Monty-Video….. plus some

So here you are.

We are now back in Montevideo…. kind of.

(We are actually off of the coast of Brazil……… on our way to our next Port, Rio de Janeiro.)

            The first day that we were in Montevideo, Uruguay was on New Years Day. It was quiet to say the least. Not only was it early in the morning, but it was also a Holiday. Most places were closed but we got off the ship for a while and walked around the local streets. When we received the Itinerary from Princess, we looked at the local sights that were offered and realized that unless we were ready to travel into the interior for the day, that nothing else deemed itself “worth” the expenditure. This was any easy “walking” port so that is exactly what we did. When the Itinerary was modified later on and we found out that we were going back there a few days later, well, that meant that we could explore the first time and possibly expand it the second day.

            Why in the name of All That is Scheduled did you repeat a Port?

            I’m glad you asked that Mr. Logistical Itinerary Scheduler!

            The answer is quite simple….. I do not know.

            What?! Mr. Cruise Guy doesn’t have an answer???!!!

            Nope, but there are several things to consider and plan for when putting a Port on an Itinerary and if any of those variables change between the proposed and actual Itinerary then all bets are off and it’s Any Port in a Storm (to use a possibly bad analogy!). So, the Cruise Line needs to come to a decision, eliminate it or find an alternative port to add on, and this of course, depends on availability at the needed time. In this case, since I was not consulted, I have a guess as to what transpired. First, you need to know that this is the start of the third leg of this Voyage. This one goes from Buenos Aires back to Fort Lauderdale. This is basically a three-week cruise and as is, would have only had four Ports after the original one was cancelled (I don’t remember where it was, but it was somewhere between here and Fort Lauderdale) There was an exchange of passengers at Buenos Aires so about 1500 peeps were new and they had not been to Montevideo, so…… the Port was apparently available…… put two and two together and come up with four (for the new guys) but three for the rest of us!

                        Anyway, that’s my guess.

                        That also meant that after our first day of roaming around in Montevideo (and being satisfied with that) on top of having the previous day be an all-day boating excursion, and (I forgot to tell you) Tomas’s air conditioning was not working in his car, so all in all, it kind of whipped us. Consequently, a Day of Non-Activity was voted for by the majority of our group (2) and that’s what we did!

                        So, here are a few pics from that first day and a few “Operational Activities and Doom Practicing” by the crew pics to peruse.

                                    Thank you for your understanding.

Did I mention that on top of repeating this Port that there were two other ships in at the same time? Did you notice how small those streets and pedestrian areas were? They are quite adequate for one ship in town, two would be crowded, three is certifiably out of control. That was another reason to stay on board!

While in Port the time aboard is often utilized by the Crew for Practices and Drills. These go on all day long and they occur with a very satisfying frequency. That very last thing that we want to hear when an Emergency occurs is having a crew member utter the words….. “I wonder how this thing works?”

Hence the drills. This day’s drills included: “How to Pilot a Lifeboat in Three Easy Lessons” or “Let’s Play Bumper Boats!”

These next photos are taken from the balcony outside our stateroom

I hope that this Post was worth the wait. 😁

Thank You.