Costa Fortuna Postcard #19 Savona

Well we have finally made it to Savona. We had to be out of the cabin by 8:00am with a meeting time of 9:15am in the theatre for disembarking.
Lots of talk yesterday about not getting until 9:00am but in the end we made it on schedule.
We have a flight from Nice this afternoon and so will be back in the UK at 4:25pm. Down to earth with a bump as its back to work tomorrow.

Arrival at Savona

Costa Fortuna Postcard #18 A Sea Day (which was supposed to be Naples)

We awoke this morning not the sound of a ship in port but to one of a ship at sea. Having passed through the Messina Strait sometime in the night we have continued our northerly course towards Savona. For our last full day on board we have had clear skies which somewhat eased the disappointment of not stopping at Naples.
As with all cruises its sad to be getting off the ship and saying goodbye to all those who you have become so familiar with. I also feel for the poor old crew who now have to go through it all over again with a fresh set of faces but to carry on providing the same service while their families are so far away.
And talking of far away, we have spotted a few stowaways on board. We have seen about 5 of these little yellow birds and I have also spotted a slightly larger green one which is about the size of a Blackbird. I have no idea what they are or even when they came on board. The yellow ones are often seen flying all round the ship and by chance seem to have taken a liking to the aft balconys. They don't seem to be too bothered by us humans and its quite amusing to see them wandering along the balcony decks. I wonder what will become of them?

Well I suppose its putting off the inevitable, time to start packing for home......

Posted a day late because Costa gave everyone 1 hour of free WiFi which then crashed the system. Its been rubbish at the best of times but now its beyond help!

The yellow one is about the size of a sparrow

The other stowaway

Costa Fortuna Postcard #17 A Sea Day

Well as the day as passed the itinerary saga has continued with lots of stories being passed around by just about everybody. In a note delivered with the daily programme we have some sort of explanation for not stopping at the last two ports. It reads as follows.......

Dear Guests

We would like to inform you that due to a technical issue we are not able to sail at full speed and in order to assure our northbound cruise arrival at the port of Savona on time, we therefore unfortunately need to cancel our next port of call at Naples.

The inconvenience does not impact on the full safety conditions of our cruise, but just reduces the speed.
We are now heading to Savona with an estimated arrival time of 10:00am on Tuesday 15th April.

Those guests who were to disembark in Naples will be fully assisted and transferred to Naples by a dedicated charter flight which will leave Genoa airport at 2:00pm on the same day (Tues 15th).

In order to mitigate the discomfort caused by the route change, guests on board the Costa Fortuna are offered a credit of €100 (per cabin) to their onboard account.

We thank you for your understanding.

It would also appear there are a quite a few Italians & Germans still not happy with this and have demanded a meeting with the Captain and if everything I hear is to be believed then the shows in the theatre didn't go ahead last night because 30 or so Italian passengers interrupted the performances by having a sit in on the stage to protest! You really couldn't make it up could you?

All said though, I am slightly bothered by how we could have lost so much time. The daily programme had suggested that the Suez transit ranges from 11 to 14 hours depending on traffic coming the other way. They must have built the worst case scenario into the itinerary and if my observations were accurate then we started the transit 2 hours late and it took us 11 hours. I believe that put us more or less where we should have been at Port Said. The first we knew of any change to the itinerary was when it was when it was announced during the canal transit that Heraklion had been cancelled due to time loss? How could they have known that then?
We then proceeded into the Mediterranean doing 17-18 knots which isn't that slow and have continued to do so ever since apart from when we did the emergency evacuation where we lost about an hour. This ship has a top speed of 22 knots so I think there is something they are just not telling us. OK, they could just about get away with saying one port needed to be dropped but two? We were due to be in Naples for 6 hours and Heraklion for 4.
Could it be the cost of having 2 tugs in attendance through the canal has cost too much and to try and recapture some of the overspend they have dropped 2 ports? But then why go to all the extra effort to get disembarking passengers back to Naples?
Some fellow passengers we have spoken to said that there were rumours that the decision to drop Naples had been circulating as early as yesterday morning. In the afternoon the navigational maps were altered without any official announcement, this eventually came over the tanoy at around 5:30pm. I don't think the whole episode has been handled very professionally and its no wonder so many passengers are upset.
I guess we will never know the full story.
However as a final note I would be curious to know where MSC Lirica is in comparison to our location as she was only 2 hours ahead of us going into the Suez canal.

This is the view from our balcony clearly showing only one of the props working fully

Costa Fortuna Postcard #16 A Sea Day (Part 2 - An emergency evacuation)

What an evening tonight turned out to be. First the almost mutineering Italian passengers then almost as soon as that had died down we temporary changed course for Crete to meet a helicopter for an emergency evacuation of a passenger.
The helicopter was almost right over our cabin as it attempted to winch the passenger up. Whatever happened the first time wasn't successful so as dusk fell the helicopter made a second pass and was at last successful. I have to admire the skill of the pilot who hovered over the aft of the ship while the evacuation was carried out.

The helicopter hovers over the rear pool deck during its first attempt

Costa Fortuna Postcard #16 An Unexpected Sea Day

We finally exited the Suez canal at Port Said around 8:30pm last night in darkness and headed out into the Mediterranean sea towards Naples and not Heraklion.

I know we weren't due to be in Heraklion for a full day stop and it was also one of the rescheduled ones but however we were looking forward to stretching our legs on dry land.

For today's weather we had clear blue skies but there was a marked difference in the wind temperature which had quite a nip to it compared to the one we experiencing on the other side of the Suez canal. The outside temperature being given at only 16C so providing you could find a sheltered area on deck it still felt really warm.

On another note, I got a bit of a shock yesterday when a message popped up on camera screen. Memory Card Full! 8GB card and only 1620 photos on it, luckily I had a spare one in the cabin but can you imagine my horror if it had happened at Petra? Its not something I have ever done before on a cruise and it will certainly make me more cautious in the future.

We have since discovered that Naples has now been dropped too. No formal announcement has been made and we discovered this looking at the TV in our cabin. Guest services was a very interesting place I can tell you with a few very animated Italians going beserk!

The first time the rear pool roof has been closed during the day

Costa Fortuna Postcard #15 Suez Canal (Part 3)

One of many of my Suez canal photos

The rest of today has been spent slowly cruising the 87.5 nautical miles (162 kms) north along the Suez canal. The only things we have constantly had behind us have been 2 tugs. The reason for this wasn't announced until 5:00pm when the captain revealed over the tanoy that the ship is experiencing technical problems, hence our delayed entrance into the canal. I had noticed we had problems docking in Aqaba but nothing was said so I assumed it was something else. The result of all this is that we are experiencing a delay and Heraklion has been dropped and so we are now heading straight to Naples.

It wasn't until we reached the first basin that we encountered any ships coming in the opposite direction. There has been a light breeze and beautiful sunshine all the way through which has been fantastic. The crowds which were on deck at the start have slowly disappeared and it feels more like the usual space we have come to enjoy.


Tonight is another gala night and we have received an invitation to join the captain with the other Costa Club members for a cocktail in the theatre. One of the perks of being a Pearl member is we get a free photo if we have one taken with him. Hmmmmmm.

Al Salam Bridge and our 2 tugs in attendance

Al Salam Bridge, Sinai side

Al Salam Bridge, Cairo side

Costa Fortuna Postcard #15 Suez Canal (Part 2)

2nd post of the day with some photos of the Costa Fortuna entering the Suez Canal at the Red Sea end.

Entry into Suez Canal

Costa Fortuna entering the Suez Canal

Costa Fortuna in the Suez Canal Red Sea end

Costa Fortuna in the Suez Canal at the Red Sea end

Costa Fortuna Postcard #15 Suez Canal (Part 1)

At 5:00am we arrived at the entrance to the Suez canal where had to wait for our turn to enter. Looking out from our cabin we counted 19 other ships all doing the same. We need not of got up so early because as it turned out we were the last to go through, eventually setting off just before 9:35am (ships time).
It will take most of the day to transit the canal at a speed of 7.5 knots so I may well make several posts today as I am sure there will be plenty of photo opportunities.

Lots of ships waiting to enter the Suez Canal

The sun rises as we wait to go into the Suez Canal

A Suez Canal Pilot Boat alongside the Costa Fortuna

The early ones set off with the MSC Lirica leading the way

Costa Fortuna Postcard #14 A Sea Day

The view from our cabin this morning

A Red Sea Day

Last night we sailed from Eilat 10 minutes before our scheduled departure time of 11:00pm. As soon as all the excursions had arrived back we eased away from our mooring position and started on our way again. One of the trips Costa had offered was to Jerusalem by flight and coach which seems a bit OTT to me on a cruise but I suppose once you in Israel then maybe it makes sense to make the most of it.
Today our cruise involved sailing round the bottom of the Sinai peninsula and then a northerly path towards the Suez canal. We should arrive at the entrance to the canal tomorrow morning around 5:00am.
Today there was a marked difference in sea conditions with a good strong sea breeze and a nice swell to go with it. Lots of white tops all around and when the sun was shining on them it did look quite spectacular. My kind of sea day.
We also spotted the security on guard still even though we are out of pirate country. Obviously Costa are not taking any chances while passing Egypt either. I am not sure about the first line of our defence though.
Tonight is Italian night and the suggested dress attire is red, white & green. We have always enjoyed this night on Costa ships as most people tend to join in with the fun.

Costa Fortuna Red Sea Day & Security on lookout

Costa Fortuna Red Sea Day - Our first line of defence

Costa Fortuna Postcard #13 Eilat, Israel

Eilat queue for landing card stamp

Eilat queue for landing card stamp with us now in it!

In the early hours of this morning the ship made the very short trip across the end of the Gulf of Aqaba to Eilat, Israel.
When we first boarded the ship in Dubai we had our passports retained for collection so that the Israeli authorities could do face to face identification when we reached Eilat.
We were given the impression that all this would be done onboard ship which is how it has been done with us when we have done transAtlantic crossings. Not so in Eilat!

We were instructed to go to the theatre deck 3 to collect our passports and receive the landing cards, even if we had no intention of getting off. We thought that would be the end of it but how wrong we were. After getting our passports back we were then told to go to deck 0 to receive the stamp on our landing card. What they didn't tell us was we then had to get off and proceed to the cruise terminal and go through immigration. We queued for 45 minutes before finally getting the stamp. Then all we did was turn round and get back on board placing the landing card in a collection box as we boarded. We had previously taken the decision to spend the day on board today after the long day yesterday.
So all that just to follow Israeli procedure. 1 hour of my life I won't get back!
Even all of the crew had to go through this procedure which makes it even more so ridiculous.
Some Arabic countries will refuse you entry if you have an Israeli stamp in your passport but I do have some nice Oman, UAE & Jordan stamps in my passport now.

That's it from me today, I have a date with a sun bed!

Eilat queue for landing card stamp (Welcome Indeed

Border between Israel & Jordan

Costa Fortuna Postcard #12 Aqaba, Jordan

Lawrence's Spring Wadi Rum

Wadi Rum Visitor Centre

Wadi Rum

Me at Wadi Rum

After 4 straight sea days today was a most welcome change and a port we have been really looking forward to. Before the itinerary was changed, we had pre booked a private tour with a company called Memphis Tours, Egypt but when that port was cancelled we were able to use the deposit against a similar tour in Aqaba but still with Memphis.
After leaving the ship at 8:15 and meeting up with Joseph, our driver for the day. We drove for about an hour and a half to Wadi Rum, stopping briefly at Wadi Rum railway to see the old Turkish train.
At the Wadi Rum visiter centre we were introduced to our 4x4 driver, a Bedouin called Abdul. We had arranged for a 2 hour trip through the park and can only say what a shame it was only 2 hours. Absolutely amazing scenery which I cannot really begin to explain. The photos do not do it justice either and it is difficult to select which ones to show.
We were then taken for another hours drive to Petra where we met all the ships tours coming out. Great planning on our guides behalf. Again the long walk down the gorge was a photographers dream and I can only apologize for not being able to show more at this time.
We then we taken for a 3 course meal at a restaurant in Petra before the long drive back to the ship. The itinerary was advertised as 10 hours but we actually arrived back at 8:30 so we had an extra 2 hours. Exhausted but very happy.

The Treasury at Petra

The gorge at Petra

More of the gorge at Petra

Costa Fortuna Postcard #11 A Sea Day

Today was our 4th consecutive sea day as we continued our crossing of the Red Sea to reach Aqaba.
Once again we have had calm seas, clear blue skies and brilliant sunshine with temperatures slightly lower than yesterdays.
Over the last 4 days things have been fairly routine for us with breakfast around 8:30 to 9:30, then lying up on deck in the sun until 12:00 when we do our walking round the jogging track (we are now up to 25 laps). Then its back to the sun beds until 1:30 when we go to the buffet for a nice big salad and a couple of drinks. Back to the sun beds until around 4 - 4:30 when we go down to the atrium for a couple of drinks & Costa nibbles.
Its then back to the cabin to shower and get ready for pre dinner drinks which preferably would be in the atrium. However we have only managed to get seats there twice so have usually moved on to one of the other bars.
Dinner is at 9:00 and we usually finish around 10:30 and then retire for evening. We have on the odd occasion gone for a walk after when we have had a particularly large meal just so we haven't gone to bed on a really full stomach.
All this is just to let you know that we don't have it easy!!!! Its tough work being on a cruise especially on a sea day.

Tomorrow is going to totally different as we have a 10 hour tour planned. Its going to be a real shock to the system!
........And fingers crossed, I might be able to send more than 1 photo!!!

The Red Sea - The view from our balcony on our 4th consecutive sea day

Costa Fortuna Postcard #10 A Sea Day

The Red Sea on our third consecutive sea day

The third day of our 4 day stint of sea days has now passed and today we have continued in a north westerly direction towards Aqaba. We have had clear skies and a nice light sea breeze today with temperatures between 27C & 29C. Perfect for a sea day.

As there has been little happening for us then perhaps I could tell you about a few of the crew who have been making our cruise what it is. I will start with our steward Raul who is from Goa, India and has the biggest grin you could imagine and constantly on the go but can always find the time to greet you when you pass in the corridor.
Next we have our waiter Gilbert and his assistant Julius both from the Philippines. Gilbert is a veteran of 10 contracts and knows the ropes well. Julius on the other hand is only on his third, and unfortunately was on the Costa Concordia the night it went down. We have deliberately not pursued the subject with him as we could tell when he initially told us that it wasn't a pleasant experience for him. Fortunately for us it hasn't put him off and we think he will quickly climb the ladder as he has all the attributes to make a good waiter himself.
We have also chatted to many of the bar staff and found a few of them to be great fun. Dennis from India on his 17th contract and Jamie from the Philippines on his 10th just to name a couple. The crew we have spoken to have come over as very loyal to Costa so they must be doing something right to keep the staff happy and renewing their contracts.


Tonight is the second Gala night on this cruise and we will again be dressing to suit the occasion. It is always nice to see the waiters all dressed up too.

Costa Fortuna Postcard #9 A Sea Day

Waiting to disembark a passenger in Aden

Today we continued our cruise through the Gulf of Aden which is now known all over the world for the possible activities of piracy. Any ships passing through this area are guarded by international naval forces. The scheme for ships passing through this area is called the 'Internationally Recommended Transit Corridor' which the Costa Fortuna entered into fully at 3:00am this morning.
We arrived at Aden at 8:00am to disembark at passenger needing medical attention which took just over an hour. We then proceeded as planned and didn't actually start our transit through the strait of Bab el Mandeb into the Red Sea until 3:00pm because of the earlier diversion.
The strait has a small island called Perin which divides the channel into two. I was hoping to get a phone signal strong enough to post a couple of photos of us passing through but unfortunately it wasn't to be.
Apart from that there is nothing much to report today, we have spent the day lying in the sun on deck and the occasional foray into the buffet for something to eat.

To finish with I will mention that for the first time on Costa I have made Pearl status in the Costa Club, and like all loyalty schemes it aims to provide you with some little perks not available to other passengers. Looking at what there is available to us has left me wondering what it is actually worth. Lots of things seem to have disappeared since our last Costa cruise. I suppose the biggest thing on offer is the free meal in the speciality restaurant but to be honest we are enjoying the food and waiters in the main dining room so may not bother.

Costa Fortuna Postcard #8 A Sea Day

As we continue our cruise from Dubai to Savona, today was the first of 4 sea days which are then followed by the next port which is Aqaba, Jordan.
Although we have only got off the ship twice since departing in Dubai we are still managing to stay fairly active. We always use the stairs to go between decks and have also taken to walking at least 10 laps of the running track every day which works out at a minimum of 1800 metres every time. Today we did 15 laps.
As well as that our breakfast routine has become well established now and we head for the aft pool area were there is a grill servery and also the main bar which services all of rear end of that deck. From here we can easily attract one of the bar staff to bring us orange juice and coffees. The nice thing about the all inclusive drinks package is we can have Lavazza coffee in various styles, from Cappuccino, Shakerato, Corretto and even iced. We are particularly fond of what they call Espresso Americano. Its by far the best coffee we have ever had at sea and we often have several cups. As with sea days on most cruise lines there are the customary sales of useless tat and today was without exception, 70% off a line of bangles the name of which just rolls off the tongue as a market leader (Not).
The weather today has been absolutely marvelous, it did start off a bit cloudy but they soon disappeared and combined with a nice sea breeze it was perfect for sitting up on deck.
A bit of excitement this afternoon when we were flown over by a helicopter. Apparently we are under constant surveillance due to our location. There is ourselves and the MSC Lirica both relocating via the Suez canal and cruising very close together. We are currently between Somalia and Yemen which is pirate territory.
I will attempt to upload this on the ships WiFi with 1 photo because I think it is the size of the post which is timing out the connection. Fingers crossed.

Costa Fortuna Aft pool facing the bar and grill area

Costa Fortuna Postcard #7 Salalah

Salalah Pilot Boat

Entering the port of Salalah

Having said we wouldn't get off we changed our minds and then changed them back again. With 4 sea days straight after this stop we thought we would get the shuttle into town and go for a walk. What shuttle? The ship is berthed in a very commercial port and there is only a courtesy shuttle provided by the port to get you to the gates where presumably there will taxis waiting to take you into Salalah itself. Sorry Salalah but its not for us, there's too much effort required to see nothing much of any interest to us.
Again the weather is absolutely glorious and we are just going to enjoy the hotel facilities of the ship.
I maybe quiet for the next few days but if I get a chance to post I will.

Looking East from the ship at Salalah Port

Looking North from the port towards Salalah

Looking West inland at Salalah Port

Costa Fortuna Postcard #6 A Sea Day

A large ship painting of Conti Di Savoia just off the centre staircase

Being as it is a sea day I will talk about the ship a little. Like every Costa ship we have been on there is a theme throughout the interior. The Costa Fortuna's decorating theme pays homage to classic Italian vessels and every public room is inspired by and named after a particular ship. There are photos of ships all over the place and loads of models. The weirdest being the ones on the ceiling of the atrium, they just doesn't look right to me sailing around upside down. All said though I really do like the inside of this ship and for Costa it has almost been done quite tastefully, yes there are bright glittery areas but it wouldn't be Costa ship if they weren't there.

I will finish today's post with a few casual observations of some items that I have noticed so far.
Firstly the crew is one of the happiest we have ever seen, equally attentive, helpful, polite and nearly always smiling.
I have been trying to work out how the service charge works with the bar staff and in particular with the all inclusive so I will try and find that out in time. We bought our package before joining the ship which didn't include any service charge. The bar staff seem more than willing to run around after you even though they appear to be getting no added benefit. I did wonder if there was a big pot and they got a bigger share of it if they served more drinks? Everything is still recorded so it does make you wonder.
At a guess I would also say the average age of the passengers would be mid 60's, the bulk of which being Germans, French & Italians. I have only seen half a dozen kids so far so that will give you some idea of the passenger make up.
The photographers are a big nuisance too, much more so that any other cruise we have been on. They are set up for portraits on deck 5 every night in about 6 or so places. You have to run the gauntlet if you want to visit the bars at the other end of the ship.

Costa Fortuna Atrium Ceiling (1 of 2)

Costa Fortuna Atrium Ceiling (2 of 2)

Staircase art from the forward staircase

Model of the Michelangelo outside the dining room

Costa Fortuna Postcard #5 Muscat (Oman)

Big Bus Muscat outside the ship

Oman Tourist Entry Permit

Today we were in Muscat and we did get off. The temperature was given as 31 degrees as we were leaving the ship at 9:25 so we knew we were in for a hot one.
Our plan today was to make use of the local hoho, a company called Big Bus Muscat. Tickets were advertised at 20 Omani Rials per person for a 24 hour ticket and a full circuit took 2 hours with 10 stops at various locations around the city. However if you purchased your ticket via Costa for €38 it meant we could catch it directly outside the ship without getting the shuttle into Mutrah. For the sake of ease that is what we did and in the end pleased because it also meant we could get back to the ship quicker and into the pool to cool off as it did get very hot. Along the way we listened to a commentary of what the local landmarks were and I took many photos which I have attached a small selection of above and below.
As we left the ship we were given an Oman Tourist Entry Permit which we had to hand in on our return. Today we elected not to get off as the bus fulfilled our requirements which was to have a tour of the city. We are not really into Mosque's or Suq's so the bus tour pretty much ticked all our boxes.

Tomorrow is a sea day so I maybe quiet but I hope to be back the day after when we reach Salalah, Oman. I very much doubt we will get off here either there is little or nothing there we consider making the effort to see.

Riyam Monument the giant incense burner in Mutrah

Costa Fortuna from the Dolphin Fountains

Al Alam Palace

Matrah Promenade

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Riyam Monument the giant incense burner in Mutrah (2)

Riyam Monument the giant incense burner in Mutrah(3)

Anyone care to work out the Oman Fuel Prices?

Muscat Sailaway

Muscat Sailaway with sun setting