Windsurfboy

I would like an eye witness account of what it is/was actually like.

Two comments, Siemens engineers were on SoD for the three days in Lisbon. Captain said we could not leave untill it had been recertified. Secondly we were told we had to come back early to miss bad weather. Yet yesterday noon , the SoAdventure passed us going South to Maderia, into the weather we were hurrying home to miss. P&O Ventura currently in mid BoB just where we should have been if kept to schedule asked anyone on board via CC what weather is actually like.

Our ship Saga Spirit of Discovery, has come back early to miss bad weather in BoB. We are in portsmouth , but should have been crossing Bob today. Whay is it actually like.

Agree, I'm sure if anyone wanted an 8.30 or even 8pm slot could go when ever they want, a lot have left by then. The 6.30 to 7 ish seem most popular and would be hard to get more than your "ration" . We've also started going to speciality restaurants on formal nights, if you have an officer hosted table near you in main dining room, they get all the attention, other tables can wait for ages. 😦 Butler had no trouble getting extra reservations.

How many have you managed to book.

It is a personal choice. Only difference is in speciality restaurants. Suggest you look at the menus online. See which suits you best. Two supper club menus are almost identical, but layout of adventure without hole is better. But only you can decide between the other two sets of cuisines. We are very happy to sail on either

Just to confirm situation. On this 30 day cruise, speciality restaurants rationed to 6 , equivalent to 3 per 2 weeks. Which seems just right. No limits for suites , but this will not stop everyone else getting their 6. also last minute bookings on the night are unrestricted but not always available.

SUN 😁😁😁😁

Thought the captain said 8am, fingers crossed

Tours! Only one a shuttle to Cascais , an hour there then back

Doesn't look like we will get off today, even to walk, the rate things are going. A minor inconvenience compared to what last cruisers endured, but not what we played good money for.

SoD in Lisbon, so far delayedv18hrs for propulsion system check. Presume consequence of earlier BOB

A few thoughts Firstly , Well done, also good PR Secondly, perhaps they felt unsure of ground and wanted to nip any claims in bud. More importantly what about the crew, who deserve somthing for their commitment and the fact it was just as bad for them

You have to book , either by phone, at reception, or at venue beforehand

Both our cabin steward and Butler said it was the worst they had ever faced. Whose fault if any is debatable , that it was extremely unpleasant and for many very frightening not debatable.

Only predicted for a week ahead. Try weatheronline.co.uk Take tablets before you hit badnweather

Gone from one extreme to another. Unbelievably cautious. This afternoon 20 to 25 knots only 3 metre swell (Captains midday message) , ie perfectly normal for winter . However the promenade deck was closed for safety reasons. 20 knots is not that strong and 3 metre waves just a little wobble. Rather than letting sensible adults decide for themselves, decided that there would be no fresh air for anyone. Luckily deck 13 had no signs up so had a walk round there on my own for a hour, perfectly safe for anyone without walking difficulties. One cruise let's see how people stand up to 12.5 metre waves ( 12.5 was documented on vesselfinder and cruise mapper), next cruise nanny state.

Butler Neol Different captain but forgot name, Butler booked, next 2 weeks of Speciality restaurants, came round with form for all his suites, no limits on how many times. Could have booked for longer but can't think thar far ahead .

Ship in great condition. 😁 Captain being ultra cautious, not going to Azores. Even though only 6m waves predicted . Very much agree with with that, off to Lisbon then south into smooth waters before heading west

Wellcome home

There is a whole science of decision making, contingency analysis and gaming, to try , note try, and ensure you don't end up in the position where it'sonly a choice between least worse. Which is why it's always nice if the captain is ex navy, as they spend as much timing being trained in forward thinking as in seamanship.

Note the date on my initial post, this was not hindsight.

There was the alternative of staying well South untill it died off. Once they had commited to go north they ended up with no good alternatives. Note SoD was just out of Canaries South of Gibraltar at the time.

Any goodwill payment should be extended to the crew

An entitlement for compensation , as opposed to an exgratia goodwill payment, would only exist if it was considered negligent to proceed into the bad weather given the forecast. That is the question.