Profile
Blog
Photos
Videos
Between Wednesday 29th September – 2nd October 2010, the Sapphire Princess was at sea for its 2nd stint of 4 uninterrupted days.
On 30th September as the door to cabin C105 was opened in the morning, 3 balloons greeted Chris taped to the bulkhead immediately outside.
"Happy birthday Meester Chris", said Teody, the one armed Philippino cabin steward as he passed.
“Have we somehow entered a Pacific version of the Bermuda Triangle, or something?” Chris said, having had his birthday some 4 weeks earlier.
Roisin, who at this time was doubled up with laughter, told Chris that the registration card asked if any birthday or special event was occurring during the voyage. This request did not stipulate a date required so the crew of the Sapphire Princess must have decided on one for Chris!!
Just when he thought the day was almost over, during dinner, Rafael, the restaurant manager came to the table with a birthday cake and Chris had to smile and look as if he was enjoying the experience while, Rafa, the chef and 2 waiters sang 'Happy birthday' to him.
At approximately 05:00 hours on 1st October, Chris and Roisin crossed the equator en route to French Polynesia.
Chris can now officially dismiss the fact that in the Southern Hemisphere, water runs down the plug hole the opposite way to the Northern Hemisphere as an urban myth!!
Seafaring tradition maintains that all sailors who cross the equator during a nautical voyage must undergo a rites of passage and rituals initiating them in to the ‘Solemn mysteries of the ancient order of the deep’. These rituals date back to the middle ages though the current ceremonies are most likely derived from Viking traditions. From what Chris and Roisin saw, less Viking tradition and more Club 18-30!!!
Those who have never ‘crossed the line’ are derisively known as ‘Pollywogs’ or simply ‘slimey Pollywogs’. Upon entering the domain of His Royal Majesty, Neptunus Rex, all ‘Pollies’ are subject to initiation rituals performed by those members of the crew who have made the journey before. Upon completion of the initiation ceremony, the ‘Pollies’ are then known as ‘Trusty Shellbacks’
In mythology Neptunus, Ruler of the 7 seas, King of the secret currents, Lord of the Boundless waves, Master of the tides, High Constable of the Corals and uttermost recesses of the deep was attacked by Uranus (god of the skies) who craved supreme dominance over all elements. (You’re ahead of me already!!) Neptune proved too strong and using his elite army of trident bearers, stuck one up Uranus. (For full comedy effect, needs to be pronounced a certain way!!!)
The ceremony would start off with King Neptune making a speech before the trial began on (strangely) willing volunteers made up of a mixture of crew and passengers. Their charges would be read out (in rhyme) before being sentenced for some such heinous crime such as taking cutlery back to your cabin and not returning it!! Their punishment would first consist of ‘kissing the fish’. This had supposedly been left out in the sun for a week before being prepared for this trial!! The second part of the punishment is to be gunged by King Neptune’s assistants. This consisted of everything from a tomato based looking substance through to a brown gooey mess and the obligatory flour to ‘bind’ everything together. Finally the poor sod is thrown in to the pool. By the end of the trials the pool looked like something from the River Mersey a la 1970!!
Another interesting ‘equator’ based fact is that being at the equator the sunrise (am) is exactly 12 hours before sunset. So on the morning of 1st October, sunrise was at 5:59am and sunset was at 5:59pm!! Amazing, eh!!
During these days at sea, Chris and Roisin finally won a trivia quiz. They were part of Donny & Marie’s team known as the Delta Delays. The team scored 50/50 which, when you think about it was extra amazing because we got a few questions wrong. The answer sheet was added up wrong but no one seemed to contest this. The prize was a Sapphire Princess baseball cap each and 2 bottles of champagne for the team.
One of the questions was: ‘what was the Manhattan Transfer Project associated with developing?’ This was originally marked wrong as not being specific enough. The Delta Delays put ‘a bomb’. They soon got the point when explained that the answer given was the atom bomb (A-bomb)
The champagne was shared amongst the team during the afternoon quiz (which we didn’t win!). As Roisin doesn’t often drink champagne, Chris was also given her share.
Now, the beauty of being pissed on board a rocking ship is that when you’re swaying down the corridor heading for the cabin for a well-earned nap, no one gives you a second glance. It’s just business as usual!!!
As Chris staggered down the corridor to his cabin, he realised that the Sapphire Princess is so massive; you can’t see the far end of the corridor due to the curvature of the earth.
Afternoon tea brought a mild form of amusement to Chris in an otherwise uncomfortable experience. Chris and Roisin were shown to a table of 10, the biggest table in the dining room. To Chris’s left sat an American who was gainfully engaged in conversation with an American lady on his left. Roisin sat next to Chris. There was a spare chair and then another American to Roisin’s right. All the other places were also filled with American passengers. There was a guitarist playing background music. He must have been taught at the Led Zeppelin school for loud music because Chris was sat right under the speaker (they were in the deck head). This made conversation impossible. The passenger to Roisin’s right was, to be fair, trying to make conversation with her. Chris, on the other hand, sat there sipping his tea and munching on his scone!
The amusement came when the passenger to Chris’s left was offered a scone.
“Oh, I’ve never had a scone before!” he said before attempting to break it up with a fork and eating the dry scone. He uttered words of approval but Chris could see that the man was trying his best to swallow his mouthful of what must have been a very dry scone without the customary jam and cream that he obviously wasn’t aware came as one package! That will teach him not to ignore Chris!
German update: There are 14 bars and lounges on the Sapphire Princess that have a bar serving alcohol. One of these is called the Churchill Bar. With 450 German’s on board, I bet this didn’t go down well in Berlin!!!
At dinner, Chris and Roisin now have permanent company. 2 couples have been moved from a table elsewhere in the International dining room to share table 57.
Chris and Mary are retired and live for the moment. He describes himself as a bargain hunter and a pensioner. If he can get something cheaper, he usually will. He has recently turned 70 and Mary is 66. They are connoisseurs of wine. He even has a vacuum pump that (so he tells me!!) is used to pump the air out of a half drank bottle of wine!! They also love to snorkel. As they say, you’re never too old!!
Martin and Judith are originally from Oldham, they now live in France near the Pyrenees. They just decided to ‘up sticks’ one year and have never looked back. How Chris and Roisin admire these kinds of people. They appear very down to earth and are proving excellent company.
Nadia and Florin also seem to have a new lease of life as their service was down from 16 to 4 and there were worries about being moved to different duties.
At noon every day, the 3rd officer announces a navigational and weather update over the tannoy. On the day prior to arriving at French Polynesia, the water was a bit choppy. As this is not a nautical term, the weather is classed as moderate. Nevertheless he reminded passengers of the following safety message: ‘As the ship is rocking, may I remind all passengers to be careful when moving around the ship when the ship is…er…moving. That is all!!”
Since crossing the equator, the seas have been moderate (choppy to a land lubber!!). There is definitely a rocking motion. The best way to describe the feeling is like turbulence in an aircraft. Occasionally you will feel a slight dropping sensation. Gravity will then push you forward slightly, then pull you back.
Shortly after this message Chris and Roisin went for lunch at the Horizon Court restaurant. On entering the restaurant 2 old dears came toward them, one with a zimmer wheelie thingy (Roisin’s words – not Chris’s!!) and said directly to them, “I think it’s nap time!!”
That just about sums up life on board the Sapphire Princess!!
- comments
Ann Hoey Lovely pic both of you look wonderful x