In Dublin kwamen er een aantal Ieren aan boord die een nachtje meegingen op de M.S.C. Lirica en er dan in Cork weer af zouden gaan ................................
Mensen van het reisbureau , een verslaggever enzovoort
Het werd een gedenkwaardig cruisje.
Cobh is bekend als laatste haven van de Titanic
Hier het verslag van een van die Ieren
It was all going so well on my cruise then the storm hit SAILING BY: Waves smash against the cruise ship MSC Lirica, inset, in calmer waters
Thursday August 16 2012
The guy doing the background music on the ship sure has a sense of humour.
As we're buffeted around in the worst storms to strike in a quarter of a century, he's the one picking the music to calm our nerves: "I am sailing, I am sailing ... through stormy waters, to be near you, to be free."
With the phones down, "Can you hear me?" seems so apt. Then we're treated to Bobby Darin's Beyond the Sea and the refrain of "never again I'll go sailing". And by the time Sloop John B is piped with "this is the worst trip ... I wanna go home" some of us are creased up laughing.
Covering a major cruise ship event is supposed to be easy and fun.
lunch
With MSC -- one of the world's most respected lines -- coming to Dublin for the first time, there was an air of excitement. Ireland's top travel agents and tour operators were on board for lunch, a tour of the MSC Lirica and talks about the new Irish operation.
The Lord Mayor was there to say nice things, the Italian line's chiefs were in town to cement ties, the trade and journalists were on hand.
The travel industry -- with heavy hitters like Thomas Cook, Amadeus and the Irish Travel Agents Association -- left after lunch, while a few travel journalists and agents stayed for a planned leisurely overnight trip to Cobh.
The gang disembarking were jealous of us, but it was they who had the last laugh.
By morning, the coast looked like the movie The Day After Tomorrow just before the tidal wave takes out Manhattan. We're going nowhere.
Stranded in the Irish Sea, and not knowing where or when we'd dock, our group (the biggest and noisiest Irish contingent) are feeling sorry for ourselves. With phones on and off, we communicate our plight to the outside world with Facebook and Twitter.
We see ourselves as heroic Leonardo DiCaprios or Kate Winslets. We expect sympathy: in fact, friends and colleagues either collapse in stitches or are sick with envy.
Which is understandable. Even when you're swaying from side to side and the winds are over 90kph, it's still not the worst thing in the world. Get delayed in an airport and you're trying to sleep on a bench, surrounded by tired and angry people.
Get stuck on a ship like Lirica and you've got half a dozen bars in which to drown your sorrows. Or you could go for a Balinese massage, have a three-course lunch or simply pig out on Italian food at the buffet. You could watch a movie in your cabin or go to a wine-tasting.
And when you tell your friends that you won't be home because you've got two more days of this -- and a surprise trip to Amsterdam as your next port -- you can see why they're green with jealousy.
That said, green is the predominant colour on board. Out of our 10 or so souls of travel writers, MSC big wigs and one travel agent, more than half are looking queasy as the waves reach up to the fifth deck.
cabins
One lady is mortified after redecorating the lobby beside reception. Another is eating the sea sickness tablets. One guy proudly describes how he doesn't get sea sick before he dashes to the loo to erupt.
At the height of the storm, off Land's End in England, the ship is like the Mary Celeste without the atmosphere. It's eerily quiet, with most people back in their cabins, do-not-disturb signs in place.
But, truth be told, it's calm by last night and thoughts are already turning to whether we can sunbathe on deck today.
The MSC people have played a blinder, too, and most Irish passengers due to get off or on at Cobh have been re-accommodated.
It's not always plain sailing, but you can't beat cruising for a holiday. Next time, I'll stick to the Med, though.
Stormy conditions today throughout Cork with heavy rain and strong gale force winds. High risk of flooding, especially along the coast. Fota Wildlife Park in Cobh is closed today due to the extreme weather conditions. The Port of Cork has let twitter users know that the "MSC Lirica will not call to Cobh today due to bad weather conditions".
Storm keeps cruise ship out of port
High winds in south-west Ireland yesterday put paid to a cruise ship's planned visit to Cobh - the last port of call made by Titanic on her ill-fated maiden voyage.
The town, near Cork, has a museum commemorating the ill-fated liner's visit and the sinking of RMS Lusitania, torpedoed by a German U-boat with the loss of almost 1,200 lives in 1915.
But 2,000 passengers on a round-Britain cruise aboard MSC Lirica were unable to go ashore as the captain decided stormy seas would make berthing impossible. The ship spent an extra day at sea en route to Amsterdam, where people scheduled to join it in Cobh will be flown in time for tomorrow's arrival.
Lirica has visited Edinburgh, Invergordon, Stornoway, Kirkwall and Oban during its current voyage, and on Tuesday was in Dublin. The non-arrival in Cobh deprived passengers of the opportunity to kiss the Blarney Stone or visit the nearby whiskey distillery.
Yesterday's weather also closed a wildlife park near Cobh and led to the cancellation of an open-topped bus tour of Dublin for Ireland's homecoming Olympic athletes.
A luxury liner Lirica, carrying 3,000 passengers, had to skip a planned 6am stop in Cobh because of rough seas. Arrangements had to be made to fly passengers due to board in Cobh to its next port of call, Amsterdam, to link up with the vessel.
Fota Wildlife Park closed to the public because of health and safety concerns about high winds. Dozens of fishing trawlers were forced to shelter in Castletownbere harbour while a cargo plane had to be diverted from Cork Airport at 5am.
No passenger flights were affected by the conditions.
Met Éireann had forecast 24 hours of hurricane-like conditions, with a weather alert in operation until midnight tonight. Sherkin Island recorded 28mm of rainfall between 3am and 6am this morning, while 18mm was recorded at Moore Park in the same period.
The road between Bandon and Macroom was like a river because of early morning heavy rain.
Flooding was also reported at the Kinsale Road roundabout, the Halfway between Cork and Bandon, Killeagh, Schull and Raffeen, between Monkstown and Ringaskiddy.
And although rainfall abated from about 9.30am, further downpours were expected from mid-afternoon, along with winds of up to 110km per hour.
This combined with high tides at around 5pm fuelled fears of flooding in coastal areas and near rivers.
This morning, the MSC shipping company took the decision to divert the luxury liner Lirica from Cobh and to continue to its next port, Amsterdam.
The liner was due in Cobh this morning at 6am, on route from Dublin.
The 3,000 passenger liner was due to pick up more passengers in Cobh.
Meanwhile, the management of Fota Wildlife Park opted to remain closed today .
A spokesman for Cork County Council said areas like Douglas and Ballyvolane, hit by flooding on June 28, were being monitored by staff since last night.
Fota Wildlife Park closed to the public because of health and safety concerns about high winds. Dozens of fishing trawlers were forced to shelter in Castletownbere harbour while a cargo plane had to be diverted from Cork Airport at 5am.
No passenger flights were affected by the conditions.
Met Éireann had forecast 24 hours of hurricane-like conditions, with a weather alert in operation until midnight tonight. Sherkin Island recorded 28mm of rainfall between 3am and 6am this morning, while 18mm was recorded at Moore Park in the same period.
The road between Bandon and Macroom was like a river because of early morning heavy rain.
Flooding was also reported at the Kinsale Road roundabout, the Halfway between Cork and Bandon, Killeagh, Schull and Raffeen, between Monkstown and Ringaskiddy.
And although rainfall abated from about 9.30am, further downpours were expected from mid-afternoon, along with winds of up to 110km per hour.
This combined with high tides at around 5pm fuelled fears of flooding in coastal areas and near rivers.
This morning, the MSC shipping company took the decision to divert the luxury liner Lirica from Cobh and to continue to its next port, Amsterdam.
The liner was due in Cobh this morning at 6am, on route from Dublin.
The 3,000 passenger liner was due to pick up more passengers in Cobh.
Meanwhile, the management of Fota Wildlife Park opted to remain closed today .
A spokesman for Cork County Council said areas like Douglas and Ballyvolane, hit by flooding on June 28, were being monitored by staff since last night.
Atlantic low brings wind and rain
EOIN BURKE-KENNEDY
A band of unseasonably wet and windy weather hit most parts of the country today.
Met Éireann said this evening the heavy rain would clear slowly northwards during the night but conditions would remain blustery, with the strongest winds occurring along the south coast.
The forecaster warned that some spot or flash flooding was likely in any heavy downpours, and there remained a high risk of coastal flooding, especially on parts of the south and south-east coasts.
Met Éireann maintained its gale warning for all Irish coasts of Ireland and the Irish Sea.
The Coast Guard advised the public to stay away from exposed coastal areas, particularly cliffs, piers and harbour walls during the inclement weather.
Due to the adverse weather conditions, the cruise liner, MSC Lirica, was earlier unable to dock as originally scheduled this morning in Cork. MSC Lirica’s call in Cork has now been cancelled, as strong winds are expected to continue and worsen this afternoon, the ship's operator said.
Up to 30mm of rain had been expected to fall in some parts today, with higher totals possible in mountainous areas, bringing a risk of coastal and river flooding.
The worst-affected areas were the southern counties of Cork, Waterford and Kerry, where flood flashing was reported in a number of places.
