The Pacific Ocean - Putting on the brakes and going a different way ...

January 31, 2024

 

Well, some of you may have seen some headlines concerning cruise ships, the Red Sea, the Houthis and of course Gaza, the West Bank and Israel. 

The long and short of it is that the Houthis in Yemen are attacking ships in the Red Sea to protest the problems going on in Gaza and Israel.  Several ships have been hit by missiles just because they were in the wrong place at the wrong time.   The U.S. has retaliated in force but the threat is still there and it is real.

So here we are way over in the Pacific Ocean minding our own business and enjoying our stops along the way.  We are not supposed to be in the Red Sea area for about 2 months from now. But… things just cannot go along as planned when there is so much uncertainty headed our way.   Short story long, we are being diverted before we get to that particular area.  Along with every other cruise ship, cargo ships, etc.   At least 14 other cruise ships from various lines have already diverted. We stay the same until we leave Columbo, Sri Lanka.  Ater that stop we are heading south and going to go around Africa instead. 

Unfortunately, we are going to miss stops in India, UAE, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Oman, Jordon, Egypt, the Suez Canal, Turkey, Greece, and Israel, Italy, Spain and the Azores.   Wow!  What a bummer.  Everyone on board is hanging on to two branches.   One branch is that they are disappointed by this move and the other branch is that they agree it has to be done.  No company is going to willingly let their ships sail into a war zone.  No insurance company is going to allow that either.

Vialula and I are disappointed about losing Petra, Jerusalem, Athens, and really all of them.  But let’s take a look at what we pick up!  (TRYING TO BE POSITIVE HERE)  Vi and I have never been to Africa so we are looking forward to some things.   We are going to Male, Maldives, Seychelles, Zanzibar, Mozambique, Durban, South Africa where we hope to take a couple days trip off the boat on a safari.

We then catch back up with the ship in Cape Town where we have a couple of days and then we head up the west coast and a couple of stops in Namibia, Ghana, Gambia. Then continue going north till we Cape Verde and then cross over the Atlantic to Puerto Rico and eventually home to Ft. Lauderdale on May 11. 

I know I have thrown a lot out there.  We will leave it and just say that while we are disappointed in some of our lost stops, but we look forward to seeing a whole new continent and places we probably would not have seen otherwise.  Vialula will show you a map of what we will be doing.

As you might suspect, there is a ton of logistics that have to take place and the planning is very difficult.    Where do we get needed supplies, where do we refuel, coordinating excursions at the new stops, etc.   These are things that are usually done years in advance and now it is spur of the moment.

Oh well, it will all work out in the end and come May 11 we will be disembarking and getting on a flight and coming home.    So, stay tuned and follow us along as we explore new things for us too.  

Next stop, Kona, Hawaii - - -  Let us know if you want some coffee! Aloha!

LeRoy & Vi