Checking in

How are you doing today? I hope this finds you well,

I need a little favour from you and hope you are not busy?

D xo

Sent from my iPad

THE LAST BLOG

We have just anchored in Monte Carlo ... our final port! One last dinner
tonight with more
goodbyes and then the long trip home beginning with a flight from Nice to
Amsterdam and then Toronto.

The photos I've included in this note were sent to me by Norman, the
Whisper's Hotel Director. He is the ship's official papparazzi and sends
pictures of everthing on a daily basis. Most of these were taken at the
Country Fair put on by the crew a few days ago when the weather was still
good. They set up games of chance all around the pool and a good time was
had by all.

Last night the Crew put on a show for us and we were blown away by how much
talent
exists on the Whisper. Singers, dancers and musicians.

This has been a wonderful trip and we hate the fact that it's over but all
good things must come to an end. While we don't look forward to coming home
and having to resume our everyday chores (for a change) it will be nice to
see family and friends again after such a long absence.

We are grateful to our amazing Captain and Crew for providing such an
incredible experience. And for old friends and new who have enhanced it by
being with us. Our thanks to all of you for following our adventures these
last four months. We hope we've kept it interesting enough.

See you all soon.

D & K

ARAB NIGHT ON THE SILVER WHISPER

Such a shame we are not having any fun on this ship!! 

 

As we sailed away from Alexandria, it was Arab night  ...  complete with roasted lambs and costumed staff and passengers.  What a hoot!!

 

Ken and I wore our old Arab garb that we purchased back in 2007 and decided at the last minute to throw into the suitcases anticipating such an event.  And we were delighted to see that so many passengers got into the swing of things and did the same.  But there was some frantic shopping going on by some at the pier before we left Egypt and headed into the Med.   

 

The crew all dressed for the occasion and frankly, we had a bit of trouble recognizing some of them!  But a good time was had by all!

 

Only two days to go! We had a wonderful time in Sorrento today.  Still packing .... ugh!!!!

 

D & K

 

 

LUXOR - DAY 2

Our day began with a water taxi ride from our hotel to the West Bank of the Nile where we boarded our coaches for a short trip to the Valley of the Kings.  We visited four tombs in total but the one we were anxious to see was Tut's.  It is not very impressive when compared to most of the other Kings and Queens.  That, of course, is because he died at such a young age before much work could be done on it.  While his tomb contained incredible treasures, it is sadly missing the wonderful artwork of others.  But it does contain his mummy now which none of the others do. 

 

As I mentioned, tourism is way down and as a result the people selling souvenirs are even more aggressive than in the past.  They actually were quite annoying but it was nice to see these places with only a few hundred people rather than thousands.   

 

After the Valley, we had a quick visit to Queen Hatchepsut's temple and then on to Habu which was Ramses II's funeral temple.  We had enjoyed an incredible dinner there back in 2007 that Silversea put on for the World Cruisers and it was interesting to see the place in daylight.  Restoration continues here as in so many other parts of this country but most of it is being done by archeologists from foreign countries.  It seems the Egyptian government is a bit cash strapped with their only major source of income being transit fees from the Suez Canal.  Captain Corsaro informed us that the fee charged for the Silver Whisper yesterday was $200,000.00

 

After a quick photo stop at the Colossi of Memnon, we returned to the hotel for lunch before heading off on the long ride back to Safaga.  We noticed a significant reduction in armed guards compared to previous visits.  Not sure if that's because the new government is not as keen on protecting tourists or if the danger is not so acute now.  Time will tell.

 

So it's back to the chore of packing now.  We are docked in Alexandria and the temperature has dropped but the sun is still shining.

 

Ciao

 

D & K

 

 

LUXOR - DAY 1

We had to get up very early to board the coaches in Safaga at 8:00 a.m. for the three and a half hour drive to Luxor.  This is our third visit here and it's still an amazing experience and well worth the long drive. 

 

On our first day, we visited the Luxor Temple which is much smaller than Karnak but as you can see from the photos, it's just as impressive.  Also, there has been more excavation done on the Avenue of the Sphinxes which they now know stretches over a kilometer from one temple to the other. 

 

Our hotel was very nice and after we checked in and enjoyed a late lunch and a bit of relaxation, we had to get ready for our dinner cruise on the Nile.  And no ... those are not new earings!  They're the napkin rings which we all slid over our ears.  

 

The food was delicious, although there was far too much of it, and we all had a great time.  We docked back at the hotel and went straight to our rooms knowing we had to get up early again the next morning. Some people were getting up at 4:00 a.m. to go for a sunrise hot air balloon ride but we decided that an 8:00 a.m. start to our second day was early enough. 

 

I will try and send a note or at least some photos of Day 2 before we end this amazing journey in a few days.  It's hard to believe it's almost over.  As I write this, we are in transit on the Suez Canal and I am trying to talk myself into starting the horrible task of packing!

 

See you next week. We hear the weather back home is turning colder just for us!

 

D & K

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

WOW!!! 350 DAYS MEANS A FREE WEEK ON SILVERSEA!!

The Venetian Society (complete with costumed entertainers) honoured us because we have now reached 350 days of sailing with Silversea.  Far beyond the FLC (free laundry class) category, this means an additional 5% discount on any future journeys and one free week of cruising on our next trip.  It was kind of impressive until they also announced that the Resnicks from Chicago have sailed for 1,250 days!  God only knows what their per diem rate is now!!

 

Anyway, we got a kick out of getting our Tiffany & Co. pins from the Captain (with a ruby you have to use a magnifying glass to see) and the whole ceremony.  Good fun, and lots of our friends attended to applaud the milestone. 

 

We are now back from Luxor and I will send lots of photos and a description of our amazing two days there.  No matter how many times you visit that place, there are always new things to see and learn.  For us, one of the highlights was getting to visit the interior of King Tut's tomb where they have finally returned his mummy and sarcofagus.   Gosh ... how small he was. His feet were about the same length as my hand! 

 

I will write again tomorrow but no pics of Tut's tomb or body or even of the Valley of the Kings.  They confiscate your camera so you can't take any photos ... anywhere.  They want you to buy them now which is quite different from our last trip. We were told that tourism is down 80% since the January revolution.  Apparently, the Muslim Brotherhood doesn't care and really don't want us infidels in their land.  That is very sad since so many people depend on it for their existence.   

 

Ciao for now ... or as they say in this part of the world ... Salaam!  Only one week to go before we fly home and reality sets in!!  Oh my God!!!!

 

D & K

 

 

 

DUBAI, OMAN AND LOTS OF PARTIES

Dubai is not quite as frantic as it was during our previous visits there.  It is obvious that the economy has cooled down considerably and we were told that many of the impressive office towers and condos are now empty.  But you can see from the photograph of the fountain in a huge shopping mall (1200 stores) there are still many interesting things to see.  We stayed overnight there where over a hundred passengers disembarked and a few familiar faces got on.  Val and John from South Africa decided to come back and it was a pleasant surprise to see them. Also, Robert and Keith from Chicago are on board.   We are now down to only 220 passengers in total for this last portion of the cruise but still a full complement of staff even though some (like Sujith) have been replaced.  We enjoyed dinner with him the night before he left in Muscat.

 

I've included some photos taken at Mike Lloyd's birthday party where many of the staff dropped by to convey their best wishes.  It seems as if there is something happening every night now until the cruise ends.  People all want to get in a last dinner or farewell party. 

 

The morning we arrived in Muscat it was already 36C by 9:00 a.m. and we made a quick visit to my favourite Souq in this part of the world.  It is clean and orderly and the merchants love to bargain.  I picked up a few souvenirs and we got Ken a new pair of handmade sandals which was our main goal.

 

We returned to the ship before noon and then headed off to the Al Bustan Palace hotel where, along with Niels and Molise, we were hosting Mike and Linda and Wendell and Jerome for lunch.  W & J lived in Muscat for four years in the late eighties and it was fascinating to hear them recount tales of picnics and barbeques on the beautiful beach where the hotel now stands.  It is quite an impressive structure and we enjoyed some delicious local dishes before finishing our wine and dessert out on the patio. 

 

We had a 5:00 p.m. departure time and the Captain had invited Ken to join him and his officers on the Bridge for our sail away.  He was there for about an hour and had the best view of Muscat and the coastline as well as the mechanics of manoevering our ship.  He was quite impressed by the whole thing! 

 

We are still on pirate watch with total "lights out" at night.  We will be until we arrive in Safaga for our last WC event which is a night in Luxor and dinner on the Nile in a Dahabia boat as well as another visit to the Valleys of the Kings and Queens.  King Tut's tomb is now open again - it was closed when we were last there so we'll see that and also Queen Hatshepsut's Temple and the Colossi of Memnon.  We're looking forward to these new sights. 

 

Time to head to the pool now for our noon cocktail and some lunch.  Hope everyone is well.  We'll write again after Luxor.

 

K & D