Simon Bolivar's Cruise Saga

[Simon Bolivar]

Cheers Guys, now I have proved & can retrieve photos from my FB page & crop them on my phone & post from here, I'll do the rest next week when I'll be on lock down in Bournemouth & no doubt looking for something constructive to do.

[Simon Bolivar]

Well lots of technical issues but having another go now. Will add text shortly. So we left UK on the 12th & arrived in Sing'ers Thurs 08:00. There was transport waiting for us to take us to the ship but we had heard the ship had yet to arrive & our check was scheduled for 18:30. we didn't want to be stuck at the port all day so I had booked a hotel for the day for ?38. We went there by taxi & after showering & a wee rest he headed out into Town.
The only mistake we made was to turn up at the ship by 20:30, I would have waited longer but my wife wanted to get onboard & unpacked. Unfortunately it soon became apparent that no one had yet boarded, some indeed, had been waiting since 06:00. No food or drink had been handed out & the mood was very angry.
We finally got a tiny bottle of water & a pack of 3 biscuits @ 22:30 & boarded at 23:00. We had pointed out before leaving the UK that our boarding ticket said the 14th but MSC had brought that fwd. We asked them to send us updated tickets but they said it wouldn't be a problem. Ha ! Turns out the reason for the delays at boarding was the Singapore Immigration officials wouldn't allow boarding until the date was updated for everyone's tickets on their computer!
We grabbed a quick meal in the buffet & whilst my wife unpacked & headed to the Cigar lounge & had my first of the holiday, a LfDC ER2016, with a glass of dry white, something I find matches it very well.


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[Max A]

Yes Simon!!! I've been looking forward to this.

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[Simon Bolivar]

Yes Simon!!! I've been looking forward to this.

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Cheers Max, script added to the first photos, will post more later tonight.

[geoffbot]

Captain haddock!

[Simon Bolivar]

Captain haddock!

Ha, ha! My ol' Sea Daddy himself.

[Simon Bolivar]

Just noticed I forgot to mention the top pic with the matching bracelets. As you can probably guess I am not a bracelet wearing kinda guy, certainly never worn a woven one before but these came up as an ad on F.B. I think last year. They would engrave any GPS co-ordinates you wanted on them, made in the Philippines, monies to a charity ect. So I thought it would be an idea for a Valentine's pressie for my nearest & dearest, to put on the the co-ordinates of where we met on 5th May '90; a night club outside of Antwerp. Valentine's would fall whilst we were in Singapore, as well as a touching & heartfelt gift, if anything happened to us, at least the police would have a clue were we came from (crazy pre-Covid19 thought).

Anyway, months went by & a postman knocked on the door with a parcel. Now we get quite a few, what with fishing lures, cigars & my wife's penchant for cheap Ebay goods from China but this guy wanted E72 for Tax& Duty! The parcel didn't weigh but a few grams & it stated it was a bracelet so why the high charge? He didn't know, I asked my wife if she'd ordered a bracelet, she denied it. So he said, don't worry, you don't have to accept it, I'll send it back. So off he went. I was just congratulating myself on saving E72, when I remembered about the bracelets I had ordered so long ago. I rushed out & just stopped him pulling away & had to confess I had ordered them & would sign for them.

Guess you can put this down to a very senior moment but even so, when I ordered them I did so because they were about E20 & even with the P&P they would be well under E50, under which I haven't been charged anything before. Sure felt like I'd been robbed. Still luckily she loved them & we wore them for the rest of the cruise, I only took mine off when I got back to work & had to regularly use alcohol gel on hands & wrists & it didn't seem a good idea to keep wearing it.

[Max A]

That's a very thoughtful gift [emoji6][emoji1303] I'm sure the postman thought you were crazy though... [emoji23][emoji1787][emoji1303]

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[Simon Bolivar]

So another part of the saga. After sailing from Singapore, a day at sea. Whilst the wife overdoses on UV, I take a break in the Cigar Lounge & lit up my last Hoyo EL 2003. It would would churlish to say I enjoyed the prevish one better because I smoked it in [emoji1083], if the surroundings were as salubrious, at least there wasn't a mini hurricane blowing through this time! Personally I don't think the dark wrappers suit Hoyo's but after 17yrs, it was a lovely mellow smoke.
A stop off at Langkawi, Malaysia for a day trip to the beach & I smoked this Monte No4 2012, lovely backdrop. That evening I had a Trini Fundadores, gorgeous as always.

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[Max A]

Nice to see an update Simon [emoji6]

The cigars look nice and the cigar lounge sounds like a fitting place to enjoy a break. Did many others use the cigar lounge?

As we're in lockdown we're fulfilling our travelling needs through this thread [emoji23][emoji1303]

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[Simon Bolivar]

Nice to see an update Simon [emoji6]

The cigars look nice and the cigar lounge sounds like a fitting place to enjoy a break. Did many others use the cigar lounge?

As we're in lockdown we're fulfilling our travelling needs through this thread [emoji23][emoji1303]

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Ha, good of you to say so Max, I'll try & drag some more out today. So far this has lasted twice as long a my cruise! Only one other chap smoking cigars & he only smoked bandless Canary Islands sticks. They did have a decent stock but of course charged a lot for them ever saw anyone buy any. I meant to look through the cabinets & see what dates they had but wasn't impressed with their humidification, far too low. I tried to [point this out & they sounded interested but it didn't change.

[Simon Bolivar]

Next part. 17th & 18th Malaysia, firstly Penang & then Kula Lumpa, we we visited Temples & saw the famous tall building. Managed a Petit Punch 2002, back onboard, shame there discontinued these little beauties, a classic short smoke. & the following day at sea a Monte 80th Anniversary 2008. This is a pretty splendid stick, as those who have tried it will know. Not spectacular but then the Monte profile is too middle of the road for that but a very pleasant distinguished smoke IMHO.

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[Simon Bolivar]

More. Pic of the Fundy on the Crystal staircase. Slightly over blown after cropping to download on Taptalk. The RA ER Portugal 2010, is a wonderful wee smoke, all the RA ER's are good cigars, just different formats. This suits mornings, with coffee & stickies IMHO! Another morning at sea (6 days crossing the Indian Ocean after being refused entry to Sir Lanka & India) & the cigar of choice was the Hoyo Epi No2 2005, Epi' is obviously short for epic! That afternoon, on a bit of a roll, I had a Party SdCon No3 2007, nicely paired with coffee & a Genlivet. Another morning, well just before lunch) & a LGC No1 2004, with Coffee & Club Havana rum. These are delightful & worth smoking indoors or very sheltered warm spot, to appreciate the more delicate floral notes.

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[Simon Bolivar]

A VR DA 2004, is a cigar to be savoured & to take your time over; perfect cruising smoke. I start with a coffee & managed several drinks to pair it with, as the afternoon whiled away. Tragic this gem on the Don, was discontinued but I suspected we'll see it as an EL in the future. Before a Gala dinner, a Cohiba Maduro Secretos 2015, Club Havana 7yo. Another morning a QdO Panatela 2002, my fav of this marca, a lovely morning smoke, even my wife joined me in the cigar lounge for this one! A visit to Thailand The Man with the Golden Cigar! For those who remember the James Bond Island, an ode to the prolific cigar smoker, Roger Moore.

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[Kickback]

Oh James !



Nice write up and lovely selection of cigars.
Lucky there's a cigar lounge, I would have thought ships may have gone no smoking , luckily not.