Harry Lake

The original account had O offering some people either FCC or a refund. And then a couple of days later they rescinded that offer. And removing ports was accompanied by nine sea days.

We'd taken a little side trip to see something and got stuck in the mud. We all - well, mostly all, got out and eventually got unstuck. By then it was dark. And we encountered a herd of elephants. The male was in the rear and stopped and turn his full attention on us. We eventually floored it an got past them. A big memory.

But this doesn't have to be either/or. Oh, the cruise as it stands now probably isn't dangerous. If it becomes that I'm betting O will change it yet again. ALL sea days.?

And while nothing illegal seems to have occurred, there's the ethics - or lack thereof. I think social media could have a big voice here.

We did something like this 15 or so years ago. We stayed in accommodations in game preserves. There were no "game drives" because everything was a "game drive." The single track dirt roads were pretty rough but so worth it. I've got 100s of photos (not digital) of animals right beside us.

Oh, I just looked at the Explora site, one I wasn't familiar with. I'll also add on here that I really don't want the large ships. Marina is about it on the larger size. We've also done Hurtigruten on ships with 400 and 100 pax. Loved those.

Could you give an example or two?

I looked at their site and it looks very nice. Thanks.

Now that's what I'm looking for. Context. Experience. Thanks.

Thanks for this. So does that mean that you travel on a number of different cruise lines?

There's also a Rocky Mountaineer rail trip. We did a short one and it was fantastic.

OT but are you thinking about no more travel or a different type. We've done a number of escorted. The early ones were great, the recent ones not so much. We've not done a ton of cruises but have enjoyed them. And we can hit more places than we can DIY. We're thinking about flying in to Barcelona (a city we adore) and then driving or 'training' around northern Spain and then over to Portugal (we've only done Lisbon). We're in our mid70s and trying to figure stuff out 🙂

Well, well. Thanks for this.

What's the non-win on dining? Just that there are fewer? I'm really into food and loved the Marina's.

Yes, that is. And I apologize for sidetracking. It's a matter of what they must do and what they should do.

And if they CANCEL the cruise and give us a refund or FCC we'll still be alive.

We are port/destination oriented. Plus if a change in itinerary takes me places I've already been then no. Like Turkey. We did an escorted, land trip there some years ago and saw more than any cruise could do. And nine days at sea? That would be a nightmare for us.

I just read an article about this. Flight attendants have a list of priorities for upgrades and if you make it it won't be because of how you're dressed. Oh, wait, I just found one of the articles. https://www.tripsavvy.com/what-to-wear-for-first-class-upgrade-5093472

I'm a big advocate of "establishing rapport" aka "sucking up." I've been known - not on a cruise - to spend time chatting with some of the higher ups. Ask about their families, what food do they like, blah, blah, blah. And do it regularly and not when they're busy of course. At/near the end tell them how much they've enjoyed getting to know them and where are they going next? Could you book that cruise? Just a thought.

Do you think that trip insurance would help in this instance?

Absolutely.

I hope you're sending these comments all the way to the top at O.

I hope people actually do these things, don't just talk about it.

Could not agree with you more. Except.... We did an escorted trip in Turkey some years ago and went nowhere near the south. Never had a moment's concern. However not as many years ago IIRC there was a terrorist bombing in the Istanbul airport. AND if someone figures out just how bad a true war could be than all bets are off...as far as I'm concerned.

I'm new here and haven't read all the posts about this so forgive me if I ask a stupid question. (Yeah, I know.) Has anyone called a contact within O to see if they can get any info about ***** is going on?