Smithy's Cruise Blog

We had never heard of the place before. Dubrovnik and Split are the more usual ports for Cunard in Croatia. This was a maiden port, meaning that Queen Elizabeth had not been here before.

More relevant to Jane was the fact that it would be a tender port and she would not be able to go ashore. The second tender port on this cruise, which she not surprisingly thinks is unfair. And no doubt plenty of other people feel the same.This is a tender which is about to be lowered.

For reasons that I will not publish (but will be happy to tell you about next time we talk) Cunard have tightened up their procedures for getting people ashore in tenders. You have to be able to demonstrate that you can step across two white lines on the floor a yard apart! Additionally, the platform that links the ship and the tender is much more robust than it was.

But back to Sibenik. When the ship arrived in the area where she was to anchor we could see a small harbour with a few yachts moored and what appeared to be residential homes dotted around it. A small village.

Further up the coast was a larger town and there was another larger town in the hills.

Once the tenders were lowered, it was clear that we were to be landed in the small harbour.

We had decided that I would go ashore first, so I took an early tender to the little harbour, then boarded a shuttle bus that took me to Sibernik which was about 25 minutes away.

There was a longish walk from the car park to the town and many struggled with that. Sibenik was not very exciting. There was an old town up the hill, but as I was limited in time and energy, I settled for a bar overlooking the water, a coffee, a glass of wine (after noon) and the rather slow WiFi.

It was all rather underwhelming which was a shame. Why Sibenik was chosen ahead of Split, I know not, but the weather was excellent – it was a beautiful sunny day.

I returned to the ship in time for lunch and took over from Kim who then went ashore herself.

I hadn’t finished the earlier piece but was ashore in Sibernik (more of that later) and was on my own, so took advantage of some free WiFi in a bar to download photos (which can take ages). The free WiFi was even slower than the ship, so I did what I could and published what I had achieved so far.

What I was going to say was that Jane and I first came to Venice on a Thomson City Break with the Gordons and the Wilsons many years ago – possibly 25+ years ago. Jane and I also came on a day trip when we were staying in a beach resort called Caorle, north of Venice. QE and QV have brought us here on 3 or 4 occasions since then. Without any doubt, Venice has to be high on the list of places to visit on a ship.

The approach and the departure are always magical. This was on our way back to the ship.

One of the strangest sights this time, just after we had left the Vaporetto was a bride in a long flowing white wedding dress with her man. He was buying her an ice cream from a kiosk! We all agreed it was very odd and Kim took a photo of them sitting down eating their ice creams.

It was only later that day when I was looking at the photos I had taken from the ship early in the day, that I spotted the same couple in one of my pictures. Possibly they do it every day as some sort of joke or promotion. Here they are just right of centre in the middle of the photo taken at about 7.15am!

Even if CCTV misses you, if you are up to no good, Smithy’s camera will pick you out, so beware.

When we arrived back at the ship a Silversea ship was just arriving. Can Ian or Carole Gordon identify which one it is?

I’d just like to thank you all for your good wishes and comments. I wish I could respond to them all but cannot because of the dearth of WiFi. It’s an expensive commodity out here.

At 6.30am we were entering the lagoon. By 7.00am we were gently edging towards the Grand Canal.

These were taken from our balcony on the starboard side of the ship.

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As the ship approaches the start of the Grand Canal, it has to veer to port and travel up the much wider and, presumably deeper, Canal Della Giudecca, on our way to the port. The buildings either side are just as beautiful as those alongside the Grand Canal.

As we arrived in the Port, Regent’s Seven Seas Voyager was already moored. I think that is the ship in which the Trehernes and the Clarkes sailed last year on separate voyages. We had 2 voyages on Regent’s Navigator, one in the Med and the other in the Caribbean 10 years ago. They are lovely ships.

After breakfast the three of us set off on the well tried route to St Marks. A shuttle to the Tronchetto Vaporetto station, then bullying our way onto the Vaporetto with the wheelchair, fighting for a vantage point for the blog photography and enjoying the mass of people getting on and off – tourists from all over the world as well a locals going about their daily business.

We are quickly on the Grand Canal which is bustling with ferries, water taxis and gondolas as well as working boats carrying building materials, food, booze – everything.

And then after 40 minutes we were in St Marks Square. Kim had not been to Venice for many years, so we reacquainted her with the main sights and then began the tour of the back streets. Often we are lucky with the back alleys when they lead to piazzas with hostelries occupied by locals rather than tourists. This time we found too many back alleys with little bridges which we had no hope of getting Jane over. But it was amusing.

Every time I exhibit a photo of a warship my young friend Nicholas Brewer, a retired very senior RAF Officer (he tells me – I’ve never seen his medals or his uniform) immediately researches and tells me it’s history. So here is a little competition for him.

This morning we were here and this vessel appeared and seemed to be protecting us. What is her name and which navy?

In the morning we glide into Venice. By 7.15am we should be passing St Marks Square.

More to report in the morning.

It’s in Sicily, in case you have not heard of it before. I’m not sure why Cunard chose the place except that it gives easy access to Taormina and Castelmola. I just wonder if it’s cheaper to anchor rather than dock in Messina or Palermo.

What was a fishing village has no docking facilities. As a result the ship has to sit in the bay at anchor and passengers are taken ashore in tenders. But Jane cannot get into a tender and has to stay on the ship.

We arranged for Kim to go on a four hour tour in the morning as she had not seen the island before. When she returned, I went ashore. Giardini Naxos is said to be a tourist destination. It is not. A sandy beach with rows and rows of umbrellas, but the pizzerias, restaurants and tatty tourist shops are all pretty run down.

One end of the beach was littered with derelict wooden sailing and fishing boats and a rusting Caterpillar truck with its tracks embedded in the sand.

Last year when we came to Sicily, the QE docked at Messina and we left the ship there, flying to Pisa to attend niece Katie’s Lucca wedding to Sam, joining the ship again in Venice. Had Giardini Naxos been the Sicily port at that time our plans would have been scuppered!

I must admit that this time I found a reasonable bar on the seafront with free WiFi and a very pleasant dry white wine and I was able to catch up with some of the emails that the blog produces!

32C was predicted by the Officer of the watch. In fact it reached 36C but it was not a problem. We had been to Valencia once before in 2007 on the much smaller Regent’s Navigator. Because of its size we had been able to dock near to the city and we were close to the pavilions that had been set up on the waterfront to house the America’s Cup competitors who were preparing for the elimination rounds, before the event itself in those waters later that year.

This time we had to dock in the commercial area some way from the city. An ancient looking bus with a wheelchair lift was waiting for us to shuttle us to the city – a 30 minute ride.

Valencia’s old city is a maze of narrow streets and large and small squares. It is delightful.

You may know that in the past the Rio Turia kept bursting its banks and flooding the city. In October 1957 the city was devastated by the worst ever flood and dozens of people lost their lives.

It was decided to divert the river away from the city. A massive exercise, but it was achieved. The original river bed was left in place, as were the many bridges over it. The river bed has now been converted into a 4 mile long area containing beautiful gardens, football pitches, cycle paths, tennis courts and more.

The drop off point for the shuttle meant that we crossed the Serrans Bridge to the very impressive entrance to the old city. This is it.

Within seconds Jane found a small shop that she thought might have sold dolls house furniture and miniatures. It was run by an Englishman who said he had been there for 35 years. It was a very small pokey place and didn’t have anything of interest. Jane and Kim moved on from there and started to tour ladies fashion shops looking for bargains. Here they are!

Valencia is lovely and on a sunny day it is hard to beat.

Our return was in a brand new Mercedes shuttle with a lift. Much more comfortable for Jane who felt much more secure.

The best bit of news was to hear that the Saints had won their Premier league game away to Palace.

I have to tell you about a very worrying incident that occurred last night. Jane woke at about 3.30am. She needed some medication and woke me. This particular drug is kept in the kitchen at home and in my sleepy state I went to the cabin door and out into the corridor thinking I was on the way to the kitchen. I was completely starkers. Luckily Jane realised what was happening and screamed at me to come back, which I did.

The door was a second away from closing itself. I would have been out in the corridor with no key, no mobile and no clothes. Jane couldn’t have let me back in, nor could she have contacted anyone. My only option would have been a trip down six decks to reception! That wouldn’t have been a pleasant experience for the pretty young lady who manages reception at night.

This naval vessel appeared to be protecting us as we left the Solent on Tuesday!

The third night was a Gala Evening (What used to be called a Formal evening). The Black and White Ball for those who still like that sort of thing.

First it was the Captain’s Cocktail Party in the Queens Room. We joined the queue to shake hands with the Captain. We usually avoid that queue because it delays you getting in and that means the initial trays of drinks have been hoovered up.

But Kim had not met Captain Inger before and we had not been with her for a couple of years. The Captain remembered Jane and seemed pleased to see us. We had the standard photo (not very good of me so I haven’t bought it!).

Then followed the usual bun fight to get a drink, but after finding a waiter who remembered us, we ended up with an excess of G and T’s. Why do we go to these parties? They are always the same. Four each voyage. I suppose it’s the fact that Cunard is giving us a free drink (or two if you work at it).

Then it was off to dinner. Would the 3 missing guests be there? Well two were there, meaning we were now up to 7. Two ladies from North America. Karol, who is the Art teacher aboard and her friend Karen who lives in Mexico. They are on the ship until October. I will find out more!

Today from the cabin. A beautiful day.

We are settled in once again. We have our favourite cabin on 7 deck and many of the crew remember Jane. A few of the remember me – but not many! The Master of the ship is Cunard’s first lady Captain Inger Klein Thorhauge. She and Captain Aseem Hashmi alternate – 3 months on board and 3 months on leave (I think).

One of the speakers, Malcolm Nelson, is a former senior Customs Officer. His lectures are based on his career at Heathrow catching drug smugglers. We’ve seen him before but he appears to have a great deal of new material. He is excellent.

And the ship’s Port presenter, Rachael, is also very good. In the past, Port presenters tended to promote tours organised by Cunard, but now their presentations are much more balanced. Rachael’s talks describe the ports and surrounding areas, the architecture and the places to visit with no hard sell on their tours.

At dinner two more guests appeared, Maggie and Gordon from Surrey. Still 3 empty seats!

It was a brilliant start to the next voyage. The weather was good. Amazingly all the packing had been finished on Monday. The drivers arrived on time. Well, Ian Gordon was early and the Taxi was late, so they balanced each other out.

Ian was abused by the jobsworth parking attendant when he arrived at the Ocean terminal. Ian misheard what was shouted at him and sensibly aimed for lane one to enable him to drop the ramp on the adapted vehicle. Jobsworth wanted him in the inconvenient lane three and hurled abuse and was still seething when we drew up just behind. Power gets to these chaps particularly when people don’t obey them.

The luggage disappeared in a shot. We were lucky with the check in and within ten minutes of arriving in the teminal we were going through security. Five minutes later we were aboard Queen Elizabeth. The process is terrific. Congratulations to Cunard.

Jamie Firth of Cunard fame, at present on leave, had once again ensured that we were assigned to our favourite table for 8 for dinner. But for the first time ever, only the 3 of us appeared for dinner. What happened to the other five? We will find out tonight.