Having just cleared Customs and Immigration, as we are hurrying through the public area beside La Patisserie after first getting on board. Seemingly, ‘out of the blue’ as we nearly cut off an Officer waiting for his coffee, we hear in a clearly Australian voice; “No worries mate”. At first I think, it’s someone ‘having a go’ at us, but then Stephen notices that the Officer’s name badge shows that he is from Australia. He’s a long, long way from home, and as we’ve not seen him onboard previously, I think he is checking out the best place to get a coffee on his new ship placement. We stop for the sort of good hearted chat that every traveller appreciates when far from home. “Where ya from?” asks Stephen. He’s from Port Douglas - so we talk for a bit about the hot summer we’ve all endured and how there’s lots of rain in Port Douglas at the moment due no doubt in part to the three cyclones they’ve experienced in recent months. “We’re from the Gold Coast”, we share back. There is a particular thrill when you first hear your familiar accent spoken, but the more so when you haven’t heard it for a while.
The much more familiar voices we hear are from the waitress walking around the dining room at breakfast time today, asking everyone if they want a “Pasry”. To a man or woman, everyone asks her to repeat her question. Over the loud speaker our announcer wishes all of us “A race and pwresent journey home, from Captain, Officer (only one I assume) and Crew. Thank you for cruising with Loyal Callabbean”. So to hear a familiar turn of speech delivered in a very familiar lilt, though relatively simple, is enough to make our day. We hope that this bodes well for the rest of our journey.
The much more familiar voices we hear are from the waitress walking around the dining room at breakfast time today, asking everyone if they want a “Pasry”. To a man or woman, everyone asks her to repeat her question. Over the loud speaker our announcer wishes all of us “A race and pwresent journey home, from Captain, Officer (only one I assume) and Crew. Thank you for cruising with Loyal Callabbean”. So to hear a familiar turn of speech delivered in a very familiar lilt, though relatively simple, is enough to make our day. We hope that this bodes well for the rest of our journey.
We are so looking forward to Alaska - “goin… places that we’ve never been. Seeing faces that we’ll never see again. We just can’t wait to get on the road again”
Another very much appreciated thing the company did for all us Aussies on board the other day, was acknowledge ANZAC Day with a Dawn Service held in TWO70 lounge. Commencing at 5.30 a.m., it was spottily attended, by us sleep-starved passengers, but we all appreciated the effort put in to make this possible. We were attending a “Captain’s Corner” lecture yesterday run by our Captain Arrald, the Ship’s Engineer and the Head of Hotel - Sanjay Kumar. These sorts of events are always interesting and the questions answered by these three senior officers are usually ones that we are all interested in knowing about. Someone asks “Why is there a little ‘blip’ on the line on the ship’s map showing in our staterooms?” Stephen and I had wondered about this too, but assumed it was just a computer glitch because the line towards Vancouver was otherwise a straight line. “No, says the Captain - he isn’t surprised that someone has asked him what the “little glitch” meant. He had tried to get a little bit more light in through the TWO70 windows for the service.
Another very much appreciated thing the company did for all us Aussies on board the other day, was acknowledge ANZAC Day with a Dawn Service held in TWO70 lounge. Commencing at 5.30 a.m., it was spottily attended, by us sleep-starved passengers, but we all appreciated the effort put in to make this possible. We were attending a “Captain’s Corner” lecture yesterday run by our Captain Arrald, the Ship’s Engineer and the Head of Hotel - Sanjay Kumar. These sorts of events are always interesting and the questions answered by these three senior officers are usually ones that we are all interested in knowing about. Someone asks “Why is there a little ‘blip’ on the line on the ship’s map showing in our staterooms?” Stephen and I had wondered about this too, but assumed it was just a computer glitch because the line towards Vancouver was otherwise a straight line. “No, says the Captain - he isn’t surprised that someone has asked him what the “little glitch” meant. He had tried to get a little bit more light in through the TWO70 windows for the service.
Thank you to all staff and crew involved in acknowledging an event which is etched into the hearts and minds of many Australians both near and far from our own sunrises.