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Published: April 15th 2011
Sharm
Being wrapped up local style9th April – Another early morning call as the Commodore informed us at 6.30am that we had arrived in Sharm El Sheikh. We met up with Elly and Chris for a leisurely breakfast as no trips were planned for this visit. We had arranged to have a look around the place and then head off to seek out PJ, Frank and Carys who were just coming to the end of the holidays in Sharm. As we left the ship the greeting from the Egyptians was in the form of a DJ playing really loud dance music with a backing track of people cheering. It was quite good music but think they may have been expecting a younger crowd who might have appreciated it a little more than the wrinklies who were getting off this ship!! We walked through the port as taxis weren’t allowed in and we were soon met by the entrepreneurs all trying to do a deal for our business. Prices were offered anywhere between 100 dollars and 50 dollars to take us 5 minutes down the road to Sharm El Sheikh and after a bit of argy bargy it was agreed that 10 dollars would be the price
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All Done for the 4 of us. Frankly, I hate all of this bartering millarky! We were duly dropped off at “The Old Market” in Sharm which, we realized very quickly, was not at all interesting and full of old tat and, of course, very pushy shopkeepers and restaurant owners. They insist on dragging you into their shops and are a very touchy feely bunch, which, once again, I don’t like!!! Not easy to please am I?! Prices for crap would start at 100 dollars and then eventually come down to about $3 which is all a bit of a nonsense and then when you don’t want to buy anything we would be shouted at with Elly being thumped in the back by one irate shopkeeper. Not the best sales technique in the world. Anyway, we sought our escape very quickly and took another taxi to Naam’a Bay which seemed to be more modern and touristy. Once again we were besieged with folk trying to tempt us with something but fortunately it wasn’t as threatening as the market. We strolled towards the beach which was lined with nice looking hotels and found the hotel where the Almonds were staying. As we walked
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The Almond's Hotel through the gates we saw PJ sitting on a sunbed by the pool along with Carys and Frank so that was nice and easy. Their friends Phil and Gill (Jill?) were there too so with good company we chatted around the pool before going for a stroll along a floating jetty outside their hotel. The sea was a fabulous colour but there were too many jelly fish floating around so we couldn’t be tempted into it for a swim. We sat around chatting until happy hour began and then went to the bar (that’s a surprise isn’t it??) A little later Elly, Chris, Scott and myself went off down the prom to find an internet café. PJ showed us where it was but she was barefooted and the ground was burning her feet for her to walk any further. Fortunately a restaurant worker lent her a pair of flip flops to walk back in. The blog was sent and a fez was bought for Scott as we thought it looked very good on him. Then back to the Almonds hotel for more socializing and a bit of a swim in their pool. As we were walking back we saw sand
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Arriving to see the gang blowing about and then the beach brollies and chairs flew over. Once back at their hotel people were running around trying to find things and recover items which had blown away – apparently a freak wind had blown up, but just in a very limited space. PJ asked if we had brought more weird weather with us. Very odd but fortunately it didn’t last. It got to 4.30pm very quickly and it was time to make our way “home” as the sailaway was at 5.30/6.00pm.
Another bit of bartering for a taxi and a completely mental drive back to the ship – they all drive like Whacky Races – which frightens me to death. These folk might think a better place awaits them but I feel I should tell them that I don’t think I will be going there and would prefer it if just a bit more caution could be applied!! We got back in quick time and the sail away party was a must. We listened to other passengers tales of what they had seen and done and everyone seemed to have had a good time. Some had been to see the “original burning bush” although there
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At the end of the jetty was a little sceptisism as to whether this bush had really been here since Moses! Other’s had been to other biblical places which they had found interesting and others had been to the beach.
Later on dinner was had, but people were now fairly knackered after two days of early starts and long days so not much life was had after dinner had taken place. The best place for us was bed. Also we had been told that we would be anchoring at the entrance to the Suez Canal at about 3.00am as ships always go through in convoy and there were to be 27 ships in ours plus a pilot had to get on board before we entered.
We didn’t hear another thing and when we awoke at about 6.30am and looked out we were already in transit. We were leading the convoy and had taken on two pilots. It’s very strange as one side of the Suez (the Sinai side) is desert and there is very little to see other than mile after mile of sand, and the other side is quite lush as it is fed by the River Nile. At occasional points there were
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Girls posing towns and cities to be seen on the Egypt side and war memorials along the banks too. Also there were ferries crossing between the two areas as there are roads between Sinai and mainland Egypt. There was one bridge also which was an amazing sight as the land on both sides is very flat and the bridge had to be high enough for enormous ships to pass underneath. Therefore, the bridge started and ended quite a long way in on the land on each side. There was very little traffic on it as apparently it costs a fortune in tolls to cross but the queue of lorries for the ferry which ran close by was enormous. At about 3.00pm we exited the Canal into the Mediterranean and immediately the weather became much, much fresher – in fact a little too fresh for my liking.
In the evening Scott and I had booked to go to the “posh” restaurant on board called Todd English. One has to pay extra to go here but it is not terribly expensive and we thought we should try it once before we get off. The food was excellent and a nice change from the
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Frank usual restaurant. After dinner we went for a stroll around the ship which was feeling very quiet indeed. I think people may have been a bit weary after an early start to see the ship entering the Suez Canal (some had been up since 4.30am!) In fact in the ballroom which was very quiet there was one couple sitting and the chap’s head was thrown right back and his mouth was open as he slept through the music and the people dancing! Scott managed to get a photo of this which I will put on here. We made our way back to civilization and found our pals in the main dining room just finishing dinner. Elly and Chris were heading off to bed but the boys were going playing cards. Scott didn’t want to play but I went along with them for a game before bed. It’s a Spanish game called Compro and Joaquim and Toni, who taught us the game, are awful cheats and change the rules to suit themselves. However, I managed to win so went to bed a smug person!!
Another day at sea and sadly am going to start packing today. We arrive in Rome
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Carys the day after tomorrow and then it’s Monaco the day after that and then (big sob) Barcelona the day after and time for us to say goodbye. To cheer ourselves up today I think we may go and enquire about future voyages in the travel office. Apparently they offer good discounts if you book whilst still on board – so you know me – never one to miss a bargain!!
12th April – Oh No!!! It’s all coming to an end far too quickly. Packing has begun and I think 6 cases all done now (only 5 or 6 to go!). It was the last formal night last night so all posh frocks are now packed away. Goodness knows when I will ever where them again! Maybe start a dress agency. Or we’ll just book another cruise. We did go and see the travel office yesterday about cruising around the Fjords next year and although very tempting think we might wait until we get home to look at other companies who do similar things as these ships are awfully big and therefore don’t always get into the best of locations. That is one small moan about this ship –
she always seems to park up in container ports rather than cruise ship ones. Yesterday was a fairly quiet day on board – the weather is sunny but much cooler and quite breezy. We did manage to sit out for a while but the change got too much to handle and we gave up after an hour of fresh air. We went for pre-dinner drinks with our mates who were going to the show after dinner. It was featuring the Cunard Singers and Dancers which I think are fairly rubbish so we decided not to bother. An early night was had as we were stuffed to the gunnels after eating and nothing much seemed to be happening. Also we found out the film, “The Kings Speech” is being delivered to the ship in Barcelona and is to be shown on Sunday so sadly we will miss it. Hope it’s still on when we get home.
13th April – Still quite early in the morning and I am typing this up in bed. Off to do the music quiz at 10.30 and hopefully win another golden token. Will have to cash them all in today as it’s our last sea
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Just like that day before we get off. Looking forward to seeing Rome tomorrow and yesterday received lots of information of what to see from Michela – so big thanks to her. We are going ashore, once again, with Chris and Elly – the boys are all going on tours.
Right that’s it for now. Off to get dressed and start mingling. See you all soon. Xx
The day was a bit on the cool side and quite windy although there were some who braved their swimming costumes and sat out on deck but I wasn’t one of them. Ate lunch with the gang and it was, as usual, very amusing and the food was good. I prefer the lunches to the dinners. Also Tony had done cartoons of our lot and presented them to us – they were most amusing. In the afternoon we spent more time packing cases and Danilo the cabin steward had found some more of our empty cases in the dog kennels. Hopefully there won’t be too much left to do. In the late afternoon we passed by Mount Etna which was blowing out puffs of smoke. As it’s getting very close to the end of
our hols now we all decided to meet in the Commodore Club for pre-dinner drinks – all getting a bit sad now. Tony and Joaquim get off in Barcelona too as that is where they live so think it will all be a bit emotional on the day. After dinner we all had an early night as it was to be an early start in the morning when we arrived in Cittavechia for the journey into Rome.
13 April – Woke up early as the ship was doing strange things in preparation for docking. Scott opened the curtains and unfortunately there were black clouds, rain and a howling gale!! It wasn’t long before the Commodore came over the speakers informing us that the weather was too bad to go into the port and we would have to circle around until the wind died down. The pilot had come on board so at least we were a little hopeful although the schedule for the day would now be affected by the late arrival. The Queen Elizabeth, which had overtaken us during the night, was berthed in the harbour but we weren’t sure how long she had been there. About an
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Cooling down hour later we were told they were going to attempt to go in and not too much later we were berthed and then the job of emptying the ship of passengers began.
The coach journey into Rome went well until we reached the outskirts of the city when we hit a huge traffic jam. Apparently the traffic is always worse on a Wednesday morning as that is when the Pope does his thing in the square and 1000s of people go to see him. It seemed a bit stupid that the coaches were making their way to St Peter’s Square, as this was the most clogged up part and the traffic was being diverted, when it could have dropped us off in a much easier part of the city. Anyway it wasn’t to be and after another hour sat in traffic we eventually got off the bus. By this time the Pope had finished doing his thing and the crowds were massive and all moving away from the Square. Elly and Chris, who we were travelling with, together with ourselves decided to go and explore the old city. Michela had kindly sent a suggested itinerary which we followed more
or less as she had advised. It was brilliant! What a place – the architecture is amazing and everything is sooooo big!!! The weather had changed for the better and contrary to what we had been told on the ship the skies were now blue and the sun was warm – we had on our winter coats, umbrellas, socks etc. etc.!! We walked miles and saw lots but this is another place we will have to come back to and spend some time seeing all that there is to see as we only managed to scrape the surface. We also stopped, of course, for a bit of food, beer and coffee and then an ice cream!! Great stuff. We had walked so far that we needed to catch a taxi back to St Peter’s Square to meet up with the bus. Once again, time had passed far too quickly. We had thrown coins in the Trevi Fountain which does mean that we will come back – so that’s good.
We then got in the usual Cunard queue and scrummage for the bus which unfortunately had not arrived. People began to get very grumpy (unfortunately the tour guide had told
us as we were getting off that the bus would go without us if we weren’t punctual for the return journey and now all the passengers were punctual but the bus wasn’t) and some of the more peculiar ones started their grumbling and complaining and of course the usual jockeying for position to be first on the bus whenever it came. This always seems a bit weird to me as everyone knows there will be a place for them but it doesn’t stop them dancing about and working out the best place to stand. This time it culminated in such a tussle that, when the bus drew up, a couple of blokes who thought they were at the front now found themselves at the end of the queue and in there rush to barge their way to the front one of the hapless chaps fell of the steep kerb and missed going under the wheel of the bus by a millimetre. As he rolled around on the floor there were a few screams from women but then once they realised he wasn’t badly hurt they continued their race to the front! It’s really quite amazing to observe this human behaviour.
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On the way back to the ship The bus driver wasn’t too happy either so he threw a wobbler, shut the bus doors and drove off again because the guide wasn’t there as she had run to the other end of the road searching for the said bus. You can just imagine the upset now as everyone got very, very nowty. Poor girl, when she arrived back to no bus and all these grumpy old gits, ended up in tears. Anyway eventually said bus was located and everyone got on board and headed homewards. The journey back was without any untoward occurrence and passed very quickly. We were soon back on board after a great day out. We made our way to the pub for a refresher before going for dinner.
Once back in the cabin it was a bit of an effort to get ready for dinner as the bed looked very tempting. However, with the thought of only two more dinners to be had, we carried on stoically and managed to get to the dining room only a little late. Neither of us were really very hungry (must’ve been those big ice creams) so just had a couple of starters each and called it
a day. We wandered over to Elly and Chris’ table and had an end of the day swapping of information with Tony and Joaquim and gave Tony a small gift we had found for him on our trip around Rome. Also the “witches” were paying them a visit so have even got a photo of them now!! Arranged that the 6 of us take Monte Carlo by storm tomorrow and then called it a day.
In bed typing this up now and will try and send it from the ship’s internet but not sure if it will work or not. If it doesn’t it might have to wait until we get home.
Need some sleep now so goodnight all. Xx
Well, the ships internet didn’t work at all – first with the photos it was far too big and then I tried without the photos and I think it published maybe 6 lines – what a load of pants!! Anyway I am now sat in the cabin surrounded by suitcases and will be disembarking when Ali and Liz get here. It is oh so sad, but we are looking forward to seeing all our family, mates and
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Sail Away Party animals again and, of course, good old home. I think it’s going to be a difficult one settling back down but it might take a while unpacking – just the 18 cases!!! Hope they’ll all fit in the car.
Anyway, back to the diary.
Yesterday we, once again, were up bright and early, breakfasted with Elly, Chris, Toni and Joaquim who we were going ashore with and noisily, as usual, planned our attack on Monte Carlo. The day began a little overcast but soon cleared to blue skies and sun. This was a tender port so it was the usual picking up of tender tickets and then a short wait for the tender to take us into the harbour. Monte Carlo is such a beautiful place and what a stark contrast to some of the other places we have visited! Once ashore we then took a shuttle bus further across the harbour to drop us off near to the bridge where the racing cars go under. This had it’s usual moments with people vying for spaces and places – it really does bring out the worst side of human nature. I ended up sitting on this poor old
bird’s hand as she spread herself across places trying to save seats for the remains of her party who were still shoreside. Normally I would have been apologetic but after 3 months of rude people the attitude has changed a little – and a shrug now seems to suffice.
We walked along the promenade towards the casino taking loads of photos, as usual, and admiring the vista. Don’t think we’ve ever seen so many Rolls Royce’s, Lamborghinis, Ferraris and other posh cars all in the one spot. The cars were all magnificent but unfortunately, as so often is the case, the drivers were not nearly as magnificent as their machines. We sat in a local café and watched the glitterarti pass by and the coachloads of Cunard cruisers too. After light refreshments we carried on with our stroll of the town – we walked miles and saw lots – all of it very beautiful. All the flowers are in bloom and the blossom on the trees – a great time of year for this area I think. We walked up to the Palace, which they are doing up in readiness for Prince Albert’s wedding, so no expense spared there!!
We went into the Cathedral to see Grace Kelly’s tomb – this was a must for the boys. There is so much here that commemorates her. Then onwards and downwards back towards the harbour through the botanical gardens. We passed by the most wonderful houses an apartments and I did spot one which I would just love to live in. Unfortunately the prices around here are astronomical!!!! But I can dream. We had a great time and took so many photos just because everywhere was so magnificent. There were four cameras on the go at any one time all taking very similar shots – its going to take hours deleting all the duplicates!
At about 4.00pm our feet were starting to get sore and back on board time was 5.00pm so we queued for the tender to take us back to the “mother ship”. The yachts in the harbour were unbelievable – the people who own these must be so very very wealthy – some even had their own helicopter pads and garages with an array of cars and small boats parked in them in the hull! I did Google a few of the the names and it seemed
that most of the owners were Saudi Arabian – talk about a different way of life!! Anyway, that aside, we arrived back, for the last time, onto the Queen Mary 2, sooooo sad, can’t believe it’s our last port of call, just in time for afternoon tea. Last cucumber sandwiches without crusts were consumed followed by small cakes and Scones with jam and cream – this might be just as well as I do believe the waist bands on clothes are now beginning to feel just a little tight!!
A rest was then needed before going out for our “last supper”. I did try, once again, to send the blog but to no avail. For such a modern ship it really has quite archaic technology on board which they charge a bloody fortune for!! After a shower and a change of clothes (and cramming more things into suitcases and bags) it was time for our last evening’s outing. We tried the theatre but the act was “pants” so gave that up as a bad job – went and purchased a bit of duty free – filled in our good service nomination cards for the members of staff who we
had found excellent and went and collected prizes with our golden tokens. Busy times hey?? We then met a few people for last drinks before dinner – it’s nice to say cheerios to people we have met and liked along the way but it’s also quite sad too – not sure if it would just be easier to slide off unnoticed. Dinner was taken, although after the enormous afternoon tea I don’t think I was that hungry, but it had to be done as it was the last time we would be seeing our dinner companions.
After dinner a few of us went up to the Commodore Club for yet more goodbyes. This is when you realise that three months of friendships are a long time. We have become very close to some of the people met along the way as we have spent many hours over many days with them and it is hard to think we wont be seeing them again for a while. Having said this I am sure we will all meet up again in the not too distant future – far too much water has gone under the bridge – for us not to!!
Side on Miss Kim
For the last time Then it was time for bed and our last night in our room – everything the whole of the day had been spent doing or saying or seeing “the last” of something.
15h April. Up for breakfast with Chris, Elly, Toni and Joaquim. 4 of the 6 of us are disembarking today so it was all a bit sad but arrangements have been made to meet up again soon. We have strolled around the deck in the sunshine and said our goodbyes to yet more of our fellow travellers – lots of hugs and exchanging of contact details have gone on. We are now in the cabin waiting for Liz and Ali to arrive with the car and then we will see if we can get all our cases on board. We were originally going to stay overnight in Barcelona but have so much luggage that we now feel we should get straight home with it all. Once they arrive we will call for a porter (or an army of porters!) to help us on our way.
We have had a magnificent time and experienced so much. We feel very privileged to be able to have done
this (having said this I would like to feel this privileged all over again!!!) world trip. We have met some very interesting people (in more ways than one!), been to some very interesting places, experienced lots of different cultures, been involved in some very near misses (New Zealand and Japan), and have had the best time ever!! We have also made some very good friends. I hope I haven’t gone on too much in these blogs (I am sure you have skimmed over the boring bits anyway) but it’s been a great way of keeping in touch, will help us to remember what we did (because we did too much to remember without this help) and saved us loads in sending postcards.
Looking forward to seeing and speaking to you all soon.
Lots of Love
Su & Scott
xxx
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Sue and Peter
non-member comment
phew!!
welcome home! We will miss the World Cruise blogs they have kept us jealous, amused but most of all entertained. Just to think that you thought that you had had enough of Qm2 and cruising in general in Cape Town! It seemed to get better and better, if somewhat troublesome, as time passed. Su you should go into journalism or maybe writing comedy scripts. When you are settled you may have some unwelcome guests from Blighty! Remember you are always welcome in Devon. Xx PS We met up with Wendy and Phil in Yorkshire while visiTing our latest family addition.