Wednesday, 5 July 2017
At Sea — Atlantic Ocean
Stats @ Ship’s Time 9:30p (EDT) … UTC 1:30a (6 July)
Temp: 83.8F (28.8C)
Position: 27.19.13N / 79.47.66W
All journeys eventually end in the same place … home.
~ Chris Geiger ~
It was 1:30a by the time I went to bed last night … got too engrossed in my book to put it down. So I slept in until 7:30a this morning. I managed to get through the day without dozing off. Hopefully, I can manage another hour or so … long enough to write a retrospective of our voyage. I think it deserves it’s own post, though. I promise to post it immediately after the story of our last day at sea.
The ship felt quieter than usual today. I’m guessing that post-RTW blues played a role in that. Of course, a good number of the passengers were packing, too … for tomorrow’s disembarkation in Miami. Whatever the reason, there seemed to be fewer people around when I was out and about.
Our bags are all packed ... we just have our cabin-wear and some toiletries to put in our carry-on bags tomorrow morning. Mui placed the bags we’re not carrying off in the hallway for pick-up by the crew. Our bags weigh 100-125 pounds less than they did when we embarked in January ... and they number fewer, too. That’s a good thing. We have been given Blue 2 tags and an 8:45a departure slot for disembarkation. Hopefully passengers won’t crowd the customs area before they are called and cause the process to be halted as it was last year.
At 11:00a, there was a farewell mimosa cocktail party for the RTWers. GM Victor and CD Ray spoke a few words. Then the RTW slide show that fellow-passenger Rob put together was screened. He did an excellent job of ensuring we were all included in one way or another. I was hoping that O would burn DVDs for all of us — consider how much we paid for this voyage — but no, they didn’t. Rob will send a Dropbox link to those who provided email addresses to our RTW hostess for the list she’s been compiling. But our internet at home is limited, so Mui got a copy from Rob today on a thumb drive.
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Left: GM Victor and CD Ray welcome us to the farewell gathering.
Right: Mui and F&B Manager pay their respects toKingChef Farid!
Since our packing was done, I relaxed in the shade on the Deck 5 promenade for a while in the afternoon. Then we went to the 4 o’clock tea for one last scone and some other goodies. I skipped lunch, so I don’t feel guilty for indulging ;-) Afterwards, we joined Sonia and Boris in the Insignia Lounge. It was time for them to cash in the Big O Points they won at the daily trivia game. Since they had no space in their luggage, Mui became the lucky recipient of a RTW sweatshirt. Thank you guys!
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One last afternoon of R&R on the deck 5 promenade and a salute to our voyage.
Dinner — ‘last supper’ as it came to be known to our usual group — was in the Grand Dining Room. We had a nice meal with lots of camaraderie … but there was that undercurrent of sadness that our grand adventure is all but over. We have some reunion plans in the works, so our farewells tomorrow will not be final.
One last meal … until we meet again sometime … somewhere.
On that note, I’ll wrap up this post so I can write and upload the retrospective, too.
© 2004-2018 All rights reserved by Erin Erkun.
Amazing to follow along on your voyage. I so love the friendships you have made. They seem "real" and true, the kinds of friends that can last a lifetime. Loves the toes and the water photo!
ReplyDeleteAhhh, well, all good things should come to an end, but that doesn't necessarily mean a forever end. I have enjoyed reading (and learning from) your posts about (mostly) exotic places on our wonderful earth. I know you guys made good friends, and that makes it even more special. Glad you made it home -- to the good ol' USofA -- safely.
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