Last Sea Day

Under ideal circumstances we would have packed first, and then spent the day enjoying the ship. We couldn’t bring ourselves to pack, so ended up enjoying the ship instead.

We heard the noon whistle for the last time. Oh how I have looked forward to that every day when we have been at sea. In his noon announcement the Commodore said that our speed is 13.5 knots, looking outside it hardly looks like we are moving at all. We can see land on the port side – the South California Mountain Range, and we are traveling along the edge of the continental shelf. Since leaving Southampton we have sailed 31,815 miles, and have 231 miles to go to Los Angeles. So we will have traveled 32, 046 since we embarked. More than the distance around the world at the equator. I still can’t work out how it has gone by so quickly.

It was inevitable. After lunch in the Golden Lion we headed up to the cabin to do the dreaded packing. Despite my plan when we embarked to have less to pack when we left the ship than we had when we boarded, indeed we had much more. I suppose that happens when you love shopping, and feel the need to support local economies. We have supported them well. At least we have made use of the duct tape and zip ties. I will not tease Brian so much when we head out on our next cruise.

Finally after much effort we had all 5 of the bags packed to the brim, each one weighing about 50 pounds. The garbage can was overflowing and we had several bags of items that simply would not fit that we planned to donate to the Country Fair. We were done.

The Country Fair is held just before the end of the world voyage, and clothing, unwanted souvenirs and other such items are sold in the Queens Room to raise funds for charity. I wish we had more to donate, but I love everything we have bought on the trip, I have such great memories of searching it all out, and I also love everything we brought on board. Yes we are going to have way too many bags again.

With a heavy heart, I handed Brunhilda over to our friends who have agreed to adopt her. They are lovely people, and I know they will take care of her. They even placed their rubbish bin on their coffee table, so I would know that she would be protected in rough weather. I do wish I could bring her home with me.

The next step was to move on to Deidre and Kim’s cabin. I though that we had planned very well in terms of VC and Laphroaig consumption, but we did have a little bit left over (better than running out), so it only seemed right to have them help to finish it. Finish it we did, and we moved on to the Lido alternative restaurant, Azteca, for dinner.

We have eaten at all of the alternative restaurants (yay for Diamond Vouchers), but Azteca is my favorite, so I was really chuffed that it was available tonight. The meal was delicious, and as much as I love the Britannia Restaurant, it is so much quieter in the Lido so this is a great way to spend an evening with friends.

No evening is complete without a visit to the Commodore Club, so after we got the hint to leave the Lido (all of a sudden the lights became very bright), that’s where we went. Dan and Irene were already there, so we joined them, and sat back to listen to Carlo.

I sipped my Milky Way Martini, wanting to slow time down so we could all spend just a little more time together. It was not to be, midnight came and Carlo bade us farewell. The bar closed and the waiters said their goodbyes. They have all been so wonderful, despite the trouble we have caused there. Strangely enough I will miss them too. Then it was time to say goodbye to Dan and Irene, and Deirdre and Kim. That was the most difficult. Rarely do you meet people with whom you feel so connected, I know it is all part of the magic of being on a world cruise, but I will really miss their companionship, and the laughs and adventures we shared. For me, their friendship really was one of the highlights of the whole cruise.

We walked through the Chart Room one last time. Next time we see it, it will be in its new position, and from the photos of the plans, will have a very different look and atmosphere. It would have been great to be able to stop this change, but I do feel a compromise has been reached. They are leaving the Commodore Club alone, thank goodness. Looking back at our 3 months on board, it really has been the wonderful staff and other passengers that have made this ship so very special, and that won’t change with the refit, although her stern will lack any semblance of grace. Oh boy, its time to start saving again. We do need to find out if we approve of the refit.

By the time we got back to our cabin it was way past the 11:00 deadline to put out our last suitcase. The other 4 had miraculously disappeared during dinner, and the corridors that had been filled with luggage earlier in the evening were now silent and bare. We quickly packed the clothes we were wearing, and placed our last bag outside our cabin.

I was ready to call it a day, and climbed into our very comfortable bed for the last time, my head sunk into the soft pillows and I drifted off into a deep sleep, dreaming of Veuve Clicquot boats and Polynesian islands.

I was rudely awoken by Brian letting me know that my cruise key card had been in his blazer pocket, and the blazer had been packed in our last suitcase. We looked out into the corridor, but there was not a suitcase in sight. Our bag had been whisked away into the bowels of the ship.

Oh joy! There is no way I can get off the ship without a cruise card. Brian pointed out that I could simply go down to the Pursers Desk and ask for another one in the morning. Bummer.

Disgruntled, I climbed back in to bed.