Star Flyer Tahiti-Portugal-Monaco

To the readers

2010-09-12T22:18:00.000+02:00

Hello everybody,

I am finalizing my blog and will try to add names etc. to the photo's on the blog. I have only three weeks left, before my next trip on the Flyer!
This time it will only be a "short" trip, just 30 days.
I will be leaving for Nice on October 2nd, 2010, then onwards to Cannes where I will board the ship the same day. After the first week we will start with the transatlantic, ending October 31st in Barbados.
At the moment I am not sure if I will do another blog, I might do it afterwards. One of the reasons is that the internet connection on the ship does not seem to function properly, and with a charge of € 10,= an hour, you might end up loosing a lot of time and/or money. Plus it takes always more time than you think, and the first week it should not be a problem finding a wifi spot, but when doing the transatlantic, it is another story.
If i decide to do another blog, I will post it on cruise critic, so most of you will know.
In the meantime, I hope all my fellow passengers are in good health and enjoying life to the max.
Take care, Pralientje

2010-05-14T13:01:00.000+02:00

Singing "Salve Regina", in the end it
sounded very good, followed most of
the time by a bagpipe serenade by Klaus

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"They had it coming"!

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Singing Bloody Mary Mornin
with the Coconut Boobies! The lyrics were created by Gail and were caused by the fact, that early in the morning of our second day visit to the Cosos Islands, we were "told" to leave the waters.Reason: we suspect the government officials wanted to have more money. The rangers had nothing to do with this. Shame, and therefore I never set foot on the islands.

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On a very rainy day, on my
way to a Thai massage with Chutima

Ruth and I enjoying the afternoon snack and in the back ground my shadow!

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underneath the bridge

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Gang of 47, photo's received from Bertholt and Christa. Thanks.

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Gang of 47 together with some of the crew

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March 10, 2010, added afterwards

2010-05-05T13:48:00.003+02:00

March 10, 2010

Crossing the Equator

And finally we crossed the Equator. At 15.00 hours, King Neptune, his wife and helpers boarded the ship, and the Captain asked permission for a safe passage.

King Neptune was told there were many virgin sailors on the ship, and he wanted them to be baptized.

After a struggle, the virgins were led to deck, and for the time being, were locked up. One after one, they were presented to the King and his beautiful wife, and had to kiss the fish. Then they were baptized by the King's helpers and after drinking a glass of rum, they were led to the swimming pool, were they had to take a dive, thus becoming Pollywogs.

It was very warm on the deck, we all had a lot of fun, and I will try to enclose some photo's.

After the King, Queen and their helpers were satisfied with the procedure, they left the ship and the crew had to clean the top deck and swimming pool. The sea water was kind of murky, after all the virgins washed off the flour and whatever products were used on their heads.

At 18.00 we were at the aft, singing Salve Regina. The singing is getting better and better.

At 19.00 hours we were expected on the top deck, where the Captain and his crew were welcoming everybody to celebrate the Crossing of the Equator.

That night the Three Sprice Girls were having dinner with the Captain. That name was given to us by Kemik, the Maitre d'. The Captain was surrounded by Roki, Ross and myself. We had a very pleasant dinner, a lot of laughs. Worth repeating.

After dinner the Moonshine Cinema presented the "Fresh Water" film. One of a BBC planet Earth series.

In the daily programme this poem was included:

All in a hot and copper sky, the bloody sun, at noon,

right up above the mast did stand, no bigger than the moon.

Day after day, day after day, we stock, nor breath, nor motion;

as idle as a painted ship upon a painted ocean.

Water, water everywhere, and all the boards did shrink;

water, water everywhere, nor any drop to drink".

(The Rime of the Ancient Mariner - 1798, Samuel Taylor Coleridge).

March 9, 2010, added afterwards

2010-05-05T13:47:00.001+02:00

March 9, 2010

Once on the ship, you can be very busy. Just to give you an idea, I will list the daily programme below:

07.30 - 08.00 Morning gymnastics with Viktor or Gustav

09.30 Walk a mile with Gustav or Viktor

10.00-12.00 Mast climbing with Viktor and Gustav to the 1st platform (weather permitting)

10.15 Tai Chi with Rosemarie

11.00- 12.00 Accordion music with Joszef

11.15 Yoga with Ruth

13.00 Come and join Gail for water Aerobics or Pilates

14.00 Come and join the Bridge team for a game

15.00 Come and join Knut for his talk "Paintings under the Microscope" in English

16.00 Come and join Klaus for his talk "Kap Horn, part 1 in German

16.30 - 17.30 Afternoon melodies with Joszef

18.00 Singing Salve Regina

19.00 - 20.00 Cocktail melodies with Joszef on the piano

21.30 Trivia night. How well do you know the Star Flyer?

Afterwards "Night Fever" Disco with our DJ Joszef.

So, there I went, up the mast.

I first had to find a big enough safety climbing outfit. I managed, and it was a lot of fun. Charlotte, the passenger who went before me, had some trouble, so she asked me, to hold on. And there I was, I don't know how many meters above the ship's deck, singing: What a beautiful day of Queen. Even the Captain looked up, to find out what in the heck I was doing. I was just enjoying myself. Been there before, but still love doing it. On my way to the top, my top got caught somewhere, so I am left with a top with two wholes in it. I have to ask Viktor, the ship's sail maker, if he can do something about it. Am thinking of a Star Flyer badge. Will let you know.

We all had a lot of fun. Nobody choked, we all came down safely.

Just after lunch it started raining. I love swimming in the rain, it was made even more special since I was the only person on deck! It stopped raining within ten minutes, and everybody came out again.

Just to let you know, life is not that easy on a ship, I was awakened at a quarter to six in the morning. Just above my cabin there is the winch for the Fisherman. It makes a lot of noise when they use it. So I was wide awake, got dressed, got myself some tea and went to the top deck. Usually there is only the crew, cleaning up the ship. So you can sit there, and believe that you are the only one on the ship. It is beautiful and an very special experience.

So you see, up at six, to bed at twelve, I surely need another cruise, don't you think?

Well, this will be it for today. Still no internet connection. Have to be patient.

Hope to include some photo's.

Take care.

Ineke

March 8, 2010 added afterwards

2010-05-05T13:46:00.002+02:00

March 8, 2010

Today I went to the Captain's story time about "Ballasting". It was very pleasant, but a lot of what he told us, went over my head. No problem with that, it was still interesting enough, not to fall asleep.

After that, Ross and I wanted to go in the net, but it was closed off. So I went to ask the second officer if we could use it. Luckily for us, the captain was there, and we got the permission. When we were nearly up in the net, I went back, to tell the captain we would be in the left side of the net, so he would know, how to ballast the ship in a proper way.

When I told him, he answered, he had already done that! He has a very good sense of humour, and can take a joke. But is also not afraid to pull your leg though! Love it!

Finally we were both settled in the net. It was great. Just feeling the wind, hearing the water, and see the waves smash against the ship. Lovely.

When we finally got out, we told Amtyor, the second officer, we were done, so he could adjust the ballast again. I do not know if he understood the joke.

After a nice dinner, the day was closed off with a Dance under the Pacific Stars. Followed by star gazing on the top deck.

Walt has an amazing programme on his laptop, showing you everything, what is up in the air. If you ask him to show which stars are above Amsterdam, he can. More and more people are coming to the bridge, to have a look and ask Walt all kind of questions.

In the beginning of the cruise, he went to bed at a quarter past nine! Now, he is one of the last ones, to go to bed. In two weeks time his sister and brother in law will be joining us for the Panama/Sint Maarten Cruise.

Mateo, the cruise director told me, that of the 127 passengers, presently on the ship, 50 will be staying on, and 103 (!) new passengers will be joining us. It will be a crowded ship for the fourteen days, not only that, but the dining room will be very, very noisy with so many passengers. The crew have to work very hard.

When we are in Sint Maarten, we will end up with 85 passengers doing the Transatlantic Crossing. Which is not bad at all. I have heard that most of the passengers will be German. I only hope, they do not know each other, otherwise it will not be that pleasant for the other passengers. We will see.

Ineke

2010-05-05T13:45:00.001+02:00

March 7, 2010

At 24.00 hours, the clocks had to be put forward another hour. I think we have half an hour change left, before we reach Panama.

We have done a lot of sailing lately. The speed we are going with runs from 7.2 to 9.5 knots. But we have to catch up a lot of miles, we lost by just motoring.

The weather has been fine. Just an odd rain shower, which lasts about 5 to 10 minutes. The ship has been healing over, so the passengers on the port side are stuck to one side of the bed.

Every day the afternoon activities are ended with the singing of Salve Regina. I must admit, we are getting quit good at it. Most of the time followed by Amazing Grace and We are Sailing. Claus has taken his bagpipes with him, so most of the time, he finished with playing the bagpipe. Some days it goes better than others, but so does our singing!

After dinner we headed for the Tropical Bar, where we enjoyed an evening with Karaoke with Joszef and the Sports Team.

Since the starting of Salve Regina, several people have told me I have a very nice voice. At first I did not believe the first person, who told me. But after three different persons, told me the same, I cannot do anything else, but believe it.

I have a very low voice, and am singing in a different register, than most of the ladies.

Roki and I sang a song of Abba together, and everybody thought, it sounded lovely. We are even thinking of doing another song when we are having the Talent show, later on in the cruise.

It was twelve, before I went to bed, and it took some time before I feel asleep. But we all had a lovely evening.

March 7, 2010, added afterwards

2010-05-05T13:44:00.001+02:00

March 7, 2010

This morning a non denominational service was held in the honour of Ann. Most crew members and passengers were present.

The Captain started the service by remembering Ann and he was followed by many persons who recited a sermon in his/her personal belief.

It was very impressive, and after the Crew and Passengers sang "I am sailing", the service was ended. John, Ann's husband, was present and he was very touched by it.

March 6, 2010, added afterwards

2010-05-05T13:43:00.002+02:00

March 6, 2010

Yesterday was a very sad day. One of the passengers died. At a certain moment the go to your musterstation signal was heard, and at that moment I was in the Tropical Bar. The bartenders requested everybody to stay were they were, so everybody did. After some time everybody could go their way.

When I was in my cabin, the Captain came on the PA system, asking everybody to come to the top deck, since he had an important message. At that moment, I was just stepping into the shower, so I put on some clothes and went to the top deck.

It was here that Captain Brunon announced that Ann, one of the passengers, passed away. When she and her husband came on the ship, they knew, she was very ill. But still, her deatch was sudden.

Just the day before, I was chatting with Ann. She told me something of her private life and she also showed me some of the needle point she was working on.

She was a lovely lady, and I am sure, she will be missed very much by her husband, children and family.

The next day, about 5 in the morning, Ann was buried at sea. It was what she wanted, as well as what her husband wanted. Is there a better way? I don't think so. They had been many times on the Star Clipper ships, they had been sailing around the States and in Europe.

The whole day there was a quiet atmosphere on the ship, since it has 127 passengers, you do not know everybody, but I was lucky to have met her.

Added afterwards, March 5, 2010

2010-05-05T13:41:00.002+02:00

March 5, 2010

The positive about the last couple of days is, the Sue and the Premes, won another quiz. This much to the annoyance of several "gentlemen" passengers!

The day before yesterday, several passengers thought it appropriate to attack the persons,who were asking the questions. Since the questions are asked in both English as in German, it sometimes happens, the answer to the question in English, differs from the one in German. The atmosphere, supposed to be relaxed, since it is just a game, ended up in such a state, that the cruise director has decided to stop the quiz.

In on of the quizzes we had to name the knot, which is used everywhere in the ship. We thought it was a half blend. Big discussion, and finally the quizmaster decided what was the correct answer.

The next day Roki saw Claus, one of the former captains, together with several passengers, checking on the knot. They even had some piece of rope with them, so they could copy the knot in the carpet. Roki took a photo, I am going to ask here a copy, and will show it next time. Just to show you how serious it gets. But the most funny thing is: the knot in the carpet is a non-excisting knot! So all the hassle for nothing.

There apear to be a lot of big ego's on this ship, but without the knowledge that most of the time, comes with it.

The questions are not that difficult. The winning teams have to provide ten general knowledge questions, so what is the deal! Our team started of with Ross, Roki and myself, than Sue came along, then Carla appointed herself as consultant and yesterday Sue two came to join us. We are an all female team, strong women, but most of all, we all have a certain knowledge of specific items, and we compliment each other. Nothing fishy about it, we are just knowledgeable! And we accept an answer from one of the team members, without any discussion. That is our strength.

So, what started off as a nice thing to do, just after afternoon snacks, and before the singing of Salve Regina, is now no longer there. Pity.

I am not going to Tai Chi any longer, I just feel not comfertable. So, one thing I have learnt the last year, is to listen to my body.

If you wonder what I am doing during the day, well, to be honest, not much, but since the ship is keeling over (we are doing 8.5 knots!), it takes a lot of energy to stay upright, and to try to keep your balance. Finally the wind is in our favour, but the sailing causes some problems in the dining room, due to the set up of the tables. Today we were not allowed to take the two chairs, having their back to the low side of the ship. If you tip over, you can easily hurt yourself.

One of the reasons I am not participating in:

deck golf

morning excercises

yoga

walk a mile

is that my knee again popped. Luckily Roki took a knee bandage with her, which she gave me for support. The one I have with me, covers my whole leg. Way to hot for this climate.

Yesterday I had a lovely massage from Chituma, my goodness, how such a small girl can have such strenth. It is amazing.

She treated my knee, and luckily it is no longer painful. But I have to be careful.

Yesterday evening we had a sing song, but instead of all the passengers singing, Danny and Ariel, two of the bartenders, performed. We all enjoyed it very much.

Then Claudia(passenger) and Joey (another bartender)gave a surprise performance. Claudia is from Argentina and is small but really well shaped. She really has a Latin figure.

Then a women, covered in a veil, showed up. Doing all kind of sensual movements, but with what appears an enormous false bosom! Several gentlemen were tapped on the head by their wives, some open mouths were there to be seen, but most of all, they all wanted to be in Joey's place! With his enormous hands he helped Claudia to keep the bosom in it's place. It was very funny, and finally Joey used a pin, and with a big bang, the false bosom was no longer there.

There was a lot of dancing going on, but I went to the top deck, to watch the stars. It was a beautiful night, a lot of stars could be seen. The temperature at nights is a little less than during the day, so still warm. Even with the wind we had.

Tomorrow it is Ross' birthday. She was born in the same year as I was. I have arranged a birthday cake (chocolate) and we will be with 8 passengers at dinner time. Will be a lot of fun. I bought her a funny Star Clipper sun hat. If she doesn't like it, she can change it in the sloop shop for something else.

Yesterday as well, when I was sitting in the Piano bar reading a book, Ricardo, one of the passengers came to me, and asked me if I would appreciate it, if he would play the piano, so he could lull me to sleep. My answer was, of course, please do so, but it can only be till 5 to three, because my massage. No problem.

He played beautifully. He taught himself, I find it amazing. So this morning, I met him, and he will play the piano for me again this afternoon. He is very nice and rather shy.

The best news of yesterday: my Sony e-book reader is brought back to life!

I asked Peter, the head engineer, if he knew if one of the electricians could solve the problem. So, I gave my e-reader, three different cables, and off he went.

In the afternoon he came back, and told me it was fixed! He did something to it, what I still don't know, and charged it through his computer. He told me to get back to him, when it needed charging.

I told him I had my laptop with me, so next time I will take my laptop and e-reader and Peter will show me what to do. So I can finally open one of the26 books I still have to read. To show my appreciation, I gave him three kisses, the captain and first officer were there as well. They looked if they would have liked to be on the receiving end for three kisses as well. Which, if they had asked, I would have been more than willing, to give them!!

To give you an idea what choices we are having for dinner tonight:

- Tomato and mozzarella salad with virgin olive oil and basil

- Small Bouillabaisse

- Cream of vegetable soup served with garlic croutons

- Chardonnay sorbet

- Fillet of Sole meunier style

- Duck breast in a delicate orange sauce

- Veal Parmigiana

- Crispy Iceberg lettuce with grated Zucchini and sherry vinegar dressing

- A selection of international cheeses served with fresh fruit and biscuits

- Coffee and hazelnut parfait

- Ice cream

The executive Chef is Danilo Silvano and the Maire d'Hotel is Kemik Carullah.

Since I have a lactose intolerancy, Kemik always makes sure, that I have a special desert each night and he also informs me if there is a course, which I cannot have. We have known each other for about 8 years, and I really appreciate the effort he is taking. He takes good care of me and, of course, of other passengers.

I usually take only the soup, the main course and the dessert. Since dinner takes place from 07.30 in the evening, I can't eat more without having trouble to go to sleep.

This week we will start with a backgammon competition. I asked Ross to show me the rules. I have played it years ago, so I am thinking of joining the competition. Will let you know in time.

Well, that will be it for today.

Take care and I hope to be able to stay in touch with my blog. If not, you just have to be patient.

Ineke

Missing days in March added

2010-05-05T13:09:00.000+02:00

Hello everybody,
When I was checking my blog, I was reading it backwards, to refresh my memory, I noticed some pages were missing!
Luckily I kept a copy on my laptop, so you can now read the days in March which were missing.
Be aware there is one message which covers the untimely death of Ann, a lovely lady.

In the meantime I am trying to get back to a normal life. Which I find not that easy, I must admit. I do miss Ruth and the crew a lot, as indeed some of the other passengers. Being at home with no other company than some plants, is quite boring. So, at the beginning of next week, most of my washing and ironing should be finished, I am going to look for another job.
I hope to sort out my photo's during the weekend, I still have to add all 46 email addresses from the Gang of 47 group, if that has been done, I am planning to send all of them the few photo's I have myself, of the ceremony. Please be patient.
If some of the previous passengers are reading my blog, please send me the photo's you think are nice and/or funny and should not be missed in my collection.
If, on the other hand, you want to know if I have some photo's of a special occassion, please let me know. What I have put into my blog, is a very small amount of the photo's I have taken.
In the meantime, take care.
Ineke

Nice and goodbye to the Star Flyer

2010-05-01T11:54:00.002+02:00

At the moment I am in the hotel, trying to get to grips with the fact, that after 76 days !!!!! I am on my own again, nobody to talk to, just heaps and heaps of fond memories.
Ruth and I were both itchy this morning, we don't like to say goodbye to so many nice crewmembers. They really give you the feeling, you are part of the family.
At the railing we received the VIP treatment: Captain Brunon, Mariusz the Chief mate, Mateo the hotel manager, Oleg officer on watch and Eldrin, the crewmember handling the gangway. Many, many hugs were exchanged, not to speak about the kisses. They all wished us a good trip home and hoped to see us again very soon. The goodbyes started last night and went on this morning in the dining room. Saying goodbye to Kemik, Daniel (Benjamin), Godwin, Daniel, Iwan, Darwin (who took care of my sunny sides up nearly every day to perfection), the pastry chef who made me delicious desserts day after day, and Aime was not easy. When you are so long on the ship you get to know them very well, you'll exchange information of your family, they do that as well about their home situation. It bonds.
We took our last Prosecco at the bar and thanked Danny for his songs, his jokes and I personally thanked him for telling me I have a lovely voice! I sang with him last night, the final version of "Sway with me". It was also a personal thank you to someone, who made this trip a very special one. Yesterday I could sing it the way I wanted it, the day before, during the talent show, my nerves got the better of me.
We also said goodbye to Joey, Ashton (I hope your so called cold is gone now we both are no longer there!) and Ariel.
When we left the ship, we hugged each other, emotions flying around everywhere. We headed off to the exit, and were nearly there, when we discovered we did not take our suitcases! So back we went. We waved to everybody on the ship and ordered a taxi, to bring Ruth to the trainstation in Monaco, and me to my hotel at the airport in Nice. It was again a tearful goodbye at the trainstation.
I really feel if I have lost my soul. Will take some time to get adjusted to normal life again.
I want to thank Ruth for the daily Tai Chi lessons. It really helped me a lot and I will do it at home with the help of your dvd! Miss you already!
I know Ruth will do the crossing from Athens to Sint Maarten this fall on the Clipper, but I honestly have no idea if and when I will be able to do another crossing and/or long trip. My priority at this moment is finding a new job. For the ones who are reading this blog, please keep your fingers crossed I will succeed. If so, I will let you know.

My flight home is tomorrow morning, and I hope to be back home at about one. Friends of mine, who have been taking care of my house and the mail, will be picking me up. And then in the evening I have to prepare a dinner for the first time in 80 days! My goodness, come to think of it, it is Sunday, no shops open, and I have no idea if and what I will find in my freezer. I am not going to worry about it now.
Although the amount of food on the ship is endless, having three meals a day, not to mention the afternoon snack and the midnight snack (which I have never eaten), I still managed to loose weight! I always do when I am on the ships. Being at sea, being on the ship, probably activates my system. I am not on a diet, other than lactose free, but always manage to loose weight. I should be on board for another year. Nobody will recognize me!
Keeping your balance when seas are rough, takes a lot of energy, the last week was the exception. The sea was as flat as a pancake. I sometimes even wondered if we were moving.
Well, Muslim now has time to change the carpet in "my" cabin, he can take away the extra mattress and the person who will stay in "my" cabin, can do so nicely since in Cadiz (I think) the new mattress arrived.
I have not made many photo's this last trip, so as soon as I receive some from Ruth I will post them in my blog. If we went ashore, it most of the time was just for a short period of time.
Yesterday, when we were in St. Tropez, we had the sundeck to ourselves. Just the two of us! Could not get any better.
Well, I am closing of now. Just my first impressions of a new day of my life.
I hope Captain Brunon and his crew are doing fine at the moment. They are having another survey going on today. Captain Yuri will be arriving in Nice in the afternoon, to take over from Brunon.
When the take over is finished, Captain Brunon and some other crew members, can finally go home for a very well deserved rest period.
In the meantime, thank you again for reading my blog. As soon as I am at home I will try to finalise it and add some names to the photo's which are already on my blog.
Take care.
Ineke

Just a message for Sophie. Wish you all the best and goodluck with the draw for your maritime education. I know you will make a good captain in the future!

Saint Tropez, France

2010-04-30T14:45:00.000+02:00

Hello everybody,
It has been several days ago since I posted some messages, sorry about that. Since posting my last message a problem has occurred with my computer. It is not possible to get the internet, only the passengers with an Apple can get internet. Why? No idea. Even with copying the address from an apple onto my computer did not do the tric. I am on my last day on board the Star Flyer, now being 75 days in total!
The crew tells me I am now almost part of the crew, I still have to pay though!
Tomorrow will be the day we have to leave the ship. Then all the passengers who boarded the ship in Papeete, Tahiti, will have left! It has been an amazing trip, and to be honest I am sad it is over. I have met so many wonderful people, too many to thank them all for their presence on the ship, their laughs, the shared sadness, the best talent show I have ever been part of, I just don't know where to start.
Last night we had the last (4th) Captain's dinner, followed by the usual talent show. I sang Sway with me, the song Danny sang specially for me the last time. I love the song and I have been practising with Joszef the last couple of days.Captain Brunon and Mariusz, first mate, both promised to watch and they indeed did. Thank you both for your support. I was shaking (as usual) but got an enormous applaus. Luckily for me there are now 15 travel agents (14 female, good for the crew, and one male, not so interesting for the passengers), they are young and full of energy. They even asked me to do it again! So it must have been not too bad.
There was finally some atmosphere in the Tropical bar, most of the time it has been very quiet indeed, with almost always the same passengers/crew dancing.
Since today is our last day on the ship, it will be a short notice. I am planning to write a final message when I am home. Tomorrow I will stay in a hotel in Nice, followed by my flight back home on Sunday. Hope to be back at home at about one o'clock in the afternoon. Will also download some photo's.
Take care in the meantime and thank you all for you messages.
Till next week.
Ineke

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April 22, 2010

2010-04-22T17:11:00.000+02:00

April 22, 2010

Well, a lot has happened the last couple of days! I am still on the ship, getting now of in Monaco. Barry, who lives in Portugal talked to his son, and according to him is was very difficult to make any telephone calls, to send emails and that Europe was in total chaos! Since the purser's office could tell me only that Lisbon and Amsterdam were "open", but no info if flights were arriving/leaving, I decided to stay on the ship, instead of perhaps having to spend one or more days at the airport.

According to the info, all hotels were fully booked, there was a train strike planned in France, car rentals run up to a 1000,= € per week, whatelse could I do, but staying on the ship! The crewchange was also cancelled, therefore the Captain and several crewmembers had to stay on the ship as well! Luckily enough I could stay in the same cabin, so after I made my decision, Muslim took out my suitcases.

I got up at five in the morning to witness the arrival into Lisbon harbour. Especially going under the bridge of April 25 was

amazing. It was just high enough for the third mast to pass. Then my adventure started.

Leaving the ship to do some shopping for the crew, I was told the trainstation was in front of the harbouroffice. A very nice, and very helpful Portugese man helped me with buying a ticket. He finally managed to get me a 24 hour ticket for € 4.10! Amazingly cheap. So I took the train to the center of the town. I had a map and could follow all the stations we were passing. Then the train stopped, I asked a young woman if she could tell me where I had to get of to get to the town center. Her English was not that good and I was afraid to miss my train. We were standing outside the train. So I got on again, and to my astonishment the train went back to were I came from! I then decided to first go to Belem, but again I was not clever enough to get out when the Belem station was there. I wanted to go to the monument of Hendrik, which was still quite some distance away, but did I know I had to walk! So instead, I stayed on and got off at the next station. There I had to wait till a train came who would be stopping at Belem, and finally, I arrived! Phhhhhhh.... I visited the monument and crossed the street to the Museum of Archeology, but it was very, very busy, so I decided to take a bus to the center of town.

When I entered the bus, you had to keep you ticket in front of a card reader. It gave me a red light, but since I do not speak or read Portuguese, I did not know what to do. At one point I saw a big Papperia, so I got of, since I had to buy ten telephone cards for the crew, living in India and Jamaica. They only had local cards. Then I hopped on the tram, same thing happened when entering the bus, but still could not read of speak Portugese (have no idea how you spell this, sorry), I pretended it was ok. I finally got off in the center of town, only two hours after I left the ship ........ and tried to find some phone cards. No such luck, till I noticed an Indian guy, having a small stall in the middle of town! My guess, the guy would speak English, proved to be right and he sold me some very good cards, but did not have ten. He got out of his stall, asking me to take care of his business (!), and left, leaving the door open. I must have a face people trust, otherwise who would do such a thing. Amazing. So there I stood in front of the stall, instead inside it, taking care of his business, luckily for me no other customer came. Just before he left, a man asked and got 4 caramel toffees. The only time I have seen people buying sweets per piece, was in Jamaica! I then went on to do some other shopping and heard that I could take the metro back to the harbour.

Arriving in the metro station I asked if my card was good for the metro as well! It appeard my card could only be used on the train system!!!!!! Lucky me, I had not been caught. I thought that the harbour were the ship was docked was at the end of the harbour, so I bought a ticket to that station.

Coming out, nowhere there was a ship inside! I then started to walk, but after more than an hour later, I returned to the spot, where I took the metro originally! Not so bright, I must say. I asked in the ferry station where I could find a train station, and again I was very bright. By just looking over my shoulder I should have seen the train station! But, again a black out later, I had no idea at what station I got on the train originally. Luckily the girl knew this, after I told her it was across the harbour. If you run, you can catch this connection, and yes, it will stop at the right station! So I ran. But having bought a lot of toblerone dark chocolate for the crew, a big, big bag of toffee sweets, plus a small painting, some water etc. etc. my bag was quite havy! Luckily the train waited for me and I managed to get on, but more importantly, get off at the right station!!!

When I reached the ship, inspectors were checking the tenders, so I could not get on the ship, since the gangway was underneath. I must say, I thought it was very nice of the inspector to apologize to me, and that it would take not very long before I could join the ship. At that time I was near collapsing. It was a very sunny day in Lisbon, temperatures were up to 22! and coming from a very, very cold crossing, was not such a good experience. I am now suffering from a runny nose, have a cold and am still searching for a woollen hat to put on in the evening, when leaving the harbour.

When I was back on the ship, everybody was in full preparation for the new guests. About 20 have not made it. The latest number is, we have only 63 passengers and some are getting on in the other stops. It was a beautiful sight when we left Lisbon, but it again was very cold. At half past eleven I went to bed, first taking a very hot shower to get warm again, before going to sleep.

Today we arrived in Cadiz (!) according to our cruise director, but to my knowledge we are in Portimao, Portugal. Cadiz will be our next stop. Some passengers left for an excursion, but Ruth and I are off to do some internet work. I have to find a ticket from Monaco to Amsterdam, have to catch up some emails and download my blog stories, so everybody can read them.

Sorry for the big delay, but missing the Azores and being shattered after my shopping trip in Lisbon, I decided not to get off again, and try today in Portimao. Hopefully the Captain is right by telling me it only will be a fifteen minute walk to the Casa Englaca (?) where they seam to offer wifi. I am also planning on downloading some photo's, so you can have a look where I have been up to till today!

Thanks again for reading my blog, please leave your comments if possible. I really appreciate it.

Take care and write to you in another couple of days.

Ineke

April 4 and 5, 2010

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April 5, 2010

Sea days have a strange effect on me! If I am totally honest, all days have! My memory is not what it used to be, I find it difficult to remember what I have done the last two days! Old age is getting closer and closer!

What has happened after my last update. At 19.00 hours all the newbies were on the ship, the old newbies are now promoted to oldies, and the real oldies (the ones from Papeete), are called the seniors now. I must admit, I just made this up, nobody knows yet!

The Captain introduced his crew as usual, the only difference this time being that Peter, the senior engineer, left the ship, and has been replaced by somebody from Kroatia, with an unpronouncable name. I'm sorry, have to find out how it sounds, let alone, how you write it!

One very big improvement has taken place in the dining room. No longer rush, rush, down they go at 19.15 to take down the napkins. They might be late for feeding frenzy!

No, instead you can go to dinner at any time you want. Many places left for you to choose from, but the biggest improvement is the noise level! You now can easily understand the person sitting across the table. No more shouting, no more missed jokes. Heaven!

What surprises me though is the weather. Just after leaving Sint Maarten, and not Sint Marteen as they keep on writing on the info board, the weather changed quite a bit. Gone is the humidity, which of course is a blessing, but now we have a lot of wind. The airconditioning is still blazing at full force though, so this morning I heard the first coughs already. I turned down my airco unit in the cabin till next to nothing, but my cabin is still cold. When I when to the bridge to say my usual goodnights to the watch, I was wearing my windbreaker!

Whenever you look at the passengers, the way they dress goes from one extreme to another. There is one passenger on the ship who insists on wearing a woollen hat and a jacket all day and evening, even though we had not left Sint Maarten, and then there is my person. Whenever possible, I take of my clothes and sit in the sun (wearing a bathing suit, so not to offend the other passengers!). I have no idea how much sun I will get, being back in the Netherlands, so I make the most of it. I even managed to get a sunburn in my face! This happened when I was walking in Cartagena. Strange, after being in the sun for 6 weeks, still getting a sunburn. So my face is looking great! My skin is peeling, and where the new skin appears, it looks kind of pink! So it is just if I have freckles all over my face.

Patrick and Kathryn, I have given your letter to Colin and Suzanna, who happened to sit at the table next to mine. Ross, I have met Avril, she indeed is quite a character.

I was sitting on my own heaving lunch. First Avril asked if she could join, she would like to catch up with me, she had not seen me in ages! Very difficult when you are only two days on the ship, but alas. Then Margaret turned up, steaming from both ears. She seamingly has prepared a letter to the Monaco office with a complaint about an excursion, which turned out to be only a drop off at the airport in Sint Maarten. They charges € 37,= for that! She wanted € 20,= back! After she got settled, Elspeth joined us, then a lady who I only recognise with her hat (she was not wearing it in the dining room of course), have no idea what her name is, she did not say one word, which was not too bad, because Avril took charge and told Elspeth to shut up, when she was talking! At that point, I decided to go for a desert, and told the ladies, I expected they would have settled their arguments upon my return! My goodness, what a nest full of hens.

They luckily did and we ended the lunch in a better atmosphere. I told Avril she would not be able to do the same trick with me! She fully agreed that would not possible, so I will keep my fingers crossed. I have already decided, if she forgets her words, just to get up and walk away. Will keep you informed.

Again there are some very intelligent passengers on the ship, carrying a GPS, and checking every move the Captain and his crew are making! To me, they look like persons who cannot and will not delegate anything! They must have total control.

Why question the Captain and his crew. Everybody makes mistakes, that is human, but what is the fun in telling them they could do a better job! And based on what, that they have their own sailing boat, or motor yacht, whatever, I even suspect some passengers have to use the oars to get forward. To me, it looks very rude, the more so, since they are passengers and the Captain and his Crew always have to be polite and give an answer. Brrrrrr...........

Yesterday it was Easter Sunday. Claus organised a service again, which the crew higly appreciates. When I was having breakfast, the coloured Easter eggs were brought in by Kemik. It was a lovely sight. I then and there decided I would be the Easter Bunny on the ship! So I made a bunny tale from paper napkins and asked Daniel, one of the waiters, to attach it to my shirt. It was quite a tale! Upstairs, having my daily dosis (one cup of coffee), I made some ears out of paper napkins and stuck them inside my visorband. It looked real funny! When the Captain and the officers finished their daily meeting, they walked straight to me, so there was no way avoiding my bunny tale. We all had a good laugh!

Just before he would start the introduction of his crew, he saw me, still wearing my outfit. He started laughing and said there was a nice bunny on the ship!

When I came to my cabin there was a nice plate with a chocolate bunny figure, an Easter egg, some coloured eggs and cookies. Nice touch.

Went to bed after twelve. Up at seven, get my morning tea and went to the bridge to say hello to Mariusz, the first officer.

Again this is a kind of garbeled message, sorry about that. That is the way my brain is working though!

Thank you for leaving messages in my mailbox. Have not answered any of them, since I was sitting on a concrete floor, and after 1 1/2 hour my bum was sore. Hope to find some Wifi in the Azores though. Till then, take care and leave your messages. Thanks.

Ineke

Message for Claudia

2010-04-03T20:33:00.000+02:00

Claudia,
I wish you all the luck in the world. Go for it girl!!!!!!!
You had it coming.
Take care and keep me informed. Thumbs up for next Wednesday. Touch wood.
Ineke

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Sint Maarten

2010-04-03T20:14:00.000+02:00

Today we arrived in Sint Maarten, the final destination of the second leg of the trip. I had to say goodbye to a lot of passengers, with whom I have travelled from Papeete. I already miss them. Kathryn & Patrick, Jan and Ken (Hal), Winnie and Patrick, Nannie (Truus) and Pieter, Julie and Robin, Peter, Gert, Christa and Durchfall,Michael, Charlotte and many many more. Thank you for your company, your sense of humour but most of all, the fact that you seem to understand my sense of humour. I will miss you all and wish you a safe flight home, or in some cases a nice stay in Sint Maarten. Take care and as promissed, the panorama photo will be in your mailbox at the end of April.
For all the other readers of my blog: I have seen so many ports and islands I only know that I am in Sint Maarten at the moment!
We had another emergency stop, a passenger with hartproblems was transferred to shore, and guess what, again passengers complaining they could not go to a certain beach! I must admit, the passengers who came on board in Panama were quite different from the ones who boarded in Papeete. Loud, very loud Americans.There was one woman who sounded like having difficulties laying an egg, everytime she laughed!
It is not a very nice thing to say, but the noise level in the dining room was horrendous! One night I changed, put on some make up, went to the dining room, on may way to the Piano bar, and the dining room was already full with people! It was not even half past seven.
Most of them reacted they had not been fed for a long time, sitting down at a table at a quarter past seven. They have no idea what effect that has on the dining room staff. Of course, there were some nice passengers amongst them, but to be honest, I have not made much effort to get to know them.
When I will be home, I will try to capture the two weeks in the Caribean. I have not been to shore much, since I had seen most of the islands years ago and I preferred to stay on the ship.
Imagine, being on your own on the sun deck! Just the crew around, having lunch with about 15 other people. Heaven cannot be closer.
I will download some photo's, and after seeing them I might remember a little bit more.
I had to say goodbey to Walt this morning. Strange idea, first having been in touch for about 8 months through the internet, then travelling for 48 days, and he and his sister and brother in law, leaving this morning for home. I told him to give Bill three kisses from the very nice Dutch lady, with the soft skin, a very good sense of humour, made for comfort and not for speed etc. etc.
Well guys, I am closing off now. Am dying for a cool drink and a little snack.
Take care and please leave some comments on the blog.
Ineke

2010-03-28T22:39:00.002+02:00

March 28, 2010

This morning we arrived in Aruba, one day late, but that's not bad. Most shops are closed since it is Sunday, just two are open in the terminal building. I bought a fridge magnet (I have been collecting these for years, and always try to get a special one) and a beautiful wooden carving, I think it is called Mopu Mopu technique. I received a folder, but it is in my cabin. I will correct it, if not right.

The good thing is, we will be in Curacao tomorrow, so I can have a haircut. Due to the sun, the wind and the salt water, my hair seems to grow faster than normal. I can go to the ship's hairdresser, but he mainly cuts the male crew, and they seem to turn out all the same. Short all over, with an even shorter part in the middle!

So, I think it will be better to wait till tomorrow.

Due to head winds we needed three seadays instead of two, to reach Aruba. We will skip Jost van Dyke, and guess what, there was a complaint from one of the passengers! He wanted to go to Jost van Dyke to buy a t-shirt. I told him to order it from the internet. He then asked: is that possible? I think so, I said. But to be honest, I have no idea. Most passengers though, were pleased with the extra seaday.

The weather has been quite rough. We again had a lot of seasick passengers. The positive side is, that the dining room is less crowded.

The deck crew is busy changing sails. We got five new sails on board and one by one they will be put up. They come from America and are quite different from the ones already on the ship.

I have to check what happened on the days since my last blogmail. To be honest, I have no idea if something important has happened. Days go by so fast, it is amazing. I just realised why I could not remember the last couple of days. I have been quite sick. At first, I toughed I was having a sun stroke, so I stayed inside for two complete days! Terrible, staying inside the airconditioned piano bar. But I got feeling worse, and at one point I told the Captain I was going to see Aime, the nurse. He looked at me, and immediately told Ashley to get Aime for me! How thoughtful. She gave me some salt tablets, and told me to get some ice wrappings. I was running quite a fever at that time. So I went to bed, Aime brought me some dinner, but as the day before, when I slept from 16.00 till 22.00 and from 24.00 till 07.30, I slept nearly 12 hours. After some brackfast I fell asleep in the piano bar. Then one of the passengers gave me some high vitamine C tablets, another one gave me something else, and I all took it. It was mainly vitamine C. When I was on my way to recovery, I finally realised it had nothing to do with a heat stroke. I had been in the sun for more than 5 weeks! I then remembered I had been bitten by an insect during the Panama canal crossing. Within two hours I start to feeel sick. So probably been allergic to the bite of the insect. I think it was a bee, since I had to take out a stingy bit of material out of my leg. Better get it checked out when at home. But I am back to my usual self, as they noticed when coming onto the deck early morning. I always start of by singing: Goodmorning, goodmorning, how are you today! Several passengers told me they missed my singing!

I heard today that perhaps Betty and Richard will be returning to the ship, to join us for the transatlantic crossing! Would be lovely. If so, looking forward to their return. Why don't you all (well most of them) return for the crossing. Would that not be fun? I don't expect anything special for the upcoming talent show, well at least nothing that can beat the one we had!

I just went inside the terminal, but the machine were you can buy internet access, has broken down. A serviceman will show up in about an hour, but knowing their culture, I would not be surprised if it will take over 2. Again that is no problem, since we all have to be back on board at 21.30 hours tonight. Departure for Curacao is at 22.00 hours.

For the people back at home, today I posted some postcards. I wrote them on March 17, but the ship wanted to have usd 2,= per stamp, and in Cartagena, they asked usd 3,= per stamp!

Today I bought stamps for just over usd 1,=! So some of you might finally receive a postcard.

Today we are having a deck lunch. A lot of people just returned from their island tour. Another excursions was horse back riding, they told me they had a lot of fun. I won't tell you what a certain lady told me she finally got!

Helena and I went into town, in front of the Renaisance hotel there is a beautiful park, named after our former queen Wilhelmina. Tried to took a photo of an iguana, have not idea yet if it is any good. We there met Margaretha and Peter and the four of us, just walked around town. There were some men riding their third youth' Harley, but none of us was interested. For the rest it just seemed if everybody was still in bed or in church.

The crew normally knows were you can get the best deals, where to get cheap phone cards and a free internet connection. So today, instead of sitting in an airconditioned area just inside the harbour, I walked to the Starbuck's cafe. They offer free wifi, even without taking an order. But I bought a tall black coffee, not too bad. Next to me, some dj started up, deafening! So I have no idea how long I will last at this place. I am expecting Armtjong, the second officer, any moment. His was on duty till 16.00. I had dinner with him last night. Very pleasant young man, only 27 years of age, but I told him that I had adopted him as my son, during the trip. He did not object.

This morning I spoke some Dutch with the Pilot. A good looking guy, but will stay behind in Aruba. Shame! I do not know if I have mentioned that there are two other Dutch people on the ship. We sometimes use the fact, that nobody can understand what we are saying. Since the mix is 50 percent English speaking and 50% German speaking, I am constantly switching between Dutch, English and German. Good for my German. Had not used it for a couple of years. My French is non-existing, there is luckily only one French speaking couple on the ship.

For most of the passengers there is only one week left. 28 Stay behind, and 60 are coming on board.

For me only 25 days out of the 70 days are left! I definetely will suffer from a shock when being back home. No one to make my bed, no one to cook my meals, especially me special deserts, no one to talk to, brrrrrrr.

I hope to find an internet cafe in Curacao, so I can download some of the photo's I took in Cartagena. There are not many, since I returned to the ship very soon, still not feeling very well. But they are nice.

For the person who asked Walt's blogname: I have no idea, since I have not opened it yet. Will leave that till I am back home. But if you google rosaslovian, you might find it. His blog is very posh. He is having an Apple air book, and they have a lot of possibilities. He also prepared his blog weeks before he got on the trip. I just got this computer a couple of days before I left, hence my blog is very basic. But they are completely different. Will be fun to read his blog.

Well, that is it for the time being. My coffee is nearly finished, I still have to check my email and must download several updates.

Take care, en Stella, ik hoop dat alles goed gegaan is met je operatie.

Ineke

2010-03-24T21:26:00.000+01:00

March 18, 2010

Today is the day of the Captain's dinner and the talent show. People are very interested in who will be at the Captain's table. I know of several, and some people asked me if I knew the secret to: "how to get invited to the Captain's dinner". In my opinion, it is the hotel manager and the Captain, who decides who is getting an invitation. Based on being a repeater passenger (but since 65% of the passengers is a repeater, the decision will not be easy), nationality, and the mix of the guests. This time it was an interesting mix. German, American, Australian were there.

Before dinner, the guests are having a glass of champagne, then all the non-choosen ones are decending down the stairs, followed at a respectable distance and time, by the Captain and his guests.

The Captain held a really nice speech. One of my tablemates said: he was the most human captain she had came accross within Star Clippers. I totally agree with her.

H., a German guest, held a short speech. He has bothered every passenger on the ship with stories that go on and on and on. I think I am the only one on the ship who has been succesful in avoiding this. A couple of days ago he targeted me, while I was sitting on the foredeck. I noticed this in time, and just took my walkman, put in my earplugs, turned around and after ten minutes, he left. Fine with me.

Then came the talent show.

Klaus started of the show with playing "when the Saints come marching in" on his bagpipes. Followed by a group of six men and six women, who performed an act on the song: he had it coming. The men were sitting on chairs, behind them the six women. I was woman number six. The women were all in jail for committing several serious crimes. We then went on by doing another one: killing the guy in front. It was a huge success.

The atmosphere was there, but it was followed by a passenger who told a story of a rabbit. The passengers did not like this, it was more stuff for a Kindergarten. But the story came to an end. The following act was a dance, performed by Chutima, the Thai massage girl. It was very graceful and her dress was beautiful. The Indonesian crew performed a song and Ariel, one of the bartenders, sang a song.

Then the Coconut boobies sang the following:

Bloody Mary mornin' sing along

Verse and refrain

Well it's a bloody mary mornin

we left Cocos without warning

Sometime in the night.......

but we're sailing down to Perlas

Hopes still high regardless of our plight

2

We went snorkeling with the sharks

and hiking in the parks

and bought t-shirts........

but the government officials

they did not like our papers

said "leave our dirt"

Refrain

3

Oh the rumours running rampant...

illegal fishing or deer hunting in the park

or the last Hinano beer can be found on the beach after dark

Refrain

4

we had boobies on the yardarms

dropping booby poop bombs on our head

may be that's the reason we were told to exit the Cocos by the Feds....

Refrain

Well it's a bloody mary mornin

'we left Cocos without warning

sometime in the night........

but we're sailing down to Perlas

Hopes still high regardless of our plight.

This was followed by some of the crew doing the Bamboo dance. Normally it is difficult as it is, but on a moving and rolling ship....... Aimee, the nurse, did a wonderful job, not getting caught up between the bamboo sticks.

Then the sportsteam came on, they did the disappearance trick. They did it a couple of years ago to me, one of the lady passengers is invited to join them, then she disappears behind a sheet, and suddenly a very tiny bikini top appears over the top, followed by an even more tiny bikini bottom. This time the lady in question was as thin as a needle, but I never was and still not am a skinny type of person. In my opinion, doing this trick with somebody who has a more voloptuous figure, does the trick.

Then came the success of the evening: Rokie anounced that amongst the passengers there were two previous European, World and Olympic champions synchronised swimming!

I tried to take some photo's, but never got close enough. It looked like all the passengers were in the Tropical Bar enjoying the show! I might receive some photo's from passengers who left today (Saturday - Panama). As soon as I have them I will put them on my blog.

Ross and Jen were the "swimmers", it was a huge hit from the first moment they started "swimming". It is very hard to tell why it was such a hit, just looking at their movements and their faces, hilarious. Near the end a male leg suddenly appeared, later on followed by two hairy legs. As soon as I saw the leg, I knew it belonged to Adrian.

Walt made a movie, and I hope he will show it on the internet, either on his blog or on Cruise Critic, under the Star Flyer heading.

This act was followed by a performance of Danny, who has a beautiful voice indeed. The sportsteam and Hal (alias Ken) did one last trick, but they themselves had trouble to keep straight faces!

The last part of the show was performed by the Star Flyer choir. Below are the lyrics. There were 17 passengers taking part, and we all enjoyed doing it.

I got the lyrics from Winnie and are based on My Bonnie...

(Patrick) My bacon lies over my French toast

Patatoes lie under my eggs

My pancakes are drowning in syrup

No wonder I can't see my legs. "refrain #1"

(Hal and Jan) Mateo and Kemik they tempt us

with food that we cannot resist

Rare roastbeef, garlic shrimp and lasagna

are right at the top of the list *refrain #1*

(Gudrun, Lorene) Ein Duft wedet Dich morgens im Bettchen

Garlic'ne Wolke schwebt durch Neptuus Bar

Selbst Kuchen erhaelt dies Aroma

Man glaubt's nicht - es ist aber wahr!

Refrain

Knoblauch, Knoblauch

dem Daft kann man nirgends entfliehen

garlic, garlic

wo fluechte ich mich bloss hin?

(Dorene and Ricardo) We're tired before breakfast is over

A nap to revive us for lunch

And then we have 4.30 nibbles

Before the huge dinner we munch *refrain #1*

(Helen) Gymnastics with Gustav is helpful

A mile with Victor is fine

For lunch I will have me a salad

Unless there is beef cooked in wine *refrain #1*

(David) Ariel, Ashton and Danny

They fill us with cocktails and beer

While Joey is dancing with Claudia

They're heading for Broadway, we hear *refrain #2*

(June) Each day we have so many choices

There never will be enough time

Deck golf, yoga, tai chi and pilates

Missing bridge is considered a crime *refrain #2)

(Betty and Richard) Each evening we meet after dinner

For Saskia's contests and more

Frog races and great Karaoke

The lectures are never a bore

(Gudrun and Lorene) Von Seefahrt und all ihren Tuecken

Kann Klaus uns ne'Heuge erzaehlen

Kunstfaelschern faellt Knut in den Ruecken

ent???? und beweist ihr Verhegh

Pentinmenti und Crackeles taeuschen ihn nicht

Faelscher, Betrueger

Sie fuehren ihn nicht ........ licht (Knoblauch refrain)

(Ruth and Peter) Starlight dancing to music by Joszef

Keeps everyone up on their feet

And then when he plays the piano

It's always a wonderful treat *refrain #2*

(Ross) Swedish lessons with Victor and Gustav

We laughed until tears filled our eyes

But now we speak beautiful Swedish

"Vi Elskar er", you adorable guys *refrain #2

(Joe) The Captain and crew they have brought us

Across the Equator in style

The Sea Queen will stay in our memory

The devils will bring back a smile (no refrain)

(Adrian) First kissing a fish for King Neptune

Then jellyfish, flour and rum

The sirens then dunked all the virgins

It was quite dramatic for some *refrain #2

(Gudrun and Elenore) Wir loben am Abend "Regina"

Sie Schenkt uns den Fangfrischen Fisch

Der "Green Flash"er weist sich als "nie da"

Enttaeuscht schleppen wir uns zu Tisch

Segeln, Schlemmen und Schaukeln im Suedlichen Wind

Traeumen, Nichtstun, das ist es weshalb wir hier sind

(Char) Star Flyer is like a narcotic

One go and you're hooked on this ship

So many familiar faces

Returned for this fabulous trip *refrain #2*

(Peter) Great Britain, New Zealand and Iceland

Australian and German and Swiss

All laughing and playing together

On this voyage we couln't resist (no refrain)

(Ineke) Canadian, Argentine, Irish

American, Austrian and Dutch

All singing and dancing together

All eating and drinking too much

(Winnie) Star Flyer sails over the ocean

Star Flyer sails over the sea

This is such a magical journey

How lucky, how lucky are we *refrain #2*

*refrain #1*

Bring back, bring back, oh bring back my body to me, to me

bring back, bring back, oh bring back my body to me.

*refrain # 2*

Old friend, new friends

Laughing and sailing across the sea

Sharing, caring

One happy family are we.

-------------

To me, this was one of the better talent shows.

Take care,

Ineke