Mike Here.  This block of text from Jerusalem to Barcelona is being written from Alicante since we were either too tired from a shore excursion to write or had no internet connection when we were ready to write

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Monday-Wednesday, 5/7-5/9 - Barcelona

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Mike Here.  This was our 2nd visit to Barcelona and it was cool and rainy on our first visit but we had better weather this time even though we here in May again. We got off the ship easily but then had a long wait for a bus to come and got to our hotel about 10ish. 

 

To bridge the gap between then and the 3PM checkin.  We bought a 2 day Hop on/Hop off pass and went exploring.  Since the bus stops at the main train station, Margaret suggested that we get our train tickets for our next 3 trips.  The procedure for buying advance tickets is familiar to us from visiting DMV offices in Chicago.  First you get a ticket, #303 (now calling #122), and sit and wait.  The numbers were called briskly but it was still an hour wait.  

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After checkin, we walked the Ramblas and had dinner in St Joseph's market.  We butted in and asked a couple our age if they would share a table and it was a great encounter.  They were off the same ship but we had never seen them.  They were from Durbin South Africa and since our daughter Maureen had spent a year in SA we had enjoyed a nice visit. We bought them a drink as thanks for sharing the table and meandered our way back to hotel. Our dinner was not as satisfying as we expected and we stopped off on the way and had a second dinner (paella) outside at a small cafe.

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The second day we bought tickets to Park Guell for 6:30PM (we should have bought them the day before) and hopped back on the bus to tour more of Barcelona.  We stopped at the National Museum and spent several hours in their Romanesque and Gothic wings.  They had removed, preserved and reinstalled the arches, naves and ceilings of several small Catalonian churches and it was quite impressive.  After a truly miserable lunch at the museum we were off to the Park Guell.  And it rained, and the bus dropped us off at the bottom of a hill and it was after 6:30, so we postponed our visit to the next time we are in Barcelona.  (Next time we will take a taxi right to the Park Guell)  Back at the hotel, we  cleaned up and went down to the harbour for what we hoped would be a signature paella dinner.  But not to be, our concierge recommended paella was more rice with seafood then the mix of flavors and textures we were hoping for.  

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We plan on coming back and staying at same hotel in Barcelona before flying home and had them keep our large bag in storage.  Easy start to the day as we took a taxi to the train station and got on our 1st class train, very clean, comfortable and we got snacks and a lunch and beer and wine.  It was not a high speed train but very comfortable.

 

Margaret here.  Well, some things are just not meant to be.  And I guess that my seeing Parc Guell is one of them.  Last time we were in Barcelona, there was construction all around the site and it was pouring down rain, which totally blocked our entrance.  This year, the only tickets available were at 6:30 in the evening.  "Okay, I'll do  that," I said.  It was a beautiful day and we had other things to do.  However, by 6:00, it was raining and our bus was stuck in traffic. We didn't get to the Parc Guell stop until 6:30, at which time we learned that the entrance was a long long walk up a steep steep hill followed by a steep stairway.  We turned around and Mike hailed a taxi back to the hotel.

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Mike's description of the National Museum of Art is pretty accurate.  It is so well done, and the art is breathtaking.  The photos don't do it justice.  If you ever get to Barcelona, be sure to visit this museum.

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Again this time, we skipped touring the Familia Cathedral.  It's still not finished, and to me it looks like the house that Jack built.

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To me, the Ramblas is a microcosm of life in Barcelona -- lots of goofy architecture, vibrant colors, a wide variety of shops, and crowds of people.  So much fun!  We loved the St. Joseph Market.

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Sat-Sun, 5/5-5/6 - At Sea

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Mike Here.  Since we have several days in Spain coming up we needed a full set of clean clothes and we spent the 2 sea days washing and packing.  The ship is off to Cadiz for refurbishing after Barcelona and the workmen onboard were happy to see us go.  Having our water turn brown was a sign to leave.

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Friday, 5/4 Chania, Crete

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Mike Here.  And Chania was a delight!  Great little preserved harbor, great maritime museum.  The maritime museum has great ship models and we observed 3 men working on an additional ship while we were there. 

 

We did not take a tour but took the bus into town and strolled.  The inner harbor is lined with outdoor cafes and we enjoyed stopping and taking a rest.  We picked a cafe with TripAdvisor flags and it had great food. Just a delightful, relaxing shore day.

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We spent no time exploring the long history in Crete and want to return again.  Hopefully they will have unearthed more Minoan ruins and artifacts for our return visit.

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Wednesday, 5/2 - Jerusalem and Bethlehem

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Margaret here.  We had purchased a tour through our travel agent, as it was considerably less expensive and offered more than the Royal Caribbean tour.  That put us at a distinct disadvantage that morning.  The Israeli customs folks had only a limited number of agents available to screen us, so the RC tourists were given priority.  Our tour was scheduled to leave at 7:45 a.m., but didn't until 10:15 a.m.  Lots of very frustrated tourists that morning.  However, we did have an amazingly good tour guide and still got to see all of the sites.

 

Shai, our tour guide, was originally from the US, but had lived in Israel for over 30 years.  A civil engineer by profession, his knowledge of the architecture and infrastructures was priceless.  He made sure everyone stayed together and limited our shopping so that we could get in all of our sites before returning to the ship at 7 p.m.

 

Our first stop was Mt. Olive, followed by Gethesemane, The Russian Orthodox church of Mary Magdalene, the tomb of Prince Phillip's mother, and the Jewish cemetery. We saw the Lutheran Church of Ascension, among other denominational churches and cathedrals.  We were impressed by the presence of the Brigham Young University campus, which was granted primo land in an agreement that eliminates the traditional Mormon missionary activities.

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A stop at the Wailing Wall was more emotional than either of us expected.  Shi had us circle around him while he told us of the history, his back to the wall, so that we could see it and the people praying there.  He told the story of President Obama, in 2008, placing a note in the wall.  Immediately after, an enterprising young man snatched it out, and sold it to a magazine.   "Lord, Protect my family and me. Forgive me my sins and help me guard against pride and despair. Give me the wisdom to do what is right and just. And make me an instrument of your will."   Women and men are separated, with women having only limited access to a portion of the wall.  Men were able to go into an alcove used for study and prayer, so I gave Mike the camera while I went to the wall.  I said a prayer (yes, me, praying, for real) for my family, especially Ginny and Mike, and then said "What he said" because I couldn't remember Obama's exact words.

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Then we walked through Jerusalem, passing by stations of the cross 4, 5 and 6.  We walked through Jewish and Muslim quarters, which were amazingly different.

We picked up our Palestinian guide, and headed for the Church of the Nativity.  The original archway was cut down to stop people from bringing animals into the church.  See the photos.  

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We went to lunch, stopped at a nice jewelry store where I got a beautiful malachite necklace and earrings.

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Shai had our driver take a route home to avoid traffic and make sure we arrived before our ship left port.  The added benefit to this was that the road took us through a national park that was not on the tour, but just beautiful.  We had time to ask Shai many questions about life in Israel.  Our experience that day has shown me that people of different religions and cultures can live together peacefully and respectfully.  It was nothing like what I had expected.

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Mike Here.  

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Our guide made a point about the artificial nature of Jerusalem itself, no water, no agriculture and limited access.  It brings all of its resources in on the same roads that the Arabs cut to put Jerusalem in siege in 1948.  Its only purpose is tourism, religion of many kinds and government.  The valley between Jerusalem and the sea has been fought over many times and whoever holds the valley controls Jerusalem.  In WWI when the British took over the valley, the Turks immediately evacuated Jerusalem but it took a week before 2 British Sargeants  stumbled into a group of local Arabs who surrendered the city.  That act is still celebrated both as a relief that the Turks were gone and a  snicker about the lack of local knowledge by the Brits.

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Back on the ship we heard many comments about how disappointed they were with the Wailing Wall.  Margaret and I just shrugged and tried not to roll our eyes.  We thought it was moving and a significant experience for us to be there.  Somewhere in the cracks of the Wall is our business card with my own trivial wish.

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Monday, Tuesday, 4/30-5/1 , Suez Canal

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Mike Here.  We are slowly cruising down the Suez Canal.  Maybe another hour or two before we reach the end.  Lots to see, lots of history and lots of people who have no clue about what they are seeing or what it means.  It takes about 12 hours to transit the canal and we were scheduled to start through at 4AM on Tuesday.  By the time, I got up at 6ish we were into our passage.  

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Last night I couldn't resist and stayed up on deck until close to midnight.  It was a full moon and our ship was surrounded by several dozen large ships with all their lights on.  During the day our companions would have been rust streaked and industrial but in the moonlight with their party lights on it was quite magical.

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Since we didn't have to be at the entrance to the canal until 11PM on Monday, we cruised slowly down the east side of the Sinai Peninsula  and up the west side to Port Said.  Our calm passage was interrupted by a "man overboard" announcement and we went out to our balcony in time to see several life preservers and a smoke float tossed into the water.  We slowly turned around and nothing happened, the smoke float went out, no boats were launched.  Finally after 30+ minutes the captain announced that it was a false alarm and then they sent out a boat to pick up the life preservers.  Glad nobody was hurt but the slow motion reaction seemed unprofessional.

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Margaret and I had dinner at a table for 10 with only us and a retired mother and her working daughter.  They were a hoot, constantly contradicting each other.  They were once on a cruise where they both got sick and now they always book separate rooms so they don't have to share a bathroom!  

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This cruise has had 5 medical emergencies and evacuations and the false man overboard.  It's like living next to a nursing home.  

 

Sunday, 4/29 , Aqaba Jordan

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Margaret Here.  We had a nice easy tour day.  Hopped on a bus, rode around through Aqaba, then on the highway for about an hour to the Wadi Rum.  Stopped at a few gift shops, and had another nice meal in a Bedouin style compound.  Back home now, showered, and sipping a tall gin and tonic.    I've got the photos uploaded, so I hope you enjoy them!

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Mike Here.  Yeah, I got nothing to add to Margaret's comments above.  I remember 2 years ago when we were here and had a long, long, exhausting day touring Petra.  A short day with tall gin and tonics is better!

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Sea Days 4/24-4/28

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Last Sea Day before Aquaba, 4/28

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Mike Here.  And we broke our streak of having interesting and pleasant dinners with new people.  Tonight we were at a table for 8 with 6 Canadians.  Two of the 6 were too obnoxious to be believed, smug, superior, loud and condescending.  One woman said that this was her first Royal Caribbean cruise and she would never take another!  I hope she is as good as her word but she didn't strike me as trustworthy.

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As Margaret and I have  been discussing future cruises, we had heard some people talking about their South America cruises and we decided that it sounded like fun.  We booked a March 2020 cruise from Buenos Aires, around the Horn and finishing up in San Diego.  It will not be on Royal Caribbean but on their sister line, Celebrity Cruises.  Our Diamond status will crossover to Celebrity and we will still get free happy hour drinks, woohoo!

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Day 3

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Mike here.  And we booked a 7 day cruise in April 2019 that will get us to Belize.  Between the helpful Royal Next Cruise staff and our fellow passengers we are finally getting a hint of how we should be monitoring our booked cruises to get the most for our money.  Margaret is chuckling at the prospect of me reverting back into planning/analysis/spreadsheet mode (sounds like work to me but retirement work, not work work)

 

Today was Anzac day and it was moving to see hundreds of passengers at a sunrise service.  Churchill had a lot to answer for.

 

Day 1&2

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Margaret Here.  We left Dubai and have several days at sea.  Relaxing and uneventful -- hopefully.  We've already had our second medical emergency, and the ship literally stopped in the sea near Muscat so that a helicopter could retrieve a passenger.  The whole process took about 3 hours.  During our sea days, Mike and I are looking forward to several lectures and performances, good reading time, and meeting new people (lots of people joined the cruise in Dubai).

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Mike here.  We had dinner the first sea day with 2 chinese couples who didnt speak english but had a lively conversation with a retired couple who had both studied russian at the Defense Language Institute in Monterey, decades before Caroline attended.  After 3 days of shore excursions, Margaret and I needed to wash clothes and that ate up our first morning afloat.   

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Margaret and I discussed if there was any 2019 cruises in our future and she would like to try another attempt at Belize.  We took a cruise from Galveston in 2016 but she fell sick and we did get off the ship at Bekize.  There seems to be a benefit in arranging future cruises while you are one and we will review our options.

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