When it Rains, it Pours!

We should have known, arriving in Dubai a surprise 8 hours early, only to experience a thunderstorm reminiscent of a Florida soaker in July, that the Gods were turning against us. Set aside the fact Dubai has less than 5 inches a year, or that we already had been given one revised itinerary, or that all the ship's management were suddenly "in meetings," vibes were just not positive. When the Captain made a rare in-room announcement at 8:00A yesterday, we almost knew before he spoke, the WORLD CRUISE WAS OVER.


Well, not completely over, as we were given the option of staying on until Rome, and then flown home, or debarking by 5:00P and be flown from Dubai to the US on a first available flight basis. We chose the former fairly quickly, deeming it quite a bit better of a bad lot. (The other option given was be flown to Singapore and join the companion ship Mariner's "Ring of Fire" cruise.) I would note Regent has made very satisfactory compensation available to all.


It seems as late as dinner time on Tuesday, there was optimism the pod problem could be fixed. But shortly thereafter one of the technicians reported the main propeller shaft was broken and had been overheated. Dry dock for two to four weeks is required--likely in northern Italy where the ship was built--to properly remedy. Regent then was forced to cancel the return to the US altogether, and will resume the Voyager schedule in Europe for the spring/summer season.


Of course security through the Gulf of Aden (between those pillars of modern society, Yemen and Somalia) was an immediate concern. The President of Regent made a short in house video covering this and other topics. When he said there was a special, assigned corridor through the straits, and that a military helicopter could be overhead in 8 minutes anywhere in the region, we understandably breathed a lot easier. This is in addition to the strange looking guys with bulges in their jackets who boarded unexpectedly....



We are arriving the small UAE emirate of Fujairah later this morning (Thursday), and then to Muscat, Oman, tomorrow. Thus our second revised itinerary for the now final segment is underway. We will post a proper summary of our Middle East experiences when we clear these ports.