Bit of a Blog : Rhapsody : B2B : Singapore - Dubai - Istanbul : May 3rd 2015

Linda, your pictures are so beautiful. I feel like I'm right there with you. Thank you for sharing. :)

Wow...your pics and commentary are amazing. Like Nancy said....I feel like I'm right there. :)

Wonderful photos of Dubai. Thank you

Very much enjoyed the Gandhi photos Linda, thank-you.:)

Forward to the moment right now for a minute

2300 or so not very happy passengers.

We are stationary at the entrance to the Suez Canal. Many stationary vessels in the vicinity. Local inspectors have boarded and disembarked with paperwork. We are awaiting our turn to process north..... this evening. The choice given to the Capt was either go up this evening or take a slot at 11pm tomorrow evening thereby missing the next port of call, Ashdod. We'd been anticipating entering the canal at around 6am tomorrow morning so we're probably going to miss seeing the Great Bitter Lake and maybe Ismaliah too.

The sun has just gone down, much later than we're used to further south. The sea is very calm, like a millpond. Now sat in Viking Crown.

Am very disappointed. Here's a map for you

How disappointing! Having just taken a Panama full transit last month I understand how frustrating it would be to have to cruise through the Suez canal in the dark. :(

How disappointing! Having just taken a Panama full transit last month I understand how frustrating it would be to have to cruise through the Suez canal in the dark. :(

The lights on either side are very pretty. We are inching forward. We are about to pass the markers on either side that indicate the start of the Canal..... I think.... when the latest batch of Dubai pics have uploaded I'll head down to 10 and have a walk around..... will be up at sunrise.

There's been a very unhappy pax kicking off in the Viking Crown about the timing. Sigh.

FWIW, I'm pretty sure there's really not all that much to see while transiting the canal, aside from other ships transiting at the same time, and a touch of the desert along the way. But, I can understand being disappointed at not being able to actually watch a much anticipated part of the cruise.

On the other hand, personally I'm very happy your captain made the choice to transit tonight :D. At first I thought you were going to write that he chose to miss Ashdod- and therefore my chance to meet you! :eek: :p;)

We've made our 'Technical Stop' in Port Said and are chugging towards Ashdod. I had a wakeful night; each time I awoke I took a pic of the TV screen which I'd left on with the map showing our location. Should prove interesting when I upload them. Set the alarm for daylight and there were quite a few out on deck 10 with me. Apparently, other than the tug that was trailing us, there were ships behind us..... I couldn't see any..... maybe one..... and none ahead.... There are very small craft on both sides of the canal with a few fishermen on each. They have nets.

Port Said is a busy place waking up to start the day. Car ferries cross our path taking commuters to either side of town. There was a hawker on the pier trying to sell us his wares..... he had a rope.... am guessing that was to tie items to and then lasso them up (?).... very enterprising but a failed exercise on his part..... we are not allowed ashore. There are a couple of armed police (?) and assorted gents in uniform. 3 board us. The gangway has been taken up..... I don't stay to see if they get off in Port or are taken off by boat.

Today's Compass.

DAY 9 RH Cruise Compass, At Sea - Suez Canal, May 25.indd.pdf

Thank you for the links and updates.

We pull in to the Jumeirah Beach Hotel, a place where your car is parked for you. Seems we are in excellent company

Just a couple of pics from lunch.... clearly not in WindJammer. They also had a cute low self serve centre for children.

My lovely friend Donna and her husband Max

NOT their car

We drive to the Dubai Mall. This is the Emirates Mall with adjacent ski slope

There is an aerial railway. Architecture is very different on this drive to the previous

I can't see the top from the car.....

The Mall is totally overshadowed....

This mall is HUGE; the largest in the world as it happens. 1,200 shops with most of the very high end luxury shops present eg Temperley, Pierre Cardin, Pronovias etc

There's also an ice rink

Linda, thank you so much for the pictures of Dubai

This is when my day deteriorated and went rapidly downhill and I headed back to the ship

I get to the Burj Khalifa on my return but am denied access as I'm not a resident. So near and yet so far

So I head to the Aquarium and Underwater Zoo in the Mall

The shark tunnel

Sorry to hear that the canal passage is during the night. I know everyone was looking forward to the sights during the day. I think when you go on a cruise there are just many things that out of RC's control.

Still amazing photos and information that you are sharing with us!

The Aquarium is divided over several levels.

The there's a cute little simulated submarine ride for the kids

I'd signed up for a boat ride..... well in a Mall you would right? This sign was really intriguing

There are little craft that sail/drift above the tank....takes about 20 minutes to do the circuit in glass bottomed boats

There are divers in the tank below

There are many displays to walk through..... I was so surprised and impressed

I'm sure many of you will recognise this by the brand colours and logo.....

This can only mean one thing

I'm not getting off!!!

In our news tonight; don't know if you saw it. (Temps here during your visit: 90-92 in Jerusalem tomorrow, going up to 100 on Wed.)

Hundreds die in the wake of extreme heatwave in India

05/25/2015

Over 430 people have died during over the last few days due to an extreme heatwave passing through India that has seen temperatures rise close to 50 degrees Celsius (122 degrees Fahrenheit), officials told AFP Monday.

Officials expect more casualties as the days-long sweltering heat is predicted to rise even further, with some fearing the conditions will lead to power shortages throughout the country.

In the provincial town of Andhra Pradesh alone has seen over 230 deaths over the past week, and local authorities have issued warnings to laborers to refrain from working long hours in the sun, AFP added.

Johnny Rockets? I'm wondering why some signage is in English? I would think it would be all arabic.

Dubai sure is a very clean and modern city from what I could tell from your pictures. Architecture is amazing. One picture of the skyline doesn't even seem real.

Pictures of the poverty in India were distressing. Information and pictures of Gandhi were wonderfully educational.

I think the name of this thread should be BLAST of a blog. Truly awesome.

Continue to have smooth sails.

Onward to Ashdod!

You've all been incredibly kind with your comments. Have read each one and valued the support. Turns out DD2 has been reading along. Lovely to know she saw my birthday shout out. She tried to call me in my room yesterday but the options seem to have taken her to 'Olympia Explorer'; the number she's supposed to call is 001 732 325 3265 from outside US according to room phone.

Clocks went back an hour last night and I went early to bed so it's now 3am.

Today I am taking the RCL 'Jerusalem on your own' tour to be assured of transport back and a waiting ship..... am meeting an acquaintance for lunch; he came to Jerusalem on 'Aliyah' (new immigrant) at least a couple of years ago if not longer. We met volunteering at a home for people with mental and physical challenges. They have made a gift for him and I am excited to be delivering it today. Then 'Happy trailer' aka Ruth for a walkabout. Not sure at this time what time the bus will leave for the return journey.

Here's today's Compass

DAY 10 RH Cruise Compass, Jerusalem, May 26.indd.pdf

i have my old sea pass card, my new sea pass card and a transit card. Please note pre-punched holes for lanyards.....

The queue to disembark is crazy busy...... there's no way I'm queuing in that melee so I head up to breakfast

They have a hot buffet laid out in Park Cafe

The queue to disembark is exacerbated by the fact that many are taking their own cases

In the terminal they're all set up for people to check in

I check out the Duty Free shops

Thank you.:):)

There was a minor mutiny on the bus this morning when it was announced that we needed to be back on board by 3pm for the return journey. We managed to get it stretched to 330pm by the time we got there.

I headed straight to the Western Wall..... at the top of the first run of steps ran into a couple from the roll call on their private tour.

Found my way easily to the wall from memory and had a quiet moment there. Shopped in the souk on the way back. Then took a bit of a walkabout to find my friend's meeting point but got there exactly on time. Had a lovely lunch catching up with him..... he tells me it's been 4 years. He really loved the gift I'd brought for him.

Ruth then met me and we walked back to the bus meeting point. She helped me shop for the ring I've been hunting for. Got one back at the Jaffa Gate of all places...... Ran into our waiter there!

Jerusalem has changed A LOT from when I was there last. Still vibrant, charming and oozing history though.

Happily back on board but not without incident...... we couldn't get into the port as the driver couldn't find the right entrance and then when he did we drove around for a while down dead-ends until he reached the right drop off point. We were followed by another bus for most of the journey in.... they too were lost.