Thursday, February 13th, 2020

At Sea

Crossing the Equator

We were still in the Straits of Malacca when we woke up this morning. There were ships of all shapes and sizes around us, but no cruise ships in sight.

It was warm and sunny, the humidity is way down. Yesterday each time I stepped outside my glasses would fog up. I can see clearly now. Definitely a day that should be devoted to sun and swimming.

I was feeling a bit guilty about this. I mean there is so much going on in the ship. Now is definitely the time to educate myself. There are dance lessons, Spanish lessons, fencing lessons, bridge lessons, art classes, a golf clinic, not to mention talks on the Very Deep Sea, Song Stories, the Psychology of Art and Colour, and something that did catch my eye, the Blue Diamond Champagne Event which offered to educate and give you a glass of champagne. And that doesn’t include the list of spa talks.

This is also definitely the time to finish reading my novel by the pool. Armed with sunscreen I was able to find a quiet spot in the shade.

Late in the morning we passed close to Singapore. We had a good look at the buildings as we passed by. Maybe I’ll get to stop there next time.

As we will be crossing the equator today we had the “Crossing the Line Ceremony”. During this ceremony those who have not crossed the equator by sea before (Pollywogs) become Shellbacks. This was held at the pool on deck 8 at the back of the ship.

On Queen Victoria and Queen Elizabeth this had been an extremely messy affair, and I warned Ruth of the potential of spaghetti getting rubbed in to her hair. She was still game to join in with the festivities. King Neptune and his court were there, as well as the Captain, Chief Engineer, and Hotel Manager. Captain Hashmi was definitely looking like a young Horatio Nelson, or was is Napoleon or Cap’n Crunch? It was hard to say as I was standing behind a very tall gentleman and couldn’t see much. In future I will know to get there early, and get a front row seat in the shade. The sun was very fierce today.

No Crossing the Line Ceremony is complete without a large fish. In the past you have had to kiss the fish, luckily today they only had to bow to it.

Ruth was well prepared to be totally covered in slimy, colorful, goop, but they were kind to the participants today. They did mop them with the goop, but this was very minimal, and they all got to jump in the pool afterwards.

We didn’t actually cross the equator until after 8:00 PM, but it was pitch black by then. A daylight ceremony is much better.

At dinner one of our tablemates told us that a copy of the article about the Benidorm actress had been posted in the launderette. Everyone at the table was disturbed by the misinformation contained in the article.

With most of our entertainers jumping ship in Port Kelang, the entertainment team continues to work very hard to keep us happy. Well they did an excellent job tonight. The singers, dancers, and Royal Court Theater orchestra put on a great show. Apart from the last number, they had put it together in the past few days. It was really excellent – certainly as good as the usual production shows. It was also very nice to see something new. I do think that this show should become part of their regular repertoire.

While we were in the theater waiting for the show, we saw that people were passing around copies of the Daily Mail article. Everyone was talking about it. And everyone was angry with the content. Didn’t Oscar Wilde once say that the only thing worse than being talked about is not being talked about? Well in this case I do think that not being talked about would have been better. The actress has certainly made a lot of people angry.

When we left the theater we saw the Entertainment Director, Amanda Reid, and thanked her for all of the hard work of her team keeping us entertained. She was clearly upset about the article too, and we felt very bad for her.

On our return to the cabin there was a beautiful Crossing the Line certificate for Ruth. She loves certificates, and we took out more of my magnets and put it up on the wall.

I also received a certificate – I was very excited. When I first crossed the line I was 3 months old, and apart from a faded 8mm cine film showing a screaming slimy baby being dunked in the pool, there has not been an official record that I have crossed the equator. Now I have my very own large certificate.