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The Victoria GAZETTE |
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by Sue Orsen The Atlantic Ocean swallowed eleven of our September days along with 3,400 nautical miles. It lapped them up with rhythmic waters as well as lashing waves, swirled them around like mouthwash, and spit them out like empty seashells. Even though we had four unique ports to sample and savor along the way, each of them an enjoyable and tasty entree for us, the eleven days basically belonged to the Atlantic Ocean. The movie entitled “Ocean’s Eleven” had an ensemble cast of characters not unlike some of the 4,000 on board our cruise ship, which contributed to the season and the seasoning of our vacation, but that’s not the point. The point is that we traveled on a cruise ship for eleven days this past month and, as usual, I kept a journal that helps me taste once again the delicious morsels clinging to the membranes of those now empty seashells. The cruise chronology became “Our Ocean’s Eleven.” Prior to our departure on September 11th (yes, 9/11), a fifth port in Newfoundland had been included on the itinerary and then at the last minute deleted because, we were told, the ship developed a mechanical issue that would not allow it to maintain its optimum speed. Something had to be dropped to meet the scheduled entry and exit dates of the cruise, and it was Newfoundland. I don’t cry over spilled milk or dropped ports. Considering the fact that it took 3,400 miles to visit Newport (Rhode Island), Halifax (Nova Scotia), Quebec City (Quebec), and Sydney (Nova Scotia), it is perhaps remarkable that even these four ports were part of the plan. On our Caribbean Cruise of a few years ago, and our Alaskan Cruise of more recent times, a new port, a new adventure, awaited us each and every day. Of course, the distance needed to reach the different islands of the Caribbean or the inland passage villages of Alaska was much shorter. So now, as I relive the days of Our Ocean’s Eleven through my notes as well as memories not noted, I am reminded of our introduction to one more corner of this fascinating world.
Saturday, September 11th, 2010. Getting to the ship. Our friends and fellow travelers Lloyd and Rosalie Pauly of Chanhassen picked us up at our home in Victoria at 4:45 a.m. and transported us to a parking site to which they were privy near the Minneapolis and St. Paul International Airport, where we met up with John and Jan Flora of Fridley. Our plane departed at 7 a.m. and we arrived at New York’s JFK International Airport before 10 a.m. It seemed as though half the city signed up for this cruise, but the lines were orderly and fast moving as well as very long. John Flora wasn’t feeling well, nor walking well, and that concerned Jan and all of us more than anything. A virus -- maybe the Super Flu Bug -- had hit him and he ached all over. After going through customs without incident, we hired a van to take the six of us together to the dock of the Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) and our ship, the Norwegian Jewel. Again, boarding lines were long but not annoying. Priorities for NCL were to take our individual identification pictures and issue each of us a card that would serve as our entry ticket onto and off the ship, into our room, and as payment for services and products anywhere available on the ship.
Click here to continue Our Ocean’s Eleven.
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October 2010 |
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Our Ocean’s Eleven |
