Live from the Odyssey on our way to Sydney

[Seabourntraveller]

From Post 198 (doing Nancy a favor here!)

 

I have tried to find the Hokey Pokey Ice Cream. Found it by Royal Copenhagen. They said only in Copenhagen and Australia. It was deliciious but did not have the lumps of honeycomb in it. They told me that was in New Zealand. I'm too late, should have looked for it there!!

 

Thank you Jane BP...there was so much banter on here I couldn't find it!

[redheadednancy]

RHN- I have been printing out extracts from your aqueous memoir and placing them under the dinner plate of She Who Must Be Obeyed. In this subtle manner I hope to persuade her that a cruise longer than 12 days and in some place other than the Caribbean might be pleasant. No positive feedback as yet--but no flying soup bowls, either.

Marianh- So there you are! I was once at the Imperial Hotel in Torquay, which, despite the palm trees outside, was quintessentially English. Especially in the evening, when a platoon of retired British Army officers with medals affixed to their tuxedoed chests, would march into the dining room. Their wives followed at a respectful distance.

Note to above: I am merely reporting what i recall, not in any way suggesting that such gender separation is appropriate. So, ladies, no need to post angry rebuttals.

Hope it helps. I think you both would have enjoyed this one as the overall group was lovely and lots of islands, even more on the Sydney to LA portion. However, the rest of the cruise was cool. Love to see you on another cruise and by the way, welcome back. Heard you were a SS defector. I am having jet lag (it's 3:30 in the morning here and I can't sleep) and Seabourn withdrawal and not enjoying my required diet. Since we were gone almost two months I have two months to work to get it off. One month of that will be in Naples, so sunny weather should help.

[redheadednancy]

Thank you Jane BP...there was so much banter on here I couldn't find it!

Yes, thank you Jane. However, I have enjoyed the banter. By the way, the ice cream was called "Royal Copenhagen Honeycomb Crunch" and it was delicious and I'm not a vanilla ice cream fan. No calories, of course.

[JaneBP]

>"Yes, thank you Jane."

 

My pleasure! After all, you were busy climbing the bridge, you wonder woman!

[MichiganDavid]

Even though I was a passenger, with Nancy (RedheadedNancy) and Bob, on the Odyssey from LA to Sydney, I would like to say how much I enjoyed reading Nancy’s cruise reviews each day on this CC thread. Her details were excellent, her humor was entertaining and, as slow as the internet was most of the time, the amount she entered was an indication to her commitment to provide these details.

For all of us who enjoyed your excellent reporting – THANK YOU Nancy

 

P.S. When you leave the ship after a cruise – just think about the fun you will have on the next cruise.

[redheadednancy]

 

P.S. When you leave the ship after a cruise – just think about the fun you will have on the next cruise.

Awww....thank you. You and Bonnie were so much fun to be with.(Your organization on tours and name tags for our CC party was very much appreciated)f I hope our paths cross again soon, but we are probably a year away from cruising again (three in the last 12 months have done us in...) Then again, you never know. But there is travel in this next year so I will be asking questions and checking in. I think you should report on YOUR coming summer cruise!

 

And you are right, I learned a lot about trying to put stuff on the internet with that darn satellite. Luckily I'm a speed typist (thanks to the nuns that made me take it!) My best to you both.

 

P>S> I still am going to post my "bridge" picture. (just can't figure out how to get it from the CD they gave me to this thread. It will be my final hurrah!

[MARIANH]

Well did you find or try that Hokey Pokey Ice Cream I recommended?:D

 

Should anyone be over here in the UK on our one day of summer and fancy an ice-cream, you should have no difficulty finding a vanilla variety laced with honeycomb crunch . However , best to point to the container in the display cabinet rather than ask for hokey- pokey. And why? Well in some circles here hokey- pokey means hanky- panky. So at best you may get a puzzled look or at worst perhaps more than you wanted.

[MARIANH]

RHN- I have been printing out extracts from your aqueous memoir and placing them under the dinner plate of She Who Must Be Obeyed. In this subtle manner I hope to persuade her that a cruise longer than 12 days and in some place other than the Caribbean might be pleasant. No positive feedback as yet--but no flying soup bowls, either.

Marianh- So there you are! I was once at the Imperial Hotel in Torquay, which, despite the palm trees outside, was quintessentially English. Especially in the evening, when a platoon of retired British Army officers with medals affixed to their tuxedoed chests, would march into the dining room. Their wives followed at a respectful distance.

 

Writer 100 - Apropos your dilemma/challenge in enticing SHMBO onto another Seabourn cruise- could I suggest you surprise her. Buy the tickets and place under said dinner plate. But retire to a safe distance in case you finish up in the soup. Courage mon ami:).

 

As to the Imperial, Torquay. Alas, recent reports suggest it has lost much of it's quintessentialness. From the halcyon days at the turn of the century when the hotel was graced by the rich and famous including Royalty and paramours it appears to have slipped inexorably through faded elegance to just faded . And is now rated four star. However it still boasts an outstanding location with arguably the best panoramic view of the English Riviera. As for your sighting of British Empire etiquette in action, could I respectfully enquire as to how many pints of West Country scrumpy cider you had imbibed?

[redheadednancy]

Ending this thread with final picture...the bridge. I climbed it!!

[Yorkiebargirl]

Nice ending

[mariners]

Congratulations on climbing the bridge. Fabulous photo!

[fairbourne]

RHN

 

Well done - I am so impressed by your climb:cool:. Now the DH thinks he might want to do it later this year! See what you started! LOL!

[redheadednancy]

RHN

 

Well done - I am so impressed by your climb:cool:. Now the DH thinks he might want to do it later this year! See what you started! LOL!

He should do it. Great experience and very safe. I am attaching another picture that shows the device that runs along a steel cable. You have on earphones and he tells the history of the bridge and the construction stories. Very revealing and interesting. He would love that part alone. It is also run very well...anyone who has been in the corporate world will appreciate it! However, there are no mirrors or makeup on the top of the bridge so pictures are not the most flattering...they even make you take off your watch!

[fairbourne]

Thanks RHN for the photo - you look great! I'll show him. I think my little tootsies will stay firmly on terra firma so to speak!

[MMDown Under]

Fishing Boat to Luxury Yacht: Cruise Ship Rescues 3 Men Adrift in the Pacific for 3 Weeks

 

(12:45 p.m. EST) -- Seabourn Odyssey embarked some unexpected passengers this weekend in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. The 450-passenger luxury vessel rescued three Samoans adrift in a fishing boat, considered lost at sea after disappearing three weeks earlier.

 

According to Seabourn's corporate blog, the portside bridge watch spotted something in the distance Sunday evening as Odyssey plied the Pacific 150 miles from Pago Pago, American Samoa. Odyssey Captain Mark Dexter found no missing vessel reports, but diverted the ship to investigate. Dexter and company discovered a small craft on which "three men [were] jumping and frantically waving their clothing," said the line.

 

After determining that they were no threat, the men were brought aboard Odyssey, where they were examined by the ship's doctor. They were dehydrated, hungry and had a few sun-caused skin sores, but were in surprisingly good health considering the circumstances, said the line.

 

Radio New Zealand International (RNZI), ad online and on-air Pacific news service, identified the men as 25-year-old Oli Faavae of Falefa, 34-year-old Sailigi Simi of Sataua, and Tuitea Talavou from Vailele. The trio had left Western Samoa in an alia, a double-hulled Samoan fishing boat, on February 6; they had plans to return the following day "with a chest full of seafood," reported Seabourn.

 

Faave, Simi and Talavou ran out of fuel and commenced drifting, surviving on their catch and rain water. According to Seabourn, they had no distress flares or means of radio communication.

 

 

 

Searches involving the New Zealand Air Force and the United States Coast Guard had been called off on February 14, reported RNZI.com. The line added that the men's families had given up hope and were preparing funerals for them, believing them lost at sea.

 

Odyssey arrived in Pago Pago Monday morning, and the men were turned over to authorities, who assisted in transferring them home to Western Samoa on Tuesday. When the fishermen disembarked in Pago Pago, they each received $800, collected from Odyssey's passengers (it's "money that they can use to purchase a new boat," said Seabourn).

Odyssey is in the midst of a 76-night Los Angeles to Fort Lauderdale cruise covering great swaths of the Pacific.

 

Tip of the hat to USA Today for passing on the story.

 

--by Dan Askin, News Editor

 

What a good news story re rescue of 3 Samoans drifting in fishing boat and generosity of Odyssey passengers.

[jagi]

What a wonderful story.