jollyjones

Jose has trapped the Insignia in Manhattan (along with the Silver Whisper and Aida Diva) - anyone have any information about when they might get out?

The NHC forecast shows Jose to be nearly stationary so it could be a while - I wonder what the cruise lines will do?

One upside though, if you've got to be stuck anywhere, Manhattan is where I'd choose!

Any thoughts on how long the Whisper may have to stay in New York? She's still trapped there by Jose, and Jose looks to be hanging around for a while yet. Gonna have to be a serious revision of the itinerary.

Sent from my iPad using Forums

Definitely Rolls Royce models.

Sent from my iPad using Forums

All, we will be ok.

Thanks for the good thoughts.

 

I will take the tonic though and mix it with some gin.

No ice because water contaminated.

Perhaps I will make some ice from bottled water.

;-)

Ah, warm gin and tonic - takes me back to my youth in English pubs.

Sorry you can't make it to your cruise but I do sympathize - when disembarkation from the Whisper recently was coming near, Jose was potentially threatening Bermuda so I spent awhile looking for earlier flights home; didn't need them as it turned out but I felt I wanted to be at home if there were going to be problems. (Can't believe Jose is still causing problems)

I 'spect it's way too late but it would have been fun if you could have rolled over your SS booking to join me on the Muse Dec 6th - southern Caribbean so with a bit of luck those islands will still be there.

The poor, poor Leeward islands.

And Mexico.

And everywhere else suffering natural disasters, seems like there's almost too many to comprehend.

Spins,

Gotta say it - I know you personally didn't vote for the Orange Idiot supposedly running your country, but the rest of us out in the rest of the world are distressed, to put it mildly, about what he can do to us all.

Oh, for a very tiny cat 5 hurricane just over him.

Sent from my iPad using Forums

OMG a cat 5 directly over Dominica, I wonder if there'll be anything left. Can this season get any worse?

Sent from my iPad using Forums

There's dead fish all along the waterlines - I can only guess that it's something to do with Hurricane Jose which is really stirring up the sea and has been for a lot longer than one would expect with a storm passing by on a 'normal' track.

But it's strange - I don't remember seeing so many fish even when we've had a direct hit from a storm.

I am sitting in the Arts Cafe, and there are two small book shelves with probably no more than 50 books between them. The Observation lounge has many more. I certainly would not consider either a library. Certainly the chairs in eith place do not give it that "library" feel. Never have seen anyone reading one of the ship's books in the Arts Cafe, which are "hidden" behind two columns that separate sitting areas. They do advertise the Observation Lounge as the place for the library, but the Whisper had about the same number of books in the same area.

Sorry, I'm not quite getting this. Do you mean the number of books in the Observation lounge on the Muse is about similar to the number in the Library on the Whisper? Having just disembarked the Whisper, I found the library there quite adequate - don't forget, they usually have extra books in the cupboards under the shelves to replenish if the shelves look bare.

Maybe it's a reversal of the usual set up where the 'reading' books are in the Library, and the 'reference' books are in the Observation lounge.

I hope they're going to retain an adequate library - no, one would never expect something as grand as a land-based Library - because so many of us prefer reading an actual book. Of course I have lots of books loaded on my iPad but I use that mostly when traveling between places that have proper books (like on the plane).

Lee is forecast to fizzle.

Sent from my iPad using Forums

Good grief! They're forming faster than I can keep up.

TD 14 which just looked like a fish storm has made it to TS Lee, although it still doesn't look like too much to worry about.

BUT Invest 96, which I thought would be Lee, is actually Maria and looks like it's headed right along Irma's path, aiming to go over the Virgin Islands on Wednesday, possibly as another major hurricane. OH NO!!:eek:

I always stay at the Dolphin, can't beat the location. And the little quirks of the old building add to the charm.

Sent from my iPad using Forums

Hi Spins,

Yes, so far so good this summer here in BDA. Hot though, but you're no stranger to that.

However my heart sinks as I look at some of the computer models for possibly soon-to-be storm Lee, it might follow Irma's wake right through the islands - I so hope not, they've got enough problems already.

Have you managed enough cleanup / laundry to be able to go away worry-free(ish)? It must be soon.

PS Tried walking on the beach, too hot to walk elsewhere, but swells are already so high that it wasn't comfortable; also an awful lot of dead fish all along the waterline - very curious - we don't even see that after we've actually been hit by a storm.

And despite red flags, there were still tourists frolicking in the waves ... sigh ...

It does appear that Jose is going to be brushing uncomfortably close to the Whisper as she is scheduled to turn around in New York on Tuesday so I wonder what decision SS will make? Maybe she'll be able to do a quick turnaround and out run him.

Having just disembarked from the Whisper last week in Montreal, I must sympathise with some of my trivia team who are still on board, (having sailed from Southampton), who must disembark in NYC - the would have liked to cruise longer but being away for more than a month at a time impacts heavily on their house insurance premiums. We who live in hurricane areas know that anything can happen but I suspect that they, as Brits, didn't really think about it. (OK, I know I'm a Brit, but I've been long away)

Still, since they were (by far) the smartest part of the trivia team, I'm sure they'll sort it out.

Of course, I hope that everyone due to disembark / embark manages it successfully!

For anyone interested, with the current wifi system:

If you have purchased an unlimited package and want to move to a different device, simply log on on with that device and the previous one will automatically disconnect.

If you are using the free 60 mins and want to change devices, just do the same - I have found the handoff between devices to be very smooth and easy. If you want to log off, just type sswifi.com/logout in the top bar.

I agree that it's a bit confusing because there's no obvious 'button' to click to log out - it took me a while to find the trick.

PS I think it's /logout not /logoff - I ought to remember, I only disembarked last week - senior moment, sigh ...

PPS - thanks for posting, OTB, I'm on the Muse in Dec and am interested in hearing the details about her.

Spins,

I'm so glad you made it through, I was thinking of you. And will you ever enjoy that cruise when you get to it!

It's hard to image being without electricity and what that really means. No cold or hot food. No TV. No Internet. No CPAP machine for me. No fans or air conditioning. No garage door opener working, etc., etc. We all kind of take this power source for granted . . . until it is gone. A few years back, a large tree feel over and knocked out our home power for about four days. Not having electric gets old very quickly.

 

.

Terry,

You should try being in my neck of the woods! We get hit by hurricanes regularly, we always lose power after a storm, and with no power we not only lose everything you mention but we also lose water. In Bermuda our water is collected from the roof (that's why the roofs are painted white), stored in a tank under the house, and pumped to the taps with an electric pump. So we all know to fill many, many containers pre-storm with water for drinking (try not to buy plastic bottles), and fill the bath with water for washing and flushing. Otherwise we have to open the tank inspection hatch and haul water out in buckets - no fun!

PS Forgot the most important thing - no ice for the rum!!

Wow! Thought I'd be flamed for my opinion, didn't realize how many shared it. After I disembark tomorrow and have stable internet back again - curiously it was good all the way through Iceland and Greenland at the limit of satellite coverage but has been dreadful down through Canada - l will probably try and post something to Mark Conroy.

Sent from my iPad using Forums

I do so wish they would stop this appalling waste of money and offer an 'opt out' option for those of us who are perfectly happy to download ticket and luggage tags from the website and neither need nor want the entirely unnecessary booklet, box, and waste of energy spent sending it and spent getting rid of it after it's been tossed in the trash.

With an 'opt out' option, those who want the box can have it, those of us who don't, don't have to.

Any ideas on to whom I should send this thought?

Here are some features of using the interactive screens associated with having a Medallion. You can decide if these are to increase onboard revenue or not:

 

 

• Order a drink, and have it delivered wherever you are.
  
• Make specialty dining reservations.
  
• See available venues.
  
• Create your Tagalong™, a digital companion for your cruise.
  
• Compete against other guests through interactive games.
  
• Play casino games anywhere on board.
  
• Shop from anywhere on the ship — and have it delivered to you!
  
• No touch pay.
  
• Receive invitations to excursions based on your profile preferences.
  
• Discover what people love about the places you’ll see.
  

Looks like I will spend a lot of my time ignoring it - none of the above services are even vaguely important to me when cruising. But that's fine, so long as it opens my cabin door when I want it to (hopefully we can leave the problem of demagnetized cruise cards behind), and doesn't stop me doing what I choose to do, I will pay no mind to it.

 

Not sure why La Terrazza would show as full - we have eaten the 4x this trip and it was never more than half full. Good advice from turtlemichael to check with your butler on board.

La Terrazza is always half full at night, they only take a limited number of bookings in order to be able to offer the expected food and service with a small galley. This is why breakfast and lunch is a buffett.

I think they deliberately don't fully book it pre-cruise so there should be space to make reservations after boarding.

On the subject of The Grill in inclement weather - a friend and I ate out there the night we had cruised through Prince Christian Sound because we wanted a memorable experience since neither of us thought we'd be likely to dine outdoors in Greenland again. We had the place almost to ourselves with Francesco's undivided attention, the food stayed plenty hot enough on the hot rock, and it wasn't even too cold sitting under the heaters swathed in blankets. Truly unforgettable - it all depends on what mindset you choose.

Hi Spins,

Watching Irma I was originally a bit afeared that she'd come up my way - rather worrisome when cruising in Canada and not there to properly storm prep - but now it seems that it's going to hit one of my friends in the BVI, then another in Turks & Caicos, then maybe come barreling up to you. Here's hoping it'll recurve up the Atlantic east of Florida, fingers and toes crossed!

PS This Ireland/Greenland/Canada cruise has been just amazing, hope your upcoming one is too.

Careful what you wish for ...

I do enjoy having a lot of sea days and this cruise seems destined to give them to me. We had a long rolling swell this morning when we arrived at L'Anse aux Meadows so our tendering was deemed unsafe - and I quite agreed, I was contemplating opting out of going on the excursion to the Viking Village when the announcement was made so then I didn't have to struggle with the decision. Whew.

We're on our way to Corner Brook now under wonderfully sunny skies but with a biting cold wind- once sheltered from the wind it's very pleasant to sit on deck and watch the sea go by. Another lazy day beckons...

Sent from my iPad using Forums

Officially confirmed now - bypassing Gaspe and arriving earlier to Quebec City at 1pm instead of 7pm - an overall gain IMO, others may disagree, but I can't see what else SS could have done in the situation anyway.

I feel sorry for the people of Gaspe, they're losing a lot of cruise ship calls because of this regulation, but the Canadian Gov't does say it's temporary, maybe ships'll come back in the future.

Roughish seas last night, still rolling some today under cool and overcast skies but nothing too desperate, although as we are following the course (probably) of Leif Erikson I'm not too sure how I'd feel about doing it in a Viking longboat.

Prince Christian Sound on a bright sunny calm day ... words fail, magnificent is entirely inadequate ... we are so lucky.

Snow pack, glaciers, high peaks, sheer cliffs, waterfalls, icebergs, still flat water, silence (mostly), gliding amongst all of it with a hot mulled wine in hand ...