MV Discovery cruise plus unplanned extension!

[judb]

Our cruise was due to end on April 15th at Safaga, the day the volcano blew. The plane from Gatwick had taken off before the flight ban so those passengers were able to join the ship. The Manchester flight had not taken off, so those people who were to have flown to Manchester stayed on the ship. We were taken to a 5* all inclusive hotel in Hurghada where we were looked after very well, thanks to Discovery and Thomsons. Although there were some confusions and after a few days single people had to share rooms, we were very glad to be part of the Discovery group when we heard about the problems some other groups were having.

The Cruise Manager Mo Holland was brilliant in keeping us informed in giving us all the information she had and looking after us all. We eventually got back yesterday night on a flight bound for Newcastle, later diverted to Gatwick once it opened.

All this excitement has rather made me forget the cruise itself, except to say that the officers and crew were brilliant.

Although it is an elderly ship it has a welcoming feel to it, the standard of the lectures was excellent, the drinks were reasonably priced, even some of the tours were well priced (notably not the Seychelles, dont know why that was). Food was very good, although the Lido bar was a bit of a scrum at times.

There was a cough going round the ship but no sign of the dreaded norovirus, hand sanitizers were much in evidence.

All in all I enjoyed it hugely and will miss not being able to pick up the phone to order tea whenever the fancy takes me.

 

As I have not cruised before I have nothing to compare with, but I am already looking forward to my next cruise on Discovery:)

[OldJerseycruiser]

I am glad that you enjoyed your first cruise on Discovery. She doesn't have all the razzamatazz of the bigger ships, but she feels like an old friend and we love sailing on her now and then. :)

[SwissMyst]

So good to get your Discovery report and the good words about the good work the ship did to keep everyone comfortable during those very difficult days. We left her just recently in Capetown after 42 days from Hong Kong and agree with everything you said, including our own bouts with a coughing sickness too that seemed to grip the ship and not quite let go.

 

Sorry to hear it is still plaguing some of the passengers. Many escaped but many did not. We forget how many people were coming on the ship from "winter" into immediate hot and muggy summer, so perhaps this time of the year and where the ship embarkation was situated contribute to the sickness vulnerability. It was definitely a nuisance, but not enough to ruin anything.

 

She is a special ship and unlike the typical modern cruise ship today. She is solid and functional and has terrific itineraries unique in the industry and superb enrichment activities. Any ship who took out the casino and leaves the library in prime time is my kind of ship.

 

Thanks for your report and wonder how you managed through the pirate waters as you travelled up the African coast. From the Maldives to Seychelles were were under pirate "lockdown" and then a few more days again from Reuinon down to Port Elizabeth.

 

Seychelles were the dream destination and luckily much of it could be done on one's own and the snorkeling/plantation trip was well worth it. What other cruise gives you three stops in the Seychelles? Praslin, La Digue and Male. Fantastic.

[judb]

hi Swissmyst

You asked about our trip whilst in the Indian Ocean. Well, there was much evidence of anti-pirate defences, which were appreciated when we were approached by a pirate boat just out of Mombasa. They came up to us but were deterred by our defenses (razor wire, high pressure hoses, I expect you had the same) and with a bit of swerving to create a large wave we managed to deter them. It was a bit scary but they pushed off and that was the last we saw of them.

Because of the increased pirate activity we had to change itinerary and only had one day in the Seychelles which was a shame and a longer route to Salalah.

Our call at Jordan for Petra was a high spot. Salalah was quite interesting, but there's not all that much to see there if I'm honest. We took the trip to Abydos and Denderra when we got to Egypt but although they were fascinating there was so much time on the coach. Due to Egyptian immigration (!) we were an hour late setting off so we only got to Denderra as they were closing, so we had to whip round quickly.

But I loved the holiday and the people on Discovery and the ship itself. It helped that the sea was flat calm and the weather was perfect.

If anyone has any specific questions I will try and answer them but as I have already said, this was my first cruise so I have nothing to comapre it with

Judb

[SwissMyst]

Judb, fascinating report about the pirate threat near Mombasa. Did they send you to the pirate alert muster stations in the dining room and front desk areas. It sounds like you were able to watch what is happening. Yes, there was the barbed wire and high pressure hoses ready to put into action, plus the wonderful crew having to stand extra duty on deck scanning the oceans, often out in the very hot sun.

 

Thanks for the report. The threats are real. And how good to learn the defenses do act as deterrents. The new captain we picked up after Mauritius has really had his share to major problems: sand bars and high winds in Madagascar, rough seas for days on end in the passage to South Africa, and now pirates in Mombasa. Captain Kemp must have been happy to leave when he did. Or seasoned enough to let someone else take over for a while through this stretch.

[judb]

SwissMyst

 

Sorry not to have replied before, we did not have to go to our safe muster stations because the attempted attack came on our first morning out of Mombasa, before we had had the drill. I did not see the pirates myself as it was early in the morning and we were just getting up, but we heard 'code purple, code purple' on the tannoy and wondered what it was. Then later someone who had been on deck and taken photos of them showed the photos to us, so we knew it had been REAL! This meant that we had to take a wider route to Salalah and missed calling in at Sharm el Sheikh. That meant a lot of days at sea which some people weren't too happy about, but passenger safety has to take priority.

 

Once we had got into the Red Sea the defences were taken down and portholes opened etc. And we had a pirate party on deck!! with no real pirates thankfully!

 

any more questions I'll try and answer them.

 

Judb