Jewel of the Seas Gulf of Aden Passage - ‘Safe Haven’

[hallasm]

I am currently on the Jewel of The Seas cruise from Rome to Dubai . After crossing the Suez Canal Jewel of the Seas is currently in the Red Sea heading south towards Gulf of Aden as we pass the next three days.

A brief update on the preparation and the increased security on board due to possible pirate activities in the Gulf of Aden.

Yesterday there was a 'Safe Haven’ drill where we were briefed on how to behave in case we meet pirate boats.

Today we met with a ship from NMG Maritime that brought additional safety equipment on board - In addition to the usual RCCL security personnel, there are also security personnel from Protection Vessels International  on board.

[voyager70]

Very interesting, thanks for posting.  I did a Dubai cruise several years ago and would love to do a Suez Canal transit.  Fascinating part of the world.

 

[kernow]

This is standard practice on this route and has been for years. We did the same repositioning on Celebrity Constellation 2 years ago and it happened then. Every one was sitting around the pool playing 'spot the security guy'. There is also a 'blackout' every night which you probably have too. 

We hope to do the route again some time as we loved it. Hope you are enjoying it.

[hallasm]

16 minutes ago, kernow said:

There is also a 'blackout' every night which you probably have too

Yes, no light from cabin or upper decks - in addition open deck 5 and 6 are closed.

Enjoying the cruise - Suez Canal passage was 7 hours late - spend an extra day in Aqaba - now higher speed through the Red Sea. 
When we did the passage in 2011 the ship was escorted by a PMI patrol boat. 

Edited December 10, 2019 by hallasm

[rimmit]

Yes,  those Somalian Pirates can be a pain in the gulf of Aden. Thankfully nothing happened on our Repo on the Ovation.  Better safe than sorry for certain.  

[mugtech]

Same deal on Mariner in 2018, lights out, no one outside on the upper decks from sunset to sunrise.  Plenty of other things happening, hardly effected the cruise.  

[Poochie71]

Thanks for posting.  We're on the return journey from Dubai to Rome in March 2020.

Regards,

Tamara

[hallasm]

Well through the Gulf of Aden - passing along the coast of Oman - lot of wildlife - have seen whales (Believe humpback whales ), many dolphins and flying fish. And amazing sunsets.

[hallasm]

On 12/10/2019 at 4:26 PM, hallasm said:

..getting safety equipment on board

 

[hallasm]

Have just posted a short video from the Gulf of Aden passage - and the Suez Canal Passage as well (below).

 

 

[TinkBellaMom]

Thank you!  Hallasm--enjoyed the videos very much, fascinating.

[DrivesLikeMario]

Great videos.  Thanks for sharing.  This may be the closest I ever get to the Suez Canal.  

[miraflores]

Pretty standard stuff.  Here's a link to a timelapse I took going through the Suez a few years back.  

 

 

[Hogbay]

We have done the Suez Canal 3 times , we would never post anything in a public forum about safety . 

[hallasm]

3 hours ago, Hogbay said:

we would never post anything in a public forum about safety

No more than several places have been posted posted at the web.

 

Personally, I was pleased to know in advance that there was additional security aboard I took on the cruise through the Gulf of Aden and the Strait of Hormuz.

Edited December 24, 2019 by hallasm
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