Cruise P2069 on the Saga Pearl II to North Africa

(Please scroll down to see my photographs and read my report)


Date: Port: Flag: Tour escort: Comment:
05
Nov
2011		 South-
ampton
UK		 - -
09
Nov
2011		 Melilla
Spanish
Morocco		 (No tours) Charming
old city
11
Nov
2011		 Tunis
Tunisia		 (Discover the
Berbers by jeep)		 Late arrival
into
La Goulette
12
Nov
2011		 Sousse
Tunisia		 - Pretty
old city
13
Nov
2011		 Valletta
Malta		 - Remembrance
Sunday
Parade
14
Nov
2011		 Trapani
Sicily
Italy		 Ancient Wonders
of Segesta		 Incredible
Greek
Temple!
16
Nov
2011		 Algiers
Algeria		 Tipaza &
the Royal
Mausoleum		 Roman city
and tomb
17
Nov
2011		 Cartagena
Spain		 La Manga &
the Roman
Theatre		 Sunny city!
18
Nov
2011		 Ceuta
Spanish
Morocco		 - Sunny city!
19
Nov
2011		 Casablanca
Morocco		 City Tour Wet and
windy!
20
Nov
2011		 Lisbon
Portugal		 - Sunny city!
23
Nov
2011		 South-
ampton
England		 - Home by
10:30 am!
Date: Port: Flag: Tour escort: Comment:


Me & Roy

Me & Roy

Here's my report on the cruise:

   This was a lovely cruise on Saga Pearl II. She's a delightfully small ship with only about 450 passengers on board. I booked this cruise specifically to visit Tripoli & Leptis Magna in Libya. However the Arab Spring intervened and we had to visit Trapani on Sicily instead. Well they both begin with "TR", have a "P" in the middle, end with "I" and consist of 7 letters! In the event we were lucky to have been able to visit the three Maghreb states of Tunisia, Morocco & Algeria, the latter being a first for me.

   There was no dance instructor on board, so for the first time on a Saga cruise, I taught both the Line dancing and Ballroom / Latin American dance classes. The former included all the tired, old war horses like the Electric Slide and the Cowboy Charleston whilst the latter included the Waltz, Social Foxtrot, Social Rumba, Social Cha Cha and the Quickstep. It was too rough to teach the Rock Jive in the Bay of Biscay on the way home. Captain Wesley Dunlop wrote in his online web-log for Melilla: "Prior to dinner our dance host, Martin, hosted a well-attended ballroom dance class."

   In the first port, Melilla in Spanish Morocco, there were no tours on offer, so I went into the interesting old city to take photographs. This was my first and last visit to this port, since very few cruises go here!

   We were late arriving into La Goulette the port for Tunis, so the longer tours, including my "Discover the Berbers by jeep" trip, were cancelled, and I went into the city by shuttle bus instead.

Bardo museum in Tunis

Bardo museum in Tunis

   No tour for me in Sousse meant a trip into the city. It was only when I toured Sousse that I realised I had already been there back in December 2003! Unfortunately my brand new Samsung camera packed up on me in Sousse and so I had to fall back on my Samsung mobile phone camera instead. Nevertheless I took 781 photos in all!

   No tour to escort in Malta, so I was able to attend the Remembrance Day service and parade by the war memorial.

Valletta, Malta

Valletta, Malta

   The tour to Ancient Segesta on Sicily from the port of Trapani was exceptional. The Greek hill top theatre and temple are superb. Isn't it strange that all the best Greek temples are actually in Italy?

   We were lucky to get tours in Algiers since only escorts could go ashore. The Roman town of Tipaza/Tipasa was extensive and largely unexcavated. The Royal Mausoleum of Mauretania was enormous and enigmatic. This was also my first and last visit to this port, since very few cruises go here!

   In Cartagena the tour of the concrete jungle of La Manga was of limited interest, but the new Roman theatre museum was tremendous.

Cartagena (New Carthage)

Cartagena (New Carthage)

   No tour in Ceuta meant two trips into town on the shuttle buses. John Lucas the Destinations Lecturer and I started panicking when the last shuttle bus didn't appear at 4 pm, so we started walking back to the ship for the 4:30 pm deadline. At 4:15 pm we flagged down the late shuttle bus and breathed a sigh of relief!

The moorish baths in Ceuta, Spanish Morocco

The moorish baths in Ceuta, Spanish Morocco

Leaving Ceuta, Spanish Morocco

Leaving Ceuta, Spanish Morocco


   The City tour in Casablanca was rather wet, and being a Saturday meant we got to see the outside of the Royal Palace rather than the inside of the City Hall.

Self portrait in a Casablanca bazaar

Self portrait in a Casablanca bazaar

   The afternoon visit to Lisbon was in glorious sun. In the modern art palace I got told off for sitting on a stool which was actually a work of art!

Bridge over the Tagus, Lisbon, Portugal

Bridge over the Tagus, Lisbon, Portugal

Funicular, Lisbon

Funicular, Lisbon

   Three passengers have since written to me saying:

   "I really enjoyed my time in your dance classes and am VERY grateful for your patience and perseverance with my inability and unwillingness to move my feet in the ballroom dancing!";

   "Thank you also for all you did to make the cruise such fun. I really appreciated your willingness to take on the line and ballroom dance instruction, it made such a difference to the enjoyment of many of us" and

   "Many thanks for your very enjoyable company throughout the cruise, and also for some really good dancing - you really managed to get the party atmosphere going in the evenings with the Party Samba - not to mention YMCA..."

Good points were:

  1. Free launderette.
  2. All inclusive drinks.
  3. Efficient cabin steward.
  4. Tour escort in four ports.
  5. Three lovely rear teak decks.
  6. Free fruit and water in cabin.
  7. Newly re-fitted contemporary interior:

Usual sea day programme:

Usual evening programme:

For the record ...