drron29

Vodka and melon liqueur. Actually quite nice.

There was a release saying that the Nova dress code was extending to the classic fleet from mid to late April so I expect that the bow ties will disappear. Didn’t stop me having my little protest on a night on the Muse tonight.

Well it is mid cruise survey time again and once more we have missed out on getting it. The butler has a vested interest in our receiving it and once notified it appeared quickly. Agree with the Grill at lunch. Went twice on first segment and will not go again. The food is not even second class. But Indochine has become our favourite restaurant. Not only do they have a few more non spicy dishes they will take the heat out of some dishes but they will also add it for me. On top of that there has been an increase in the number of obnoxious passengers on this segment. The Maitre’D of Indochine copped a blast from a fellow on the first formal night who didn’t want to wear a tie or jacket. Initially accepted the provided jacket and tie that was offered but then threw them at the Maitre’D with an outburst that was borderline racist but certainly offensive. So tonight on a casual night I arrived at Indochine on a casual night with a bow tie. I explained that if it was fine for those who don’t like formal nights to complain it was right for me to demonstrate that I indeed like those nights by dressing up on casual nights. I have made a new best friend in Indochine.

Bob Leininger

Time to get back to a little humour. Ten Facts, about you: 1.You're reading this 2.You think that's stupid 4.You didn't notice I missed out 3 5.Now you're checking it 6.Now you're getting upset 8.You didn't notice I missed out 7 9.Now you're checking 10.You're wondering how many times you can fall or the same trick 11.You didn't notice there's only supposed to be 10 facts. 12.There are only 10 facts. Another Western Australian number plate that got by the authorities.

Well the doctor is not a patient but he indeed has suffered from this situation. The patient flown out was listed as critical. This often takes a big mental toll on the treating doctor. And a cruise ship is not a hospital with many colleagues to talk too.

I couldn’t get out to film any thing as the helicopter arrived during trivia. We were doing well and won. Then the retrieval came during the putting and I had 2 holes in one and first overall. You do have to know what is really important in life. But not all casualties were flown out. I ran into the doctor on the way out and he looked quite distressed so he is thinking about my offer of a quiet chat when I am back from the excursion.

We were indeed. Cancelled the second voyage and took the 10% off a replacement voyage. They did give a 15% price reduction on the first voyage but there was no such offer on the second voyage.

They don't accommodate people on B2B cruises if a charter is put into the system in our experience. We had a B2B booked next year which became 2 separate cruises with 6 days in between and we were told we had to make our own arrangements for those 6 days.

A little extra excitement at trivia today. A Japanese Coast Guard vessel arrived and transferred a few crew to the Muse for the helicopter rescue. The helicopter arrived about 10 minutes later but it took a while as the wind was blowing. Map of our detour.

A little late back so went to Spaccanapoli and shared a pizza. half mushroom, half diavola. And Atlantide that night. Rojaan had the Mushroom tartare and I the crumbed asparagus. neither outstanding. She then had the scallops and I the filet. both very good. The next day was a sea day. Lunch was in Kaiseki. Dinner was back in Indochine. Rojaan had beef tataki and I the Tuna and then a Pho. Rojaan had the lobster sans chilli and I the osso buco which despite having Szechuan in the title was not spicy at all. Then our sides and the excellent kaffir lime and ginger creme brulee.

Just announced the Silver Muse is turning back to offload a medical emergency at the nearest Japanese port which is behind us. Earlier there was a call for the medical team to the spa.

Some of the local buildings where in need of a bit of attention. Time to go back to the ship. The weather hadn't improved.

Usually on a changeover day La Terazza is open until 2.30pm. We went there on our recent changeover day as it was wet and miserable so I didn’t want to go out on the deck. We were there past 2.30 and they were still letting people in. Other options are the Grill with last order 3 pm and Spaccanapoli with pizza available until 11pm.

I walked up the road to a little cafe. Couldn't make up my mind whether I wanted fried lizard, large intestine or what seemed like their specialty chicken dishes. decided to forgo the pleasure. And more tea. Local Art.

And now the teahouse. Yes it is open 24 hours a day! The tea house. Given peanuts, pistachio and dried loquats which is very nice. and served tea the Taiwanese way. And tea growing. A possible ground orchid. And a wild hydrangea. More wild flowers. And cherry blossom.

We are now walking back to the Cable Car station where our minibus will collect us and take us to a tea house. The continuation of the cable car.

And this is where you find out how you rate. Each of those yellow squares has 3 light bulbs. If one is alight you have donated the minimum amount. Three and you are the equivalent of top airline status. Of course if you miss a year all your lights go out. These displays below are for those who donate very large amounts.

And now the main temple.

This was just a transit area. Not at the zoo yet. An amazing cable car ride. Looking down at the Zoo station. And now the first of the temple.

The next morning we steamed Into Keelung port on a cold, foggy, wet day. We then took off on our excursion to the Zhi Nan temple in the mountains. The weather didn't improve. We went to one of Taipei's outer suburbs and took a cable car up the mountain. The first stop was the Taipei Zoon and ours was the second stop. It went to a third stop higher up for another temple. The views were a little miserable.

That night dinner in Atlantide. the menu. I had the assiette of duck and the seabass. The fish was lovely. Whilst Rojaan went for the lobster Thermidor and her usual pavlova.

When I go to check cruise prices on the Australian site it only comes up with Port to Port fares. Have they decided it's too hard to book SS Air from Australia. The Port to Port fares are pretty close to what we paid less than a month ago as Door to Door fares.

I took a little stroll to the restaurants. nothing reall appealed. Back to the bus and scenes a little reminiscent of Angkor Wat. And back to the ship with another stop with the Central Park metro stop. A waste of time. And the useless stop at Central park. The actual station is meant to be beautiful but you are not supplied with a ticket to access the station. So these are the highlights. We got back to the Muse after the lunch restaurants closed so went to the Arts Cafe and had a cheese plate. Better than any you get in the real restaurants.

Some views across the lake.