World cruise 2025 number 2!!

[Tri-Tip]

Originally Posted by RichardBartlett

Day at sea.

I don't normally post sea days as what I eat and sleep is of no interest to anyone but to give a small piece of information regarding world cruises I'll update you

As we know old people are generally rubbish at standing up , walking around etc but exceptionally good at falling over unexpectedly. Thus the increase in slings, bandages and plaster casts is inversely proportional to the days left on the cruise. I often quip WC ships should have a large red cross painted on the side.!

A few days ago we had a call on the intercom for the emergency medical team to the open pool area after a lady had fallen. She was stretchered away and afaik she is ok.

However yesterday afternoon we had another emergency medical response team call (to the pizza bar area)over the tannoy.
The upshot of that call was today we had an unscheduled stop before Rio to drop off a passenger for them to go to hospital. I have no update on who or what but presume it was a heart attack.

On that note, it's expected and anticipated that an average of 3-5 passengers sadly pass away during the trip. Some die from old age, stress, over indulgence etc , some by having an accident either onboard or onshore and even some by suicide.

For example on our last WC (after we'd disembarked TBF) one lady failed to show up to disembark (in Germany) even though her luggage had been left outside the room and taken down.
On entering her room they found her balcony door open. It's assumed on the last evening she had chosen to jump rather than leave normally. It's possible she'd planned it all along but obviously no one knows and tbh I don't know if a note was left or not.
On a lighter note.
On embarking our dining table consisted of
one couple who had been put on the wrong table so we lost them immediately. One couple who changed to early dining due to her dietary needs.
One swedish guy who has been ill for two weeks (although we actually believe he wants a table alone but is too shy to say)
Us two and an English couple who disembark tomorrow

So out of a total of 9 we will be left on our lonesome, ownsome twosome unless A, we swap tables ourselves or B, fresh blood come on board in Rio tomorrow.. tbc

Anyhoo Rio in the morning for a stop over and heavy rain, thunder and lightning is expected. Oh joy.

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Back in the early 80's, my parents took me on my first cruise...2 weeks to Alaska. It was a smallish ship, 600-700 passengers, and most were VERY elderly. We lost 3 people to old age during the 2 week trip.

When the waiter would bring the ice cream out for dessert, they would tap it with a spoon and either declare "it's soft, we had to make room in the freezer" or "it's hard, we didn't lose anyone today".

[RichardBartlett]

Buenos Aires Argentina

Oh wow totally wow, we really wasn't expecting to love BA as much as we did. It's got a bit of everything and generally without the bad bits (although we did stray into a bad bit and was quickly escorted away by the police for our own safety; last picture)

Moscow, Paris, London and New York for example all seem to be represented here BUT not in a naff fake it till you make it Las Vegas kinda way.
But a totally classy integration of architectural styles and scenes crafted over the centuries.
It's an extremely beautiful city, the people are calm and friendly. Although there was some kind of demonstration outside parliament it was still very friendly

Of course as mentioned above there are rough parts but overall much much better than Brazil for example.

For the Brits I slipped in a *Falklands* reference in the pictures as they are still smarting even now at getting their arses handed back on a plate!

If you're ever in the area I strongly recommend a visit. It's a shame we couldn't overnight here as I suspect the evenings would be amazing too..

We depart at 20.00 heading south towards the colder bits of SA.

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[StuartG]

In your first pic (the Pink House), you can see the famous balcony where Eva Peron sang ‘Don’t Cry For Me Argentina’.

[RichardBartlett]

Puerto medlyn Argentina

Heading south and our stop today was above. It's not a particularly nice town but it is what it is. So we choose to go see the penguins somewhere 130 miles down the coast.
On the way we passed through a town called Trelew which was founded in 1886 by a group of Welsh settlers. Not sure what the indigenous people had done to have the Welsh thrust among them but there you go..

Anyhoo after a 2.5 HR drive we saw the penguins. Air temperature was 25c but extremely windy so most were really wrapped up tight.

Then back to the ship. Thus most of the day was spent in the back of a coach so sadly apart from bloody penguins so again pictures are limited..

2 days at sea further south towards the tip of south America coming up so it's time to get the winter gear out

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[1William]

Great pictures. Some of this looks really third world.

[RichardBartlett]

Cape horn.

Well we reached the bottom of south America. Apparently it's not actually the bottom but heyho.

It's where the two oceans meet. Boy is it
A; windy
B; very windy
C;cold and very very windy

Pretty godforsaken place tbf and huge respect to the seafarers of yore who braved this stretch of water . None but the brave!

But it's a life moment not to be missed so we braved the outside and had a moment.

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[RichardBartlett]

Puerto William

Strange one. Originally it was a stop, then it got reduced to an hour. 05.00 to 06.00

So I was up and out just to see what was happening..and basically not a lot tbf, only a small boat which came and went....

I'm assuming it's logistical holding stay as our next proper stop ushuaia is 2 hrs further on and had a ship in port.. Which has now vacated so we will dock there for an overnight stay in about 30 minutes or so.

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[TRS1]

Very much enjoying your trip! Thank you !

[1William]

Great pictures. I have always though I would like to do a cruise like this. But now I know, I would not. I am enjoying your pictures and narrative though. Please keep them coming.

[timepiececurator]

wow... have fun! i cant imagine cruising for 4+ months!

[JSol1]

Originally Posted by RichardBartlett

Cape horn.

Well we reached the bottom of south America. Apparently it's not actually the bottom but heyho.

It's where the two oceans meet. Boy is it
A; windy
B; very windy
C;cold and very very windy

Pretty godforsaken place tbf and huge respect to the seafarers of yore who braved this stretch of water . None but the brave!

But it's a life moment not to be missed so we braved the outside and had a moment.

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As a lifelong sailor, CH is the stuff of legends (foolhardy or not)

[ThatOtherGuy7]

This is soooo awesome!! Life goal for sure. I love traveling and have been to 60+ countries. We’re planning on our first cruise. Curious how much something like this costs?

[RichardBartlett]

Ushuaia. Argentina
Well it certainly sounds like it is in Japan but it's not .

Second suprise was the terminal was rammed. 4 cruise ships in us, princess were on std long cruises plus two smaller vessels one being a national geographic Antarctica cruise ship. So that puts the Puerto William hour even more strange...

Anyhoo this is one of our free excursions. Started at 09.30 with a half Km walk to a jetty. We all hopped on a catamaran. 'we' being the English speaking.(Not English ) Luckily we number few so there's always room to move around and spaces on the coaches.

So we set off in the freezing cold and windy and spent 1.5hr on the Beagle channel. Great fun and enjoyed immensely.

Then we hopped on the coach to go see some stuff including snowy mountains and scenic lakes. Finally we drove through the town of ushuaia with the aim of walking around but tbh it didn't look remotely interesting so we may (or may not) walk round in the morning.

The other option is "the train at the end of the world" a 7km ride along the most southernly railway line..TBC

We depart at 14.00 tomorrow afternoon so time is limited tomorrow but the journey to punta arenas is expected to be a highlight

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[RichardBartlett]

Originally Posted by ThatOtherGuy7

This is soooo awesome!! Life goal for sure. I love traveling and have been to 60+ countries. We’re planning on our first cruise. Curious how much something like this costs?

Google world cruise and pay as much as you want:-)

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[Romeojk]

thanks for sharing as always. It makes me want to see some places, and to skip a few as well. Thanks


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[Moondoggy]

Love it so raw and honest. Thank you.

[RichardBartlett]

Ushuaia on the train at the end of the world

Not a lot goes on in ushuaia but the surroundings are quite dramatic. Our second Day is shortened to 14.00 so all aboard by 13.30

The number of Brits is low but Lithuanians number 5. My partner and a lovely family enjoying their second world cruise.
As my Lithuanian is limited to a few words it gives her a great opportunity to speak in her native language. I'm all for that. Although the family all speak English I'm happy to sit here whilst they labas labas away.

So as he always hires a car (he's a hugely successful independent BMW reseller) so they like to get around. ALL Lithuanians love to travel.

They asked us to join them to go on the old prison railway. This is the most southerly railway originally 25km now reduced to 7km. The trains are fake but it's the journey that counts I guess. Knowing this railway way built by convicts in dreadful year round weather is quite humbling.

The prison was basically an Argentinian version of "The gulag archipelago" . The worst offenders c/w political prisoners and others considered better dead or out the way were sent there. Once there they were treated rather poorly and a lot died whilst incarcerated.
However on the bright side they did have rather spectacular scenery!

On our return we received message that our next stop was cancelled due to high seas so we have an extra day at sea
Next post...

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[RichardBartlett]

So as above we have our first cancelled port. It's always a risk on cruises especially tender ports as weather conditions dictate safety measures. With a boat load of old codgers doddering around who can bearly stand up (some can't even do that tbf) let alone jump in and out a lifeboat tender bobbing up and down. The cruise lines have to go to the lowest denominator when deciding to port or not as those who can hardly walk are the first to cry "discrimination" if not allowed to disembark. That they are hugely selfish in expecting special treatment whilst insisting they are treated the same is of no consequence.

Anyhoo on the way we were treated to some quietly spectacular glaciers known as the "five...." The five what's I forget..
I sat alone on the highest deck and whilst it was a tad chilly it was serene and a moment to enjoy..

We're currently navigating the chilly chillian waters heading north, next port is 3 days away..

Its a journey I can't recommend enough.. whilst the towns are naturally nothing special the scenery is naturally amazing . I'm not a good enough photographer to do the area justice nor do I edit enhance or filter pictures but believe me, no one onboard is unimpressed....

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[Vivalas]

You really are doing a fantastic itinerary. What an experience. Enjoy and keep posting

[RichardBartlett]

As mentioned above a lot of passengers are elderly and some with many health conditions.
This afternoon we were sitting in the buffet looking out the window and I said to Dalia "looks like we have stopped?"

Shortly after A tannoy announcement said "we have stopped for medical emergency to helicopter a passenger to the nearest hospital" which is God knows where tbh.

After that another announcement said "helicopter cancelled due to bad weather" (it's pretty shitty out there tbf heavy rain and low cloud)
"so we wait for a small boat to collect passenger"

So we could be here hours waiting depending on the response and distance..




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[RichardBartlett]

Closer view of exact location as I've nothing else to do ATM.

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[RichardBartlett]

Turns out it was actually one of the staff who was taken off the ship and taken to hospital! Apparently a manager had a heart attack and keeled over.

Nothing past that confirmed so no further information at this stage..

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[RichardBartlett]

Puerto chacabucho Chilie

Few things to note about this stop

1: it's a tender port so I was in the queue for tickets at 07.00am yesterday so managed to get first tender out
2: the ship is actually longer than the town
3: there are more people on the ship than the whole town.

But as Dalia always says "they have what they have"

So due to a customs delay (they only knew 2 years ago we were coming today so they weren't properly organised) so never actually disembarked until 11.00.
Anyhoo once ashore we managed to get a minibus for 10 and the price down from 50 to 25 each for 3.5hr bus ride to see what they have.
Not a huge amount but certainly stunning scenery.
But enjoyable none the less.

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[Moondoggy]

I am loving everything but the old entitled people who can’t walk I just don’t have the tolerance.

[RichardBartlett]

Puerto Montt Chilie

The tendering process can be tricky. I had previously obtained tender 1 tickets for both the previous port and this.
There was a hold up before which meant a 2 hrs delay. The 'gang' (a bunch of tightwads not willing to pay official excursion prices) suggested as we dock at 10.00 we should meet at reception at 10.30. then wait for the tender to be called.

However that quickly fell to bits as we docked early and ours was called at 10.05. so a mad rush to the tender boat without any chance of reorganizing.
So only about half managed to Scrabble ashore early enough to greet the usual rabble of unofficial excursion sellers.

Anyhoo we teamed up with another set and after much haggling a price was set all 15 jumped on a small coach. The seller was actually an Italian who emigrated 30 years ago and actually recognised one of the passengers as a fairly famous Italian singer called Christian something or other. (Nope nor me tbh)

Setting off we headed out of town. P.Montt is much larger and had more of a bussle about it. It's also summer holiday here so schools are shut till March and P.M is a holiday town.

Our guide noted that it's usually raining (on average 230 days per year) but today the weather was glorious. To the point whereby in the panic to get on the tender id forgotten my hat and by the end my head was badly burnt..not great tbh.

So we left town and headed out. Visiting various tourist attractions along the way. Our guide got so carried away on our return we were cutting it extremely fine. Worse one of the passengers (A German lady travelling with her daughter who both live in Tenerife not more than 10 minutes from us!) needed to stop at a pharmacy to get medicine. As previously mentioned WC ships are basically floating medical centres. Everyone and I mean everyone gets ill at some point during the trip..
So last tender was scheduled at 18.10 and we never arrived back till 18.15. !! Yikes. Luckily tenders are always late and in fact we were not last back either plus a queue was waiting before us so last tender was actually 18.45 and the ship never left till 19.50..

It's a risk you take and many passengers would rather pay extra than risk being stranded.

I get that but official excursion price for half what we did was 130 bucks PP. We paid 25 bucks each all in.
You pays your money and you takes your choice...

A great day out. Chile is a lovely country nice people and for an adventure type vacation it's pretty much as good as it gets.

Our dining table includes a lovely couple Bob and Karen from Chicago who are doing a short 16 day trip joining us in Buenos Aires but Sadly leaving us next port.
Bob's mind was blown away at the thought of 130 days onboard but he's slowly seeing the benefits of travelling like this (they travel a whole lot but like to stop a while to get a better feeling for a place) so maybe in a few years they will take the plunge.


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[Moondoggy]

I’m learning a great deal thanks again.

[RichardBartlett]

Originally Posted by Moondoggy

I am loving everything but the old entitled people who can’t walk I just don’t have the tolerance.

Old people moan about "how the youth of today are so ..." etc etc but generally they are worse.
An ex's mother once said to me many years ago "as people get older they just get more so"

These long cruises usually bring out the true nature of individuals. You can't act for 4 months straight. The crown slips and they just be who they are..
Very few for example say gracias, mercy, danke etc as I step aside to let them through. Just head down keep walking..Or thank the waiter, barman either. Americans, Canadians and Brits tend to be the most polite in my experience. Maybe I'm biased?? I guess so.

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[Oscarpapa]

Richard, this is a great thread giving a good flavour and insight of the World cruising experience. Thanks

[RichardBartlett]

San Antonio Chile

A real dump tbh. It's a container port town and nothing else. We had a quick walk round but was advised by a local "don't go that way it's nice but dangerous"

Hmm
Back on board in an hr

It's an overnight stop which can only be for restocking the ship for the cross pacific journey. .

Oh and the terminal wifi sucks too.!!

Can't win em all.

Tomorrow sun will be out and an out of town excursion so hopefully that'll be a better end to Chile which up to now has been wonderful.

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[RichardBartlett]

Originally Posted by Oscarpapa

Richard, this is a great thread giving a good flavour and insight of the World cruising experience. Thanks

Thanks appreciate the FB.

it's how I feel in the moment.

Other opinions are available!!

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