A&L_Ont

When I saw they were headed to Senegal I kept humming the theme song to the documentary called The Race to Dakar. It followed actor and motorbike enthusiast Charlie Boorman’s journey from Lisbon to Dakar in 2006, in that years race. Below are some of the lyrics, which seem appropriate for the late eight’s journey across Africa. I hope my god’s beside me here to guide me on this rocky road And when I get to heaven I think I’m going to send him a very fine thank you note It’s the race to Dakar Doesn’t really matter if you win or lose It’s the race to Dakar All that really matters is you got to see it through. Don’t let my senses desert me Nothing to divert me I’m setting my sights on you And in the far of distance I’m afraid of wishing I was safe at home with you. Link if you want to hear the song. https://youtu.be/WqBAa0rhMdk?si=T9IolfhwNib-FXxll

We started sailing in Star Class because the cabins we stayed in were turned into Star Class Cabins. We have done 11 Star Class cruises so far and have only had 1 Genie that was not good. I’m being kind when I say that and it was in 2017. It wasn’t even a full year into the program and since then they all have be amazing. Turns out it was her last cruise before her break and she wasn’t renewed. They all have different personalities and great in their own ways. Our most favourite surprise moment happened a couple weeks ago. It has never happened before and probably never again. Our Genie surprised us with an in cabin concert performance. We walked into our cabin and he was there with Stephen the singer from the pub. We had seen him numerous times in the pub, but never expected to see him in our cabin.

I was too. The last hour it got to the point you could see it coming.

I’m caught up, at least for now. One poster was very opinionated for a days worth of posts and then faded away to be replaced 6-10 pages later by another opinionated poster. Both strong against NCL’s treatment of the guests. I’m not as sympathetic. I screenshotted a couple of my favourite posts. Each are great for different reasons.

After reading all 30 pages over the last few hours I’ve had a few laughs, shook my head at some comments, and have concluded that our practice of taking extra cash and credit cards to port and returning an hour early is a great cruise philosophy. We also take our cells with travel plans and take a of photo or the port agent’s contact info before heading off the ship in every port for just in case purposes.

Thanks for sharing, as a non-local these explanations make sense.

When we go non-cruise I usually post some select photos/details on the Daily Thread found on the main RC page. Keep your eyes open around July 23 for photos there.

I’ve only read the first 3 pages at lunch. All have to catch up on it tonight.

Just reading the NCL board about this. That thread has been live since Saturday and has 26 pages of activity.

If it needs to go from A to B, why wouldn’t they build the new one beside the old one which already has infrastructure on land. That’s what Florida did in the 80s.

Yes, my apologies. See the post below to which referenced only the partial payment of expenses.

I had to rewatch the story as I didn't catch the above in bold the first time. I still think it was a nice gesture on the lines part for the partial refund, as they didn't have to cover anything.🙂

We actually have changed our plans for July, from Sandals to a Royalton resort in Punta Cana. It is an AI, they have a flow rider, we have a Butler which has some perks, private pool/beach area, Diamond lounge, private breakfast area and it is about half of what Sandals would have cost. We stayed a sister resort over NYE in Cancun so we know what to expect. It won't be as nice as Sandals and has kids, but they would have had them on the ship had we cruised. It is not a cruise but there is a wave to ride. More importantly with business air it is 1/3 of what we would have paid to cruise in a Sky Class suite alone, without all the extras on board such as drink package, specialty dining, excursions and no pre cruise hotel or flight cost factored in. There are caribbean options over cruises. We are probably booking the same resort for NYE with business air and a 1 BDR suite. All costs added up would be less than 7 days alone in a Sky Class suite. It is hard to book a cruise when the value is not there. At this rate cruises in our home might just be once a year or less, unless the price bubble pops. Had cruise prices been reasonable for suites we would have taken three more this year, now for us all inclusive are taking over.

I know, the irony is great.

This was the story I saw this morning. One was pregnant and some were elderly so I'm not sure how easily they could have boarded the cruise ship from the military vessel. In watching the video they didn't look overly nimble. The best line was the woman stating that although there is a set of rules NCL followed their rules too rigidly.🤦‍♂️ That was about 1minute into the video.

NCL paid their expenses to get to where they eventually boarded the ship, so they didn't totally stick to policy. That was a gesture that I would not have expected had I missed the ship.

They booked their own excursion, to go off with a guide they never met in the same dangerous place. One would like to think the same guide would at least get them headed in the right direction to the next port of call, not to mention the NCL port agent is there to assist.

Hard to believe it’s been 4 years. Yet here we are. 😀

That makes sense. Add to that the purchase the land on each side of the bridge, zoning etc... Who knows what type of permits they need for a structure that is built in 2 different countries and how long that would have taken. It is rather interesting thinking about it, as a person not associated with this type of job.

We did. The pop package was the same price Canadian as what you posted. Drink package $140 a day per person. 🤦‍♂️

They are close. This was a month ago.

The Windsor bridge is a few hours away from me. I follow a guy on Instagram who frequently posts photos of the work. Below are some of of his latest shots. I left his info on the screen shots if anyone wants to follow his account. Unlike Baltimore this bridge isn’t being constructed in a “hurried” fashion.

Plus 18%😉

Dinner tonight.

Found this today. Looks like things are starting to move. Not sure how accurate it is as it just a random guy talking, but it is interesting.