Opera March 9, 2021 So Africa to Venice

[EDLOS]

Have posted on Opera Roll Call, but curious to see if any readers here are thinking about this cruise. Have booked an Ocean View cabin for $95 US per day single occupancy. Will spend 3/4 days in Capetown prior to boarding ship in Durban.

[drsel]

Did you get the 50% discount for healthcare workers?

[EDLOS]

4 hours ago, drsel said:

Did you get the 50% discount for healthcare workers?

No, not qualified, just booked with my regular TA.....Have sailed MSC before and am a Senior !

[Capricruiser]

We had originally planned on booking this cruise from Cape Town to Venice BUT with the Covid19 pandemic seeming like it's not going away anytime soon, we decided to put off cruising until maybe late 2021.  When cruises become again the cruises we always took and loved, without all the necessary restrictions, we'll start again.  Then, who knows if this cruise will actually go?

[LP Dad]

I am interested in this cruise, but I'm concerned about the number of sea days. Thirteen of the first seventeen days are at sea. That number could actually go up if any of the first three ports (Reunion, Mauritius, and Seychelles) are closed to cruise ships.

 

Back in March, there was something of a riot when the Sun Princess docked at Reunion. The ship left early and proceeded to Mauritius, where it was not allowed to dock.

 

I give the OP full marks for adventure, but I'm going to wait until the new year to decide, and I suspect my decision will be no.

 

LPD

[ringers0815]

22 hours ago, LP Dad said:

I am interested in this cruise, but I'm concerned about the number of sea days. Thirteen of the first seventeen days are at sea. That number could actually go up if any of the first three ports (Reunion, Mauritius, and Seychelles) are closed to cruise ships.

 

Back in March, there was something of a riot when the Sun Princess docked at Reunion. The ship left early and proceeded to Mauritius, where it was not allowed to dock.

 

I give the OP full marks for adventure, but I'm going to wait until the new year to decide, and I suspect my decision will be no.

 

LPD

I was on the Sun Princess when it stopped at Reunion in March. My husband and I left the ship early that morning to spend the day touring the Island. We had no problem getting off the ship and people were pleasant everywhere we went. We only learned of the demonstration when we returned to the ship at the end of the day. The demonstrators were gone by then but there was a heavy police presence. We learned that they had to prevent people from leaving the ship after the demonstrators arrived as some passengers were hit by rocks thrown by the demonstrator. A couple of passengers were injured and the ship went into lock down at that point. So we were very lucky that day as we had no issue. The ship left port at the scheduled time but the captain announced that Mauritius would not allow the ship to dock so the ship went directly back to Australia from Reunion. Mauritius was to be the last stop on that cruise before sailing back to Perth. The ship was also denied entry to Madagascar earlier in the cruise. Other than these ports, everywhere else went well and it was a beautiful cruise!

Edited September 14, 2020 by ringers0815

[EDLOS]

On 9/13/2020 at 1:14 PM, LP Dad said:

I am interested in this cruise, but I'm concerned about the number of sea days. Thirteen of the first seventeen days are at sea. That number could actually go up if any of the first three ports (Reunion, Mauritius, and Seychelles) are closed to cruise ships.

 

Back in March, there was something of a riot when the Sun Princess docked at Reunion. The ship left early and proceeded to Mauritius, where it was not allowed to dock.

 

I give the OP full marks for adventure, but I'm going to wait until the new year to decide, and I suspect my decision will be no.

 

LPD

Already the Seychelles are closed to cruise ships until 2022 which is a must for me. I will wait until final payment in November just to see if any new Ports are added. Although, as Covid continues to spike around the world. no port is a guaranteed landing including the port of a round trip cruise.