For us it’s unlucky postcard number 13 because shortly after 8:30pm the captain made an announcement over the public address that due to adverse weather conditions we would no longer be stopping at Port Stanley in the Falkland Islands.
Pip enjoyed being out on the balcony with her Go Pro making a time lapse video of the stormy seas.
It’s very disappointing not to be going especially because it was the one stop that we had booked an excursion where we could have walked with the penguins. We should have been going to Volunteer Point where we would have seen King, Gentoo and Magellanic penguins all on the same beach. So instead we have another sea day and no replacement port which I have to say is rather difficult to understand as we were due to be in port 12 hours and now we arrive at Montevideo 2 hours earlier. Where did the other 10 hours go? What difference will arriving at 6:00 make to our plans? There has been no mention of recompense for missing a port but I would like to think that there will be. The money is already in my account for the missed port of Puerto Madryn which I wouldn’t have known about unless I’d checked our account on line.
So we are on a 14 night cruise and to date after 10 nights have only visited just the single port.
Last night the weather conditions were none too clever, the wind was really blowing and the seas very wobbly indeed. The ship which was listing and rocking was practically deserted, we sat down in one of the bars until gone 11:00 before deciding to try and get some sleep.
This morning the seas had calmed but we were still feeling the ship move, the atmosphere onboard felt a little subdued and we overheard some fellow passengers in the Elite breakfast voicing their displeasure about the missing hours so it would appear we are not alone in our thoughts.
We have done very little today apart from breakfast, 12 laps of the open decks followed by some lunch. We had clear skies in the afternoon so we wrapped up and found some beds out on the pool deck.
Hopefully the winds will eventually ease over the next few days and we might get to lie out in the sun properly.
I have enjoyed following along on your journey and was most looking forward to reading about your day in the Falkland Islands. I am so sorry that you weren’t able to make the stop…I know it must have been terribly disappointing.
I just booked the penguin tour to Volunteer Point yesterday even though it will be a little over a year before we plan to be there. This excursion is the one I’m most looking forward to on our 22-day Zaandam cruise to South America/Antarctica. I surely hope we get to visit, but am well aware how often it gets missed.
Thanks so much for taking the time to do this blog on your cruise. I look forward to each day’s post during this long, cold winter in Minnesota! (Antarctica will be drastically warmer when we visit next year!)
Still enjoying your blog and pictures
So sorry to hear of the missing of Port Stanley – in some ways i was surprised that Pouerto Madryn had been dropped as the Falklands / Port Stanley is always a risk with possible bad weather – notwithstanding its wildlife
I suspect that “the missing hours” will be the ship running at much lower speed losing some 3h per day OR if the Captain has taken a different route and headed more out to sea there will be additional miles. NO consolation I know. We have missed many ports over the years ( even in the Caribbean) due to bad weather over the years – some were replaced – others not. Not sure if there will be compensation for a weather change of itinerary but keep up the pressure on Celebrity
Hello Ian, it will be interesting to see how the following cruise itinerary’s are dealt with. If the ship is not up to scratch then it won’t look good for Celebrity. I suspect that the problem is worse than they originally thought.
Hey Mike and Nicole! Brent and Lisa here from your NZ/AU cruise in Feb, 2017. I’m enjoying this blog tremendously as we’re considering an Antarctica cruise. And we’re especially loving all your pictures, of course! Did you see that Celebrity posted a picture from your stop in Paradise Bay on their Instagram account about 45 minutes ago? Maybe they’re trying to placate all of you 🙂 Good luck with the rest of the cruise – hope you get to stop at the rest of the ports!
Hello you two, nice to hear from you. Can you believe that cruise was nearly a year ago???