Geo: -29.853, 31.0164Our next port of call was Port Elizabeth. This is a large port, especially for exporting cars from the near-by assembly lines. Again we had not booked tours but relied on our own initiative and local taxis. We disembarked about9-30 and walked into the town. The first imposing sight is the Campanile, a very tall bell tower commemorating the first British settlement here in 1820. It was a short walk from there up some steps to the main centre of the city. Here there were some fine colonial buildings, still in good condition. We admired the large town hall standing on a wide square. Across the road was the Public Library with the seemingly necessary statue of Queen Victoria in front of it. We walked along what seemed to be the main shopping stree. ... read more

Geo: -33.979, 18.5102We arrived in Cape Town early in the morning of Feb 4th. By 7am we were docked at our berth at the Cruise Terminal. We had arranged to meet Barbara and Roger Smith, members of La Chaines whom we had met at the Young Sommeliers'' Competition in Adelaide last September. We rang them about 8-30 and confirmed our meeting spot. This was to be at the main entrance of the Table Bay Hotel at the V&A Waterfront which was in walking distance from the dock. It was a beautiful day, sunny skies and temperatures in the high 20s. We left the ship about 9am after breakfast and took our time walking through the waterfront area. We had been here in 1998 but much had changed. We did recognise the Clock Tower and the Swing ... read more

Geo: -25.9664, 32.5713We sailed into Port Victoria in the Seychelles about 7am on January 27th. This is more like the tropical islands we know. The green hills rose in the centre while around the shores we glimpsed white sand. Port Victoria is the capital and is on the island of Mahe. Rain was forecast and it was very humid. We disembarked the ship about 8-45am and walked into the town. This took about 20 minutes. We stopped along the way to take a picture of a large model of a tortoise outside the Library. Giant tortoises are native to these islands. We also stopped at a square where three white crescents represent the three main peoples of the islands, African, Asian and European. We planned to hire a car so found a Hertz shop in the ... read more

Geo: 4.1742, 73.5109We arrived in port very early. When we looked out from our balcony we were surrounded by cranes and container ships. This was not a cruise ship terminal but a working commercial port. We were told that due to taxi regulations no shuttle buses would run until 11am and it was a 20 minute walk to the gate. We had breakfast and then left the ship about 8-30am. There were some stalls set up on the dock and we stopped and each bought a shirt and a little Sri Lankan elephant to add to our collection. There were also some taxi drivers offering tours but when we enquired the charge was $40 for an hour. We then started walking. After about five minute we came across another group of taxis. A couple had negotiated ... read more

Geo: 13.0615, 80.2478We had one day at sea between Singapore and our next port of call, Phuket. Our normal routine was followed. We went to the quizzes and though we got close we were still one or two off the pace. We sailed through the Straits of Malacca where there were rows of ships all traversing the waters. It was great watching the traffic from our balcony and we were amazed at the number of ships going in the same direction as ourselves. This ship has been sailing at a much faster pace than the Astor. It is also amazing to observe the varying colours of the sea. We arrived at Phuket Port about 6-30am on Saturday, 16th January. We watched from our balcony as the ship backed into the quay. There were several resort hotels ... read more