World Cruise Day 99/152 - Yanbu, Saudi Arabia - Ding dong the mask is gone, and so are we from Saudi Arabia

Cruise day: 99/152

Ports days: 42
Sea days: 57
Countries: 16
Continents: 5
Ports: 30

We awoke this morning a little late since we had nothing planned.  We got ready to go up to breakfast and did our normal checklist:

• Key card - ✅
• Phone - ✅
• COVID tracker - ✅
• Insulated drinking cup - ✅
• Face mask - wait - we don't need them on the ship anymore!

It's been kind of a weird day in a good way.  First, it was wonderful seeing all the smiling faces at breakfast.  We saw people when they were eating, but now, when we pass them in the Cafe, hallway, or wherever on the ship. It is amazing the difference you feel when you can see someone's face. At least three times today, I got up and started walking and then thought, Wait - I don't have my mask on.  Then I realized I didn't need it.  Arlona said the same thing happened to her multiple times as well. I'd estimate that somewhere between 5%-10% of the passengers that are choosing to still wear masks in public.  For the rest of us, it felt like freedom.

I feel bad for the crew as they still are required to wear masks.  I hope that will change sometime soon but we will see. 

We received another itinerary update yesterday.  Israel is being a bit of a pain and requiring every passenger on the ship to take a PCR test that is administered by Israeli health authorities.  For that reason, we have to arrive in Ashdod a day early, anchor and have them come on and test everyone.  That's a little crazy in my opinion, especially given that we are PCR tested every single day on the ship.  Their country, their rules.  I get that, and I realize that I am being somewhat naive thinking that common sense will come into play anytime soon. We will anchor at noon and spend the afternoon anchored and get everyone tested so Israel can validate that everyone that PCR tested negative that morning can PCR test negative in the afternoon.  Whatever.

With that change, we had to adjust and Alexandria, Egypt got kicked from the itinerary.  Oh well, we still have multiple other Egyptian ports to visit.

Next up were congestion issues in Civitavecchia (Rome, Italy) and Lisbon, Portugal. We are losing Sicily, Italy, and Lisbon, Portugal. They moved Civitavecchia to a different day and swapped in Leixões, Portugal for Lisbon.  That's all fine with us - we're going where the ship is going.

Speaking of going - we didn't go anywhere today.  We saw pretty much most of what we could in Yanbu yesterday, so we just stayed on the ship.  We got some reading in this morning and played bridge this afternoon.  Our next-door neighbors, Rob & Deb, ventured out and captured these photos of what appears to be the matrimonial union of our Captain Olav and our Cruise Director, Damian. Thanks to Rob & Deb for sharing the photos.

Olav and Damian of Arabia

While we were reading on our balcony today, we could hear the call to prayer from at least three mosques in Yanbu.  A little later, we thought there was another call to prayer, but it sounded more like a sermon than a lyrical call to prayer.  Arlona suggested that it must be tough living near a mosque if you have a small child that naps anywhere near prayer time.  The call to prayer is broadcast from atop the mosque via loudspeakers and is quite loud.

While we were playing bridge this afternoon, we experienced what appeared to be a ship-wide total power outage.  Lights went off, air handling stopped, and only emergency lighting remained lit.  A few moments later, the lights came back on, and eventually, everything else powered up and returned to normal.  We saw the captain later and asked him about the power outage.  He said a big fuse blew.  I'm not sure if that was actually the case or if he was attempting humor.  We also asked him why we have seen potable water trucks loading the ship with potable water when we have tons of excess production capacity on the ship.  He informed us that our freshwater production system only functions when the ship is moving, so they buy water when in port.

Dinner tonight had an Arabian Nights theme. Many of the crew were dressed for the occasion as were many of the passengers that purchased Arabian wear over the last four days.

Lamb

They were cooking meat for wraps out on the Aquavit Deck in the open air.

Chicken and lamb

The makings for wraps

Yoyo & Piyanute, greeting weary travelers looking for a meal and a drink

Faizel, one of our outstanding waitstaff

Cruise Consultant, Hamed, doing his best Aladdin impression

Financial Officer, Chris, doing his best Gordon Ramsey impression

Oh, those desserts...

Dessert dealer Ruth

Bartender extraordinaire, Aaron

Magician Leo Ward performed again this evening and we enjoyed some magic and laughs before heading in for the evening.

Some thoughts on Saudi Arabia:

• As far as tourism goes, the country simply isn't ready...yet
• They have a project called Vision 2030 and tourism is part of that plan - they have the resources to pull it off so it will be interesting to see how it goes
• Jeddah had much more potential to see for a tourist than Yanbu in my opinion, although a fellow traveler said she liked Yanbu much better
• We were prepared to be looked down upon and judged, and while we did feel that from a few seemingly jaded Saudis, the vast majority of folks were warm, welcoming, friendly, curious, and decent people trying to make a living - the number of waves, "welcome" shouts, smiles, and offers of assistance was surprising and wonderful
• Do I want to go back? Not really - at least not for a while.  They need to streamline their immigration process and determine what kind of tourist destination they want to be.  There are beautiful beaches in Jeddah.  No swimming allowed.  Yanbu had beaches but you have to be completely covered essentially until right before you enter the water and then cover upon exiting the water.  Not exactly tourist-friendly.

We are definitely glad we got to experience Saudi Arabia.  I would certainly wait a few years before I'd consider returning as a tourist, depending on how the country's tourism plan and industry developed.  Meeting a large number of Saudis did change the opinion of the Saudi people in general that I had formed based on the media.  As I said yesterday, most places you go are filled with decent, hard-working people that want to be friendly and Saudi Arabia is no different.

Tomorrow is a sea day as we make our way north through the Red Sea, into the Gulf of Aqaba for the nearly 500-mile sail to Aqaba, Jordan. We will spend two days in Aqaba followed by a day in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, and a day in Safaga, Egypt.  We have some big excursions coming including a long day traveling to Petra and another traveling to the Karnak Temple and the Valley of the Kings. It means some late nights processing and posting images are coming.

World Cruise Day 98/152 - Yanbu, Saudi Arabia - Not ready for prime time - and optional masks starting tomorrow - no April Fools!

Cruise day: 98/152

Ports days: 41
Sea days: 57
Countries: 16
Continents: 5
Ports: 30

First - the HUGE news - starting tomorrow, April 1 (no joke here), masks are now optional for us!  Woo!  They are optional on the ship and recommended (but still optional) off the ship in situations where social distancing is not possible, like tour buses and such.  We are really excited by this new development and it will make ship life feel much more normal.  I'm sure there will be a group of people that feel more comfortable wearing a mask, and that is certainly their right.  For those of us that are comfortable not wearing it - we are finally free to live life mask-free.  Woo!

Overnight, we made the short sail from Jeddah to Yanbu, a port town about 185 miles to the north.  Yanbu is divided into three segments, Yanbu Al-Bahr, Yanbu Al-Nakhl, and Yanbu Al-Sina'iya, and has a major Red Sea port servicing Saudia Arabia. Yanbu also serves as a gateway city for visitors to the holy city of Medina.

The port observation tower in the Yanbu Commercial Port

Our tour today was described as a scenic drive through Yanbu, a visit to Yanbu lake, a beautiful manmade lake, and then a visit to the historic city and market.  OK...but...

We sailed right through this morning, carrying our visa, passports, vaccine cards, and immigration papers - had to show nothing to anyone

Our drive took us past this - called Twin Towers - a building under construction

We drove past a petroleum and petrochemical plant

We have no idea what this was

This huge grain silo, also visible from our ship, is stocked with imported grain

We saw a Domino's

Our first stop was at Yanbu Lake - a manmade lake that our guide described as beautiful, tranquil, peaceful, and a beautiful place to bring the family for relaxation.

What we saw was a small series of interconnected ponds.  There were plants.  There was a waterfall.  There were a few birds, turtles, and cats.  And, nobody was there.

The water was a very artificial green

This cast of characters was there

A turtle and a cat

Myna

Little egret

Sparrow

Great blue heron

There simply wasn't much there.  We walked around for 20 minutes and got back on the bus.  And, this was the highlight of the tour.

They like using cubes set on their corner as signs - we saw several as we drove around

The bus then went to the historical section of Yanbu.  Did I mention that the historical section of Yanbu is about 1,000 feet from the bow of our ship?  

We walked around and looked at some historical buildings that are being restored.

One of the many shops that weren't open yet

An old grain storage area

Fairly traditional Islamic window covers are designed to block the view of the inhabitants from the passers-by below

Scholars have been unable to decipher what language this was written in

Lawerence of Arabia was said to have stayed here

We entered the local market.  Vendors had small storefronts with various wares.

We did ask our guide about public displays of affection. In my readings, they simply were not acceptable, and in many cases, could bring fines.  But, over the last couple of days, we saw young Saudi couples holding hands.  Our guide said that was totally acceptable and things are more relaxed now.  She even said that on rare occasions, you will see couples kiss in public, although that is still unusual.  That meant we could resume our norm and we started holding hands again as we walked.  That felt good.

There was very little to see or browse so we headed back to the ship.  When we went through the port entry, we had to send our bag through x-ray, but nobody asked to see anything - no paperwork - no ship card -  nothing. 

After lunch, we lounged around in the outdoor pool and hot tub.  We met friends at 5PM to head back to the historic area as the shops were supposed to open late in the afternoon.  The night market is open until 1AM or so.  We walked back and found it to be just about the same as when we were there earlier in the day.

A vendor had mini Bentleys for kids to ride

With the market essentially a bust, we walked more into town to check things out.

An unusual sculpture in the middle of a round-a-bout - a fish in a basket with a spoon

A farmer selling dates and other fresh goods out of his truck

A pretty stylish pedestrian overpass over a busy road

After our wanderings, we headed back to the ship

Interesting things happened to us as we walked around.  There were four of us - our friends, Kathy & Steve, Arlona and me.  We certainly stood out as we walked around as we were the only westerners around.  Several folks just ignored us.  Many more, however, went out of their way to not only acknowledge us but also to call out, "Welcome!"  We were looking around in a parking lot when a man came out of the store, saw us, and came over.  He asked where we were from and where we were staying.  He didn't understand the concept of a cruise ship until we showed him our ship cards with the photo of the ship. Then, he got it. He asked if he could drive us anywhere or could be of any help.  He was incredibly gracious.  Later, as we were walking, he drove by, honked, waved, and asked if we needed anything.  Incredible.

It really was quite interesting seeing how interested many folks were in finding out about us and offering what appeared to be a sincere welcome.  It just goes to show that no matter where you go, there are good, decent people that are welcoming and friendly.

We walked back to the ship and headed up to dinner.  As we entered the port area, the guards there asked to see our passports and inspected the exit stamps that we received yesterday in Jeddah.  Weird, but OK.  When we came back earlier, nobody asked to see anything.

Nothing was especially appealing and after seeing the Domino's sign earlier, we both had a hankering for a good pizza.  The available toppings were chorizo sausage, pepperoni, ham, and pineapple.  We grabbed some bacon from the baked potatoes, and got mushrooms and bell peppers from the salad bar and had them add all that to the pizza as well as double cheese.  Topped with some parmesan, it was absolutely wonderful.

We talked with several folks that did the big excursion today - a trip to the holy city of Medina.  Most were extremely disappointed with the tour and several were going to ask for a refund.  The trip cost over $700 for a couple.  You drove to Medina, saw the outside of the mosque, had lunch, saw a few other sights and a museum, and came back to the ship.  A couple folks compared it to getting tickets to the World Series and only being able to see the outside of the stadium. We are glad we skipped this tour.

Tomorrow will likely be a ship-day as there isn't really much to see in port.  Our Yanbu takeaways are:

1. The city is nice if not very impressive
2. There is very little for tourists to do or see
3. The big draw is a visit to Medina - but that visit seemed to be really disappointing for those we talked with

For us - Yanbu was a bust.  We would not opt to visit here, even given that the people were friendly and welcoming.  Ther simply is nothing to do.

We are looking forward to April 1 tomorrow and the end of the mask mandate.  Of course, the bars opening as we sail away from Saudi Arabia will help everyone's mood as well.