Day 90 - Tuesday March 28 Muscat, Oman

Muscat photos
position at 7:00am: N23 37.34 latitude E58 34.22 longitude
(Muscat, Oman)
temperature: 77F, 73% humidity, sunny
distance since FLL: 28,890 miles
Here is the description of ship tour we are taking today.
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Mystical Muscat

Duration: 4 Hours.
Seated, Walking.


Enjoy this fine introduction to Muscat, Oman's capital and the country's political, economic and commercial hub. Its exciting mix of medieval, traditional and modern architecture and culture lends Muscat a unique ambiance. From the port, you'll drive through Oman's exclusive residential district of Shati Al Qurum. First visit the Grand Mosque to learn about its distinguished and noble Islamic heritage.
You'll drive along Muscat's pretty coastal road, through the fishing village of Sidab and on to the old city of Muscat. You'll see the splendor of Al Alam Palace, official residence of Sultan Qaboos, which overlooks the sparkling waters of Muscat Bay and sits between the 16th-century medieval fortresses of Jalali and Mirani. Continue on for a visit to Bait Al Zubair, a private museum housing traditional Omani Heritage items that include collections of Omani weaponry, jewelry, clothing, household items, books, photographs, paintings, and maps.
Next, you'll visit the colourful Muttrah Souq, where scents of exotic Arabian perfumes and spices waft through the air. Its shops offer famous Omani khanjars (daggers) and hand-made Omani costumes, along with antiques, traditional silver jewelry, and handicrafts in copper, camel bone, wood, and leather.
Please note: Women must wear modest clothing that covers the body and the head, including the hair. Arms and legs must be covered to wrists and ankles, and a scarf must cover the head. Men must wear modest clothing befitting the sanctity of the mosque. Shorts are not allowed, and food, drinks and smoking are strictly prohibited. Slip-on shoes are recommended, as guests must remove their shoes before entering the mosque. Photography is prohibited at Bait Al Zubair Museum.

Program Pricing
Adult: $45.00.


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The seas were again very calm overnight and Clay skipped his walk this morning. We docked before 7am this morning on the port side. The city of Muscat is a white collar around the harbor and made for a nice sail in. There were a tug, a couple of dhows and a little freighter docked where we headed. So, they had to scatter as we approached. There was a strange-looking ship docked before us and it looked like you could see animals moving around in it. (Clay talked to Laurens during the sailaway and he and Don had toured that ship today! Laurens said it was carrying sheep from Australia and that there were 7 floors and each floor held 20,000 sheep! Clay asked if we were having mutton soon. Laurens just laughed and said, no. But, that is amazing. And, a lot of sheep!)
It is hot and very sunny here today. It is a desert with rocky, barren mountains. There are lots of old watchtowers left behind on the hilltops around the city. This was at one time an old fortified city. Today there are 3 parts, Old Muscat, Mutrah (middle-aged) and Ruwi (new Muscat). Our tour drove us through all 3. They have a strict building code here and there are none of the highrises here that we have seen lately. The buildings must all be white and they have fanciful trim and windows to make them all look traditional. Everything was very clean and appealling-looking.
We had a quick breakfast from the buffet in LaVeranda. Today there was no hot cereal at all. It looked like all the cream of wheat had been eaten, but it was not refilled as Debbie milled around looking for something to eat. She finally had cereal and peanut butter toast. Clay had Cheerios and a banana. We were down on the dock early for our tour but the bus was already loading.
As we left the ship we had a pink and white, laminated badge clipped on us. We had to wear it all the time and return it on our return to the ship. As we drove out of and into the port, an armed, uniformed man came onto the bus and inspected us for the badges. The guide handed each of us a postcard from Oman with stamps already on it as we turned over our tickets. It was a nice touch. We did not ask if this was postage to the USA. We will just keep them for souvenirs. The tour above was pretty much as described. We were on a bus of 37 people again and were on the first bus of 3 or 4 of them. We only entered the mosque, the museum and the souk, all the other stops were only outside photo opportunities. It seemed like things were very spread out and that we drove a long time between, but it was interesting. There were security guards at the mosque along with one woman apparel checker. The guards were wearing wooden clubs as well as pistols on their belts. It seems they take security and appropriate dress very seriously here. Sadly, we had some women who were not prepared to enter the mosque. No matter how many times you tell some people something, we still had a few who did not understand that a ballcap or other hat would not work, even when the female RSSC escort on our bus came around and told women in hats that and asked them if they had a scarf to enter the mosque. So, some tempers flared and some people did not enter. We had about 30 minutes in the mosque and 45 minutes in the souq and about 30 minutes in the museum. We did manage to buy some T-shirts in the souq, but that was all. It was a maze of tiny alleys and we did not find our way around easily. By the time we had unloaded the bus and been guided to the souq entrance we were down to about 35 minutes. We did not buy any frankincense, but the air in the souq was thick with it. For that reason, a half-hour was plenty of time in there for Debbie. We had time at the end to make an unscheduled photo stop at the fish market. It was immediately outside the port gate and had an air about it.
We were back to the ship and at lunch by a little after 1pm. Debbie scored a 3 course lunch and ate almost all of it. She has not had much appetite lately. After lunch, she napped. Clay burned photos to CDs. We sailed a little before the scheduled time of 6pm. The captain did a 360 degree turn in the middle of the harbor for all the guests to be able to see the old Sultan's Palace from the water. (Or maybe just because he likes to do a doughnut a day!) There is a block party tonight at 6:15pm. It is Informal tonight and we plan to eat up in LaVeranda at the Mediterranean Bistro and then Debbie plans to do laundry.
We got an invitation today to an Ice Bar Party. It is for Thursday, March 30th from 6:30pm to 7:15pm. The invitation tells us to wear our red parkas that they gave us in LA and to follow the signs down and forward from the foyer on Deck 4. It says they will break out the caviar and vodka. Since we don't want any of that, we will just go to see a new part of the ship. (And remember to take Bob, so he can get over his sulking about missing the Burj-al-Arab.!)
At LaVeranda during our meal a couple was seated at the table next to us and as he went up to the buffet for his salad and appetizers, he stopped and asked Debbie when we would be posting today's update to the journal. What!?! This couple from Baton Rouge, Louis and Beth, stopped by and said they had just gotten on in Dubai, but had been tracking this journal leading up to their trip. They had been referred to the journal by Karen, a sister in Miami who had found it online. So, Karen, check out the photos today and enjoy! Louis and Beth are both fine and look great, but Beth missed the oatmeal this morning!
Debbie did get the laundry done, but had company. It seems she is not the only one to figure out that dinner is a good time to do laundry. This may mean some tough future competition on that front and Debbie hates competing.
There is some restaurant news in Passages tonight for those who are interested in such things. Update on Latitudes and the new concept of "Kitchen Cabaret." They saw they are "starring our very own Cabaret Mistress, 'Amapola' accompanied by the Voyager Trio. We will keep you posted on this. We have a reservation on the 4th. Also, change is in store again for LaVeranda. Starting tomorrow evening, it will feature "a selection of staple American dishes, good, honest, down home country cooking is on the menu."
In other news, we have a new Staff Captain, Jean Pierre Ravanant. We saw both Daniel Green and the new Staff Captain yesterday, but the newsletter tonight lists the new Staff Captain. We have not met him yet. We will miss Daniel and wish him well wherever he is! It looks like from the newsletter that we may have some new faces in other departments as well, but since we had not met all of them we cannot be sure who is new and who is not.
Muscat photos