ODDS AND ENDS Mostly Odd to the End

NO CELL PHONES

What is very different about a cruise ship environment?  No one is incessantly talking on a cell phone, texting, nothing.  People are talking to each other, reading, sleeping—just like the good old days.  Refreshing.

KEEPING TRACK OF TIME

You never had to be confused about the day.  They spelled it out for us on each elevator.

EXPLORE

Everyday the staff offered courses in exploring 1) Our World; 2) Food & Entertainment; 3) Technology; and 4) Well-being.  You can't do them all everyday but we did as many as we could.  We rarely missed a presentation by our travel guide Dr. Wallis Hutton, a research scientist, educator, and world traveler.  Wallis is committed to finding ways to share her love of the scientific and natural world as well as her knowledge of the history, culture, and the gastronomic delights of areas she has visited with anyone interested enough to ask.  An avid hiker and mountaineer, she enjoys climbing an active volcano on her birthday each year.  From our place in the audience, she looked to be about 17 years old, slender and dressing youngish.  She talks a mile a minute, uses color slides, and puts out information and facts faster and more interestingly than anyone I've ever heard. She gave us the history of each of the places we visited, including the Panama Canal construction, history, and future. She says her adopted country is Mexico.  She is actually on the faculty of the university there.  She's probably 40ish.  She alone was worth the price of admission.

All of the entertainment was exception.  On the bus from the airport to the cruise ship, we met one of the impressive entertainers, Chris Michaels.  He plays eight different instruments from the banjo to the turkey baster.  DeRay visited with him a lot during the course of the two weeks.  On stage he looks just like Rudy Giuliani.  "I'll bet you didn't know Rudy could play the saw," he quips.  

MOVIES

DeRay and Ed went to the movie “The Hunger Games” at 5.  Three of the movies they have featured on this ship were movies they played at Snowbird the week we were there.  “The Hunger Games,” “Salmon Fishing in Yemen” and “the Best Exotic Marigold Hotel.” 

SERVICES

 

 

E’Mam who stood at the computer in the dining room has an amazing memory.  We told him our name and room number once and never had to tell him again.  When we walked out, he call “Good bye Hug.”  He said it takes him three days to have everyone’s name and room number down but “I learned yours the first day.”  He put us together even though DeRay wasn’t even with us the first day. If we came in separately, he would show us where the others were seated in that huge dining room.

Madi, in the dining room, is breaking his contract so he has to pay his own way home.  He got married last year and has a 4-month old son he’s never seen.  Agus, our other waiter, may go home with him.  He’s only been out 9 months.  5 ½ million people on the small island they live on in Bali.  Such beautiful, gentle people.  

DeRay and Madi

 The best investment we made was buying sparkling water from Madi the first night.  All the sparkling (for DeRay and me) and still (for Eddy) water we could drink all the time we were on the ship for $10.27.  It made every meal a celebration.

We congratulated ourselves on saving so much money because we don’t drink alcoholic beverages.  Then DeRay had to ruin it all by explaining:  “We don’t drink wine, we pay tithing,” DeRay figures wine is cheaper.  “That’s how drinkers do it.  You couldn’t do both,” he extols.

Every meal I would figure out what both Eddy and I were going to order and quickly order it.  Then the waiter would go over to DeRay and he could never decide.  Madi would tap his pencil and wait and wait and finally offer suggestions and wait some more.  Just a quirk, I guess.  DeRay doesn’t seem to be able to make a decision where food is concerned.  Maybe he wanted it all. 

  I talked to Madi, our cabin steward.  He’s from Bali also – been away from home for 23 years.  He has a 20 year old, 17-year old and 7-year old.  All girls.  His wife started an icy veggie drink stand a month ago.  He hopes it works out so he doesn’t have to come back. The business is struggling and with two girls in college, he doesn’t know if they will make it.  The oldest girl is in nursing and the youngest in computers.  At least, that’s his story.  Maybe he just tells it to get extra tips.  We tipped him personally the $20 we found in the laundry room.  He flies out Friday night and will be home two days later.  He’s already packed.  I hope he can stay home with his family this time.  Inshallah.

 Both of them always greeted us and called us by name when they met us in hallway.   

Thursday October 25.  Our stewards had our suitcases out on the bed for us when they made up the room in the morning.  What could we do but fill them?

 CLEAN WINDOWS

The first day, DeRay asked the cabin stewards to clean our windows on the outside.  We could hardly see out of the window we paid extra to have.  They took him seriously and carefully explained that they don’t have permission to wash the outside but promised to keep the inside very clean.  “Sure you can,” DeRay encouraged, “I’ll get a rope and dangle you down.”  When we came back from our tour in Aruba, lo and behold the window on the outside was sparkly clean.  “It pays to complain,” DeRay muses.  He felt totally responsible.  Then we noticed they washed the windows on the outside at every port.  “Probably part of the contract,” DeRay decides.  “You can’t come into our port unless you pay us to wash your windows.”

 

  TWINS

BINGO!  I finally got a glancing shot of the twins as we were leaving the theater.  I regret not getting a photo last night on formal night.  They are probably close to 50, slender, identical hair cuts, slightly different tints.  They sat on the table next to us in the dining room every night.  Identical twins, they always wore identical clothes, exact same pattern, but different colors and fabric design; like on formal night the skirt on their dresses was 3-tier.  One was black and white alternating and the other one was black plaid, red, and white.  Jewelry same style but different colors.  Same with shoes.  DeRay said when he saw them on the deck they were dressed identically.  They had to wear designer clothes.  You don’t find them on the rack like that.  Intriguing.  The clothes they wore the night I finally focused enough to get a picture weren’t as flashy as their other clothes but you get the idea.

CREATURE OF HABIT

I find I’m quite a creature of habit.  The things I have enjoyed the most are the routine things:  Meals at the same time; book club; 

A scrumptious tea for our last meeting.

Ian, the librarian from Canada, did a great job leading the discussions for Like Water for Chocolate

 Tai Chi;

Lifestylist Jean-Marie from Spain leads our Tai Chi each evening at 5.

 Adagios.  New adventures distress me.  Silly me.  What am I missing?  Yes.  I think I want to be a dolphin in the next life.

PREPAREDNESS

Amy helped us get organized for this trip and it’s the first time we haven’t forgotten anything.  She knew what we could take on the airplane (oops she forgot to check my driver's license) and advised us on necessities and things we would need in extenuating circumstances, like medications.  I got a Staph infection on my shin that could have become a real problem if we hadn't brought the salve. One year Ed had an allergic reaction to the antibiotics he was on.  After-hours office visit was $35, which the nurse waived because she was nice. (The doctor only works two hours a day so almost everything is after hours.)  It cost us like $15 for six Benadryl.  We took Benadryl this time to be sure but I wouldn’t have remember it if Amy hadn’t mentioned it.   “One sweater, one long-sleeved shirt,” she said, and it all worked out and fit into one carry-on suitcase.

THANK YOU TO CLARE AND GARY

. . . for your wonderful transporting services.  Gary packed from our car to their van on our way to the airport; and back again when we returned.  Clare drove us to the airport, even though they were leaving the next day to go to Phoenix for a surprise birthday party for Erik.  On return, she picked us up at the car rental service.  She even had the car washed and shiny for us, besides storing it for two weeks under lock and key. Anywhere else would have charged $10/day minimum, that’s $140.  We express our gratitude.