Capt. Dag's Revenge

“Kenny Smiles, report to the bridge and BRING YOUR PLUNGER,” Captain Dag’s Norwegian accented voice booms over the loudspeaker.

A few moments later, the Captain is back on the loudspeaker. He tells us that since Kenny Smiles humiliated him on his birthday with the plunger cap and because he is such a nuisance to everyone, he is throwing Kenny off the ship. The Captain has arranged to rendezvous with the Wallenus Wilhelmsen cargo ship, Talisman, at 4:00pm. Her captain is a friend of his and has agreed to meet us to swap gifts and now he gets Kenny in the bargain.

Alan and I had spotted this ship in the distance earlier in the day. We were sitting at the rear of the ship on the deck outside the Horizon lounge. Both of us remarked that it seemed to be trying to catch up with the Voyager. Now, we know why.

Around 4:00pm, we walk out onto our balcony and discover that Talisman is approaching Voyager from our side of the ship. Ringside seats, we’re in luck! Soon, we can see the distinctive orange-red hull of the Talisman. What a huge ship.

The two ships approach each other and begin a conversation. Voyager blows the horn three times, Talisman replies with three blasts of her horn. Then, Voyager gives one blast and Talisman replies. Someone is on our bridge waving a Norwegian flag.

Alan and I look down to our right to see a crowd of crew members gathered around a small, motorized dinghy. Our cruise director, Jamie, leads Kenny, who has the plunger hat on his head, out on deck. A crew member throws Kenny’s luggage into the dinghy; he kisses his wife, Lorraine, goodbye and steps into the small boat with two crew members. The boat is lowered into the water to the sounds of “Sailaway” by the group Enya.

Passengers are watching from balconies and on the public decks located on our side of the ship. They clap and wave to Kenny as his little boat bobs in the Indian Ocean. Then, his boat motors around to the other side of Talisman to meet her dinghy to exchange gifts and get rid of Kenny.

The two ships pull parallel to each other. Voyager loudspeaker is blasting music at the Talisman, where it bounces off the hull and echos back to us. Talisman crew members, clad in blue overalls, stand on a white deck, arms in the air, swaying to our music. A bright sun sparkles on indigo blue waters. Cameras are getting a workout.

The ships begin to pull apart and Kenny’s dinghy appears in view. He stands in the bow of the rubber boat, plunger hat still bobbing on his head while the “Theme from the Titanic” plays. The crowd roars with laughter. It seems that even the Talisman doesn’t want Kenny Smiles. Capt. Dag reluctantly allows Kenny to re-board Voyager and his dinghy is pulled back up.

We wave our final goodbyes as the Norwegian anthem plays and the two ships resume their course. Soon, the Talisman is just a small speck on the horizon.

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