ticketshop Posted February 10 #1 Share Posted February 10 My wife and I are from San Francisco. We went on a Virgin Caribbean cruise in Feb 2023 and had a great time. While on the ship, we booked another Virgin cruise embarking March 27- April 11th 2024 from Sydney to Singapore. Unfortunately, we just got an email that the cruise has been "repositioned" due to tensions in the red sea. Fortunately we don't have any hotels or flights that we can't at least get credit for. The new cruise is now 21 days embarking March 27-April 17th from Sydney to Cape Town. We have a flexible schedule and can make this new cruise work but we don't really want to be on an empty ship! 16 days at sea with 7 straight across the Indian ocean is pretty intimidating for our 3rd cruise. It would be amazing to go to Africa (probably never get there another time) but flying home to SF would be a long 30 hour journey! I'm also concerned about crossing the Indian ocean. Has anyone done this? Is it somewhat warm in April? Are the waters usually rough in April? I have a tendency to get sea sick when on small boats. What is the internet like? I like to be able check my email for emergencies with our small business. Should we take on this new adventure or just book another cruise for this summer? here is the new itinerary: • Date: 3/27/2024 – 4/17/2024 • Itinerary Name: From Australia to South Africa • Length: 21 Nights • Ports: Sydney, Australia – Eden, Australia – Fremantle (Perth), Australia – Port Louis, Mauritius – Durban, South Africa – Cape Town, South Africa Thanks Brian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leaveitallbehind Posted February 10 #2 Share Posted February 10 (edited) Well you seem to primarily list a number of reasons against doing the cruise, so not knowing you or anything else but what you've said, I would probably suggest booking another cruise. I, on the other hand, would probably stay with the cruise for most of the reasons you expressed concern (return flight not withstanding) - LOL. We enjoy repositioning cruises. But that's just me BTW, a number of cruise lines are rerouting their upcoming cruises in that region for the same reasons. No cruise line is about to place a ship, its crew, or any passenger potentially in harms way. Edited February 10 by leaveitallbehind 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CruiserBruce Posted February 10 #3 Share Posted February 10 The last thing I would be worried about is being on a half empty ship. Seas can be rough any time, any where. The seas aren't predictable more than a few days in advance. You can get an idea of the weather by Google searching weather for a couple of your ports..."Weather April Cape Town" for example. The flights are what they are. United flies non-stop Cape Town to EWR (or IAD, can't remember which), then non-stop to SFO. So not bad for the length of flight. You could see about a layover stay in those areas. The number of sea days is the only hint of anything concerning, and I think we could figure it out. Take the cruise. You only live once. 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clo Posted February 10 #4 Share Posted February 10 52 minutes ago, CruiserBruce said: The number of sea days is the only hint of anything concerning, and I think we could figure it out. Could you 'talk' a little about please? The "figure it out" part? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SelectSys Posted February 10 #5 Share Posted February 10 (edited) I would take the alternate cruise - especially if you haven’t been in Cape Town and Durban previously. The opportunities for extending your cruise with a great visit to South Africa would be something I wouldn’t pass up on. You will be visiting in early fall so I think the weather should be pretty nice. It could be you will be in time for the wine harvest as well as visiting one of the game reserves and seeing the other local sites. Good luck with your decision! BTW - Are you planning on flying business class? I wouldn’t be worried with the long flight times in business class as you will be well taken care of. In economy, I would at least try and buy preferred seats with extra space. Edited February 10 by SelectSys 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MCC retired Posted February 10 #6 Share Posted February 10 I would not be overly concerned about 7 sea days in a row . The QM2 does regular 7 night Transatlantic and guests enjoy 7 days at sea in a row.😉 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CruiserBruce Posted February 10 #7 Share Posted February 10 1 hour ago, clo said: Could you 'talk' a little about please? The "figure it out" part? In other words, we will survive...would be happy to be there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crystalspin Posted February 10 #8 Share Posted February 10 3 hours ago, ticketshop said: We have a flexible schedule and can make this new cruise work but we don't really want to be on an empty ship! I'm sure it won't be empty -- maybe not full. Many people are wistful about the days of half-full ships after the startup! It's all in how much Singapore was your attraction. Also you had some pretty long flights across the Pacific in your original plans. (Miami to Cape Town was unpleasant, to be sure, but that was before Kindles and wifi for us.) 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clo Posted February 11 #9 Share Posted February 11 2 hours ago, CruiserBruce said: In other words, we will survive...would be happy to be there. You're probably the majority. Some years ago we did a TA and I was ready to jump after about a week 🙂 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
navybankerteacher Posted February 11 #10 Share Posted February 11 2 hours ago, clo said: You're probably the majority. Some years ago we did a TA and I was ready to jump after about a week 🙂 Had you trouble dealing with fellow passengers - or just with yourself? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clo Posted February 11 #11 Share Posted February 11 1 hour ago, navybankerteacher said: Had you trouble dealing with fellow passengers - or just with yourself? I faked it with both 🙂 Oh, wait, my husband was "in bed" with me 🙂 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Honolulu Blue Posted February 11 #12 Share Posted February 11 14 hours ago, crystalspin said: Many people are wistful about the days of half-full ships after the startup! Count me among them. My two cruises in 2021 were at 15% and 30% of capacity. They're among my favorites. I miss those days, even with the danger and extra protocols involved. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clo Posted February 11 #13 Share Posted February 11 5 hours ago, Honolulu Blue said: Count me among them. My two cruises in 2021 were at 15% and 30% of capacity. They're among my favorites. I miss those days, even with the danger and extra protocols involved. Pre-covid and everything else we've cruised on ships with 100, 400 and 1200. Loved it. Even with 1200 I didn't get totally lost 🙂 (I have a terrible sense of direction, unless I've been somewhere before.) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ticketshop Posted February 22 Author #14 Share Posted February 22 Thanks for the response. We booked in for 21 days to Africa! 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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