days earlier keeping the temperatures down. When we arrived, the temperatures were in the mid-twenties. I had heard that the Siq can be like an oven. We found it to be a very pleasant temperature that day. The mountains that form the canyon provide a lot of shade. There are horses and horse-drawn carriages going up and down the Siq and I had read that this can cause problems, but this was not our experience at all. We walked close to the sides and the carriages kept to the middle. We stopped a few times on the way down to take photos and for our guide to point out things of interest including the irrigation system that Petra is famous for. We also encountered the kids that we had been warned about. They were impeccably polite and seemed to be really interested in us. I have to admit that I did wonder if they actually learned more by being at the site than what they would have done in school.



























































 

GET A DISNEY VACATION QUOTE

Dreams Unlimited Travel is committed to providing you with the very best vacation planning experience possible. Our Vacation Planners are experts and will share their honest advice to help you have a magical vacation.

Let us help you with your next Disney Vacation!





Top