August 16 2008
Aboard Independence of the Seas

It’s been a bit odd being just the two of us (along with 4200 other passengers and 1450 other crew) – the routine is beginning to settle.  This will be the first time I will have been aboard for an entire 10-week contract, so it’s a bit difficult to find my place in Ole’s routine.  He leaves the cabin about 7:00 each morning, except when there are early arrivals, when he’s up as early as 3:00 a.m.  He works pretty solidly in his office until we meet for lunch – then he power naps until about 1:30, to go back at it until usually 7:00 p.m. or so.  He has official “duties” a couple of evenings each cruise, that require putting on the penguin suit and mingling among the guests, and some nights it’s quite the panic as he runs upstairs from the engine room, showers and changes at warp speed, and transforms from a coverall-wearing manager of 60 engineers, motormen, electricians, refrigeration specialists, into somebody out of the old “Love Boat” series, complete with cutaway jacket, cummerbund and bow tie.  Probably three nights a week, we dine in the dining room or one of the specialty restaurants, and occasionally we’ll catch a show or an entertainer.  The nights tend to be early, given his schedule.

My days so far, without friends or family aboard, consist of reading, household accounting via the internet, and the occasional binge on the penny slots in the casino – and on days when there’s a port call, I’ll stroll through town or take an excursion. 

I think when I join him next time, I’ll bring some projects – there’s new canvas items to make for Emma Jo (and boy it’s hard to break out the sewing machine and stake out a workspace on a boat) – and I’d like to revisit some of the things I enjoyed as a kid, like drawing, painting and writing.

This time, though, a new project has presented itself quite serendipitously.  We heard from our rental management company that our tenants in Bremerton, a young naval officer and his wife, got orders for a quick transfer, so our house became vacant at the end of July.  We contacted a realtor to have a look, contracted a home inspector, and decided that since the real estate market in the Northwest is still pretty viable, to put it on the market.  So the project has been to rebuild the decks, renovate the yard, re-carpet, and paint the exterior and interior – all by email.  We’re shooting for a listing date around the first of September, but trying to project manage from 8,000 miles and 9 time zones away might alter that date a bit.  We’re both not quite okay with cutting the tie to our friends and family in the Seattle area – and the prospect of letting go completely of the house is a bit scary – but we’re hoping a quick sale will help us finance the new house in Panama.

Since this is the first season for the Independence, there have been a few “VIP” guests aboard that I’ve had the chance to meet – a few members of the Kuwaiti and Saudi royal families and Jane Seymour (who worked with the producers of one of the onboard shows that’s a takeoff on ‘Dancing with the Stars’).  Fun and interesting to meet them.  I spent a few hours in delightful conversation about boating and fishing with a Kuwaiti security officer travelling with the royal family.  When he found out that Ole and I live aboard a boat, he wanted to know, “How big is it?”  I told him 49 feet, and he replied by telling me he had one that was 30 feet, one that was 50 feet, and one that was about 70 feet.  Must be nice to change your boat like some people change their socks!

On the excursion front, I was able to go from Cadiz to Jerez de la Frontera, for a two-part tour.

First we visited the Gonzales Byass Sherry house, home of Tio Pepe, one of the highest quality fino sherries in the world.  The tour was informative, the buildings quintessentially Spanish, with stucco, red tile, and shaded patios, and the tasting was delicious, featuring a sample of the fino (Tio Pepe)  as well as a pale cream (Croft).  At the mandatory end-of-tour swing through the gift shop, I found a box of four splits of very old sherries – Methusalem, Apostoles, Noe, and Amontillado (del Duque) to be saved for Christmas on the ship!  Now I have at least a limited understanding of sherry – it being a fortified wine from the palomino grape.  And like champagne, the wine can’t be called a sherry unless it is from Jerez.

The second part of the tour took us to the Royal Andalucian Equestrian School for an exquisite show.  I’ve provided the link above so you can get a feel for it. I’ve admired the Lippizaners my entire life, and did not remember that though they are in Austria, they are a product of the Spanish equestrian school.  The Andalucian  horses are a breed apart, characterized by their large size and elegant,  rounded bodies.  Though there were a few white horses, the majority of them were shades of gray or brown.   Their dancing includes leaps like the Lippizaners, and a stepping pattern called the piaffe.  When set to flamenco or martial music, the performance is stunning. 

Another fun part of this month was running into Norwegian Jade in Villefranche, Barcelona and Vigo - to find that our dock-mate and friend Steve Tepper of Serenity was Staff Captain aboard.  Just goes to show you how small the world is!  Ole gave Steve a tour of Independence in Barcelona - and Steve gave us a tour of Jade in Vigo.

Independence and Norwegian Jade in Villefranche

Norwegian Jade in Villefranche

Ole and Steve in Barcelona - Jade in the Background.

August 28 2008
Aboard Independence of the Seas

This last cruise was a 4-day cruise from Southampton to Cobh (pronounced “cove”), the port city for Cork, Ireland, and the launching site of the great Irish migration to the United States.  What a delight!

I was able to watch the ship come into the port from the bridge, along with the Captain’s wife.  The port of Cove was the last port of call for the Titanic, and it was eerie to see that the old White Star Line office building was still there, with remnants of the tender dock that Titanic used.  The inner harbor, though deep, is fairly narrow.  The Port created a “dock” alongside the town wall using two large rafts, and Independence had to turn 180° to come alongside.  It got very interesting watching the bow of the ship swing nearly over the coast road as the azipods turned her on a dime like a tugboat.  Hundreds of people drove into town and lined the hillsides to watch the turn, and it was quite emotional to see how the local community supports the port call.

I wandered around on my own after lunch, exploring the little town of Cove.  The town had arranged a tiny “French Market,” the equivalent of a street fair, including al fresco performances by local choirs, soloists, and bands, in order to provide some entertainment to the 4200 ship guests and 1450 crew.  Ole was able to come ashore for dinner, and when we left the ship there was a swing band performing.  We stopped to listen and dance, then struck up a conversation with a lovely local couple.  When they found out that Ole worked aboard the ship, the gentleman told us he was the assistant harbor master and offered to be of any assistance.  When we told him we needed advice about where to go for dinner, he made a phone call, told us to look down the street, and we saw the restaurant owner (the assistant harbor master’s nephew) standing in the doorway waving us in, in spite of being fully booked.  Now that’s advice!

After a great dinner and friendly service, with the obligatory shot of Jameson’s both before and after dinner, we asked where we should go for the best Guinness in town, having been told that even though a Guinness is a Guinness, some pubs are better than others at the plumbing and refrigeration necessary to pour a draft.  We were directed down the street to (of all the possible Irish names for a pub) Kelley’s, where we were assured we would find the penultimate Guinness. 

When we got there, we found the place filled to fire-marshal freak-out proportions with a live band.  Honestly, the place was so full, the singer had to stand on the bar.  We felt like ping-pong balls in a random-motion machine as we just let ourselves get jostled to the bar and through to the back where we could breathe a bit better.  In reality, I’ve never been a fan of Guinness, in that when it’s been served in the States, somehow people think it’s got to be room temperature (i.e., warm).  Room temperature in a Seattle or Boston or Phoenix tavern, what with artificial heat or air conditioning, is way different than room temperature in the basement of a 2- or 300-year-old pub.  The ale was cool, and the head was like cream.  Not that I’ll convert full-time to drinking it, but it was delicious.  Maybe it was the atmosphere.

We concluded our evening out with a stroll through the town, up a steep hillside with frame houses called the “pack of cards,” for the way they were stacked side-by-side up the hill.

The next day, the Captain’s wife and I took advantage of a taxi tour provided through the kindness of the Port authorities.  Our driver, Darragh, took us to Waterford, where we toured the crystal factory and learned why it’s so danged expensive.  Then we stopped in the seaside village of Youghal (pronounced “y’all”) at a hotel called Aherns for seafood chowder, peasant bread, and sweet Irish butter (delicious doesn’t even begin to describe it). 

The tour concluded with a stop at the Middleton distillery, home of Jameson’s Irish Whiskey, where I became a “certified whiskey taster.”Actually, the tasting was educational.  It was a “horizontal” tasting of a flight of 7-year-old whiskeys – Johnnie Walker Black, Jack Daniels, and Jameson’s, served in half-sized shot glasses watered down about 50% so you don’t burn your mouth out in the tasting.  The differences were stark – and explained by the differences in the malting, drying, and distilling.  So now I know.  And I’m a bigger fan of Irish whiskey than I was when I started – and I have the paperwork to prove I’m qualified to judge!

On Sunday evening we’ll leave the ship in Barcelona, to fly back to Emma Jo in Panama on Monday morning.

While we’ve had a room steward, daily pick-up and drop-off of laundry, 24-hour room service, an unlimited beverage budget, and people to tell Ole the Chief about the work they’ve done, it will be good to get back home to the boat and the cats.

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