Devil's Island to Cairns

Wednesday 24 April 2013

It is another sea day to catch up and relax as we make our way to the next port of Devil’s Island, French Guiana.

I had a late brekkie and then went to the travel talk on St Lucia before going up to the ‘office’ to catch up with Susan. Dick was running early so I joined him for our usual debate.

I think there is a plot going on as the ship seems to have run out of Vegemite and Dick thinks this is very funny.

My lunch was its usual high standard and then I had to go and have a meeting with Christal (Guest Relations Manager) to give her my feedback and comments on the cruise. OMG the way this mob looks after me what would I have to complain about. When there is excellent management the excellent service flows from all the staff.

 It’s a pity some of the old complaining farts don’t realise how good they are looked after. But then some are so bitter and twisted they would never be happy.

I had a long nanna nap and got ready for dinner. Benny my room attendant also plays the part of my personal Valet and assists me with getting ready. I sometimes feel like the Lord of Downton Abby.

Dinner was of a mariner theme and a formal night so I wore a striped shirt and a red bow tie, beige slacks and a navy blazer. It was a fun night and Susan Liz and I had a few night caps in the Crows Nest. Oops, don’t tell anyone I had a few dances.

I called it a night about 12.30pm.

Thursday 25 April 2013 (Anzac Day)

As there are only 6 Aussies on the ship now there was no Anzac service. I raised a glass over on the island later in the day.

As today is a tender transfer to Devil’s Island, French Guiana, I had a leisurely brekkie up in the Lido and let the pushy old farts clamber to be the first off the ship.

I arranged with Susan to visit the Island together. Wow, it was a very hot and humid day but the tropical views as we climbed up the rocky uneven track up to the top the site of the old Penal colony. The prison commenced during the rule of Napoleon in 1852 and ceased as a French prison only in 1952.

The harsh conditions and rampant spread of diseases on the Island guaranteed that more than 80,000 prisoners were never seen again. The remote location, rocky coastline and treacherous waters made escape virtually impossible. Papillion, a best selling book and movie were based on Devil’s Island.

After a look around the old ruins we had a beer to cool off and purchased the mandatory T shirt. We negotiated the steep stairs between the terraces on our way down to the jetty. It’s a pity the French have not maintained the tracks and stairs for this fantastic historic tourist attraction.

I had a late lunch then joined the gang for the sail away party so I didn’t put my head down for my nanna nap until 5.30 pm. After a couple hours of shut eye I just had time for a quick shower before dinner.

Dinner was the usual fun time with our table getting some dirty looks from the undertakers.

Then it was time to get ready for the pajama party held up in the Crows Nest. I won the Hugh Heffner Award. I wore my new Chinese silk dressing gown I purchased in Viet Nam and a black top hat. 

OMG what a fun night we had and may I say a late one also.

Friday 26 April 2013

It was a recovery sea day so I had a late brekkie and then rang Russell to see how he was feeling now as he had been confined to his cabin since his accident. It was great to hear he was improving and he and Linda would meet me for the Mariners brunch at 11 am.

The brunch went off very well and Eileen joined us at a table for four. All the non drinkers go to these brunches to get the free champers. Oh Lord, after they had swilled down a few the noise volumes got very loud and sounded like a public bar at happy hour.

 The meal was excellent.  It was so good to see Russell up and about again. He also is a very popular guy with the crew so they were relieved to him up and about.

I had a long afternoon nanna nap before happy hour and dinner. Dinner was a fun time with the boys trying to teach us magic tricks at the table. As usual we were the loudest table and got the usual non approving looks from the undertakers.

I called it an early night after a night cap with Susan and Liz in the Crows Nest. Tomorrow we make our last port visit of the cruise to Castries, Saint Lucia.

Sat 27 April 2013

I went up for a late brekkie in the Lido to witness the fantastic views as we approached Saint Lucia. The ship docked just after 9am and the ship was cleared shortly after for the guests to go ashore.

Yes you guessed it, all the obese, scooter riders, zimmer frame and walking cane brigade did their usual rush to be first off and God forgive anyone who got in their way. OMG what a pushy, rude and ignorant some of these old farts are. There always seems to be a larger percentage of them on world cruises, sometimes I wished I had bought a spray can of Baygon along with me. (Baygon is a common pest control spray in Australia.)

I went ashore by myself as most of the Anna Ko had training and emergency drills and were not given much time to go off the ship. I went over to the terminal and did some internet for a while.

 I saw the photos of my niece’s wedding today in Melbourne. Isn't Facebook a great tool for keeping families in touch with each other? The photos were great guys , congrats to Sheree and David and it looks like everyone had a great time.

 I then got a water taxi into the town and back out to the port again. It was a very clean place and much better than most of the other Caribbean Islands I have visited previously.

I came back for a late lunch which I had to get for myself as my favourite lunch time waiter who normally waits on me had already gone off duty for his break. Let me tell you he makes a far better Caesar salad than I did.

I went back to do some duty free shopping in the terminal complex. I was only looking for a t shirt but they only had the overpriced ‘billboard’ type so I didn’t buy any.

 I went into a large jewellery store and was served by a charming young local lady. I think she must have hypnotised me as not only did I fall in love with her but she sold me just over $300’s worth of jewellery. Well I did need it, didn’t I? She then escorted me to the perfume store where I bought a new bottle of my favourite eau de toilette so that set me back another $90. Well it was the last port of call on the cruise so I’m pleased I pampered myself.

I went to the sail away party to be told our good friend Susan had twisted one and sprained both her ankles so she will be out of action for a while, which is a real shame.

There were only five of us at dinner  and after eating I called it a night and was in bed before 9.30 pm.

Sunday 28 April 2013

Today is another sea day so I slept in and went up for a late brekkie where I was waited on by Eka and Try as usual. After brekkie I went down to the cabin to start the packing process. A most of you know I hate packing and put it off as long as I can.

I went up to the office (Susan’s table out by the Lido Pool) but of course it was vacant because of her accident. I sat there and not long after Liz and Marcel came along and we chatted until it was time to meet up with Dick for the usual.

Dian served me up a fantastic Indonesian meal for lunch  as well a the Caesar salad. Boy oh boy he sure makes a better Ceaser than I do.

After a 3 hour nanna nap I went up to Larry’s Bar to meet up with the mob before dinner. Liz bought Susan up in a wheelchair so it was beaut to see her again. So we had a full table for dinner. The waiters were showing us magic tricks so there were heaps of loud laughter that generated not amused looks from the undertakers.

We even managed to get Susan up on a bar stool at the Crows Nest so she was able to join us for a night cap.

I called it a night about 11.30pm.

Monday 29 April 2013

As it was another sea day I slept in and had brekkie about 9 am in the Lido. I then met up with Susan (in wheelchair) at the office, it was so good to see her out and about. I chatted with her and worked on the updates until Dick arrived for pre lunch drinks.

Dian served me up a beaut meal of fish and chips for lunch and then it was time to head down for the nanna nap.

I met up with the gang at Larry’s bar and we adjourned to the piano bar before going to the Pinnacle Grill for dinner. Franz,Susan, Linda, Russell , Liz and I had a beaut meal and heaps of laughs.

After dinner we went up to the Crows Nest for a few night caps and it ended up being a bit of al late night as I went down to bed  just after I am.

Tuesday 30 April 2013

Another sea day for the last day of the cruise so after brekkie I finished off the packing and for a change I seem to be very organised however it took up most of the morning.

I went up to meet Dick for our last debate and he was in fine form. Dian bought me a great seafood salad and I joined the gang in Susan’s office. Everyone is getting drepressed as tomorrow it will be all over.

Linda lent me a portable set of luggage scales as I wanted to make sure my ports were not overweight.

It was too late to have a sleep so I will try to have an early night after dinner tonight.

I went up to the Crows Nest before dinner and it was packed so I just caught up with Alan and gave him a package containing things that I didn't want to take home. I then went down to Larry’s bar and had a G&T while I waited for the mob to arrive. I even pushed Susan in the wheelchair to our dining room table, that caused a bit of a stir seeing Papa Ko looking after someone else.

The last supper was a bit of a sad affair so I decided just to go to the cabin after dinner and get the luggage out into the hallway for collection. I was asleep before 10.30pm as I wanted to be in better condition for departure than I was for the last day on the Veendam in January where I left a lot of gear behind in a draw.

Wednesday 1 May 2013

 Awoke feeling very healthy so after my shower etc. I went up for the last Lido Brekkie. The Lido was exceptionally quiet as most of the pushy oldies had already had theirs and were blocking up the public areas trying to barge in and get off early.

Eka was there with his big smile to wait on me, he suggested scrambled egg on toast with a slice of ham would be good for me as I had a lot of travel to do. After all the sad goodbyes I went down to the cabin to clean my teeth and do the final check that I had got everything and then it was time to leave the ship.

 I had to do battle with claiming luggage with all the old pushys.Getting through Customs and Immigration was a breeze.

I was on the transfer coach within 40 minutes of leaving the ship, but we had to wait anotherhour for the inconciderate old farts that held up things by taking their time in leaving the ship. It was not a worry for me as my filght did not leave Miami until 3 pm.

The arrival at the airport and getting checked in and through security went very smoothly and only took about 30 minutes. I had to pay $125.00 for the additional luggage but the good thing is the 3 bags are checked in all the way to Cairns.

Miami International Terminal is very large and my departure lounge is  D1 so I had to walk miles and no Anna Ko to point me in the right direction. Thank goodness it is mid week and although busy it is not crowded.

The flight to Dallas was uneventful and we arrived at this great airport in perfect weather conditions. The train service between the terminals is very efficient and I arrived at Terminal C then caught the train to Terminal D.

Im taking advantage of the free WIFI before I get on the flight to OZ in 2 hours time.

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I had a Guinness and a snack at the Irish pub near the departure lounge for Qantas which went down very well as it was the first meal I had had since brekkie on the ship.

 The Qantas  check in staff looked after me and I had priorty boarding, I was even the first to go on the aircraft. I had my favourate seat 69A and no one was in 69B so I had heaps of room to spread out in. For the first time in ages I was on a Qantas flight that wasn’t full so most of us had heaps of room so it was great to have a good sleep on the 15 and a half hour flight. The service was excellent and the crew were very relaxed.

With so much room I got in about a total of 5 hours sleep and for the remainder of the time watched movies I had not seen before.

When we were disembarking the plane in Brisbane the friendly hostie offered me assistance which was very nice but I told her I would ok and thanked her. After leaving the aircraft I was asked by a male attendant if I needed any assistance, likewise I declined and thanked him. By now I was getting a bit of a complex so I called into the gents toilet to look in the mirror and everything looked ok , well as good as could be expected after a long flight. I washed my face and freshened up and went on to the luggage collection area and got a trolly (free not like Miami) and waited for my luggage to come along.

While waiting for the luggage a lovely Qantas staff lady came over to say she was here to assist me with my luggage and to escort me through Immigrations and Customs I again thanked her and said I would be ok.She was not going to be rejected so I gave in.    She grabbed my three bags put them on the trolley and politely told me not to help her as she did not want me to injure myself.

I got priority treatment through Immigration and as I had nothing to declare we bypassed customs and was out in the public area within 5 minutes. I thanked her very much and she said she was staying with me to expedite me checking in my luggage for the flight to Cairns.

Well thank God she did as the line was very long as many flights had landed about the same time. She the trolley and me bypassed the line and she arranged for my luggage to be checked in next. I could feel the daggers in my back from all the folk waiting in the long line. She escorted me out to the shuttle for my transfer to the domestic terminal for the final flight to Cairns.

I thanked her very much and I told her of my appreciation for her assistance. She shrugged it off and said it was all part of the service and wished me a safe flight home to Cairns. Wow, wished that happened every time I fly, it was the service I get from Holland America,however she did not call me Papa Ko. I regret I did not get her name as I would have liked to have to written to Mr Qantas to congratulate her.

The flight up to Cairns was good after I was given priority boarding, I had a nice young bloke sitting beside me and we talked about our travels in South America so the 2 and a half hours went very quickly.

On leaving the aircraft I was again asked if I needed assistance and again declined so my new best mate the guy who sat beside me a 6’5” solid 29year old told the attendant he would make sure I got through the terminal ok.

I guess I could get a complex as this special treatment has never happened to me before on an airline, but I have decided to accept it in the good nature it was offered.

Mary my sister in law was at the airport to meet me and drive me home via the supermarket to stock up on fresh basics.

I got straight into the unpacking and put some washing on before having a little nap. Well I layed down about 2pm and woke at 11.30pm.

What a fantastic time I have had and my sincere thanks to all who have played a part in making it a great holiday.