World cruise 2024 starts here !

[RichardBartlett]

Not sure whereabouts exactly Bob Hope spent "a wonderous week in Martinique" as it's a fairly mundane A.N. Other Carribbean island but I'm sure he could have afforded reasonably upmarket accommodation which might have swayed his opinion

Anyhoo we walked the main port town and took in the sights , most as everywhere else are in decline and or decay

If you're intent on traveling the world l recommend sooner rather than later as the western world and it's influence seemed to have peaked around the end of the second world war (although quality building wise probably just before the first world war ) and it's been in decline ever since....


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[RichardBartlett]

Bit of an event on the way to the DR. Sadly a passenger had a bad turn and needed urgent medial attention. So the ship diverted to a nearby island for him to be collected

Apparently we have had 3 passengers die on the trip so far .

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[Tri-Tip]

Sad to hear, but I expect that is common on a trip of that length, I would expect the average age of the passengers to be quite high.

When I graduated Jr. High School back in the early 80's, my parents took me on a 2 week cruise to Alaska, the average passenger age was very high. Out of about 600 passengers, I think we lost 3 to old age during the voyage. I remember at dinner, the waiter would bring the butter dish and tap on the butter with the back of a spoon and say "nice and hard, we didn't lose anyone today", if the butter was soft he would say "I guess they had to make room in the refrigerator today".

[RichardBartlett]

"and would love to get your thoughts on mundane details like mail, car storage, home care while away for so long."

Ok had a question regarding the logistics of a longer trip. I can only share our experience

Mail: it's so bad in Tenerife letters hardly ever arrive and for us it's a non issue
Car storage: we rent out our cars so we do not need anything . Ideally we recommend garage and trickle charger
Home care: again we rent to tourists so it's taken care of that way
Both help to offset the cost.

Taking a WC is not as hard or as easy as most think. The internet means everything you have to do normally like pay bills is easy but the duration can get tiring especially if it's several port days in a row as you're so anxious to fill in the hours available.


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[RichardBartlett]

Puerto Plata
Currently sitting in Taino Bay the port resort. Looks lovely but the music is so loud its unbearable.only here for the free WiFi TBF

Such a shame they only cater for spring breakers as it ruins it for everyone else..

getting back on ship asap


The rest of the island is as expected. Spanish Carribbean tourist island. We enjoyed it

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[JSol1]

Originally Posted by RichardBartlett

"and would love to get your thoughts on mundane details like mail, car storage, home care while away for so long."

Ok had a question regarding the logistics of a longer trip. I can only share our experience

Mail: it's so bad in Tenerife letters hardly ever arrive and for us it's a non issue
Car storage: we rent out our cars so we do not need anything . Ideally we recommend garage and trickle charger
Home care: again we rent to tourists so it's taken care of that way
Both help to offset the cost.

Taking a WC is not as hard or as easy as most think. The internet means everything you have to do normally like pay bills is easy but the duration can get tiring especially if it's several port days in a row as you're so anxious to fill in the hours available.


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Thanks for your feedback Richard!

[RichardBartlett]

Ocean cay MSC own resort in the Bahamas. Has a slight The Truman show feel but if you live in a cold climate and have a family it's great for a few days.
Had a bit of hassle as was extremely windy first thing and MSC Magnifica was supposed to tender but sea was to rough so they had to cancel although they were providing the provisions for the day which they managed to get ashore before departing for Miami

Currently in Miami airport car rental about to head down to Key West

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[Cobie]

Originally Posted by RichardBartlett

Well maybe some of our south Africans can tell me what there is to Durban that's appealing as it's not hit any sweet spots for us.

We return later to port Elizabeth which we are not expecting much and cape town which apparently is well worth it
Fingers crossed

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Love the pics from your trip! Durban is a mess unfortunately. Hopefully the politics turn around and the city can get back on its feet


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[RichardBartlett]

Originally Posted by Cobie

Love the pics from your trip! Durban is a mess unfortunately. Hopefully the politics turn around and the city can get back on its feet


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Sadly I cannot see SA ever getting back on its feet. As one old stager said "Apartied was bad , but what they replaced it was is equally as bad" but if course you're not allowed to say that

A Capetown local said to me, "Enjoy CT now as it's starting to go downhill hill, we are seeing the signs creeping in" don't know if that's true but that's what he said..

[RichardBartlett]

Key West

I first visited KW back in 1990 and it was a relatively quiet place. Stayed in the centre in a hotel and drank at a local bar. Outside looks slightly different but the inside was exactly as I remembered...


The whole area is looking a bit tacky these days with crappy Tee shirt shops selling shoddy goods with obscenities written on them as if they are either witty or edgy..*handy hint, they are just crass and if you buy and worse wear one your even crass'er (no such word but you get my drift)

Hence, the place is starting to look low rent and a bit naff.. It has a sense of old money style and grace being taken over by brash new money with zero class...Shame.

Tomorrow even more touristy stuff

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[piratfisk]

I visited NAS Key West once & never got the impression that this place ever once had "old money style." It seems like if it weren't for the annual hurricane, the whole island would be sticky from spilled sugary cocktails.

[RichardBartlett]

Originally Posted by piratfisk

I visited NAS Key West once & never got the impression that this place ever once had "old money style." It seems like if it weren't for the annual hurricane, the whole island would be sticky from spilled sugary cocktails.

I guess that depends when you visited it.

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[Brenngun]

Only thing I've ever found worth doing in Key West is spending time at the cigar factories. Good quality at reasonable prices.

[Maleg]

Originally Posted by RichardBartlett

I guess that depends when you visited it.

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I visited Key West many times in the early 80’s. It was a bar town and tourist trap. A lot of military people and a popular winter spot for gay men. T-shirt and paraphernalia shops were there then. The t-shirt shops had a mixture of surfer styles and vulgar slogans aimed at the late teen crowd. I don’t recall getting an old money vibe there.

It doesn’t sound like much has changed.

[RichardBartlett]

Originally Posted by Maleg

I visited Key West many times in the early 80’s. It was a bar town and tourist trap. A lot of military people and a popular winter spot for gay men. T-shirt and paraphernalia shops were there then. The t-shirt shops had a mixture of surfer styles and vulgar slogans aimed at the late teen crowd. I don’t recall getting an old money vibe there.

It doesn’t sound like much has changed.

My memory must be playing tricks as I remember it a slightly sleepy without any tackiness to it, perhaps we went out of season but it was very quiet and very quaint.



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[RichardBartlett]

Originally Posted by Maleg

I visited Key West many times in the early 80’s. It was a bar town and tourist trap. A lot of military people and a popular winter spot for gay men. T-shirt and paraphernalia shops were there then. The t-shirt shops had a mixture of surfer styles and vulgar slogans aimed at the late teen crowd. I don’t recall getting an old money vibe there.

It doesn’t sound like much has changed.

One slightly funny story as we (my brother and l ) were sitting having coffee and a waiter served us and said "oh there's a couple of bars for you guys l can recommend" l replied "err that's my brother" "oh so sorry " and scuttled away. Not that l have an issue with him saying it . We just laughed.



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[RichardBartlett]

Rainy day in New York..

We were up at 03.00 to help guide the ship into port 90. Which is next to the Intrepid museum and just off Hell's Kitchen. So as good a location as you'd ever want

However on getting off at 10.00am the heavens opened and never stopped.Rained all day, really put a damper on things.

Apparently it's another day of solid rain tomorrow so my first trip to the big Apple will be a bit of a wash out sadly. My partner absolutely loves New York and is the only place in America she'd ever consider living, personally from what l saw today it's not for me..

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[piratfisk]

Ooof, sorry your first experience in my home city was quite damp. NY in the rain or snow is pretty crappy. Plenty of pizzerias have indoor seating! John's (278 Bleeker) isn't too far from you.

[RichardBartlett]

Originally Posted by piratfisk

Ooof, sorry your first experience in my home city was quite damp. NY in the rain or snow is pretty crappy. Plenty of pizzerias have indoor seating! John's (278 Bleeker) isn't too far from you.

So we returned around 17.00 and stayed on the ship and luckily had a jazz ensemble perform on stage for the entertainment. They were truly brilliant. Best show of the cruise for me. I could have listened to them all night. If (big if) I return I'll make it a must do to go to a jazz club..

The forecast said it would stop around 20.00 or so, but instead it just rained harder. I had hoped to go see the lights but tbh I can't be arsed to get soaking wet and freezing cold again..

We have an arranged bus tour tomorrow but if it's still raining -as expected- I'll just get straight back on the ship after. NY was one of the * ports but the weather has killed any interest in the place.

Sadly it's the worst weather we've encountered in two world cruises.. heyho.

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[Romeojk]

Hi Richard, don’t let the weather win. Sounds like you were either cold or wet or both. I offer a solution. Go to the REI store in NYC Manhattan/SoHo and gear up with some nice sweaters and rain jackets, a scarf and maybe some mittens and a backpack to toss it all in when you get somewhere fun. Take cabs, find and go see a show on or around Broadway. Go to a nice restaurant for lunch. Go to MoMa museum or some other one. If you like architecture go on a tour of the NYSE building or maybe the NY Public Library building. There’s so much great stuff in NYC, I believe in you and that you can do better than that bus. Even going into some of those great department stores can be a fun day.

If you’re going anywhere else on the east coast this week you will want that rain gear.

My wife and I have always liked the rain, it keeps the crowds down.

Good luck, I hope this doesn’t sound shitty, I just want you to experience something better.

[Romeojk]

Also, The NY Auto Show is in town this week if you like cars/trucks

[RichardBartlett]

Originally Posted by Romeojk

Hi Richard, don’t let the weather win. Sounds like you were either cold or wet or both. I offer a solution. Go to the REI store in NYC Manhattan/SoHo and gear up with some nice sweaters and rain jackets, a scarf and maybe some mittens and a backpack to toss it all in when you get somewhere fun. Take cabs, find and go see a show on or around Broadway. Go to a nice restaurant for lunch. Go to MoMa museum or some other one. If you like architecture go on a tour of the NYSE building or maybe the NY Public Library building. There’s so much great stuff in NYC, I believe in you and that you can do better than that bus. Even going into some of those great department stores can be a fun day.

If you’re going anywhere else on the east coast this week you will want that rain gear.

My wife and I have always liked the rain, it keeps the crowds down.

Good luck, I hope this doesn’t sound shitty, I just want you to experience something better.

As you know it's still raining.. we had an included tour this morning with a nice informative guide . We only got off to walk round ground zero and grand central terminal

We have winter gear as we are going on to Canada then Greenland , Iceland and bloody England! .

but the reason l left the UK was the weather, so NY doesn't appeal when it's like this. Yes we got totally soaked and that's put me right off. I'm too old to be walking around wet and freezing, plus NY is far too expensive to shop in any case.

Everything here is way way waaay over priced compared to what we are used to back in Spain where l live. USA was always considered cheap compared to the UK but jeepers the cost of everything here is mental money these days.

So we're back onboard and tbh nothing is exciting enough to drag me out again in this rain . I know so many people who rave about NY (my partner included) but maybe it's the weather but I was decidedly underwhelmed by it. Just not my cup of tea

but I really appreciate your posts :-)

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[RichardBartlett]

Just got informed river pilots deem it unsafe to depart today so we have another evening here..

Probably go for a nice stroll...

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[Romeojk]

It’s a pretty significant storm for wind and minor flooding. And north of us in New Hampshire and Maine they will be getting about 12” of snow. You’ll be following it right up the coast for a bit. The free app I use is called Windy, good luck.

[RichardBartlett]

We head straight to Halifax tomorrow morning at 06.30 again weather depending

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[RichardBartlett]

Batten down the hatches!

So we have left NY and are just peaking out to sea and see. The captain has issued an edict to the crew regards the weather conditions that everything must be tied down or stowed away as he's expecting very high seas.

Not encountered this kind of weather out at sea before so should be quite exciting

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[77T]

Much luck with the seas - it may be a funny following sea which plows the ship forward and then into the next trough if it isn't staying ahead of the pace of the swells.


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[piratfisk]

Hope you brought dramamine, ya landlubber & filthy pollywog :)

[RichardBartlett]

Ok sea wasn't anywhere near as bad as they said it would be but we had to cancel Rhode island as it was a tender port and we couldn't safely disembark

Currently in Halifax NC mostly closed till spring time apparently
Hovering around 0c or 32f
Must be quite nice in summer and a cool buzz but a tad cool ATM


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[Tri-Tip]

Too bad it's so cold, Halifax is a beautiful place.