Somewhere Beyond The Sea - (Cruise Travel)

[neonzx]

I saw this story a couple weeks ago that this silly plan was falling apart.

I know there are people here who enjoy cruise travel. But 3 years trapped on a boat.? I don't care how charming Julie the cruise director is nor how well Isaac the bartender pours your beverages. Nobody wants a 3 year cruise.

[RTH10260]

[AndyinPA]

Ugh.

And I like cruising.

[RTH10260]

Norwegian cruise quarantined due to stomach illness cases on board

ZACH WICHTER USA TODAY
13 hours ago

Norwegian Cruise Line's Norwegian Dawn is currently quarantined off the coast of Mauritius with a reported stomach illness onboard.

“During Norwegian Dawn’s Feb. 13, 2024 South Africa voyage, a small number of guests experienced mild symptoms of a stomach-related illness. Upon the ship’s return to Port Louis, Mauritius, the vessel’s management team met with local authorities to confirm precautions and actions were being taken to ensure the wellbeing of all on board,” a statement from a Norwegian spokesperson said. “Due to additional testing being required by local authorities before being allowed entry, the government of Mauritius has delayed disembarkation for the current cruise and embarkation for the next cruise by two days to Feb. 27, 2024.”

Norwegian Dawn was on a 12-day itinerary from Cape Town to Port Louis that started on Feb. 13.

While on the ground in Mauritius, USA TODAY and a group of journalists scheduled to depart on a press itinerary Sunday, heard the stomach illness was suspected to be cholera.

"We have elevated our sanitation procedures aboard the ship as part of our routine measures to ensure a safe environment for all on board and will continue to take any necessary measures to protect our guests, crew and destinations we visit,” the spokesperson added.

Norwegian is providing complimentary hotel accommodations for guests until they are able to board, and assisting current guests on the ship with travel arrangements.



https://eu.usatoday.com/story/travel/cr ... 737444007/

[AndyinPA]

I can't get a working link, but the problem may be cholera.

[Tiredretiredlawyer]

Hubby and I leave tomorrow for London for a two week Northern Lights Norway cruise. We are travelling with my eldest brother and his wife. They introduced Hubby and me (a funny story I may repeat later). We are calling this our 50th anniversary cruise since our 50th is this year.

Two weeks of no doggies or a cat who went missing 9 days and returned (which I will relate to y’all while on the cruise). No horsies to groom. No dishes to wash. No toilets to clean. No social media postings for Progressive Arkansas Women - my almost full time “volunteer” job- I love it.

Hubby and I will be forced to share a bed without 3 dogs or a cat. We will be alone! We will have to talk, or not, to each other!!!!!! Will the marriage survive? Will Hubby survive? Will TRL survive? Stay posted….

[AndyinPA]

Viking? They are doing a Northern Lights Norway cruise right now. Heavy seas. Enjoy!

I will be going up the coast on Viking in May, but there will be no northern lights then. Buy no matter the time of the year, the Norway coast is magnificent!

[Tiredretiredlawyer]

Heavy seas!!!!! Uh-oh!!!

[AndyinPA]

Heavy seas!!!!! Uh-oh!!!

I'm not sure exactly what ships were involved, but at least one of them was unable to leave Tromso. They were flying passengers in and out. This was a week or two ago, so things could definitely have changed.

We did the coast about ten years ago on Hurtigruten, which is Norway's ferry service. We went in the winter, in March. The water can be pretty choppy, but if the ship is small enough (and if it's Viking, it probably is), they can stay away from the rough seas in calmer water. I'm curious to see how different it will be in May.

I hope you do well in rough seas, not that you will definitely have any. My husband and I have been very lucky. We have been at the edge of a Nor'easter and in a Force 8 gale with no problems. We actually loved the high seas; it's been an adventure for us.

[Volkonski]

If you have been dreaming about taking a romantic cruise to Baltimore you are out of luck for the time being.

Cruise lines working an alternatives for upcoming Baltimore stops

https://www.wmar2news.com/local/cruise- ... more-stops

The Port of Baltimore isn't just a site of commerce, it's also a destination for cruise lines.

Just last year Norwegian Cruise Line began sailing into the Port of Baltimore, though it's next stops in Charm City aren't until September of this year.

But Carnival Cruise Line is working to figure out what it's going to do about it's ship that was scheduled to arrive in Baltimore on Sunday.

Our thoughts are with those affected by this tragic accident. It is premature for us to comment on possible impacts to upcoming sailings," said a spokesperson for Carnival Cruise Line.

Royal Caribbean has a cruise scheduled to leave Baltimore in mid-April. A spokesperson for the cruise line sent us this statement:

"We are deeply saddened by the tragedy and collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge and extend our heartfelt prayers to all those impacted. We are closely monitoring the situation, and our port logistics team is currently working on alternatives for Vision of the Seas’ ongoing and upcoming sailings."

American Cruise Lines is another company that operates cruises with stops in Baltimore, its next scheduled cruise set to depart in May.

The company's spokesperson sent us the following statement:

"Our thoughts and prayers are with those affected by the bridge collapse, and for the safety of everyone involved with the rescue efforts underway. American Cruise Lines small ship cruises currently exploring the Chesapeake Bay remain unaffected, and are operating roundtrip from Washington, DC. In regard to cruises operating in the region later in the 2024 season, we will continue to monitor the situation and make adjustments if needed."

[AndyinPA]

We took one cruise that was out of Baltimore. I thought that would probably be affected. It's nice going through the Chesapeake Bay, but really slow.

[RTH10260]

Norwegian Cruise Line passengers were stranded on a small African island after missing a deadline to re-embark

Joshua Zitser
Apr 2, 2024, 12:31 PM GMT+2

• A couple says they were stranded on an island after missing their cruise ship's boarding time.
  They were on a tour of São Tomé and Príncipe with six others, per US local media. It overran.
  The stranded group flew to Gambia on Sunday, hoping to catch the ship at another port.

A couple says they were stranded on a small African island after they missed a cruise ship's boarding deadline, according to local media.

Jay and Jill Campbell, from Garden City, South Carolina, described their ordeal with a Norwegian Cruise Line ship in an interview with WPDE, their local ABC affiliate.

Norwegian confirmed to Business Insider that they were denied boarding, saying it was their responsibility to be on time.

The Campbells said they were frequent cruisers, embarking on Norwegian Dawn on March 20 for their third voyage with the cruise line in a year.

However, an excursion last Wednesday with six other people to São Tomé and Príncipe, an island nation of some 220,000 people off West Africa, took an unfortunate turn.

The couple says the tour overran, and its operator informed the captain that eight passengers were running late.

They were refused entry to the ship upon their return, according to WPDE, even though they could still see the ship from the shore.

The ship was anchored, Jay Campbell said, but the captain refused to let them board despite repeated calls and emails by the passengers to the ship and the cruise line's emergency hotline.

The São Tomé and Príncipe Coast Guard even took the passengers to the ship, but they weren't able to get on and had to turn back, WPDE reported.

In total, WPDE said that nine passengers were not allowed to reenter the ship, including four elderly people and one person who is a paraplegic.

The Campbells told the news outlet that the ninth passenger was late for another reason — an 80-year-old woman who got a concussion on the island and was hospitalized there.



https://www.businessinsider.com/couple- ... ine-2024-4

[AndyinPA]

I would like to know more about this, but any cruiser knows it's on you to get to the ship if you are doing your own thing at a cruise port. This does seem a little extreme, though, if they were able to tender out and were still refused entry. If they were tendered, it might be a little easier to get the passengers on the ship than if they were docked and the ladders were already up. Captains usually go out of their way to wait for passengers for as long as they can, but it really can mess up schedules and cost the cruise line much more money than one might believe. I've been on a ship where the captain had to leave a passenger behind. He waited as long as he could, but left without him.

This situation doesn't make as much sense to me, and I really sympathize with those passengers. I usually don't.

[RTH10260]

A medical emergency was mentioned, I wonder if they failed to notify the ship from the hospital where they were stuck, and waited until reaching the port.

[W. Kevin Vicklund]

One of my memories from the cruise we took (2010?) is standing at the rail, watching the late passengers make the run of shame down the very lengthy dock at the Isle of Roatan. I was one of not just a few to shout "encouragement" such as "Run, Forrest! Run!"

We have pictures...

[RTH10260]

Rescue team from US Air Force airlifts critically ill passenger from cruise ship in open Atlantic waters

By Forrest Brown, CNN
Published 3:02 PM EDT, Wed May 8, 2024

CNN — A US Air Force rescue team airlifted a civilian passenger needing urgent medical care this past weekend from a Carnival cruise ship that was hundreds of miles out in open Atlantic waters.

The dramatic May 4 medical rescue involved three helicopter air-to-air refuelings to reach the Carnival Venezia, according to a news release from the 920th Rescue Wing.

The Venezia was returning to port in New York City after various stops in the Bahamas and Caribbean but was about 350 nautical miles (about 400 land miles or 645 kilometers) away from the US mainland.

Called into action from Patrick Space Force Base in Florida were two HH-60G Pave Hawk helicopters, two HC-130J Combat King II aircraft and two teams of combat rescue officers and pararescuemen, the release said.

Because of the distance that had to be covered, the 920th Rescue Wing had to employ the helicopter air-to-air refuelings, also called HAAR, “which involves connecting a probe from the helicopter to a drogue on the HC-130J aircraft, allowing fuel transfer mid-flight,” the release said.

When the aircraft arrived, rescuers were hoisted down from the helicopters and began preparing the patient for transport, the release said. The patient and his mother were taken up into the helicopter, and he received medical attention en route to a hospital on the mainland.

Fire extinguished on Carnival Freedom cruise ship after witnesses reported possible lightning strike
Neither the 920th Rescue Wing nor the cruise line had further information about the patient’s condition or where he was taken for treatment.

“Everyone in the wing mobilized with exceptional speed,” said Capt. Dylan Gann, 301st Rescue Squadron pilot, in the release. “By uniting our efforts, we saved crucial time, delivering life-saving assistance six hours ahead of other response teams.”

Carnival told CNN Travel that the cruise line worked with Air Force and US Coast Guard officials to adjust Venezia’s course to meet the medical helicopter.



https://edition.cnn.com/travel/us-air-f ... index.html

[AndyinPA]

I was on a ship out in the Atlantic when this also happened about five years ago. I think it was a teenager who had to be airlifted to Norfolk. The rescue was visible on the ship's camera. We had our granddaughter with us, so we didn't watch, but from what we heard, it was fascinating to watch.

[RTH10260]

Family’s $15K Carnival Cruise vacation canceled just 2 days prior, without their knowledge, after sharing booking number on Facebook

By Social Links forAllie Griffin
Published May 31, 2024 Updated May 31, 2024, 8:00 a.m. ET

A Kentucky family’s $15,000 Carnival Cruise vacation they had been planning for a year was canceled just two days before the ship was set to sail after they accidentally shared their booking number online in a case of identity theft.

Tiffany Banks was devastated to learn that her trip aboard the Carnival Celebration ship with her husband and their four kids was canceled without her knowledge the day before the family was going to fly to Florida to leave on the boat.

Banks said in a series of TikTok videos that she had no idea their vacation, for which they had already paid in full, was trashed until she got an email about off-ship excursion cancellations and called to investigate.

A Carnival customer service representative told her that she had canceled her $12,000 reservation for the ship’s largest room — the Excel Presidential Suite — through the online system.

A few days later, Carnival called Banks back with an explanation of how her long-awaited cruise trip was canned.

The cruise line told Banks that she was the “victim of a form of identity theft” but that there was no security breach on Carnival’s part, according to a recording of the call she shared on TikTok.

Banks and her husband accidentally shared their cruise booking reference number when posting a screenshot of an email with the countdown to their vacation on Facebook a few weeks out, according to the clip.



https://nypost.com/2024/05/31/us-news/f ... -facebook/

[Maybenaut]

I read the article. I don’t have a lot of sympathy. Carnival offered them a $10K credit for something that was not entirely Carnival’s fault, in exchange for a statement that Carnival had resolved the issue, and they refused.

I suppose Carnival could have done a better job ensuring the cancellation was real, but these people put the information out there that allowed it to happen in the first place.

[RTH10260]

I guessCarnival will send a confirmation code in the future, not just send the booking to hell.

[sad-cafe]

Harmony of the Seas! Starts June 16. 8 days 7 nights

[AndyinPA]

Harmony of the Seas! Starts June 16. 8 days 7 nights

Safe travels!

[AndyinPA]

Sorry, but I have little sympathy for the family who had the cruise cancelled on them. Posting specifics like that are a no no. I don't even post on FB that I'm going away or post photos while I'm gone. Sometimes I post after I return. The friend I traveled with posted while we were gone, but she didn't post a photo of us or mention my name.

I guess I'll post a little about my last cruise.

I think it may be the best cruise I've ever been on. We started in Bergen, Norway, and made our way up the coast. Especially the first week, the weather was warmer than usual, in the 80s and then 70s and 60s, lowering as we went north. The Lofoten Islands have some of the most beautiful scenery I have ever seen. I can see why my husband wanted so much to go there. He would have loved it. I'd love spending more time there.

That and Svalbard Archipelago were the only two new destinations. While Lofoten is lovely, Svalbard is so far north (78 degrees) that it's more desolate. It's Arctic tundra and there are no trees, but there are mountains, lakes, very few roads, and interesting wildlife. The reindeer look very different, as they have adapted to 10,000 years of living there by shortening their legs considerably. The biggest animal is the polar bear. The people try to live with them in the sense that they recognize how dangerous they are, but understand their vulnerability today to climate change. When kids turn six, they are given a rifle and taught how to use it to protect themselves. No one is allowed to go past a certain point (very close to the city of Longyearbyen) without a rifle and an understanding of the rules. It's a rough life, but they have a real sense of community. There aren't many people who would be cut out to live there, but many who live there love it. The average length of time people live there is seven years.

Edited to add:

I did a Part 2 because my computer has gotten into the habit of dumping the Internet, but it did it while I was finishing. I will just add this.

It was probably my favorite cruise. It was the third time I've been in a storm, and probably the worst, as there was ice in the water in the Greenland Sea. The captain said this was very dangerous, and turned the ship around. As he did, plates, glasses, and food went flying all over the cafe. We got out as quickly as possible, but Wow! No one was hurt.

I loved the mostly relaxing cruise, and my friend and I are great travel buddies. But both our husbands really wanted to do this cruise. We toasted them each evening at dinner.

[RTH10260]

article has pictures en masse

Inside the cruise ship Villa Vie Residences’ Odyssey stranded in Belfast with three restaurants, five bars and a pool
The ship has three restaurants, five bars and lounges, a pool with two jacuzzis, a spa and fitness centre and a library

By Caoimhe Quinn McCullough
August 30, 2024 at 10:53am BST

Cruise ship passengers on a continuous round the world trip remain docked in Belfast more than three months on from their scheduled departure.

Villa Vie Residences’ Odyssey was scheduled to leave Queen’s Island in the city in May issues with the rudders and gearbox have led to several delays.

According to the Villa Vie official itinerary, the cruise was supposed to stop at 425 destinations in 147 countries. Right now, at the end of August, passengers should be sailing around France and Belgium.

However, while the ship remains in dry dock in Belfast there seems to be plenty to keep the passengers occupied.

Passengers have the choice between pay-as-you-go and ownership options.

Under ownership, residents can ‘own a villa’ and ‘customise’ the living space. Owning means residents have a villa guaranteed for 15 years and it starts at $99,000 (£77,696).

Friends and family can join residents on the cruise at a cost of $129 (£102) a day

Those unable or unwilling to make such a commitment could book shorter spells onboard, from 35 to 120 days.

The ship itself features eight decks with three restaurants, five bars and lounges, a pool with two Jacuzzis, a spa and fitness centre and a library.

There is also private offices and conference spaces onboard, meaning those who work ‘remotely’ can take it to the extreme can work online from anywhere in the world.

Passengers can even master their swing in a cutting-edge simulator, then take it to the real world on stunning courses.

There is even an onboard golf store with everything from the latest clubs and tech to attire.

Passengers even have access to an onboard hair salon onboard during the three and a half year trip.

Passengers don’t have to live on board the entire time, but 30 days’ notice must be given before re-joining.

The 924-passenger, 25,000 GRT vessel is able to reach parts of the world that larger ships cannot access.

Man rescued after suffering leg fracture in fall at Carrick-a-Rede rope bridgeOpens in new window
The ship’s flatter hull which enables her to navigate inland waterways and rivers too.

In October 2019 (sailing as The Braemar), she became the longest ship ever to transit the Corinth Canal.



https://www.irishnews.com/news/northern ... CAXCN6G3I/

[neonzx]

Lol!

I joke about many people who purchased in SW Florida and they dream as if living on a year round cruise ship.

It isn't that at all.