World cruise 2024 starts here !

[RichardBartlett]

Peggy's cove


Cold but ok. No rain which is fine by me!

Sent from my Pixel 8 using Tapatalk

[RichardBartlett]

Originally Posted by Tri-Tip

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

Yes in the summer it must be a great place as there were lots of bars and restaurants sadly closed. We walked the town now on a coach tour hence where we are now.

Sent from my Pixel 8 using Tapatalk

[Romeojk]

Any chance of seeing the eclipse?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Romeojk]

https://www.cnn.com/interactive/2024...24-map-dg-scn/

[RichardBartlett]

Originally Posted by Romeojk

Any chance of seeing the eclipse?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

We believe we will be in the zone for the eclipse. It's more about the weather and cloud cover

Sent from my Pixel 8 using Tapatalk

[RichardBartlett]

Sydney

Snow on the ground in the corners but none today. Temperature hovering around freezing strong winds

Mostly shut so just walked around.

Not a lot to see not a lot to say TBF

Sent from my Pixel 8 using Tapatalk

[RichardBartlett]

Charlottetown

A nice old town. Luckily it's bright and sunny so whilst around 35f it feels far warmer. Again we are the first cruise ship to arrive this year so lots still closed for winter . Summer should be a great time to cruise the eastern seaboard and up.

We are in the sweep of the eclipse at 99.5% coverage and the port were kinda enough to give out free solar sunglasses so in a couple of hours we will get to view it

The captain has delayed departing one hour (or the port pilot did but the captain has taken credit) to ensure everyone gets the full experience

Sent from my Pixel 8 using Tapatalk

[RichardBartlett]

Added bonus. Free oysters

People of this area evoke the true nature of Canadians. Even our friends on the boat from Vancouver have been blown away with their kindness.

Sent from my Pixel 8 using Tapatalk

[RichardBartlett]

Eclipse slightly disappointing as it never blacked out quite as much as anticipated but we were still extremely lucky to be here at the right time.

Sorry about the pictures photos via the safety glasses

Sent from my Pixel 8 using Tapatalk

[rmpickard]

What a small world.....

I am presently in Ft Lauderdale cruising the Rolex Forum & I see that you have just visited my home of Charlottetown. You even stopped by the local fire station where my son was on duty today.
Im so glad to hear your thoughts on the local population.
Cheers on your trip!

[RichardBartlett]

Originally Posted by rmpickard

What a small world.....

I am presently in Ft Lauderdale cruising the Rolex Forum & I see that you have just visited my home of Charlottetown. You even stopped by the local fire station where my son was on duty today.
Im so glad to hear your thoughts on the local population.
Cheers on your trip!

Alex from Vancouver said there is a rivalry between the East and West but it's in good faith. He and Mavis his wife enjoyed the trip. They did this cruise as they hadn't done the EAST COAST before so took this opportunity.

Yes as the vintage fire engine shows we did indeed visit the fire station but there wasn't anyone outside . So unable to talk to anyone.

As a lady said we were extremely lucky with the weather today which makes a difference as NY for example was dreadful. However she did say that the town felt sad when a ship turns up and the weather is bad.. but that's the luck of the draw.

However as I said l totally recommend a eastern cruise in the middle of the year to get the most out of the area and is in full bloom

We left Miami a week ago and tbh we're missing the warmth living nearer the equator allows

[RichardBartlett]

Québec city.
We made it to Québec. Originally two nights and leave at 12.00 on the third day

However, our trip to Greenland has been cancelled. This has led to uproar as details have crept out that MSC knew before we sailed that the chances of going were nil to zero.
We were officially informed yesterday BUT the excursion companies in Greenland knew over a week ago that the ship would not be coming

So lots of passengers who booked excursions there are scrabbling to cancel their trips which in some cases means a paid up front no refund total loss ..

The undercurrent of bad feelings towards MSC onshore higher management grows worse and worse every day. In return the various directors are now blaming the crew for the bad feelings as a way of deflecting responsibility and seem to be just job protecting rather than problem solving.

FYI there was a petition signed by over 900 passengers sent to MSC hq about how badly this cruise has been run (by them)

Anyhoo more from Québec over the next couple of days



Sent from my Pixel 8 using Tapatalk

[RichardBartlett]

Québec city

Sent from my Pixel 8 using Tapatalk

[RichardBartlett]

Québec

Sent from my Pixel 8 using Tapatalk

[RichardBartlett]

To fully enjoy Québec l feel you need to judge the weather first then the time of the year.

Apparently it gets very full of tourists in the season so whilst we enjoyed our wandering because it was quiet the weather has mostly been against us. Bitterly cold and strong winds although the day started out calm and bright

Last day tomorrow.. hopefully we beat the rain unlike today as we got soaked walking back to the ship

BUT it's still a great place to visit and l recommend it to everyone

Sent from my Pixel 8 using Tapatalk

[RichardBartlett]

Well we left Québec supposedly heading towards Greenland but that was cancelled due to ice bergs. Or at least that's what we were told, however sea ice reports from the area show clear passage.. there seems to be some discrepancy between what we were told by MSC and what outside reports including one from a sea captain who lives in the area ...

Hmm

So the captain took to the stage to tell everyone why we couldn't go and by not offering an alternative port meant another 7 days at sea stretch. Oh and he was so busy he wasn't able to take questions..

Sadly a very large number of the French passengers didn't actually believe or accept his version so chose to voice their descent very vocally. Loud boo's and jeering to the point where by the captain left the stage with his tail between his legs

One very seasoned cruise traveller said he has never seen or heard of a ship captain being subjected to such a hostile reception..

MSC hq have behaved extremely badly throughout the cruise and in fact before the cruise even started..They have lost a lot of very loyal customers...

[RichardBartlett]

Finally arrived in Iceland . Bit chilly tbh

Sent from my Pixel 8 using Tapatalk

[RichardBartlett]

Well yet another plot twist.

We were supposed to stop today at another port. However it was leaked last night that we wouldn't due to the weather, however the ship went down the fjord to the port and pretended to try to dock but gave up and we left..

It's hilarious

Sent from my Lenovo TB-J616F using Tapatalk

[RichardBartlett]

Reykjavik. No snow

A real surprise, we arrived at 20.00 so had dinner and went out to the town

Really lovely place. Sadly as it was Sunday evening most was shut but we walked around for a few hours

Sent from my Pixel 8 using Tapatalk

[Moondoggy]

Thank you, going to Iceland soon.

[1William]

Nice pictures. Enjoying your trip.

[RichardBartlett]

Last of Iceland Reykjavik


Just left, heading to Belfast

Sent from my Pixel 8 using Tapatalk

[RichardBartlett]

Belfast
Much nicer than I thought.

Having grown up with the troubles making the 18.00 tv pretty much every night with news that the IRA had set off yet another bomb killing innocent people in the name of freedom it was quite emotional for me to see where it was centered. (I never took pictures of the divide as it just didn't feel right).

Of course there are more than two sides to this multifaceted conflict which I won't go into.

Back then Belfast was a run down wasteland as British manufacturing died off and nothing replaced it. No one wanted to invest as it was to risky.

Now it's being heavily invested and becoming a vibrant city. Reminders remain and tension still simmers but it's very much better now

Titanic museum is a must btw.


Sent from my Pixel 8 using Tapatalk

[RichardBartlett]

Liverpool
We decided to cut the trip short by a day as our original final stop was Southampton but it's a lot easier to get back to Tenerife from here

We disembark at 11.00 to the John Lennon airport

Sent from my Pixel 8 using Tapatalk

[77T]

114 days and counting (before you hit home in Tenerife) - upon reflection - how was your overall impression of the circumnavigation?

And would you pack more or less?




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

[RichardBartlett]

Originally Posted by 77T

114 days and counting (before you hit home in Tenerife) - upon reflection - how was your overall impression of the circumnavigation?

And would you pack more or less?




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

We did the world cruise on the same ship last year so we can compare very accurately. Massive drop in how the cruise ran. Sure everything was new to us last year but there has been a dramatic drop in quality. Especially the food. Secretly the crew even at senior level were admitting as much.
Of course we got off to a bad start with the Suez section being cancelled and they had 3 attempts at a new route. This meant the logistics of getting supplies was also messed up but even so the standard of cooking what they had was substandard. We understand that HQ employed unskilled staff in the kitchen to cut costs.
We had a celebrity Mitchelin star chef who was going to cook a fancy meal
Sadly the onboard chef under ordered and the celeb chef rejected 30% of the product

Hence second sitting there was nothing left and they attempted to make it look like what the menu but it was a total disaster. (As I say the onboard cooks couldn't cook )

There was uproar all over the dining room..

Missed ports happen but the replacements were poor in comparison.

Some of the entertainment was embarrassing at best.

However we loved it. The memories we bring back last a lifetime. The people you meet the friends you made mean it's totally worth it.

We booked 2025 on the back of how brilliant last year was and although this year there were too many downs such as excessive sea days overall we loved it

[RichardBartlett]

As regards packing we packed far less this time but will pack even less next year

[RichardBartlett]

And we're back in the room.
Eagle eyed will spot the extra suitcase. Somehow we accrued an extra 25kg along the way

Thanks for following our journey. Starts again January 3rd 2025 fingers crossed!

Sent from my Pixel 8 using Tapatalk

[JSol1]

Originally Posted by RichardBartlett

And we're back in the room.
Eagle eyed will spot the extra suitcase. Somehow we accrued an extra 25kg along the way

Thanks for following our journey. Starts again January 3rd 2025 fingers crossed!

Sent from my Pixel 8 using Tapatalk

Well done and thanks so much for sharing your journey! We leave on January 11th, ‘26 on a Grand Cruise and Jan 27 for a World Cruise.

What great memories (including the glitches) you will have forever

[1William]

Great trip and I have enjoyed your journey. Glad you are home safe. Thank you for sharing.