Chasing Constellation from Rome to Arabian Nights November 2016

[peyroutous]

Thank you for a very interesting review and great photos. This one is on our bucket list!

 

 

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[missminnie]

Wow - love your photo's and thanks for sharing with us.

 

So excited to see your balcony as we board when you get off and are also booked into 6147 - our first time in a Penthouse and really excited to have all that space outside to ourselves.

 

Just 2 more days and we leave for Abu Dhabi and the Grand Prix - then we'll take your place in the Penthouse. :D

[snowowl]

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[need2bespoiled]

This is not going to be a short post, in fact it was very, very long. I’ve been writing it for a couple days. We’re somewhere in the Gulf of Aden. The itself was extremely long and they sites were many and amazing so there will be lots of pictures as well.

We arrived in Petra right on time and could easily sea Eilat across the bay

 

Dee was corresponding with our guide Abdullah via Facebook, email and through Viator. We use Viator most commonly to book tours, though also use personal recommendations, Trip Advisor, Tours by Locals and other sites to research guides. Viator provides decent reviews and a level or protection if things go wrong. The down side is they take a hefty commission from the guides, which means they get less, or you pay more. Once we were tied alongside the pier, we could see the van with our name in the window. The ship was cleared quickly and we were off right after 8:00a.

 

As I stated earlier, this trip has had the best combination of guides we have had on any trip, and that is saying a LOT given how long this trip has continued. If Abdullah isn’t the best, and most honest, he is certainly the most multi-talented. I am not sure what I can post here, but his email is amra37@yahoo.com If you search his name, or email you can find various (positive) reviews around the interwebs. Abdallah’s English is excellent, he is fully aware of the intricacies of private guiding, avoiding crowds and how to expedite entrances into sites, what to see and how to keep the tour moving, but these are expectations for any good guide and not what sets Abdullah apart. Below you will see a small part of why we all felt he was really an amazing guide (and he didn’t even pay me to say that). He was born in Petra (he says in a cave, which could be true but sometimes I wasn’t sure if he was serious). He is Bedouin and EVERYONE knows him in Petra. No exaggeration, EVERYONE. He says he learned to speak English by watching movies, but then he’ll follow up by saying “porn”. He has a degree in English Literature from Jordan university but he gained his smarts “the hard way”. The tour, which basically included two tours in one day was not inexpensive. Entrance fees to Petra are steep, and unfortunately, not much of the revenue goes to the site.

 

We all climbed into the earlier model 12 seat Mercedes Sprinter. We were 8 plus the driver and guide so not a ton of room to lounge but it wasn’t bad for the two-hour ride from Aqaba to Petra. Along the way he shared information about the sites, Jordan in general and prepared us some for Petra and the day ahead. We skipped the tourist rest stops many busses and other tours made and beat most tours to Petra, except for those from the other ship (Aida) in port the day we were. The time truly seemed to fly by! To get to the ancient city of Petra you need to drive through Petra. While Petra is and ancient city a newer tourist town has grown which a few years ago saw a half million visitors a year and many hotels pop up from guest houses to the typical American 4 and 5 start chains including the Marriott Petra. Since the Arab Spring tourism has plummeted and with it, many hotels have struggled or closed. I wondered several times, if Unesco helped Petra by re-settling the Bedouins, adding a gate and charging tourists.

 

We arrived at the gate, had a quick WC break and all but two of us hopped into 3 hour drawn carriages ($30 roundtrip each for 2 people). The ride down the “Seek” saves the long walk (maybe 1-1.5 miles?) to the ancient city of Petra and the “Treasury” but it is not an easy ride. The horses are pushed to go fast, probably too fast, the ride is bumpy and the seating is not well padded. Some would call it harrowing. This was the smoothest section. I am not sure I could have held my phone when it got bumpy. You can also head down on horseback or possibly donkey.

[YOUTUBE]

[/YOUTUBE]

 

But it is beautiful, no matter what I do the pictures of Petra, and especially Wadi Rum will not do the places justice.

 

We were the first down into the seek, and while we waited for the others in our group to arrive, three men approached Abdullah (who arrived out of nowhere) and showed him an envelope looking for the owner who’s name was written on it but neither he nor we could read the writing. Inside the envelope was $690 USD in cash. Since we couldn’t recognize the writing the three men went on their way, asking everyone they met if they knew who it belonged to. True story. Simply amazing! #NotinUSA

 

To be continued . . .

[need2bespoiled]

 

In true Abdullah fashion, he loves to joke and surprise and sets us up for views like this:

 

Up close

 

After a nice orientation and sharing information on ancient Petra and the Treasury he provides ample free time for picture taking. While there were a good number of people, not nearly as many as were around as we left (once the rest of the cruise ship passengers arrived). Of course, the day before he said it was empty. When we met back up at our meeting location, some chose to stay and have tea while those more abled bodied chose to walk further down into the ancient city to one of the larges tombs. If you are able at all, I would recommend heading further into the ancient city. You can also ride a camel down ($10 and up) or donkey but the walk is not bad.

 

To be continued . . .

[need2bespoiled]

We passed by benches of souvenirs selling Onyx from Pamukalle, some local crafts, trinkets and even rocks. We stopped at a “bottled sand art shop” with hundreds of bottles of beautiful sand art.

 

Abdullah asks if we want to see. After a bit of coaxing we agree and then he asks if we want to see how it is done. Of course we say, so he sits down and shows us, how at 7 years old he learned the art.

[YOUTUBE]

[/YOUTUBE]

 

Maybe I am easily impressed but once my jaw was closed or maybe my smile subsided a bit we moved on further into the city. Of course, what would an ancient city be, without a Roman Theater?

 

But this city, is like no other, from the rock formations

 

To be continued . . .

[need2bespoiled]

To the tombs that kind of remind me of those we saw on the Dalyan River outside of Marmaris, Turkey but instead of far away, these we so close. Some you could easily walk into them. While I asked about one others were going into, Abdullah explained about a couple of German researchers who catalogued and numbered them all, and showed us the largest one in the distance that we would be climbing and going into.

 

Along the way we passed a Frankensense (like incense) and spice shop.

 

And started our up close and personal climb. Some of the newer arches were done by the Romans.

 

To be continued . . .

[need2bespoiled]

This was a pretty common site along the way. Some ready for use by tourists, but some, like this one for locals.

 

I tried to imagine what it would be like to live in a place like this, especially when it rained.

 

And finally, we made it up to the largest tomb, which had been converted and used as a place of worship

 

If you have read this entire epically long posting, you will know that I have been fascinated by ceilings, but THIS one, it wins!!! Hands down, my absolute favorite.

 

I hate to ruin the surprise for anyone who choose to book Abdullah, but I can’t help but share this next video. He proceeds to tell us to turn in towards the back of the room and close our eyes and chants out a call to pray. Few things in my life have sounded as beautiful!

[YOUTUBE]

[/YOUTUBE]

 

To be continued . . .

[need2bespoiled]

Now seriously, after picking up jaw up off the floor, he stages these amazing pictures for us

 

We headed back towards the others who waited at the Treasury but I don’t have pictures. I was just too blown away. We had a bit of time to hang out, have a tea and for some play with cats. A little while later we mat back up with our buggy rides back up to the entrance gate. If anything the ride up was more harrowing than down. The driver felt like he had to “run” the horse up the gentle incline, dodging the tour groups waling down, other horses, and cartridges heading down and near the top I’m certain the wheel hit the back leg of a horse. We were unimpressed when the hard-breathing horse was made to leave on another trip down with little rest and no water. There is a sign regarding the treatment of animals nearby stating who to contact, but to me that only says they’ve had this questioned before.

 

By the time we left Petra it was slightly after 1:30p and we still had the drive to Wadi Rum, meet up with our Jeeps for the drive into the desert, and dinner planned in the desert. Pretty much an entire second tour, but we were hungry. While our standard modest operandi is to sit down and have a meal, there would be no time for that today. We had let Abdullah know we needed a snack but he would not let us by food at the tourist locations in or at the entrance to Petra. Instead he made a call and just after leaving the gates hops out of the van and what seemed as seconds later returns with 10 falafel sandwiches. The perfect midafternoon bite when dinner is planned for 5pm. We only made one quick stop on the wat to Wadi Rum, to look at the seek where we had been from above.

 

The drive to Wadi Rum is beautiful in and of itself. You arrive at the gates to a “rest stop” to switch vehicles.

 

If you notice all the above activities, if I ever have the opportunity to return, it would be for an overnight and climbing in the desert. If I don’t get to overnight, certainly a full day in Wadi Rum as I get the feeling we barely scratched the surface. We’re shown our “Jeeps” and yes, I know what you are thinking. That’s not a jeep, how comfortable can THOSE be for 8 people. Unfortunately, you’re right. After the horse drawn carriage ridges, these were not part of the “spoiled princess tour” we joke about since back in Bangkok in 2014 our guide Nat called us the princesses. I can’t say it was overly comfortable to ride around the desert in these. It was dusty, bumpy, with little padding and not much to hold on to, but it was completely worth it.

 

To be continued . . .

Edited November 23, 2016 by need2bespoiled

[need2bespoiled]

I have no idea whether this was a true Bedouin high speed transport or simply a tourst ride being moved, but I was lucky to get the shot when the camel came galloping by.

 

Followed shortly behind more wandering the dessert?

 

It wouldn’t be long before the sun set, which we would try and catch but we had a few sites on Abdullah’s list before we would find a place to watch including visiting a large crack in the rock faces with a running spring and climbing and archway. There were very few tourists, guides or commercialism, maybe because it was well after 3pm by the time we had had the requisite WC break, loading the “Jeeps” and headed in. Immediately we were provided with views like no other. I can make comparisons to Bryce Canyon, Zion National Park or possibly Sedona but it is different, maybe the sand is what makes it so different. If you can imagine 100ft of water, to me it mostly closely resembles what Halong Bay would be like if you drained the water and were left with the sandy bottom.

 

We knew we didn’t have long before the sunset but we pressed on.

 

We climbed into a crack in the rock, not too hard or far of a climb which were up some makeshift steps in the rock. I looked up to see the ceiling and instead was provided a glimpse of the sky.

 

To be continued . . .

Edited November 23, 2016 by need2bespoiled

[need2bespoiled]

Abdullah provided some explanations of the carvings on the wall, but would not let us go all the way into the “cave”, as we were under a bit of a time crunch and he had more to share.

 

That is water below

 

And off we went. I wish my pictures could show the size, height and depth of this area..

 

We next arrived at one of the smaller faces for a climb up. Like most rock here it was beautiful.

 

To be continued . . .

[need2bespoiled]

There was a small family working their way down with what appeared to be there guide when we arrived so it should be climbable by most but only three of us chose to head up. To me it didn’t seem far or take long but the archway did give me pause.

 

But the views were worth it

 

And I was excited when I made it across

 

That I actually tried and event succeeded at taking a decent selfie!

 

I asked Abdullah if it was time for evening prayers

[YOUTUBE]

[/YOUTUBE]

 

To be continued . . .

[need2bespoiled]

We made our way down and headed off to dinner. The light was beautiful but the sun had disappeared behind the ledges, so no dramatic sunset.

 

Lots of interesting rock formations

 

The drive wasn’t too long but it was plenty dusty when we arrived here for dinner.

 

Part Bedouin Camp, part luxury hotel, but it served as a nice setting complete with nicer running water toilet building (the only real building in the camp). In the courtyard there was “smoking lounge”

 

To be continued . . .

Edited November 23, 2016 by need2bespoiled

[need2bespoiled]

Most of us chose to wait for dinner in the lobby tent. It was about 4:45p with dinner planned at 5:00, and hour or so to eat, the 30 min drive back to the gates of Wadi Rum and our van and then one hour back to the ship for all about at 7:30p, sounded great. As we sat, several guests checked in for their disconnected time in the desert.

 

Behind the camp there is a face that looked climbable without too much effort so up I went up which allowed me to get a shot of the dinner and lobby tents and the pod they called “Mars”. Venus were the more tent like “rooms”

 

I tried again to get a shot of the sunset

 

After washing up, we were shown into the dinner tent

 

Since arriving in Wadi Rum, we knew that Abdullah was clearly not happy. It was later when I learned the meal prepared by the camp didn’t match the description he provided and what he expected. He was very concerned that we were not happy and offered to refund money for dinner. I was not in charge so I told him he had to deal with Dee who arranged the tour. Personally, we were thrilled with the day and without exception everyone thought it was great day. Dinner itself received mixed reviews. This is an example dish, it looked dreadful. Chicken, rice and vegetables covered in cabbage and cooked underground. Without added the hot salad and tzatziki style sauce we were told we could mix in, it was under seasoned but I thought edible. There wasn’t much chicken in it for 12 people including the 8 of us, the two jeep drivers, our van drive and Abdullah. There was also a lamb dish, the salads I mentioned (spicy), fruit and small cake style bites for dessert, but not enough prepared for even the 8 of us.

The reveal of dinner, a little scary at first

 

The 30 minute ride back was in total darkness, about 10 minutes before getting back to the rest area and our van, we stopped to look at the stars. Being from the mountains of Maine, we get to see many stars, the Milky Way and occasionally the Northern Lights but this was still magical with the Milky Way clearly visible.

INSERT PICTURE HERE (seriously, my phone didn't do it justice, but Abdullah was able to do a slow shutter speed shot that looked great but I don't have, so no pic).

 

We’ve been second to last back to the ship a few times, but this was the first time we were the absolute last to board when we walked across the gangplank at 7:30p, Darlene being the last to scan in, with security counting down those left ashore to the bridge. We had a 2500+ nautical mile sailing to the next port, most of which we’re doing at 19.5 knots to make it to Muscat by 10a! The only slowdown was to about 16 knots for the narrow (by shipping standards) Bab al-Mandab Straight off of Yemin. I actually emailed a few people I knew onboard to let them know we would be "on time" so which they were thankful for. I wonder if they would have actually departed without us? hmmmm....

 

While we had a snack for lunch, dinner was early about 5pm so at about 10p we ordered rooms service. I had read previous reviews of poor pizza via room service but I did no heed them. I am not quite sure what Celebrity is thinking serving this to anyone for Room Service but it would barely pass as poor lunch room or hospital food, the sauce tasted like what you would get in canned pasta, and while I am sure it was a frozen Pizza, it is so easy to use a commercially available Boboli style bread, sauce and cheese I don’t get this.

 

Almost done...To be continued . . .

Edited November 23, 2016 by need2bespoiled

[need2bespoiled]

Finally, to catch everyone up on unique elements of the sailing, we have our safe haven drill. Everyone received the following letter in their cabins 2 or 3 days in advance.

 

At 10:30a 2 days before the first night of no deck lighting and closed outer decks we had a “Safe Haven” drill

 

Most doorways are covered; all shades are down and we’re reminded at 6:15p ships time about the procedures. Today is the last night this is in effect. Tomorrow is the final “Chic” night and Thanksgiving. We’re in Muscat on Friday and arrive in Abu Dhabi on Saturday where we overnight Saturday and Sunday, departing the ship on Monday. Apparently we now know who will be stealing our “apartment” and wonderful service (I’m looking at you missminnie).

 

Happy sailing,

Jenna

[missminnie]

Finally, to catch everyone up on unique elements of the sailing, we have our safe haven drill. Everyone received the following letter in their cabins 2 or 3 days in advance.

 

At 10:30a 2 days before the first night of no deck lighting and closed outer decks we had a “Safe Haven” drill

 

Most doorways are covered; all shades are down and we’re reminded at 6:15p ships time about the procedures. Today is the last night this is in effect. Tomorrow is the final “Chic” night and Thanksgiving. We’re in Muscat on Friday and arrive in Abu Dhabi on Saturday where we overnight Saturday and Sunday, departing the ship on Monday. Apparently we now know who will be stealing our “apartment” and wonderful service (I’m looking at you missminnie).

 

Happy sailing,

Jenna

 

Hi Jenna

 

He he - We are so looking forward to it. Leave the UK tomorrow for our flight to Abu Dhabi.

 

I've loved your review and thank you so much for posting it. We've not sailed on Connie before so your information about the service you've received and some useful tips have been really helpful. I've read through the dailies you posted and some really good things which I hope will happen on our cruise too.

 

Have a fab last few days and safe travels. We'll take good care of the "apartment" for your next visit I'm sure. And thank you for taking care of it for us! :D

 

Laura

[Tony UK]

Thanks so much for a wonderful review, and for answering my questions along the way.

Cant wait till we set off for Abu Dhabi on New Years day.

Go Hamilton in the grand prix xx

[need2bespoiled]

Hi Jenna

 

He he - We are so looking forward to it. Leave the UK tomorrow for our flight to Abu Dhabi.

 

I've loved your review and thank you so much for posting it. We've not sailed on Connie before so your information about the service you've received and some useful tips have been really helpful. I've read through the dailies you posted and some really good things which I hope will happen on our cruise too.

 

Have a fab last few days and safe travels. We'll take good care of the "apartment" for your next visit I'm sure. And thank you for taking care of it for us! :D

 

Laura

 

We'LL see you at the races. Have a wonderful cruise. I'm sure Stojan will spoil you rotten. If you have specific questions I may be able to answer privately by email. My first name, the letter g and the number 6 at gmail.

 

Happy sailing,

Jenna

[SeasTheDay12]

Jenna,

 

What a wonderful review!

Between your photos and details, you obviously have a great talent to explore~

 

I have a whole year to wait for my booked cruise on Connie for this itinerary.

Would you mind sharing which side of the ship would be the best views, port or starboard? Aft not available, but if I act quickly I might be able to move sky suite. This far out I may get lucky for a a better possibility! fingers crossed!

Looking forward to the rest of your review and THANK YOU so much for the time it took to share it and show it to all of us!

Debra

 

 

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[Cruise Junky]

thanks for those amazing pictures! WOW.

[caribill]

We arrived at the gate, had a quick WC break and all but two of us hopped into 3 horse drawn carriages ($30 roundtrip each for 2 people). The ride down the “Seek” saves the long walk (maybe 1-1.5 miles?) to the ancient city of Petra and the “Treasury” but it is not an easy ride. The horses are pushed to go fast, probably too fast, the ride is bumpy and the seating is not well padded. Some would call it harrowing. This was the smoothest section. I am not sure I could have held my phone when it got bumpy. You can also head down on horseback or possibly donkey.

 

When we visited Petra we walked both ways along with our guide on the way down.

 

If we had taken the horse carriage down, we would have missed so much detail about what we were passing by as explained and pointed out by our guide.

 

If you can take the carriage up on the way back, it will save you much of the hard part (uphill) of walking.

[need2bespoiled]

Jenna,

 

What a wonderful review!

Between your photos and details, you obviously have a great talent to explore~

 

I have a whole year to wait for my booked cruise on Connie for this itinerary.

Would you mind sharing which side of the ship would be the best views, port or starboard? Aft not available, but if I act quickly I might be able to move sky suite. This far out I may get lucky for a a better possibility! fingers crossed!

Looking forward to the rest of your review and THANK YOU so much for the time it took to share it and show it to all of us!

Debra

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

 

 

 

Probably starboard for the first part of the cruise and the suez. Which also is the no smoking side.

 

But we love the port side so...but the balcony we have is hard to be disappointed.

 

Happy sailing,

Jenna

 

 

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[need2bespoiled]

When we visited Petra we walked both ways along with our guide on the way down.

 

 

 

If we had taken the horse carriage down, we would have missed so much detail about what we were passing by as explained and pointed out by our guide.

 

 

 

If you can take the carriage up on the way back, it will save you much of the hard part (uphill) of walking.

 

 

 

This is good advice. We have three with mobility challenges in our group and limited time so...

 

We did stop before the bottom to walk the last bit and absorb some of the info.

 

Happy sailing,

Jenna

 

 

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[FeelingCruisy]

Hi Jenna

Just reading your thread. Wonderful! Say Hi to Stojan for us. We had him right before your cruise (Constellation Oct 21 - Nov 2). He was great. We are Yeang and Terry.

[benjoon]

Hi Jenna,

 

Thanks for your wonderful review. I'm now even more excited to board the Constellation in 6 weeks. Even more excited to be residing in one of your favorite aft suites.

 

So where is your next adventure going to take you?

 

Anita

 

 

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