Passengers stranded in Cape Town over the volcano

[WC11]

No is going anywhere on flights through Europe. Regent has done a good job getting everyone hotels, even for the entertainers. Hopefully the cloud will lift and at least people will be able to get into the UK to get home. Some are considering going through South America or Singapore.

[EOS-User]

Won't make any difference - ALL UK airspace is currently closed - as is much of Northern Europe!

 

Search the forums for 'Volcano'... there's quite a few threads running...

[WesW]

Latest news from Cruise Critic on the Ash Crisis (4 am today)

 

http://www.cruisecritic.com/news/news.cfm?ID=3807

[WC11]

Won't make any difference - ALL UK airspace is currently closed - as is much of Northern Europe!

 

Search the forums for 'Volcano'... there's quite a few threads running...

 

I was talking about people trying to get back to the US. Europe forget it. As I keep up with this there is no end in sight from various news organizations. Cape Town today was full of Europeans, not only from the Voyager, just stuck here.

[Pam]

We have flown to and from S. Africa twice, both times through Atlanta. I know SAA flies out of the DC area, and several airlines through JFK. Hopefully there will be some relief, at least for the people headed for the US.

[PaulaJK]

We disembarked Voyager in CPT as the volcano decided to discharge its ash. We were independent travellers and had four nights planned in CPT so initially [and naively] we weren't so concerned. Of course, the air closures increased and persisted and it quickly became a zoo of sorts. SAA was sold out thru April. Eventually many folks went either to Dubai or Buenos Aires to reach US soil........an expensive routing for many. I couldn't find any routings that went from South Africa to JFK without a stopover in Europe but perhaps that was due to lack of seat availability.

[RachelG]

So how did you get home, Paula?? We want details.

[PaulaJK]

Rachel,

 

For the first time in our vacation-lives we had scored FC award tix from CPT on BA. I felt like the cheshire cat with a bowl of scones and clotted cream and read all that I could about BA's FC service. Of course, BA goes though LHR which was totally closed. SO-o-o- we had the choice of still using those tix now re-scheduled for the end of April [expensive long stay in CPT plus we are employed] or biting a very big and hard bullet and purchasing new tix. We chose the latter. We flew Cpt to JoBerg..layover...to Buenos Aires...layover...to JFK. A few other Regent guests were at our hotel and chose to go thru Dubai. No one with whom I chatted had any more direct flight options.

 

I may write a short review of the cruise over the weekend...but those 'details' these days seem to get one plummeted!

 

Was it you [i am jet lagged] who was concerned about not knowing staff on Mariner? Many of the Voyager crew/staff were going over there very soon, including CD Jamie & his wife Dana. There seems to be more crew--of all levels-- going back & forth, but of course I don't have any stats on that...it's just an impression.

[RachelG]

Wow, Paula, what a world tour! I am glad you made it home, but I too would have been very disappointed about missing BA FC.

It is my husband who is worried about not knowing anyone on Mariner. He will be fine. He is just spoiled because he knows so many people on Voyager, and they take such good care of him.