I've been following the the story about the 4,500 people on board the cruise ship Carnival Splendor which had a fire in the engine room and is now being towed back to port by Mexican tugboats. Fortunately, no one was hurt.
Navy helicopters have been shuttling in food and water. A fire in the engine room shuts down power and that means you can't flush toilets and there is no air conditioning. However, auxiliary power is now on so those little stinkers can be flushed.
Air conditioning shouldn't be a problem for those with balconies, but inside rooms would be a problem
IT HAPPENED TO ME
In June 2009, my family was on board the Royal Princess when we had an engine room fire and had similar experiences. Fortunately, we had just lefty Port Said, Egypt, and were just a few miles out in the Mediterranean, but we had to go through a night of no air conditioning and no-flush. Also, we were all fortunate to be on balconies so had the breezes.
But, strangely, there were no news reports of our plight the whole time. It was definitely kept hush-hush. Why, I don't know. Yet, they get all the publicity.
You can read my experiences at the http://roaddogsroadlog.blogspot.com by going back to June and July 2009 or check out the Mediterranean Cruising 2009 tag below.
I Wonder Why? --RoadDog
SENIOR BUMPER SNICKERS: Be nice to your kids. They will be the ones who choose your nursing home.
Being an account of some things I'm interested in, what I'm doing, and reflections on my past, especially music.
Listen to this man. Seven years of college, you know. Trying to reason with 2020 and, now, 2022.
Showing posts with label Mediterranean Cruising 2009. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Mediterranean Cruising 2009. Show all posts
Thursday, November 11, 2010
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Horrible Experience at JFK Airport
I started blogging about one of the l-o-n-g-e-s-t days of my life, June 21st, when we flew from Cairo, Egypt, to London, England, to JFK, New York City, and then to Raleigh-Durham, NC.
Counting the changes in time zones, we were in the air or on the ground 30 hours before arriving back in Goldsboro, NC.
We had a mess in Cairo where they said they couldn't find our tickets in the system. Then, there was a a five hour layover in London. But the absolute worst experience took place at John F. Kennedy Airport in New York.
I wrote about it on today's entry at the http://roaddogsroadlog.blogspot.com blog.
It Was a Day I'd Rather Forget. --RoadDog
Counting the changes in time zones, we were in the air or on the ground 30 hours before arriving back in Goldsboro, NC.
We had a mess in Cairo where they said they couldn't find our tickets in the system. Then, there was a a five hour layover in London. But the absolute worst experience took place at John F. Kennedy Airport in New York.
I wrote about it on today's entry at the http://roaddogsroadlog.blogspot.com blog.
It Was a Day I'd Rather Forget. --RoadDog
Monday, June 29, 2009
Back Home Again
Arrived back at home yesterday, after being away since June 10th. I love to travel, but always good to get home. Right now, at 8:23 AM, I'm typing away at the pc downstairs and listening to Billy Smith on the Surf, 94.9 FM, broadcasting out of North Myrtle Beach, SC. Sure missed his show the last weeks.
Quite an eventful two-and-a-half weeks.
ROME
First flying to Rome (and, of course, no sleep (or very little if I did snooze on occasion). Then, there was the Rome walk (Cicerone Hotel is two blocks off the Tiber River and close to St. Peter's) to the Spanish Stairs, Trevi Fountain, Pantheon, dinner al fresco at a restaurant on the fantastic Navona Piazza. This was in the afternoon of my arrival, after a nap, of course.
Caution to merchants. DO NOT, under any circumstance, get Vickie mad at you. We went to one place to get some of that great Italian gellato (ice cream) and were charged an extra 2 euros for the honor of sitting in their place (and it wasn't air conditioned). And don't even feign that you don't speak English, it will make no difference. An enraged Vickie went after them and to get rid of her, the ice cream was free. I've never seen anyone shoot fire out of their eyes before.
Doing the Religious Thing Next. --RoadDog
Quite an eventful two-and-a-half weeks.
ROME
First flying to Rome (and, of course, no sleep (or very little if I did snooze on occasion). Then, there was the Rome walk (Cicerone Hotel is two blocks off the Tiber River and close to St. Peter's) to the Spanish Stairs, Trevi Fountain, Pantheon, dinner al fresco at a restaurant on the fantastic Navona Piazza. This was in the afternoon of my arrival, after a nap, of course.
Caution to merchants. DO NOT, under any circumstance, get Vickie mad at you. We went to one place to get some of that great Italian gellato (ice cream) and were charged an extra 2 euros for the honor of sitting in their place (and it wasn't air conditioned). And don't even feign that you don't speak English, it will make no difference. An enraged Vickie went after them and to get rid of her, the ice cream was free. I've never seen anyone shoot fire out of their eyes before.
Doing the Religious Thing Next. --RoadDog
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Fun and Games Aboard a Ship During a Fire-- Part 2
I will be writing about the fire aboard the Royal Princess on my travel blog:
http://roaddogsroadlog.blogspot.com
http://roaddogsroadlog.blogspot.com
What a View!! Topsail Beach, NC
Sitting here at 5:34 PM, a clicking away with my two fingers, and being very distracted by the Atlantic Ocean, just across the street in front of the cottage, the front row of houses, sand dunes, and then the water. You know, type a bit, gaze a bit. We are what is called the second row.
White caps out there today as there is a stiff breeze now upon the beach. A little while ago, I was on the beach, now at low tide, and had to hold the umbrella to keep it from blowing away. Also took a mile walk along the beach early this morning.
We were supposed to be visiting a Greek island today, and docking in Athens tomorrow, where we were to disembark from the Royal Princess. We were going to remain for a couple more days to see the sights there, before flying home Saturday.
Sometimes, the Best-Laid Plans. --RoadDog
White caps out there today as there is a stiff breeze now upon the beach. A little while ago, I was on the beach, now at low tide, and had to hold the umbrella to keep it from blowing away. Also took a mile walk along the beach early this morning.
We were supposed to be visiting a Greek island today, and docking in Athens tomorrow, where we were to disembark from the Royal Princess. We were going to remain for a couple more days to see the sights there, before flying home Saturday.
Sometimes, the Best-Laid Plans. --RoadDog
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Fire Aboard the Royal Princess...And Me Aboard as Well
Here is what news there was online about the June 19th fire.
This comes from the Cruise Critic web site.
The June 25th cruise was cancelled as well as ours which began on June 13th. The fire occurred on the fifth day of a 12-day Holy Land Cruise. There were 733 passengers aboard (including myself, mother, sister, niece, cousin, and his wife. Also, 393 crew members.
Greg Surratt, a pastor from South Carolina gave a series of mini-reports via Twitter. He reported that a reliable source said it was caused by a fuel pump. A not-so-good source said there was an explosion (I didn't hear one). Several sources reported that we were very lucky and it could have been a lot more serious.
The fire broke out at 8:10 pm, local time in Egypt, shortly after departure from Port Said.
More to Come. --RoadDog
This comes from the Cruise Critic web site.
The June 25th cruise was cancelled as well as ours which began on June 13th. The fire occurred on the fifth day of a 12-day Holy Land Cruise. There were 733 passengers aboard (including myself, mother, sister, niece, cousin, and his wife. Also, 393 crew members.
Greg Surratt, a pastor from South Carolina gave a series of mini-reports via Twitter. He reported that a reliable source said it was caused by a fuel pump. A not-so-good source said there was an explosion (I didn't hear one). Several sources reported that we were very lucky and it could have been a lot more serious.
The fire broke out at 8:10 pm, local time in Egypt, shortly after departure from Port Said.
More to Come. --RoadDog
Fun and Games Aboard a Ship During a Fire-- Part 1
June 19th, the Royal Princess arrived in Port Said, Egypt, at the northern terminus of the Suez Canal, and tied up at the the dock.
We were still recovering from a very-long previous day, when we took a three-and-a-half hour drive from Alexandria to Egypt, a visit to the Egypt Museum to view the real King Tut artifacts and other old things, the mosque President Obama visited, and, of course, the Pyramids and Sphinx.
We'd gone ashore through a gauntlet of mosquitoes (what we call the VERY persistent Egyptians intent on selling you their wares). These folks were every bit the equal of their brethren at the pyramids, but I resisted their efforts today.
Yesterday, it had been camels, horse rides, and carriage rides. Today, they were joined by taxi and carriage drivers. Have you ever been closely followed by a horse?
We walked a few blocks into town, then decided to return to the Royal Princess. I'd had enough of the mosquitoes.
Next, the Fire. --RoadDog
We were still recovering from a very-long previous day, when we took a three-and-a-half hour drive from Alexandria to Egypt, a visit to the Egypt Museum to view the real King Tut artifacts and other old things, the mosque President Obama visited, and, of course, the Pyramids and Sphinx.
We'd gone ashore through a gauntlet of mosquitoes (what we call the VERY persistent Egyptians intent on selling you their wares). These folks were every bit the equal of their brethren at the pyramids, but I resisted their efforts today.
Yesterday, it had been camels, horse rides, and carriage rides. Today, they were joined by taxi and carriage drivers. Have you ever been closely followed by a horse?
We walked a few blocks into town, then decided to return to the Royal Princess. I'd had enough of the mosquitoes.
Next, the Fire. --RoadDog
Back Home, Well, Almost
Sitting here in Goldboro, NC, at Mom's house a-clicking away on this here contraption.
Still trying to catch up on my sleep after a very long five days involving Egypt, a ship fire, unexpected return to Cairo, fanciest hotel I've ever been in, the l-o-n-g-e-s-t day, and then a very tiring drive from Raleigh to Goldsboro and recuperation yesterday.
We were on an 11-day Mediterranean cruise aboard the Royal Princess from Rome, Egypt, Israel, Turkey, and Greece, that was interrupted by a fire June 19th. Fortunately, no one was hurt, but it appears we were very lucky and in the hands of a crew well-seasoned for emergencies.
When you have a time like this, like they say, the "Tough get going...to the beach!!"
Topsail Beach with a stop at Paul's Hot Dogs in Castle Hayne, NC, on docket for later today.
Also, looking into arrangements to get back to Chicago.
This is my first opportunity to get on the internet site the 10th of this month.
Back in the Good Old USA!!! --RoadDog
Still trying to catch up on my sleep after a very long five days involving Egypt, a ship fire, unexpected return to Cairo, fanciest hotel I've ever been in, the l-o-n-g-e-s-t day, and then a very tiring drive from Raleigh to Goldsboro and recuperation yesterday.
We were on an 11-day Mediterranean cruise aboard the Royal Princess from Rome, Egypt, Israel, Turkey, and Greece, that was interrupted by a fire June 19th. Fortunately, no one was hurt, but it appears we were very lucky and in the hands of a crew well-seasoned for emergencies.
When you have a time like this, like they say, the "Tough get going...to the beach!!"
Topsail Beach with a stop at Paul's Hot Dogs in Castle Hayne, NC, on docket for later today.
Also, looking into arrangements to get back to Chicago.
This is my first opportunity to get on the internet site the 10th of this month.
Back in the Good Old USA!!! --RoadDog
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