Thoughts, impressions, and observations for the World Cruise.

[Rogueperson]

5 minutes ago, orville99 said:

There are several cruise lines that currently do the Dubai to Barcelona route by going around the Cape of Good Hope, so that route is not out of the realm of possibility. There may not be many ports of call that fit within the WC's transit timeframe, but the 7-10 days that the route itself consumes is doable.

Is it only 7-10 days?  Or is that an additional 7-10 sea days?  I kinda of feel that 7-10 days is a little short.  My rough estimate is its almost 10K nautical miles to sail around the cape from Oman and make it to the mouth of the Med, vs. 2500K nautical miles from Oman to the Med through the Red Sea and the gulf.  An additional 7500 nm is like 2 weeks of 18 knots average with no port stops.  I'm not sure if its relatable, but our 14 night Greenland Cruise, Nuuk, the farthest port was about 1650 air nm from Bayonne.  I mean, 13 since we actually overnighted in Manhattan and left the US coast straight to Nuuk.  We needed 4 full sea days to cover that distance.  7500 would need at last 16 sea days by that math.  That's not counting the day we left manhattan and coming in at 10am, later than our scheduled arrival of 7, i think?

[kernow]

35 minutes ago, jakeil7 said:

Worse, it isn’t just the time. Several of those east med ports won’t be safe to visit. Basically, they will most likely have to redo the entire 3rd (and 4th?) leg. 

But as others have already mentioned that is still a while away and things can change quickly. I’m sure HQ is already putting together their alternate strategies to deal not just with the WC, but all their east med cruises in 2024. We just need to sit back and wait. 

We are supposed to be doing Rome to Dubai and then on to Singapore on Anthem in October so watching to see what happens with Serenade to give us some idea what they might do.

[orville99]

5 minutes ago, Rogueperson said:

it only 7-10 days?  Or is that an additional 7-10 sea days?  I kinda of feel that

7-10 days is what is quoted by the freight shipping companies as added to the transit time around the cape to the Med due to the current situation in the Suez Canal. Obviously that would not include any port stops, but it fits in the timeframe of that segment, given that freighters don’t typically cruise at 20 knots.

[mo&fran]

29 minutes ago, orville99 said:

7-10 days is what is quoted by the freight shipping companies as added to the transit time around the cape to the Med due to the current situation in the Suez Canal. Obviously that would not include any port stops, but it fits in the timeframe of that segment, given that freighters don’t typically cruise at 20 knots.

more like half that.

[orville99]

27 minutes ago, mo&fran said:

more like half that.

And the Dubai to Greece segment is 18 nights. While they potentially could cancel the Dubai to Greece segment, they would still have sufficient time to take the WC around the horn from Dubai back to Greece for the following segment. Who knows, they might even have time to throw in a port stop in Joberg.

Edited January 17 by orville99

[pstone1]

Today we took a ship’s tour to Tierra Del Fuego National Park.  The name means “Fire Land” and according to our guide, it was coined because of the fires used by the Indigenous People that communicated by smoke-signals.  The day began sunny, clouded up and rained a bit, then cleared again.  The Park was beautiful and our time there, although about 3 hours, was too short!

 

[pstone1]

Beautiful coastlines along the lake, and the The Post Office at the end of the world!

 

Edited January 17 by pstone1

[pstone1]

[MJSailors]

@pstone1 Beautiful photos!

MJ🙎🏻‍♀️

[Tatra603]

47 minutes ago, orville99 said:

And the Dubai to Greece segment is 18 nights. While they potentially could cancel the Dubai to Greece segment, they would still have sufficient time to take the WC around the horn from Dubai back to Greece for the following segment. Who knows, they might even have time to throw in a port stop in Joberg.

 

Isn't Dubai the start of the third quarter and if so, wouldn't that make it harder to scrap that segment?

[Merion_Mom]

37 minutes ago, Tatra603 said:

 

Isn't Dubai the start of the third quarter and if so, wouldn't that make it harder to scrap that segment?

 

Dubai to Athens is the first mini-cruise of the full third segment, which is Dubai to Barcelona.  The third segment is made up of 5 mini-legs.

 

Dubai to Athens.  Athens to Istanbul. Istanbul to Ravenna.  Ravenna to Rome.  Rome to Barcelona.

[Tatra603]

4 minutes ago, Merion_Mom said:

 

Dubai to Athens is the first mini-cruise of the full third segment, which is Dubai to Barcelona.  The third segment is made up of 5 mini-legs.

 

Dubai to Athens.  Athens to Istanbul. Istanbul to Ravenna.  Ravenna to Rome.  Rome to Barcelona.

 

I got my segments mixed up with my mini-legs.

 

[island lady]

2 hours ago, pstone1 said:

 

Fantastic photos...  Thanks for sharing.  🙂 

[island lady]

So nice to be able to get off the ship today...after 8 days "at sea".  😉   Yes, was told by Guest services today, that we stopped off at the little town well before coming to Ushuaia to bring on customs agents to stamp passports...agents from both Chili and Argentina.  Lots of stamping going on there!  😮 

[island lady]

Got lucky with the weather and enjoying some time off the ship.  

[island lady]

Our "foodie tour" aka "Taste of Ushuaia" was really nice.  Only 8 of us, plus another crew member from the shops on board. 

 

First stop was a smoke house/fresh fish market.  Toured behind the scenes with the smokers, a left over monster fish (head) from one of the processes.  Then tasting some crab, smoked cheese, and smoked lamb.  

 

 

 

 

Edited January 17 by island lady

[island lady]

On to lunch at a really beautiful restaurant on the waterfront..  Fantastic food...and wine of course.  😉 

 

 

[island lady]

Next stop...dessert and wine shop.  Bucky checking out the huge "wall of wine" and offering a sample at the bar. 😉   Some dessert wine paired with local decadent chocolate.  

 

Was a great time with good people.  🤗  

 

 

 

 

[retired dude]

54 minutes ago, island lady said:

Next stop...dessert and wine shop.  Bucky checking out the huge "wall of wine" and offering a sample at the bar. 😉   Some dessert wine paired with local decadent chocolate.  

 

Was a great time with good people.  🤗  

 

 

 

 

wc

[orville99]

3 hours ago, Tatra603 said:

 

Isn't Dubai the start of the third quarter and if so, wouldn't that make it harder to scrap that segment?

The people who board in Dubai for the entire third segment may have a different itinerary for the first mini leg, but their segment will go on. Those who booked just for the Dubai to Greece leg may be disappointed however.

[pspercy]

Any pics of the albatross monument on Cape Horn?

[pstone1]

3 hours ago, island lady said:

On to lunch at a really beautiful restaurant on the waterfront..  Fantastic food...and wine of course.  😉 

 

Looks like a great tour!  Everything looked delicious!

[delmom18]

Patricia and anyone else who wants to chime in, I'm curious if you feel you know everyone on board or if you're still meeting new people.

[Eddie Wilson]

2 hours ago, pspercy said:

Any pics of the albatross monument on Cape Horn?

I heard there was water, water everywhere, but not a drop to drink.

[Steeler Nation At Sea]

7 hours ago, orville99 said:

And the Dubai to Greece segment is 18 nights. While they potentially could cancel the Dubai to Greece segment, they would still have sufficient time to take the WC around the horn from Dubai back to Greece for the following segment. Who knows, they might even have time to throw in a port stop in Joberg.

 

Jo'burg is an inland city.  South African larger ports are Cape Town and Durban.  Other cruise lines often include planned stops in the Seychelles, Mauritius, Madagascar and Reunion Islands on the East side of Africa.  On the West, Walvis Bay, Accra, Dakar, the Cape Verde Islands and the Canary Islands are often called.  So many port options, but, to fit into the time frame to get to Athens would surely be a challenge.  

 

Let's hope it doesn't come to that, and not just for UWC, but, so that all the unrest, shelling, mayhem, loss of life and  heartbreak in the region can end  peacefully,  as soon as possible, and for all involved.