Encounter at sea and last stop in Bermuda
Trip Start
Dec 25, 2005
1
44
Trip End
Apr 28, 2006
Hamilton, Bermuda
Tuesday, April 25, 2006
We've had five full days at sea followed by a day in Bermuda and two more sea days heading towards Ft. Lauderdale. As I'm writing, it is late afternoon on our final day. Tomorrow morning we will arrive back where we started exactly four months ago. Our luggage has been taken away and our cabin is back to being sterile. Our world map no longer covers the artwork at the foot of our bed, our library books have been returned, and the family photos packed away. Tomorrow at 6:30 a.m. we will go through Customs and pay whatever duty we owe (please let it not be much!) and, hopefully not too much later, disembark and head for the airport. The cruise line is providing a private car and we are grateful not to have to worry about a taxi as our flight is just before noon and we really don't want to miss it.
We've had six time changes as we've crossed the Atlantic and we cheered when we finally were in the same time zone as home. Passengers and many of the crew who are also leaving in Ft. Lauderdale have been busy packing and exchanging e-mail addresses with their new friends. We have also been busy writing thank-you notes to our fabulous crew who have become like family to us. Our stewardess has cleaned up after us every day and seen to our every need. Like the rest of the crew she is from the Philippines. She has a 3-year old son back home living with her mother. She is at sea for 8 months at a time and missing her son's childhood. The bar and waitstaff have catered to our every whim and always greet us with a smile. For breakfast, we have picked up the phone and said "the usual" every day. It has always arrived within 10 minutes and is exactly as we want it. We have been spoiled beyond belief.
This past week has been full of "lasts." We've had two farewell shows, including last night's Captain's Farewell which was the big one. It was great and everyone was holding back tears at the end. We've also had a few firsts this week as well. After dinner last night we went to the show (which we've only done 4 or 5 times) and then "disco danced" until midnight. Lou has been hiding his dancing talent for all these years. Who knew? Maybe tonight we'll go in the casino for the first time. It's now or never.
Three days ago we had our last surprise at sea. Captain Dag told us that we would be meeting up with some friends in the middle of the Atlantic for a little fun around 11:00 a.m. portside. Around 10:15 we could see a bright white ship traveling northeast towards us. It was the Voyager's sister ship the Navigator. We rendezvoused side-by-side and there were waves and yells back and forth between the crews as many have friends and sweethearts on board the Navigator. It was so great to see their excitement when they recognized someone. Our stewardess interrupted her work to stand on a balcony a few cabins down from us. She looked kind of sad and then we suddenly saw a big smile on her face. She told us later that she had seen her male "friend" and they hope to connect again in the Baltics when both ships sail there.
As is always the case with the Captain, he created a real spectacle in the middle of the Atlantic. Both ships lowered their zodiac vessels down to the water to the sounds of Jimmy Buffett blasting over the Voyager's sound system. The zodiacs started buzzing around between the ships and gifts were exchanged. The Voyager sent over Jean-Michel Cousteau and he spoke over the public address system to the passengers on the Navigator. We could hear his voice echo off of our ship. We weren't sure who was 'driving" the Voyager's zodiac, but by the "hotdogging" that was going on, we soon realized it was Captain Dag himself. We were sure he was going to try to "one up" the Navigator's Captain and sure enough, he disappeared behind the starboard side of our ship and came bombing around the bow with Jamie, our Cruise Director, in tow on waterskis! There were some serious swells and we were sure Jamie would end up in the water but he hung on for a wild ride. His wife, Dana, the Assistant Cruise Director, could not believe her eyes. While this was going on, we had another surprise - three old dudes mooned us from their balcony! Lou got a great picture, but it probably wouldn't be a good idea to post on the blog. These are the experiences that make us love sea days.
It was nice after five days to touch land again in Bermuda. We've been here a few times several years ago and it is much the same as we remember. Lou FINALLY got his wish and played golf. He played at Port Royal, a lovely course on the ocean, with Father Toni and Eric and Barbara Schwarz.
Tina spent most of the day on the ship packing, but did spend a few hours walking around Hamilton. The shops are still outrageously expensive, and since we've just finished tallying our purchases for customs declaration, she came back empty handed. We had a beautiful view of the harbor from our cabin, so it was nice to spend some time on the balcony enjoying a glass of wine and reading magazines. Come Monday, it's back to work! Yikes...
This morning we had a White Elephant auction. Everyone contributes something purchased during the trip that they either don't want or don't have room for in their luggage. All of the proceeds of the auction go to the crew's welfare fund. These moneys are used if a crewmember needs to go home in case of a death or emergency and for betterments for the crew's quarters. It's a good cause. We had the winning big on a couple of pieces of memorabilia from the trip, but some people bid in the thousands of dollars for items - not because they wanted the item, particularly, but because they wanted to contribute to the fund.
Well, our circumnavigation of the globe will be complete in a matter of hours. As we've reminisced over the past several days about each of our favorite destinations and moments, we thought we'd like to share them with you as you have traveled with us on this magnificent journey. The lists are in no particular order, and we didn't look at each other's lists until they were complete.
TOP 10 DESTINATIONS
Tina Lou
Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) Halong Bay/Hanoi
Sydney Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)
Bali Mumbai
Mumbai (Bombay) Sydney
Hong Kong Hong Kong
Moorea Singapore
Singapore Rome
Dubai Luxor
Luxor Kusadasi
Rome Bali
And then there are the memories, which neither one of us can whittle down to 10:
Tina's Top 14 Lou's Top 12
Dinner at the Habu Temple, Luxor Ship's staff and crew members
The Crew's homecoming in Manila Habu Temple dinner
Surprise lunch at Katakalon, Greece Suez Canal
Cruising the Suez Canal Bay of Islands cruise and party
Bora Bora "motu" beach party Motu party
Seeing the faces of the children of Myanmar Katakalon surprise luncheon
Lunch at Chevre d'Or, Eze, France Ali, our guide in Oman
Cruising the Bay of Islands Crossing the Equator festivities
Overnight at the Penninsula Hotel in Bangkok Mekong River tour
"Open Door Open Mind" intro to Islam in Dubai The children in Myanmar
Cruising the Mekong River Open air laundry in Mumbai
Lunch at the Rex Hotel, Saigon Swimming with the rays and sharks
Trishaw ride in Penang
Cooking class with Capt. Dag
We want to sincerely thank everyone who has sent us messages of encouragement and kept us connected to the real world via e-mail. We could not have enjoyed this trip without this connection to our friends and family. The blog has been a labor of love for us and we truly hope that everyone has enjoyed reading it as much as we have enjoyed putting it together. This journey has been a true education. We will never look at the world and its people in the same way as we did before. It is our hope that you have learned something from it as well.
Peace.
Comments
Nice...
It's good to get to know the people you are traveling with, but sad to leave them when you go. Aw... I wonder if you still keep in touch with some of these people.
Louise Brown
TravelPod Community Manager