Bon VoyageBelfast

Grammaretto

I was on a ship for 6 weeks coming to the UK from NZ. Admittedly it was no cruise but even with the daily routine of deck games, swimming, schoolwork (I was a child) meals, cinema and stopoffs in various ports, it was very boring when we were at sea for days on end.
"You join the navy, to see the world and what do you see, you see the sea".

Loved my cruise days at sea. No traffic, no pollution, no noise from shouty neighbours, no unwanted phone calls, no rubbish TV. Just peace, the far horizon, the odd ship passing a good book, and the odd G&T.

What happens if you get ill whilst on board eg covid or even worse?

HelterSkelter1

Apologies. I got carried away. The ship is Odyssey. Not Belfast. So Bon Voyage Odyssey.

The Belfast is moored in the Thames near Tower Bridge 😁

Goodness 15 years on the real Belfast would be a nightmare!!

Maybe they have doctors etc on board probably a little hospital and I guess if it was serious it would be helicopter off

I just can’t think of anything worse Freya5 I ll get all the peace I need when I m dead I would find it so boring yes I know it’s big and thousands of people on board but to look out at sky and sea for weeks would drive me crackers
No pollution is a strange thing to say I believe these big old boats are polluters in their own right

This is the liner. Originally a Cunard vessel.

villavieresidences.com/odyssey/

Minimum 15 years ownership guaranteed and can sell on or rent out if you want to.

May be a good option for some people. Not for me but charges probably in line with a residential home and does have lots of facilities and activities on board. Also lots of port stops.
Some people may love it.

Not as big as you think. She can carry 1300 people, roughly ⅓ of these staff. but was sailing with only 127 passengers I read.

en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Villa_Vie_Odyssey

Interesting Wikipedia read. She was "stretched" to make her longer! Don't like the sound of that.

MayBee70

What happens if you get ill whilst on board eg covid or even worse?

I gather that there is always a supply of coffins in the hold…

When a Swedish friend was once staying, there was an item on the news about someone who’d been taken very ill on a cruise ship in Norwegian waters. At some Norwegian port, she was transferred over the side of the ship to medics - only they managed to drop her in the icy water!

Swedish friend said, ‘That’s Norwegians for you - you just can’t trust them.’ 😂😈

The poor lady was quickly retrieved from the water, but I gather later died anyway.

HelterSkelter1

Interesting Wikipedia read. She was "stretched" to make her longer! Don't like the sound of that.

I thought that but looked it up and t's quite common.
Lots of liners are stretched!

Who knew?!!

It's still here this morning!

Odyssey

Love cruise ships. See the world, meet new people etc. Agree it can be claustrophobic but I've done several now and can't wait to go on the next one. Could I live on one permanently ? Possibly not - even if they were free.

At grammaretto. We were at sea for anything up to six weeks when I was in the navy (ok we were volunteers) but it was ANYTHING but boring. Fishing, reading, swimming in the deep ocean, making and flying kites, all manner of competitions both sporting and just fun. Maybe today’s youngsters need their screens but I was happy growing a mistake (not normally permitted) and get very sun tanned.

Neilspurgeon0

At grammaretto. We were at sea for anything up to six weeks when I was in the navy (ok we were volunteers) but it was ANYTHING but boring. Fishing, reading, swimming in the deep ocean, making and flying kites, all manner of competitions both sporting and just fun. Maybe today’s youngsters need their screens but I was happy growing a mistake (not normally permitted) and get very sun tanned.

In the Navy 🎼

Make sure you have good health insurance,though. If you end up in their medical centre it is really, really expensive. I like cruising , it is very relaxing but you do tend to eat a lot! Usually we climb up the stairs all the time rather than use the lifts so we don’t put on too much weight! We are off to Vanuatu and Noumea cruising in December. Then next year we are going up the Queensland coast from Sydney.

I have friends who love cruising, and I admit the thought of having everything organised for you, food and drink on tap etc., and trips once on dry land sorted out, does sound attractive. But firstly we both hate travelling by sea - a river cruise maybe - and secondly we can’t afford it. Our friends both have very generous private pensions so paying £10,000 for a 2 week cruise doesn’t bother them.

HelterSkelter1

Interesting Wikipedia read. She was "stretched" to make her longer! Don't like the sound of that.

I could do with that myself!!

Definitely not. They're even more polluting that flights plus I think I would feel very claustrophobic.

SpringsEternal

Definitely not. They're even more polluting that flights plus I think I would feel very claustrophobic.

Exactly

Love cruising very indulgent but just once in a while. Hubby loves it.

Cruise ships are absolutely not claustrophobic. For those who have never been on one, even the smallest ships are so much bigger than you could ever imagine. We have had quite a few cruise holidays and if they were remotely claustrophobic, I would have only had one!

They are the are the most fabulous holidays. You wake up to a new view practically every morning with somewhere different to explore.

However, a year or more away from home sailing round the world is a step too far for me.
Most world cruises sailing from Southampton leave in early January and get back early April.

Over the years we have met quite a few folk who have had several of those. Expensive yes, but when you consider the saving on heating at home in the winter as well as no food to buy, plus the opportunity to effortlessly see the world from the comfort of a luxury floating hotel, I can see the appeal.

Never heard of the ship, so my first reaction was to wonder where the city of Belfast was off to!

For me, it's not 'claustrophobic' as being trapped in some small space, but the idea of being stuck on a boat - no matter what size it is - at sea, which does not appeal to me. Cruising holds absolutely no appeal for me whatsoever. A luxury hotel on land - yes please - at sea, no thank you!

Thank goodness it has sailed I am sick of hearing about it and the two people who have fallen in love and have matching irish themed tatoos 🤮