Arcadia sailing into Muscat this morning.
Dave Thomas CPO - standing by to land the ship's gangways.
The local tour company getting all sorted for our arrival - very organised.
I love the buzz of an early morning arrival.
A beautiful day.
A military operation!Always good to have a chat with the local guides - they make us so welcome. Ahmed.
Karen our Commercial Manager assisting with tour dispatch meets local Tour Guide Mahmoud.
This lunch time we hosted a Ship's Company BBQ Lunch on the forward deck to celebrate Arcadia's success as Cruise ship of the Quarter for the second time in succession. A perfect day for this occasion. A great time for all the Arcadia team to mix and mingle. It's not every day you invite 900 around for a BBQ! No problem for the Arcadia Food and Beverage Team.
Arcadia from the local town area.
The Sultan's Palace.
A beautiful place to wander around.
The arrival areas to the Palace.
Check out those shiny pavements.
I cannot imagine how stylish it must be when used for state occasions.
The main entrance gate to the Palace.
Administration building in the background.
Commodore Steve Burgoine and Chief Engineer Martyn Elliott at the Palace.
Meet Janaka Kariyawasam our Ship's Agent and James Blog.
The grounds are beautifully manicured.
Acres of patio brick!
Very stylish cars around!
The Entrance Foyer to the AL BUSTAN PALACE.
The Crystal Chandelier.
Everywhere you look there is so much detail - an interior designer's dream I would say......
Another GRAND Hotel Foyer GRAND Piano on this GRAND Voyage!
A small marble internal staircase. The Craftsmanship and the detail is everywhere.
I took this photograph through a glass door as you required a residents pass to enter this lovely area of the Hotel and quite rightly so!
A new road being built.
Chief Engineer Martyn Elliott, Commodore Steve Burgoine and James Blog ashore! This is the first time we have all been out together and it was good fun.
A local construction worker takes an afternoon snooze.
The Golf Course.
A fun park.
Karen our Commercial Manager assisting with tour dispatch meets local Tour Guide Mahmoud.
This lunch time we hosted a Ship's Company BBQ Lunch on the forward deck to celebrate Arcadia's success as Cruise ship of the Quarter for the second time in succession. A perfect day for this occasion. A great time for all the Arcadia team to mix and mingle. It's not every day you invite 900 around for a BBQ! No problem for the Arcadia Food and Beverage Team.Arcadia from the local town area.
The Sultan's Palace.
A beautiful place to wander around.
The arrival areas to the Palace.
Check out those shiny pavements. 
I cannot imagine how stylish it must be when used for state occasions.
The main entrance gate to the Palace.
Administration building in the background.
Commodore Steve Burgoine and Chief Engineer Martyn Elliott at the Palace.
Meet Janaka Kariyawasam our Ship's Agent and James Blog.
The grounds are beautifully manicured.
Acres of patio brick!
Very stylish cars around!
The Entrance Foyer to the AL BUSTAN PALACE.
The Crystal Chandelier.
Everywhere you look there is so much detail - an interior designer's dream I would say......
Another GRAND Hotel Foyer GRAND Piano on this GRAND Voyage!
A small marble internal staircase. The Craftsmanship and the detail is everywhere.
I took this photograph through a glass door as you required a residents pass to enter this lovely area of the Hotel and quite rightly so!
A new road being built.
Chief Engineer Martyn Elliott, Commodore Steve Burgoine and James Blog ashore! This is the first time we have all been out together and it was good fun.
A local construction worker takes an afternoon snooze.
The Golf Course.
A fun park.Greetings from Oman!
What a joy to be here on our cruise to Muscat. A beautiful day and how wonderful to be in another new port for me. This is an impressive place I can tell you!
Muscat is the capital and largest city in the Sultanate of Oman, an independent state in the Southeast corner of the Arabian Peninsula. The city which is located on the Arabian Sea is also the financial and economic centre of the county - and it does reflect this! What really impressed me was the Sultan's Palace, flanked by the Portuguese forts jalali and Mairani. The pavements are shining marble and everywhere is immaculate. So impressive. Everyone has a job here, there is no unemployment and no crime as such.
The Commodore, Chief Engineer Martyn Elliott and I went for a drive to see some of the high spots. We had a tour of the AL BUSTAN PALACE Intercontinental Muscat - the moment you walk through the entrance door you are dazzled by the majesty of the 38 metre high lobby, complete with its exquisite centre-piece crystal chandelier and the crystal fountain, the Hotel will further enhance its reputation as the 'Jewel in the Sultanate'. Set against a dramatic backdrop of rugged mountains the Hotel lies solitary amid an emerald green oasis with 200 acres of lush beachfront landscaping, over the azure waters of the Gulf of Oman. I thought I had died and gone to heaven..! The Hotel's motto is ' A return to Splendour' and I think this is what many people are looking for in a holiday now - top quality and glamorous surroundings. And of course the weather - it is always hot here.
Graham is off on tour today so we will have lots to report to you soon. Dubai UAE tomorrow - can you believe it, and then we will be on our homeward leg to our home port of Southampton, having had our minds opened, stretched and amazed with the wonderful experiences of our Inaugural GRAND VOYAGE on Arcadia.
P&O Cruises say ' there is a world out there' but it's only when you step out on these Grand Voyages that you know just how true this saying really is.
I hope you are enjoying your weekend and looking forward to the week ahead. Many thanks for all your good wishes and emails, phone calls, text messages, cards, blog messages etc they are all appreciated and brought much joy to these past few days, at a time when we have been very busy at work.
Bye for now,
James.
Man's mind, once stretched, can never regain its original shape'.
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14 comments:
Only one word for that....WOW!
James, when you write your memoirs I think you'll have to call it "P&O and Pianos"
Thanks for the update
Hi James,
Oman is a truely beautiful & very stylish place indeed. We felt exactly the same as you have when we went to Salalah - a great pity it was missing from the first part of the voyage due to the delayed start but at least some of you lucky people still on board have had a second chance to visit the Sultante of Oman. We went to a garden in the middle of the desert belonging to the Sultan and it was immaculate.
I expect you noticed the price of fuel too - I think when we were there it was about 20pence per gallon & the hire cars were "huge"!!!
You look very tanned my dear - I did take on board (if you pardon the pun) everytime you mentioned sunning yourself on top of the crows nest but you have definately caught a few rays and you're looking good on it!
A great weekend here in UK with beautiful sunshine, Jenson Button winning the Australian GP, Gloucester Rugby getting through to the final of the Anglo-Welsh cup (could you let Colin & Judith Atkinson from Gloucestershire currently on board Arcadia know please & send them my best wishes!)& Oxford winning The Boat Race. What more could we ask for.....a trip on Arcadia of course or a rather large Lottery win which would in turn lead to a trip on Arcadia....?
Enjoy the UAE - I am always amazed at the sheer grandure and cleanliness of these wonderful places so enjoy all you Grand Voyagers....
Love to all from Louise, Tony & Sammy the Seal. xxx
James,
It's fairly obvious you senior officers eat well on Arcadia, no small portion!
Oh wow! Muscat looked A-MAZ-ING! We have friends who lived there for years and they said it was wonderful - but I had no idea of the splendour. I really hope you enjoyed your day there.
Looking forward to the next few entries. Thank you so much.
Gill
Sitting at my Piano the other day writing my blog O Man O Man
Hi James, Have a wonderful day in Dubai, dont spend too much!!George & Maureen, Anne & I spent a fabulous few days there last October, and bought some lovely diamonds!!Looking forward to your blog on Dubai.
Norma & Peris
WOW again what a beautiful looking place Muscat is, has to be added to the must visit places,i think more so than China for me.
Enjoy your day in Dubai today, looking forward to more exciting pictures from there, my niece works there and having read her blog it looks another must visit place.
Enjoy your day, am off to work now then have three days off so my weekend so to speak is coming up.
Hi to all on Arcadia.
Geoff Witts Perth
Hi James, as an avid P&O cruiser on all their ships other than the child free(2 daughters 16 and 18) I have followed your blog all through the cruise. Its been amazing, I have felt I have been on board Arcadia since it left Southampton! When the kids go to University we'll be on a world one, hoping you'll still be on Arcadia. Have good fun in Dubai, its an amazing place, try either the Atlantis Palm or Wild Wadi at Jumeirah Beach! Lyn
Hi James - good to see you are in the Middle East - you are very close by to me now in Saudi Arabia! Jill Barrows
Hi James, what more can be said other than another WOW what a place. I expect you got lots of ideas for your Patio!
Monday morning - just looking at the webcam...it looks a bit murky...but is that the QE2 in front of you?
Hi James, Thanks for the wonderful photos of Muscat. I worked there in the late 70's (was that really thirty years ago?) and have very fond memories of the country and the people. I remember the palace being built, although the area has changed greatly since then. One day tried to take a photograph through the gate roughly where the Commodore and your Chief Engineer are standing. I didn't get the photograph as a guard put the business end of his rifle under my nose. At the time there was stil some "unpleasantness" going on in the south in Dhofar with the Yemenis and everyone was a little twitchy. I now have the photographs that I missed then! I would love to go back to see what progress has been made; maybe on a future Arcadia Grand Voyage? Keep up the excellent work on the Blog
Hi James
Well I've finally caught up with the blog! India is somewhere I've never really wanted to go, but having seen the pictures of Cochin I've changed my mind. As for Muscat - Wow, what a lovely clean place to be! It all looks so spotless, clean and fresh! A real contrast to Cochin!
Well I've got a busy few days so I will try and catch up with the blog on Thursday at some point. I am off down to Southampton today to pick up my DD to bring home for a couple of days - literally it will be a fleeting visit. We are back down to Southampton on Friday and then on Sunday I am staying onboard with DD for the 3 night cruise on Oriana. I am so excited at the moment I could burst! I haven't seen her since we left her in Madeira on Jan 8th! I'm sure your family must feel the same about you? I'm sure there are a lot of sad people on Oriana today, coming back to reality. How depressing for them! Their worldie seems to have been a good one. The weather on the whole has looked marvellous (and the sea conditions). Even the BOB is being kind to them today and the sun is shining! Hope they bring that weather all the way back with them - it's a bit grey here this morning!
Well better head to the gym! Want to hit the road about lunchtime!
Elaine (aurorabore)
Hi James,
A wonderful Grand Voyage - and have enjoyed the journey as if I was there with you! Like all good things they have to come to an end.The photos and stories say it all A-MAZ-
ING.... After our first cruise on the Old Arcadia (1996 ish!) met some lovely people - one made an great impression on me, in that she introduced me to writing a daily log Journal - which I have since done - and glad afterwards when it comes to the photos!!
An interesting week - failed in my attempt to book QE's Maiden Voyage
and on the reserve list.......but happier to have booked Azura's Maiden Voyage with a balcony stateroom of our choosing - Riviera Dk - portside forward.
Today here in Liverpool is Grand National day at Aintree - and watching it in the comfort of our lounge. So, James thanks for all the teams effort with the Blog - and regards to all the Ship's Company. Have a nice Easter time.
Yours from Heather and John (Leslie) Howard.
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