April 05, 2016

World Cruise 2016 Day 91

Day 91 – In the Red Sea headed towards Aqaba, Jordan at 17.5 knots. As we head further North, the temperatures are beginning to moderate. This morning it was 73, clear skies, with a slight breeze from the south at less than 10 MPH with a humidity of 70%. The seas are almost like glass. There is a moderate amount of shipping in the area, usually with 7 or 8 ships within 15 miles of our position. That does not mean that I can always see them, but the navigation display shows them.


This morning Barbara gave her talk on Civitavecchia and Rome. No one likes that her talks are so far in advance, we won't be there for another 10 days, but she only does them on sea days. I for one don't always remember things from yesterday not to mention 10 days ago. Since I will only have time for my scheduled tour of Rome it really doesn't matter too much, I just go with the flow of the tour guide. Civitavecchia is also where we are supposed to be able to visit the Koningsdam, but still no word on when or how.


I am not visiting Petra tomorrow, the destination of the majority of passengers, as the terrain is difficult and there are several miles of walking just to get there. To visit one of the sites, the climb is up about 800 steps! All is not lost however as this afternoon, Vivian Rowan, an English archeologist gave a presentation on Petra. Not the same as being there, but I come away knowing more about Petra than I did when I started this adventure. Come to think of it, I'm not sure I even knew anything about Petra before I booked this cruise. To help others, think of Indiana Jones, and Lawrence of Arabia, both filmed here.


This evening there is only one show at 9:30. A combination of three previous performers contributing about 15 minutes each to the show. I plan for a good nights sleep instead. We are scheduled to arrive in Aqaba at 8:00 AM. The ship is still running at 17.5 knots so I will assume we are right on schedule. Yes, my cabin is vibrating as it always does when our speed exceed 17 knots. Reminds me of the motels of the 60's and 70's where there was a vibrator in the mattress that you could activate for a quarter.