29 October am sailing on Columbus to South America and Caribbean.

The final itinerary came several days ago,as final as a final itinerary after the havoc the hurricanes had caused,can be.The grief and misery suffered by the people affected is unimaginable. As I have been away the last almost three weeks and only returned on Saturday,have not had the chance yet to compare the new sailing plan with the original,but there appear to be more days at sea.Disappointing,of course, but understandable. The moment I had seen the cruise marketed by one of my favourite travel agents I knew I wanted to be on it.700 or so cabins and only 28 with a balcony.Yes, one of them will be mine,I thought.And it is.I have never been on a 3 star ship.It sounds conceited,but I believe you only get what you pay for.This is a newly refurbished ship newly owned by a very reputable and respected company, Cruise & Maritime. I decided to take a chance. 45 nights at sea [or thereabouts,it was booked about a year and a half ago],the gamble may pay off. I believe in nothing ventured,nothing gained and cannot wait to get on board.I have,in fact checked the number of nights and it is 46.