Sunday 21st
Thank goodness for a balcony! We have pretty well spent the whole day sitting here at anchor!!! To recap, we were due to start our transit about 1.30 am, however when we woke up just before 6.00, we are still at anchor in the holding pen off Port Suez. We hear that there are considerable delays and the southbound convoy only started to arrive after 9.00.
As I write this (1.30pm) the cargo & container ships have passed by heading south and we now have gas/oil tankers to come. They have a much bigger separation of over a mile to avoid ay chance of an explosive chain. Our departure time has been put back progressively over the morning and the latest news gives us a departure from our anchorage at just after 4.00. We'll see.
There are well over 50 ships assembled for our convoy and the Captain believes that we will be #5, behind the 4 US warships. An Egyptian helicopter has already buzzed us to let us know that they are looking after us. Although too early to say, as we will be running at least 18 hours late, our arrival/visit to Athens could be in doubt, or at least probably shortened.
OK, the good news is that it is a beautiful day with temperatures in the mid/high 20s, which is quite refreshing. Other good news is that the antibiotics are kicking in and I feel a lot better, but still need to be careful with the change of temperature. And Vivian is having as haircut - not sure if that is good news, will wait for the bill!
We had Heather & Mark in for a drink (& to see the Canal) but we were still pretty well at anchor when they arrived. We eventually got under way at 6.30ish and were #6 in the convoy. So we at least saw the sights of Suez before dinner and darkness. A real shame for many of the passengers who were looking forward to the experience. We particularly wanted to see northern part, a we'd been asleep last time. Not to be, but we had a relaxing day and enjoyed all the comings & goings. Once again we skipped the entertainment and opted for a good nights sleep.
Monday 22nd
Got out of bed before 6.00 to confirm that we were out of the Canal and sailing the Mediterranean. Went back to bed/sleep. Just to be annoying, the ship has decided to have our emergency procedures practice again - it is now a requirement to have it every 30 days! It was a little chaotic, with most of us at our muster stations well before the crew. Anyway, the whole event took just under an hour and then Vivian had bridge at 11.00. 1.00 finish of bridge and we dashed off for the UK Pub Lunch in the MDR. Was much better than the previous one. Felt it was time for a decent coffee as we'd missed our normal routine. So a quiet afternoon for a change to update the blog.
The Mediterranean is lovely and we are happy that the temperature has dropped to the low 20s and little humidity. As expected, the Captain had announced that thanks to the Canal Authority & the US Navy, we are 11 hours behind schedule. He has cranked the old girl up to 20.3kts and we are thundering along (albeit into a strong sea current).
The net result is that we'll be 6 hours late into Athens, but leaving 2 hours later than scheduled. This still does not give much time to do much and we are thankful that we've been there before. We were looking forward to the Changing of the Guards, but that's at 11.00!! so shopping at the Plaka seems in order. Once again, feel very sorry for those on a trip of a lifetime, but unfortunately one has to accept that hiccups occur.
Yet another Formal night tonight, as we enter into the port intensive part of our cruise. As I am feeling better, we'll probably do both shows (6.30 & 9.45), particularly as we don't have to be up early tomorrow. Must say that the solo acts have been great all the way but a little reservation about the singers & dancers. The latter are now apparently contractors to Princess, rather than staff and their shows are limited with recorded music, rather than the band and none of the backdrops we've seen on other ships. Just saying.
So, here our Mediterranean adventures start.
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