Day 117 - Monday April 24 at sea - day 5

Sea Day 5 photos
position at 7:15am: N31 04.40 latitude W57 47.40 longitude
(410 miles SE of Bermuda, our next port)
temperature: 64F, cloudy, only a slight head wind (~ 20km/h)
distance since FLL: 38,355 miles
It was another rocky night though the seas seemed a little calmer. It was 63F on deck this morning with very little breeze which made for a pleasant walk for Clay. We also gained an hour overnight so there was a good early crowd on deck.
Debbie slept in only a little this morning and was up before Clay came back to the cabin. The seas are much calmer than yesterday. There are still some pretty good swells but not accompanied by big choppy waves too. So, still some rocking but not all the really rough ride of the last couple of days. Tomorrow will be a shore day in any event, hurray!
For 2 days now, Voyager Today has been playing the spoof video of the preparations for Capt. Dag's 50th birthday party from Australia. It is really funny. The other people on the ship who have not been on all along must wonder what has been going on here.
So, we went to Compass Rose at 8am this morning because Debbie had a craving for Swedish Pancakes. After breakfast, Clay left Debbie sitting in her favorite cabin-waiting spot in the hall in front of Horizon Lounge and he went up to get the laptop and a book for Debbie. He was gone a while. When he returned, he told Debbie that Mishiel was not to our cabin yet. He apologized for taking so long, but said he had to listen to a voicemail on our phone. Debbie told him that she did not even realize you could do that and how did he know how. Clay said he just picked it up and it prompted him. Then, Clay just sat mute. Debbie waited and then said, Well, what was the voicemail. Clay burst his poker face and blurted out with a big grin, Oh it was Capt. Dag! Last night, Capt. Dag invited Clay back to the bridge for the meeting with the Navigator. Since the meeting is taking place on our port side and we have our balcony there, Clay was considering not going to the bridge even though Debbie told him he had to go. Well, this morning the Captain's voicemail said, Mr. Burch if you would like to go back up the smokestack to take pictures of the meeting with the Navigator be on the bridge at 10:30am to get your gloves and coveralls. Clay is very happy that the seas have calmed down because of course he wants to go back up the smokestack! Guess this definitely means that we will not stay on our own balcony for the meeting of the ships. More later on this.
Today is also the Galley Brunch Buffet in Compass Rose. We will go into the Galley and serve ourselves from a buffet line and then go sit in CR to eat. Later this evening is the World Cruisers' Farewell Show in the Constellation Theater, so we don't have much down time today. It will be an eventful sea day. Tomorrow evening from 6 to 7pm everyone is invited to fellow guest, Barbara Clutz' 'Stop your Packing Party' in the Main Atrium. We'll soon need that day in Bermuda for rest!
It is 10:18am. We made another left turn earlier this morning and were going even further south for a while. Then in the last 30 minutes, or so, we made another turn and are heading north. Now we have dropped speed to about 7 knots. We don't see any sign of Navigator but we must be in the area of our appointed meeting, just waiting for her to show up. The winds have dropped even further to under 10kn/h but the swells are still big. Capt. Dag hopes to do something special like lower small boats for the 2 Captains to meet between the ships for a handshake, but he said in his 9am Vords that it will depend on the swells. We'll see. Oh, here comes Navigator right towards our balcony. Gotta go! So, we met up with Navigator a little earlier than expected. Good thing Clay went to the bridge early, but the other invited guest for the smokestack turned out to be the lecturer, Bill Miller. He was in the Constellation Theater giving his talk. When he finally arrived at the bridge, he was dressed in his dandy clothes and did not want to put on a jumpsuit over them. He sent his photographer up instead. So, the funnel climb was the Safety Officer, Clay and a professional photographer. Once again, Clay experiences his photographic equipment inadequacy! Clay found the second time not to be as good as the first. We were in the middle of the ocean and there wasn't as much to see. But, it was still exciting to meet Navigator. They had their little boat out long before Capt. Dag got ours out. They took Jean-Michel Cousteau over to Navigator and he spoke over their loudspeaker for a while. We never did get anything over the Deck 12 loudspeakers on our ship. It did sound like they were playing music over our lower public deck speakers sometimes though. Like the song Voyager played when Jamie waterskied around the back of Voyager and between the 2 ships and back! You don't see that everyday. Later we saw Jamie and told him he looked cold out there. He said the water was fine and that Dana told him the same thing. Debbie told him it must have been the fear we were seeing then. Jamie allowed that he was a little worried, about that fin he felt brushing him, but mostly thinking "don't fall, don't fall, don't fall." He did a great job and those were some big swells. Jamie waterskied in the Bermuda Triangle. Not many men are foolhardy, or brave enough, to earn those bragging rights, congratulations to Jamie on his extraordinary performance and Dag for some excellent small boat driving to keep Jamie upright. Those 2 make quite a team. There was another passenger who was invited into the small boat with Capt. Dag. We don't know the names of this couple, but they have been on for the World Cruise and his wife is the one that asked Clay about the roulottes yesterday and the man had stopped Clay in Olympia, Greece and asked him how he got to go up the funnel. Clay asked the man at the Galley Brunch how he liked his boat ride and he replied that it was great. Clay was glad Capt. Dag did not ask him to do that one and was happy to climb the funnel ladder again.
The 2 ships separated on schedule about 11:45am and it was sad to see Navigator head off to where we had just come from, but good that we were heading on towards Bermuda. Debbie wound up watching from the Deck 12 port railing and Peggy came and joined her. Peggy told Debbie that she was ready to go home. Debbie was glad to hear that even the die-hard repeaters get ready to go home! Thanks Peggy for making Debbie feel like she is not such a complete freak. At lunch, Capt. Dag came by and told Clay this was the second time that he invited the ship's photographer to go up the funnel to take pictures and the second time he had not come. Capt. Dag hoped that Clay got some good pictures and hoped that Clay would get copies to him again. (Clay hoped so too and of course will get pictures to Capt. Dag and to Jamie.) Clay said yes, he would. Capt. Dag told Clay he would make him an official ship's photographer. After Capt. Dag left the table we both blurted to each other that Clay was going to need much better equipment for that title. Too funny.
Freddie did not make his 8 bells announcement today. We missed him. We were eager to hear him report the size of the swells today. But, Freddie was silent today, so we cannot report on the size, but they are pretty good sized.
So, the Galley Brunch Buffet. This was fun. It was pretty much the special buffet they have served several times on the Pool Deck. A roast suckling pig, cold seafood, sausages and kraut, beef goulash and spatzle, salads, breads, a pasta station and desserts. This time it was served from the galley. We went in through Compass Rose on the port side aft and went through the buffet line in the galley and turned the corner and came out back in Compass Rose on the starboard side. The waiters were there waiting to take our plates and take us to tables. Ricardo still met us to offer us our Coke and Coral Beer. Ricardo reminded Clay that in 5 days he would not be able to drink all the Corals onboard and not to worry about trying, that Ricardo would finish them off for him. Good man, Clay will leave the responsibility to you. So, we enjoyed the galley buffet and Bob finally got remembered and got into the galley. (Bob was forgotten by Clay and still did not get up the funnel!)
The seas have calmed a lot as we near Bermuda. We do still have some big swells but no wind or chop, so it is not too bad. We need to start getting dressed for Informal tonight and our early start this evening. Pre-show cocktails are at 5pm in Constellation Theater and the Farewell Show starts at 5:30pm. We are looking forward to this. We have been to a few of Capt. Dag's farewell's on the other segments and there is no consistency to them. It is something a little different each time we went. We'll report about it later.
The Farewell Show lasted about an hour. It was great fun. They started with video footage from each of the segments. Then, they dimmed the lights and started the live performances. The PGT singers and dancers performed, the Voyager Quintet performed, the 2 duos aboard performed a couple of songs each: Peter & Libby and Lyn & Brian. Jamie had asked passengers to submit a written few lines about their favorite memories of the cruise and those we were read onstage by segments by Jamie & Dana, Jeff & Jacquie, Dionne & Lisa and Roger & Gudrun. Roger & Dionne sang a song. Amapola sang a couple of songs. Frankie played guitar and his daughter belly danced. They played a video about the children that have been onboard. They all spoofed at playing the part of a staff or crew member onboard Voyager, from flower arranger to Hotel Director, to Dining Room Manager, to Nurse, to Navigator, etc. They were a gas, very amusing the things that kids pick up. If we've forgotten anyone or anything, we apologize but it is not like they gave a program to which we can refer back and we didn't take notes in a darken theater. But, the big finale was Captain Dag in a white silk brocade tuxedo jacket and Jamie in a red and black silk brocade tuxedo jacket singing songs that Jamie had changed the lyrics to. Capt. Dag should not quit his day job! But, what a good sport! Loved it! They sang one song and then they brought up and introduced all the staff and entertainers and they all sang another song, but only Dag and Jamie had microphones. It was a lot of fun and Jamie joked about how they would give/sell us a DVD in the next few days with video highlights from the WC. We would need more than one disc if we were doing this! We hope he meant a DVD set, but it looked like he had a plastic box for just one disc. We look forward to that.
We ate a quick two course dinner and called it a day. Debbie had steak and cake, her all time favorite meal. Clay had salmon and sabayon. There is no time change tonight! We picked up a DVD of "After the Sunset" the other day and hope to view it tonight.
Sea Day 5 photos