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Rulocal

Rulocal

A really nice guy who is working relentlessly for world peace (when sober) Leia mais🇬🇧Ashton-in-Makerfield
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    • RulocalRulocalSymphony OTS Med June 2018

      Marseille, France

      12 de junho de 2018, França ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C

      The title says Marseilles, but I'm afraid I didn't get off the ship again. I've been to all the ports before and there's nothing I really want to see in them, so staying on board is a nice option.
      This evening we were invited to have a drink and meet some of the senior staff at the helipad, which was nice and an opportunity to get some photos.
      It also gave me a chance to meet up with Jaret de Silva, a friend I met a couple of years ago on the Splendour of the seas, he's now inventory manager on board and a 3 striper no less.
      For our evening meal, we decided to try the Windjammer, instead of Coastal Kitchen, and it was great the place is lovely and the food was beautiful, personally I think that the Windjammer is usually the best restaurant on any of the ships.
      La Spezia today, but probably won't get off as the weather doesn't look too good.      Leia mais

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    • RulocalRulocalSymphony OTS Med June 2018

      Palma de Majorca, Spain

      11 de junho de 2018, Espanha ⋅ 🌙 19 °C

      Today we were docked in Palma de Majorca, but I've nothing to report as I didn't get off the ship, I've been here a number of times and there was nothing I really wanted to see.
      In the evening all the Pinnacles on board where invited to a bridge tour, with Captain Rick Sullivan, which was interesting, while there they did the top cruiser presentation. After that we were supposed to go and see the ice show, but I'm afraid the curse of the concierge lounge hit Sheila, she said she was nice and comfortable where she was, so couldn't be bothered going to the show.
      To be honest the company we were with was good so it was no hardship to stay.
      We had met a French couple Francois and Jaques (Fran and Jack) who knew Sue and Maz, they are very nice and speak great english.
      There were two other couples from the USA that we got talking two, one of the guys looked like a real hillbilly with his baseball cap and big beard 🧔, but he was a real nice guy.
      Then later on a couple, Betty and Brian who we'd met on a previous ship came over for a chat.
      Tomorrow is Marseilles in France 🇫🇷 so I'll have to make an effort to get off the ship, I'll keep you posted, lol 😂.      Leia mais

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    • RulocalRulocalSymphony OTS Med June 2018

      Day 1 on the new Symphony of the seas

      10 de junho de 2018, Espanha ⋅ ⛅ 21 °C

      First impressions of the ship are good, it's just like the Harmony of the seas.
      The only place we've really seen up to now is, surprise, surprise, the Suites/Costal Kitchen Lounge, which is fabulous, and for me the best thing about the "big" ships.
      These huge floating theme parks, are amazing, but imho, they are really designed for families and young people, which is not a problem, as there are lots of "smaller" ships for old farts like me to pick from.
      But back to the Symphony, as I said it is huge and accommodates 6800 passengers, and something like 2500 crew, which is bigger than the population of Garswood, the area I live in!
      Having said that, there is plenty of space for everyone, and the ship never seems to be overcrowded, although there are lines for some of the attractions, which is only to be expected.
      All the staff we have met upto now have been very helpful and friendly, especially the two concierges Raj and Rahul.
      Raj in particular is brilliant. I have known him for a number of years now and he has always been great, and, definitely one of the best concierges in the company.
      Anyway that's all for now, more about the ship to follow.      Leia mais

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    • RulocalRulocal2 day freebie on the Indy May

      Somewhere near England

      13 de maio de 2018, English Channel ⋅ ⛅ 15 °C

      After a nice drive down to Southampton with Maz and Sue, we boarded the new and improved Independence of the seas.
      I must say that they have done a great job with the refurbishment.
      Nothing that I can see has been done to the cabins, but the public areas have been greatly improved.
      With one or two brilliant additions, first being the new Suites lounge, which replaces the old concierge lounge on deck 10, that, is now cabins.
      The new lounge is on deck 14 opposite the diamond club lounge. It is brilliant, with a wall of windows and very nice furniture.
      The other addition is the new Playmakers Bar on deck 4. This is a cracking sports bar with what seems like 100s of tv screens, showing all manner of sports. There are pool tables, and bar games on the tables, along with some basketball machines if you want to shoot some hoops.
      Outside at the back of the ship are a new water slide, a kind of kids climbing setup and The Skypad, which is apparently a bungee simulator, where you get strapped in and sort of bounce on a trampoline, while wearing a VR headset.
      All in all from what I've seen upto now, they have given the Indy a great new lease of life, and imho, they are definitely on to a winner, especially with the younger cruisers and families.      Leia mais

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    • RulocalRulocalMariner Dubai,Barcelona 2018

      Chania (Souda), Crete Greece

      4 de maio de 2018, Grécia ⋅ ☀️ 22 °C

      Today we arrived at the Greek island of Crete. The itinerary says Chania, but we actually docked at a place called Souda, which is about 5km from Chania. There was a local bus service into the town, but the queue for tickets was long and I couldn't be bothered to wait, so I had a walk through the tiny town up into the countryside, which was nice.
      I came across a tiny chapel type building, very similar to the one I saw in Piraeus, last year.
      I'm guessing this type of chapel/Church is peculiar to Greece, as I've not seen the like anywhere else.
      Further on up the lane, I came across a beautiful cemetery, where most of the graves were above ground tombs.
      All in all it was a nice couple of hours stroll, and was different from the usual trip into town that tourists usually do.      Leia mais

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    • RulocalRulocalMariner Dubai,Barcelona 2018

      Jerusalem, Israel

      3 de maio de 2018, Palestina ⋅ ☀️ 29 °C

      Today we docked in Ashdod, Israel 🇮🇱. We should have come here a couple of years ago, but we couldn't dock as there were missiles being fired at the Town, so sailed on up to Haifa, so I didn't get to see Jerusalem that time.
      This time everything was fine, so Nic and I did a ships tour to Jerusalem. It was only a half day tour so we only saw a small part of it, but it was well worth going. Without getting into the politics of the whole Middle East thing, it's such a shame that they can't all live together in peace. Because there are parts of Jerusalem where it happens. Our guide pointed out one particular area where Jews, Muslims and Christians all live together, with churches, Synagogues and Mosques. She said that the Catholic Church held concerts in its grounds at times, so you would find Jews Muslims and Christians going to the church to hear a concert, then going to the Arab restaurants after.
      Anyway back to Jerusalem, we visited the Western Wall, which used to be called the Wailing Wall, I suppose it should still be called the wailing wall with the amount of people crying, our Nic included, lol.
      After that we went to the Holocaust Museum, which was very moving, we didn't have anywhere near enough time to see it all, so it would definitely be a place I would visit again.      Leia mais

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    • RulocalRulocalMariner Dubai,Barcelona 2018

      Aqaba Jordan

      2 de maio de 2018, Jordânia ⋅ ⛅ 34 °C

      Today we docked at Aqaba in Jordan, this must be my fifth visit to the port and I've still not done the trip to Petra. Two main reasons are firstly the price its so bloody expensive from the ship. And secondly if you do it privately it's a 2.5 hour drive each way, so if you have any delays then you could miss the ship. 20 years ago that wouldn't have bothered me, but nowadays I'm a bit more cautious, lol. OK, OK, it's mainly the price.
      Anyway I had a walk around the town, with Nic, Joe, and John & Mable. And as none of them had ever been inside a mosque, we decided to have a look around the nearest mosque to the bus station, which is the Sharif Hussein bin Ali Mosque.
      As we entered the grounds of the mosque, there where a couple of guys, who were sort of security, they were very polite and helpful, they gave the women some cover up garments. It is quite a nice mosque, and the locals were friendly, when we got in side the building our Joe ran about a bit and I was trying to stop him, when a guy doing some repairs to the mosque smiled and signaled to me that Joe was fine and doing no harm.
      After we came out of the mosque John & Mable went back to the ship as the heat was a bit to much for them. Nic Joe and I set off to find the ruins of the old town which are quite interesting.
      That was after a quick stop at Macdonalds to get a cold drink and to feed Joe. We were lucky in Mackie Ds, as we only had English money 💷 which they didn't take. But a very nice Scottish bloke standing at the counter said to order what we wanted and he'd lend us the money, till we got back to the ship.      Leia mais

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    • RulocalRulocalMariner Dubai,Barcelona 2018

      Suez transit

      30 de abril de 2018, Egito ⋅ ⛅ 28 °C

      This morning we started the transit of the Suez Canal. I have done the transit 5 or 6 times before, but it still amazes me.
      The manpower it must have taken to dig out what is essentially a massive trench between Suez and Port Said, is gobsmacking.
      Here's a quick fun fact about the canal...
      A fleet of ships was once stranded in the canal for more than eight years.
      During June 1967’s Six Day War between Egypt and Israel, the Suez Canal was shut down by the Egyptian government and blocked on either side by mines and scuttled ships. At the time of the closure, 15 international shipping vessels were moored at the canal’s midpoint at the Great Bitter Lake. They would remain stranded in the waterway for eight years, eventually earning the nickname the “Yellow Fleet” for the desert sands that caked their decks. Most of the crewmembers were rotated on and off the stranded vessels on 3-month assignments, but the rest passed the time by forming their own floating community and hosting sporting and social events. As the years passed, the fleet even developed its own stamps and internal system of trade. The 15 marooned ships were finally allowed to leave the canal in 1975. By then, only two of the vessels were still seaworthy enough to make the voyage under their own power.      Leia mais

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    • RulocalRulocalMariner Dubai,Barcelona 2018

      Pleasant and uneventful trip so far.

      26 de abril de 2018, Gulf of Aden ⋅ 🌙 21 °C

      It's been a nice uneventful trip, and as usual we've made new friends and met a lot of old ones.
      Joe's been a star and everyone loves him.
      Not been anymore complaints about him being in the lounge but as I say he's allowed in and he has been very well behaved. Speaking of the lounges, the ships management have got the diamond free drinks time very well organised. With there being so many diamonds and above on board, they have opened the Viking Crown lounge and the card rooms as well as the diamond lounge its self, just for the members, which is brilliant. But when you show your card in Boleros, and the Schooner Bar during the free drinks time, you can get unlimited drinks in there also. As well as 4 drinks each night in any of the other bars and restaurants during this time. This is the first time I have experienced this on any ship, when there are so many members on board.
      Well done the Mariner staff.      Leia mais

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    • RulocalRulocalMariner Dubai,Barcelona 2018

      $32.99 !! Wtf!

      23 de abril de 2018, Arabian Sea ⋅ ⛅ 17 °C

      We took Joe into the pool today, and he loved it. The lessons he had off Emma have paid off in spades, he's totally confident in the water and is swimming like a fish. At one point he actually jumped in the pool and swam a width easily. When he goes in today we are going to see just how far he can swim.
      The only problem was the water in the pool is sea water and very salty, and it was stinging his eyes, so I nipped down to the shop on deck 5 to get him some swimming goggles, and the only ones they had where $32.99! Lucky he's worth it 😁
      He's been a star in the evening as well, everyone loves him. But the concierge told Nic that one person complained about him being in the lounge. You will always get one moaner, but he's allowed in and he's behaving, so stuff them.      Leia mais

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