Blogs from Oceans and Seas - page 14

The weather today is getting better, although it is still a bit windy. Last night, we were given details of the first laundry offer for tomorrow. Fill a bag for $19.98. As we have Gold with NCL, we get the bag at half price. We just about managed to fill the bag. We had an early start this morning, so had a quick breakfast in the buffet. This morning, we took part in the behind the scenes tour of the ship taking just under three hours. This included all restricted areas other than the bridge which is off limits. There was a group of 13 of us, and it was all very friendly. We got to see most of the main workings of the ship. A lot of the senior staff members made themselves available to ... read more

Dateline: November 4th, 2018, Equator, middle of the Pacific Ocean and…International Dateline Losing a Day in the Southern Hemisphere So today we cross the Equator from the northern hemisphere to the southern hemisphere. We are very excited. We have been told to be on deck at 12:30pm and look for the 25,000-mile string of orange cones. Have you seen these? Since we are Shellbacks (having crossed the equator many times) we will not be part of the “Crossing of the Equator” ceremonies for “pollywogs” (those who have not crossed before). Onboard, Neptune presides over the ceremony where pollywogs are blindfolded and then told that they will be feeling things from under the sea and they use things like jello for jellyfish to scare them and finally tons of cooked spaghetti are poured over them…silly but fun ... read more

October 31, around a hundred kilometres south of Cornwall, England Hallowe’en and the last night of our voyage. Heavy sigh. Perhaps it’s just as well. There’s been ‘way too much revenge eating and drinking on this trip. (Revenge eating, you ask, what’s that? That, my friends, is what happens when the food is already paid for.) Viz., would you like a double-sized appetizer, sir? Yup. The steak and the shrimp? Well, there’s a good idea. What about dessert? The cheesecake and the cheese plate? Hm, that’s a kind of theme I could enjoy: bring it on, steward! And you’ll be having the double salad, sir? Oh, no, certainly not! After all, one has to draw the line somewhere, Don’t want to overdo it now, do we? We made it to bed slightly earlier last night. Midnight, ... read more

October 29 at sea, 433 p.m., ship’s time Around midnight last night, sitting on the stairs used almost exclusively by the crew to get up to the 12th floor, I finally managed to hook into the internet long enough to send off a couple of posts. According to the computer help desk person working last night, the reception in the staterooms is often so bad that you have to open the door to get a signal. He has the worst time getting hooked into the ‘net himself in his quarter, a constant source of embarrassment to a computer geek! The Ipad works quite brilliantly out there. It is a touch uncomfortable but, what the heck, I figure you’re worth it. I do get the occasional strange look out there. Again, I am happy to get only ... read more

Leftover from October 27 I spent 20 years, more or less, dealing with accused persons and with their accusers. Before that, I was a newspaper reporter. And, like everyone else, I have a lifetime’s experience in being fooled. Having more experience of it just makes the cut both deeper and less immediately painful when it happens. I preface this section of the blog with those comments so you will understand that I know that I may be mistaken about the truth of the story I am about to pass on to you. If I am, there are the same multiplicity of reasons behind my gullibility that underlie everyone’s reasoning who has ever told an unverified story as if it were the truth. And, just to lay my cards on the table: I am a privileged, straight ... read more