Ultimate World Cruise 245 days and all the parts. Ongoing review, questions, opinion

[eylarson]

Strange, we missed Recife in January on the 2019 WC also.  Same reason, the ship was traveling too slowly, different cause, the Sun had some kind of mechanical problem.  If I recall the problem was ID'd by many as a blown turbo charger on one of the engines that reduced power available.  

[WRPandMRP]

Greetings everyone.  Our first time posting on CruiseCritic, but we we've used the siie many times for info.  We're on the LA to London leg of the cruise and are extremely excited.   We've been on several Viking river cruises, a variety of other cruise lines and several long RV trips, but this will be our first cruise of this length.  We've signed up for the meet and greet and looking forward to meeting our fellow cruisers.

 

Ron and Marilyn 

West Virginia 

[Heidi13]

10 hours ago, Jim Avery said:

Another perfect sea day today.  Deep blue, clear sea, some flying fish, perfect temperature and breeze.  Had a burger by the pool and a few dips in the pool.  Chef Thomaz created a surprise at the Pool Grill for lunch today.  Waygu beef burgers garnished with a lobster tail.  Wow!  This Chef is really doing a great job changing up the menus and we are liking his style.  The Crossing the Line ceremony is in an hour or so and will be fully attended I am sure.  The Captain announced we will be missing Recife.  Seems the Amazon is very low due to an extremely dry dry season.  This makes many areas more shallow than normal.  Captain said he had to slow often to prevent the "squatting effect" which occurs when deep draft ships are moving in relatively shallow waters.  This is technically referred to as bottom suction.  A large moving ship displaces a huge mass of water as it moves.  If near the bottom it creates suction between the ship and the bottom.  The faster the ship is moving the more pronounced the suction.  This can cause the stern to squat down increasing the draft aft dramatically.  Slowing down minimizes this effect but then slowing down, of course, puts us behind schedule.  Having never been to Recife I don't really know what I am missing.😎  Good thing we love sea days....🍺

Jim - Thanks for the explanation. I noted on AIS that the speed had dropped to 17kts on the last day, which with the freshet seemed low. Never been in the Amazon, so what is your best guess for the current? 

[Jim Avery]

Hi Ron & Marilyn.  Welcome to our crazy little world.  We have a lively group posting on here and look forward to your input.  We hate to get off in LA and miss all the great places y'all will be seeing.  We did that part on the Inaugural World Cruise last year but if we had the time we would have loved to keep on sailing...🍸

Andy, I estimated the current in most areas of the river at 2 to 3 knots.  Some places where the river narrowed seemed a bit faster.  At times we were doing over 21 knots outbound.  I had never seen this ship pushed over 19 knots before.  I bet it is a bear in the rainy season.

[OnTheJourney]

Forgot to mention awhile back that we saw you guys leaving Boston from the deck of the Summit! Wasn't that an awesome sunset that evening (Oct. 8)?  Safe travels...

Edited November 9, 2019 by OnTheJourney

[Jim Avery]

We are having a string of perfect weather sea days.  Not too hot, not too much motion, lots of sun.  By the time we reach Salvador de Bahia we will have had, counting the two days exiting the Amazon, a week of sea days since we had to skip Recife.  We love sea days as it really gets you into the rhythm of the ship.  Some other passengers are not so happy and generally the crew likes port days best as lots of us passengers vacate the space and some of them get to go ashore.  When I worked on ships I went ashore at every opportunity.  Sometimes just an hour walking the docks would be enough to re charge a bit.  We are spending time in the gym, then maybe pool deck or Explorers to read a bit and of course eat/drink.  Why the gym is necessary.😳  Speaking of the gym, this is the most gym use we have ever seen on this ship.  Last year's Inaugural WC had some regulars but usually there were just a few at a time.  No waiting for anything. On this trip, each segment has been different but this group fills all the equipment and works hard.  Have to wait a bit to get the various machines.  Not too bad and everyone seems to understand others are waiting so not really a problem with machine hogs, just lots of us trying to hold off the inevitable. 😎  We have had a bit of a noise issue in our cabin over one of the boats ever since leaving Puerto Rico.  No problems prior to PR.  So far talks with the GM have not been able to stop the very early am steel on steel clanging.  I went into detail on the Room Choice thread but my advice for anyone booking is to avoid any of the 4 deck cabins over the boats.  Unless you bring really good ear plugs or can sleep through a train wreck....🍸

Edited November 9, 2019 by Jim Avery

[OnTheJourney]

Jim...curious as to how many onboard are actually doing the entire WC?  (Loved the pic of that big fish....lol)  

[Jim Avery]

4 minutes ago, OnTheJourney said:

Jim...curious as to how many onboard are actually doing the entire WC?  (Loved the pic of that big fish....lol)  

I believe it is 54. 

[Jim Avery]

A follow up on the noise problem. The GM met us again and we all went to the off limits deck underneath our cabin and we think we have found the source of the noise. G M is now trying to find out who might be making it. We have specific times so he is going to view the video security and hope to get to the bottom of this. GM gets top marks for efforts on this.

[OnTheJourney]

On 9/29/2019 at 11:48 AM, Tom.in.nc said:

1). Montréal  — daytime

 

 

 

4th picture from the top....has GOT to be what remains of Habitat '67 (from Expo '67). I was a solo guitar player there representing the US as part of the amateur talent corp. Have never gotten back since but have been doing research into the various sites (that are left) from the Expo. Plan to get back there at some point. 

[Tom.in.nc]

 

Yes, that was Habitat.  It is now condos made by opening hallways between units to make luxury sized dwellings.

 

Tom

[OnTheJourney]

Thanks. Brings back a lot of memories....though I was only 11! Have to get back there and check out the area - especially Parc Jean Drapeau. 

Edited November 9, 2019 by OnTheJourney

[OnTheJourney]

On 11/7/2019 at 11:37 PM, Heidi13 said:

Jim - Thanks for the explanation. I noted on AIS that the speed had dropped to 17kts on the last day, which with the freshet seemed low. Never been in the Amazon, so what is your best guess for the current? 

 Heidi ...totally off topic here for a moment...but check out the bottom of the last page of this thread....any idea what this door is that OP is referring to that came down following an alarm? 

 

 

Edited November 10, 2019 by OnTheJourney

[Heidi13]

2 hours ago, OnTheJourney said:

 Heidi ...totally off topic here for a moment...but check out the bottom of the last page of this thread....any idea what this door is that OP is referring to that came down following an alarm? 

 

 

Responded on that thread with my best guess. Nothing that I have seen before in a pax space.

[OnTheJourney]

Thanks for checking it out...thought of you right away when OP mentioned it. A bit weird, really. 

[Borderlander123]

On 11/9/2019 at 4:28 PM, Jim Avery said:

A follow up on the noise problem. The GM met us again and we all went to the off limits deck underneath our cabin and we think we have found the source of the noise. G M is now trying to find out who might be making it. We have specific times so he is going to view the video security and hope to get to the bottom of this. GM gets top marks for efforts on this.

Jim, we had a steel-on-steel clanging noise issue on Sun (Deck 5) during the last couple of weeks of the WC earlier this year.  It took days for the staff to identify it, but our dinner companions (architect and civil engineer) one evening immediately recognised our description as a faulty fire damper in the funnel.  Some action was taken to minimise the noise, but it did continue.  If it's the same source, you are correct in that it's very difficult to sleep through as it is irregular. Hope they sort it out for you.

[2oldishcoots]

Is anyone else having a problem with the Panomax? I’ve tried refreshing & re-entering the site 3 times & am stuck on Saturday! Thanks

[LeRenardrouge]

7 hours ago, 2oldishcoots said:

Is anyone else having a problem with the Panomax? I’ve tried refreshing & re-entering the site 3 times & am stuck on Saturday! Thanks

 

I have tried several times today and it is stuck on Saturday, Nov 9 for me also.  I have tried all the things that have worked before but no luck.  

[CCWineLover]

2 hours ago, LeRenardrouge said:

 

I have tried several times today and it is stuck on Saturday, Nov 9 for me also.  I have tried all the things that have worked before but no luck.  

Note -

The Sun cam seems to be working now.  Watched your beautiful sunset tonight!  South of Salvador Brazil.  Hoping you all enjoyed a nice sip of something on your beautiful evening!

[Jim Avery]

Clouding up at the moment but it has been another beautiful sea day.  Good thing we love them because this segment has plenty of them.  Nearly flat calm most of the day and a nice breeze on the pool deck.  Pulled pork sandwich and a beer from the Pool Grill/Pool Bar and be lazy and read a good book for a bit is about as stressful as it gets.  Well, there was the gym this morning.  Thankfully that makes it ok to meet buddies at Manfredi's tonight.  Got to get set for Rio tomorrow.  Salvador de Bahia was ok.  The upper level of the old town has some really beautiful buildings from the Colonial Era.  Other than that, the newer areas are fairly dismal, at least what we could see.  Again we were warned to leave all jewelry and expensive cameras, etc. on the ship.  Brazil seems to have a massive street crime problem.  Knock on wood, we had no issues but did see some dodgy looking young men checking out the crowds.  Lots of police presence in the tourist areas and three ships worth of "targets" and our only problem was dealing with the heat.  Very drenched with sweat after getting back to the ship.  As is fairly common, we were third in line at the port so the walk to the terminal was long and hot.  The market was fairly disappointing as it was not a "real" market in the sense of Asia or other areas.  No food or basics, just stuff to sell to tourists.  Tried to buy a T-shirt and the guy wanted $30 US.  Good for him.  He still owns the shirt....  There is a large public elevator to the upper old town, similar to that in Malta.  It was pretty efficient and we did not wait more than a minute or two.  In all, Salvador is a one and done for us.  Rio, as we have all seen in the press, can be a dodgy place in certain areas.  What a shame as Rio used to be the supreme destination for the Jet Set.  I suspect there will be plenty to see and do and we will take the advice about nothing showing to heart again.  We arrive around 5pm so should have an interesting sail in.  And even better, the forecast is for some cooler temps than we have had for the last couple of weeks.  I swear I will not complain about being cold in Ushuaia.🍸😎

[stcroixguy]

Thanks to everyone posting here, I have been fooling along and enjoying the voyage.  Jim, just as a comparison, the temperature here yesterday was a high on 19 f and a low of 2 in western Wisconsin😎

[Jim Avery]

1 hour ago, stcroixguy said:

Thanks to everyone posting here, I have been fooling along and enjoying the voyage.  Jim, just as a comparison, the temperature here yesterday was a high on 19 f and a low of 2 in western Wisconsin😎

Haha, was I complaining about the heat? 🍺

[SantaFe1]

Here is a picture I took from our veranda in Rio last Jan. on the WC.  It’s not only the heat but the humidity!  It’s 12% in the house this morning—and 31 degrees.

 

 

[Wendy The Wanderer]

Hope you do get a good sail-in to Rio--it certainly is a spectacular port.  Love that place, too bad bad things are happening there.

[haydn12]

A little more humid than here in Phoenix!

 

Jim