Afternoon
For lunch we went up to the grab and go for a change. I chose the lamb Shawarma wrap. This is a delicious wrap that is a Middle East street food. I really wish I’d gone for this sort of food earlier in the cruise.
After lunch we went for a walk around the decks and had chats with the security staff still manning the sound projectors and keeping watch.
The next talk we attended was another by the actor John Lyons. We were shown videos of outtakes as David Jason played tricks on him during the filming of the programmes.
Evening
In his 6 pm broadcast, the Captain updated us about the ship’s position and about the security protocols. The weapons brought on board earlier would be offloaded at 10 pm and the ship would no longer be blacked out overnight.
The evening dress code was formal with a twist as it was a James Bond themed night.
We stopped for a photograph on our way to dinner I’m not convinced about some of the poses that we were put into. (The next day we decided that none of the images we are worth taking home.)
Dinner was weird because of the company on our table – enough said.
We tried our hand at the James Bond music quiz in the sports bar. We had to know the titles, the artists and sometimes the year of James Bond theme songs in order to score points.
From the Cruise Log
Friday 29 March – At Sea
Noon Position 14°04.8’N 042°24.4’E
Temperature 28°C
Wind Light Airs
Weather Mostly Clear, DryAt 06:15 Captain Camby arrived on the Bridge to join the team for the passage of the Bab El Mendeb Strait. With Yemen off to starboard the internationally recommended advice is to proceed through the strait at the highest possible speed, which is what Oceana did. With all four engines running providing maximum available power Oceana steamed through the strait at over 21 knots. The vessel officially entered the Red Sea at 06:45 and made courses for Port Suez and the Suez Canal.
After being notified of the urgent requirement of specialist medical treatment for one of our Guests our Bridge team sprang into action to determine a contingency port. It was quickly established that Saudi Arabia was the best place with the best facilities to provide such care and a passage plan was created for Jeddah. The amendment for the new passage plan came into force at 22:00.