Oceans and Seas Travel Blogs, page 177

Oceans and Seas » Pacific December 5th 2007

A pretty run of the mill sea day today. M went to art and craft, D attended the lectures. Tonight we had to dress up as pirates for a deck party (see pictures of us and Donald and Jaquie who share our table for dinner). A good time was had by all.... read more

27th November 2007 (Mark 2) - At Sea

Oceans and Seas » Pacific November 27th 2007

Date Lline Map

MandiT

Our second November 27th was spent cruising from Suva in Fiji to Alofi in Niue (see map). Nothing much of consequence happens on the high seas (unless you are in Antarctica!). M went to the craft class and made a card. D went to see the movie Deja Vous. The masterpieces that have been created in the Art Classes were put on display on deck 5. Dinner was dreadful and afterwards there was a show with comedian Jon Bell. We both received certificates, signed by the Captain, stating that we had crossed the International Date Line (IDL). The IDL is an imaginary line of demarcation on the surface of the Earth that runs from the North Pole to the South Pole and demarcates the change of one calendar day to the next. It passes through the ... read more

Cruising the Indian Ocean

Oceans and Seas » Indian November 13th 2007

MandiT

We spent the next two days at sea cruising east across the Timor Sea, towards the Australia and the city of Darwin. We spent the days as usual enjoying life on board, socializing, attending various on board activities and, of course, eating.... read more

Cruising the Java Sea

Oceans and Seas » Indian » Java Sea November 10th 2007

MandiT

The 10th and 11th of November 2007 were spent cruising the Java Sea en route to Bali. We cruised with Sumatra on our right and Kalimantan on our left. We spent the sea days as normal, D attending lectures, M went to art and craft groups, we enjoyed time on deck reading/sunbathing and, of course eating ... and more eating!... read more

Cruising the Indian Ocean from Salalah to Kochi (Cochin)

Oceans and Seas » Indian October 29th 2007

M & D Halloween

MandiT

The 29th, 30th and 31st October were spent cruising from Salalah in Oman to Kochi (Cochin) on the South West coast of India which is a distance of 1359.95 nautical mines (2518.62 km or 1565 miles) virtually diagonally across the Arabian Sea, As with all sea days D went to lectures, M went to art and craft, we read books, enjoyed the sunshine on deck and ate and then ate some more. On the 31st we had a Halloween party on board. We got in to the spirit of things and dressed up for the occasion along with a few of our friends.... read more

Cruising the Gulf of Aden and the Arabian Sea

Oceans and Seas October 26th 2007

Bab al Mandab Strait

MandiT

Friday the 26th October and Saturday 27th October were spent exiting the Red Sea through the Strait of Bab el Mandeb (which means Gate of Tears in Arabic) into the Gulf of Aden and cruising with Yemen on our left and Eritrea, Djibouti and Somalia to our right on the Horn of Africa. The Bab-el-Mandeb Strait acts as a strategic link between the Indian Ocean and the Mediterranean via the Red Sea and the Suez Canal which we had just transited. Last year, an estimated 3.3 million barrels of oil passed through the strait per day, out of a world total of about 43 million barrels per day moved by tankers. The distance across is about 20 miles (30 km) from Ras Menheli in Yemen to Ras Siyyan in Djibouti. The island of Perim divides the ... read more

Cruising the Gulf of Aden and the Arabian Sea

Oceans and Seas » Indian » Red Sea October 26th 2007

MandiT

Friday the 26th October and Saturday 27th October were spent exiting the Red Sea through the Strait of Bab al Mandeb into the Gulf of Aden and cruising with Yemen on our left and Djibouti and Somalia to our right. We cruised past the island of Socotra (Yemen) and into the Arabian Sea (which is part of the larger Indian Ocean). The days were spent on deck and D attended lectures, while M went to craft and art classes. We spent the rest of our time at sea reading and eating ... and eating some more!... read more

Cruising the Mediterranean Sea

Oceans and Seas » Mediterranean October 19th 2007

MandiT

19th and 20th October spent relaxing and cruising the Libyan Sea to the northern end of the Suez Canal and the city of Port Said which is the cruise terminal port for Cairo. M went to art and craft, while D attended various different lectures. The shows in the evening were also very good.... read more

Cruising the Mediterranean Sea

Oceans and Seas » Mediterranean » Alboran Sea October 16th 2007

MandiT

We left Gibraltar and cruised the Alboran Sea (part of the Mediterranean), passing the Balearic Islands and the southern end of Sardinia before entering the Sea of Sicily and on to the Island of Malta. This journey took two days. We docked in Malta on the 18th October. We spent the days eating (a lot) and drinking (a lot), going to lectures and meeting and making new friends. M went to her first craft and art group meetings and introduced herself to the Bridge and IT instructors. Dinner conversation was lively and fun. We are all getting to know each other on our table - and the crew. We are on deck 5 which is the same deck as reception so we always have some banter with whoever is on duty as we go by. They ... read more

At Sea, Cruising the Atlantic Ocean

Oceans and Seas » Atlantic » North Atlantic October 14th 2007

MandiT

Nothing much to report today - except that we met Jacqui for the first time sitting with Donald in The Captain's Bar. We were beginning to think she was a figment of our imagination! She had discovered (on the recommendation of another passenger) the best cure for sea sickness - Port and Brandy. Works every time! As there is nothing much to report here is some information about the ship (for the anoraks) from the "Welcome Aboard" brochure. 2009 onward: Limassol, Cyprus Builder: Wärtsilä Turku Shipyard,Finland Cost: $ 25 million Yard number: 1213Launched: 18 October 1974Acquired: 30 June 1975... read more

Blogs from Oceans and Seas - page 177