Back to Africa

Dec 15 - At Sea - We are just enjoying the pool and our last few days onboard.    Dec 16 - At Sea - Lunch with Pat and Cindy Dec 17 - At Sea - No Mexican Train so we have time to pack and go through things. In the afternoon 3-5pm Dan & Roy had an open house in their cabin. It was pretty fancy and nice. We also treated ourselves to the Pinnacle Grill, the Tamarind Dinner because we liked it so much Day 70 – Dec 18 - At Sea - Continued packing as tomorrow we leave.  Day 71 – Dec 19 San Juan, Puerto Rico, USA Flights home!

Dec - 14   Tonight was Orange Party, quite fun really. They had everything orange you could think of. They decorated and prepped for it all day. People were excited for this. You saw all sorts of outfits, hats, scarves, glasses, hair – all ORANGE and more! The blood orange gin was delicious in a gin and tonic! I got a good photo of the captain in the dining room with Josephine and Roni. Up on the Lido deck there was quite the party, the band was great! The Captain and Chantal were also dancing with the party crowd for a little bit. He has been a great Captain with good communication with the crew and cruisers.

Dec 12 - At Sea Another enjoyable day at sea. The dinner had African choices; Chicken Kati Kati was delicious. We ran into Forrest and Roberta again and we plan to have dinner with them tomorrow. Dec 13 - Mindelo, Cape Verde We had a nice day in Cape Verde, or Cabo Verde as they call it. Our tour was Cachupa Culinary Experience. It was not quite what we thought it would be, but we still had a nice day. We participated in very little of the cooking process. Then the guide took us around the city to a few markets, past a church and the city hall. I was able to find a postcard and stamp so I was happy about that! After the walking tour we made our way back to the restaurant for the sumptuous lunch. We skipped dessert and went down the stairs to a little market and bought treats for the casino staff They were excited about that. Dinner with Forrest and Roberta was very interesting. They are an interesting couple from Chicago, she is a writer and producer and he is a physician. She gave Stu...

Dec 11 - Dakar, Senegal.  Our shuttle to the presidential square was timely, but there was not much to see there. Since I printed out information for ports where we did not buy excursions, I did have some limited information about the area. We made our way to the corner of the square (really a big rectangle) and found the Hotel Pullman mentioned in the article. It is accurate to say there were great views from the outdoor eating area. However, it is so smoky and gray it isn’t as astounding as it could have been with sun and clear skies. Nevertheless, we had a cheese platter and Carpaccio along with a drink and enjoyed every moment at the Teranga Lounge. Something was out in the water and the best guess was a small or young whale because that is what the pectoral fins looked like anyway. We chatted with an interesting couple from the ship, Forrest and Roberta. He is a doctor and she is a writer. After an enjoyable, time we made our way back to the ship. When we got to the shuttle, w...

Dec 10 - Banjul, The Gambia.   Today we took the ship shuttle into the town. They talked about it being such a wonderful market, for them, I guess it is. Mostly arts and crafts. Fred rode there with us but when it was time to leave, he was nowhere to be found. It was so dirty with garbage everywhere; it is hard to see because we are not used to it. The port area was actually cleaner that the streets outside. There was a nice market set up by the ship and they even had a post office with cards and stamps. I was happy about that! The guys running it were so nice, so accommodating. The people are so warm and friendly. We really felt welcomed to this port.

Dec 8 - At Sea Another lovely sea day. We had dinner with Pat and Cindy, which was nice. They are a friendly couple that are serving as some sort of escort for a group of people on board. They are hired to do that and either get a break on the cruise fare or a free cruise. Earlier it was Mexican train and Sea View pool. We played craps and at least broke even with that. Dec 9 At Sea Today we ate in the dining room, a Culinary Council menu, which is always a step above the typical dining experience. Other than that, is was Mexican Train and the other delights of days at sea.

Dec 7 - Abidjan, Ivory Coast This stop has been the least successful so far. It is not anyone’s fault. This is, of course, another working port. We were supposed to come into one berth and that was changed. Cargo ships have priority here. We did have shuttle busses but only 2 in the beginning. The captain made several announcements about the pressure the port authorities were putting on us but he said the pressure points are holding at this time. I’m not exactly sure what that meant but we are here. It was necessary to issue tickets for the shuttle busses. They did use the busses that came back from the morning tours. We weren’t sure we would even get to board a shuttle so we did get off the ship and walk around the port by the ship. We took a few silly photos and then got back on to await our possible turn.  We finally got called about 2:30 for our turn. The trip to the market was supposed to take 20 minutes; it took 45+ meanwhile torrential rains began. When the bus finally got t...

Dec 6 - Another new country! We are visiting some of the poorest countries in Africa. Therefore, it is no surprise to see the conditions in and around the ports. Our shuttle bus took us to the heart of the city, which was gut wrenching at times to see. Most of the people on the shuttle stayed on. It is oppressively hot, dirty, and conditions are not great. Some folks rented taxis with mixed reviews. There was a nice market set up right by the ship, so we walked through that as well. You can imagine my surprise to see they had a special both for postcards and stamps. Despite the living conditions, the people seem warm and cheerful. We are so spoiled…

Dec 5 - At Sea. Today we cross the equator and prime meridian at the same time. Null Island is the location at zero degrees latitude and zero degrees longitude, i.e., where the prime meridian and the equator intersect. The name is often used in mapping software as a placeholder to help find and correct database entries that have erroneously been assigned the coordinates 0,0. Even though there is no actual island there, it is a convenient placename for a frequently used location. There were many jokes about this non-existent place today, apparently some think there really is an island! There was quite a ceremony for some of the crew who are pollywogs. It was fun to watch despite the rain. The captain and crew really made it entertaining. It is nice to see the hard-working crew have a little fun! We also received certificates.

Dec 3 - A quiet sea day. They served a French Bistro lunch in Lido Market. It was really quite good. Today we got information about immigration to some upcoming ports. We will have to pay extra for these visas. I am fine with that. I would not cruise all this way and then not get off because of the cost of a visa! A lot of people were annoyed. However, visa rules change rapidly in some of these smaller countries and that is just part of the experience. We played Mexican train and enjoyed the sunset. In the evening it was “An Evening of Music” where the bands and singers all switched venues or visited different ones, singing more songs. Interesting concept and it seems most people really enjoyed it. Dec 4 -  At Sea. Since today was a sea day we decided to book the Tamarind dinner in the Pinnacle Grill. It is $35pp but so worth it. See the photos for the amazing food and drink we were served. Other than Mexican train and the flood in our room, it was a quiet day.

Dec 2 - Luanda, Angola is another new country! I am not sure if I said before, but there are a few complaints about the ports of call. People expect a lot from these countries that seem to be struggling with poor economies. Now the captain is stating that we cannot expect things to be like countries where there are many tourists and fine accommodations. Yes, most places have some high-end hotels, but these are typically not by the working ports where we arrive. I certainly expected ports like we have been to. In fact, in most cases, my expectations have been exceeded. Today was only a slight disappointment. We had a shuttle bus to a small, local market with a small area of tents set up. The little market had a booth for tourist information and free postcards! There was a very prestigious hotel, Hotel Presidente, just across from this but no stamps available. The place that sells stamps is closed on Saturday. It looks like most things are closed. We wanted to eat lunch in town. We saw a...

Nov 30 -   Biergarten Night - Typical sea day. Mexican Train with Stuart, Fred, Paul, and Changy However, today we went to tea, mainly because I wanted to see what it was like. It was nice enough but not “High Tea” by any means. Because it was Biergarten night we wore the aprons we purchased from Amazon before the trip. There was only ONE other person “dressed” for the occasion. Anyway, it was a fun thing to do and people enjoyed commenting about it. There was mostly all German food in the Lido Market. I was very good as well. Another surprisingly cool day! Dec 1 - We had a delicious lunch at the Pinnacle Grill today. Dudi the casino manager gifted the lunch to us. Yes, we go to the casino often, but so do a lot of others. I am certain many spend much more than we do. However, it was a lovely gesture we really enjoyed. That made us a little late for Mexican Train but it all worked out. This afternoon was the Ice Cream Social. They set it all up on the Lido Deck. In additi...