Holy Land and Arabian Gems

[Heather White]

Two questions to anyone who has done this cruise:

Is there likely to be a Shopping with the Chef, and if so which is the likely port?

There are quite a few sea days. What sort of activities can one expect?

[texanaust]

Trivia, trivia and more trivia!  Plus plenty of port and enrichment lectures, bridge, baggo prize games, shuffle board, cocktail making competition, chef demonstrations and a belly flop competition in the pool...(actually I made the last one up!)  

 

Not sure about Shopping with the Chef.  Definitely not available at least one year that we sailed and we forgot to ask last time.  

[dalliowner]

We did the cruise before this  earlier this year also with a lot of sea days. There will be Trivia on all sea days , also on our cruise there were Art or craft classes  , dancing lessons , card ( bridge ) lessons , cookery demonstrations . I would imagine the cruise you are asking about will be similar, we will find out as we have already booked it for next year.

Hope that answers  your question

John

[Heather White]

Sounds fun! Thanks.

[MHF]

I am booked on this for May 2020.  Looking forward to resting on sea days so I can go-go-go to Petra and Israel and Athens.

 

Missy

[koalapanda]

We cruised this itinerary in 2018 and loved it. A real eye opener and mind changer.

Our shopping with the Chef was in Oman, mainly focused on the fish market where a very large Tuna was purchased. Otherwise apart from delicious dates the produce was not very exciting, being primarily shipped in from elsewhere. Our experiences with Shopping with the Chef have been many and always exciting and enjoyable . On this itinerary it is probably more interesting to go to the Souk.

[MsMermaid]

On 9/19/2019 at 4:24 AM, dalliowner said:

We did the cruise before this  earlier this year also with a lot of sea days. There will be Trivia on all sea days , also on our cruise there were Art or craft classes  , dancing lessons , card ( bridge ) lessons , cookery demonstrations . I would imagine the cruise you are asking about will be similar, we will find out as we have already booked it for next year.

Hope that answers  your question

John

It must have been quite a good cruise if you are going to repeat it next year!!!!

 

[dalliowner]

I said we did the cruise before this,ie Singapore to Dubai , but yes we did enjoy it that is why we decided to do the next segment Dubai to Athens next year

[lydiamight]

Did this cruise last year---from memory there was no "shopping with the Chef' but as our cruise was during the month of Ramadan this may have been the reason. Don't miss the opportunity to take the Seabourn excursion to Jerusalem---quite a long day but well organised (as is usual with Seabourn) and well worth it.

[koalapanda]

There is an important issue with visiting Petra which I have mentioned on a previous post. Petra is certainly one of the "Wonders of the world". However be fore warned,  if you are not a VERY fit person please take a golf buggy to visit the Treasury etc. These vehicles can be hired at the top of the walk. The terrain is uneven and approximately 3.5km in to the Treasury and the same on return but uphill. There is virtually no shade along the route.

As older folk who exercise daily we found it difficult and for Panda the degree of difficulty spoiled the experience. Lunch was fantastic at the lovely Hotel post walk. After replenishing with fluids enough for three camels preparing to cross the desert we climbed back on the bus . We were all but exhausted but then revived by the surprise caviar and champagne stop on our return to the ship. The  CD Ross was dressed in Arabian clothes and senior staff in their Whites set the tone. Their efforts to bring the food and drink and setting the scene was such a special treat. Returning to "Encore" the red carpet is out and singing staff greet us . Our lovely Suite awaits, a long shower, a short rest, a few Panadol , then a delicious meal, a few wines and we were ready for a magical Arabian night on the Pool deck. Panda in his Arabian outfit as were very many guests boogie'd totally forgetting about the warmth of the night air. Staff constantly moving around with iced water to hydrate the revellers . It was a fantastic scene.This is a wonder filled cruise and we would happily cruise this itinerary again.

Edited September 23, 2019 by koalapanda
...

[cuddles115]

47 minutes ago, koalapanda said:

There is an important issue with visiting Petra which I have mentioned on a previous post. Petra is certainly one of the "Wonders of the world". However be fore warned,  if you are not a VERY fit person please take a golf buggy to visit the Treasury etc. These vehicles can be hired at the top of the walk. The terrain is uneven and approximately 3.5km in to the Treasury and the same on return but uphill. There is virtually no shade along the route.

As older folk who exercise daily we found it difficult and for Panda the degree of difficulty spoiled the experience. Lunch was fantastic at the lovely Hotel post walk. After replenishing with fluids enough for three camels preparing to cross the desert we climbed back on the bus . We were all but exhausted but then revived by the surprise caviar and champagne stop on our return to the ship. The  CD Ross was dressed in Arabian clothes and senior staff in their Whites set the tone. Their efforts to bring the food and drink and setting the scene was such a special treat. Returning to "Encore" the red carpet is out and singing staff greet us . Our lovely Suite awaits, a long shower, a short rest, a few Panadol , then a delicious meal, a few wines and we were ready for a magical Arabian night on the Pool deck. Panda in his Arabian outfit as were very many guests boogie'd totally forgetting about the warmth of the night air. Staff constantly moving around with iced water to hydrate the revellers . It was a fantastic scene.This is a wonder filled cruise and we would happily cruise this itinerary again.

Thanks very much for the heads up. I hate to be "worn out" and not being able to appreciate Petra.

[dalliowner]

That is so helpful, thank you very much.  I have already started my 'get-fit' for Petra campaign and my husband John (who usually posts here) will have to step his up a bit!!

[MsMermaid]

On 9/23/2019 at 7:38 PM, koalapanda said:

There is an important issue with visiting Petra which I have mentioned on a previous post. Petra is certainly one of the "Wonders of the world". However be fore warned,  if you are not a VERY fit person please take a golf buggy to visit the Treasury etc. These vehicles can be hired at the top of the walk. The terrain is uneven and approximately 3.5km in to the Treasury and the same on return but uphill. There is virtually no shade along the route.

As older folk who exercise daily we found it difficult and for Panda the degree of difficulty spoiled the experience. Lunch was fantastic at the lovely Hotel post walk. After replenishing with fluids enough for three camels preparing to cross the desert we climbed back on the bus . We were all but exhausted but then revived by the surprise caviar and champagne stop on our return to the ship. The  CD Ross was dressed in Arabian clothes and senior staff in their Whites set the tone. Their efforts to bring the food and drink and setting the scene was such a special treat. Returning to "Encore" the red carpet is out and singing staff greet us . Our lovely Suite awaits, a long shower, a short rest, a few Panadol , then a delicious meal, a few wines and we were ready for a magical Arabian night on the Pool deck. Panda in his Arabian outfit as were very many guests boogie'd totally forgetting about the warmth of the night air. Staff constantly moving around with iced water to hydrate the revellers . It was a fantastic scene.This is a wonder filled cruise and we would happily cruise this itinerary again.

Do you recall the approximately cost of the golf cart and are they plentiful enough you can count on them?  I don't think my husband will be able to do the 5 mile walk.

 

 

 

 

[Heather White]

Thanks to everybody for their input. I imagine that during the sea days (end of October and beginning of November) the weather south of Arabia will be very warm.. ..Thinking of what to pack.

[galeforce9]

3 hours ago, Heather White said:

Thanks to everybody for their input. I imagine that during the sea days (end of October and beginning of November) the weather south of Arabia will be very warm.. ..Thinking of what to pack.

Scorching when we did it at that time of year 

[koalapanda]

MSMermaid said : Do you recall the approximately cost of the golf cart and are they plentiful enough you can count on them?  I don't think my husband will be able to do the 5 mile walk.

 

I am sorry I cannot help you with your question personally . Our misfortune was we did not know about the golf buggy until after the event.

I did try to look into some of the roll calls for this and similar itineraries on CC. THEN😲 As I wrote a light went on in my cranial memory board.

Type in "Golf Buggy to visit Petra" in your browser. BINGO. There is a lot of good info to assist you.

[Sunviking]

We took a golf cart when we visited Petra in May. It held 5 people and if 

I recall correctly it cost $90 for the two of us.  There are not many of them. The guide on our tour bus arranged it for us when we arrived in Petra.  We did the walk down and back the first time we visited several years ago and knew we couldn’t do it again. The $90 was worth every penny in our opinion.

[Heather White]

With tours in Israel, Jordan and Oman, would it be acceptable to tip the tour guides in euros, pounds or dollars, rather than changing small amounts of currency?

[dalliowner]

I have never found tips turned down in any currency