High seas to Dubai

Monday 8th
Quite blustry and a bit of a swell as we approach the cyclone.  We are supposed to be running away from it, but is still enough movement on the ship to put us off walking the deck.  Vivian had early bridge as they have a wine tasting in the room they normally use.  I had another session with Margie & Ash on how to use their smartphones. 

The morning just flew and we had a Cruise Critic luncheon, which was pleasant.  For some reason we were both tired (or lazy), so slept pretty well all afternoon.  Luckily there was an early show at 6.30, so was good to do that, although it was the singers & dancers which is a little repetitive.  One has to admire their ability to dance away with the ship moving quite suddenly.  After dinner we did the second show, which was the ventriloquist in the Vista - he/they did a great show.  The sea is building.

Tuesday 9th
On yeah, we have a cyclone somewhere not too far away, it seems that you can run but not hide!  Once again skipped the walk as not only was the ship pitching and rolling but the rain & spray were soaking the deck. Every now and again we'd hit a big wave and the ship bangs & rolls at quite an angle.

Vivian skipped bridge as it was the choir's performance of "Sound of Music" featuring Mark from our table and a number of others we knew as part of a 96 odd choir.  Most professional and enjoyable.  A 6.30 show again. This was Peter Howarth, who is a current member of the Hollies.  He also does Roy Orbison shows worldwide.  Another good show.

The wind today has reached 40-50kts and the sea is rough.  The captain came on the intercom during dinner to announce that our plan to outrun the cyclone was not successful and accordingly we were now going to change course drastically and head towards and south of it.  We did this and had a pretty exciting evening/night with the sound of falling items from the cabin next door (I'd checked our bathroom to make sure everything was secure). Apparently there was some broken glasses down in the bar area and some water also found it's way inside.  Nothing serious.

Although probably obvious to most, as we are in the northern hemisphere the weather systems move from east to west.  This system formed off Pakistan and headed across the Arabian Sea towards Oman.

Wednesday 10th
Apparently we are back on track towards Dubai, but will be a few hours late in our arrival tomorrow.  As we are disembarking/embarking some 300+ passengers at the end of this segment, I feel a little sorry for those who have onwards/return flights.  OK, perhaps I am not overly sympathetic with those getting off, as the majority were last minute bookings, where this segment was discounted by over 70%. Without saying anything else, it has been obvious and we look forward to our new passengers embarking. 

Pleased to say that the weather is a little more settled as we approach the upper Arabian Sea - we are currently pretty well due east of Muscat in Oman (which we visit on Saturday).  The weather in Dubai & Oman is predicted to be in the mid 40s, so hopefully this weather pattern will disappear and we can look forward to clear, smooth seas for the remainder of the voyage.  As I now post this at 6.15pm I confirm that sea is smooth, a little sun is out and it is very pleasant on our balcony pre dinner.