Saga Ruby Captain's blog

Our call to Lisbon began with Saga Ruby sailing up the River Tagus. I would always recommend to passengers to be out on deck to spot the many sights that we sail up the river and embark our pilot at 7.00 am.

The first is the district of Belém and its most famous feature, Torre de Belém, or Belem Tower, whose image is much used by Lisbon's tourist board. The Tower was built as a fortified lighthouse in approximately 1515, but since then has also served as a guard tower, a customs office, a jail and a telegraph post – it is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Then we have the monument to Cristo Rei or Christ the King which stands on the southern bank of the Tagus River, in the Almada district. With open arms, overlooking the whole city, it resembles the Corcovado monument in Rio de Janeiro. It was built after World War II, as a memorial of thanksgiving for the Portuguese that were spared during the destruction of the war.

We then sail beneath the 25 of April Bridge, originally it was called the Ponte Salazar, but was later renamed after the date of the Carnation Revolution and it is the longest suspension bridge in Europe.

By the time that we are alongside at 8.00 am, the passengers have already seen so much!

Lisbon is the perfect port to go ashore independently and a complimentary shuttle bus is provided, but for those that wish to have a host with them, or prefer to go a little further afield, shore excursions are also offered.

I went ashore today and bought ‘Pasteis de Belem’, a local delicacy made of the crispest flakey pastry, an egg custard filling and topped with cinnamon and nutmeg – if you come to Lisbon for these alone, you won’t be disappointed!

Shortly after 6pm, we let go of the ropes for the last time on this Round the World Cruise, 2012. The Saga Ruby has circumnavigated the globe, sailing 33,348 nautical miles, with 38 ports of call in 114 nights.

Tomorrow night I will host the Farewell Cocktail party – I am greatly looking forward to celebrating this cruise with all the passengers who have now become our friends.
The forecast to Southampton doesn’t look too favourable, but Saga Ruby handles heavy weather incredibly well as she was built for the stormy North Atlantic Sea.

It has been a wonderful World Cruise but all good things come to an end and so on Monday we complete the circumnavigation of the globe and I hope that you have enjoyed travelling with us via my blog.

I’ll be handing over command to Steven Angove and look forward to returning home to Wales for a spot of leave.

This morning I made the executive decision to delay our arrival into Valletta by half an hour – this would allow for our passengers to not have to get up quite so early and to still be able to enjoy the view of the stunning harbour in the early morning sunshine. I have sailed into Valletta many times now, but the buttery-yellow Baroque architecture built into the hills and the skyline of the city is something I will never tire of.

Although a relatively small island at 121 square meters, there is much that Malta has to offer. Four shore excursions were available to passengers; Medieval Mdina and Mosta, Scenic Malta, Maritime and Military Vittoriosa and Seaplane Experience.

For those that preferred to go ashore independently, the city of Valletta is only a short walk from where we berthed.  Admittedly, although it is only a short walk, it is up a steep hill! However I like to think that this provides the perfect excuse when you get to the top to sit down in one of the many cafes and catch your breath whilst watching the world go by.

I was saddened to hear today that the distinctive Maltese buses, privately owned and many hand-built and inherited, all painted yellow and uniquely decorated were no longer in operation. I believe the buses were a marvellous symbol of Malta and following an old game of my Father’s, I would get on the bus with no other intention other than to see where it took me! However, a major restructure of the bus service took place in July of last year. The network was taken over by Arriva, and they have introduced new low-floor buses, which are all painted in Arriva’s standard livery, and they have also introduced a new service and fare structure. I will report on this further the next time...!
 
Myself and the ships company spent much of the day with our Flag State Inspectors – as the Saga Ruby is registered to Valletta, we are inspected by them. A crew drill was conducted for them to observe and then all areas of the ship and the ships processes and procedures were inspected. The inspectors were thorough but fair and needless to say, Saga Ruby passed the inspection  - a credit to the hard work of all onboard.
 
In the late afternoon, the sky had clouded over and the wind had picked up, but this didn’t deter our passengers, who all came out on deck to enjoy the St George’s Day sail-away, complete with gun salute from the Battery, and to wave goodbye to our penultimate port of call on our World Cruise.
 

As mentioned previously Saga Ruby was alongside in Port Said by 9.00 pm, despite the late hour, there was a hive of activity only a few meters from where we were berthed. The quayside is home to several stalls that are open from first light and into the middle of the night. They sell mostly souvenirs, although there were also some smaller stalls selling food and drinks.

There are numerous old houses with grand balconies on all floors, giving the city a distinctive look. Clean washing hangs from the balconies – although I can’t help but wonder how fresh the laundry can smell after being hung out to dry on such busy streets?

The following morning, many of our passengers were up early to embark on the long journey to Cairo and the Pyramids of Giza. The Pyramids really are an incredible sight and it is well worth the coach ride to see them.

The Great Pyramid of Giza is the oldest and largest of the pyramids in the Giza Necropolis. It is the oldest of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, and the only one to remain largely intact. Having said that, it is a common misconception that the Pyramid is smooth, in actual fact it is a series of small steps, all built together that rise up towards the peak. Originally, the Great Pyramid was covered by casing stones that formed a smooth outer surface; but what is seen today is the underlying core structure – which is said to be made up of an estimated 2.3 million limestone blocks.

It is believed that at construction, the Great Pyramid was originally 146 metres / 480 feet tall but with erosion and through the passing of time, its present height is 138 metres / 455 feet tall. The skill and labour required to construct the pyramids can only be admired. In an age where there are many marvels of engineering, the ancient Pyramids of Giza still stand out for me.

For those passengers that did not wish to travel to Cairo, due the close proximity of the town, they were able to walk ashore and into Port Said.

There is a long promenade in Port Said that leads you away from the hustle and bustle and towards an excellent view of the Lighthouse of Port Said. The lighthouse is one of the most important architectural and tourist landmarks in the city, for which the reasons are that the lighthouse is unusual in that it has an octagonal shape, rather than the traditional circular shape and in January of this year the Lighthouse of Port Said was officially registered as a national monument in Egypt. As the weather was favourable - still warm, but with a cooler breeze than of late, I took the opportunity to stretch my legs and take a look at the lighthouse - I passed many passengers who had had the same idea! Great minds think alike!

We arrived at the canal waiting area at 3.00am having spent the night sailing through a sand-storm that was whipped up by a near gale force and reducing the visibility dramatically.

I was given our anchor position which was a couple of ships lengths from the waiting Queen Mary 2. Here we remained until we were cleared by the canal authorities and our first of four pilots joined to move us from anchor to the canal entrance.

Many passengers were out on deck, eager to experience sailing through the desert and unperturbed by the dust and sand that was covering every external surface caused by the occasional gusts of wind.

It was still very hazy as a pale sun was barely visible as we shortened the anchor cable in readiness to weigh anchor as our pilot climbed aboard at 9.00am. Under normal circumstances the north bound convoy, which we were in, would have been well underway by this time but due to the previous day sand storm 3 ships in the southbound convoy had run aground in the Bitter Lake and temporarily disrupted the canal schedule. However, by 10.00 am we followed the QM2 into the canal and started out transit.

The Suez Canal is one of the greatest engineering feats on modern record. Opened in November 1869 after 10 years of construction work, it allows for transportation by water between Europe and Asia without navigation around Africa. Unfortunately between the Suez crisis and later wars, the canal was damaged extensively and was closed for several years from 1967. However, on June 5th, 1975, the canal was re-opened, and since then has been modernised and enlarged. The canal is now 120 miles / 193 kilometres long, 24 meters / 79 feet deep and 205 meters / 673 feet wide.

Despite these substantial figures, the canal is not wide enough to allow for two-way passage of ships, but there are several passing bays, and areas where ships may pass each other in the Bitter Lakes and between Qantarah and Ismailia.

The Suez Canal has no locks, because the Mediterranean Sea and the Gulf of Suez have roughly the same water level. On a typical day, three convoys transit the canal, two southbound and one northbound. The first southbound convoy enters the canal in the early morning hours and proceeds to the Great Bitter Lake, where the ships anchor out of the fairway and await the passage of the northbound convoy. The northbound convoy passes the second southbound convoy, which moors to the canal bank in a by-pass, in the vicinity of El Qantara. The passage takes between 11 and 16 hours at a speed of around 8 knots. The low speed helps prevent erosion of the canal banks by ship's wakes.

A little after 8.30 pm, we came alongside our berth at Port Said, exhausted and ready for restful night in port before another long day tomorrow… A great day never the less!

The strong winds that prevailed yesterday at Aqaba have completely disappeared as we make an early morning arrival at Sharm el Sheikh. No need for at tug which is just as well because the port doesn’t have one, well not a tug that we can use even though we have a yellow and black funnel but we are not Italian and drink that famous coffee brand! If you get my drift?

Anyway thanks to our Chief Purser, Annie’s fine negotiation skills we were ‘cleared’ by immigration not too long after coming alongside in Sharm el Sheikh. It was a beautiful start to the day, a little cooler than we are used to, but still with a cloudless blue sky and sunshine.

Sharm el Sheikh is a city situated on the southern tip of the Sinai Peninsula, on the coastal strip along the Red Sea. Up until the mid-1980s, the area that now holds Egypt's biggest resort city was virtually uninhabited.

After Sinai was restored to Egypt in 1982 the Egyptian government embarked on an initiative to encourage continued development of the city. Sharm el Sheikh's major industry became tourism, owing to its dramatic landscape, year-round dry and temperate climate and long stretches of natural beaches. Its waters are clear and calm and home to 250 different coral reefs and 1000 species of fish – and it is this that proves to be the greatest appeal.

We offered our passengers the opportunity to go snorkelling at Ras Mohammed – the National Park of South Sinai. Our passengers encountered the exotic marine life at three of the best snorkelling sites in the Red Sea. Experienced divers were available to provide invaluable local knowledge and to highlight some of the more interesting and unusual fish. Fish of every colour and size were seen and even photographed by those that had bought underwater cameras. For those passengers that did not wish to get wet, they could take the ‘Glass Bottom Boat Tour’ instead.

A complimentary shuttle bus was also provided for those passengers that wished to go ashore independently. The shuttle bus stopped at Naema Bay, where there are many shops selling souvenirs, coffee bars and a host of ‘international fast food outlets’! Although the food itself was not so popular, the Wi-fi that they provided was!

We sailed in the late afternoon toward the entrance to the Suez Canal. I plan to arrive before 3.00am tomorrow in order to secure our slot for the morning North Bound Convoy. So it’s going to be a long day for me and my bridge team so it’s an early turn-in tonight!

There is a great buzz around the ship as we sail for the Suez Canal.

Another day, another country!

I’m pleased to say that we had an uneventful crossing of the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea. All our anti-piracy procedures were put to good effect. The passenger kite flying competition was a pretty effective deterrent to any would be pirate chancing his luck!

So we arrived at Aqaba on a sunny but very windy morning, I needed both the compulsory tugs to help me turn Saga Ruby against the offshore wind and gently press us against the pier as the ropes were secured at 7.00am.

Here we are in Jordan, officially known as the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. As with Oman previously, Jordan would not necessarily be considered as a common tourist destination, but this is fast changing. In 2011, there were 9.5 million visitors to Jordan and Aqaba was chosen as the Arab Tourism City of the year.

Aqaba itself is best known as a diving and beach resort, but the focus for our passengers today was further afield with The Rose Red City of Petra and Wadi Rum.
Petra is a historical and archaeological city, famous for its rock cut architecture in the distinctive rose-red colour. Established sometime around the 6th century BC as the capital city of the Nabataeans, it was later occupied by the Romans and Byzantines. It was then abandoned to the desert sands and the site remained unknown to the Western world until 1812. Now, Petra is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is one of the Seven ‘new’ Wonders of the World.

Having been fortunate to have been to Petra previously, I can well remember walking through the dark, narrow split in the sandstone rock called the ‘Siq’, as you walk further, you catch glimpses of the most impressive monument and then the path widens and you are presented with the Treasury. The Treasury is the most commonly used image of Petra and it’s easy to understand why, as it is a stunning structure. Behind the Treasury and further beyond you have the palaces, temples, theatres and tombs.

Wadi Rum is a vast, silent and starkly beautiful side of the desert. Wadi Rum has been inhabited by different tribes since prehistoric times and rock paintings, graffiti and engravings remain from this time. But today, Wadi Rum is home to a number of hospitable Bedouin tribes who live in camps throughout the area. Our passengers were hosted

by the local Bedouins who were in command of four-wheel drive vehicles throughout the tour of the stunning natural landscape. Stretches of red sand, towering sandstone mountains and strangely-shaped rocks create the haunting and inspiring environment.

Both sets of passengers came back from their respective tours with sand-filled shoes and a great sense of satisfaction at having seen such incredible sights.

Tomorrow we have another country – Egypt – our Chief Purser Annie is being kept very busy with the various and extensive immigration requirements on this World Cruise!

Today we held our renowned Country Fayre onboard. The Country Fayre is only held during the World Cruise and as such it is always eagerly-anticipated by passengers and crew alike.

All proceeds from the Country Fayre go to our World Cruise charities, this year Bantay Bata Children’s Village in Manila, Philippines and St Jude Childcare Centre in Mumbai, India and therefore the generosity from all those that contribute is greatly appreciated.

Each department onboard takes responsibility for a stall at the Fayre and the work starts weeks before hand. Posters, paints, sellotape, balloons, banners and bunting are all prepared and shared and then within a couple of hours the Ballroom is transformed!

This year we had a wide variety of games and stalls, here are just a few of them...

The Balloon Darts Challenge - throw the darts and pop the balloons for prizes, manned by our Housekeeping Team – who were incredible cheerleaders for those that played.

The Speed Sudoku Stall – hosted by our onboard Shop team, they tested Sudoku skills against the clock. All the hours of practise came in handy for many passengers today

The ‘Crew Shop’ – selling World Cruise 2012 T -Shirts & ‘Crewz Newz’ souvenir calendars.  (‘Crewz Newz’ is a publication written by the Crew, for the Crew and produced onboard – for the calendar photograph, we had a large picture that included all members of crew!)

The ever-popular Tombola – no explanation needed for this one!  It was very well run by our Purser’s Department.

The Bridge Officer’s Lifebuoy Challenge – those that played had to stand at a distance and then throw small bean bags into the centre of the lifebuoys for points. And needless to say ‘points win prizes’!

And in addition to all this, our Food and Beverage Team had a fish and chip stall and ice cream parlour to ensure that everyone remained sustained and refreshed!
 
We then held the ‘Grand Auction of Experiences’ – some of the most popular lots were:

The World Cruise 2012 Track Chart plotted by our Navigating Officer, accompanied by a signed photo of the Bridge Team

A private Bridge visit for two as we sail out of Lisbon, Portugal – our final port of call for the World Cruise

And dinner for two on the Preview Balcony, cooked and served by our Executive Chef, John McCerery. 

We also had a romantic dinner in the View Restaurant with Cruise Director, John Parton – this was in competition with a romantic dinner in the View Restaurant with Assistant Cruise Director, Mark Western – all I will say is that fortunately, John raised £5 more than Mark, therefore Mark’s job and the harmony within the department is safe!
 
I am delighted to say that with the combined efforts of all of these activities, this year we raised over £7,500.00!

It’s Friday 13th April and today we enter the IRTC (International Recommended Transit Corridor) and it’s a beautiful morning. We have mainly clouded skies with the sun breaking through in places and a westerly wind of around force 3/ 4 on the Beaufort scale with an outside air temp of 27C or 80.6F.

At 3.00am this morning we entered the IRTC; a corridor, created by the coalition forces to provide a type of ‘motorway’ in the Gulf of Aden for transiting ships. This aids the coalition forces to effectively target any vessels that come under attack and offer assistance.

The IRTC is approximately 500 nautical miles in length and is patrolled by 6 coalition warships. The creation of the IRTC has significantly reduced the incidences of piracy attacks in the area.

We will be in the IRTC until late tomorrow morning, where we will enter the Red Sea on our passage up to Aqaba.

It is very reassuring for everyone on board to not only have armed security guards with us but to also see the odd naval ship patrolling the area.

Tomorrow is our World Cruise Country Fayre which everyone is looking forward to.

Since the turn of the century the Port of Salalah has seen a huge expansion to accommodate the panamax container ships which tranship their boxes at this relatively new ‘hub’ port.

We were berthed amongst some of the largest merchant vessels currently afloat. One such container ship was 366 meters long and held 12,000 containers!

The Saga Ruby has often been affectionately known as a private yacht and in comparison to these she certainly looked like one. I am sure that many of the crew aboard the monstrous container vessels were looking enviously at our traditional and elegant lines.

We had two excursions available to passengers today; Scenic Salalah and Archaeological Adventure. Salalah is a city of antiquity and until recently, many of Oman’s treasures and ruins remained a mystery to the rest of the world. But now through the promotion of tourism and the expert guides available our passengers are discovering the depth of Oman’s heritage and its influence on the ancient and modern world.

On their return to the ship, many passengers commented on their surprise at seeing camels grazing in the scrub-land just off the roadways. Apparently they were reliably informed that despite appearances to contrary they were not wild, but that they were owned and ‘rounded up’ when needed! Some passengers were even fortunate enough to be able to stop and take photographs of the camels – an impromptu safari in the desert!

This evening for dinner our passengers were treated to some freshly caught fish from the Arabian Sea. Our Food and Beverage Team work incredibly hard to source fine, local ingredients and our passengers certainly appreciate the diversity of our menus.

Also demonstrating wonderful diversity was our star of Showtime this evening – Vocal Impressionist, Andy Davis. He has an incredible talent and imitates the sounds of Frank Sinatra and Tom Jones perfectly.

We now have four days at sea until our next port, Aqaba. The forecast is favourable and we have a packed schedule including lectures, brunches and the World Cruise Country Fayre to keep us entertained...

The last time I called at Muscat was in 2009 so I was greatly looking forward to our visit to see how the port and surrounding area had developed.

We arrived at Muscat, the country’s capital, through a wall of heat. The average temperature in April is 34°C, but temperatures regularly reach 40°C, today, fortunately we were below average at 32°C!

It seemed much hotter though as we held station in the mirrored sea waiting for the pilot to come out to us. It was 9.00am and by now the forward end of the Promenade Deck was awash with passengers probably expecting to see acres of sand as far as the eye could see. In fact, upon our approach, the landscape is high and rocky, most impressive though.

Our passengers had the choice of three very different tours today; Jebal Akhdar Trail by 4x4, Nouvelle Nakhl and Mystical Muscat. They were each fascinating and provided an incredible insight into the culture of Oman.

I only had a short time available to go ashore today, so I opted to take the complimentary shuttle bus that conveniently stopped just outside the Muttrah Souk. The Muttrah Souk is one of the oldest preserved souks in Oman and is a maze of crowded stalls and lanes, which are fortunately all sheltered from the sun. The souk stalls held a treasure trove of wares, including gold and silver jewellery, wooden carvings, traditional implements, spices and incense.

In terms of souvenirs, Oman is famous for two things; its khanjar knives (curved daggers) and frankincense. Needless to say, it was the frankincense that held more appeal for me. In Oman, frankincense trees grow in the wild and in abundance. Frankincense is predominantly sold in crystals, these can then either be burnt in an incense burner, or can be dissolved in warm water to make a tea. Yes tea!

We sailed from Muscat in the early evening and are now headed for another Omani port, Salalah...

We arrived at Mumbai Passenger Terminal a little after midnight. The reason for the anti-social time was because of the draft restriction and the need for us to arrive at high water.

Today, St Jude had invited me and a small number of our Officers and passengers to visit them and see the incredible and inspiring work that they are doing, aided by the financial contribution through the Saga Charitable Trust.

The Saga Charitable Trust was founded to benefit underprivileged communities in developing countries that host Saga holidaymakers.

Each World Cruise we choose specific charities to raise funds for and this year Bantay Bata Children’s Village in the Philippines and St Jude Childcare Centre in India are the chosen charities.

St Jude Childcare Centre opened in April 2006 to meet a huge, previously unmet, need. Children diagnosed with cancer are referred by physicians from all over India to receive often life-saving treatment in Mumbai hospitals. Whilst treatment costs are almost always met through fund-raising and the generosity of other charities, the child requiring treatment and their parents have no way of raising further funds for accommodation during treatment and as a result, often have to sleep rough on the streets. It is unimaginable that children with life threatening illnesses have no choice but to spend months camped out with their parents on street pavements near a city hospital, but this is what often happens to children from poor families who come to Mumbai for treatment. This leaves the children, who are recovering from chemotherapy or radiotherapy, open to a wide range of infections, not to mention the dangers and trauma of having to sleep rough. As a result, many abandon their treatment, and discouraged go back home part-way through their course of treatment.

Thankfully, the St Jude Childcare Centres have provided a solution. Clean, hygienic, self-catering accommodation where families can live for the duration of their child’s treatment. Transport to and from the hospitals, nutritional supplements, educational and recreational activities, counselling and advice and the shared support of others in the same situation are all provided, at no charge, at the St Jude Childcare Centres.

The Saga Charitable Trust has funded a much-needed bus to take children from one of the centres to the hospitals in Mumbai for tests and treatment– this means they no longer have to endure an agonising 2 hour journey each way on public transport.
It is no surprise that seriously ill children at St Jude Childcare Centres have a greater chance of recovery than those living on the streets. They also benefit from being in a happy and positive environment – and this is what I was privileged to see today – children who were fighting overwhelming illnesses, but who have been given an environment that protects them and promotes recuperation.

I left feeling inspired by the children and by the centre and grateful – to all of you that have made a contribution to the Saga Charitable Trust, thank you, it really does make a difference, I have seen it.

Back onboard, and our Food and Beverage Team and Cruise Department had transformed the Ballroom into an Indian Banquet Hall – it had been decorated with swathes of silk and stations filled with Indian delicacies and dishes. Passengers had been invited to attend wearing local dress, if they so wished, and a great number of passengers, both male and female arrived in dhotis and saris. It was wonderful to see. Throughout the evening, our passengers were entertained with music and dance, in particular by the ‘The Chavan Classical Orchestra Group' who were local to Mumbai.

We set sail late with an incredibly bright full moon watching us and onwards on our passage to Oman.

Colombo is the largest city of Sri Lanka and the Saga Ruby was alongside in Colombo by 8am. Already at this early hour, the sky was blue and cloudless, the sun already beating at 28 degrees Celsius.

Sri Lanka was known as Ceylon until 1972, but is still referred to as Ceylon by many Sri Lankans and indeed many organisations still use Ceylon in their name.

Passengers had the choice of three excursions today; ‘The Elephants of Pinnawela’, ‘Colombo Sightseeing Tour’ and ‘Relax at Mount Lavinia’ or they could chose to go ashore independently if they preferred.

Once all the passengers had been efficiently dispatched on their various tours we commenced the weekly Crew Fire & Boat Drill.

The crew are drilled on a regular basis in the interests of passenger safety and today we granted permission by the Harbour Master to exercise our life boats.

After the completion of the drill those off duty crew members headed ashore to find the nearest Wi-Fi café or hotel!

Public transport in Colombo is dominated by taxis, of which there are three types; ‘auto rickshaws’, also known as three wheelers or tuk-tuks, which are the most common. Then there are taxicabs, which are standard cars, run by private companies and are metered and then there are MPVs which carry more passengers and crucially, are more likely to also have air conditioning!

Colombo is an overcrowded city - buildings, people and transport fight for space. There are many narrow roads that are home to small shops and trading stalls, with almost all of these literally spilling out onto the street, as much of their merchandise is on display outside, either up the walls or on the pavements.

In the heart of the city lies the 160-acre Beira Lake. The lake is one of the most distinctive landmarks of Colombo and continues to be a popular tourist attraction.

Nearby is the Seema Malaka Temple, which is home to a young elephant. For Buddhists, elephants symbolise physical and mental strength. Food and shelter was provided and the elephant no doubt receives an abundance of attention from visitors.

Undoubtedly the most popular sport in Sri Lanka is cricket. Sri Lanka made it to the final of the Cricket World Cup in 2011, but was beaten by 6 wickets to India. Coincidentally, today the Sri Lankan’s just happened to be playing the English at cricket in Colombo today. Unfortunately I didn’t get the chance to go and watch any of the match, but I’m sure that some of you will know that the score was Sri Lanka 238-6.

Before we sailed I had a look at the stalls that had been set up along the quayside selling souvenirs – it’s so convenient when we have this as it allows for those that have only the shortest time ashore to be able to purchase a small reminder of where we are, and of course to help the local economy!

We sailed in the late afternoon into calm seas. The forecast is for good weather to Mumbai, so we are looking forward to the two sea days...

Another peaceful Sunday at sea. Well that’s what I thought!. I’d just finished my early morning swim and had returned to my quarters with a hot cup of tea in hand. Sitting at my desk I began to read the daily programme. I saw the headline. Oh No! I almost spilt my morning cuppa! This was a disaster! No coach drivers. Didn’t the Shorex team realize that we couldn’t ask passengers to step into the breach much as I knew that they would be more than willing to do so….Ah, but wait…Something fishy here..
What a brilliant and convincing April Fool’s message. But I’m afraid the left hand sandwich notice below gave the game away. Certainly made me smile and I hope it makes you chuckle too?

A message from the Shorex Team.
We have just been informed by our port agent in Columbo that due to the England Cricket team playing a test series in Sri Lanka at the moment, the tours agent has been forced to supply his drivers to the ECB (English Cricket Board) to ensure safe and smooth passage for players and officials between matches. Therefore, unfortunately we will not have any drivers available to drive the coaches during our stay. However, we still plan to operate our full tour program and would ask any passengers who are prepared to drive one of the coaches to register at Reception before midday today in order for us to complete the necessary paperwork and request the agent issue us with temporary tourist driving licenses for our stay. Previous experience of large commercial vehicle driving would be beneficial but not essential, as the tours agent has told us that he will be able to conduct a crash course with our volunteers prior to the tour departing.

A message from The Food & Beverage Department
In line with new EU Regulation 6.574-B Saga Ruby will now be serving left-handed sandwiches. As 7% of the World are left-handed 7% of our sandwiches have been rotated by 180°.