Day 7 Sunday 24th March – Arabian Gulf
After all our exertions in Abu Dhabi we had a late start to the day and ate in the buffet for breakfast. The sky started the day blue.
Our balcony could do with some TLC.
We shared a table and were drawn into discussions about the Captain’s talks about the upcoming security precautions and the impending security exercise later in the morning. The Captain had given us a quick briefing about what would be happening when the drill was called. The crew would know it was a security issue as the code called over the ship’s loudspeakers would be “Sierra Papa “. Later in the evening at around 7:45 pm, Oceana would slow and take on arms for the three ex-Royal Marines who were our security detail.
I was surprised at the complaints and concerns about not being able to use Deck 7, the Promenade Deck, in the evening.
Pirate safety drill
When the drill was called we went back to our cabin, close the curtains and went back into the corridor and stood away from the door. Our cabin steward went to all his cabins to check that the curtains were closed and that all the guests were out in the corridor. The inside cabin were all asked to stay in their cabins.
As we stood (and eventually sat down in the corridor) a couple of ship’s officers came through checking that everything was as it should be.
Once the drill was over the Captain explained what had been happening. The ship’s fire hoses had been turned on to create a screen of sea water down the sides of the ship. All of the sound generators around the decks had been manned. In a real emergency Oceana would have speeded up to its maximum speed and started to weave. This would have created a wash behind the ship of sufficient strength to make approaching the ship in a rib very difficult.
Talks and lunch
Later in the morning we attended the first talk on famous historical murders from Paul Stickler. This was very interesting especially as the talk covered the event, the investigation, the trial and the subsequent history of the suspect.
Before lunch we went for a walk around the upper decks.
The deck chair gnomes were out and had reserved sun beds.
The sky didn’t look great.
We had a salad for lunch from the barbecue set up on the Lido deck.
My education day continued as I went to the talk on LS Lowry in the nightclub given by the art gallery manager. This was a much fuller (and longer) presentation than I had been to on earlier cruises about Lowry.
Afternoon at sea
Not sure about the A/V system’s map!
Outside this may have been the island on the map.
We spent the rest of the afternoon on our balcony reading and dozing. I kept a watch out for sea life and any passing vessels.
Evening
The evening was the Captain’s gala party and we were suitably dressed in our formal clothes for the event.
Arriving only 20 minutes before the start was not early enough to get seats in Tiffany’s in the Atrium. Instead we stood and chatted to fellow guests who we had met earlier on our port days.
We slipped off before the Captain had finished all the speeches and were able to go straight into the restaurant for dinner for a change.
I enjoyed my obligatory Beef Wellington followed by sorbet but preceded by asparagus topped by naked and followed by tomato soup. As I had had only had a salad for lunch I was happy to round off the meal off with a desert of apple tart.
In the Winners Bar we sat and listened to the singing duo before having an early night ready for our next port day.
From the Cruise Log
Sunday 24 March – At Sea
Noon Position 26°33.3’N 056°27.1’E
Temperature 24°C
Wind North-Easterly Force 6 Weather Overcast, DryThroughout the morning Oceana continued on a north-easterly course towards the Strait of Hormuz paralleling the United Arab Emirates coastline. At 12:15 Oceana entered the traffic separation zone which separates the inward and outward bound traffic to and from the Arabian Gulf.
The stretch of water separates Oman on the southern side and Iran on the northern side and is a very strategic waterway, specifically due to the oil trade. After a couple of hours of careful navigation through the Strait of Hormuz, Oceana continued southwards through the Gulf of Oman.
At 20:12 Oceana rendez-vouzed with another vessel as part of the preparations for entering High Risk Piracy Area en route back to Valletta. After several minutes the ship then picked up speed and proceeded again towards the next port of call in Muscat.