CRUISING THE ATLANTIC …. WORLD CRUISE 2024 … THE FINAL STORY

This was written on the last days of our voyage … per usual we had no WiFi during the entire Atlantic crossing. ( Not sure how we use to survive without WIFI. ) With 16 suitcases to unpack and a few Christmas decorations to put away I am just getting this out. Thank you again to those that joined us on our adventure.

So the final chapter … we are in the Atlantic heading to our last and final stop …. DAY 196. New York, New York. Hard to believe it is almost over. It feels like we’ve been gone forever… having left Connecticut December 27’th … the heart of winter … with our Christmas decorations still up. Feels like several crusies ago.

Since that time we have sailed 53,000 miles … the equivalent of twice around the world … stopped in 43 countries, 6 continents ( We skipped Antarctica ) We went through over 2.5 Million gallons of fuel… at 48 miles per gallon ( Can you imagine having a car like that? )

It has been an amazing experience … we have seen so much, met so many different people from everywhere and discovered so much about the world.

So now … with several days in the Atlantic we finally have time to share life at sea and the inner workings of a cruise ship.

A quick recap about the boat, the Insignia … owned by Oceania … a mid size ship that holds up to 684 passengers and 378 crew. We started our voyage with 367 world cruisers ( the rest filled by passengers sailing select “ segments ” … usually 16 days in length. ) We will be finishing in New York with 309 world cruisers. We shed 60 guests along the way who opted out in Dubai due to itinerary changes … swapping the Mediterranean for Africa to dodge the Houthis in the Red Sea.

So by now … the crew to passenger ratio is very high … but a certain amount are needed to run a ship whether there are 3 guests or 684 …

So “ The Show Must go On ” … The face of the cruise is not the Captain nor the Hotel Manager who are working hard behind the scenes … the Cruise Director is the “ Conductor of the Symphony ” and orchestrator of our lives on board a ship. The public face we see all day … the voice we hear three times a day over the PA system … telling us what to do, where to go and what to expect.

The Cruise Director is also the second to last person to go down with the ship … their cabin is located next to the captain. I guess the cruise director does the broadcasting as the ship is sinking …. I do hope they’re paid well. So like all jobs on a ship … the position is demanding, tireless and continuous … a job I ended up “ doing for a day.” ( How that happened is a story for another time ) This was my “ Hollywood Debut ” … I actually prefer to fly under the radar … but too late … I was now “ Cruise Director for a Day. ” My big chance to be “ Julie McCoy from the Love Boat ” ( for those of you old enough to remember ) … it must be “ destiny ” since I even have the same first name and middle initial.

So finally a chance for some insight into the dark underworld of the boat … an area sealed by heavy white doors that we … as passengers … are not allowed to enter.

The “ Day in the Life ” … starts with a prerecorded taping of the following days activities filmed the night before … ( they have professionals on board who do filming and editing full time ) … so time to pull out the “ new boating attire ” for the Cruise Director debut.

The tape is a brief summary of the upcoming activities with a few plugs for various “ entertainment ” and “enrichment” offerings running all day on the TVs including the gym equipment. ( Just what someone wants to see working out … my face fumbling through the days program. )

But that was just the beginning … now the “ real work ” begins. Out the door at 6:15 AM … hosting a “ Coffee Chat ” … bright eyed and bushy tailed … ( who is bright eyed and bushy tailed at 6 am 😜 ) So I immediately changed that time to 8 AM … this is when you catch the “pulse” … the gossip and complaining … and there is plenty of both.

Next off to Needlepoint Corner to chat with everyone sewing … greeting anyone you can find along the way … just like a politician but with no babies to kiss … just us old faces. A quick stop at “ Destinations ” … the back house operation that coordinates all those land tours and the fifty million changes we all make.

But it’s finally time for the best part …. the secret area no one gets to see … truth be told … the only reason I wanted this job. The white doors leading to the inner workings of the ship … I finally get to see how it all works.

So for most cruisers … beyond the itinerary … the focus tends to be “ the food. ” Oceania promotes “ the finest food at sea ” … So you can imagine feeding 350 people “ gourmet meals ” … “ gourmet ” translates to “dwarf portions” … 3 times a day in a 2 hour window … no easy feat to pull off.

The kitchen staff has to work 24 x 7 to make that happen. On a typical cruise ( A segment of 16 Days ) they go through 36,000 eggs, 6500 lbs of beef, 28 tons of fruits and vegetables and 800lbs of chocolate. ( I am the one putting a dent in the chocolate.)

Preparation begins two months prior to the start of each cruise … ( World Cruises are divided into segments … averaging 16 days … covering a particular area of the world.) Two months before each segment they need to figure out quantity needed for over 3000 different food items and 2500 ancillary dining items … linens, glassware, silverware and china.

And all these necessities are stored in the boats storage areas that can hold up to 2 months of food. The ports are predetermined for restocking of the ship. The boat can receive up to six 40’ containers … 250 pallets … each weighing 2 tons. ( about the weight of an elephant ) It takes about 7 hours to inspect and load all the new food and get it onto the ship … definitely an “ all hands on deck ” operation.

The Galley ( Kitchen ) operates 24 hours a day and is the one area … no one other than kitchen staff … is allowed in. ( Not even Mgmt ) The rules are very strict … protect the food from spread of germs or deliberate contamination.

Speaking of germs … The laundry operation … mind boggling …. Myself and a fellow passenger, Tori have been speculating about the operation for months. ( I promised her a full report.) With all the passenger laundry … how do they manage to keep track of it ???

Come to find out passenger laundry is actually the least of their challenges … the enormous volume … bath towels and bed linens … changed daily, tablecloths and napkins … set up 3 times a day and the crew uniforms … ( morning uniforms, evening uniforms, special event uniforms ) … translates into ALOT OF LAUNDRY. The space is enormous and the equipment is beyond anything I had ever seen. The pressing machine is so large it has to be put in the ship before it is built … one of the dryers that recently needed replacing is so big they had to cut a hole in the ship to get the old one out and the new in. I hope they had some pretty good duct tape to mend that hole.

The pressing machine even folds the sheets … ( I need one of those ) … They also have a full time seamstress for tailoring and dry cleaning. I could use one of those too.

The overall space is huge with at least 20 people assigned to the laundry operation … and I would bet it is running 24 x 7.

So finishing the laundry tour we headed to the Bridge … on the opposite side of the ship. We had a cool vantage point to view the length of the ship with its wide corridor running down the center …. back to front. The hallway looks like a hospital … they call the corrider I-95 … for its size, traffic and congestion. I-95 is the internal highway to everything.

So as you might expect you need clearance to enter the Bridge … it is a locked area ( Thanks Osama Ben Laden …. Your legacy lives on. ) In the good old days many ships had a policy of “ Open Bridge ”… but not anymore. The bridge is another big room with a great view … Glad to see they really have a good view. The room has lots of equipment .., non of it means much to me but I am sure everything to them.

The ship was running on auto pilot while I was there … 18 knots per hour … as you might expect they are very particular about not touching the steering wheel. Too bad … I was hoping to practice some Indy 500 Moves with the boat😂 .

They also have two other points to drive the ship …. the right and left sides. The same location as side mirrors on a car… but in this case the pilot can actually go out on each side of the boat where there is steering capability …a clear view from the side of the ship … a necessity for docking and “ picking up refugees. ”

So by now it’s noon …. Time for another announcement … first from the captain giving sea and weather conditions followed by “ Yours Truly” covering the rest of the days program from the Bridge.

So with that completed … off to Lunch with the Crew in the “Mess” … a small area for dining but good food … the same as we eat … but you help yourself … so no dealing with dwarf portions … the presentation … not quite so fancy. On the way to lunch we stopped by the Hotel Managers Office and Ship Security … there are 2 Security Officers on at all times … would love to have spent some time with them … but we had “ things to do and places to go. ” Nothing too serious must have been going on that day … they both look pretty relaxed.

Next … Wardrobe change … another boating outfit … a little more smoozing with passengers and then time to host “ Trivia ”… a well attended and serious competition … move over Alex Trebek ( I guess he has. ) Tom developed the questions … that is a big job in and of itself … I was “Alex” hosting a serious and competitive group of players … you would think they were playing for “ a new car ” rather then a plastic Coffee Mug with the Companies Oceania Logo.

Next … Time to introduce the Pre Dinner Entertainment … “ Award winning Magician ” … fellow passenger and prior dentist … Henry Tom. Time to run back to the cabin for another wardrobe change for the After Dinner “ Night of Entertainment ”… next introduce a very funny Comedian from New York … Cory Kahaney …. ( love that name ) followed by late night Karaoke with Pam. ( Pam a fellow passenger, 80 plus singing Karaoke at midnight ) OMG … I am exhausted just writing this … let alone introducing it.

And truth be told I was not doing a quarter of the job…. E-mails, problem solving, crisises, planning for the next set of Programs … there is no backup and no time to waste. The work day starts from the moment you step foot on the ship to the time you step back off the ship … 3 months later. If you’re sick … to bad … if you are tired and want to sleep in.… forget it. The show must go on and it does not end til “ THE END.”

So speaking of THE END … another feat hard to imagine … getting all those Passengers and their suitcases off the ship in New York in 2 hours … over 4000 BIG pieces of luggage … the new supply containers loaded on the boat and the next 685 passengers with all their luggage brought on board starting at 11:00 AM. I get tired just thinking about it.

A last tidbit … when the new voyage is ready to set sail …they cannot leave the port “ without ” the Ships Dr. They can leave without the captain, but can’t leave without the Doctor. The Captain has backups .. the Dr does not. I would not be surprised to find they cannot leave without the Cruise Director.

So it is with mixed feelings our amazing voyage comes to an end … a world without WiFi most of the time … a voyage with so many unforgettable memories … an experience of a lifetime …

And “ THANK YOU TO ALL OUR FRIENDS AND FAMILY ” that sailed around the world with us through these posts … I hope you had a chance to see and learn like we did.

FOR BOTH OF US … A TRUELY AMAZING ADVENTURE THAT SADLY MUST COME TO AN END. THANK YOU FOR BEING PART OF IT … now its time to take down the Christmas Decorations.

TO BE CONTINUED SOMEDAY … ❤️