Sue Kersh Live from the Arcadia Worldie

[Dennis The Menace]

16 March

Sea Days enroute to Sri Lanka

Saturday and another hot sunny day. Such a difference from waking up to the smog of the previous two days. There was a highly scented smell in the air which was blowing in on the sea breeze from the Malaysian countryside as we sailed through the straits.

The area we are in is one of the busiest shipping areas in the world and also close to where they are searching for the missing plane.

We have noticed since leaving Singapore that the prom deck is being prepared for the ship sailing through the Pirate waters. Water cannons and infra red lights have been installed.

There was lots going on around the ship including a new guest speaker Dale Templar. Today she spoke about the Production Secrets of the Human Planet series.

The food in the MDR was back to normal and the trout was cooked to perfection. Hopefully the salmon incident was just a one off.

The entertainment in the Theatre was a female vocalist called Jennifer Fair.
We listened to her for a while in the Globe but found her voice very screechy so spent the remainder of the evening in the Orchid bar. Having sampled the cocktails in the majority of the bars around the ship the Orchid bartenders definitely serve the best ones.

The clocks were put back half an hour last night and will go back another hour tonight.

Cocktail of the day: Naughty & Spice

Sunday
Lots of paper work arrived today which need to be completed in readiness for our face to face with Indian Immigration officers. They are boarding the ship in Sri Lanka and we will be given a time for our interview.

We also received a lot of information regarding the piracy threat. A naval officer is on board to help with the security. The prom deck will be closed from sunset to sunrise, and all cabins must keep their curtains closed during this time after we depart from Sri Lanka. We will be having a Piracy drill tomorrow.

Cocktail of the Day: Indian Ocean Sunset - Malibu, Peach Schnapps, Pineapple Juice and Grenadine. Thumbs up for this one.

Monday and St Patricks Day.

Cloudy start to the day with torrential rain even though the temperature was 29 degrees in the shade. We were in the inside Spa area and witnessed pax running to collect their sodden towels which had been sunbathing whilst their owners were at breakfast.

The Piracy drill went off without a hitch and the Captain thanked the majority of the pax who had taken part in this important drill. We met our next door neighbours for the first time this cruise as we all had to sit on the floor or a chair in the passageway outside our cabin. Only the pax with inside cabins had the luxury of being able to stay in their cabin. As I was not alive to witness the air raid shelters during the war I can only presume that the camaraderie was something similar. Some pax were even taking photos of themselves and others sitting in a passage way. I that maybe World Cruise fatigue has set in.

After the drill we had lunch in the sun on our balcony with a bottle of rosé wine just to celebrate the drill going off without a hitch. I did make a mental note to myself to ensure that our balcony door is locked each night from now on.

It was Chocoholics Buffet in the Meridian restaurant for afternoon tea. I had fully intended going (just to take photos of course) but after the wine at lunch I nodded off in the sun and managed to sleep through it.

The theme for the evening was Irish, with a St Patricks day quiz and Assistant Cruise Director Paul hosted a St Paddy's Day pub Night. Some pax had dressed up to mark the occasion with many ladies choosing to wear something green .

The Cocktail of the Day: Irish Jig - Creme de Banana, Malibu, Midori and Pineapple Juice.

The clocks go back another hour tonight in readiness for our port of call tomorrow Sri Lanka.

[Gill W]

I just wanted to say how much I'm enjoying Sue's reports.

With thanks also to Dennis for posting them

[Belle53]

Really enjoying these reports, thank you so much for posting them.

[Lollie]

Agree with both above posts, this is a fascinating insight into a world cruise.

[wolfie]

Loving your reports, especially your time in KL, it brought back many happy memories of our worldie.

[JenniC]

Feels like being there with you Sue.................almost really enjoying reading your reports.

[Dennis The Menace]

Morning all, latest from Sue :

Sri Lanka

We docked at Port Colombo early morning at approx 7 am. Some trips were going on an 11 hour trip which included Kandy. The ship has put on shuttle buses to the Hilton hotel and a shopping centre at an old Racecourse. We decided to go to the spa first and then get a taxi into the city. Not as easy as we thought. The taxi drivers at the port would only do 3, 4, or 5 hour tours. No one would take us into the city. It is run like the Mafia which is why the shuttles were not allowed to start until 10:30. There were some jewellery and souvenir stalls by the ship. I saw some pale blue topaz and silver jewellery which I liked but wanted to check out the quality and prices in the city. We decided to walk to the port gate and get a taxi from there. We had only got a few metres when a taxi driver further along said he would take us into town for 20 US dollars. A bit steep but the heat and humidity made it worth it to be in an airconditioned taxi.

The town is dirty smelly and very busy. We found the Fort area where there were a few nice shops and restaurants. We were accosted every few yards by people wanting to either sell something or show us something. We wanted to go to the market just to see some flavours of Sri Lanka so we took our life in our hands and got into a Tuk Tuk. Only 200 rupees approx £1 but it was an hair raising experience.

The market was as much the same as you get anywhere. Loads of stalls selling the same tacky wares. I saw a skirt on one stall and I was immediately surrounded by 7 guys with tape measures bringing out many different skirts. I chose one until he told me he wanted 5,000 rupees for it approx £25.00. It was similar to ones you see in Primark so we walked away. He chased us for a bit gradually lowering the price but we just walked away. It was a shame really because we didn't get chance to see the spices and flowers.

We returned to the Fort area where we felt relatively safe and found a bar where they were selling 3 bottles of local beer for 1,000 rupees. Nice beer as well so we had another 3. We walked to the Hilton and caught the shuttle back to the ship via the racecourse shopping mall. There was a huge queue for the shuttle which only seated approx 30 and only about 5 pax got off the shuttle. The lady at the front of the queue got on and immediately off announcing it was not going back to the ship. No one in the queue moved to get on it so we did, preferring to be in the air conned bus compared to standing in 40 degree heat in a long queue with no guarantee of getting on the next shuttle. This also gave us the opportunity to see more of the city. The pax who boarded at the Racecourse shopping centre said it was rubbish and a total waste of time.

Back at the port and Garry haggled the price down for the jewellery. We felt he wasn't going any lower so said we would think about it. As we were getting back on the ship he came running up to us and reduced the price again. We think it is a good deal but we don't know enough about it to be absolutely certain. I like it though and it is certainly very different from anything I could have bought in the UK.

It was a quiet night on board and everyone appeared shattered after the heat of Sri Lanka and the long journey to get anywhere. The majority of pax we spoke to felt the same as us about Colombo, that it was not a nice place to visit. Some pax had enjoyed the trip they had done but there had been a lot of walking in debilitating heat and humidity. Up to now Fiji had been our least favourite port of call but Colombo now takes the wooden spoon.

Cocktail of the Day: Piña Colada

[GillD46]

That was very interesting - and sounds rather unpleasant - as we are due to visit Colombo next month on the QM2 - maybe we'll stay on board!

Enjoy your last few days.

[Dennis The Menace]

Morning all. I've just had the latest updates from Sue & Garry. Enjoy :

Sea Days en route to Mumbai.

Wednesday- another extremely hot and humid day. There were a lot of insects and flies around on the balcony. Not sure if these boarded in Sri Lanka and decided to stay put or if they were from the nearby Indian Coastline.

The Indian Immigration authorities had boarded the ship in Sri Lanka and we had our face to face inspection with them today. Such a farce and I am sure they do it for a free cruise. Not one word was exchanged, just our passports stamped to allow entry into India. Hopefully this will save time when we dock in Mumbai.

It was the crew and Entertainment team show in the afternoon. Another brilliant show despite some of the Ents officers coming down with the Arcadia cough and unable to perform. A young technical officer was persuaded to take to the stage and despite a very nervous start sang and danced his heart out. As he realised the audience was enjoying his performance he relaxed and appeared to really enjoy it. The Theatre was full with pax standing or sitting on the stairs, the comedy sketch at the end is still so funny after seeing it performed many times over the years.

Another Marco Pierre White inspired dinner, and the parade of the chefs in the restaurant to mark the end of the 3rd leg of the World Cruise.

Cocktail of the day - Hurricane.

[Dennis The Menace]

21 March

Mumbai

A sunny day and the temperatures were due to reach mid 30s.
Whilst we were waiting to disembark the Captain announced information regarding the ships calls to the Egyptian ports. This does not affect us as we disembark in Dubai. The ship will not call at either Sharm or Sokhna due to the political unrest there, but instead will be calling at Salalah and Aqaba. The majority of pax appeared happy with these changes. I now regret not staying on the ship to Southampton as the Lost city of Petra is on my wish list.

We had booked a private trip here with eight others from cruise critic. It was to be a long day with an itinerary of 18 different stops or drivebys.
We all met at 7:30 am to meet Pranav our tour guide at the port gate so a very early start. Pranav had hired a driver and mini bus which would have seated more than the 10 of us so there was plenty of room.
He was lovely, very well educated and spoke perfect English and even tried the Australian lingo much to our Oz friends amusement. He kept us fed and watered all day taking us to try various Indian delicacies.

First stop was the residential area called Kotachiwadi - Cocooned amidst the hustle and bustle of the city. A community of Christians live here and they have preserved their heritage homes and culture. In the alleys, we saw their private chapel and their picturesque houses, built in typical Portuguese style with carved balconies and small gardens.

Next was the Dhobi Ghat the famous outside laundry. This was a sight, hundreds of laundry workers with no apparent system for the thousands of laundry items. The majority of the workers were men, beating and treading the laundry. No pegs are used just double washing lines. How on earth the laundry makes it back to the correct owner is a mystery.

Pranav then walked us through the Chor Bazaar - This is a kind of mini slum. Literal translation in English is Thieves market. It was like one of our Flea markets or Car boot sales selling everything and anything. We saw old gramaphones, and pieces of a scrabble set. Chop Shops of stolen cars, goats running here and there, people from different professions all in one place which is also a Muslim locality. I think it could have been very threatening if we had not been accompanied by our guide.

The first temple was the ISCKON Temple of Hare Rama & Hare Krishna. This was the first stop for a comfort break and our first experience of Indian toilet facilities. Not for the faint hearted and these were the best we found all day.
The monks dressed in their Orange robes made us very welcome and explained the religion to us. This was a very ornate temple and we were told we could photograph anything there.

Next to the temple was a food stall selling freshly made samosas. I was unsure about tasting these but Pranav persuaded me and they were excellent.

The Banaganga Water Tank - 5,000 year old water tank sacred to Hindu's, the water is considered to be same as Holy Ganges Water. It didn't look like a tank more of a lake. There were some huge orange fish in the water and in the centre was a monument where we could see the urns as this is where they take the ashes of their relatives. There was a family here using the spring water which filled the tank to bathe in. People lived around here in the shanty huts.

Our second temple was the famous Jain Temple Of Mumbai- very ornate and peaceful. We were not allowed inside the prayer area of the temple but were allowed to take photos everywhere else. This temple was extremely busy.

Hanging Gardens - Amazing British Gardens with trees shaped as animals. Whilst these gardens were a pleasure to see in the middle of very busy Mumbai
they do not compare to any of the gardens we see in England. We were asked by some local girls if they could take our photo and then if they could have a photo taken with us. There were quite a few places where we appeared to be an attraction to the locals.

It was very hot by this time and Pranav treated us to an ice cold local beer. Very welcome and delicious.

Kamala Nehru Park - The old woman's shoe & Mumbai skyline. There were lots of very young school children here enjoying a picnic lunch and playing in the Old woman's shoe. They were all immaculately dressed and were from one of the International private schools.
From here we could see the Chowpatty Beach & Marine Drive. It is a huge beach on the Arabian Sea but we were told that the water was not suitable for swimming as all the sewerage from Mumbai goes straight into the sea.

We sampled the local drink of LASI which is yoghurt based.

Crossing the roads in Mumbai is an experience. The red lights are for decoration only, and you take your life in your hands. The Indians just walk into the road in front of oncoming traffic and hold their hands out. The traffic rarely stops and just weaves around them. Pranav looked after us all but it is something I would never have done alone.

The next area we visited was to see the British Heritage Monuments with the traditional architecture of the buildings remaining from the Raj era. These were the Mumbai University, Rajabai Clock Tower which unfortunately was being restored and was covered in Green netting, The Bombay High Court and the
Victoria Terminus Railway Station. We were allowed inside the Terminus which was huge , extremely busy and just like it was shown in the film Slum Dog Millionaires. For some reason we were not allowed to take photos inside the station and there were armed guards around. The threat of terrorism is very real here. The Crown court was very busy as it was the sentencing for the men who raped the young girl on the bus. Pranav told us that they would probably get he death sentence which is hanging in India. It would be some years before this this happens because of appeals.
Everywhere we went there were beggars. Children without shoes and tatty clothes had been taught to beg from a very early age. Some very young could speak enough English to ask for dollars for food and also point out their illnesses. One little girl about 5 years old had a plaster on her toe and was asking for money for her toe.

It was a short ride to the Gateway Of India where we had 20 minutes to wander around and take photos. The monument was first erected in 1911 when King George V and Queen Mary visited but was only properly built in 1927. It is a popular meeting point and there were many beautifully dressed Indian people around with the ladies in their colourful Saris. We saw the boats setting off to Elephanta island which we could see in the distance. Across the road was the very modern Taj Mahal Palace Hotel.

Our Next stop was Crawford Market place where we saw pet animals, birds, cats, dogs, fruits, vegetables, spices and nuts as well as toiletries and hardware items everything being sold under one roof but in different areas of the market. There was over 24,000 sq feet of market area. This was very dusty with lots of flies and fleas around. It was by now mid afternoon and the stall holders still had masses of produce left to sell. In the market were 2 interesting fountains designed by Rudyard Kipling.

By now everyone was hungry and we were taken to Street Food Lane - The Khau Galli. Here there were lots of stalls selling different types of Indian food. Pranav assured us that the food was made in front of us and it was safe to eat. No matter how hungry I was there was no way I was going to eat anything from this area. Out of the 10 of us 7 ate and 3 abstained. Pranav made up for us and ate our share as well. He is a growing lad after all. Everyone said how good the food was but I didn't feel as though I had missed anything.

Our final stop was Fashion Street - 200 meter long street where they sell only clothes, the price range of the clothes found on this street is between USD 4 - USD 10. Believe it or not we were all so shattered that the shopping just didn't appeal and we made our way back to our bus. The men in the party had got off lightly there and I suspect they had bribed Pranav to make this our last stop.

Back at the port area we thanked and said Goodbye to our excellent tour guide and driver. There is no way we could have seen and experienced as much of Mumbai as we did without his knowledge of the city. The love he has for Mumbai was easy to see and he showed us how to look beyond the dust, dirt and poverty.

We skipped the Main Dining room and ate at the buffet which was Tandoori food. Much safer eating Indian food on board the ship than from a food stall.

The clocks go back ½ hour overnight.

Cocktail of the day Naughty and Spice.

[gilly88]

what a brilliant report, it felt like I was there with you. thank you for writing so much information, enjoy the rest of your journey sue.

[Jan Rosser]

Sue - what an experience - I must admit I was grimacing at some parts of it - like you I think I would have been very anxious about eating anything - I was the same in Egypt. Absolutely fascinating

[david63]

Great appetizer for Mumbai as we will be there for two days later in the year.

[GillD46]

Absolutely fascinating and I must confess you were braver than me. When we called at Mumbai, I didn't venture far from the terminal - though Tony went to Elephanta Island, which he said was excellent. The smell just made me feel sick. I did buy one of the wonderful saris - why? It has remained it its bag ever since!

[Mrs Pugwash]

I'm enjoying every minute of your reports.......thank you so much! X

[Lollie]

Great reading, sounds a fascinating trip

[Dennis The Menace]

Morning all

Last few of sue's updates coming so make the most of them

23 March

Sea days to Muscat

Saturday.

Lots of information arrived today, mainly concerning our disembarkation in Dubai for our 3 day hotel stay. We are leaving 2 suitcases on the ship to be delivered to our home address after the ship arrives in Southampton.

It was another sunny day with a light breeze across the open decks which made sitting out enjoyable.

It was our last Formal night of the cruise followed by the Headliners performing
Another Opening another show, then dancing in the globe.

Cocktail of the Day: Hurricane

Sunday

We received a letter today informing us that we had moved up into the Ligurian Tier of the Peninsular club and we could have our first formal night wear pressed free of charge. Shame it didn't arrive yesterday when it was our last formal night.

Another lovely sunny day so I had a couple of hours in the sun before we tackled the packing. It seems strange to think that we only have 2 more nights on board.

After dinner we went to the a Orchid bar and whilst there the Captain announced an emergency and called the assessment party out. There was no panic but some concerned faces. He came back on the tannoy a few minutes later and announced a fire in the incinerator room. He called all crew to muster stations but told pax to await further instructions as the fire was under control. The bar staff disappeared to their stations. At least we were comfy and had been served our drinks. It was all over within 10 minutes and the bar staff returned to their duties.

The clocks go back another hour overnight to put us on Muscat time which is 4 hours ahead of UK time.

Cocktail of the day Planters Punch.

[Dennis The Menace]

24 March

Oman - Muscat
The sail in looked very picturesque but where we actually docked was anything but. It was a working port with absolutely no facilities.

We had a trip booked to the Dive Centre beach. This was about a 25 minute drive on fast new roads. The city is spotlessly clean and our guide told us it was the second cleanest city in the world after Singapore. I think whoever dishes out these awards needs to check their facts because this city was much cleaner than Singapore. It was beautifully kept with marble pavements and ornamental decorations of different fish all along the promenade area. Every roundabout was decorated in a different way. We passed the souk where lots of Arcadia's pax had gone to.
Our guide pointed out huge palaces where the Sheiks live and the massive ornate Parliament building.

The dive centre is set in a beautiful location. It is a bay surrounded by sand mountains. There is a restaurant and bar and good changing facilities and showers. The water is very shallow and I walked out at least 150 yards and was still only waist deep. It is very sandy and although there were fish in the sea it was far too murky for snorkelling. There were large jelly fish, not the small transparent ones but the gangly red ones with long tentacles that sting.

There were beach chairs and shade or sun. A great relaxing day at the beach. This trip could be done DIY rather than with P & O and if there are 4 in a taxi then the cost would work out half of the PO charge.

We sailed away from Muscat late afternoon and there was a sailaway party on deck. The Costa Fortuna waved us off with music blaring out.

We finished off the packing and took the suitcases we were leaving on board down to the storage area. This was extremely well organised and a great idea. P & O charge £35 per case to leave on board and they can be collected from Southampton 2 days after the ship docks. We have arranged for ours to be collected by the Baggage Handling Company and delivered to our house.

We had our last meal in the MDR and we managed to get a table served by our favourite waiters, Arthur and Amit. We said our goodbyes and then spent the evening in our favourite bar on ship the Orchid bar.

Cocktail of the day Long beach Iced tea.

[Dennis The Menace]

25 March

Dubai

Our final disembarkation was not until 2 pm so we caught the shuttle to the Dubai mall. This is just an amazing place. The size is unbelievable. There is a huge aquarium, ice skating rink, cinema, the fountains, every name of shop you can think of but extremely expensive, restaurants serving every type of food imaginable. Just so much to see and do we were overwhelmed. As we intended to go back there in the evening to eat there and see the fountain show we just got our bearings then it was time to catch the shuttle back to the ship.

We decided not to wait for our 2 pm slot and disembarked early which turned out to be a wise decision. The taxi cost less than £10 and we got to the hotel about 2 hours before the rest of the ships pax who were staying here. We checked in very quickly and our luggage arrived immediately.

The rooms are very large with a seating area with a leather sofa and chairs, also a kitchen area with kettle tea and coffee and fridge. Huge wardrobes and loads of drawer space.

After unpacking I checked out the pool area, which is on the roof with views of the city. Hopefully I will get to spend some time here.

In the evening we returned to the Dubai Mall and ate overlooking the fountains. The fountain and music show is every 30 minutes and is a slightly different show each time. The mall was heaving it was like crowds at a football match. Everyone seemed to be there to eat and see the fountains as the shops were not doing any business. It stays open until midnight during the week and 2 am at weekends.

Unfortunately rain is forecast for tomorrow and it started drizzling whilst we were out. Typical they haven't had rain for weeks and as soon as we arrive it rains. At least it is warm rain.

[GillD46]

Gosh I have enjoyed reading your reports. I am sorry to hear about the jellyfish at Oman as we were considering doing that, but I hate jellyfish and it rather puts me off.

I hope you enjoy your time in Dubai. Having added on Singapore to Dubai, to our original Dubai to Southampton, we now have the two days in Dubai so plan to have "drinks" at the Sky View Bar at the Burj Al Arab. But I think a visit to the Dubai Mall could possibly be squeezed in sometime.

Safe flight.

[Suekersh]

Hi Gill,
I remember you asking about the Dive Centre. It was a lovely spot but no snorkelling unless you took a trip out on their catamaran which may be worth looking into.

Sue

[Jan Rosser]

Gosh I have enjoyed reading your reports. I am sorry to hear about the jellyfish at Oman as we were considering doing that, but I hate jellyfish and it rather puts me off.

I hope you enjoy your time in Dubai. Having added on Singapore to Dubai, to our original Dubai to Southampton, we now have the two days in Dubai so plan to have "drinks" at the Sky View Bar at the Burj Al Arab. But I think a visit to the Dubai Mall could possibly be squeezed in sometime.

Safe flight.

Gill if you have the time you must try the afternoon tea at the Burj Al Arab - it is out of this world - far more than you expect with champagne more choice of teas than I even knew existed and the views are spectacular. As Jo says the Dubai Mall is unbelievable too. Have a great time I'm sure you will

[GillD46]

Gosh I have enjoyed reading your reports. I am sorry to hear about the jellyfish at Oman as we were considering doing that, but I hate jellyfish and it rather puts me off.

I hope you enjoy your time in Dubai. Having added on Singapore to Dubai, to our original Dubai to Southampton, we now have the two days in Dubai so plan to have "drinks" at the Sky View Bar at the Burj Al Arab. But I think a visit to the Dubai Mall could possibly be squeezed in sometime.

Safe flight.

Gill if you have the time you must try the afternoon tea at the Burj Al Arab - it is out of this world - far more than you expect with champagne more choice of teas than I even knew existed and the views are spectacular. As Jo says the Dubai Mall is unbelievable too. Have a great time I'm sure you will

We tried to book it but it's Easter weekend and they aren't doing it! I was bitterly disappointed which is why we have booked "drinks".

[Dennis The Menace]

26 March

Wednesday in Dubai
Apparently it doesn't rain much in Dubai. Today was the exception. It didn't stop until about 6 pm.

We left the hotel after breakfast and headed for the Dubai Mall and the Burj Khalifa. Our ticket time was not until 1 pm so we had plenty of time to look at the shops we missed yesterday. We stopped for coffee and cake at Bloomsburys before heading to the tower. There was quite a queue but we we got through security and were on our way. The walk through to the lift area was covered in photos and with a comprehensive narrative on the audio set we saw and heard the history of how it was designed and built.

The lift to the top was 124 floors in less than 1 minute. We could really feel our ears pop but other than that no movement at all. Once up there it was still raining which spoiled the view somewhat but still a great experience. We saw the Dancing fountains from the different angle but they were no where near as impressive from this distance. We could just about make out the Palm resort. We spent about an hour up there on the viewing platform both inside and out when the rain took a break. Looking up there was still the height of the Eiffel Tower above us and about 3 Eiffel towers below us.

In the evening it had finally stopped raining and we walked through Meena Bazaar and the Old a Dubai Souk to the Creek area. Lots of boats on the Creek many serving dinner on board. We checked out a few restaurants but none appealed or looked clean enough to risk eating there. It is a lovely place at night all lit up and very busy. The evening temperature was very pleasant for sauntering around.

We managed to flag down a taxi and ate in the restaurant at the hotel. It was probably more expensive than eating out but the food was delicious.

No cocktail of the day but the Fosters was on Happy Hour.

The forecast for tomorrow is better so fingers crossed.

25.2516° N, 55.2928° E

[Dennis The Menace]

Oh, and I've just heard from a very reliable confidential source (Garry) that Sue has bought 7 - yes SEVEN - new handbags this cruise.

A lesson in there for all of us I feel gents! Not sure what exactly, but the words "rope" and "bed rest" come to mind