En Route to Alicante -Espagne

First of all we have been so lucky with the weather on this trip, no rain and 98% sun and good walking temperatures. Even our first few days on the Bay Of Biscay was remarkably smooth but we were lucky to leave when we did as the weather did get a lot worse with storms that arrived after we had left and hit  the UK and Northern France.

Today is a sea day and its also Halloween and so the ship is dressing itself for the event. Over the years I have always thought this is nothing to do with the Uk but just a money making and I have not changed my views. Even the restaurant menu has been prepared accordingly ( see photo).

Chelsea are hosting Manchester United this afternoon and I am hoping that it will be on Sport 24 which is a TV channel for sports for cruise ships and aircraft only, but as there is not a schedule I can find I am just going to have to wait by the TV to see if shows up. Its the same re the Formula One race last week in Texas it showed adverts for it but could not find time it was on and so guessed  by was almost an hour out and they were half way thro the race. Tomorrow its the Mexican F1 Grand Prix and will try to work out when its on and if its on TV.

It would be a lot easier if the Internet was faster as the when searching for something a bit complicated it gives up and the screen goes blank.

Ah well. I have decided to wait until getting home before uploading all my photos to my SMUG MUG PHOTO ALBUM as it would ages and not be successful whereas at home it will be done in minutes. 

So today on the main deck by the pool they are having a sort of sport day, can you imagine all these 80-90 years old's in their wheel chairs playing deck quoits and darts and table tennis whilst holding a large glass of wine so I think we will stay away.

The most important matter today is to order the Duty Free booze, apart from the football and F1 of course.

We have pretty much decided we will not use SAGA again, the ship isl almost OK but there are no quiet places to go and read a book except for your cabin. The venues seem to be taken up with all sorts of activities anything from bingo and line dancing and many other activities which we don't have an interest in. We have no problems in them offering such activities but they hold them in areas which should in our view left for a quiet. Even the library is open to the music and chatting in the bar below. So it looks like if we cruise again it will be with our previous carriers.

Was able to watch the Chelsea vs Manchester United game which we finally won 2-0 but what amazes me we can have a very good reception of the game, no interference at all, but when it comes to internet we have so many issues. The first half Chelsea made some bad ,mistakes especially Forfana but finally we won and Manu lost their discipline and had 6 yellow and one red compared to the Blues one. 

After dinner we went to see the show with three ladies called 'The Bluebirds' apparently they used to back cruise line singer Jane MacDonald who has a good reputation but these three on their own were pretty bad and so after 15 minutes or so we left and returned to the cabin and watched TV.

Tomorrow morning we arrive in Alicante, where Noel has been countless times on business, and also on holiday so there is a good chance we may stay on board,

See you tomorrow

We arrive in Tripani- Sicily

We arrived just after 0700 at the port but it is a difficult entrance the dock is too small and so there was a bit of going backwards and forwards a few times before we finally settled with the tail of the ship sticking out in to the Harbor.

The ship is so close to the town you can see in to peoples bedroom windows which might be a bit off-putting for some but we are on the Peninsular and so you can also see the sea the other side of the houses etc.

Trapani is a city in western Sicily with a crescent-shaped coastline. At the western tip, offering views as far as the Aegadian Islands, is the 17th-century Torre di Ligny watchtower. It houses the Museo di Preistoria e del Mare, with archeological artifacts. North of the harbor, the Chiesa del Purgatorio church holds wooden sculptures that are paraded around the city during Easter’s Processione dei Misteri.

A little bit delayed leaving the ship this morning as needed to spend some time in the office with taps and sink!!!unfortunately. One moment you are fine and then the next moment Bang..

At about 11.00 we left the ship and went down a very steep gang plank as apparently it was high tide and it was not easy getting the mobility scooter down even the crew struggled with it. We left the newish cruise terminal and was immediately faced with a problem of very few drop kerb's on out trip out but finally came to a street full of cafe's and bars and Churches which we walked along for a while and came upon the fishing port where a group of oldies were selling fish that did not not look to good to me. Anyway nearby was a small cafe where we stopped to have a beer before slowly heading back to the ship for lunch.

After lunch Noel did some reading and Jennifer went for a swim which was not a total success as the pool is small and the weather a bit cool so she came back and dived into a hot shower and then bed to get really warm.

We have booked dinner in the Grill again as we prefer it to the main Dining room which is a bit noisy and seems rather crowded and dark compared to the grill. Well we went to the Grill and it would appear it was Italian buffet night which Jennifer did not fancy so after all we went back to the main Dining room where Jen had a large chunk of roasted Salmon and me the prime rib.

After dinner we returned to the cabin to watch a file called Syriana but gave up after a while as it seemed rather complicated and the sound was to low and then it got a bit violent so we changed to a BBC channel with a documentary of how they get close to wild animals with electronic versions.

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A sea day en-route to Trapani Sicily via Messina Straights

Well let me start with a moan re the WIFI on board. I understood it is provided by STARLINK and so surprised it is so slow. So I ran a check and it is not Starlink direct but another company entirely called Marlink and the speed is about 3 mbps which is quite slow and with the number of people on board using it its not surprising that it is so bad. As a result all the photos that I have taken so far on our travels  will only be uploaded when I get home at the end of next week.

So back to today, breakfast as usual then time spent writing the blog and catching up with emails and what's app messages. Disappointed to learn that Chelsea lost out to Liverpool on penalties last night, yet another disaster to add to the current ones after losing the last couple of games. Then just to add to this disaster the Government says the following.

In 1000 days there could be war?????are we stupid or something. As an aggressor If I read this I would attack after 600 days as clearly you are not ready, what a joke. There is also this thing about storing water and looe paper and baked beans, is this related to recent cyber attacks on French Supermarket freezers, if it is then say so and not wrap it up like the Russians are going to arrive via the Channel Tunnel and visit the nearest Waitrose and empty the shelves of Loo Paper and declare the war is won, what nutters we have. They should all be locked up like Tommy Robison as they have committed more problems than he has. I give up. 

Back to today. A nice lunch followed by an afternoon of reading and then in the evening we went for a pre-dinner drink in the main bar followed by a nice dinner in the main bar. I must say the food has been really good and covered my FODMAP requirements very well..

Messina Straight Pilot Boat

We did not fancy the evening show and returned to our cabin to watch a film which we have seen before called the The Big Short' which is very good if not a bit complicated.

During the day our route took us from the East side of the toe of Italy and then up the West side thro the Messina straight and it reasonable narrow and you can easily see the houses on both sides

Today its Dubrovnik

 Usual 0700/0800 arrival and tied up and on the days the Captain comes on the sound system to let you know we have arrived and what the weather is like and when to be back on board ship. What amuses me is that he always starts the announcement with" this the Captain from the bridge" why not from his bedroom  or his shower I don't know.

View from our cabin

Loaded up with yesterdays and todays top up of  Loperamide we firstly went for breakfast and then at about 11.00 , slightly delayed due LARS, we went down stairs to collect the mobility scooter and on  to the the shuttle bus. It was about a 15 minute fast bus ride to the old town and passing the harbor where many small leisure craft were and a number of slightly larger vessels offering day trips etc. WE finally arrived at the Gate and there were serious parking issues with buses and trucks and cars all trying to pass each other whilst the buses were unloading passengers.

We walked around the fascinating old town taking loads of photos and it was very, very busy with tourists as there was also another large cruise liner in port and much bigger than ours. Lots of little alleyways and other larger pavements to walk around and it was like a labyrinth in many ways. Plenty of shops selling souvenir stuff and bars and restaurants all quite expensive we thought, but you are in a major tourist town so should not be unexpected. This town has considerable of history which I wont recant here but it is an amazing and beautiful place to visit particularly without all the tourists.

We stopped after about an hour and a half walking around for a beer and chatted to a couple of Americans who are planning to take a cruise from Dover next year and were asking the best way to transfer from Heathrow, so we tried to help them. The cafe wanted 16 euros for a baguette and so we went across the road and for 6 euros got a ham and cheese baguette which we ate before the bus returned.

We got back to the ship around 2 pm and went for an ice cream as its is very good on board and then sat and read the brief newspaper with the UK headlines which make bad reading. Also read about the terrible train crash near Madrid this morning , looks awful.

Returned to the room for an afternoon nap and the read the so called Budget , what idiots this Government are, you might as well increase the size of the sign to the illegal immigrants by advertising another 150 million quid to help them out. I haven't read the rest of the budge but sure its a waste of time.

No real plans for this evening as the entertainment in the main theater consists of the onboard singers and dancers who are not that good really, we shall see. 

We had a drink in the top floor bar where they do dancing lessons whilst we sat in the corner and watched for a while and then headed off to the Grill for dinner. Each night to enable the kitchen to create food that does not do me damage I have to complete a form which is the following nights menu which they can then adjust to my FODMAP needs, and to be frank this has worked vert well so far.

After dinner we did not want to watch the show and decided to watch a film in the room instead and I left Jennifer to make the decision what to watch, there is quite a lot of choice so will be difficult, lets see.

So the fil Jennifer chose was we have seen before with Helen Mirren called 100 foot Journey which we discovered later was filmed close to where we stayed in the Lot Valley.  A pleasant fil to watch, then off to bed bies...

We arrive in ZADAR (T he Greek?)

We drifted into the harbor around 0800 after the pilot joined the ship at 0700, needless to say I was not there to greet him. But a slow wakening process followed by an early breakfast at the crew on shore days carry our emergency drills which means closing some of the venues for about an hour.

We went for a walk around the promenade deck and t is quite bright and sunny , around 19 C it said, and then back to cabin for a while before we go on our coach trip around the area. Michael and family had a lovely afternoon in Antwerp and visited the chocolate museum where they appear to have a great time/ They are on their way to the Duinrell Amusement Park near Rotterdam where meet with friends and have fun for a few days.

Unfortunately Noel's LARS kicked in again yesterday after returning from the walkabout but looks like improving as writing this. We are on a coach tour in the afternoon called 'A glimpse of Dalmatia and it was a little boring.

We left the Port and headed South to the city of Sebenik which we could see looking down from the hills. The tour guide rattled on a bit, usually too much in my opinion, but some people do like be told the same thing twice or three times. We stopped on the hill overlooking Sebenik and took some photos and then the Tour guide informed us we would now going to  a nice place where you can have a nice walk, eat some food and use the toilets and take some photos . She failed to mention this was Motorway Services  Station where you have to pay to use the toilets. 

After that we went on to the Motorway heading back North and arrived back at the ship at 4.30 and went to the bar for some ice cream to stop us feeling too hungry as our early lunch was quite a small snack. However we don't want to eat to much now as dinner will be served at 6.15.

A quick rest and change of clothes and off the the bar for a pre dinner glass. Jen is is slowly trying out all the cocktails on the bar list and seems to be enjoying them. We went to the Gr
ill again tonight and an elderly couple sat next to us and were most interesting as a long time ago he lived in Saudi Arabia and when returning home after his tour he drove hos car all the way.

After dinner we went to see a comedian called Phil Melbourne and he was very, very funny. will watch out for him in future.

And so to bed

Split Croatia for the day

So we arrived into the busy port of Split in Croatia ,which is the second largest city in Croatia, just about 0800 this morning and we are here for the day until 7pm.this evening before leaving for the Port of Zadar.

People were pouring of the ship shortly after 9pm for their tours but us, taking it calmly with late breakfast we are planning just a walk around town. So we went for breakfast around 09.00 and then about 1045 got off the shop wand headed in to town. In retrospect its not a large place but on leaving the ship we were delayed by many people with bikes and cars and rickshas offering tour to almost anywhere, but were were firm and resolute with our planning.

We walked in to town which was about 15 minutes and then along the foreshore and then slowly the back streets and the market selling the usual tourist rubbish of bags and sunglasses, you name it they have it. After about an hour we stopped in a bar for a beer, rather expensive we thought, and then tried to find the old city which was interesting but actually not much left to look at. 

So by this time its 1330 and so we head back to the ship for lunch in the grill with both of us having mostly cheese and biscuit and a quick glass of Chardonnay.

Then back to the room for  a little mid afternoon ziz

A quiet afternoon and then suddenly it was time for pre dinner drinks in the Britannia Lounge and then on to dinner in the Grill and we then decided to have a quiet night in the cabin. Tonight we leave for Zadar further down the coast.

Another sea day

 We had to change the clocks overnight and revert by one hour which is always than the other way around and so a longer nights sleep.

We went for breakfast at around 0930 , earlier than our usual time and then went for walk around the promenade and settling down in the sun to let breakfast settle down. Noel is still LARS affected and so more of the Laxido please, YUK horrible stuff but it seems to work and better than the alternative which I will not describe here.

When writing this we are cruising up the West Coast of Albania en-route to our next port of call which is SPLIT in Croatia which we are looking forward to and hopefully the undersigned will be physically ready to go walkabouts  and hope weather is good. Its a bit more windy today than yesterday and I nearly lost my hat whilst walking on the promenade but there are less windy places on the ship.

Our son and our daughter in law and kids are en-route to a place in Holland with a group of friends /neighbors' for a week at a place called Duinrell, which is a holiday park and attached to a large Amusement Park to which they have been going for some years. So we hope they all have a nice time.

Its formal night tonight and some people do go the who hog but we do the bare minimum with Noel in a suit and Jen in a cocktail type outfit (trousers and loose floaty top)

Have been watching the news about the riots in France and Italy and also from time to time in Holland and Belgium and it seems that the press are being requested to not present the true facts of how bad it was and is today expected in Florence. The underlying fact it appears that non locals are protesting and in France mainly waving a non French flag whilst stealing from shops and fighting with the Police. In the UK a 15 year old boy was arrested by the police as he put on Facebook or similar a picture of his local MP with rabbits ears and teeth, arrested by god, who bad is that. Also when the foreign born illegal rapist get less jail time to the men who caused some antisocial behavior because of this event is sheer bloody madness. WHY HAS THE GROOMING GANG ENQUIRY BEEN SO MUCH DELAYED...ask the Labour Government
(?)

We had a restful afternoon reading and resting after a light lunch in the bar with snacks and ice cream and noel caught up with communications with his Biggles club. T his evening is formal night although you don't have to fully comply and there are areas where you don't need to where a suit of black tie which is us tonight.

We are planning to eat in the Grill tonight for a change, we have used it for breakfast but in the evening its fully decorated and as I| have to pre order my food so the kitchen can follow my FODMAP diet rules so also want to ensure its served in the right restaurant.

Its the Austin F1 race tonight and there is a chance its on the sports channel later at about 9 pm ish, we shall see and would be good to watch. So we watched the race and good result and sorry for Llando and Hamilton... buts thats racing

Malta, almost a day out

A slightly earlier start to the day with breakfast finishing around one hour earlier at 0930 as many people are on morning or afternoon trips around Malta.

View from our Cabin this morning

It was a little bit grey first thing but not really cold however the writer was not feeling to good with his LARS problems and the thought of sitting in a coach on bump roads for about three hours was suddenly less appealing than it had been when looking at the brochure a few months ago. So after a considerable amount of soul searching Noel decided he was safer on board than on the trip and so Jennifer went off at about 12.30 to join the tour.

The tour consisted of a trip around part of the Island and then over the top with two comfort breaks at various locations. Unfortunately most of the building are all the same with the light brown colored brick with houses like block buildings so really not the best in terms of character.

After leaving the ship they went East to towards the Airport and followed the Southern coast road and past  the Blue Grotto and along to Dingley View and the cliffs and from there to Rabat and Medina in the central part of the Island. They passed by the Victoria Lines fortifications and then East across the Island to St Pauls Bay and via Sliema and via St Julian's back to Valetta where they left the coach and joined the ferry back to the port and the ship.

The tour party returned around 1615, about half an hour later than planned and as the Grill had remained open to allow for late returning guests we went there for a cup of tea and Jennifer to get something to eat.

In the meantime Noel watched some of the news and then by chance came across the second half of the Aston Villa and Manchester City game which Villa won 2-1. However by comparison our Grandson Ethan is enjoying his football and we have attended a few games but today they won 10-4 of which Ethan scored five goals which was difficult for dad (Michael) as they add to his pocket money each time he scores so with five goals this get serious money now.

We went for our usual evening pre dinner drink in the Britannia bar whilst those guests learning to dance were trying out there steps with member of the dance crew. On two evenings we have been approached as these people have been no doubt told to chat to the guests irrespective if you want them there or not.

After dinner we went to the Playhouse Theatre to see the evening performance of the ships company singing and dancing to famous rock songs and to be frank it was not the best but passable but rest of the guests seem to enjoy it.

Finally got back to the bedroom and discovered that Chelsea had lost at home to Spurs by 2 goals. Blooming ridiculous but not able to watch so not really sure what happened although on Facebook this morning supporters were claiming the players thought they were on holiday and not playing a serious game of football.

Ah well , the same old Chelsea

Another day at SEA

Today is another full sea day en-route to Malta where we are due to arrive first  thing in the morning on Saturday.

We had the usual walk to the Grill for breakfast and I must say the croissants are really good, yes you can have a full English breakfast or the usual continental choices but after many years of our breakfast at home being a croissant, bagel or toast the thought of the Full English is not well received by my body.

I think there some design failures on the ship, I mentioned earlier about the library being open to sounds from the main bar and reception well the swimming pool area has a similar problem. Most people who go to have a lie in the sun or read  are being disturbed by people playing table tennis and darts with cheers and clapping  which must be quite off-putting for those trying to read a book. When you go to one of the main bars intending to have a nice quiet glass before dinner you arrive and there is dancing lessons taking place. Up one, two three, four and turn!!!. So after breakfast this morning we thought some fresh are by the pool and the noise from the table tennis  and quoits meant that after ten minutes we returned to the cabin for the peaceful sound of waves.

Maybe its just me that finds it a bit irritating, dont get me wrong we are enjoying the cruise but its these little things that show a little lack of awareness and planning.

Now back to today. We returned to the cabin for a short while and then around 1300 went for snacks in the main bar and for a complete change a little tub of ice cream which I must say was very good. Then an afternoon of listening to music for Noel and reading for Jen before we went for a walk around the deck several times and then returning to the room for a shower and then to go for pre dinner drinks before dinner.

Dinner was fine and we had finished by about 7.45 and were not sure about the evenings entertainment  in the playhouse and so decided to return to the cabin and watch a film.  

So we ended up watching James Bond in Time to Die, we have seen it before but always worth watching.  Tomorrow we arrive in the port of Valetta in Malta at around 0700 and no we will not be up early to watch the arrival.

POLITICAL BLOG- I have seen this somewhere before

 A few years ago when the US elections were taking place , many months in advance the Democratic ? party tried all the spin and lies in the world to stop Donald Trump getting elected. From false claims about being a  Russian agent, to a rapist all supported by many newspaper groups. Many legal cases were raised on so called financial fiddling, you name it and they started it even the FBI tried to help out the Democrats.

Even after all the efforts to discredit him he went on to win with a handsome majority. Some of the people picked for his cabinet are Presidents in the making and when compared to the UK cabinet they are not a patch on the US Guys and Girls.

Well, we are seeing the same moves in the UK now that Mr Farage and  Mr Lowe are active for their own parties Reform and Restore but with similar ideologies. The recent example of ITV placing people inside Reform is an absolute disgrace. But what really upset me is the following. The delay in investigating all the grooming gang matters and putting people in jail no matter who they are for allowing it, the total lack of control over immigration ( arrive at Heathrow  where u get the third degree and the risk of being rejected) but arrive on a runner boat, The Prime Minister is there to greet you and hand you a phone, credit card and free accommodation and full access to the NHS is obscene to say the least but he appears more concerned about bus fares and moving back to Manchester. No wonder there are jokes about people North of Watford.

The latest revelations about his connections to Manchester City football club surprised no one as most politicians are in it for the the money and benefits without ever being held accountable. Should this matter develop further and there is allegedly strong evidence to support this we could heading for a General Election which is long overdue as the last thing we need right now is another Conservative or Labour politician ( I say politician jokingly) to take over. Most politicians have never done a proper days work, yes there are exceptions, but trying to find one is really difficult. At least Farage and Lowe have proven their business skills.

So lets have a joint Restore/Reform party kick the hell out of the Conservatives and Labour but I don't mention the Greens and Lib Dems as they are rather pointless.

Anyway that my moan for today

 After the visit to Gibraltar yesterday we left there about 5pm en-route for Malta where we are due to arrive on Saturday morning around 0700.

S o today was (is) a complete sea day and no need to rush around this morning and breakfast was about to finish at 10.30 , a lot better than yesterday where is finished around 0930. Yesterday evening we need to charge the mobility scooter battery, we thought we had done so before leaving hone by obviously not so we had a couple of phone chargers, camera charging and mobility scooter battery going on.

Jennifer had booked a massage for today at 1245 and 75 minutes later returned and said it was one of the best she has ever had but now she was hungry and so we went to the grill for a snack and a cuppa. In the afternoon, Noel some emailing and catching up on the current news and Jennifer some reading before we decided that the bed looked inviting and so we checked that out for a pre dinner siesta.

We will go for a quick glass before dinner which will be in the main dining room where you can opt to join a group or have your own table for two although the tables for two are quite crowded compared to other ships we have been on.

Dinner tonight we both had the rack of lamb but it was extremely good and so no complaints about the food and service. The only strange thing we have noticed is that the Library which is normally expected to be a quiet and peaceful place is open to the main reception area and so their is a constant noise and worse when the instrumentalists turn up. We use our room and balcony if we want peace and quiet.

After dinner we went to the show which was 'The Beatles Experience' who were pretty good singing all the early Beatles songs and from there back to the room for some peace and quiet and reading before bed. There is another sea day tomorrow before we arrive in Malta.

We arrived in Gibraltar with full sun

 Apparently, the ship pick up the pilot around 0700, I say apparently as I| was not there to see it happen for some reason!. The sun came up just 0800 and we toddled of to breakfast around 0900 as they were closing the breakfast buffet early today as they were doing crew drills and of course guests going ashore on early trips.

The sun is shining and we planned to leave the ship around 11.00 for a walk around the town. Which we accomplished. A lot has changed since we were last here in 1970 ish with a lot of ground reclamation. We spent about two hours wandering around the main shopping area and then headed over to the Marina where we went to an Irish Pub for a coffee where we asked for an iced coffee but received a regular coffee with an ice cube?? work that one out.

We then walked alongside the sea for a while and by 13.00 we headed back to the shop for a snack lunch in the bar area. In the afternoon we spent time on the balcony watching the world go by before heading off to the front of the ship to see the sail away which we as being celebrated at the back of the ship and we understand it was totally overcrowded but where we were was very quiet. We watched as the harbor disappeared whilst holding on to a glass of something before heading off for an early evening dinner. During the evening whilst in the lounge we heard the call for ALPHA and cabin number which is a call for medical assistance

We chatted to our neighbors which is unavoidable as the seats are very close, actually too close , but there we are. We talked about travelling on the M25 which they abhorred coming form Norfolk, but that's what we are used too.

We decided to give the show a miss tonight and went for a quiet night in the cabin. 

Tomorrow we arrive in Gibralter

Usual slow start to the day, what is the point of rushing when you have lots of time on your hands.

We had breakfast in the grill and then spent most of the morning reading and catching up with the usual household stuff, check Lloyds Bank and Credit Cards etc to ensure that nobody is ripping us of.

Jen went to join what was to be a presentation on pearls to a number of people only she was the only one to turn up. We were not really hungry so went to the main bar where they tit bits of little bits of baguette  with prawns, also turkey and finally cheese , made a change form hot dog.

This afternoon we went for a walk around the ship several times to rack up the mileage and then back for a brief rest before we head off for pre dinner drinks and dinner. 

The food this evening was very good and I have no complaints, that's a first. After dinner we found a quiet place before the show with the Ventriloquist started his second performance which was much longer than the first and included audience participation with a full house compared to his opening night.

Tomorrow we arrive in Gibraltar for the day