Nearly there

The departure from Kristiansand eventually happened more than 24 hours later than scheduled. The Spirit of Discovery now has 3 working engines and the technical staff - who have worked incredibly hard to resolve the problems - are still working on restarting the fourth. TSH and Diva are concerned about how the 'dirty fuel' was taken on in the first place.

Because of the delay, the berth at Dover is no longer available and disembarkation is now expected to  take place at around noon on Saturday in Portsmouth  instead of around 8 am on Friday in Dover. This must have created huge logistical problems for Saga on shore and onboard, as well as taxi drivers and guests on the next cruise and the current one. 

The 36 hour delay will be filled with food, drink and service. The North Sea is calm. 

Bonus holiday

 At 18:00, the expected departure time from Kristiansand, the Captain announced that the Spirit of Discovery had engine problems and could not sail. Further announcements over the evening and the following morning explained that 2 of the four engines had problems, probably caused by 'dirty fuel'.  Spare parts have been ordered from Germany. Diva hopes that the suppliers have not heard about the 'Rule Britannia' incident. (See blog post 'no ghosts')

It is now impossible to reach Dover by Friday morning and hence the arrival home is delayed by at least 24 hours. Guests have not been told what is happening about those booked on the next scheduled cruise, which is only 5 days long.

Diva has moved the home food delivery order time from Saturday to Sunday morning.

On the instructions for disembarkation, TSH and Diva were amazed to find that it seems that they are not sharing transport with the other 2 guests who live on the same avenue as they do.

A Regent Seven Seas ship had to find a new berth, as its booked one is indefinitely occupied by the Spirit of Discovery.  

a or u

Because of Storm Floris, it would not be safe to berth at Skagen, the next port on the itinerary. The captain announced the name of the replacement port and TSH and Diva heard it as Kristiansund. a port they are familiar with, but which is north of Bergen. Diva became concerned that the return journey would be long and that the Spirit of Discovery would arrive late in Dover, with consequences for their arrival time at home. When the written program arrived, they discovered that the call would be to Kristiansand, which is on the outskirts of Oslo and not a huge diversion for the return to Dover. 

For most of the journey, the seas have been so calm that it was not always obvious that the ship was moving. That all changed on the rocky journey to Kristiansand, so they took precautionary stugeron and the steward tied down the balcony chairs. The sail past 'Hamlet's castle' was just before dinner, so Diva was able to recite part of Horatio's speech, with TSH playing the minor role of Hamlet. 

The shower door failed again. Fortunately TSH is a keen observer and a quick learner, so he was able to perform the trick with the door seal without involving the steward. 

In Kristiansand, they intended to go into the town on the shuttle bus but because there were no tours at this hastily arranged stop, the queues were very long and they decided to stay onboard the Spirit of Discovery. 

No ghosts

Storm Floris is not just a UK issue. Captain Kim Tanner announced that the call to Helsingor would not be possible. Going ashore was planned to be by tender and this operation would not be possible in the wind and choppy sea caused by Floris. Diva totally agreed with this decision on health and safety grounds but was disappointed that she would not get to recite the lines from Hamlet which she has been memorising for the occasion. 'yet once methought it lifted up its head ......'.

She was less pleased with the Captain's behaviour on leaving Warnemunde in what he persistently referred to as 'sausage land'. He played 'Rule Britannia' very loudly as the Spirit of Discovery was waved off by (presumably) friendly local people. OK in UK but very jingoistic for our European friends. TSH and Diva were mortified.

Accident report

Diva was invited to a meeting with the Spirit of Discovery Guest Services Director. She was able to greet him as a hero, as he was the person who 'sorted out' TSH's ipad when it was new and they did not know how to deal with its demands.  He was able to assure her that the Incident with The Door had been recorded and that all the proper procedures had been followed. 'It is a matter of international maritime law that the decks are open when the wind speed is less than 35 kmph'. He said that he would not offer a bottle of wine as the butler had already made adequate provision but that he would offer a 'free' massage to help with the residual soreness. Diva politely refused  this, as she has encountered the spa staff before and they are brutal. 

The Spirit of Discovery is currently in the south Baltic Sea. Some guests claim to have caught sight of a Russian submarine but this is an unverified report.

An excellent start

The drive from home to Dover was fast and comfortable, with only 2 brief stops to collect other guests and to allow Diva to eat her bananas at the motorway services. Embarkation was efficient and the prosecco at lunch very welcome. At the safety muster there was a temporary panic from Diva and a feeling of smugness from TSH, as she could not immediately find her ship card. She eventually dug it out of her bag, deflating TSH, who really did forget his card on a previous muster occasion. They chatted with a guest who had never been on a cruise before. She kept muttering about Titanic (a banned word on most ships) and the orchestra going down with the ship. 

Saga allocate everyone a restaurant booking to avoid confusion on the first night of a cruise and TSH and Diva were a little apprehensive to be sent to La Vie en Rose - a French-style restaurant which is new to the Spirit of Discovery. It replaces the Club, which was one of their favourites. Worry was unnecessary. They were greeted with large glasses of Kir Royale. Diva does not normally drink cocktails. She prefers to know exactly what she is drinking and large glasses of red wine normally satisfy demand. She now loves Kir Royale and will be requesting it forever. As well as red wine. They ate goat cheese salad, steak (TSH), duck a l'orange (Diva) and excellent lemon tart. Service was excellent and red wine plentiful. The new restaurant is a success.

The suite is now well organised and stocked by the butler with the requested drinks. The North Sea is exceptionally calm, although they met one guest who is already wearing wrist bands. How will she cope in a choppy sea?

Late, late, late

Diva is not good with the unexpected, especially when it involves time-keeping. 4 hours late docking in Portsmouth, 3.5 hours late leaving the Spirit of Discovery and 4 hours later than expected arriving home. So when the assistant cruise director decided to 'entertain' the guests waiting in their designated lounge, it did not go well. He told a series of misogynistic jokes and Diva used a loud voice to inform the people around her that this was totally unacceptable and the root of unequal pay and opportunity. She was gratified to find several people nodding and voicing agreement. He would not have dared to make the equivalent racist jokes and although he will not change his behaviour she has sowed the seed of objection in at least a few peoples' minds.

Portsmouth disembarkation was long and tedious and they had to transport their own luggage over quite a distance. Very unlike Dover, where there were many porters with trolleys to assist. 

Not a good last day. TSH was so tired when he got home that he forgot to check whether the wood-chippings he had ordered to be laid in the garden were in place or not. (They were)

TSH would like it recorded that he tried most of the ice cream flavours available - lemon curd, mince pie, rocky road.

Helping to drive the ship

 With improved (but not entirely smooth) weather conditions, the bridge tour was able to take place. TSH and Diva were instructed not to disturb the officers, not to interrupt the explanations and above all not to touch anything. When it was time for questions, there were several pointed ones about how collisions were avoided and how much damage the ship sustained during the serious incident in the Bay of Biscay about 2 years ago. The incident is still the subject of an inquiry and the officer quite rightly refused to discuss it. The Captain interjected to say that maybe they could ask the Captain who was in charge of the ship at the time - a neat way of making it quite clear that it was not him. 

Data that was provided indicated that the ship's tolerance for swell was around 9m. Also that the ship has 7m below the water and 49m above. The Spirit of Discovery is going into dry dock soon in order to be in top condition for TSH and Diva's next cruise in July.

The officer cleared up something TSH and Diva have always wondered about. When a pilot is onboard, it is in an advisory capacity and the Captain still has responsibility for the ship, the crew and the guests and hence has the final say. 

Because of strong headwinds, the Spirit of Discovery is proceeding slower than is ideal and contingency plans are being made for a late arrival in Portsmouth. TSH and Diva hope that these plans are not needed. They are scheduled to leave at the ship at 8:20 and have booked a late afternoon Sainsbury's delivery. The Captain has instructed the Chief Engineer to make all his horses run as fast as possible.

TSH ate Manchester Tart at dinner. Diva has always lived within a few miles of Manchester and has never heard of it. 

Bananas and Potatoes

 TSH and Diva watched the sail-away from Tenerife in order to get a good view of the dramatic rocky scenery. The departure was, unusually, assisted by a tug because of the strong winds. The captain announced that the Spirit of Discovery would be taking a short detour into international waters in order to 'feed the fish'. 

In Santa Cruz de La Palma, they took a short tour which gave Diva a white-knuckle ride along the twisty mountain roads with steep unfenced drops at the side. They had good views of a massive volcanic caldera with their viewing position higher than the drifting clouds. The guide was confusing in her descriptions and her indication of which direction guests should look in was given by her raised arm which was invisible from many seats on the bus. She emphasised the drama of the route but she was the only person shrieking at the sharp bends.  She also asked guests to inform the driver if another bus was approaching along the narrow roads. Not sure what he thought of that.

TSH took many photographs to provide him with an occupation of deleting and editing in the afternoon. Another guest was taking photographs with a tablet with the sound instructions played at a high volume. 

Some guests are talking a lot about the rough seas encountered during some nights but this has not been at a level to bother TSH and Diva.

Diva's brightly coloured jacket was admired. The restaurant manager checked that TSH and Diva were happy with their lunch.

The main crops on La Palma are bananas and potatoes.

Hot rocks

On the second formal night, all the guests appeared to have made an effort to look smart and many - including TSH and Diva - were in formal dress.  Medals are encouraged and one guest was seen wearing his. There is probably a higher percentage in formal dress than is usual on Silversea in recent years. As on most evenings of this cruise, TSH drank a glass of white wine as part of his rehabilitation from his stroke.

Canapes are delivered to the suites in the late afternoon and Diva has been sending pictures of them to the family Whatsapp. Comments include: 'Is it the same garnish every day with different bases?' 'Have they run out of caviar and switched to Branston pickle because it looks close enough?' 'Ran out of Branston as well today?'

When TSH and Diva were in Lanzarote observing the 'geothermic anomalies', they were handed some hot stones from a volcanic area. Diva dropped hers immediately, as they were too hot (about 80 degrees C). But she since discovered that TSH kept his as a souvenir. He has them wrapped in a tissue but they have cooled down.

On the way back to the Spirit of Discovery' they were offered Werners Originals - a classic Saga touch. 

The wearing of the green

 It is St Patricks day and there is a special cake in the Living Room. The cupcakes are decorated in green. The food continues to be good and the morning fruit salad is almost as good as the one TSH makes at home.

The sea has been more choppy and the Captain has decided to take a slightly longer route - hugging the African coast - to avoid the 8m swell in the centre of the depression. Diva has issued stugeron tablets. This is an interesting Captain, he is ex Royal Navy but hopefully his submariner skills will not be needed on this voyage. 

Some of the guests are confused by marine terminology. One asked his partner if their cabin was on the port or the starboard side. 'We are on the starboard', 'But we can't be. Because we could see the cranes when we were in port. That must be the port side'. 

Several guests have mentioned the Herman's Hermits performance and how much they enjoyed it. TSH and Diva have kept their own counsel.

The clocks have changed again. TSH has no idea why. And although they have switched off automatic time change on their phones, the phones seem to be making independent decisions about the time changes. 

TSH is pleased that he is becoming more familiar with the layout of the Spirit of Discovery and has successfully made a few short journeys alone,

Diva will wear her green jacket for dinner.

Hard day's start

Tony the SAGA  driver remained cheerful throughout the long journey to Portsmouth. Despite being gutted the previous night at Anfield, where he saw Liverpool drop out of the UEFA Champions League. A short stop at Warwick services provided the opportunity for TSH and Diva to eat the bananas.

Embarkation was not as smooth as they had experienced at Dover. More queues and outdoor in the cold for a while.  Diva had her photo (for ship id)  taken twice because she closed her eyes the first time. A well known trait. A quick lunch was followed by going to the cabin to await the lugage. 2 of the 3 suitcases soon arrived but the 3rd did not appear until later in the evening. Diva went to reception before sailing so that they could assure her that the bag was onboard.   Moisturiser, hair styling products, shaving equipment ........ She had tried to telephone reception but there is no telephone directory and the butler's card did not contain a number. The reception number is listed on the television if you can find the right number but so far Diva had not had the time to work this out. 

Safety drill went smoothly as TSH remembered his card and no torches were involved for Diva to test.

Dinner had been arranged for TSH and Diva in the East meets West restaurant  and the meal was excellent. Diva wanted a nightcap in the cabin and was pleased that the butler had provided Merlot, as requested. But it had a cork and the butler had to be summoned to provide a corkscrew. Another baby butler to be trained.

Sociable Start

At the start of the 4^th leg, for the first time that she can remember, Diva was greeted at the lunch buffet by a newly embarked guest with whom they had sailed before - on the Silver Moon. She and TSH were greeted as old friends by other In Transit guests and they also made a new friend in the queue outside La Terrazza. This experience is already more sociable than most of the previous 3 legs.

Also in Reykjavik was Saga Spirit of Discovery, which will be taking them to the Canaries in March 2025. Even in port, the wind was so strong that the original intention to do Tai Chi on an open deck was dropped.

Some of the crew do not remember TSH and Diva and are welcoming them aboard in Silversea style. Others are very familiar with them by now. When one waiter tried to explain how things worked, a more experienced one pointed out ‘these people have spent more time on the Silversea ships than we have’.

The head sommelier, with whom they have travelled many times, has left the ship but not before she introduced her replacement, also a Serb, to them.