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Back in February, our ship’s officers announced that our world trip cruise would not be sailing through the Red Sea due to political unrest. This meant that we would miss the Suez Canal, the Middle East and the Mediterranean. However, we would still need to arrive at our final destination in London (Greenwich) by May 9.
The good news was that we would be sailing instead around South Africa and the Cape of Good Hope for five days:
The bad news was that South Africa would be followed by seven consecutive sea days. About 200 guests decided to disembark at various ports between Bali (Indonesia) and Cochin (India), either to begin a different adventure or go home.
Everyone else was thrilled to be going to South Africa. They were even more thrilled when Viking announced a set of safari excursions ranging from one day to five days. We tried booking the five-day excursion, but it filled quickly. As an alternative, we got together with the same group that went off-ship in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. We booked a non-Viking excursion that would take us off-ship in Richards Bay. Five days later, we would reboard the ship in Cape Town, in time for Russell to deliver a 6:30 pm lecture. All told, about 100 guests would be leaving the ship for Viking and non-Viking overnight excursions.
And so it was that we packed our bags and sailed into Richards Bay on April 6. At 6:30 am, the port navigational pilot was dropped onto the ship by helicopter. At 7:45 am we were due to dock. However, at about 8:00 am a helicopter came back to the ship and removed the pilot. Meanwhile, 100 guests were waiting around with their luggage.
At 10:00 am, the Captain finally announced the bad news: we would not be docking in Richards Bay. The pilot came aboard, looked at the weather, told the captain it was impossible to dock, and departed. Needless to say, everyone was disappointed.
Guests immediately started surfing the Web, and saw that the Viking Neptune was now scheduled to dock in Durbin, about 90 miles south of Richards Bay. The official confirmation didn’t come until the noon announcement: we would dock in Durbin instead. All the excursion buses were ordered to drive from Richards Bay down to Durbin. All of the excursions would proceed as planned, only a few hours later. Everyone who had unpacked their bags now repacked them.
We confirmed that our private bus would also relocate from Richards Bay to Durbin. Since our first day was only to drive to the lodge, we would not lose any safari time. We were scheduled to arrive in Durbin at 4:00 pm, still plenty of time to drive to the lodge. In the meantime, Russell hosted a newly scheduled workshop at 2:00 pm.
And so it was that we sailed into Durbin in the afternoon. But at 4:00 pm, we were still far from land. This time it was the General Manager who broke the bad news: due to bad weather, we would not be docking in Durbin either. The captain actually tried approaching the port several times, but the crosswinds and crosscurrents made it impossible.
Today was now a sea day. Tomorrow would also be a sea day. Our next stop would not be until Port Elizabeth on April 8. This officially ruled out any multi-day safaris, including ours.
And so, we will not be going on a multi-day safari after all. Guests are disappointed, but not angry. Everyone can see how terrible the weather is outside, and they are grateful that the captain is putting safety first. In the meantime, we have unpacked our bags and settled back in to ship life. The good news for us is that we will be back aboard for the world cruise next year. If the Red Sea is still “closed” (which is likely), we may have another chance to explore South Africa.
