Ship Notes - amusing and true stories of our cruise!

Ship Notes

I will post the remaining ports of the Orkney Islands Shetland Island, Edinburgh and London when I get home. I'm writing them now but am running out of time to get them all posted correctly with the pictures.

In the meantime I'll share this blog with some fun stories (and scary?) of our trip and life onboard the ship.

We caught a beautiful sunset last night - right off the stern of the ship. Of course we haven't had many sunsets as it's been light most of the night but we are heading further south and this one was a beauty!

We have met so many nice people - specifically, Marilyn and Ellen from Virginia Beach, Red and Carol from Illinois, Trudy and Bob from Maine, Rick the pig farmer from Iowa who helped me with my camera battery - the one charge was enough to last the whole trip, Pat and Chris (a mother and daughter) from California and Wisconsin, and Jon and Gudrun from California who will also be on our Portugal River trip in October. Also a nice couple from Australia, another couple from Cheshire, CT (where Jacqueline is from), and many more we've had conversations with but don't know their names, etc. 

The stories of these many travelers and where they have or are going to travel is mind-boggling. You think Ed and I have traveled? We are just babies compared to the trips these folks have taken. It's inspiring to hear their stories and reinforces how wonderful it is to be able to see the world that's just outside our doorstep. Ed and I hope to continue to be able to travel for many years ahead, although I don't think we will be able to match the travels of most of the people on this ship.

So some random cruise stories: 

Well, people are getting Covid onboard. Although it's kept pretty quiet, we hear the scuttlebutt and see the dishes outside the staterooms along with the spit test tubes. The last we heard about 70 people were in quarantine. This includes half of the Viking Band that plays during the stage shows and the future cruise consultant. We started wearing our masks again on buses and when close together in groups as everyone seems to be coughing. Ed and I are not! 

One of the friends we met did end up with Covid and she had to quarantine for 5 days in her cabin. Her husband was placed in a separate cabin and although he was tested daily and had to wear a mask, he was able to participate in shore excursions and freely move about the ship. She just got released today and we were happy to see her out and about, although she still must wear a mask. I feel bad for both of them as it was their first cruise ever - hopefully it hasn't spoiled the idea of cruising again in the future.

Early on someone was taken off the ship during a sea day - we realized we were stopped and saw one of the tenders taking someone ashore - not sure what the medical issue was. 

Then, during the night on another day at sea we awoke to a strange sound - was it the wind? Did we not shut our sliding door? It turned out to be a helicopter - taking someone off the ship with a medical emergency - at 2:00 a.m. in the morning. A friend of ours was able to get a picture of the helicopter - we might have seen it if we had actually ventured out onto our deck in our PJs - Ed opted to get back in bed instead. We heard a rumor that that person was very, very seasick and could not stop vomiting so he was airlifted out. Can't imagine what a ride in the basket from the ship up to the helicopter would do for someone who is already seasick. We also heard that the individual is back on board. 

We did have two very rough days and nights on our way from Honnigsvag to the Orkney Islands. Ed and I were not affected (we enjoy a good rock and roll), but many, many people were feeling the effects of the movement. One of these days we attended a lecture mid-afternoon in the theater on deck 2 forward prior to heading to tea. I was getting ready to head to tea to secure a table (the lecture had not yet ended) when I turned slightly and noticed a woman behind me who was laid out on the couch. Thinking she was ill, I looked closer and saw she had vomited all over herself and the floor! Yikes! After seeing that, my decision was made to leave the theater post haste and head for tea. Along the way I alerted an employee, although Ed said that several arrived right after I left with cleaning tools, etc. and the woman was escorted away. Ed and others were quickly asked to move to another part of the theater. I felt bad for the individual.

I just ran into a couple heading for the elevator and looking for the Promenade deck - where you can walk around the ship on the outside. We were on Deck 7 and I informed them that they should head to Deck 2 - they were very appreciative but I'm thinking, it's Day 13 on the ship - where have you been for the past two weeks that you don't know where Promenade deck is located?

We were able to eat at one of the specialty restaurants two nights ago - The Chef's Table. It's a set menu with wine pairings at each course. This menu reflected the British traditions and included fish and chips, scotch eggs, and Yorkshire pudding and brisket. It was yummy! (I forgot to take a picture of the scotch eggs but they were delicious)

Ed had a couple of young girls on one of his tours (and trust me, there are not many 'young' folks on this cruise). He said they were a "hoot" (well he used a different word but I'm not putting it here) and one of them tagged along with him for a bit. I told him it was because he was probably the youngest looking guy on the tour. Anyway, I finally saw them yesterday on the tender back to the ship. One of them was dressed like she had a part in Game of Thrones. I think the day Ed met them they were wearing those viking hats with horns on them. 

We ran into a woman who had broken her arm in a fall while ashore. She was in a cast and sling and had quite the bruise on her jaw.

Then I heard yesterday about someone who had fallen on the ship while getting back onboard - we go through security and somehow she slipped and fell - breaking her shoulder and was scheduled to have surgery yesterday in Edinburgh hospital in Scotland!

Partway through the trip a British entertainer joined us - Helen Wilding. She has an amazing voice and stage presence; however, for her first performance she told us that her luggage had been lost so she was wearing a borrowed evening gown and shoes that were a bit large. For her show last night, she had done some shopping in Edinburgh for new clothes - her suitcase has not yet caught up with her.

After our interaction with the Executive Chef on our fishing trip and the subsequent fish meal we enjoyed, the hostess at the entrance to The Restaurant (the main dining area) knows my name and room number without me having to prompt her. It's 'good evening Mrs. Aras' or 'good morning Mrs. Aras'. I guess it's who you know!! Ed is jealous!!

On my Mousa Island hike on Shetland, my hiking shoes took quite a beating between the 'sheep dip', which I did my best to avoid and the mud and wet ground. I tried to step in a few puddles along the way home which helped a bit, but not much. I removed them before entering our cabin and placed them outside on our deck. I then used a wooden 'nail' stick I had brought along for cleaning under my nails to remove as much of the grass and mud from the shoes as I could. So when we went to dinner, the mess from the shoes was on the deck and the shoes sitting inside. When we returned our cabin steward had cleaned off the deck and placed my shoes on a plastic bag. 

But the story continues... I put the shoes in the bag, figuring I would pack them that way but yesterday, when we returned from our all day excursion, the plastic bag was gone. The shoes were sitting there and I noticed the laces were neatly tucked inside. When I looked closer, the shoes looked brand new! Our cabin steward, Ida (pronounced 'eeda) had thoroughly cleaned my shoes! I saw him this morning and thanked him profusely. He said he did it as he figured I wouldn't have time to get them cleaned. The level of service on this ship and the willingness of all the employees to go the extra mile constantly amazes us.

We've had a wonderful trip and will be ready to head home on Saturday. The memories and fun times will remain, especially as we review all our photos and read through these blogs in the days, months, and years ahead. It's why I write it all down!