An early start, up at 6:00 and off by just gone 7:30. The Golden Iris was moored nearby. A long drive to Jerusalem. When we arrived we went straight to the Mount of Olives. From there we saw the Dome of the Rock, the Al Aqsa mosque and much of Jerusalem. Then we went to Gethsemene. There was a small garden with olive trees, one of which is over 2,000 years old. We went into the Sanctuary of Gethsemene. Then we went to the Wailing Wall, past the Al Aqs...

Another glorious start to the day. There was a flurry of excitement this morning. I was in the middle of my walk when something landed on the deck in front of me. It was an exhausted bird, a nightjar apparently. It tried to get away from me and promptly flipped on to its back. I picked it up and set it on a table. Another passenger picked it up and held it. While we were waiting for the Environmental Compliance Officer (Peter Bunney, would you believe) ...

Not an awful lot to report today. Weather has been in the high 20's, a bit of a breeze blowing. The ship has been pounding its way through the Arabian Sea. The men dropped a few points in the Battle of the Sexes It's half past midnight, the night of the captain's gala party. As per the last three, the guys went to both. This time, I think I got through 2 bottles of red in both parties and dinner, so I'm pissed! Need to sober up for the Battle of the S...

Woke up late after a good night's sleep. Temperature was 25, and the day was slightly overcast with a fairly cool breeze. The Battle of the Sexes resumed today. I'm the new captain and we're currently in the lead by 2 points. A long way to go, yet, though. Four more sea days before we get to Egypt. Ships are obviously like buses, you wait three months, then two come along at once! At 15:30 we passed Queen Victoria going the other direction and then...

A very long day, but a good one. The four of us got off at 9:00 and booked the Big Bus hop on hop off tour. We first did the Beach route. This took us from Bur Dubai along Jumeira. We saw the large flag pole and flag, Jumeira Mosque, Jumeira Beach, the Burj Al Arab and on to the Mall of the Emirates. We got off here and had lunch. Then a coffee in Starbucks, so we could hit the Internet. I updated all my apps on both the iPad and phone, read my emails, b...