Carinval Glory - NYC to New England... A Memoir

[Delta Hotel]

Phew- found it.:) I stayed up half the night the other night reading this then couldn't find it last night. I was in a mild panic!!!:eek:

 

Well, I for one am glad you found us again. Welcome back Russianmom! It just hasn't been the same without you around here. If you ever lose us again, you can use the search function at the top and search for words that you don't find in most other threads such as "slippy", or "squeak", "cephalopod", or "của bạn hoặc", or one of my favorite new words - "charientism".

 

I haven't used the word "charientism" in this memoir... but it's here now becaues I just used it in this post.

Also, I'd like to say that I'm thoroughly this!

 

DH!

Edited September 16, 2011 by Delta Hotel

[rnvattes]

Thought you should know...

 

Spent the day in Boston yesterday. Saw a "solar compactor" on the street. Thought of you and your "so close!" experience in Canada.

 

:D

[Sea&SkiCruiser]

Wow, it was tough finding this thread. DH, please continue. I'd love to hear the end of the story.

[ShakyBeef]

Sorry, folks - he's sewing not typing tonight. He's making another Colonial Williamsburg dress for Daughter #2. She's outgrown her first one and we will be making a trip down there pretty soon.

 

He hasn't quit the memoir, he's just been crazy-busy at work for a while. I promise he'll finish it. Eventually.:o

 

 

:D

[MistyRo76]

Well it's taken me the better part of what has turned into a mostly unproductive weekend...but I have gotten thru all 29 pages of this thread. I have thoroughly enjoyed every bit of it. Can't wait to read the rest!

 

BTW - How many pages in Word have you written so far???

 

Misty

[russianmom]

Thanks ShakyBeef I was starting to get worried that something might be wrong.

[Delta Hotel]

Well it's taken me the better part of what has turned into a mostly unproductive weekend...but I have gotten thru all 29 pages of this thread. I have thoroughly enjoyed every bit of it. Can't wait to read the rest!

 

BTW - How many pages in Word have you written so far???

 

Misty

 

Hey Misty! Glad you're liking it =) In Word - this Memoir is currently 213 pages! My old boss used to call me a "ninety percenter", saying that I would do something until I got to the 90% mark, and then quit. I suppose this was his way of trying to motivate me to finish the job. I think I remember him reminding me of this character flaw of mine just before I quit.

 

Anyway, if he's right, I should be giving up on this memoir right about...

[stresssolutions]

On our way to the museum, I see this boat-bumper sitting on the docks, covered in muscles and barnacles. My eyes get wide at the idea of having a gigantic bowl of linguini with a dark red sauce, piled high with the hundreds or thousands of muscles that are stuck on this one bumper. When I say gigantic, I’m picturing a bowl the size of a kiddie-pool.

 

 

I suppose I should read the next 22 pages before commenting that steaks are muscles, but you'd use mussles with yer bowl of linguini.

 

Actually, I found this memoir during a search for "bacon police"...great description, BTW. I'm really enjoying the write up, even we're not planning a trip to Canada. Thanks for yer efforts.

mick

[ShakyBeef]

[/left]

 

 

I suppose I should read the next 22 pages before commenting that steaks are muscles, but you'd use mussles with yer bowl of linguini.

 

Actually, I found this memoir during a search for "bacon police"...great description, BTW. I'm really enjoying the write up, even we're not planning a trip to Canada. Thanks for yer efforts.

mick

 

Oops! As editor, that would be my fault just as much as his. Sorry. Of course, we both know the difference between the two, just a 'brain fart' by him that slipped by me.:o

 

BTW, the word for the yummy bivalves is spelled: mussels, not mussles. See how easy it is to make typos?;) Ironic, huh?

 

Seriously though, we're glad you're enjoying it.:)

[stresssolutions]

Oops! As editor, that would be my fault just as much as his. Sorry. Of course, we both know the difference between the two, just a 'brain fart' by him that slipped by me.:o

 

BTW, the word for the yummy bivalves is spelled: mussels, not mussles. See how easy it is to make typos?;) Ironic, huh?

 

Seriously though, we're glad you're enjoying it.:)

Heh. you caught me. Good job! I really enjoyed each update, realizing that it is the minutia that makes it interesting. I've written missives like these after my wife has had surgery with similar results: "you should write a book!" "love yer style" "don't ever quit" etc.

 

DH, if you were a reader, I'd invite you to read my bloggy thing that I started after I quit with the last round of surgery updates. I find that I enjoy the writing, and have found that the more you do, the easier it is to do. (Shaky, if you want the address, let me know) It's probably where I'll review our cruise in Dec.

 

Thanks!

[crusing_guy]

Hey Misty! Glad you're liking it =) In Word - this Memoir is currently 213 pages! My old boss used to call me a "ninety percenter", saying that I would do something until I got to the 90% mark, and then quit. I suppose this was his way of trying to motivate me to finish the job. I think I remember him reminding me of this character flaw of mine just before I quit.

 

Anyway, if he's right, I should be giving up on this memoir right about...

 

 

Should I give up and stop checking for additional postings on this memoir?

[ShakyBeef]

Should I give up and stop checking for additional postings on this memoir?

 

 

I, for one, hope not. The gap between posts here has gotten beyond embarrassingly long. Sorry about that. But last I checked, Delta Hotel still plans on finishing it. I'll try to convince him to get some posted tonight, if he comes home from work at a reasonable hour, with a reasonable ammount of energy left.:o

[crusing_guy]

I, for one, hope not. The gap between posts here has gotten beyond embarrassingly long. Sorry about that. But last I checked, Delta Hotel still plans on finishing it. I'll try to convince him to get some posted tonight, if he comes home from work at a reasonable hour, with a reasonable ammount of energy left.:o

 

ShakyBeef,

 

Thanks for the update.....I realize he is very busy with this thing called "life".......but I admit that I am hooked on the memoir and am looking forward to more....Anytime is fine.....

 

Thanks,

Mike

[ShakyBeef]

Thanks for your patience, Mike (and anyone else who might still be hanging on).:) It really is embarrassing how long we've stretched this out.:o I truly hope whatever he produces from this point makes your patience worth it.

[Pistol Packin Mama]

Thanks for your patience, Mike (and anyone else who might still be hanging on).:) It really is embarrassing how long we've stretched this out.:o I truly hope whatever he produces from this point makes your patience worth it.

 

Whatever it is, we are looking forward to it...

[Delta Hotel]

Up on Lido, Wifey and I take seats on the stools at the bar. There’s almost no one nearby, and just a few people sprinkled around the movie theater area. It’s cold, with what feels like rain, but it’s more like heavy mist being whipped around by strong winds. I have no idea why the people sitting outside are putting up with the dark, cold, windy, wet, miserable weather. Better yet – why am I out here?

 

At the bar, it’s just the two of us and the bartender. The bartender is the same older Indonesian man that we’ve seen here a few times. He’s on the older side for a crew member (in my opinion). Most of the foreign crew seem to be somewhere between 20-35 years old, but this man was most likely in his mid to late 40’s.

 

I really enjoy talking to the crew members about their homes, countries, and their experiences on the cruise ships. Some of them aren’t comfortable talking about these subjects, and they’ll usually give you subtle hints to get you to stop asking – like changing subjects, giving short and generic answers, or just pretending that you asked them “for some chips” in order to side-step the question, “Do you have kids?” Although some seem to be reluctant to talk about their personal lives, most of the crew members by far seem to enjoy talking about themselves.

 

One of the more interesting things that I noticed years ago on one of our other cruises is the common naming convention of some of the crew members from Indonesia. You may have even noticed this, but never asked about the origin. The names that I most often see for men from Indonesia all begin with the letter “I” and often repeat. For example, the name I Made (pronounced ee-MAH-day) is very common. Also, you may see the name I Kadek (pronounced EE-kah-deck); and sometimes, you’ll see a man named I Wayan (pronounced ee-WAY-en). Well, several cruises ago while waiting for a show to start in the main theater (of a different ship), there was a waiter named I Made serving drinks in the theater – but the theater was mostly empty, and he didn’t have much to do.

 

As he brought me my beer and Wifey her martini, I noticed his name, and asked him about it.

 

“Excuse me for asking, but I’m interested in your name. I’ve seen the name, I Made, a lot on cruise ships, does it mean something in Indonesia?”

[smiles and stands up straight as if giving a speech] “Yes, my name, I Made is a traditional name from the island of Bali. In Bali, our names mean what order we’re born in.”

“So, does I Made mean first child?”

“No… I Made is second born.”

 

On a different ship, different cruise, Wifey and I were adopted by a waiter named I Kadek out on Lido Deck. He became “our waiter”. He informed us that the name I Kadek means that he’s the second born. Now this is starting to get interesting! But wait… we were told that I Made meant second born… hold that thought.

 

So, back to this cruise. This bartender on Glory is named I Wayan. Since I had never encountered this particular name before, and the Lido bar is completely empty with the exception of the occasional movie-watcher requesting popcorn from the bar, I decide to further my knowledge on the topic of Bali’s naming convention. After he takes our drink orders and we’re just sitting quietly, I continue my quest for more nuggets of Indonesian-naming information.

 

I Wayan comes back to us with our drinks, and before he places Wifey’s frozen delight on the bar in front of her, he looks down behind the bar and goes to pick out one of those little paper umbrellas.

 

“May I please have a purple one, if you have it? Our daughters are collecting the drink umbrellas; one of them has a purple one but the other one doesn’t, so I’m trying to get another purple one for her.” She says with a smile.

“Oh! I understand. Here, let me see.” He reaches over and grabs the cup with the drink umbrellas in it and begins to thumb through them looking for a purple one. He finds a purple one, the last one in the cup. I guess he didn’t realize that we only wanted one purple one, because he grabs a few different colors in addition to the purple one, and hands them to Wifey, as if to help make up for the fact that he only had one purple one. Wifey thanks him, and we begin to sip on our drinks. Here’s my chance…

 

“I noticed that your name is I Wayan. Are you from Bali, too?”

“Yes, yes I am.” He says with a smile.

“I haven’t seen the name I Wayan before, is that the fourth son?”

“No, I Wayan is the first born. If you see I Ketut, that is the fourth son, but since the Balinese government has put rules on the number of children, you almost never see third and fourth children unless the family can prove that they can afford more children.”

“We were told that I Made is second born.” I said as a statement, but it’s really a question.

“Yes, I Made and I Kadek are both the second-born. You can use either one. It’s up to the family.”

 

Score! In just a few minutes talking to I Wayan, we were able to put all of our various Balinese-naming-puzzle-pieces together in a cohesive and understandable context. This may seem like a small and inconsequential lesson, but it’s a major achievement for me. Yes, I could have looked it up on Google or something, but that’s no fun – the fun of this little mission is to learn these little life lessons from the people on the ship. On each cruise, I aim to learn something about the people that work on the ship, or something interesting about the cruise ship industry – and I’ve never been disappointed when I learn something new.

 

This is really intriguing to me. I instantly wonder why we’ve seen so many crew members with the name I Made, but almost none with the name I Wayan. If I Wayan is the name of the first son, that would automatically make that name the most common – so why do we see I Made and I Kadek so much more often?

 

Since I Wayan had very little to do behind the bar, he even pulled out a pen and a napkin and wrote down the birth order for us while he explained it.

 

 

He only listed the “I” in front of the first name, but it’s implied on all of the other names.

 

After a short time of sitting, drinking, and talking to I Wayan, we get ready to leave to pick up the girls. We still haven’t packed up yet, so we’ve got some work ahead of us.

 

It occurs to me that I still have an orange tip envelope in my jacket pocket, so I reach into my inside pocket, pull out one of the unmarked orange envelopes, and place it on the bar, letting my hand linger for just a half-second too long so that I-Wayan would notice my intentional movement. I pull my hand back leaving the envelope and say, “Thank you” as we walk off.

 

We walk slowly across the wet deck, and enter through the sliding glass doors opposite the movie screen. We don’t say much, but as we pass through the halls, decks, and elevators, Wifey and I both notice that there are a lot of couples “not getting along”. Most of them seem to be arguing about random things, but there seems to be way more bickering than any other day – or any other cruise that we remember. Wifey speculates that it’s in part due to the “last night” tension. Although I love to argue with her for the sake of arguing, I can’t think of a more likely reason, so I keep my mouth shut and grumble something that sounds like an agreement.

 

When we arrive at Mom and Dad’s cabin, the girls aren’t quite ready to go, so we wait a minute or two for them to clean up their toys and papers. Mom and Dad tell us that they’re already packed up, but they’re staying in their cabin for the night. We say our “Goodnights” and leave them alone.

 

The four of us make our way back to our cabin to start packing up everything that we won’t need for the rest of the night or morning. In our cabin, we find our last towel animal for this cruise. It’s a duck.

 

 

Now it’s time to pack up the room. My packing is easy – it’s the exact reverse of my unpacking. I pick out what I’ll wear off the ship in the morning and the rest of it goes into my suitcase. My suit, pants, shirts, ties, shoes, and everything in my closet are already on hangers or in a not-so-neat pile on the shelf. I just drop all of my stuff into my suitcase and lay the hangers on top, folding them in half one time… and I’m done. My carry-on is mostly empty, and that’s what I’ll use in the morning to pack the last-minute stuff.

 

Wifey’s got a couple of the large suitcases ready to be put into the hallway for the crew to pick them up. We don’t actually put them out yet, because Wifey likes to minimize the amount of time that our bags are sitting in the hallway, so instead, they’re lined up by the door near the bathroom. As I’m wheeling the bags over toward the door in order to get them out of our living space, we hear the familiar sound of loud talking, followed by a cabin door opening, and then slamming shut. Our neighbors have come back to their room.

 

Tonight’s neighborly activities are a little bit calmer than all of the other nights. The boys aren’t trying to break everything in the room. That might be because they’ve already broken everything, and they’re just now sitting or standing in an ankle-deep debris field which was previously known as their cabin. The boys are playing and making noise, but not nearly as much as before. The main event for tonight’s “Next Door Neighbor Showdown” isn’t the normal body-slamming, furniture-breaking, kid-beating extravaganza which we had become accustomed to. Tonight’s audible intrigue is the unmistakable marital spat... I’m just going to assume that they’re married. Yeah, let’s go with that.

 

“Are you just gonna leave that there?!” she starts.

“I was just putting it there for now! I’ll move it later!”

“Would you do me a favor and get it off my side of the bed? I’m trying to pack OUR things!”

“What do you think I’m doing?!”

“Just stay out of my way! I’ve got a lot to pack! Where did you put his toys?!”

“In that bag over there!”

“That’s the wrong bag! It doesn’t go in THAT bag!”

 

You get the idea. This went on and on… and got worse and worse, louder and louder. Wifey and I were concerned that it would get really bad, so after much deliberation, I decided to call security – again. As usual, the nice woman at the Guest Services desk told me that someone would be stopping by the room, and to “please call back if it does not stop”.

 

During this whole time, Wifey is continuing to pack up the room. The girls are sitting on the upper bunk bed watching “Tangled” and playing with their toys. I don’t know if they’re listening to the neighbors argue, but if they are listening to the people next door, they’re doing a bang-up job of pretending to be oblivious.

 

A few minutes pass and as I’m about to go into the bathroom, I hear footsteps in the hallway and glance out into the hallway using the peephole in the door. I see a security officer in a black uniform walk up to the neighbor’s door. I can’t see him anymore, so I lean away from the peephole and listen.

 

[knock, knock, knock…] The neighbors are still arguing loudly, so they can’t hear the knock on the door. The security officer waits a few more seconds and tries again.

 

[KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK…] This second round of knocking is much louder, and it stops their arguing.

“Security, Sir. Please open the door”, the officer says. The officer says this loudly enough that I’m sure that most of the cabins in our section could hear it clearly. I’m naturally intrigued by the conversation that’s about to take place, so I pause between the bathroom and the closet doors and listen. Wifey is continuing to pack and move about the room, but quietly. A few seconds pass and I hear the cabin door open. I can’t hear what the officer says, but I can hear the neighbor’s response.

 

“Yes, I understand…. Yes, we will. I’m sorry, it won’t happen again”, says the neighbor man. I hear the cabin door shut and faint footsteps fade down the hall. That was interesting, but now I’ve really got to use the restroom!

 

When I come out of the bathroom, I can hear the neighbors again. Wifey is standing at the foot of our bed with her ear turned toward the door which separates our two rooms, her eyes pointed at the floor as she packs items, as if in slow motion, into the suitcase on the bed.

 

“Shut up! We got in trouble again because of you!” shouted the man. It was an interesting shout… it was clear that he was using his “whisper” voice, but the volume was so loud and the tone so harsh that it’s hard to believe that he actually thought that he was being quiet. It sounded like someone trying to pass an important secret to someone else – except the “someone else” is on the other side of a football field.

 

The neighbors remained relatively quiet for a few minutes, then went back to their normal shouting and arguing. Following the advice of the Guest Services desk, I called back to inform them that “it” had not stopped. Less than a minute later, I hear footsteps in the hall again. I walk from the desk area to the door and look out. This time, there are two men – one in a black security uniform, and the other man is in a white officer’s uniform. I think to myself, “Whoa… now there’s two men outside their door!” Again, I listen to the conversation from inside of our cabin door. Wifey is listening from the foot of the bed.

 

The girls are playing quietly and have moved to their bottom bed, pretending not to pay attention to the argument next door – but they’re being extra quiet, presumably so that they can hear what’s being said. Although the spat next door is interesting in a train-wreck/Jerry Springer kind of way, Wifey and I are worried about what might be said… or more importantly, what might be heard.

 

One of the officers starts talking after the neighbor’s door opens, [forceful Indian accent] “Sir, we will need you and your family to be quiet. We have asked you to keep the volume down several times, and we’re getting complaints from the other guests.”

 

“We’re being quiet. I don’t know what they’re talking about. We didn’t call you guys when they came in at three in the morning drunk and making lots of noise! Why don’t you go tell them to be quiet?!”

“Sir, calm down. We just need you and your family to be quiet so that you don’t disturb the other guests. We have come to your cabin several times now.” The conversation continues between the neighbors and the officers.

 

To break the tension and distract the girls who are staring at the wall, listening carefully to every word they can hear, I turn to Wifey and the girls and suggest, “Who wants to go get late-night pizza?!” Both girls jump at the idea, and so we all get dressed enough to be presentable, and leave the cabin. By the time we’re ready to leave the cabin, Wifey’s mostly done packing, the officers are long gone, and the neighbors have simmered down quite a bit. Whew! What a Fun Ship!

 

We go up to Lido Deck again, cross over the open deck where the outdoor movie theater is, and swing to the left side of the deck to get out of the wind. It’s getting late, so I didn’t expect anyone to be at the Lido Bar. As we pass by the bar, we see that I Wayan is still there, but he’s closing up the bar and putting everything away. He sees us passing by and smiles as he says, “Hello”.

 

We stop and introduce the girls to Mr. I Wayan, and inform them that he’s the one that gave us the drink umbrellas earlier. Both girls say “Thank you” to Mr. I Wayan. Then I-Wayan smiles, puts up his finger in a “wait a minute” gesture, and then bends over, reaches under the counter, and pulls up a tissue-box sized cardboard box. He opens the box up on the counter and tilts it up to show us the contents… it’s an entire box full of drink umbrellas. The girls get really excited, but don’t say anything. I Wayan grabs a handful of umbrellas from inside the box and hands it to Wifey, glancing at the girls to indicate that the umbrellas are for them since the girls are too short to reach over the bar.

 

Wifey hands the umbrellas to the girls and they immediately thank Mr. I Wayan again, then switch gears to splitting up the umbrellas by color to see who gets how many, and of which color. We smile and thank I-Wayan again, then walk into the buffet area toward the pizza counter at the back of the ship.

 

I’m not really hungry, but I get a slice of pizza anyway. I also get a slice for the girls to share, and Wifey gets one for herself, too. There are lots of empty tables near the pizza counter, so we pick two small tables next to each other, giving the girls their own table. Even though we’re sitting only two feet away from them, they really get a kick out of getting their own table.

 

The girls are sitting at the table behind Wifey, so I can see Wifey’s face and both girls. A few minutes into sitting and eating our pizza (just nibbling really) I see a young man walk over to the girls’ table, and without saying a word or even making eye contact, reaches between the girls and takes the pepper shaker from the middle of their table and begins to sprinkle it onto his plate. I watch him as he does this, and the girls have stopped talking and stare up at him silently. Once he’s done peppering his plate, he sets the shaker down on the table again, turns and walks off – never having said a word or acknowledging that anyone was sitting at the table… like the girls were just pieces of furniture.

 

After a few more minutes of eating pizza and not really wanting it, we get up and head back to the cabin to turn in for the night. When we get back to our cabin, I place the finished suitcases out in the hallway as Wifey finishes more of her packing. I’m not 100% sure, but I think that I fell asleep somewhere… right about now.

[Delta Hotel]

Hello again everyone! It's been a while since my last update on the memoir, I know. Work has been terribly inconvenient for my writing efforts, but I'm thankful that I have a job still.

 

 

As a completely meaningless and useless informational update, this memoir is currently at 245 pages (in Microsoft Word, normal margins, 11pt font) and the total word-count is 99,442! That most likely means that my next post will roll over the 100,000 word mark!

 

 

Earlier in this thread, I mentioned that my memoir was at 213 pages. That was incorrect. I forgot to count a 35-page chunk that was saved in another document. Anyway, we're currently at 245.

 

Like you care.... I know, right? You're just thinking, "Just keep writing you little Memoir Monkey!"

 

Glad to be back. I'll see what I can do about keeping this thing going.

 

DH

[pe4all]

So glad to see another update. Sad because you are up to the last night. Can you stretch it until you are back from your next cruise, please, and ready to write your next memoir? (January isn't tooo far away!):D

Edited October 11, 2011 by pe4all

[ShakyBeef]

Well, if we continue at this rate (about a month between posts), we should be able to stretch this out to January, no problem!:rolleyes:

[pe4all]

Now, now - let's not get testy - he's doing the best he can!:p:D

[crusing_guy]

Well, if we continue at this rate (about a month between posts), we should be able to stretch this out to January, no problem!:rolleyes:

 

ShakyBeef and Delta Hotel,

 

Thanks for the update.......I really do enjoy your writing / editing work....I will mark my calendar to "nag" you in about a month for your next update.

 

Thanks,

Mike

[ShakyBeef]

Now, now - let's not get testy - he's doing the best he can!:p:D

 

Not testy at all. It's just as much my fault it's taken so long as it is his. He had most of last night's installment typed up for weeks, now. It was tied up in the 'editing' phase.:o Yup, he's doing the best he can with what he's got, bless his heart.;)

 

ShakyBeef and Delta Hotel,

 

Thanks for the update.......I really do enjoy your writing / editing work....I will mark my calendar to "nag" you in about a month for your next update.

 

Thanks,

Mike

 

Some call it nagging. I call it motivational speaking.:cool:

[jtwitch]

First post on CC.

 

I started reading your review because it was a review of the Glory... which I saw parked in Portland(ME) the other day as I was driving through.

 

When I read "New England and Canada," I was fully expecting that I was going to get your overly-detailed-and-sometimes-sarcastic thoughts on Portland (ME). Once I started reading, I couldn't wait to read what you had to say about Portland (ME).

 

Alas, I'm extremely disappointed to nearly reach the end, with no reference to Portland (ME).

 

.

.

.

 

But that's my only disappointment. :D

 

Seriously... thanks for a fun read... and a great memoir. I can't believe I started reading this months after your cruise, and you still haven't finished writing!

[atravellingman]

Welcome to CC, jtwitch!

 

I don't think that DH's cruise went to Portland. The Carnival Glory does four, five and seven day cruises out of New York, and only the seven day cruise stops in Portland.

 

My sister recently went on a cruise on a different ship, the much smaller American Glory on American Cruise Lines. She said they docked right next to the Carnival Glory in Portland, but couldn't figure out a way to get them both in one camera shot!

 

Nothing bad to say about Portland, love the waterfront and I consider it the beginning of real Maine seafood as you head north.

[Pistol Packin Mama]

Welcome to CC, jtwitch!

 

I don't think that DH's cruise went to Portland. The Carnival Glory does four, five and seven day cruises out of New York, and only the seven day cruise stops in Portland.

 

My sister recently went on a cruise on a different ship, the much smaller American Glory on American Cruise Lines. She said they docked right next to the Carnival Glory in Portland, but couldn't figure out a way to get them both in one camera shot!

 

Nothing bad to say about Portland, love the waterfront and I consider it the beginning of real Maine seafood as you head north.

 

We just returned from the 7 day Glory which included Portland and had a wonderful time there. Took a 2 hour Schooner ride on a beautiful day and had a great time.