Tuesday, February 11^th

Port Kelang

The Daily Programme says “At sea en route to Fremantle, Australia”. So why is the cruise port of Port Kelang right there outside our balcony, and what on earth is the Seabourn Ovation doing next to us?

Oh, that’s right, we are here for the day to take on supplies and fuel.

No one who gets off the ship can come back on again.

About 200 passengers are disembarking today, including the speakers and entertainers. I wonder what our daily programme is going to look like tomorrow.

We went out on deck to watch what was going on. It was extremely hot and humid; you could smell the dank, damp air. We decided to retreat indoors to the air conditioning again.

It took several hours for the authorities to clear the ship, so the disembarking guests sat scattered around the ship looking very anxious. One of Deirdre’s clients was disembarking so the morning was spent trying to get her organized.

At his noon address Captain Hashmi updated us on our revised itinerary:

February 18/19            Fremantle

February 24/25            Darwin

February 29                 Yorkey’s Knob

March 1                        Airlie Beach (as previously scheduled)

We will then continue with our original itinerary. I think everyone was happy to know where we are going from Fremantle, and the new itinerary does make the most sense.

We decided to meet for lunch in the Britannia restaurant. I rarely eat there for lunch, but now I think I will do it more often. I had a leek quiche with arugula salad, and sugar free plum crumble and custard. Just perfect for a light lunch. Our waiter was charming and very efficient. Altogether it really was a pleasant experience.

I went down to the internet center as I wanted to print a document, but it was packed with angry guests trying to obtain their Australian visas. Up until now, everyone seemed resigned to our fate, but they were now taking out their frustrations on the poor IT staff.

There have also been frustrated people at the pursers’ desk too. At the best of times no one there seems to know what’s going on, so it’s not unexpected that they haven’t a clue at the moment.

As for the rest of us, we are enjoying all of the activities that are going on. Especially the pool which is warming up finally. The air quality has improved thank goodness, and going outside is a pleasure once more.

We watched the Ovation sail away. They are apparently on a short Asian cruise, and their passengers clearly went ashore as we saw people returning to the ship laden with shopping bags. They do not seem to be worried about the coronavirus.

I thought I would love to go on a Seabourn ship – and I must say that the Ovation does look rather nice, but Ruth and I agreed as we walked around our own ocean liner with a wide spacious promenade deck with teak decking, why would anyone want to go on a cruise ship that doesn’t have a wrap around promenade deck with teak decking? It beats me. We are extremely happy where we are thank you. Ocean liners are the way to go.

Just then the Ovation blew her whistle as if to say goodbye to us. It was an OK sound. But then we answered back with our beautiful reverberating whistle that echoed throughout the harbor. We may not be the QE2, but we do sound very regal. I love it, and feel proud to be on board.

When we got back to the cabin after dinner there was an envelope for Ruth with her World Club Gold Pin. The Dubai to Port Kelang segment, together with our previous Fjord trip, had elevated her status. Yay for free internet!

We changed our shoes, and went for our final circuits of the promenade deck today. I am aiming for 1 million Fitbit steps this trip, and am actually on track so far.

It was a hot, humid, airless night, but the lights of Kuala Lumpur glistened in the hazy distance. It looked beautiful. We stood at our favorite spot at the front of the ship near the spare propellers and talked for ages about life, the universe and everything.

We would have to bid Asia a fond farewell. No temples, street markets, exotic smells, rickshaw rides for us, we were retreating to the presumed safety of the Australian continent, and the possibility of English chocolates once more. All of this uncertainty has lead me to consuming my stash of Smarties and Flakes at an alarming rate.