Nautica/ Mumbai to Rome/ April 29-May 27, 2018 with Taj Mahal pre extension...Live

[cbb]

Jennie,

 

I certainly will pass on your regards to Julie. She's in rare form these days and 2 days ago announced she is a Nan again for 2nd time....Hudson James! So she's flying high!

 

She told me that she loves loves her production cast and Nautica is a good healthy ship for both of us.

 

All is well on Nautica!!! And hey.....some of those pictures are mine!!!!:) But David edits all of them and makes them look pretty!!! Helps to travel with your own techie!!!

[dkbustr]

Starting our third sea day, and the staff is trying to keep everyone occupied with things to do on the four sea day stretch. I know many take the time to read a book (or three), but I have not acquired the ability to sit for that long. I envy those who can do it, but I need a more engaged activity. But the time does seem to move by quickly, especially when you throw in 17 meals in a day. It also gives the opportunity for the upcoming extended days... First from 5am-8pm in Aqaba, followed immediately by an early start the next day from Safaga to Luxor. Many are overnighting in Egypt, so have to pack a day bag of some type to live off the ship for a night.

 

Going to post some pictures of the activities around the ship, so you can get some insight into what is available for these extended sea days.

 

First, a view of the grand staircase, and second a view of Martini's during the quiet time. By 5pm (happy hour-two for one!) through the evening it becomes a hopping place, and actually difficult to find a seat at times. It is a good gathering place before dinner.

 

 

 

Morning activities, depending on the daily schedule, include needlepoint with Annabel, which has grown from one table to probably over 40 people now...

 

 

There is also crazy golf putting, which now takes two sign up sheets, to get everyone registered. It has become a real contest between passengers, in a friendly way, and continues to grow in popularity. Making par or under gets you three Big O points, which can be turned in at cruise end for amazing gifts, but participation still gets you one point. Janice takes a break from needlepoint to play, and has consistently beat the low handicapper in the family, which obviously is mentally taxing the low handicapper in the family to the nth degree. But I continue to attack and hope for the best...

 

[dkbustr]

Lectures are also widely attended. We have two lecturers onboard, and both give lectures on sea days, one morning and one afternoon. The first is Clive Leatherdale, who is talking on a variety of subjects, yesterday, North Korea and today China, An inside view of the Tiananmen uprising. Below shows the crowd.....

 

 

The second lecturer is Hassan Eltaher, whose lectures are more itinerary centered. Today he speaks on resurrecting the Ancient Library of Alexandria. He has also spoken on Oman, a country like no other, Hieroglyphics, and has upcoming lectures on Jordan and Israel. Four of us had the opportunity to have dinner in Toscano with him last night, and he is indeed interesting to talk with. For those who might consider dining with lecturers in the future, it requires talking to the cruise director, who contacts the "in charge" for approval.

 

[dkbustr]

Yesterday also included the Officers Challenge, which included competing with the ships officers in a variety of "sports". Putting, bean bad toss, monkey toss at the pool, shuffleboard and ping pong were all choices of competition where of course you could earn BIG O Points...Woo Hoo! Annabel says I am rapidly working toward a new Ferrari, so I keep at it.

 

I am just going to post a group of pictures without captions so you can see the level of participation of the crew and passengers.... Apologies to any passengers who are on the Witness protection program....

 

 

 

 

 

[dkbustr]

We also enjoyed a wine tasting in the afternoon titled European wines. There was a selection of five reds from France, Italy and Spain plus a welcome glass of Cava. Also included was a large selection of canapé's from the culinary staff.

 

 

The tasting was concluded with a champagne sabering. Our first attempt by Antonio the head sommelier, resulted in the need to call for cleanup, but the second attempt was a success! Then a lucky participant got the chance to try it for herself, and Magnifico!

 

[TLCOhio]

Lectures are also widely attended. We have two lecturers onboard, and both give lectures on sea days, one morning and one afternoon. The second lecturer is Hassan Eltaher, whose lectures are more itinerary centered. Today he speaks on resurrecting the Ancient Library of Alexandria. He has also spoken on Oman, a country like no other, Hieroglyphics, and has upcoming lectures on Jordan and Israel. Four of us had the opportunity to have dinner in Toscano with him last night, and he is indeed interesting to talk with.

 

Appreciate these great updates, pictures and details from Mike. Looking like you are having FUN!! Right? Nice to see various details on the Nautica. Glad that it worked for having dinner that Hassan. Keep it coming.

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

Enjoyed a 14-day, Jan. 20-Feb. 3, 2014, Sydney to Auckland adventure, getting a big sampling for the wonders of "down under” before and after this cruise. Go to:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1974139

for more info and many pictures of these amazing sights in this great part of the world. Now at 201,129 views for this posting.

[Barrheadlass]

No offense, Terry, but these canned responses are getting very tiresome for the rest of us.

Personally, I'm boycotting your link for as long as you continue this type of activity. :mad:

 

Deleted.

[dkbustr]

Sorry for the posting delay, but a 13 hour day out of Aqaba, followed by the overnight from Safaga, doesn't make this body amenable to finding time for posting. We are now on our day at sea, to get in the queue for our transit of the Suez canal tomorrow starting 4am. I will catch up on the awe and amazement of the last three days today while I replenishment the energy level.

The arrival into Aqaba was on time at 5am. We had a private tour scheduled with Jordan Horizons, and met our guide Ma'moun at 6am. We had a short introduction of Aqaba, the only Jordan port, before we started into the mountains for Petra. All shipping for Jordan comes thru Aqaba, so the road toward Petra was engulfed with trucks carrying shipping containers, mostly bound for Amman. We had 11 on the tour, and with an 18 passenger bus, it was very comfortable for the approximately two hour trip to Petra with stops. As we climbed up through the mountains, our guide explained the geology of the area with the different strata layers of black, red and green...

 

Out tour also had Wadi Rum scheduled for the afternoon, and we passed by that area about an hour into the trip. Shortly after we turned off the highway toward Petra, passing Bedouin settlements and massive wind turbines, a real meeting of past and present. We then made a restroom stop at an overlook of the Petra area. I didn't complain at all after the temps we had been having, but it was actually cold at the overlook

 

 

The group was convinced that we would have a great day, when the Hand of God appeared to lead the way....

 

[dkbustr]

We started downhill and passed through our guides hometown, Wadi Musa, where stopped to refill water bottles. The town has about 28,000 inhabitants.

 

Shortly after passing through the town we arrived at Petra. Petra was settled, it is believed, as early as 9000 B.C and was the capital of the Nabataean Kingdom.

Visitors have the option of using a round trip bone jarring carriage ride for about $35US, or can just purchase a return uphill trip for $60US...you know supply and demand. You can also ride a horse to the entrance of the Siq. Otherwise the trip is walking about 2.2KM one way to the Treasury. We walked past the Royal tombs and logged 6.6 miles, of which half is all uphill on the return. It is mostly a gradual climb, and is workable for most. The start of the walk is outside the mountains.

 

[cbb]

And.....I'm back from 3 exciting days of adventures!

 

Saturday May 12 we arrived in Aqaba, Jordan and took the O shorex entitled "Magnificent Petra" (8am-5pm) and it was aptly named....what a stunning place.

 

I arrived early at the Lounge to get our tickets, received the first tickets almost immediately, and we were first on the bus....just got lucky and didn't push or shove or anything!!!

 

Like minded early birds were right behind us and we left almost 10 minutes early. There were several O buses going to Petra, but left at slightly staggered times for the 2 hr drive.

 

There were 30 in our bus which was nicely kept and well air-conditioned but as we stepped outside for a comfort stop and then at Petra we marveled at the cool temperatures.

 

Petra, a World Heritage Site, is one of the most famous archaeological sites in the world. Dating back more that 2000 years, it was the capital of the Nabataean Arab Empire and grew rich through trade in frankincense and spices.

 

Later part of the Roman Empire it was largely destroyed by a massive earthquake in the 4th century. Due to severe damage and a change in trade routes, Petra declined and was eventually abandoned and became lost to the rest of the world....except for the local Bedouins.

 

Petra was "rediscovered" in 1812 by Swiss explorer Johannes Burckhardt after convincing the Bedouins to take him to the lost city and Petra was opened to the West and began attracting visitors.

 

Petra is one of those places in the world that I could research, see photographs of, view the Indiana Jones movie, and still be pretty much unprepared for what I saw.

 

The Siq is the ancient main entrance road leading into the city of Petra. One walks through rock walls 80M high on a path that is 3-12 M wide that twists and turns its way down to the Treasury. Much of the path is natural but in places the Nebataeans carved it out.

 

We saw where they had constructed dams, pottery pipes, places where water was filtered--all built to control the flow of water for drinking, containment, and for flood control.

 

The Nebataeans buried their dead in tombs cut into the mountain sides, but there was also a treasury, a theater, and wide streets, later introduced by the Romans. I was not prepared for the scale of the buildings and tombs nor the red color of the rocks.

 

Our excellent guide Basil knew much about Petra and liked to stop and show us intricate details and in-depth history of places. Eventually the slow pace grew too much for us, but not for others, and we gradually moved further away from our group to take pictures

.

The Siq is slippery in spots. Do not wear 'cute' shoes....you will want to wear good sneakers or even trail boots-- something that can be tied to give you good support. I saw people slide wearing athletic sandals.

 

No one is looking at your shoes or even at you, so be smart--chic doesn't matter!

 

One can walk down or hire one of the horse drawn carriages to take you. It is cobble stoned in many places so it is not a smooth ride and the drivers like to urge their horses into a trot....everyone I saw in a carriage was hanging on for dear life.

 

Those of us on the sidelines did get great pictures because the carriages are brightly decorated and the horse are beautiful. The Queen of Jordan has made it a personal mission to encourage the health and well-being of the horses and inspections are made.

 

The walk we did was about 9k round trip from the Visitors Center to the Royal Tombs and back.

 

If you don't want to walk quite that far, I do encourage you to continue walking "around the corner" of the Treasury building to the Theatre. It was built in 4Bc-27AD but the Romans rebuilt part of it. It is stunning.

 

We were glad we had pulled ahead of others for when we turned the corner of the trail we saw the face of the rosy-rocked Treasury Building hit by the sun, with maybe only 150 people in front of us. (You can't get lost from your group as O lollipop signs made it easy to return to the group even if you stepped away briefly to take pictures)

 

Arriving at the Treasury the Siq widens to create a square. There were some vendors who wanted to sell me all sorts of things for "just 1 dollar" but we took our pictures and moved on to give others our spot.

 

The purpose of the Treasury still makes for doctoral dissertations. Was it built to hold a pharaoh's treasures, a tomb for royalty, a temple, an archive? Whatever the purpose, it has one of the most magnificent facades I've ever seen.

 

Active archaeological excavations continue here and, using modern technology, sites are still being uncovered.

 

We continued 'around the corner' and down the Street of Facades, the name given to a line of Nabataean tombs, carved into the hillsides, believed to be the burial chambers for nobility and senior government officials.

 

The Theatre is on down the Street and, carved into the mountainsides, could hold an audience of 4000.

 

Continuing on we looked at more facades of Royal Tombs; many were colonnaded with pediments and were built c40AD or later.

 

Realizing that we had to be at the hotel across the street from the Visitor Center at 1:00pm we reluctantly retraced our steps, passing our tour mates at the Theatre, and walking briskly we made it up with 10 minutes to spare.

 

The buffet offered beef, chicken, and fish, potatoes, rice, and cooked vegetables as well as fresh salads, fruits, and desserts. Included was bottled water, tea, coffee, soft drinks, and glasses of Jordanian white and red wine and beer. Let's just say that the great wine producing countries have nothing to fear from Jordan.

 

Back to the ship, and showers, Horizons for happy hour, and Terrace for dinner where I had.... Chinese vegetables and noodles!

 

The Smithsonian Magazine lists Petra as one of the 28 places you should visit before you die. The night before I didn't sleep well and took a health inventory of body parts and had eaten lightly--that's how worried I was that I wouldn't be able to see Petra.

 

I hugged Dave as we stood in front of the Treasury, a lifelong dream of mine come true.

 

We had made it!

[Jay23]

Yes. How right you are. Petra is a wonderful and quite exciting experience. We rode horses on the return as we hadn't booked a carriage. Suffice it to say I would never have made a jockey. (If you want a carriage on the return, book it before you set off) J

[Emma Chisit]

I hugged Dave as we stood in front of the Treasury, a lifelong dream of mine come true. We had made it!

 

That first sight of the Treasury - amazing, eh! So glad you made it. When we did our Nautica cruise in 2012 I thought I might negotiate a horse cart for the return trip but one look at folks cowering in fear when the carts belted down on the way in cured me of that idea.

Boy, these few days of this itinerary - Jordan , Egypt and Israel - are pretty hard work though also the best bit. Keep looking down - uneven surfaces and not watching where you put your feet = a few casualties on our cruise.

[dkbustr]

Thanks again cbb for an excellent report on Petra.

 

The internet today and other days at sea, can be abysmal unless I try and post pictures at 4am. Not a function of location but on server load. Two pictures I uploaded with a total size of 10Mb took 45 minutes. Any way I am trying again so I don't have to get up at 3am to post.

 

Since cbb had such a great explanation of Petra, I am just going to follow it up with some photos and brief descriptions.

 

As you continue down the Siq with it's rising and enclosing walls, finally you get a peak of what you have been anticipating..

 

 

A few steps farther yields this view...

 

 

And then, there it is....

 

 

Unfortunately, the inside of the Treasury has been closed for about eight years because of idiots going in and scratching their names on the walls. The façade is truly a spectacular sight, and can most be appreciated in person. Turning around, you see the Siq and where the entrance into the Treasury lies...

 

[dkbustr]

Turning right out of the Treasury, yields walking now on rubble with ankle turning possibilities, when you are gazing at the walls. Closed toed shoes are a necessity for this section as cbb said. We walked down to the workers tombs, and then continued on to the theatre. Across from the theatre are nice washrooms with the walls and ceilings cut from the stone, and they are neat to see even if you don't have the necessity for the stop. Below are the tombs and theatre...

 

 

 

We continued downhill, passing the Royal tombs so that we could get a view from a distance...

 

 

At this point we retraced our steps, walking about 1 3/4 miles to clear the Siq. You have to be very aware of the horse drawn carts moving up, and rushing down the Siq to pick up more tired souls. And aware of course of the green bombs they like to leave in their trail.

 

We had lunch at the Petra Moon hotel included with the tour, and it was a very nice buffet indeed. A huge assortment of hot and cold items and desserts. All the meals on our private tours don't include a beverage, but many just take one of the water bottles from the bus.

 

On the return, as we neared Wadi Rum, we could see a huge sandstorm forming in the area, and even though passengers two hours before us and after us, could visit, we didn't have the opportunity. The company didn't charge us for any part of that portion of the tour. We returned to the ship with another check mark on the bucket list, and the memories to share.

[dkbustr]

The following morning, our group of 10 used Ramassides tours for an overnight to Luxor from Safaga. As a general itinerary, we visited Karnak Temple, had lunch at a restaurant with a charcoal oven where we had a good meal with a view of the Luxor Temple, and then went into the Temple. We then went to the Jolie Ville Kings Island for our overnight, and then back to Karnak Temple for the Sound and Light show. The next morning after an early breakfast, we traveled to the Valley of the Kings, where we visited the tombs of Ramses III, IV, and IX, included with our tickets, and paid extra for Ramses V/VI ,and King Tut. Don't forget to buy a photo permit (about $17US) if you want to take pictures in the included tombs. After the Valley of the Kings, we went to Queen Hatshepsut's Temple.

 

As was my first concern in this area, I will now talk about the security for the tour. At no point in time did any of our group feel in the least bit unsafe in Southern Egypt. Our bus for 18, with 10 passengers, had our guide, Sam, an excellent driver, and a guard accompanying us packing an Uzi. The port area has a myriad of security checks, as does the highway connecting Safaga with Luxor, all with heavily armed guards. One might say this could make you feel less secure in that there is an expectation of activity. But our guide stated, and I do believe, that it is a matter of more of a show of force, than an expectation of an occurrence. The only issue it caused for us, is that it took over twenty minutes to get back in the port upon our return due to all the security checks. After two long days, everyone just wanted to get back to our home, the Nautica. But looking back at the moment, it was a good thing, not a bad one.

 

Time for Strudel High Tea, followed by team trivia, and then the returning O guests party with the crew....so I'll start posting pictures of Egypt upon my return....

[palakika]

Cbb and dkbustr..thanks for giving us great descriptions of Petra. Looks like a true bucket list site!

[cbb]

ok.....Dave has finished the Petra pictures and has posted them to the blog. We purposely included people in our pictures to give an idea of scale.

 

 

http://drdavebradley.blogspot.com/

[TLCOhio]

ok.....Dave has finished the Petra pictures and has posted them to the blog. We purposely included people in our pictures to give an idea of scale.

http://drdavebradley.blogspot.com/

 

Hi, Mike, Cynthia and David!! Super appreciate ALL of these great pictures, details, comments, insights, etc. This is wonderful to help us prepare for this fall as we travel on the Nautica from Athens to Dubai. Keep up the fun sharing. Totally enjoying!!

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

For details and visuals, etc., from our July 1-16, 2010, Norway Coast/Fjords/Arctic Circle cruise experience from Copenhagen on the Silver Cloud, check out this posting. This posting is now at 225,417 views.

www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1227923

[cbb]

emma chisit....

 

i know, i know...i owe you an email but can you see why i haven't written? It's hard to watch where you're going at Petra--I want to look up...not down!!!

 

btw....i think i met a couple who was on your HAL Jan Antarctica cruise. They loved it, but worried about the stuff falling from the skies and how it might impact their cruise. (sleet, rain, snow??)

 

So Jerusalem is next on our itinerary...logged on to CNN and saw that there was the expected reaction to moving the US Embassy there.

 

I'm betting that we don't sail into Haifa for an overnight. Talked to some officers tonight and they said O is very closely monitoring the situation overnight.

 

Tomorrow we transit through the Suez Canal....my 3rd big bucket list item for this cruise...then it is repeated ports for us but we're looking forward to them all. Love Rhodes and Malta.

 

Tonight was the Ambassador's Circle cocktail party. We took our drinks to Horizons so that we could view the ships waiting their turn to travel through the Canal. The seas have diminished and all is well aboard Nautica.

[palakika]

Passing through the Suez Canal is so interesting. We were transitting south so had to wait in the lake until late afternoon. Our flotilla was led by both US and Canadian navy ships going out to the Persian Gulf. (They got to go first) Unfortunately most of the passage occurred at night. Stay safe..I'm sure Oceania will be very cautious in the current situation in Israel. Dave's (And your) photos are great:)

[Queen of DaNile]

FWIW - You can book the carriage in Petra for round trip for $35. (plus tip) but walk in and just use it for the trip out if you wish. That's what our guide arranged for us last week though the ride is rather harrowing :eek:

[JoePDX]

 

I hugged Dave as we stood in front of the Treasury, a lifelong dream of mine come true.

 

We had made it!

 

Glad you found it as amazing as we did! :)

 

Loved your description of your experience.....closely matched ours.

 

Enjoy the Canal. I found it fascinating too.

 

Joe

[Croooser]

Following

 

 

Sent from my SHIELD Tablet K1 using Tapatalk

[Emma Chisit]

emma chisit.... i know, i know...i owe you an email but can you see why i haven't written? It's hard to watch where you're going at Petra--I want to look up...not down!!! btw....i think i met a couple who was on your HAL Jan Antarctica cruise. They loved it, but worried about the stuff falling from the skies and how it might impact their cruise. (sleet, rain, snow??) .

Yes..this part of your cruise is such hard work - but so rewarding. (So funny to be referencing Antarctica given the heat where you are right now, ) Hey - cruising can't always be relaxing around the pool with an umbrella drink. Enjoying all the photos and stories from OP dkbustr as well as your photo blog - brings back great memories. Thanks so much to all, know it's also hard work updating your CC threads and blogs when you've had long tiring days. And umbrella drinks are beckoning...

[dkbustr]

After passing through the port security, and leaving Safaga, we climbed through views of hills and mountains of sandstone. The highway was in good shape, but the ride is unchanging views for two hours, except for security check stops. Our guard onboard was also used to walkie talkie the upcoming check points to announce our impending arrival, so that we could pass through without stopping. Our bus then left the highway at Qena, and traveled along the canal for the duration of the trip to Luxor. This is the only point where I would say Oceania tours have an advantage, as they can continue on the highway to Luxor. This highway is an access highway for Luxor which requires permission to use, which the O buses have. The remaining trip is 1 1/2 hours for the buses, and was almost 3 hours for us over incessant speed bumps and views of the local culture, which after ten minutes, was a been here, seen it.

But we made it through the trip, and arrived at Karnak Temple. The temple complex means fortified village in Arabic. It is the second most visited site in Egypt only behind the Pyramids. It is composed of four parts, but the Precinct of Amun-Ra is the only area open to the public.

The entrance is guarded by a row of sphinx...

 

 

As you enter the complex, you are then greeted by an imposing figure..

 

 

Two obelisks are present at the site, but originally there were many more. The obelisks were constructed of one piece of granite and lifted into place. The remaining obelisks are scattered in cities throughout the globe today...