Having been to Aqaba twice before and on the first visit, to Petra, we had no grandiose plans, despite the previous days at sea. Paula wasn’t feeling at all good when she woke, having almost lost her voice. Eventually, we dragged ourselves up to the buffet. At the table next to us were three of the four British acts.
The fourth, we bumped into in the gym. Needless to say, the fittest looking of the 4 – Philip Browne. (We were only there to check our weights…) A chat with Philip was probably productive for him as he was unsure about the structure of his show. He was pleased to learn that the general opinion was that it was fantastic and he should leave the family slides in! He said that he normally only does one show as he is usually on shorter cruises, so doing a second show was a bit of a challenge. A really nice guy.
We ambled back to the cabin and Paula caught up with more sleep.
The ship berthed on the starboard side; there was a Vodafone welcome message - from Israel, which is just across the bay. Aqaba is a fairly popular black sea resort, but due to troubles not too far away, tourism has dropped by about 40%, even though Jordan is deemed safe by the locals.
About 12:30, we opted to take the (free) shuttle to town and by this time, there was no queue. We were dropped off near the Movenpick Hotel (Movenpick are very strong in the area and from memory, had about five or six hotels in Petra.) As a resort hotel, they were happy to charge a daily rate to relax and enjoy the facilities. Some cruisers did – and also got free WiFi, which was lucky for them, as the ship’s internet was down - all day.
As soon as we got off the shuttle, the six or seven passengers were immediately surrounded by 8 taxi drivers, hustling for business.
We followed a similar route to last time (clockwise) and most businesses were indeed closed, whilst the proprietors were at the mosque. Every ten seconds, a taxi would hoot, draw up alongside and continue the hustle. That begs the question “If all the shop-keepers were at the Mosques, why weren’t the taxi drivers?”
Anyway, we came across one or two shops that were open and one was where Paula had bought a shift dress last time. The old chap running the shop was very pleasant and friendly and said that most business would be open at about 1pm. We were the first from the ship to call in. He also said it was too hot outside, even for him, and we are guessing it was about 43 degrees. Paula bought another couple of dresses and gave him a little more than he asked for, in US dollars. Despite once again, warnings that they would only accept local currency (and there was a money changer on board the ship) US dollars were no problem.
As we left his shop at about 1:15pm, businesses were indeed beginning to open, but when we reached the largest Mosque, on the sea front – close to McDonalds… we saw a sight that totally cracked me up.
At the exit to the mosque gates, one guy was handing out large, A3 sized leaflets, advertising his wares; a temporary stall was selling leather belts and it was a like a London market with the stall holder yelling out his sales pitch; but what really made me laugh, was that there were also two other stalls, both selling men’s shoes and sandals, also shouting their sales pitches. What was so funny?
Several comedians – including Ivor Richards, have included a version of the by now, old joke, about getting a better pair of shoes – from outside a mosque! I found it odd that a place of prayer and worship was a real target for local sellers. The traffic had increased noticeably as Aqaba kicked back into gear. Maybe we should have gone in 30 minutes later. I was really warm, despite the UV 30 short sleeved shirt. Fortunately, we found ourselves the last passengers on the shuttle bus back to the ship, so as soon as we were aboard, he set off.
On arrival, straight to the buffet and for me, beef and potato curry with rice – plus three glasses of the ship’s lemon squash. Once again, a good curry and with the Indian night in the dining room (open dining), curry lovers are well catered for on this cruise.
For afternoon trivia, we were without Alex and Teri who had gone to Petra and we finished a valiant 2nd. As it was open dining, there was no rush to get to dinner and no time constraints.
At just before 8pm, the Captain made an announcement that all passengers were on board at 7:30pm and although our scheduled departure time was 11pm, and all aboard at 10:30pm, they were still a couple of crew members short. Captain Bill was keen to get moving but couldn’t get a pilot until 9pm. Something to do with Ramadan.
We assumed (mistakenly!) that there would be a similar menu in the buffet (curry) so after aquick look, we changed our minds and opted for a dining room after all. By this time it was just after 8pm, so we shot back to the cabin so that could swap the shorts for long trousers, conscious as ever of the dining room dress code. As it was open dining, we opted for the upstairs dining room. Our head waiter from last year, Robert, said the food wasn’t any better upstairs – but the plates were bigger. (He has had a real haircut and the distinguished white locks are shorn.)
We had a honeymoon table (just two of us) and although the Indian menu was identical to last time, whether it was the fact that we were a bit later, fewer diners or just the luck of the draw, we don’t know, but the food was not only superb, but the portions were larger and also appeared fresher. The onion pakora portions as a starter were twice the size of last time. Also as last time, we chose three mains - mushroom korma (a massive portion), prawn curry and I think, tandoori chicken. This time the chicken was very moist and overall, the meal (and the service) superb.
We went out onto deck 7 and there were plenty of passengers out there looking at the dock, waiting for us to cast off. The security officer was pacing up and down, obviously waiting for the last crew. When a van arrived and the crew hopped out, there was a huge cheer from deck 7. They weren’t late, just the last aboard. Within a minute or two, the gangways were up and we were off.
We eventually found ourselves at the Vista lounge, where the orchestra were playing for dancing. Dancing in sandals is not exactly ideal so once again, I made a cabin call to change into more appropriate footwear, but after a few dances, it was far too cool, so we went back out on to deck 7 again for fresh (warm) air, before retiring for the night.
We are now getting to what is probably the best part of the cruise itinerary, as we now have a day at sea before the Suez Canal then through to the Mediterranean.
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