Yesterday, we heard that power was out at Gate 1 due to necessary repairs due to vandalism and theft of significant parts at a substation. This happens frequently. Fortunately, since our area is considered Gate 2, we weren’t without power for 12 hours. However, as mentioned in a past post, the power used to pump the water supply fails when the power is out.
Luckily, by the time we were getting ready to go to Jabula for Valentine’s dinner, the water had returned, and Tom was able to take a shower. I had showered early in the morning before the water turned to a trickle.
When we arrived at Jabula, the power outage was evident. Lyn and David set up battery-operated lights. We were able to sit at the bar as usual, which we always enjoyed. We decided to eat dinner at the bar around 6:30 pm, 1830 hrs, rather than go out onto the veranda at a table. It was still hot and humid without a breeze and felt cooler inside, even when the air-con wasn’t on due to the outage.
In no time at all, we forgot about the outage and had fun chatting with each other and other locals as they arrived for the evening. There were three seating times resulting in a steady flow of guests. It always amazes us how many people we’ve come to know, or at least recognize when they came in. The exchanges were always enthusiastic and friendly on both sides.
Yesterday, we started looking at potential flights to Tampa, Florida. We decided to wait to book anything until we are closer to the date we’ll be leaving. It’s still possible the transatlantic cruise will cancel, and we don’t want to risk losing any portion of the cost of the airfare. We’ve already lost enough from non-refundable cancellations due to the pandemic.
The cruise on April 8 is a repositioning cruise which is described as follows:
“A repositioning cruise is a cruise in which the embarkation port and the disembarkation port are different. This is a less common type of cruise; in most cruises, the ship’s final destination is the same as the starting point. Some cruise ships relocate due to change in season or economic conditions.”
The cruise industry has lost billions of dollars since the onset of the pandemic. Anything can change on a dime, including cancellations of cruises for which passengers have arranged and paid for flights, transportation, hotels, and holiday homes.
Some of the cruise lines are offering future credits for lost airfare if the passengers booked the air travel through them when a cruise is canceled at the last minute.
For example, if our cruise from Istanbul was canceled after we were already there, we’d be in a pickle. We’ve been to Istanbul in the past and have no interest in staying there for weeks, let alone a month. If we spend the two months in the UK from the end of April until the end of June when we must fly to Istanbul, it’s possible the cruise could be canceled at the last minute. We’d end up in Istanbul without plans and losing our airfare from the UK.
Regardless of how much things seem to be settling down since Omicron hit, there still is a tremendous amount of uncertainty in the travel industry. We are anxious to get “back out there” and hope our future plans will stay in place.
Have a great day!
Photo from one year ago today, February 13, 2021:
