The Cruise

December 8th

Today we board our cruise ship - the Azamara Quest. She is a mid-sized ship that carries about 710 passengers and 410 crew. So that means there is one staff member for every two passengers.

Mause and I have state rooms on Deck 8 with verandahs to sit out on and take in the view. The ship is quite luxurious with four different restaurants, a cabaret and numerous other rooms where you can go and relax. There's a pool deck and lots of bars where you can order up any drink that takes your fancy - all complimentary. It doesn't take long for us to settle in and relax before we depart for Port Elizabeth.

See the photos below for a sense of what it's like onboard.

The terminal

The terminal where we boarded the cruise ship.

Yay, we're here

Here's Mause in her stateroom just after we arrived. So great to be here! Mause's room comes with a 24 hour butler called 'Eyup'. He's from Turkey. Our steward is call Edward from Brazil. He cleans our rooms every morning.

Leaving Capetown

We go up to the top deck to see the ship leaving Capetown - first port of call Port Elizabeth on the east coast of South Africa.

Leaving Capetown

Everyone on board was in high spirits as we said goodbye to Capetown. The waiters gave out delicious fruit cocktails to celebrate the occasion.

Having lunch

After we settled in we treated ourselves to lunch. This is in the 'Windows Cafe' where breakfast, lunch and dinner is served buffet style.

A glass of wine with lunch

It's very difficult to say 'no' to the lovely waiting staff and to all the fabulous food and drink on offer.

Dinner at the Aqualina

On December 10th we celebrate Dad's birthday by having dinner at the lovely Aqualina Restaurant - one of the three restaurants where meals are a la carte. I had just had a treatment for my hair in the ship's spa - that's why it looks a bit weird!

The Pool Deck

This was the place to be when the weather was fine. You could order up any sort of drink you like, so Mause and I had a non-alcoholic pina colada.

The Pool

The swimming pool was salt water and very refreshing.

The White Night Extravaganza

One night we were all instructed to wear white for an onboard party. The band played and the wine and food flowed extravagantly. Great fun.

Mause in white

Here's Mausie looking beautiful in white for the night.

White night party

Here's what it looked like on deck that night. The food was amazing - lobster, beef, chicken etc done on big barbecues and all kinds of salads etc to go with it.

Pip playing Bridge

On days when we were at sea and I was not feeling too seasick it was fun to play some Bridge.

Bridge Tournament

We did take the Bridge seriously and there were some very good players. The tournament on the last day was fun and everyone got a prize.

More Bridge friends

My friend with the white hat is called Andrzej and he was a very good player. He gave me a few lessons along the way.

The Excursions