Explorer Lisbon to Cape Town Nov 28 until dragged kicking & screaming off

[Travelcat2]

2 hours ago, 1982CruzStart said:

Lunch was in P7. They have a reasonable selection & small portions. 

We both had the cucumber stuffed with carb salad. Quite yummy.  I had the yellowfin tuna salad. It was very good. 

 

Both items would yummy.  I don't recall these being offered at lunch in P7 but will be ordering them when we board Explorer in 2 months 10 days (but whose counting).

 

How is the weather currently (wherever you are)?  Wondering if it will heat up as you head south (at least I think that you're heading south).  

 

Enjoy your sea day!

[flossie009]

A total of 717 guests on board Explorer for this cruise - 353 male & 364 female.

 

60% are from North America and 27% from Europe.

 

 

Tonight is the Seven Seas Society Party, so we should get a breakdown of the tier levels of returning guests ........................ plus they will hopefully be serving that delicious dish, Miso glazed Sea Bass  😋

[boblerm]

5 hours ago, flossie009 said:

The Pool Deck on Explorer is beautiful, but like many areas of the ship has some mildly annoying design and layout quirks.

 

Yes, but one of the really nice features of the Explorer pool deck as opposed to the other ships is the "cage" (for lack of a better term) for smokers, that makes life much more pleasant for non-smokers.

[flossie009]

14 minutes ago, boblerm said:

Yes, but one of the really nice features of the Explorer pool deck as opposed to the other ships is the "cage" (for lack of a better term) for smokers, that makes life much more pleasant for non-smokers.

Agreed, the “smokers’ greenhouse” is a good feature

 

The SSS Party, to which all guests were invited, was well attended and an enjoyable event.

Margaret & Evan both sang a couple of songs, the ballroom dancers performed and the production cast did a selection from Abba 

 

In Compass Rose this evening we sat at a table hosted by Bruce, the Cruise Consultant, and Roland, Destinations Services Manager. Very interesting conversations since both are originally from South Africa and will be meeting with family members when we get to Cape Town.

 

Both of us had the Miso Glazed Sea Bass tonight, prefaced by Escargots and Soup for David; Crab salad and Beef Carpaccio for Susan. All delicious 😋

 

Seven Sea Society member’s on board Explorer:

Silver: 378

Gold: 210 (74 new this cruise)

Platinum: 93 (24 new)

Titanium: 23 (2 new)

No Diamond or Commodore 

 

Tomorrow we are in Dakar, Senegal with a high of 87F forecast.

Tomorrow evening a Deck BBQ & Beatles night is planned as the ship does not sail until late. Should be an interesting day and a fun evening.

[Travelcat2]

3 hours ago, boblerm said:

Yes, but one of the really nice features of the Explorer pool deck as opposed to the other ships is the "cage" (for lack of a better term) for smokers, that makes life much more pleasant for non-smokers.

 

Agree but then I love the pool deck on Explorer.  As everyone knows, nothing is perfect and that includes Explorer but she remains our favorite ship.  Looking for fault all of the time is simply not in my DNA.  Really appreciate how you describe the smoking area as a 'cage' since that truly is what it is.

Edited December 7, 2018 by Travelcat2

[1982CruzStart]

Another delicious dinner in CR with our great server Jade. 

I had the salmon sashimi sans the crispy rice cake ( picture shows with ), the Greek salad & the filet mignon. I know I can hear the gasps, she didn't have the famous miso glazed sea bass. No I didn't not my jam so to speak.  My DH had it so picture to follow. 

 

[1982CruzStart]

I finished with chocolate mouse stuffed with creme brulee. What a great combo. 

[1982CruzStart]

Today we are in Dakar, Senegal. I have to admit i went back and forth on whether i would go on the tour or not.  I finally relented to the angel or maybe the devil sitting on my shoulder and decided how could i possibly be in the part of the world l likely will never be again and not go ashore.  My DH however did not have that struggle. He wasn't really interested in going so he stayed on board. 

Being a good little doobee, i did as they requested wore long pants as the country is mostly Muslim and have a more modest dress. We didn't have to wear long sleeves but wee expected to dress modestly. Done. 

I was all prepared to deal with the non-air-conditioned bus. No problem just suck it up for a few hours, no big deal. As i was packing my bag i threw my shawl in at the last moment just in case. Well thank goodness i did. We had lovely well air-conditioned buses that i would have froze to death if i hadn't brought it. It was definitely warm outside at least for this pale skinned person from northern climes. The tour guide was great and yahoo the bus had a audio system so you could hear everything he said. 

 

Dakar has a great many contrasts.  You can see tall modern buildings and right beside hovels or dilapidated buildings. There were garbage piles lining the streets in many places. There seemed like much affluence next to much poverty. 

 

The traffic was horrific. Our 4 hour turned into over 5 hours mostly due to a late stop and traffic ajm after traffic jam.  As we were touring the city we seemed to pass the same passes over and over and stuck in the long traffic lines in the same areas. 

 

We visited the food market where there were tables full of fish, chickens, meat and tons of veggies.  The aisle were narrow but passable and we did a quick run through it.  Pictures will follow.  When you first walk in there is a smell and you think oh no but when youu actually get inside the building there is no unpleasant smelll in spite of all the fresh meat and fish on display. 

 

We made a stop at a cathedral. I believe Papi said Senegal was 95% muslim, 4 % catholic from the portugese influence that predated the colonization by France and 1 % other. 

 

i have to post my pictures off my phone and not my tablet but it is easieer to type on my tablet so all the pictures will follow. 

 

Drove by the president's official residence where they were preparing to meet the new ambassador from Estonia.  The military were out in their finest bright red uniforms but alas no pictures as i just wasn't fast enough with my phone to get them as we drove by. 

 

there was a short stop at a dance demonstration. They had put our chairs for the tourists (buses of us) in the direct sunlight while the Senegalese were all smart enoough to stand around in the shade.  there was a grandstand that had partially shade and i hightailed it there. 

 

We stopped by a huge statute of a family that i think he said was commissioned by an American but built by the North Koreans. He had no idea how the NK got involved in it but of course i could just have dreamt the whole thing up. 

 

With a couple of other short stops we crawled back to the pier and the ship dying for our next meal. 

 

 

[1982CruzStart]

Ceiling of the Market and goods for sale. 

 

 

[1982CruzStart]

The Cathedral. Can you tell I have a thing for ceilings. Then a pic of one of the largest mosques. 

 

[1982CruzStart]

Large metal statue of a family. Sorry for the quality there was no where to go to get away from the sun. 

As well as a new art installation.  The artist is standing to the side of it. 

[1982CruzStart]

I am going to get on my soap box for a moment and believe it or not in defense of DS.  In spite of their repeated requests for people to remain in the theatre until your bus has been called what i assume are intelligent people don't understand a basic request. We are docked in commercial piers with limited infrasture for cruise ships on this itinerary.  There is the constant movement of commercial vehicles with very little space for tour buses to park.  Because we can't be trusted and continue to act like disobedient children they have now had to post staff at the doors and various other points between the theatre and the gangway to stop people from going ashore until their bus has been called. It is ridiculous that a department with limited staff are even more stretched in order to supervise a bunch of disobedient adult children. 

 

Okay off my soap box. Maybe things will improve. 

[Travelcat2]

What amazing photos (and those onions are huge!).  This is the part of your itinerary that I am most interested in.  DH and I love going to food markets - inside - outside or anywhere.  You learn so much about a culture when you learn what they eat, what type of food is available to them, etc.  It is good to see what appears to be plenty of food - nice looking chicken, etc.  

 

In terms of Destination Services, our experience has been that it is worse on Explorer than on other Regent ships (marginally worse than Voyager).  While I agree that passengers should wait until their bus is called, by the time they receive the bus tickets, they are already frustrated and really do not want to be told what to do anymore.  You walk into the theater and have no clue if you should get in line or sit down or ???  Then passengers whose tickets are not ready tend to block the area where passengers that have been called are trying to pick up their tickets.  In my opinion, there should never be "monitors" on the ship - and the Destination Services team has no right to act like dictators.  If passengers go out too early, they can stand and wait until the buses arrive (out of the way of others).  Passengers may behave like adults if/when they are treated as such in the theater. 

 

Not trying to get off topic - just had to respond to your comments (which I agree with but feel that the blame begins with Destination Services and then the passengers).  

 

Was there a reason why your DH was not interested in going ashore?  I know that some of these ports are difficult but are worth seeing (IMHO).

[mrlevin]

48 minutes ago, Travelcat2 said:

In terms of Destination Services, our experience has been that it is worse on Explorer than on other Regent ships (marginally worse than Voyager).  While I agree that passengers should wait until their bus is called, by the time they receive the bus tickets, they are already frustrated and really do not want to be told what to do anymore.  You walk into the theater and have no clue if you should get in line or sit down or ???  Then passengers whose tickets are not ready tend to block the area where passengers that have been called are trying to pick up their tickets.  In my opinion, there should never be "monitors" on the ship - and the Destination Services team has no right to act like dictators.  If passengers go out too early, they can stand and wait until the buses arrive (out of the way of others).  Passengers may behave like adults if/when they are treated as such in the theater. 

 

 

 

 

Agree with Jackie on this one.  If we hadn't gotten off early at one of our South American ports we would have missed the whole cultural show on the pier; it was over by the time our bus number was called.

Edited December 7, 2018 by mrlevin

[flossie009]

Today our excursion took us to Goree Island, a short ferry ride from where Explorer was docked in Dakar. No traffic jams for us.

Goree Island is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and was the centre of the slave trade 350 years ago. The Portuguese established a presence on the island and used it as a base for the Atlantic slave trade. France took over the island in 1677 and continued and grew the trade on a massive scale until the abolition of slavery in the 19th century.

 

 

 

 

 

 

This was one of the cells in the Slave House on the island. 8ft by 8ft in which 15 slaves were held before being loaded onto ships bound for the New World:

 

 

[1982CruzStart]

Sorry  I disagree. At times that might work but with the situation in these ports it is very important that not too many people are on the pier. We have been kept well informed of what is happening.  

 

Unfortunately they do have to act as monitors as it is just not safe for people to be on the pier early.  Respectfully you aren't here so you really don't know the situation.  

 

As far as my DH  he was never interested in any of these ports. We are on this cruise for lisbon & the safari at the end. Everything else is just a bonus. He is doing tours on the rest of the ports or at least at the moment. I will do tours at all the ports as that is who I am. 

Edited December 7, 2018 by 1982CruzStart

[flossie009]

During our tour of the island we were constantly followed by jovial local hawkers selling their wares, but we also encountered other friendly inhabitants

 

 

 

The church:

 

 

A local artist demonstrated his interesting technique of painting with coloured sand:

 

........................ and finally a very loud band bid us farewell from the island

 

 

[flossie009]

Lest we forget food, here are some photos of the offerings at tonight’s Deck BBQ

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

......................... and the hard working catering team take a well deserved bow to the rapturous applause of the guests

 

 

[flossie009]

Tomorrow we are in Banjul, The Gambia.

 

Our itinerary for tomorrow’s excursion includes the item: “Outdoor (bush) comfort stop”  

 

Can’t wait ...............

[briar14]

2 hours ago, flossie009 said:

Today our excursion took us to Goree Island, a short ferry ride from where Explorer was docked in Dakar. No traffic jams for us.

Goree Island is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and was the centre of the slave trade 350 years ago. The Portuguese established a presence on the island and used it as a base for the Atlantic slave trade. France took over the island in 1677 and continued and grew the trade on a massive scale until the abolition of slavery in the 19th century.

 

 

 

 

 

 

This was one of the cells in the Slave House on the island. 8ft by 8ft in which 15 slaves were held before being loaded onto ships bound for the New World:

 

 

 

[briar14]

Susan,

We took the Goree Island tour in 2014 from Mariner. A very sobering tour, which we appreciated. Having lived in SC for many years we also noticed the colors of some of the homes, reminding us of Charleston, and the basket weaving, which was very similar to the sweetgrass baskets of the SC Lowcountry. Of the Regent tours we have taken, this was one of my favorites.

 

Additionally, I am enjoying your posts as well as 1982CruzStart’s (love the title, feel the same way!). We met you on the Mariner TA in April, and I think we may be on the same cruise this summer on Navigator. Thanks to both of you for posting wonderful pictures and commentary. Jan

[1982CruzStart]

I can't speak personally of how they are handling walk offs but I assume if you are going ashore you can do so at your leisure.  They just can't handle a bunch of extra people milling around waiting for their bus to show up as the port is just too small. They let only so many buses near the ship at any one time.  So if the are loading bus 1 or 2 they can't handle people from bus 15 waiting around. Just no room. 

[Fletcher]

Flossie - When you are in Ghana, you simply must visit the old Portuguese castle at Elmina, a key centre of the slave trade, an amazing building and an even more amazing setting, right on the beach and surrounding by a fishing village.  One of the most unforgettable places I've ever been. 

 

 

[Zqueeze1]

I just caught up with this thread since I was in Guatemala all week.  Thanks for the great descriptions of the various ports and wonderful pics (I love your food pics!). 

Also, not to take a side, but would like to mention that DS folks have a tough job to do coordinating port visits, organizing and scheduling tours, and dealing with local vendors as well as meeting passengers' needs.  Language, local customs, and infrastructure all factor in to make their jobs rather challenging.  We have been fortunate in that our experiences in dealing with DS have been more positive than those mentioned above and in other threads.

 

Z and TB 

[Hambagahle]

When I was in Ghana for two weeks in 1960 our group was taken to Cape Coast castle - three hours by bus from Accra.  It was the saddest place I have ever been in.  The walls of the "dungeons" where the slaves were kept before boarding their boats oozed tears.   I haven't been to Elmina castle or to Gorée but I have to think it is the same sort of experience.  It is SO moving.