“Ping” goes the computer.
All bloody day long.
It means I have new email.
That little one-note song.
I haven’t heard it for weeks.
My computer stayed at home.
I didn’t really miss it.
It was quiet while I roamed.
Now, it’s back.
Back with a vengeance, I’d say.
I’m going to have to mute the speakers.
I’ll turn the volume back Monday.
Things not to do ever again:
If you do, you may suddenly realize the day after the Meet & Greet that you haven’t actually paid for your season tickets yet. Oops.
That’s done, now. We thank the team for their patience.
We’re paid up. We’re ready. Season opener is May 17th – as in, a week from tomorrow. That was closer than usual.
50 home games again this year. Same seats, same manager, mainly different team. It should be interesting. It always is.
Yesterday, 146,000 gross tons of metal became the Norwegian Breakaway.
(The metal was assembled in 73 blocks. I learned that onboard.)
This seems really strange, since we have been sailing on her for a week.
Still, technicalities are important at sea, and now she has been christened.
Now, she is a ship.
We were just on a test drive.
It was an interesting week. A fun week. A long and short week.
I never got seasick. I was a bit queasy in the “fresh gale” winds.
(If you feel queasy sailing, go outside, look at the horizon and breathe.)
Now, I’m home.
I’m going to work today.
I was home yesterday, even though I tried to catch up on work.
Reading emails all day. Trying to fix the home mail server.
I was bad and skipped my one meeting.
Shoot me.
Still, a long day staring at the screen.
It’s easier on the eyes to stare at the ocean.
Or a daiquiri.
So, now I’m on solid ground.
Nothing rocks me to sleep any more.
I don’t walk like I’m drunk.
(OK, maybe I was drunk.)
Still, the queasiness remains.
I think I’m landsick.
I must have been on a different ship than the people complaining about the Norwegian Breakaway Transatlantic crossing. I suppose part of the issue is the level of expectations.
Technically, she wasn’t even the Norwegian Breakaway until yesterday when she was christened (I know, it’s a real technicality, but nonetheless.)
The inaugural crossing was not even the “first cruise” (which I found hilarious when I discovered this.) The “first cruise” is the first trip from New York City to Bermuda with paying passengers, even though there have been two cruises with paying passengers previously.
I did not realize when I convinced my wife to switch from a Panama crossing to the Transatlantic crossing, but the inaugural cruise is a 3400-mile test drive. They knew she floats and she survived the overnight from Rotterdam to Southampton, but the Atlantic crossing was the first “real” test.
I think she passed. The staff was wonderful, after a couple of days, the weather almost cooperated and everything (for the most part) seemed functional.
It’s difficult to enjoy all the outdoor activities and amenities when it’s cold. This would have required a bit of pre-planning. It’s the North Atlantic. In April. It’s not going to be Caribbean weather. So, there were a lot of people indoors. (I went on the deck, just because I don’t mind the weather much.)
I didn’t visit the Garden Cafe because I’m too lazy to get my own food (especially when it’s probably food some other passenger picked up, sniffed and put back.) So, can’t review the buffet, but the restaurants were good.
We ate at almost all of the speciality restaurants, so many will consider us elitist. I just happen to like Le Bistro, my wife loves Italian and who could pass up Ocean Blue? It’s from an Iron Chef, who answers his Tweets.
The food service was slow, but this was the first time the staff was trying to produce the quantity of food required for a 3/4 full ship. Expectations, people.
I do think a lot of people take inaugural cruises just so they can bitch about everything that isn’t working yet (see the Norwegian Epic on her crossing or the Carnival <whatever> that had her first sailing this week.)
My wife and I were on this cruise because we wanted to cross the Atlantic like our ancestors did (well, my Grandfather didn’t have a balcony, but still.) When we saw the ship was arriving at 8am, we assumed we would be in port much earlier – based on earlier cruises. We were correct. We sailed under the Verrazano at about 3am. We were on the deck, taking photos. It was cold, the photos are a bit blurry, but it was an experience.
When we saw the level of hoopla scheduled for NYC after arrival, we assumed we wouldn’t be considered “the first” even though we were the first ones on the ship. Expectations, people.
She’s a beautiful ship. The staff was amazing. You can actually go outside on any number of decks – unlike the Norwegian Epic, which we sailed last Christmas.
Kevin Sheehan, Norwegian’s CEO, is a very nice person (we kept running into him), and one of the better speakers I’ve heard.
We made more friends on this journey than on any of our other cruises (this was number five.) All the people we met seemed to understand the concept of “inaugural.” Maybe we were just lucky.
I was concerned about the number of staff it was going to take to pull my wife off the ship, but she was sleepy, so it wasn’t as difficult as feared.
I would take another Transatlantic crossing any time. I don’t think I can make the Getaway since we’re going on the Jewel just before Christmas, otherwise, I would have booked by now.
We will be going to Bermuda at some point, just to get back on the Breakaway.
Need to watch which blog is active!
From June 1, 2001, originally. That was after a plane flight across the Atlantic. It still seems appropriate after sailing across the Pond – since sailing is a much more civilized way to travel than flying.
I crossed the ocean
And it crossed me.
Where am I?
I know the planet is Earth,
Since that’s what we call it.
I know the time
(As much as anyone could know)
But I’m still lost and floating
Home seems an eternity away.
Long ago, the brave crossed oceans,
To conquer and explore.
But today it doesn’t take courage,
Just an expense account,
And another meeting to attend.
Travel is no longer an adventure
(If ever it was before.)
This is just routine, almost tedium,
At five hundred miles per hour.
The oceans pass underneath,
And continents appear.
I’m in a crowded metal tube,
Trying to find a reason for it all.
I left my house to cross the globe,
But the website is still up,
And email downloads still.
Am I really gone?
Home at last.
Back to reality.
Ugh.
A vacation used to end when Dad said,
“Let’s get in the car. We’re late.”
Then, the end was when a flight attendant said,
“Would you like another Scotch? We’re landing in fifteen minutes.”
Later, vacation’s end was your wife asking,
“Are you going to help pack or just sit there?”
On a cruise, the vacation ends when you say,
“Wait. I need to get my wallet out of the safe.”
My wife is like a daqueri.
Sweet, intoxicating,
Providing great pleasure.
Then, usually a headache
Down the road.
(Just kidding, Sweetie!)
Never say “I never get seasick.”
Unless you are near a restroom.
When you get home and drive back to work,
Your rush hour speed will be the same as the ship’s.
You can easily over-eat at the buffet.
This can be avoided by over-drinking.
In a group of thousands of passengers,
You will see the same ten over and over.
If a red light is on by the restroom door,
You can meet someone by opening it.
(They may not want to meet you.)
If your fruit juice tastes funny,
Somebody forgot the rum.
If you are not within sight of a bar or restaurant,
You are overboard. Call for help.
Unfiltered Thoughts 