Live from the 2022 Grand Africa

[Scrapnana]

A Marvelously Mundane Day II - The Sequel - November 22 

 

Another quiet day with my usual activities.  The one thing I did different was to hear the pipe organ play.  The pipe organ is in the center of the Atrium from deck 3 up to deck 5.  It does not play every day and every time it has so far I had been playing trivia. I made sure I was on deck 4 (so I could look up and down) before 1 o'clock.  It played three songs and until today, I did not know that some of the figures move. That was my one out-of-the-ordinary activity for the day.

 

At dinner we talked about what we were doing over the next few ports.  We agreed that we would not be at the table tomorrow because a local group is going to present a show at 7pm (only the one show) and we wanted to attend.

 

The singers and dancers performed "It Takes Two" and after the show I had a walk around the deck and called it a night.

 

This evening we passed Cape Agulhas - the southernmost point in Africa and the farthest south we will go on this cruise.  Cape Town tomorrow.

 

4pm trivia - 3 other "orphans" (their teammates were on safari, also) and I played together.  We had 12 out of 18 and the winning team had 17.

1.  What country consumes the most coffee per year?

2.  Black-eyed peas are not actually peas.  What are they?

3.  How many furlongs in a mile?

4.  What is a group of moths called?

5.  When was the first Nobel Prize awarded?

 

 

1.  U.S.

2.  legumes or beans

3.  8

4.  eclipse

5.  1901

[zelker]

Thanks for your continuing report.  Looking forward to hearing and watching the organ when we board next month.  So how do you know the schedule for it?  Also, have they started decorating for the holidays yet?  

 

Assume they still haven't switched to the interactive TV/system yet or you would have mentioned it?

[spleenstomper]

I’ve been enjoying your updates and I’m sorry you were robbed!

[Seasick Sailor]

Goodness I'm so sorry to hear you were robbed. It  does overtime leave you feeling vulnerable when walking alone.

 

My husband was robbed in Barcelona at the marketplace a night before leaving on a cruise. We spent several hours at the police station.  His entire wallet and $1400 euro were taken. We are thankful to God he was not injured, but his license,  military ID/insurance card etc was gone and had to revisit/reorder/renew new cards. 

[Scrapnana]

19 hours ago, zelker said:

Thanks for your continuing report.  Looking forward to hearing and watching the organ when we board next month.  So how do you know the schedule for it?  Also, have they started decorating for the holidays yet?  

 

Assume they still haven't switched to the interactive TV/system yet or you would have mentioned it?

It is posted in the Where and When when the organ will play.  It takes about 15 minutes for the three tunes to play.

 

No Christmas decorations.

 

The TVs are still the old crummy ones.  

[janmcn]

So sorry about your incident! I will say that my husband and I never go ashore in most places nowadays without wearing our “pickpocket proof pants” from here:https://www.clothingarts.com/?gclid=CjwKCAiApvebBhAvEiwAe7mHSLZrPiCziNyg4Zh7uTCnPDs2bXatPbF06tRBxqPYQ9EPDX0XBSB7XRoCBTUQAvD_BwE

 

We each have several pair. We know it’s stopped at least one attempt. Excellent quality.

[Scrapnana]

A HO-HO Day in Cape Town - November 24 

 

My original plan had been to walk to the CBD and look around, but Jeremy said in his port talk that you should take a taxi if you were going there.  After my recent incident, I decided to do the Hop on-Hop off bus instead.

 

There was a desk in the cruise terminal to buy the ticket and it was an inexpensive 275 Rand (about $16).  The closest pick-up point was across the street just pass the Radisson Red where we will be staying in March.  As I normally do, I made one complete loop around.  We drove through the CBD, through Bo-Kaap and up to the cable car that goes up Table Mountain.  The view was spectacular so I didn't feel the need to go up on the cable car.  We continued on to the other side of the mountain and through the communities of Camps Bay, Clifton, Bantry Bay, Seal Point and were then back to the Victoria Wharf area.  

 

Since it was getting close to noon, I was hungry and decided that I would find something in the V&A Food Market.  I settled on a "rolla" that had beef, mozarella cheese, tomatoes, avocado, creme fraiche, and rocket salad.  It was delicious.  Lunch was slightly more expensive than yesterday - about $8.25.

 

I then boarded the bus again and rode to the CBD where I got off.  Once again, the downtown area was very disappointing.  I was thinking it would be like Sydney or Auckland but except for the historic buildings, it was disappointing.  I hopped on the next HOHO bus and did the loop again back to Victoria Wharf.  I spent some time looking around but again did not buy anything.

 

When I got back to the terminal, we had to go through the immigration process and once we had done that, we had to get on the ship and could not get back off.  Although sail-away was not scheduled until 11pm, everyone had to be back on board by 8:30.

 

Two of my trivia team came for the 7pm game and we were joined by another man whose team did not show.  Then on to dinner to find out that nobody else at my table was there.  Judy and Bob invited me to join them for Thanksgiving dinner.  HAL had tried to decorate a little for the event.

 

There was no show tonight. 

 

Sea day tomorrow.

[Scrapnana]

It was pointed out to me today at trivia, that I forgot to post yesterday's trivia.  Here it is.

 

7pm trivia - We had 14 out of 18 and the winning team had 15.  It had a movie theme.

1.  Who was the first Disney Princess to have a tattoo?

2.  How many Oscars has Meryl Streep won?

3.  In what 1959 Marilyn Monroe movie was the last line, "Well, nobody's perfect"?

4.  In Speed, why was Annie's driver's license taken away?

5.  What was the name of the Los Angeles hotel featured in Pretty Woman?

 

 

1.  Pocahontas

2.  3

3.  Some Like It Hot

4.  speeding

5.  Beverly Wiltshire

[Scrapnana]

A "Not Very Good" News Day - November 25

 

Jeremy usually makes announcements at 9:30 each sea day.  Today Erica made the announcements and she quickly explained why.  Jeremy has tested positive for Covid, so he will be confined for most of the next week.

 

The second news came from the Captain in his noon update.  Because of high winds, it would be dangerous to tender tomorrow so the port of Luderitz, Namibia has been canceled.  There are some unhappy people onboard. 

 

We had our second Cruise Critic Meet and Greet this morning.  It was a good turnout for a second one.  

 

Not much else new or different other than those things.  

 

All of us were present for dinner and we heard about the safari Sherry and Pete went on and the trip to Aquila Game Reserve that Judy and Bob did.

 

I heard some negative reviews of the comedian and since I usually don't care much for them anyway, I skipped the show.

 

1pm trivia - We had 11 out of 18 and the winning team had 16.

1.  Which country has more lakes than all other countries combined?

2.  Which African country has the highest population?

3.  What African country did Winston Churchill call "The Pearl of Africa"?

4.  Which country invented gin?

5.  What is the capital of Scotland?

 

 

 

1.  Canada

2.  Nigeria

3.  Uganda

4.  Netherlands

5.  Edinburgh

[12cruise2]

With regard to carrying one's passport while off the ship, we were told in Turkey by a state department official while we were on an extensive two-week motor coach tour that we should never carry our actual passport when walking around; that should be left in our safe; instead, we should carry only a paper copy of the passport with us.  He said no one should ever demand your passport out on the street; instead, you tell them that it is at your hotel or in your safe on the ship, and that they could accompany you to your hotel/ship to retrieve it (if it was really needed.)   This is what we do, we each carry a photocopy of both of our passports. Only once or twice in all our travels has the ship told us we HAVE to carry our passports with us.

And we were in Durban on an around-Africa cruise in 2015, and we felt quite uncomfortable as we saw it on a tour; agreed the area around the dock is dicey.

I'm so sorry you had the encounter; it is scary and unsettling; glad they didn't get your other things.  Thanks for providing the information; this helps remind the rest of us to be cautious when out and about, too.

[Ken the cruiser]

On 10/31/2022 at 1:17 AM, Scrapnana said:

I Survived Petra! - October 30

 

I woke up at 5:30 (alarm was set for 5:45) so I got up to get ready for the day that I had been looking forward to but at the same time, dreading.  

 

After breakfast I headed to the World Stage (our meeting place) at 7:00.  We had yet to be cleared, so we sat and sat until after 7:30 when we were finally able to leave the ship.  We had to present our passports to the Jordanian authorities, left them with the ship staff, and headed to our buses.

 

The drive to Petra took about two hours and we had a short break on the way.  Somehow I never realized Petra was in the middle of a city - I envisioned it being out in the middle of nowhere.  The city actually grew around Petra because of the tourist trade.

 

We followed our guide as we walked about a half mile (although it seemed longer) from the entrance to the beginning of the Siq.  This walk was in the sun so we were lucky that the temperature was only in the high 70s.  

 

The Siq is where you enter the cleft in the rocks on the way to the remains of the buildings.  The guide stopped periodically to tell us about the different things we were passing.  Unfortunately, I missed much of what he was saying because I was usually the last one.  The walk sloped slightly downward as we went and the ground was very uneven - in most places it was either loose gravel or large uneven stones.  I had to walk slowly so I didn't twist an ankle and fall.  I would finally catch up and hear the last bit of what he was saying.

 

Briefly, Petra was the home of group of Bedouins called Nabataeans.  They were traders and the buildings in Petra reflect some of their trading partners, such as the Greeks.  Eventually, the Nabataeans were conquered by Rome and with changing trade routes, after the Crusades the city was forgotten until discovered by a Swiss traveler in 1812.  Since that time there have been numerous conservation and restoration programs.  In 1985 it was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is now considered one of the New 7 Wonders of the World.

 

At the end of the Siq (which is about 3/4 of a mile long), you come upon the most famous building in the complex, known as the Treasury.  Although actually a mausoleum, it was thought to hold treasure so it became known as the Treasury.  You may have seen it in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.  Much of the city is carved from stone which is a reddish color, so it is often called the "Rose City".  

 

We were starting to run out of time but the guide took us a little further in to the Street of Facades.  From there he left us to walk back on our own.  We were supposed to reach the hotel where we were having lunch in under 40 minutes - it took me an hour but at least I made it safely.  I didn't realize how much of a downward slant we had gone until I started back up!

 

I was very late to lunch (many were already finished) so I ate very quickly so I could be back on the bus in time.  The food was served buffet style and was very good, so I wish I'd had the time to enjoy it more.

 

We made one rest stop on the way back and got back after 5 pm.  I stopped for a cold drink to take to my cabin before a shower and a bit of a rest.

 

It was a tiring day but I was glad I did it.  I certainly never would have made it when I was here before in 2014.  If I were ever to go to Petra again, I would take one of the golf carts to the Treasury and back so I could spend time seeing more of the parts we did not have time for today.

 

Pete and Sherry had gone on a dinner cruise so it was only the three of us for dinner.  There was no show.  We are overnighting here and I plan to sleep late and take the shuttle into Aqaba tomorrow.

We also survived Petra when we ported at Aqaba, Jordan a few days ago on the NCL Jade on our way to Dubai, then down to Cape Town. But what a place! Our tour guide gave us an hour to walk back up the 2.5 mile distance from the amphitheater to the hotel “buffet lunch” across the street and we used every bit of that time, resting a few times along the way. 😁
 

On your cruise, did you stop by either the Seychelles or Madagascar? We’ll be stopping by those islands on the next leg starting on Friday from Dubai to Cape Town, and we were just informed we may need proof of having had a yellow fever vaccine once we arrive at one or both of those island ports. If you stopped at either one, did you encounter that requirement?

 

One more question if I may. Are there any professional lecturers on your cruise? There isn’t on our 38-day NCL B2B cruise (which there never is), which really would have been a big positive with all of the cool ports we’re stopping at. Just curious if there were any on yours?

 

BTW I’ve got a Live From thread as well going on over on the NCL forum if you’d like to see some of the ports you didn’t stop at. That is until we disembark in Cape Town on Dec 21. In any event, we hope you continue to have a wonderful cruise! 😁

[Ken the cruiser]

@ScrapnanaI just finished reading your thread from page 10 on and see that you did visit the 2 ports in Madagascar we’ll be visiting. Was yellow fever vaccines even mentioned as a requirement? I was reading they do have a malaria endemic going on in Madagascar though.
 

Also, so sorry you got robbed, but so happy nothing worse happened. Stay safe and I hope your cruise continues to be a memorable one as I know ours sure has been so far! 😁

[kb4683]

@Scrapnana  thank you for this live from.  We will be boarding the day you arrive back in Port Everglades.  I have a quick question about the cabins — are the walls metal?  Don’t want to pack magnets if they won’t be usable 😉.  TYIA

 

[Scrapnana]

10 hours ago, Ken the cruiser said:

@ScrapnanaI just finished reading your thread from page 10 on and see that you did visit the 2 ports in Madagascar we’ll be visiting. Was yellow fever vaccines even mentioned as a requirement? I was reading they do have a malaria endemic going on in Madagascar though.
 

Also, so sorry you got robbed, but so happy nothing worse happened. Stay safe and I hope your cruise continues to be a memorable one as I know ours sure has been so far! 😁

We were told that we might have to prove that we had the yellow fever shot or a doctor's note saying it was contraindicated, but nobody ever asked.

 

I don't know if you would call them all professional lecturers but we have had four (possibly one more I have forgotten) on so far.  Everyone complained because we had no lectures for the seven days we crossed from Port Everglades.

Edited November 26, 2022 by Scrapnana

[Scrapnana]

8 hours ago, kb4683 said:

@Scrapnana  thank you for this live from.  We will be boarding the day you arrive back in Port Everglades.  I have a quick question about the cabins — are the walls metal?  Don’t want to pack magnets if they won’t be usable 😉.  TYIA

 

The walls are metal but you need heavy duty magnets, regular ones just slide down the wall.

[rafinmd]

23 minutes ago, Scrapnana said:

The walls are metal but you need heavy duty magnets, regular ones just slide down the wall.

It seems to vary by cabin on the R-class.  I've had cabins where magnets stuck and others where they didn't.  Not sure if it's because some walls separate watertight walls or other section borders, some that may have been replaced or what but that's been my experience.  I would say most don't.

 

Roy

[SusieKIslandGirl]

Hi Kathi, Did you ever find out what was in the photo of the equipment on deck? Not sure if it is the same thing but this is what I found.  The Safelaunch 12.3 TN Roc-Loc is a hook designed for davit-launched lifeboats and rescue boats. The Roc-Loc technology is specifically designed for the cruise and shipping industries. The award-winning IMO-compliant Safelaunch and Roc-Loc systems feature visual indicators and integrated fall prevention device (FDP).

[SusieKIslandGirl]

Forgot to add that I thought of you today. On a tour in Rome and we passed a lovely yarn shop. I almost abandoned the tour to shop there.

[Scrapnana]

Susie,

 

Thanks for the information about the machine.  That would make sense.

 

Not too much yarn on this cruise but I plan to make up for it on the world!

[Scrapnana]

A Day at the Mall in Walvis Bay, Namibia- November 27

 

Namibia is another country that requires us to have a face-to-face meeting with the immigration officers.  Unlike in South Africa, the immigration people came on board to process us. When I was here in 2018, I took a tour that went to Swakopmund, Dune 7, and the lagoon with the flamingoes.  There was nothing else I wanted to see.

 

My friend Judy (Lee) had not been off the ship for some time since her husband has been sick then she became sick.  She needed to get on dry (and since the desert is all around us, very dry) land.  There really is nothing much but houses (you can read my description in the April 7 entry of my 2018 blog) in town, so we took the shuttle to the Dunes Mall which was fairly new in 2018.  It was the place to be.  Lots and lots of people, some grocery shopping, some Christmas shopping, everywhere.  We ended up each buying some clothing (like I didn't bring enough).

 

The other stop of the shuttle was at the waterfront.  There are a few restaurants (although none looked open) and a souvenir shop and a few stalls of local crafts.  We looked around for a bit and then got on the shuttle.  We thought it was going directly back to the ship but it was actually going to the mall, so we rode back to the mall and then finally back to the ship.

 

It was then about 2:30 and we were both hungry, so we ended up at the taco bar for lunch.  The ship still had its air conditioning on although it was cloudy and only 61 degrees outside and I couldn't warm up.  Eventually, I decided to get a hot chocolate which finally warmed me up and I could take my coat off.  I'm sure in a few days as we head north to the equator I will be wishing for cooler weather.

 

I played 7:00 trivia alone - there were very few people there.  None of my tablemates came to dinner so I ate with Bob and Judy.

 

The show tonight was the Black Melody Cultural Group that performed Namibian songs and dances.  From my pictures, it looks like the same group we saw in 2018 but it had a different name and performed different songs.

 

We gain an hour tonight and then two sea days.

 

7pm trivia - I had 12 out of 17 and the winning team had 15.

1.  What is the only country beginning with "Y"?

2.  What is a group of caterpillars called?

3.  The island country of Fiji is in which ocean?

4.  Rosanna and Africa were songs by which American rock band?

5.  What is the mountain in Lord of the Rings that the One Ring must be thrown in?

6.  Which two teams have won the most Super Bowls?

 

 

1.  Yemen

2.  army

3.  Pacific

4.  Mount Doom

5.  Patriots and Steelers (believe it or not, I got that one right!)

 

 

Edited November 27, 2022 by Scrapnana

[travelnap]

Kathi, was number 4 Toto? 

[sandiego1]

I’m not Kathi, but yes, it’s Toto

Edited November 27, 2022 by sandiego1

[Scrapnana]

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas - November 28

 

Christmas decorations are popping up all over the ship and it is looking very festive.

 

Nothing new or different today with my usual schedule. 

 

The weather remains cool and cloudy.  When I made my afternoon walk, I needed my raincoat (the warmest thing I brought) but the wind was not as chilly as a couple of days ago.

 

Tonight was a "Dressy" night with a special menu.  The show tonight was the singer, Selim Kagee, again.

 

Another sea day tomorrow (which will likely be much like today).

 

1pm trivia - we had 14 out of 18 and the winning team had 16 

1.  Where were the 2002 Winter Olympics held?

2.  Which Beatle crossed the road first on the Abbey Road album?

3.  The original Rapunzel did not have a happy ending.  What was Rapunzel turned into?

4.  What major company filed for bankruptcy in 2001?

5.  When was the last year that the summer and winter Olympics were held in the same year?

 

 

 

1.  Salt Lake City

2.  John

3.  frog

4.  Enron

5.  1992

 

4pm trivia - We had 11 out of 17 and two teams tied with 14

1.  In which U.S. state is it illegal for a chicken to cross the road?

2.  What is a slang word for a British pound?

3.  If you are born on October 1, what is your star sign?

4.  Who is the villain in Disney's The Little Mermaid?

5.  What is the name of the sloth in Ice Age?

 

 

 

1.  Georgia

2.  quid

3.  Libra

4.  Ursula

5.  Sid

 

Thanks to those who reminded me I forgot to give the answer to one of the questions on yesterday's trivia.  It has been fixed on the blog.

[Wayfairers]

I saw the Christmas decoration pics on your blog..thanks…we board the Zaandam Dec 20

[Scrapnana]

11 hours ago, Wayfairers said:

I saw the Christmas decoration pics on your blog..thanks…we board the Zaandam Dec 20

More decorations went up today.  Some new pictures on my blog.