March 9, 2020 - Monday

Azamara Quest Cape Town to Athens 

Cruise Day 19 -Sea Day

Pictures to follow with better internet

Before I launch into today’s activities I would like to report on the closing of yesterday. It was 6:00 when we finally left Colombo. We had been ready to sail for hours, but local authorities were still delaying the disembarkation of 2 passengers. They were from Italy. That was the concern since the whole world is concerned about the status of the virus there. Since these passengers had not been in Italy for several weeks, they were finally deemed safe and allowed off the ship. They appeared relieved and waved gratefully as they walked to their transport with the authorities. It took almost an hour for the line handlers to arrive and cast us off. 

The White Night party was to start at 6:30. Alice and I donned what white we had and secured a table near the stage. We were joined by a couple in their middle 80’s from Vienna. They were celebrating their 60th anniversary. The cruise was a gift from their kids. A little later we were joined by Rick and Sandy whom we had met on the food tour we took in Cape Town. 

The buffet was great. 2 Weber kettles were cranking out sausages and beef skewers. Roast beef, roast lamb, several seafood dishes, and enough vegetables to satisfy a vegan rounded out the selections. Of course there were desserts as well. Wines, beers, and cocktails were available also. 

This was a great meal followed by a parade of crew and staff. Then the band and singers and dancers opened the dancing. Participation was enthusiastic. We even danced a few before we left at 10:00. This was a delightful evening that took our minds off of the changes to our itinerary. 

Now for today. 

The destination lecture was on the Persian Gulf. I managed to stay awake, but fro 10:10 to the end it was a struggle. The presenter is anticipating another lecture opportunity because of the additional sea days, so he limited this talk to early history of the area. An upcoming lecture will consider current affairs. 

Alice had several craft events between noon and 3:00. So we met in the Living Room where we had some of the small sandwiches they serve. That was quite adequate. 

After that light lunch Alice went to class and I went to the Drawing Room. That is where the bulk of the library collection is housed. It is quiet with very comfortable seating. It is far quieter than the Living Room. That is much larger at the front of the ship. The views there are super and it has a bar. There are usually 30 to 50 people there at this time of day compared to only 3 of us in the Drawing Room. 

While I was reading, Captain Magnus gave his navigation report. The sea has been calm and is expected to remain so. He apologized for the rolling the ship experienced during breakfast. He explained that while navigating through a large number of fishing boats in our path, he had retracted our stabilizers. This was necessary to avoid snagging any of the poorly marked nets that the fishing boats were trailing. 

He went on to say that shore excursions were being developed for our new ports. In a casual way he said that alternative route were being considered in case they became necessary. Hmm, we will ponder that. 

At 2:00 I attended another astronomy lecture. Greg spoke about NASA and various space and astronomy projects in progress or planned around the world. There is a lot in the works, but almost all of these are government projects subject to budgetary constraints. 

At 3:00 I joined Alice in our room. She continued working on her scrapbook now that she has caught up on her journal. I watched the TV trying to figure out if we might have to end our cruise prematurely. Not sure what might do us in, Coronavirus or the stock market. 

On board, concern is growing that we may not be allowed to dock anywhere. Rumors run rampant. We have heard that Dubai is closed and that Israel is imposing a 14 day quarantine on anyone from anywhere. None of this is official. As of now we are resigned to going with the flow. We are taking things day by day, confident that Azamara has our wellbeing at heart. 

Dinner was great with excellent company from 2 Australian ladies at the table next to us. I have not commented much about this, but with only one exception we have had enjoyable dinner companions. 

The show tonight was Gemma. She is the pianist vocalist who performs in The Den. This was her first main stage performance. She is very talented with a cute personality. At one point she expressed surprise that she even got a spotlight. She was fun and her show was very good. 

We set our clocks back 30 minutes and wen to sleep.