The Dream? Or the Nightmare? (or why I may give up cruising?)

[SailorJack]

Two years ago DH and I spent two weeks in Montevideo. The city has special meaning to him, because his birth-mother's family lives there. He met relatives with whom he has corresponded since childhood.

 

We loved Uruguay & hope to return someday.

 

Barb

 

We also fell in love with Montevideo - due in part to the fact that we had more than the usual 6-8 hours to explore the city and its surrounds. While our collision at sea was unfortunate, the side effects were that we had two and a half days to explore the port. I envy your two weeks.

 

I have noticed that more and more cruises are allowing two port days in some cities - such as Alexandria, St. Petersburg, etc. It is a sort of hybrid all-inclusive resort and a cruise - due to the fact that some cities simply require more that 8 hours to appreciate what it has to offer. This was simply true of Montevideo.

 

I hope you have the opportunity to return.:)

[Catz n Dog]

Thanks Sailor Jack-

I love your reviews!!

 

We were on the Sun on the SA trip a year after yours and thought about you as we were pulling out of Montivideo. You have admit that it is a tight channel getting in and out of there- I thought a few times that we were scraping bottom-- or was the a few rusted Sukuzis ??

 

Just wanted to add my thoughts on Montivideo. I thought it was a wonderful city. I loved the "vibe" of the place, and thought the people were wonderful and welcoming. We did a walking tour with a local and she made us feel like a local and took us inside some homes and buildings to see the courtyards ect. I wish we could have spent more time there.

 

On the other hand- I did NOT feel the good "vibes" in BA- and we did spend 2 days there post-cruise. I will admit I agree with assessment that it is the Paris of South America- both of those cities are beautiful to look at - but not welcoming (in my opinion)

 

Thank you again Sailor Jack- Happy cruising!

 

Lorrie

[SailorJack]

Thanks Sailor Jack-

I love your reviews!!

 

We were on the Sun on the SA trip a year after yours and thought about you as we were pulling out of Montivideo. You have admit that it is a tight channel getting in and out of there- I thought a few times that we were scraping bottom-- or was the a few rusted Sukuzis ??

 

Just wanted to add my thoughts on Montivideo. I thought it was a wonderful city. I loved the "vibe" of the place, and thought the people were wonderful and welcoming. We did a walking tour with a local and she made us feel like a local and took us inside some homes and buildings to see the courtyards ect. I wish we could have spent more time there.

 

On the other hand- I did NOT feel the good "vibes" in BA- and we did spend 2 days there post-cruise. I will admit I agree with assessment that it is the Paris of South America- both of those cities are beautiful to look at - but not welcoming (in my opinion)

 

Thank you again Sailor Jack- Happy cruising!

 

Lorrie

 

I was surprized at how narrow the channel was going into such a major seaport. If a couple of cars and 40 foot containers could close the channel imagine what would happen if a large cargo ship sank in that channel.

 

I agree with you that the people of Montevideo has a lot to do with the mystice of the place. AT the winery we visited, the owners actually sat down with us and brought out some bottles that were not for sale to the general public. Thank god we had a designated driver as we were feeling no pain after visiting the tasting room. Everywhere we went we found helpful and courteous people eager to make our visit as pleasant as possible.

 

BA is more cosmopolitan - more like New York or Toronto - which has its pros and cons.

[majorjan]

You MUST be a writer! That is the best review I have ever read. So funny!:D.

[SailorJack]

You MUST be a writer! That is the best review I have ever read. So funny!:D.

 

Thanks for the thought, but not a writer. These reviews I have written are the most writing I have ever done! However, I'm glad you enjoyed it.:)

[dougo in oz]

SailorJack

What a great review - thanks for posting.

Only a "true" cruiser can quickly determine the all important up-side to an unfortunate accident :- :D

 

"The more experienced cruisers took advantage of this confusion to move to the head of the dinner line at the Four Seasons Restaurant – a clear advantage when Free Style cruising

".

 

[SailorJack]

SailorJack

 

What a great review - thanks for posting.

 

Only a "true" cruiser can quickly determine the all important up-side to an unfortunate accident :- :D

 

"The more experienced cruisers took advantage of this confusion to move to the head of the dinner line at the Four Seasons Restaurant – a clear advantage when Free Style cruising

".

 

 

Thanks for your comment. I have found that there is very little on the downside than cannot be solved by a trip to the buffet and a big bowl of ice cream.:)

 

By the way (as an aside), we took a trip to Austrailia a couple of years ago to do some diving on the reef and spent a week in Sydney. Jill fell in love with the city and wanted to move there.

[dougo in oz]

SailorJack, anytime you and SailorJill want to move here to the "Emerald City", just come on down !! It always brings a tear to my eye as we fly in from O/S and the pilot takes us on a scenic route along the beaches, then over the city and the harbour bridge and then makes a left for the airport. I'm sure it has nothing to do with showing off our gorgeous city and everything to do with tail winds, runways etc lol. It's great to go away, but always great to come home.

[SailorJack]

SailorJack, anytime you and SailorJill want to move here to the "Emerald City", just come on down !! It always brings a tear to my eye as we fly in from O/S and the pilot takes us on a scenic route along the beaches, then over the city and the harbour bridge and then makes a left for the airport. I'm sure it has nothing to do with showing off our gorgeous city and everything to do with tail winds, runways etc lol. It's great to go away, but always great to come home.

 

Thanks for the invite!:)

 

I agree with you about the air approach to Syndey. We also had a very scenic flight from Sydney up the gold coast to Cairns - where we based our diving vacation. My home town of Vancouver, BC also provides a magnificent vista from the air.

 

Take care,

 

Jack

[texast518]

Would make a GOOD hardback novel/horror story.

[SailorJack]

Would make a GOOD hardback novel/horror story.

 

Actually, the cruise wasn't that bad.:) A good tag line would have been, "More than a cruise...it's an adventure!"

 

And the price was right. We paid $799 for the cruise, were refunded half the price of the cruise (which brought it down to $399.50) and were given $400 in onboard credit. It the end we actually made $.50 by taking this cruise.:D:D Not bad for a 14 day South American cruise

 

In the end, the positives far outweighed the problems on the cruise and even knowing what was about to happen, we would probably sign up for it again.:rolleyes:

[Jim Avery]

What a great story! Thanks for taking the time to share it with us.

Jim.

[wetndry]

A most enjoyable read, SailorJack. Thanks. :cool:

[melehundele]

This is the funniest thing I have ever read! I had to send it on to four friends (one of which I have been trying to convince to try cruising...too bad on that count...). Thanks so much for a hilarious entry!

[SailorJack]

This is the funniest thing I have ever read! I had to send it on to four friends (one of which I have been trying to convince to try cruising...too bad on that count...). Thanks so much for a hilarious entry!

 

I would hope that the review would not scare them off. Except for Norovirus not much else could go wrong on a cruise that did not happen to us...yet we still had a heck of a time and would willingly take the cruise again.:D

 

What a great story! Thanks for taking the time to share it with us.

Jim.

 

Glad you enjoyed it. Most of the writing was done laying around the pool, so I was actually multi-tasking.:)

 

A most enjoyable read, SailorJack. Thanks. :cool:

 

You are welcome. Thanks for taking the time to comment.:)

[Sauer-kraut]

Glad you enjoyed it. Most of the writing was done laying around the pool, so I was actually multi-tasking.:)

 

No place better to multi-task....on a ship, by the pool, in the southern hemishpere, with most of your wants taken care of by a helpful crew member...

;)

[SailorJack]

No place better to multi-task....on a ship, by the pool, in the southern hemishpere, with most of your wants taken care of by a helpful crew member...

;)

 

You may have, with one bold stroke of the keyboard, captured the innate nature of cruising!:D

 

With your permission, I may try to work this into my next ship review...which, incidently, is two weeks after you leave on your DOTS cruise. We will be on the Star Princess in the Med.

[jorapp]

I think you missed your calling as a stand-up comic!

 

Certainly sounds like Murphy's Law was ruling that cruise, but you managed to create humor from chaos. Well done!

[SailorJack]

I think you missed your calling as a stand-up comic!

 

Certainly sounds like Murphy's Law was ruling that cruise, but you managed to create humor from chaos. Well done!

 

Murphy's Law was certainly present on that cruise. We had a collision at sea, fire, power shutdown, adrift in the South Atlantic, three different captains, canceled ports, petitions, and passenger sit-ins. All we needed was a plague of locusts and I would have had something to write about.:D

[SeattleCruiselover]

Murphy's Law was certainly present on that cruise. We had a collision at sea, fire, power shutdown, adrift in the South Atlantic, three different captains, canceled ports, petitions, and passenger sit-ins. All we needed was a plague of locusts and I would have had something to write about.:D

 

Sounds like we are about to have one of those kinds of adventures on Star (NCL), what with the "dreaded azipod" striking again. I hope that the lemonade we are able to make out of it is only half as good as yours.

[SailorJack]

Sounds like we are about to have one of those kinds of adventures on Star (NCL), what with the "dreaded azipod" striking again. I hope that the lemonade we are able to make out of it is only half as good as yours.

 

I have been following that string and I hope that everything resolves itself before any major problems arise.

 

As a relative newcomer to cruising, I first heard about azipods when I cruised on HAL's Noordam last year. I was somewhat embarrassed to discover that (contrary to what I first thought) azipods were not related to cephalopods and were not seafood items (like calamari) on the menu.:D

Edited September 8, 2010 by SailorJack

[swamom]

If you are ever tired of Jill, call me! oh, wait, this isn't "cruisers meet cruisers", it's CC....oops

 

I didn't expect a post on CC to make my day, but that's exactly what just happened!

 

I'll be on the Jade in Dec. You and Jill make your plans now to use your refund and come sail away with us.

[SeattleCruiselover]

I have been following that string and I hope that everything resolves itself before any major problems arise.

 

As a relative newcomer to cruising, I first heard about azipods when I cruised on HAL's Noordam last year. I was somewhat embarrassed to discover that (contrary to what I first thought) azipods were not related to cephalopods and were not seafood items (like calamari) on the menu.:D

 

That gave me a much needed laugh this morning. Thank you sooooo much!

[groo]

If you have a ereader that supports epub files, here is a link to an epub book of all 8 SailorJack reviews. It could use some more editing, but this is it for now.

 

 

http://www.triplelake.net/darry/sailorjack.epub

 

I read it on my Nook, but it's a standard epub.

 

 

Darry

[SailorJack]

If you are ever tired of Jill, call me! oh, wait, this isn't "cruisers meet cruisers", it's CC....oops

 

I didn't expect a post on CC to make my day, but that's exactly what just happened!

 

I'll be on the Jade in Dec. You and Jill make your plans now to use your refund and come sail away with us.

 

I have to admit, yours is one of the more unique responses I have received on this review!:D:D

 

We are on a cruise a cruise in October that ends the first of November. A December cruise would be pushing it a little for us, but I know you will have a great time. Thanks for your comment.:)

 

P.S. Groo

 

If you have a ereader that supports epub files, here is a link to an epub book of all 8 SailorJack reviews. It could use some more editing, but this is it for now.

 

Two recent events - your first post about the Nook and a member of Jill's book club who brought a Nook to this month's meeting - led us to visit Barnes and Nobel to have a look at it. It is really quite nice. I hadn't realized that they were so thin. It would certainly lighten the load of books we bring on a two week cruise. Thanks for bringing this to our attention.

Edited September 9, 2010 by SailorJack