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The day after the party, Mom, Jackie, Linda and Bruce set off
for the drive to Durban.
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Mom was in pain after dancing last
night, so we stopped a couple of times for her to get out of the
car and walk about. |
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We stayed overnight at the Josco Smith
Cottage in Durban North. It was perfect for our needs. The
owner, Walter, who lives in the house next door, had kindly
agreed to let us leave our car there while we were on the
cruise. |
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In the morning, we took a taxi to
the port. |
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The first glimpse of our home for
the next four nights, the gleaming MSC Sinfonia. |
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We were told that there were ONLY
2000 guests on our cruise!
Our cabins were 9176 and 9180. |
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Once aboard, we began to get our
bearings in the public areas, because it was too early to go to
our cabins. |
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It's the first time I've seen a
helicopter being used to transport pilots to and from ships. |
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The all-important cruise card. Mom
learned the hard way that she needed to carry it with her
at all times, after getting locked out of the cabin whilst
the rest of us were somewhere else on the ship. She stood
forlornly in the corridor for over half an hour waiting
for one of us to return! |
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Our cabins were spacious and comfortable. |
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The first of our daily programmes
(opens in a separate tab/window) |
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Shortly after lunch, we sailed from
Durban. It happened so quietly, we hardly knew we had left! |
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The Il Covo restaurant, where our
evening meals were served. |
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Although we felt quite tired, we went to the second performance
of the nightly show in the theatre.
It was called "Fabulous"... and it was!
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Day 2 - The Port of Maputo
(The programme opens in a new tab/window)
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Approaching the port of Maputo in
the morning. |
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Maputo skyline |
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Maputo harbour |
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We docked in Maputo at around 10:30 a.m. Bruce, Jackie
and Linda decided to disembark and do the city tour, leaving
Mom on the ship, at her request. (See separate page for
photos of our tour.)
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This photo was taken later the same
day, whilst still in the port of Maputo, where we were due
to remain overnight. |
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Desserts that evening in the Il
Covo restaurant. |
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Later that evening, Linda and Jackie
joined a group learning to Cha Cha Cha... |
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... and here is the video evidence! |
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Day 3 - Portuguese Island. Well that's
what the programme said...
...however, at breakfast time, there was an announcement
from the Cruise Director, on behalf of the Captain, stating
that the sea swell was too high to allow tenders to be
launched and that the excursions to Portuguese Island
were cancelled. Some people were disappointed, but we
were quite happy to relax and enjoy the facilities on
board.
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I took the opportunity to explore
the ship a bit more. This is the disco. I was impressed. |
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Mini golf and basketball courts
on the top deck. |
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Looking back (left) and forward
(right) gives some sense of the size of the vessel. |
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One of the two pools. |
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Although the sea looked a little
rough, we felt very little movement on the ship. |
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That evening, we had drinks in the
Buddha Bar before dinner. |
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Tiramisu was the speciality dessert
for the Italian themed evening in the restaurant. |
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The warm up for the late evening
performance of "Romeo & Giulietta". |
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Cruise director, Stephen. |
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After the performance, Linda was
back on the dance floor... |
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... doing the "YMCA"... |
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... and here is the video to prove
it. Well done Linda! |
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Day 4 - At Sea (officially)
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We had lunch today in the larger
Il Galeone Restaurant. |
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The Buddha Bar |
The bar where the dancing lessons took place |
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The impressive reception area |
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Dinner (and a beautiful sunset)
in the Il Covo restaurant. |
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It was so balmy that we spent some
time on the open deck that evening. |
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The final performance, entitled
"Nature". |
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It was preceded by a performance
from the kids... |
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... and followed by a colourful
finale. |
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Two stars of the show, posing for
photographs afterwards. |
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The rather sad departure day programme,
mainly giving details of disembarkation procedures and luggage tags! |
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Day 5 - A very early arrival back in Durban.
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That was it. A great cruise. We will be back one day, hopefully!
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