arxcards

It has gone midnight in Cape Town and both Virgin & HAL ships are still in port. That makes it an overnighter, and hopefully they will get a few hours ashore for their Thursday as well. They were lucky to get in at all. Docked by 2pm, but local webcams showed the port shrouded in fog again by 3:30pm. Currently, clear skies at midnight.

More of a fish out of water story Phil, but an interesting comparison from an "outside" writer vs all of the social media guff. Full of stereotypes, and a few cultural in-jokes, but an attempt at situational comedy within a travel story. Yes, it won't change anything. The story is more about general cruising weirdness anyway.

I only just noticed the timing of the message in my inbox. They are just moving towards the port now. Current Cape Town time is 1:09pm, so 6hrs late. Passengers on Virgin are hoping for an overnight in port, but not confirmed yet.

Different time of year, but might be a consideration when trying to line-up a tour. If we were on one of those cruises, I expect Cape Town would be one of our big days. A bit like Mt Fuji for Japan or Mt McKinley for Denali, it would be a shame to not be able to see Table Mountain from the port.

It would see the main issue is that there are countries that restrict your entry after you have visited one of the designated YF countries and/or areas. As an example, if you were planning on flying to India after visiting a YF affected area, you would need a vax certificate or wait 6 days - similar to Australian requirements mentioned above. For a cruise itinerary, you would need to identify if you are visiting any YF outbreak areas, and where your itinerary will take you in the following 6 days for any restrictions that apply for entry to those countries.

As a side note, it might be worth checking out for what is typical weather in Cape Town, particularly at this time of year. Both Resilient Lady & Zuiderdam are waiting it out off Cape Town, waiting for a blanket of fog to lift so they can dock. Resilient Lady is currently hoping to dock around 3.5hrs late.

Thanks Den, Thanks for your thoughts. I hope you both had a nice relaxing break. I can relate to most of your comments, especially with the dining. We have done somewhere around 20 P&O cruises, and lament what they used to be. The main reason we no longer cruise with them is food, both quality & variety. I never did gain a love of cruising by dining out on cafeteria meals. Given that soon they will be the only ship in town for you, at least they are more committed to WA than their competitors, and I quite like those Sun class ships. In many ways, P&O made the public spaces feel fresher and much more contemporary than the faux timber from her previous life as Dawn Princess. February is a fair way off. At this stage, we are waiting that long for our next one too. Hopefully P&O can give their food & menus a bit of a rebirth for you between now & then.

But for food products, organic also refers to a method of production and processing. There are many "organic" foods that don't contain carbon.

Crown Grill (+ Coral's Bayou) has Pink Himalayan, Black Hawaiian, and the awesome smokey Applewood salt. Three months supply in a serve, but that smoky aroma is really nice.

That is a real thing. Lots of table salts are iodised and/or have an anti-caking agent. Organic table salt has neither.

We use little salt, so it also last us a while. Had the price tripled since your last purchase? For once a decade, it must be decadent. Similarly, salt for pasta & chips are a must for me. Also eggs all ways and fresh tomato.

I have ancestry a bit SW of there near the town of Battle. Pay attention. We will be in Devon in the middle of next year - there will be questions. 😁

Probably in WW1 days, the move away from German sausage ended-up with it being called Empire around here. Some of the oldies still ask for Empire or Luncheon meat at Barb's deli, often with a bit of a sly grin when the young staff can't find any. Take care everyone, and nurse those bumps & bruises.

Ahoy Icon fans - a quality read/review from her inaugural. Gary Shteyngart: Crying Myself to Sleep on the Icon of the Seas - The Atlantic

From a good friend currently aboard Resilient Lady, there is no blanket requirement for a yellow fever jab. So far they have called in Durban & Port Elizabeth (medivac), with next port being Cape Town. These are coastal day visits, not days in the African jungle. This could vary based on itinerary, but a void of information about vaccination requirements would suggest there are no entry requirements for it on cruise itineraries. It is a bit like advice here that requires a malaria vaccination to visit some of the Pacific Islands, yet are not a significant risk for day visiting cruise ship passengers. All the same, check the fine print on your travel insurance. Also worth reading through roll calls for ships that are currently on this route: QM2, Queen Victoria, Zuiderdam. It wasn't required for Island Princess passengers a few weeks back.