Live from Seabourn Spirit, Oct 25 - Dec 20 2008

[katzoe]

Hi Steve & Chris,

 

Good to hear that you both enjoyed your day in Goa. I am sure that Marla's show would have been energetic & full of fun like her previous one. She is a real showman/woman. Wonderful photos of Goa.

Lorraine

[cands]

"Creme Brulee on Display" -- NBD; I always thought it was Creme Brulee on "Parade"? Did it change?

Jeff

 

LOL, still 'On Parade'. I need an editor! I knew it was 'on something'.

 

Glad you're enjoying the posts.

 

Cheers,

Steve.

[cands]

Chris and Steve:

 

We are safely back in very cold Maryland (we have even had a touch of snow). We are enjoying following the rest of your journey. Some friends passed on a photo taken by the French (it has been in some newspapers) of their landing.

 

Hello you two. The French leaked the photo!!!!

Wish we had a touch of snow. It's starting to get Hot, Hot, Hot. The 'Dancing Under the Stars' the other night was like "Dancing in a Sauna".

 

Cheers,

Steve and Chris

[cands]

Steve.

 

We loved Goa, so different from the rest of India as it is cleaner, more tropical etc.

 

Loving your photos as always.

 

Jennie

 

Hi Jennie,

Thanks. As a sidenote Azamara Quest was with us in Goa!

 

Steve.

[cands]

Hi Steve & Chris,

 

Good to hear that you both enjoyed your day in Goa. I am sure that Marla's show would have been energetic & full of fun like her previous one. She is a real showman/woman. Wonderful photos of Goa.

Lorraine

 

Hi Lorraine (and John),

Wish you were here! Trivia and lunch in the dining room is not quite the same without the old group. We are almost looking forward to coming home.

 

Cheers,

Steve.

[cands]

Day 45 – At Sea.

Today was a much needed sea day. We are rested and ready for another day in India tomorrow. Today pretty much consisted of eating and resting, (So what else is new?) with a little bit of exercise thrown in for good measure. We are totally hooked on eating in the Restaurant at lunch time. We always have the pasta of the day. The servers know us well and order this course when they see us walk through the doors. We have tried all the pastas on rotation at least twice! The main fare at lunch is simple and delicious.

Tonight was Indian night again in the Restaurant. We enjoyed it so much last time we had it all again tonight. This time I took photos. After dinner I took a few snaps around the ship. Enjoy!

Cheers,

Steve.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[cands]

 

 

 

 

Where/what is this?

[cands]

Day 46 – Cochin.

Today was our second and final day in India. Cochin more closely resembled my memories of India than Goa did.

We took an all day Seabourn Tour which included a drive to Allapuzha, a trip on a houseboat on the backwaters there, lunch in a resort on the Arabian Sea, the return trip to Cochin and a quick run past the old part of town.

We were 6 people in a 12 seater bus which was very comfortable. We had a driver and our own guide. The roads in India are chaotic, with all manner of vehicle going in every direction. One good thing was that it was pretty well impossible to speed!

Just outside Allapuzha we boarded a houseboat for a 90 minute tour of the backwaters. The houseboat tourist market has blossomed here since the curtailment of house boating in Kashmir. The boats themselves are self-contained wonders ranging from 1 bedroom to 8 or more.

After a pleasant ride it was back to the bus for a short trip to a resort hotel on the beach. Although this was quite a nice place it seemed deserted. Apparently business has been really bad due to the economic downturn and especially the shootings in Mumbai. We had our second meal on Indian soil. I was a little more adventurous this time. The food was very good.

Then it was back on the bus for the return journey to Cochin. We stopped by a few of the historic Dutch and English buildings and also the famous ‘Chinese fishing nets’.

Safely back on the ship we were out on deck for the sailaway. The captain announced there was a 50:50 chance of rain and sure enough just after we departed the rain came down. The Sky Grill Surf and Turf dinner was cancelled.

We had an early dinner in the Restaurant. When we went up on deck after dinner we were greeted with a fantastic show of lightning in the distance; something we have not experienced on a ship before.

Bye for now,

Steve.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Margate Cruiser]

Well we are back safe and sound. Happy we ae not in Athens they would have cancled that port as well with what's going on now. Judy and I look everyday to see what we are missing. LOTS Before you know it you will be back home. I sent you an e mail let me know if you got it. Steve and Judy

[cands]

Well we are back safe and sound. Happy we ae not in Athens they would have cancled that port as well with what's going on now. Judy and I look everyday to see what we are missing. LOTS Before you know it you will be back home. I sent you an e mail let me know if you got it. Steve and Judy

 

Hi Steve and Judy,

Glad you made it home safely. Yes, I got the e-mail, thanks.

Strange times, indeed,

 

Catch you,

Steve.

[cands]

Day 50 – At Sea.

Hi Everyone. All is fine at sea. The days just roll by in a sort of sea-day haze. The weather has been a bit iffy the last couple of days with grey skies and sudden torrential downpours. The seas have been a little rough with a few people becoming seasick. Several events have been cancelled including the night Sky Grill dinners, today’s crew tug-o-war and the Dessert and Dancing under the stars.

Most of the new staff are settling in well, although you can see the strain on the more experienced staff as they show them the ropes. Rick, the new Sky Bar barman from South Africa is fast winning fans due to his drink mixing abilities and his affability. This is his first contract on a cruise ship!

The Trivia competition is bubbling along quite nicely and although there have been a few spats between the team, everybody has been relatively well behaved. Our team, Goa Goa Gone is well and truly gone in third place. Oh well, can’t win them all.

Cheers,

Steve.

[Girl Guide]

Steve,

Have you heard of any guests planning to snow ski in Dubai on Dec. 1st? The "Ski Dubai" rents all clothing, skis, etc.

I know Captain Toenis and some of the Officer's skied last year while visiting Dubai ~~

Would certainly be different and fun!

 

Continued safe and fun sailing!:p

Martita B.

 

Hello Martita

 

I tried the ski slope just recently and really enjoyed it but was disappointed that it was so small. Everything now in Dubai has to be built bigger and better and I understand there are plans for a much larger ski slope!! I also tried skating at the ice rink in I think the Dubai Mall which also has an aquarium.

 

Anyway, for something fun to do it's highly enjoyable!

 

Susanna

[Missabby]

Most of the new staff are settling in well, although you can see the strain on the more experienced staff as they show them the ropes. Rick, the new Sky Bar barman from South Africa is fast winning fans due to his drink mixing abilities and his affability. This is his first contract on a cruise ship!

Hope to see Rick on the Spirit when we embark on May 23rd. We will look for him and give him a big Cruise Critic welcome!

 

Keep up the blog, Steve. We really enjoy it. Your pictures are superb!

 

-- Jeff

[cands]

Day 52 – Phuket, Thailand.

 

We decided to take a Seabourn tour in Phuket. It sure was good to be on land again!

 

First we visited a cashew nut processing factory, which despite the sound of it, was actually quite interesting. The shop had an amazing array of cashew products to taste and buy.

We ended up with a jar of the most exquisitely hot chilli cashews.

Next was the mandatory Buddhist temple complex, which we enjoyed also.

 

The highlight of the day was the visit to the Elephant Park. We were able to get very close to these majestic creatures and took a 15 minute ride on one as well.

We were able to buy bags of bananas for a couple of dollars a bag to feed to the elephants. Chris and I bought 5 and had great fun feeding them. The elephant we rode could hear the bags rustling and would only take a couple of steps before stopping and sending her trunk back to where we were sitting. We ended up getting only about 1 banana to the metre!

 

It was then on to the baby elephant show, which included a unique elephant back massage. (See photos).

There were also monkeys to visit and a lovely orchid garden to look at as well as rubber tree tapping demonstrations.

 

 

Cheers,

Steve.

 

[wripro]

Steve,

 

I'll be on the Spirit in Feb/March in Bangkok and have booked a private tour to an elephant park. Now that you have described it I am looking forward to it even more. thanks for your diligent updates on this wonderful trip.

[cands]

Photos for last post:

 

 

 

 

 

Chris gets a back massage

 

[johnnycruise]

C & S,

 

You continue to provide beautiful photographs of your epic voyage. It looks like your excursion in Phuket was tailor made for the semi-professional shutterbug! Thailand really is an exceptional destination.

 

Thanks for continuing to post.

 

johnny

[Missabby]

Have a safe trip home and many thanks for the wonderful stories and photographs of your trip.

 

You can definitely say you made new and exotic friends on this trip!

[Aussie Gal]

Steve,

 

I think tomorrow is your last day before flying home. If so, have a safe flight back to Oz and thanks for taking us along with you on your wonderful journey. Also a very happy Christmas and may you both have lots more exciting travels in 2009.

 

Your photos have been fantastic.

 

Jennie

[margbem]

Steve - what do I have to look forward to every day now? It will have to be Christmas rather than your fantastic travelogue! I have so enjoyed the photos and reports from your trip! Have a safe journey home and a wonderful Christmas.

 

Margaret

[GrannyLorr]

Is it all over already? :( Been great reading all about your trip, sorry it is coming to an end, but havent you booked your next one yet? You will have to give me a lesson on how to get those pics in here....Norm taught me once...long ago.....but the photo album program I use wont let me do it....or i cant figure out how to do it......:confused:

Anyway....welcome home! :D

[snowman]

Thanks you 2. 19,000+ hits. Got to be some kind of record. Now it is back to reality.

[katzoe]

Hi Steve & Chris,

 

Thanks for keeping us up-to-date with your great photos & your account of the cruise after we left the Spirit in Dubai. Have a safe trip home & Merry Christmas. We look forward to catching up with you in January.

 

Lorraine & John

[cands]

Day 55 – At Sea.

We enjoyed our visits to Lankawi and Penang. It is nice to be back in South East Asia. I don’t have anything special to report. We did have the bargain lunch of the trip while in Lankawi. 2 plates of Mie Goreng and two hot teas for the grand price of 8.60 (Ringitt), or $2.70 American! We toured the island by taxi (very cheap). It’s a lovely relaxed place that we would consider coming back to.

I decided to have a ‘sea day’ in Penang and only went ashore for about half an hour. Chris spent the whole afternoon walking around in the heat, taking photos of the architecture.

Well, we’ve come to the last day. We are currently in the Malacca strait and there are ships of all sizes everywhere. We had our final lunch in the dining room and said a sad farewell to the regular staff there, who have looked after us exceptionally well, especially Peter (from Poland) and Kaj (from the Netherlands).

A few days ago we were ready to leave, now we have our ‘second wind’ and will be very sad to leave the ship. Still, 56 days really is a long time to spend on a ship. We have thoroughly enjoyed ourselves and have visited some truly amazing destinations.

The standout highlight of the ship has been the food, followed closely by friendliness and willingness of the serving staff. The service and the methods of providing it are not perfect but not so far off as to detract from the overall experience. As a passenger you need to work with the staff to gently massage the experience towards perfection.

I haven’t wanted to write here about the little niggles we’ve had on board and in all honesty anything I would write would sound petty. Any changes to the service requested of the staff were taken seriously and no genuine request was denied. For example, we do not like to be asked 20 times during our evening meal ‘How are things?’, even though this is the formula used in the dining room. We mentioned this to one of the senior waiters. They must have a method for passing this information on, because the frequency of being asked dropped to a much more manageable level.

We are now packing. Someone has already put bags in the hall!

We decided to send a case home via Seabourn’s shipping service. Fingers crossed!

A big thank you goes to everyone who has read and contributed to this thread. It has really encouraged me to keep going. I do send my apologies for slowing down over the last few days, though.

Cheers,

Steve. (and Chris)

[GrannyLorr]

And we all thank you for all the time (and money) you must have spent while onboard to keep us entertained and just ~slightly~ jealous. I know when writing a report in here, the encouragement, enthusiasm and interest shown by others is what makes it all worthwhile....and you even managed a STICKY!!! I have never been that privaliged! :rolleyes: