We started our cruise from Miami to Europe with anticipation of a wonderful adventure. My friends and I had made plans and paid for three excursions - in the Azores, Brest France, and Rotterdam Holland - and we were especially looking forward to visiting with friends we haven't seen in many years while in Southampton England. So off we headed.

The transatlantic crossing was fairly uneventful and there were no indications from the captain or crew of any disruption to our itinerary until we were actually at the Azores and prepared to disembark. The captain announced about 8am that morning that we were not stopping and that we were proceeding instead to Brest. The reason given was that the rough sea made it unsafe to dock safely at Ponta Delgada.

We later heard unofficially that the ship was having mechanical difficulties that prevented us from docking in the Azores. (Whether this is true or not, we the passengers and the crew, were extremely disappointed at our inability to disembark after so many days at sea.). So on we proceeded for over 2 more days before reaching France. Read more