Regal
Princess/At Sea /Gulf of Mexico
Cloudy, Cooler
than yesterday
I did not mention
these previously because I did not want anyone to be worried. I truly think everything is going to be fine
and we will arrive in Galveston tomorrow as scheduled.
On September 30 we
spent the day in the Port of Greenock, Scotland. Later that day, after leaving the port, we were in
our stateroom about 8:30 p.m. We heard a loud sort of boom. Shortly after
hearing that noise, the captain made an announcement that there had been a
small fire in the engine room, the fire was out, and no one was hurt. TK knew and I sensed there was no such thing
as a fire in an engine room without consequences, but no one seemed concerned, so we put that out
of our mind. I did think a little bit
about sailing the Atlantic for six days and hoped that all was well.
The captain of the
Regal Princess is in charge of almost 5000 souls and I certainly count
on him to make the best decision. I base
this trust on Captain Walter Rybka, who guided the tall ship U.S. Brig Niagara
many times while I was aboard, sometimes as crew, sometimes as a teacher with my
students. He took that role very
seriously and I totally believed in him, especially when we sailed the Atlantic
Ocean up the Eastern Seaboard to Boston from Philadelphia. I know I mention that sail often, but if you
knew the perils we faced (e.g. sailing through the NY shipping lanes with 24 hours of fog, hitting
a port buoy in the Delaware River in the middle of the night with a rookie pilot
on board (with some damage to the ship), the
hurricane chasing us, and the VERY stormy night when the sails had to be
taken in), you would know why I completely trusted Captain Rybka’s judgment and
why those 8 days on the Niagara as crew made such an impact on me.
Back to the story
which I seem to be making a little dramatic. On the evening of October 24, we were in our
stateroom again, about 5 p.m., when the electricity went out, the water stopped
running, and the elevators halted.
We were just about ready to go to dinner. Again, the captain made an
announcement that they were working on restoring power, and we could proceed to
dinner as usual. He cautioned us not to use the elevators. The ship had alternate power, so the hallways and common rooms were lit. I did feel sorry for those people
with interior staterooms. By 6:30 p.m.
power was restored, water was running, and the elevators were working.
Last night about 8
p.m. the captain made another announcement that the ship was canceling the next
scheduled cruise out of Galveston on Sunday.
The ship needed repairs and would be out of service. This decision has huge repercussions—first the
current passengers are grateful that we made it across the Atlantic with the
problems. About 100 current guests were scheduled on the next Regal cruise,
and think about the 3500 passengers arriving in Galveston for their cruise with
only 2 days notice that it was cancelled. And, the crew! Flights, hotels, I cannot even think about
it.
Rumors are quite prevalent and many people are upset. Some say the ship is going into drydock. The Regal was launched in 2014, and supposedly goes into drydock every two years as is the custom with most ships I have been told. Several crew members said they will be doing deep cleaning on the ship while it is under repair.
We have been on the Regal since September 24, and this is definitely the most eventful cruise we have been on—hurricanes, engine fire, and generator problem. Tonight at dinner TK and I reflected on each port and how much we have enjoyed the itinerary and the crew members who have been so accommodating.
https://cruiseindustrynews.com/cruise-news/2024/10/princess-cancels-upcoming-cruise-onboard-regal-princess/
We did finish packing today and that went quite well. We stuffed everything into our luggage. When TK weighed mine, both were about 46 pounds. His were about that much too.
TK's Takes: He thinks he is becoming a germaphobe. Lots of coughing going on.
TK has one more "Guess This Dish"
Lawrence says that movie seems to find us no matter where we go!
ReplyDeleteEek! Glad everyone's okay. I love your beret! Will you be wearing it to our next breakfast? My guess for the dish is filet mignon wrapped in bacon atop mashed potatoes! I would be stationed at your house at your arrival, with a welcome-home sign, but my schedule won't allow it. Sorry I we didn't connect by phone!
ReplyDeleteI’m of a similar mind as Ann, when it comes to the mystery meal…though if I were in a sweet mood, I’d guess some weird attempt at a cupcake, atop a layer of French vanilla pecan ice cream, with a maple or cinnamon (or both!) syrup. Glad to hear you all are OK, even if the ship is not! Safe travels home!
ReplyDeleteObviously the ship has some significant problems and thankfully the ships engineering managed to duck tape the problems. Thankfully they made ducktape and seal tape.
ReplyDelete