Three more days!

travelswithheather 15 Comments

Today is the 19th of March; the day our ship will arrive in Cape Town. Amazingly, NCL has still not informed anyone on board that we will arrive 3 days ahead of schedule! But, finally we have some information about what will happen to us.

No announcement was made regarding our situation yesterday. I must admit, I was expecting the captain to tell us either that we would be arriving early but would not be able to disembark, or that we were going to be turned away but would be refueling and restocking (desperately needed at this point). But no, not a single word…

When we left our cabin to go to breakfast this morning, we found a note outside our door that we were required to fly out of the country on March 22nd, and that our flight details must be submitted between 6 am and 10 am. Say what??? Our flight was scheduled for April 1st, but we were informed by the airline yesterday that the flight had been cancelled, so we knew we would not be staying on until that date. However, we did expect to have more than 4 hours to make new arrangements (along with the 2,000 other people in the same boat…so to speak!).

Fortunately, I am married to a man that always plans ahead for every eventuality. I am a planner by nature, but he puts me to shame in that regard. We had already looked into flights home (there weren’t any decent options) so had decided to head back to Chiang Mai, Thailand to cool our heels until we could get home. To be perfectly honest, Seattle might not be the best place to be during the coronavirus pandemic and Chiang Mai doesn’t have a single case. We had already looked up flights and found that Qatar Airways would get us there. The only downside is that overnight, the price of the flight had jumped significantly. I believe this is due to the fact that very few airlines are flying out of Cape Town right now, so many on board are routing through Doha, Qatar, meaning the number of seats dropped precipitously and the price increased dramatically. But, at least we have a way out of the country and now know when we will be leaving!

So, we will be aboard the ship until the 22nd and will fly out that night. In the grand scheme of things, we may have been better off on the ship than at home, given the spread of the virus and restrictions there. Thank you for following along with our saga. My prayers are with all whose lives are being impacted by the pandemic.

 

Heather was

15 thoughts on “Three more days!”

  1. A trip for the books! Thanks for including us on your journey! I look forward to following your future trips! Safe travels!

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  3. Been watching Heather both with thos shared journey and your previouse. Great and helpful as i also travel a similar course.
    Just want to confirm, “arrival in cape town TODAY, 3 days early, on the 19th”
    I do believe this may be a misprint?

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      • Sorry, but not really. I am on the ship with you. We will not arrive in cape town until the 22nd.

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      • Maybe you are on a different ship. I am on the Star. I also have difficulties following “threads” so likely i dont see all the information. Apologies if i am incorrect. Safe travels none the less, and thank you for your time.

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  5. Heather, have been reading your blog with much interest & empathy. As you may remember Frank & I live close to your home in Vancouver, B.C. & Yes you are better off NOT coming home – things are beyond crazy -stay in Thailand. Things are getting scary with hysteria & crime adding to the problem. I imagine after the Walmart catastrophe today that more sanctions will come down. Unfortunately many “entitled” youth are disregarding rules & partying up with friends & thus spreading virus & they say they don’t care. Very sad state of affairs & we are just all trying to cope as best we can. Glad that we have had a opportunity to travel in the past. We had 2 big trips cancelled & are eagerly awaiting the charges to re-book in the future – may be very costly.
    Please keep your blog up as I love to hear from you & I know we may have inspired the trip you took as Frank & I did that 30 route with Oceania & loved it – perhaps you will get to experience the real trip again in the future.
    Thinking of you & wishing you both the best.
    Cheers Alison

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  6. Hi Heather, my suggestion is that you guys are better back home in Seattle…all Canadians are urged to come back home…even from Florida…and mainly that is because if you do get sick…you are better back home…we live in Toronto…which is no worse than Seattle and all my friends are heading back…I think the USA advise is the same for their citizens…this will not be over in a few weeks…and therefore you could be out of the country for a long long time…

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    • Thanks for sharing your thoughts. This is not an easy decision. We have stayed in Chiang Mai before and know that there is excellent medical care available there. There is not clear cut decision. We will continue to evaluate our decision as new information becomes available.

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  7. Hey Clayton and Heather,

    Been following your situation. Seems to finally be working out. Good for you! Here in Gold Bar I’m “sheltering in place” as best I can. The number of infected and deaths increase daily, and that might last for a while because a lot of people are still out and about, business as usual. Not me, though. I only go to the post office and the local grocery store, but early enough that I hardly see anyone. Seems you’re much better off where you are.

    Good luck and stay well,

    Bob ________________________________

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    • Good to hear from you, Bob! Glad that you are doing well. Clayton wants to know if you are still going to the monthly DOC get togethers. Email Clayton directly if you would like; he would love to hear from you.

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