The Last Post...

Saturday, May 13. 30 C. [89 F] No seas to worry about, back into the groove already.

It was indeed a long day but it went well, it was just long. Wally picked up up at the Vancouver Airport just after 9:00 pm Vancouver time. Midnight in Fort Lauderdale.

Wally left us and we walked into a different world with such a familiar and pleasant feeling. We stumbled around for a bit in a daze of trying to remember where things were and were soon in bed and did not wake up until 5:00 am, our usual wake up time.

Jeanette popped around quite early as we were having our first cup of coffee. She suggested that we walk around the garden as she had some ideas for planting, as she knew we are eager to get started on planting.

Below, you can see that it was planted six weeks ago! Granddaughter Annette and partner Joe, and Jeanette put in the garden early, which sometimes works and it appears to have been a good gamble. Fellette and I were Gobsmacked when we saw it. What a wonderful Welcome Home!

See you on another trip someday possibly folks Thanks for giving me a motive to write each day.

There Is No Place Like Home... 

Herb Garden was rearranged.

How are those for peas on May 13?

Radish, leeks etc.

Cabbage.

More cabbage, red and green.

A great variety of onions.

Potatoes.

                              

A Very Strange Feeling...

Thursday May 11. At sea, Fort Lauderdale in the morning at 4:30. 25 C.

Home tomorrow night!

Things seem so surreal! I am writing this blog, hardly believing that it will be the last of 131 Blogs that I have written since we left home December 30, 2022. I will publish it tonight before I slip into this very cozy bed for the very last time. When I/we awake, we will be docked in the Good Old USA! 

Within a few hours of waking tomorrow, Fellette and I will boldly walk down the Gangway to a big, wide, wonderful world.  There, in the Terminal, we are for the first time on our own! We are responsible for what happens to us, where and what we eat, and when! If we miss the plane, it's our fault, lose something? It's our fault. 

We are grown ups and have made it through life so far just fine. But we have been living in a Nanny State for 4 1/2 months, our minds has been conditioned to do what we are told. All that ends after we pass through customs and stagger out into the cold sober light of reality tomorrow morning.

The next blog, after this one, will be posted from HOME. It will be a very short one and at a strange hour to you, as it is going to be a very long and arduous trip tomorrow for us.

Our clock goes back an hour tonight and we will be on East Coast time, as we  were on when this whole adventure started, 4 1/2 months ago! Wish us well please.

Doug 

A Great Day…

Our Last Supper as a group. With Hergi and Prem, our Stewards.

Bags Are Gone...

Wednesday, May 10. Blue Sky. 24 C.

Two days to Home.   

Lots happening today. The bags are gone from our cabin and we are now down to slim pickin's for the duration of the trip. Plain and simple, it’s all over, except the Fat Lady Has Not Sung!

Fellette has done a wonderful job of packing, as usual. I did my usual that seems to work for both of us.

Wally is back at home after a week on a well deserved Golf Holiday in Arizona, then a trade show in Las Vegas. the Glass Studio is shutting down permanently after a few hectic weeks of winding down.

Believe it or not, I am a bit lost for words at the moment. I can hardly believe that the moment has finally come and we may soon be actually at home after four and a half months!

There was a Crew Talent Show this afternoon. Lots of good stuff there.

Quite A day…

Sunrise coffee on the deck.

Up comes the sun.

Last we see of our bags for some time.

The aisles were full of bags, but the crew took them below as quickly as they were put out.

Three More Sleeps...

Tuesday, May 9. Blue Sky. 20 C.

Home in three days!

As I write this, we are flying along at 20 knots per hour: that is the fastest we have gone this whole trip. [We will pass under Bermuda sometime later tonight.] This speed will consume more fuel than was scheduled, but that is as a result of the Captain making a conscious decision three days ago. He changed our more direct route home to avoid a weather system that would make for a rougher ride for us passengers. Good of him, but of course he would do that only under the direction of Home Office in Seattle.

Things are getting a bit hectic for most people aboard now. All sorts of activities related to disembarkation in only 60 hours, I don’t know about others, but Fellette and I are quite excited about this. We have never been away from home for so long in our entire life. 

Today is a rather full agenda for Fellette in particular. She had a Choir Practice at 8:00 in the morning for the Passenger Talent Show later today. Lunch at 12:00, Sound Check at 1:00 and the Performance at 2:00. We had Jim and Gail in for a drink at 4:15, then the Last Formal dinner at 5:00 where had a Guest Officer at our table. That meant ample wine for those so inclined. It went well but he was a bit  hard to hear with his Indonesian accent. Nice meal.

In the morning, we pack up our Formal Clothes, put them in our cases that are now partially loaded. Anytime tomorrow, after 10:00 am we can put out our five cases that are being shipped home by the Service offered by the ship called Luggage Forward. We will not see those cases until 10 days from disembarkation when they will be delivered to Wally at Canada Ticket. At least that is the way it is supposed to work. Let’s see how FedEx does on this shall we?

If you are interested, the ship comes into Fort Lauderdale around 4:30 am Friday, all current passengers will off by 10:00 am, the new passengers can start boarding around 11:00 am. All cabins will be cleaned, new bed linen etc., and about 12,000 suitcases off-loaded [and loaded]. The ship sails at 5:00 pm Friday, same day, with a new load of 1,500 happy passengers. Also, a goodly number of crew members will end their contracts on Friday with an equivalent number of new crew joining the ship!

During the day, the ship will be refuelled and re provisioned with enough goods for the next voyage which is the exact reverse of  where we have been the last few weeks: back to Rotterdam retracing the route we have jut come  from, starting with six days at sea!

Friday will be a masterpiece of logistics and very hard work by the crew.

A Busy Yet Very Good day...

Bored Silly...

Monday, May 8. At Sea, Day 3 of 6, homeward bound. Blue Sky. 18 C.

Four days till Home.

As we work our way through the calendar, moving closer to home, I cannot help but put my thoughts down on paper. It seems that I have done this a few times before, over the years as the Mixed Emotions about leaving the ship start and coming home begin to bounce around in my sentimental and overactive brain.

Remember, when reading this that Fellette will definitely have different ideas! As an example, I don’t cook the meals, vacuum, do grocery shopping, change the sheets on the bed and a billion other things that she does.

You might now be asking: What the heck does he do?

I Cannot win on a subject like this, I know. However I will at least state my position. I worked my Ass off for another employer or two for the first 24 years, then cashed in our kids life insurance to start our own Company with a loan from my parents. Doing that, turned me into the workaholic, goal-oriented person that I have become.

Together, Fellette supported me during my unknown journey that I was on, and she looked after home affairs and I looked after everything else: or so I thought. Our lives have evolved that way and it seems to work. I am now definitely more involved in domestic life than it may appear however. We celebrate our 61st Wedding Anniversary in a month, so it seems to be working.

************

 

Here is what I, Doug, look forward to at home:

- Faster and Glitch-free internet! [Yes, top of the list!]

- Seeing our Kids, Grandkids, Sister, Brother and close family.

- Being at Canada Ticket and going over company affairs with Wally, and seeing the Staff.

- The phone call from Wally at the end of the work day.

- Surprise home visits from Jeanette and Adrienne.

- Saturday Morning coffee with Craig and Jeanette.

- Being able to put on some work clothes and actually do some work!

- Getting on with life!

Here is what I will miss:

- The absolutely wonderful wide bed with six pillows!

- Coffee/Tea on the balcony in the morning, especially when coming into port.

- Good conversations at the dinner table.

- Sea Days after a busy Port Day.

- Cleaned up suite and towels, twice a day.

The Captain at noon announced that the depth of water under us was “Over 30,000 feet, but immeasurable.”  What an amazing world!

A Very Good Day...

A good sign this morning.

Coffee on the balcony, appreciating that the end is near to this. In the Gazebo for us next week!

Rolling Home...

Sunday, May 7. White sky, rolling seas. 18 C.

Five more sleeps to home.

We are Packed, sort of. Fellette is the ultimate packer and proved it today. We started by getting out what we were going to wear on the way home and put that on hangers in the closet. Then, putting aside clothing etc., for the one remaining Formal Night we have, [in two days.] That made it easier to decide what could be put in the various cases and what we had to put in our single case that we will carry on the plane and land in Vancouver with.

It sounds simple but is complicated by the fact that dear old Doug has suff stashed away, some of which I need at home to function, [electronically] and some I do not. Actually I was quite taken back by how well it went. To celebrate that fact we indulged in a fantastic Hamburger lunch, up top.

Fellette went to the last Ladies Chit-Chat in the Neptune lounge before dinner while I did the blog. She must be the only one drinking tea!

It was amazing to see what stuff I got rid of today. The stuff that was so precious to me for the last 124 days suddenly had no value to me!

A Satisfying Day…

This is what we are looking at...

God Save The King!

Saturday, May 6. At Sea on the way home, North Atlantic, open ocean.

19 C. Light Rain, miserable.

Home in six days.

What a day! Up at 5:30 am to see the preliminary live BBC talks and interviews about today's Coronation of King Charles III, and Queen Camila. We watched it for over six hours sneaking in breakfast and a choir practise for Fellette.

I knew that we would likely be able to catch some of the Coronation on BBC on board. However, I was unaware as how emotionally involved I became. It was absolutely fantastic. Gad, it was like we were in London with the best seats in the house and I was 15 again. The TV coverage was fantastic. Unbelievable really.

********

Other than watching, participating, in the Coronation today we also had a meeting with The Luggage Man to ensure that we have the best chance of getting our shipped luggage shipped home intact. Our plan is to ship a total of FIVE bags home by the Service offered by the ship. We will travel home with one carry-on bag and a small back pack each. So, no checked luggage on Friday. It should be ok on business class, I don’t want to put any luggage in the Cargo Hold on the way home.

Fellette got one case packed today! We also had a Group Dinner in a Specialty Restaurant with The Cutlers and our other table mates. It was a wonderful evening and a nice way to end day one of six sea days!

The only downer was that we were unable to establish email or text contact with Jeanette, Craig and Adrienne who were up at 2:00 am, Vancouver time, at Craig’s house where Craig baked scones for them while they watched the Coronation! Next time.

A Very Good Day… 

Early this morning.

It has been a long time since we have seen such an example of British Expert use of Military Pageantry. And they do it very, very well.

A Special time in private to be anointed.

Prince William and his Dad!

Just like VE Day!

 

A Balcony Moment. The first without Queen Elizabeth in 70 years!

Fly Past.

Rolling Home...

Friday, May 5. Docked in Praia di Vitoria, Azores for the day. 25 C. Nice!  Home a week today!

We set our clocks back another hour tonight. Meaning that we have begun the countdown to East Coast Time  with a few more to go in the next six sea days.

My big deal today was to finally get my haircut! I had to put it off as a result of the cold. Feels great now.

We did not even bother getting off the ship today, it was just so darn comfortable. We watched some of the buildup to the Coronation tomorrow. For those who are not Canadian, or of British descent, they may not understand the feeling that many people have regarding the meaning of The Crown, and the feeling we have regarding it. One may not like Charles or Camilla, that does not matter: He is the King and she is what she is.

I spoke to Jeanette this afternoon regarding this. She it trying to reset her body so she can get up tomorrow at 2:00 am to watch the ceremony with some of her daughters at Craig's house. He's a card-carrying member of The Monarchist League of Canada! I remember when Elizabeth was crowned, my Mum was up watching all the Pomp and Circumstance, same as when Charles and Diana got married. Fairy Tale Stuff! For those who believe in it. We do.

We set sail early evening for Fort Lauderdale: Non Stop, six sea days! 

Lovely Day…

And That is what kind of day it was. Beautiful.

We ate lunch out on the top deck today, first time for ages!

This is what you see in Cruise Brochures. We seemed to have overlooked the fact that one of the purposes of a Cruise is to relax!

The activity below was an interesting side show, moving containers around like a Dinky Toy Set.

Ponta Delgado, Azores...

Thursday, May 4. Docked in Ponta Delgado. Cloudy, some drizzle and fog with sun. 18 C.   8 days to home. 

We walked down with Jim and Gail for the last, for us, to a Shore Excursion this morning at 8:00. It was a very long tour, scheduled for seven hours but seemed longer. We started off in teeming rain but that went away and then we had dense mist for a while, finally giving way to bright sun. We had a very talkative, knowledgeable and humorous guide to keep us entertained the whole day.

The tour had basically several distinct parts to it: a drive to the other side of the island; a visit to a Tea factory, amongst the oldest in Europe, we were told; a visit to a very interesting Botanical Garden; and a three course luncheon that included food cooked by thermal hot water vents.

It was a fun-filled day, we arrived back onboard just in time to go down and have a light supper with our Sister Friends. Jim and Gail had other plans for the night that involved some shopping and also, another Shore Excursion tomorrow. Too much for us. Sleep in tomorrow!

A Good Day….

On the other side of the Island.

Looks like Europe, which it is in reality.

A river runs through town. The climate is weird, just right for cattle and dairy products though.

Spring is in the offing.

Surf in the background. 

So are storm clouds...

Explaining the very labourious production of Island Tea. 

Trimming the tea plants.

Bird of Paradise Plants, as in Hawaii.

The Botanical Garden seemed like in a different world.

A Magical Place.

A bit heavy on the food, for us.

Happy as Clams.

A budding Pineapple, grown the hard way.