Wednesday 17th April – Suez Canal - Payback time!

I woke up exhausted but got up about 9:30, eager to see the Suez Canal. We had entered it before 6:30, when I got up and looked out of the window and then went back to bed. I rushed out on deck about 10:00 to see the sites, and Jorge showed me the best place, up forward on the crew deck that had been opened for us. We sat and watched and photographed for nearly an hour as the ship sailed through the canal. It was great.

Unfortunately I was exhausted from all the days before. When I sat down to eat my breakfast I could hardly hold the cutlery, and chewing the watermelon seemed too much effort. I gave up and went back to my room to bed. I couldn’t even be bothered holding a book, so I listened to stories in my iTouch instead.

I got up for lunch at 2:30 but then went back to my room and sat on the couch with my feet up for the rest of the afternoon, reading.

I set my priorities as being dancing, so went to dinner in the Lido again, between the two dancing sessions. The gentlemen danced gently with me, and I had more rests than usual. It was a good night. It was the Egyptian ball, so many people had come dressed with Egyptian accessories or head-dresses. Towards the end, once again I took the man’s part in a waltz, this time with Jorge. He is obviously used to dancing as a woman, from his time teaching dancing. It was fun. I even managed a spin turn!

I had been having difficulty dancing with Rock the past few days, which was a pity as his ballroom style is the closest to mine, and he had been co-operating by extending me a bit further. I had eventually decided that the problem was that I was working at it too hard, and trying to dance formally instead of relaxing. This night I relaxed and enjoyed the dances much more, and did not feel that he was having to push me around the floor.

Tuesday 16th April – the Pyramids

I was due to check in for my tour at 7:15, so I was up by 6:00. Judith was on the same tour. An American gentleman who had just embarked the day before and was travelling with his mother (she was doing the World Tour and taking a different relative on each leg of it) must have decided that we were the most fun people in the group. He announced he’d sit with us on the bus. Of course we went to the back seat where all the rowdy children go. It was fun.

We had a long drive (about 3 hours) to reach the Sakkara, the ancient burial site with its stepped pyramid. This was the first pyramid built. It was a series of steps or benches. It was from this that later pharaohs got the idea of filling in the edges to make the pyramid shape. We were also allowed to see inside a tomb in the complex. This meant going down a sloped ladder-like arrangement, bent over as it was only about 3-4 foot in height, and then going up again before getting into the burial chamber. There were some fantastic carvings on the walls, but most of the colours had disappeared due to people using flash photography inside.

From there we were taken to see the three main pyramids – Cheops, Cephren, and a third pharaoh whose name I can’t remember. Again we had the opportunity to go inside one of the pyramids. This was very plain granite inside, with no carving. Oh, my aching knees by the time I got out!

Again we were given lunch at a hotel, welcomed by a local band. I was seated near an Australian man who could not understand a word I said, while the British people next to him understood it all. Another Australian couple on the bus had not recognised me as Australian, while all the British people assume I’ve come straight to the ship from Australia. Accents are funny things.

After this we were taken to see the sphinx. It’s huge! It is also set down in a pit, which shows how much the level of the land has been raised over the millennia by the drifting sand.

Unfortunately, all the time one is trying to marvel at these wonders and appreciate this once-in-a-lifetime sight, the experience is marred by all the hawkers who come along and keep shoving items in your face saying ‘One dollar, one dollar’. At one point I was so frustrated with one man who was pestering Judith that I turned to him and said ‘She has already said no three times!’ to which he replied ‘Okay’ and then proceeded to shove a different item in front of her face, saying ‘One dollar’. We did eventually buy some beaded head-dresses, but that was because the woman at the stall did not pester us as we looked at them. Only when it was evident that we were going to buy did she start showing us other things. I told her firmly that we had come to her because she had not pestered us, and we would walk away if she kept showing us other things.

Another impression from the day is all the new buildings in Cairo, those around the ring road appearing unfinished. Evidently the apartment buildings are built for a family, but glass is only put in the windows when people are ready to move in. When the next family member marries, a new apartment is finished off. We saw very few that actually appeared to be finished. These buildings just stretched on and on.

I was amazed by the barrenness of the land in Egypt. We passed through mile after mile of what must be sandstone cliffs, covered with dirty sand (just a bit of white sandstone glimpsed through the dirtiness). We saw no greenery. It was a bleak country.

We arrived back at the ship by 6:30, two hours before our expected time. (I assume the traffic was not as bad as they had made allowances for.)

I was tired, and my knees were rather painful, but the dance floor called me! My last dance of the evening was a waltz with Gary, and we had fun with me dancing the man’s part and him dancing the lady’s. I don’t think he’d ever tried that before. I had to tell him off for trying to lead!

Monday 15th April – Sharm El Sheikh (clocks back one hour)

I had made no plans for this day, so allowed myself to sleep late, until 10:30.

To my surprise there was a dancing class (quickstep), so I went along to watch but ended up partnering Frances, taking the part of the man.

Sharm El Sheikh has become a popular tourist destination lately for the British, with an opportunity to enjoy the sun, the golden sands, swimming, snorkelling, etc. I took one look at the ‘golden sands’ and decided that by Australian standards they were dirt! I did walk outside of the ship, but had no desire to walk through the heat for 15 minutes in the hope of finding an internet cafe.

Instead it was a time to chat, to catch up with some washing and my diary, and to chill out. In fact, I didn’t even find time to get to dinner in the evening, but went up to the Lido buffet instead, about an hour after dinner had been due to start. Of course I danced in the evening, and stayed later than I should have, in view of an early start the next day! Unfortunately, as often happens before an early morning, I did not sleep well.

Sunday 14th April – Aqaba (Jordan): visiting Petra

It was difficult to be up early enough for our 8:45 check-in for the tour of Petra, but I managed it! About a thousand people were going on tour to either Petra or Wadi Rum, so there were many buses outside waiting.

We travelled in convoy for security. It was a 2-hour journey, including a rest stop at a shop and rest room, and the opportunity to photograph the mountains and valleys through which Moses had journeyed, as he had not been allowed to use the Kings’ Road. On the way we were also pointed to the mountain where lies the tomb of Aaron, Moses’ brother, and were shown the spring where Moses hit the rock with his staff and water poured out (or close facsimiles of such places)!

The countryside between our port of Aqaba and the city of Petra was bleak and barren, with scattered vegetation. Trees are rare. The mountains dominate the distance with jagged peak after peak. In the distance one can sometimes see flocks of goats, attended by black-clad women or lightly-clad men. Sometimes one sees Bedouin tents. In the towns, the houses are square and built of what appears to be cement blocks, all in a monotone that blends in with the surroundings.

Our guide used 3 new words on the trip. My vocabulary will never be the same again: sunny-cream, sunny-glasses and earthy-quakes.

Petra is an ancient site built in a canyon by the Nabateans as a funeral city, not as somewhere to live. It is approached through a siq (= narrow space between rocks), a cleft with high rock walls on each side, twisting in many directions.

When the Romans conquered the Nabateans, they turned it into a dwelling place, with free-standing buildings, destroying some of the carved tombs in the process. When the city was hit by an earthy-quake it was mainly deserted, though was later used by Bedouin tribes. Because of its hidden location it was forgotten by the West between the 14^th and 19^th century, until a Swiss traveller heard of it and bluffed his way in by pretending to be a native wanting to offer a sacrifice. In recent years it became a UNESCO World Heritage Site, which meant that the inhabitants had to move out and be rehoused in a modern village.

After running the gauntlet of offered horse rides from the modern town of Petra, it was a relief to enter the siq. It was crowded with tourists and guides from the two ships in port, but still spectacular. We could see the remains of ancient dams and water channels (to prevent the site from flooding), carvings, tombs, etc. Our guide stopped us every few minutes to show us one amazing site after another. We also had to keep stepping to the side as a badly-treated horse and carriage would come racing through, carrying passengers who could not walk the distance.

Petra was the site of some amazing scenes in ‘Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade’. The story goes that Queen Noor walked Harrison Ford through the siq and stopped, asking him how much he would donate to her charity if she showed him an amazing building. He offered a million dollars. She told him to take one step to his left, and suddenly the spectacular tomb could be seen. That is now called the million dollar step.

Finally we, too, reached the million dollar step and saw the sight that will remain with me for years. The ‘Treasury’ is so-called because of a belief that one of the kings transferred his treasure by magic into a giant carved urn at the top of the building. Bedouins still shoot their rifles at it in the hope of breaking it and dislodging the treasure. However, x-rays show that the urn is solid stone.

We walked around for some time, marvelling at sight after sight, but sorrowing at the way the Romans had defaced tombs in order to carve more seating to extend the amphitheatre. This is the only amphitheatre that is carved into the rock walls rather than built up.

The guide offered us the choice of continuing for another 20 minutes in order to see the remains of a Byzantine church and mosaics, but Jenny, Judith and I felt we were too tired to do that, and then tackle the 40-minute walk back. Another alternative would have been a visit to the Monastery, with 800 steps up, followed by 800 down, and steep drops on the side in places where the footing was sandy. No way!

It was a pleasure to walk back through the shady, less-crowded siq. However, the walk in the sun back to a hotel for a late lunch (3:30) seemed interminable. I could have ridden a horse, but I did not fancy the smell or the fleas! I persevered on foot.

We finally arrived back at the ship about 7pm, to find that Queen Victoria had put on a special welcome for us. We were handed cold towels and glasses of champagne in a party-like atmosphere before boarding.

Somehow I found the energy to go dancing in the evening. I enjoyed a couple of mystery interpretative dances with Paul, a smouldering tango with Jorge, a lovely waltz with Rock and many more. The disappointment was trying to do the Viennese Waltz with Gary. He used social steps that were very different from those I had learnt from Dan and Olena. I could hardly follow him. (The good news is that as the cruise progressed I became better at following the American version of the Viennese Waltz. It's all a learning process.)

Five sea days

Tuesday 9^th April – Pirates and Medical Emergency

I felt very virtous being up shortly after 9am, but I knew we had a pirate drill at 10am. It appears we are in pirate-infested water but we are not at risk. I was ready, breakfasted and standing in the corridor at the appointed time. No one came to check on us, and Johnny Depp did not come through my window, but we all had a good laugh. Evidently you go into the corridor during an attack so you won’t be hit if they shoot through the window. You stand next to the door as you then have the whole bathroom between you and any stray shots; bullets might penetrate the door itself.

Five minutes later the Captain made an announcement that a passenger was deemed to be in a critical condition and would be taken off the ship to hospital. Luckily we were close to Muscat in Oman, and a boat came out to take the passenger off the ship.

Before the voyage I had booked 2 shore excursions. I found the tickets in my cabin with a note pointing out that I had booked the German-speaking excursions, and asking if that was really what I wanted. That was very perceptive of the woman at the tour desk. However, she told me that it should not have been possible for me to book the German-speaking tour on the internet. She also took a copy of the internet confirmation I’d received, as it said nothing about German on it. There seems to have been a glitch on their system. I had certainly been given two booking options, but the only difference was that one had children at full price and the other had children at half price. I’m glad it was all sorted out but I suspect it will end up costing me money, as there will no doubt be another foreign exchange bill on my credit card when the money is returned.

The midday dancing class was cha cha. One of the hosts was so reassuring: ‘You’re doing very well’. I bit my tongue and did not tell him that he was not quite doing what the teachers told us, but was turning too soon.

I met up with the two J’s at the dance class. We talked incessantly over lunch, catching up. Judith and I went to the Pirate lecture and then to afternoon tea. The Navy Commander giving the lecture was on board to advise the crew. He told us we were low risk because of our speed and our height above the water. Despite that we have an armed response team on board. Piracy has decreased dramatically over the past year because of all the international measures. The proceeds of piracy seem to be used to build up infrastructure in Somalia, including things like a mobile phone network. Perhaps they are building themselves into a situation where they will no longer need the funds from piracy. (They’ll be able to initiate more overseas money scams instead.)

After dinner I again went to the two dancing sessions (7:45 to 8:30 and 9:15 until late) but left about 11pm. J&J had not turned up but had decided they needed an early night. I was surprised to find a pot of hot milk in my room when I got back. My room number was 1076 and the 7 written on the notecould have been 2, so I assumed it was a mistake and put it outside in the corridor. I wish I’d rung up and complained, as events turned out.

Wednesday 10^th April (clocks back one hour) - Drowsy Diane

I had much trouble waking up enough to get up, even with the extra hour of sleep. I made it to the Solo Travellers’ Get-together by shortly after 11am, but left just before 11.30 to get some breakfast/lunch.

The midday dance class was tango, with some new steps to learn. The dance teachers on this cruise have a slightly different way of teaching from those on the previous cruise, but still leave us standing in awkward positions as they go through the next steps closely.

I stayed on to watch the first quarter hour of J&J line dancing. It seemed quite easy. I visualised the steps in my head and was able to do their first routine the next morning in my room. (I tried that with the salsa class on Thursday but visualisation did not work as the important thing was the rhythm, not the steps.)

The lecture on Petra seemed useful so I attended that. It was very slow-paced, but it gave me an idea of how far I would be able to walk. I have decided not to walk up (then down) the last thousand steps to one tomb, even though it looked interesting. Enough will be enough.

I was incredibly sleepy all day, despite long sleeps for the previous two nights. After a quick afternoon tea in the Lido, I ended up lying on my bed reading and drifting in and out of consciousness until it was time to dress for formal dinner.

Very few people went to the 7:45 dancing session and the hosts were standing around talking to each other. I had to be sensible and refuse, or I would have been dancing every dance. I think I can really only dance every second or third one.

An early night was in order, and I must have been well asleep by 10:00, with the ‘Do not disturb’ sign on the door for good measure. I woke at 10:30 to repeated knocking on the door. I called out to ask who it was and was told ‘Room service’. I got up to find a man with another jug of hot milk. I said I had not ordered anything and he told me there was a standing order. That explains what had happened the previous two nights! (Was it for the wrong room or was it left over from the previous segment of the cruise?) I told him there was a mistake and he promised to fix it. Unfortunately my sleep had been disturbed. I took a sleeping tablet and went back to sleep but kept waking up all night.

Thursday 11^th April – Meeting Peter Perry

Although my sleep was disturbed, it lasted close to 12 hours! I did not get up until about 9:45.

Breakfast, Solo Travellers’ meeting and dancing class followed each other in short order. I had never learnt the Salsa before, so it was challenging. I hope to try it out on the dance floor soon.

Time passed quickly (as it always does on a ship) until afternoon tea – a formal affair in the ballroom.

Dinner was a lively chat, followed up by two dancing sessions, with a rest between. A highlight of the evening session was finally meeting Peter Perry! He too thought the story of my check-in was hilarious, and we ended up with many jokes. Both J&J, and also Frances, burst out laughing when they were introduced to him separately. A legend come to life!

Highlights of the dancing included two dances with Paul (the very tall singer, who prefers his own choreography to any dancing ‘rules’, so one never knows just what he will do next, but knows it will be done at full stretch to keep up with his long strides) and another Viennese Waltz with Rock. I stumbled my way through the Viennese Waltz but loved it, and determined to have a private lesson one day, so that I can dance it properly.

Friday 12^th April – Hot and humid

I had an early and noisy awakening with metallic bangs against the side of the ship. The pirates at last? No, I suspect they were preparing to launch a lifeboat above me, as shortly afterwards came the Captain’s announcement: ‘For exercise, for exercise. Man overboard.’ It was a ship’s drill.

The Solo Travellers’ Get-together was again held in the Winter Garden with the roof open, which alerted me to how hot and humid (70%) the weather has become. It leaves me rather anxious about how I will cope on the trip to Petra. I kept wandering back and forward between the get-together and the nearby pool, where two of the men spent 15 minutes creating a superb ice sculpture each.

I had been looking forward to the waltz dancing class, but was horrified to see the level of difficulty expected of rank beginners. Instead of starting with the basic step, they were taken straight into the spin turn followed by a whisk and double chassees.

In the afternoon I walked around the deck in order to see the guards on watch for pirates, and to judge how I will manage the walking at Petra. I found three members of the Cunard security team set up with binoculars, sound guns and loaded water hoses ready to deter pirates if necessary.

The main dance that night was a modern band, too loud and no ballroom dances. I gave up at 10:30 and went back to my room. I am definitely a ballroom dancer, not a jiggler.

Saturday 13^th April – Dirty Dancing

I don’t know what caused all the banging noises in the night, but no pirates appeared.

The dance class was rumba. My last dance was with Jorge (gentleman host), and inbetween our giggles we decided to make a proper go of it and gaze into each others’ eyes and ‘smoulder’, especially as our new step involved us standing face to face with my arms on his shoulder and his arms around me.

The day actually went rather slowly, perhaps because I was aware that I needed to rest, and perhaps also because I had fun things on my mind.

The solo travellers had afternoon tea together in the Queen’s Room. Afterwards I went up to the top deck and watched the first few minutes of some friends playing a shuffleboard challenge.

After having a couple of wonderful Viennese Waltzes with Rock (young gentleman host, French Canadian, learning English) on previous nights, I decided I wanted to learn more. Dan and Olena, the dance teachers, had agreed to give me a private lesson and to split it into two parts because of my health, so the first lesson was this afternoon. It was wonderful! I know it’s an advanced dance, but when you know the waltz well, the steps are relatively easy. However, the trick is dancing it together, so you need a man who knows what he is doing. Dan is fantastic to dance with and I could follow him with only a couple of hiccups. Olena even taught me the cheating way to do the fleckle – the step that Len Goodman, head judge of Strictly Come Dancing (Dancing with the Stars) is always talking about. Dan said he felt comfortable dancing with me, which means I was following his lead okay.

Because we are going to Petra and I did not want to be tired, I only went to the 7:45 to 8:30 dance session. Towards the end of the session Rock and I did a cha cha together and I was giggling inside as he, too, ‘smouldered’ and looked into my eyes during the appropriate steps. (Trevor, on my last cruise, had told me I should be doing that in the Latin dances but I’d never tried it out until today.) I was sorry that we did not have a Viennese Waltz during that session.

Monday 8th April – On board

The first afternoon on a ship can be a bit boring. Wait for your luggage. Unpack. Go to the compulsory safety drill. This time it was all done through a haze of tiredness. I was waiting for bed!

I was amused to see that my table for dinner was in exactly the same position as the one on my last cruise, just one floor higher. It was a table full of single people. There were 8 of us on the first night and 9 after that. They were all very pleasant, though somewhat older than I am.

I still had not managed to catch up with Jenny and Judith, so thought I’d go to the 7:45 dance session in the hope of finding them. They did not turn up but I found out the following:

• ·         my new dance shoes make dancing a dream;
• ·         I am not as well as on my last cruise and it is hard work to dance;
• ·         we have 6 dance hosts of varying ability;
• ·         I was told that I follow very well – and when I said I had trouble on my last cruise, the response was that the men must not have been leading properly (which I suspected).

On my last cruise there were 3-4 gentlemen hosts and loads of single women, so we were lucky to get 6 dances in a night. This night I could have danced just about every dance, and had to say no a few times so that I could rest!

I was asleep by 10pm, but was woken by a knock on the door, followed by another knock, and the door opening and a voice saying ‘Sorry’. Was it Peter Perry (‘Who’s been sleeping in my bed?) or was it just the room steward? With the help of my sleeping tablet I managed to get off to sleep again and sleep soundly for another 10 hours.

Before the cruise

I had been watching this cruise for 2-3 months, just waiting for the price to drop enough for me to afford it. Oceanview rooms finally came down in price just 11 days before the cruise was due to depart! I booked immediately. Thus started a hectic couple of weeks, getting ready and planning all the ports to visit.

I admit to feeling stressed, especially as a new computer arrived during this time, and friends wanted to plan our next cruise for August. I knew I was not thinking clearly. It was so lucky that on the last Saturday, just a few hours before I set off for Heathrow, I phoned Jenny (who I met on the last cruise and who was coming on this one along with Judith, also from that cruise) and discovered that I was a day ahead of myself. We were not flying out until Sunday!

Sunday came and I left for Heathrow by public transport. I used my new airport lounge card and was able to relax and eat in a comfortable lounge until the time for my Qantas flight to Dubai at 10:30pm. (Dubai was evidently the place to go; there were numerous flights out that night, all with a few Cunard passengers. I envied J&J who flew from Birmingham on an Emirates flight and had an extra 7kg of luggage.)

The flight was as good as can be expected, and I managed a few hours of dozing.

Dubai airport is huge but very well decorated. After the UK’s cold weather, it was lovely to change into Summer clothes in an airport toilet. I had been warned that Dubai is very fussy about drugs, so had come prepared with a doctor’s letter, and had left quite a few supplements behind. However, there was no evidence of sniffer dogs or undue care.

The Cunard rep at the airport ascertained that I was not booked into the Hyatt for breakfast (J&J assured me I did not miss much) so I was put into a taxi all by myself and had my own conducted tour (Bangladeshi taxi driver) on the way to terminal. I was meant to wait there for a couple of hours until I could check in. That seemed boring, so I got on one of the free shuttle buses to the city, to a shopping mall. I walked through the shops, enjoying the space and sculptures. Despite the designer shops, all I bought was some Ventolin and a bottle of water.

I wandered outside and saw the impressive skyline with buildings of all shapes and sizes, and the intriguing architecture around the mall.

As I was handed my door key at check-in, I was asked where the other person was. It seems they had a Peter Perry down to share my room! They rectified that for me. (I was told later that he was in a room with a number similar to mine.)