Last evening we continued to encounter fairly rough seas throughout the early part of the evening but we were told that this is pretty much the norm when traveling in the direction from Greece to Gabes, Tunisia. In time, the seas became more calm.
We awoke early this morning as all guests had to attend a mandatory Tunisian Immigration Inspection upon arrival to this port of call. We first ate breakfast at the Lido Café which was busier than in recent days as many passengers were already up in preparation for the inspection. The good news is that since we were going to a new time zone we set the clocks back one hour last evening. After breakfast we went for our inspection. We had to present our passport along with a card that we were given yesterday morning and they stamped our passport and kept one half of the card. We will turn in the other half of the card later today and will also return our passports to the reception desk.
The ship actually arrived in Gabes, Tunisia around 8:00 AM this morning. Originally, this cruise was going to be the maiden voyage for this port of call as this, the 2007 World Cruise Itinerary, was set before the 2006 World Cruise began. However, since the ship was unable to sail to another port of call last year that was originally on the 2006 World Cruise Itinerary this port was substituted in its place. We remember hearing from a couple of people who were on that voyage last year that they didn’t care for this port of call and we heard similar comments from other passenger’s who we have met during the course of this cruise. And, then we received similar feedback from other crew-members so we made a decision not to even bother to visit the local town or to sign up for a shore excursions.
For those traveling into town, a complimentary shuttle was provided for the twenty-minute drive into town. The Tunisians are quite conservative people and, as such, we were asked to be respectful of their privacy and their religion. Passenger’s going ashore were asked to wear modest dress. For example, women were asked to wear loose, long garments, ensuring that their shoulders and knees were covered. Men were asked to wear long trousers and tops with sleeves.
Since we were not going ashore after we met with the immigration officials we went to the Fitness Center for our daily workout. There were several passengers in the Fitness Center who, like us, decided to stay on the ship for the day. After Anne Marie worked out on the treadmill and Keith worked out on the elliptical machines, we each lifted weights on the various weight lifting machines.
We ran a few errands on the ship this morning including getting our wash done, as this was a good day to get items such as the wash done.
We enjoyed a very nice lunch in the Lido Café. We then took care of some other errands in the afternoon. We had a some fruit and coffee in the Bistro later in the afternoon and then spent some time talking with one of our fellow passengers.
Late in the afternoon, we attended a group photo shot as they were taking a group picture of all of the Full World Cruisers. Early on the cruise we were each given yellow World Cruise Shirts so the recommended dress for this photo shot was either that shirt or some type of solid shirt.
At 7:30 PM we attended a reception for those on the Full World Cruise. This is done once a segment and includes drinks and a small show. It provides a nice venue to talk with many of our fellow passengers.
Although we normally dine early given the group photo session and the evening reception we thought it made more sense to dine later this evening. so we made reservations to dine at the Silk Road Japanese Specialty Restaurant at 8:30 PM. We dined with a solo traveler who we had met fairly early during the course of the World Cruise. He is one of just twenty-one passengers who are on the Full World Cruise, but who had never sailed with Crystal Cruises before taking this voyage. Like us he has sailed on a variety of cruise lines on both medium and small ships. He is enjoying this cruise a great deal.
We enjoyed a wonderful meal at Silk Road. We had a variety of Sushi as an appetizer and then we had a delicious salad and entrée and a fruit plate for desert. As usual the food, service, conversation and overall ambience were all wonderful.
It is hard to believe that we are getting close to the last segment of this World Cruise. For us it has been a wonderful adventure in so many ways. We have seen such a diverse set of countries in several different continents in a relatively short amount of time without having to constantly pack and unpack. We always tell people that in addition to the overall cruising experience that one of the benefits of cruising is that it provides the opportunity to get a high level feel for so many places around the world. At the same time if there are certain places that one finds very enjoyable they can go back another time on a land vacation to see more of the city along with other areas that are not possible to see during a one day or even an overnight stop in a particular port of call. We have gotten to see so many interesting places during this adventure and have already identified some locations that we hope to visit at some point in the future on a land package. At the same time, we have experienced so many wonderful events during the course of this World Cruise and have gotten to get to know so many people very well from fellow passengers, to the crew, to outside lecturers and entertainers. It is amazing how many passengers we have met who have come back year after year either to sail on the Full World Cruise or to sail on one or more World Cruise Segments with Crystal. This is indicative of all of the enjoyment that takes place for the majority of passengers on the World Cruise. The good news is that we still have several more days to continue to enjoy this wondrous adventure.
Keith & Anne Marie
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