A light breeze accompanied the Argentinian sunshine as we embarked on our ship, Norwegian Dream, at aptly named Buenos Aires, meaning ‘fair winds’. The ship was a modest, older vessel unlike other newer and grander ones anchored in the harbour. We didn’t think much of it; after all, the cruise was all about discovery and adventure. Little did anyone guess that December morning what awaited our ship.
Our first port of call was Montevideo, Uruguay, distinctly different from the grandeur of Buenos Aires. After spending the day on excursions, we retired on board for a restful night. The following morning, our ship started to sail out of the canal for its next port of call, Puerto Madryn, when a barge, laden with containers and cars, crossed in front of it. Rather than veer away from it and risk a long gash to the hull, our captain decided to stay on course. The resulting collision, which was felt and seen by some passengers, dislodged some of the cargo from the barge, and left a big indent on the ship’s bow. Thankfully, there were no injuries or loss of life.
Over the ensuing days, a number of events occurred. Our captain flew off to Miami, where Norwegian Cruise Lines is headquartered, to answer to his superiors. Our ship was then taken over by an older, experienced Norwegian captain. If I recall the details correctly, he happened to be on a sister ship nearby, and was on his last voyage before retiring. Divers checked the hull below the waterline to ensure there was no damage before any work above could begin. While we were docked, we were given some credit on board and free excursions to the city.
Passengers started getting impatient as yet another day would dawn and there was no indication when we could resume sailing. We had a number of meetings with the ship’s senior management. Due to the delay, we were unfortunately going to miss a couple of ports of call: Puerto Madryn where an excursion to see penguins was the highlight, and Stanley in Falkland Islands. At a heated meeting, when passengers protested that we would miss out on the penguins, the captain declared more or less, ‘By golly, if you can’t see penguins during the rest of the cruise, I’ll make you one!’. A group of raucous passengers, who had a lawyer in their midst, drafted a petition demanding a full refund on the cruise and airfare. The document was slid under our cabin doors for signing before being collected and handed to the management. In the end, we were given extra onboard credit and 50% refund on the cruise fare.
It was about four days after the unfortunate collision that our repaired and freshly painted ship finally left Montevideo and continued on its now shortened voyage. We all breathed a sigh of relief! There were some wonderful moments we experienced during the rest of the cruise. In the mornings the captain, in his sonorous voice, would read a few thought-provoking lines from a book while the wild seascape unfolded in front of us. One of our ports of call was Ushuaia, the world’s southernmost city, from where we visited Tierra del Fuego National Park, its windswept trees dramatic among rocks pounded by endless waves. With snow- capped mountains in the distance, the whole area seemed so remote and cut off from the rest of the world. One cold, grey morning, as we rounded Cape Horn, hardy souls among us were ‘baptized’ on deck with ice-cold water hauled from the sea; water that represented the Atlantic, Pacific and Southern Oceans. It was an unforgettable moment! And it was finally in Punta Arenas, Chile, where we were able to see Magellanic penguins in a sanctuary. What a delightful experience to observe these adorable birds resting on the secluded beach or waddling among their burrows! Spectacular Puerto Montt with its snow-covered Osorno volcano, and Valparaiso, our final destination, soon followed. New friends were made on board and happy moments spent enjoying the good food, entertainment and service provided by the ship’s attentive staff. All in all, in spite of, or maybe because of, the collision and modern-day mutiny on board, it was a memorable cruise! I would love to do the cruise again in the near future; this time on a larger ship, sans onboard drama, to visit the missed ports of call, and also to do an excursion to Antarctica.
