We are cruising again, hopefully, 10 July - 14 August

[2SailingNomads]

On 7/12/2022 at 11:19 PM, frantic36 said:

Cheeky devil, I enjoy Captain Hamish's company when we can chat and are just sad his good wife Gail isn't sailing with him. 

 

We had the Caesar Salad to share and the Roast Chicken. The Roast chicken was plump and juicy. It was cooked properly and seasoned correctly for my taste but I must admit it didn't wow me this time as it has in the past. The Caesar Salad was made table side and I enjoyed that. The sides of creamed spinach and glazed carrots were also delicious. Maybe I was just in a vegetarian frame of mind. 🙂

Love Hamish and Gail

[2SailingNomads]

So sorry Julie about Keith still being positive.  Send him our regards and we both are hoping he is being negative tomorrow.  Really was not surprised about you both since as I told you we both got it on the Ovation, luckily not until we got home the day we disembarked.  Do you know how many other cases are on-board?  On the ovation they kept it a secret.   

[frantic36]

5 hours ago, 2SailingNomads said:

Love Hamish and Gail

We do as well and are sad she isn't onboard.

 

Good news...Keith has tested negative as well today. Even the head nurse was surprised because luck hadn't been going our way. So we will be able to go explore the Citadel caves in Melilla, Spanish Morocco. 

[Mauzac]

2 hours ago, frantic36 said:

We do as well and are sad she isn't onboard.

 

Good news...Keith has tested negative as well today. Even the head nurse was surprised because luck hadn't been going our way. So we will be able to go explore the Citadel caves in Melilla, Spanish Morocco. 

 

That's wonderful news!  And bear in mind, you will now have 'a high level of antibodies' from having had it.

(We do four weekly blood tests for the Office of National Statistics and we went from having antibodies from vaccination to high level antibodies after getting covid)

 

Enjoy your trip! 🙂

[Isklaar]

2 hours ago, frantic36 said:

We do as well and are sad she isn't onboard.

 

Good news...Keith has tested negative as well today. Even the head nurse was surprised because luck hadn't been going our way. So we will be able to go explore the Citadel caves in Melilla, Spanish Morocco. 

 

Great news Julie. Enjoy your freedom! 

[Fletcher]

This thread has gone oddly quiet - I hope @frantic36 are OK.

[lincslady]

Me too - I think they are in Monaco  today, with warm sunshine.

 

Hope you are fine, and enjoying the trip, Julie.

[Mr Luxury]

Now they have been let out of their suite there will be no stopping them.

[Mauzac]

29 minutes ago, Mr Luxury said:

Now they have been let out of their suite there will be no stopping them.

 

I'd be dancing the night away in the club until they shut the doors on me! 😂

[frantic36]

7 hours ago, Fletcher said:

This thread has gone oddly quiet - I hope @frantic36 are OK.

 

Thanks for the concern we are fine though I must admit one late night a couple of days ago wiped me out for a day or so. It was after we had spent most of the day in Cartagena in 40C heat. I think Covid wore me out more than I expected.

 

That coupled with my frustration due to having trouble getting the orientation correct with photos. I have tried a few ideas I have read on CC for orientation but it isn't working. I will try again tomorrow. Stayed onboard today as change over day and we have been here many times.

 

Julie

[Fletcher]

4 hours ago, frantic36 said:

 

Thanks for the concern we are fine though I must admit one late night a couple of days ago wiped me out for a day or so. It was after we had spent most of the day in Cartagena in 40C heat. I think Covid wore me out more than I expected.

 

 

Only 40C?  You should have been in the UK last week.    I see you have Portofino tomorrow.  That should be nice.  Did you get ashore in Melilla, the day before Cartagena?  I'm very interested in this place.

[Fletcher]

No, not Portofino, I think it's Napoleon's holiday home in Elba.

[frantic36]

10 hours ago, Fletcher said:

Only 40C?  You should have been in the UK last week.    I see you have Portofino tomorrow.  That should be nice.  Did you get ashore in Melilla, the day before Cartagena?  I'm very interested in this place.

Hi Fletcher, Yes it is Portoferraio today but we are only here until 2pm so will get of soon for a quick walk around. 

 

We did a tour in Melilla and enjoyed it. That was what I was trying to post pictures for. Our guide for The Citadel was excellent but the other tour, that was a small walking tour, apparently the guide was not good and passengers got their money back. Will try to post photos of our tour later.

[frantic36]

Melilla, Spanish Morocco - The Citadel and Conventico Caves

 

It was our first day of freedom with both testing negative. We boarded the bus as you had to take a tour bus or shuttle bus in the port area. We were asked to wear a mask by a Seabourn Rep which we did but when we boarded most other passengers weren't doing so and they were older and supposedly wiser. So I understand Seabourn's reluctance not to get into a fight with them.

 

Our tour guide Jennifer was excellent and had a lot of knowledge. There was an extra guide Laura who helped one older lady who was on the tour to assist walking the multiple stairs. The older lady was very determined and I admire her resilience but the next day when my calf muscles were complaining I did hope she was okay. 

 

Melilla is a fascinating town wedged as it is next to Morocco and only 12km wide. They celebrate 525 years of existence next year. As you can see in the above picture it has been built as a fortress city but the beach is also nice. It had a small but interesting military history museum.The side streets were lovely but quiet on this hot Sunday morning.

 

 

The Conventico Caves were tunnelled into the underground of the Citadel for storage and was used as a refuge for the population of Melilla during the siege by the Sultan of Morocco between 1774 and 1775.

 

 

 

 

 

I would recommend this tour but do be aware when they say strenuous they do mean strenuous.

 

 

 

[Frank5]

How many stars would you give the quality of the food and service in the main dining room?

[koalapanda]

Glad to hear that you are out and about again Julie. Reading your informatve thread makes me think there is a case for carrying anti virals in our Kit when travelling. Presently the availability is easing and hopefully one day like Tamiflu we will have a ready prescription.

It is nice to be reminded of the beautiful Cities you are visiting. Your words evoke lovely memories for me.  

[frantic36]

19 hours ago, Frank5 said:

How many stars would you give the quality of the food and service in the main dining room?

I feel the quality of food and service has been very good. I'm sorry I won't give star ratings as I feel food is very subjective and I don't eat breakfast or dessert. For example we have only dined once in Earth & Ocean because for us the menus don't appeal that much. However I know others on this board and others cruising Sojourn at the moment love it. I will say the Indian feast in Colonnade was the best I have had on Seabourn because the head chef is Indian and really does his spices well.

This was the fish of the day - Spiced Semolina Coated grilled Coal Fish with fresh beans and curry sauce.

 

The accompanying side dishes were very good:

[lincslady]

Taormina today - one of my favourite Med. ports, and one I can happily revisit several times.  The worst bit is just the time it takes to tender in and get the coach up to town, though the ride is exciting at times.  Does the coach still arrive at the bus station with a lift up into town? 

[Fletcher]

Yes, Taormina.  With Silver Dawn as company.  Looks a bit choppy.

[lincslady]

No news on this cruise recently - I hope  the only reason is everyone is too busy having a good time.

[CanAmBrit]

We agree with lincslady. Post Covid quarantine, we hope you are enjoying your freedom.

After a Covid test tomorrow, we  are looking  forward to an uneventful flight to Barcelona before boarding the Sojourn on Sunday.

We can usually be found enjoying a pre dinner dance and a cocktail or two in the Club. We would enjoy meeting you, Julie and Keith, and thanking you in person for all your informative postings on CC.

Dee (short, curly headed blonde) and Bob (tall, grey hair, glasses, but doesn’t  that describe many of the Seabourn men!)

 

[marazul]

Julie,

Hope all is well. We are all missing your updates.

[CanAmBrit]

The dreaded Covid virus has foiled our plans, Julie and Keith. We boarded the Sojourn on Sunday and promptly tested positive for Covid yesterday.  So we will be in isolation until at least Sunday.

Hopefully, we will eventually be able to meet in January on the 79 day Quest sailing to South America and Antarctica.

Dee and Bob

[lincslady]

So sorry to read your news, CanAmBrit.  Rotten luck.

 

I hope all is well with Julie; nothing from her for quite a while.

[MrToblerone]

I do hope @frantic36are still enjoying their travels and looking forward to more posts .