It is 7.45 am ship’s time and we are not allowed to leave our cabins for 2 hours. It was very rough overnight and at 4.00 am this morning a freak wave pushed in 2 windows on deck 5. I was asleep but Chris tells me it sounded like an explosion (we are on deck 9). Sea water entered the piazza and the ship turned South to be closer to the African coast in order to seek more sheltered conditions so that the windows could be repaired. It is comforting to know that we are now closer to Libya should a further crisis occur.
So this is our current situation......
No one was hurt and we are all safe. The windows have been replaced with metal plate. Decks 5 and 6 are closed while they replace the carpets. The ship is now turning North towards Sicily in high seas. Everyone has to stay in their cabins as this is a difficult manoeuvre and the ship is rolling unpredictably.....and it IS rolling unpredictably. I am trying to ignore the creaking and other strange noises. Fortunately, I have my travel kettle and a store of ship’s cookies to keep us going until they let us out.
Sadly we will not now be visiting Malta, but we are allegedly heading past Sicily and straight up to Venice. If I have further news I will add more to the blog later today.
Afternoon Update
The sea is much calmer and we have been released from captivity in our cabins. We will now be arriving in Venice tomorrow afternoon for an overnight stay. The ship is largely functioning as usual minus one bar and some of the central lifts. Shame about Malta, though I understand the weather there would not be welcoming. Might book ourselves an evening trip in Venice when the details are published. Photo of damage below
Hi Claire
ReplyDeleteBeen reading your blog - it's great :-) Sorry to hear about the freak wave - confining you to your room, but hopefully you are now free to walk around the ship :-)
Keep up the good work
Elaine