Saga Rose Greenland Voyager August 2007

[RalphRackstraw]

 

Ships have always been the backdrop for romantic adventures. Inhibitions as well as lines were/are cast off at the moment that a ship sets sail. Social interactions which might casually take place on land over weeks, months or even years have to be compressed into hours or days.

In Germany, there is a folk tradition of Kurschatten, little love affairs between people taking the cure (the waters at a spa, or a few weeks of clean air at a mountain Luftkurort). They are away from the routines and responsibilities of work and family, in pleasant surroundings, with good food, much attention to bodily wellness, and many leisure hours --- much like being on a cruise!

 

From the Oceangoing Memoirs of Lady Frances Rackstraw, b. 1922

"There was one funny (to me) incident our first day aboard the Constitution in 1965. I was alone, happily reading some ship bulletin board, when up came a man who said he was the dining steward, or some such, a very hefty, well-fed fellow. He said he needed another "middle-aged couple" to fill a table --- indicating ME (who did not feel nor look middle-aged, thank you very much!) and my husband, assuming I had one. I replied, 'We already have a table: my two youngest sons, presently in the ship's nursery, my husband, and my two older sons; and, if you were 50 pounds lighter, you would be man overboard by now!' He retreated and I never saw him again! I was the girl in the Tovey portrait*, with the best hairdresser in Geneva, Monsieur Marc, chic and cute!!"

 

*Mother had a fine oil portrait painted in 1961 by Robert Tovey, an English artist still resident in Geneva, and a life-long friend. A copy of it hangs in my office, next to a studio photo of Dad as a USAAF captain in London in 1945. Many visitors, especially veterans of the WW II era, remark on her beauty.

[Conte Di Savoia]

I found this picture I took of the Lido area around the First Class pool aboard Constitution on our Mediterranean cruise in 1966. Perhaps this was one of the now notorious pick-up spots.:rolleyes:

[RalphRackstraw]

I found this picture I took of the Lido area around the First Class pool aboard Constitution on our Mediterranean cruise in 1966. Perhaps this was one of the now notorious pick-up spots.:rolleyes:

Conte, good to hear from you. After a few days of silence, I was afraid Mom's latest story might have given offense. :( Indeed, her vanity was pricked, and she spoke rather too sharply to a poor chap trying to do his job. Alas, we are all human, and it is an authentic vignette of shipboard life. Mom has usually gotten along famously with almost everyone. Coming up next: her shipboard encounter with Lee Meriwether (1862-1966).

Edited September 14, 2011 by RalphRackstraw

[RalphRackstraw]

From the Oceangoing Memoirs of Lady Frances Rackstraw, b. 1922

 

 

“The best bet for the web from my experiences involved a man 102 years old, who was travelling with a nurse and secretary aboard the Constitution with us in 1965: Minor “Lee” Meriwether. We were in the ship’s library at the same time, he dictating an update of his book My First 100 Years to his secretary. I was writing about the “man overboard” incident to your Godmother, Virginia --- I found it funny, by then. As I wrote to your Godmom, I smiled. Mr. Meriwether said to me, “I love to see an author enjoy his own work!” --- So I smiled back at him. He became, by far, our favorite shipboard acquaintance. Later, I got his book and found that he had been through much sorrow, losing his children and his wives, but he retained his joie de vivre even in his 103rd year. He was a lawyer in Saint Louis. Every year, from the time of his coming-of-age, he crossed the Atlantic.”

 

:DWow! Here is an inveterate traveler with a wealth of transatlantic (and some Pacific) experience dating from 1885 to 1965. I hope I can get hold of one of his autobiographies. He must have traveled on many of the great ships of the twentieth century. His accounts of his land travels sound worth reading, too, judging by this review in Slate:

A Tramp Trip: How To See Europe on Fifty Cents a Day, by Lee Meriwether (1886)

One of the original college-dropout backpackers, Lee Meriwether figured out in 1886 how to travel across Europe on 50 cents a day: namely, by couch surfing (or, sometimes, pile-of-hay surfing). Half-starving worked pretty well, too. Meriwether possessed a brilliant knack for bizarre travel options—like his attempt in Italy to combine sightseeing with free lodging. Instead, he reports, "I was lodged in jail, and the next morning brought before an officer of justice, and charged with the heinous crime of sleeping in the dead city of Pompeii." When he died in 1966 at the age of 103, Meriwether was still writing travelogues; he retraced his old routes with a Van Winklesque view of the changes in European peasant life wrought by electricity and the automobile.

 

 

MINOR “LEE” MERIWETHER (adapted from

www.pricecamp.org)

 

Lee was born during the War for Southern Independence, (December 25th, 1862), and lived to see America go through the Spanish-American War, WWI, WWII, the Korean Conflict, and the beginnings of the Vietnam War. He died March 12th, 1966 at the age of 103. One of his books, entitled My First 100 Years 1862-1962, gives a good account of his full, rich life. He was born in Columbus, Mississippi, the son of Lieutenant-Colonel Minor Meriwether and Elizabeth (Avery) Meriwether. Colonel Meriwether was an Engineering Officer in the Confederate Army, who had helped design and construct the fortifications around Vicksburg. Colonel Meriwether named his son “Lee”, in honor of the great Southern Gentleman/General Robert E. Lee. Lee Meriwether was educated in Memphis, Tennessee. When the “yellow fever” hit Memphis in the 1870's, the Meriwethers moved to St. Louis and built a fifteen-room brick home on Delmar, near Grand Avenue. In 1884 Lee worked assignments for the Philadelphia Press in California. In 1885 his father wanted him to attend law school, but, at age 22, Lee felt that he hadn’t seen enough of the world yet. For the next two years he wandered across Europe from Naples to Moscow. On returning he wrote his first book, A Tramp Trip: How to See Europe on Fifty Cents a Day.

In 1886 he was appointed Special Agent for the United States Labor Bureau, and went about the country gathering statistics for the bureau. He was sent to Hawaii in this capacity, where he met with King Kalahaua on several occasions, supposedly to study labor conditions there, but also having a fantastic vacation at the government’s expense. In 1889, during an era of violent coal miner strikes in Missouri, Governor Francis appointed Lee “Missouri’s Labor Commissioner”. He took the side of the miners and fought to rid the State of the corruption that infested both big business and the labor unions. As Missouri’s Labor Commissioner, Lee was living in Jefferson City. At night he studied law, and passed the Bar exam in 1889. Always a crusader for the rights of the common man, Lee inspected the prisons of Portugal in 1892. With his record of uncovering corruption, Lee sought the Democratic nomination for Mayor of St. Louis in 1897, but due to a corrupt political machine the election was stolen from him. As a result the Republican candidate for mayor won. In 1901 he ran again, but the “Political Boss” of St. Louis (Edward Butler) feared a crusader like Meriwether, and rigged the election so that the Democratic Party machine candidate (Rolla Wells) won. Meriwether had actually received 13,000 more votes than Wells. The St. Louis Republic newspaper did a scathing article condemning Meriwether (evidently they were a part of the political machine), and Lee sued them for $20,000. He won and used the money to purchase rental property that provided a handsome return for the rest of his life.

In 1916 Lee was appointed Special Assistant to the American Ambassador to France. His assignment was to evaluate how the French treated German prisoners of war. He was there until 1919. In 1924 Lee and his wife (he had married Miss Jessie Gair in 1895) were touring Europe, and were in Germany while Hitler’s “Putsch” was going on. He rightly predicted the beginnings of WWII.

Lee remained active in world politics throughout his life, and wrote a total of fifteen books, notably:

A Tramp Trip: How to See Europe on Fifty Cents a Day (1886)

The Tramp at Home (1889)

Afloat and Ashore on the Mediterranean (1892)

Miss Chunk: a tale of the times (novel) (1897)

Seeing Europe by Automobile: A Five-Thousand-Mile Motor Trip Through France, Switzerland, Germany, and Italy; With an Excursion into Andorra, Corfu, Dalmatia, and Montenegro (1911)

The War Diary of a Diplomat (1919)

My Yesteryears: An Autobiography (1942)

After Thought: a sequel to My Yesteryears (1945)

My First 98 Years, 1862-1960 (1960)

My First 100 Years, 1862-1962 (1962)

Postscript to my Long Life: 1862-1964 (1964)

 

Below, some images from the List of Passengers (First Class) of our sailing, leaving New York 23 August, 1965. Unfortunately, the list misspells the gentleman's name as "Meriweather" rather than "Meriwether".

 

[Conte Di Savoia]

Ralph

What a great experience to have had the opportunity to meet and speak with a man whose life spanned so much of 19th and 20th century history. Well, not just spanned but was actively involved with it and was still enjoying it at the age of 102. Meeting interesting people often turns an ordinary trip into an extraordinary one.

 

I have a similar passenger list from my trip on Constitution. The official name of the line at that time included "Isbrandsten" , the shipping company which had purchased American Export. The Isbrandsten family lives on an estate which borders our community here on Long Island.

 

Donald

I presume you're home by now. How was your latest Alaskan adventure? I read that there has been some bad weather along the coast causing more ships to travel the Inside Passage in order to seek shelter from the rough seas.

 

I believe that our Ruby should be disembarking Silver Shadow today (actually tomorrow in Korea) and heading home. There has been a typhoon hitting Japan and so I hope that she hasn't been bouncing around on her last sea days.

 

Our tickets for our transatlantic crossing on Silver Spirit arrived today. Just a little over three weeks from now we will be leaving for Lisbon to catch her there. Once I have tickets in hand it seems much more real.

Edited September 22, 2011 by Conte Di Savoia

[RalphRackstraw]

Ralph

What a great experience to have had the opportunity to meet and speak with a man whose life spanned so much of 19th and 20th century history. Well, not just spanned but was actively involved with it and was still enjoying it at the age of 102. Meeting interesting people often turns an ordinary trip into an extraordinary one.

It makes me marvel at the interconnections among people and across history. This same fellow, engaging in amiable conversation with my mother, had as a little boy been introduced to Jefferson Davis while the latter was still president of the Confederate States of America!

 

I have ordered three of Mr. Meriwether's books: A Tramp Trip (1885), Seeing Europe by Automobile (1911), and My First 100 Years (1962). The first two are currently in print! :)

[Kapricorn]

 

Donald

I presume you're home by now. How was your latest Alaskan adventure? I read that there has been some bad weather along the coast causing more ships to travel the Inside Passage in order to seek shelter from the rough seas.

 

I believe that our Ruby should be disembarking Silver Shadow today (actually tomorrow in Korea) and heading home. There has been a typhoon hitting Japan and so I hope that she hasn't been bouncing around on her last sea days.

 

Our tickets for our transatlantic crossing on Silver Spirit arrived today. Just a little over three weeks from now we will be leaving for Lisbon to catch her there. Once I have tickets in hand it seems much more real.

 

Hi to all! I've been home since Sunday but have been caught in a whirlwind of activities. I haven't even written a post-cruise review for my travel agent.

 

I enjoyed the cruise overall. We had smooth seas all week. The ship hardly rolled. Here are my favourite photographs taken during the cruise.

 

 

Here we are sailing along the coast on the way to Hubbard Glacier. I like how the slash of sunlight across the water broke the darkness of the day.

 

 

 



 

Last May the ship halted 3 miles from Hubbard Glacier due to heavy fog and heavy ice in the sea. Here we enjoyed a clear view of the glacier despite the overcast which obscured the mountains.

 

 

 



 

My favourite photograph of all!

 

 

 



 

In Ketchikan I took a Wildlife Tour on a boat which went looking for bears, porpoises, seals, eagles and others. For me this wooded scenery is the essence of Alaska.

 

 

 

Ruby told me on Silver Shadow that she would be home on the 24th. So we should be hearing from her once she has recovered from her jet lag.

 

Conte, are you doing the doc dance now that you have the tickets in your hands? :)

 

Donald.

[Conte Di Savoia]

Conte, are you doing the doc dance now that you have the tickets in your hands? :)

Donald.

The "Doc Dance"? LOL. I'm beginning to panic over what to bring, measuring the necessities for formal, informal and casual nights. "In the old days" the rule was formal every night except the first and last nights or after a full day in port. Casual? That's what we dressed like during the day. It used to be so much easier. I always brought more ties than there were opportunities to wear them. I'm a believer in choice. One has to maintain standards and live up to our own expectations of style (Style? Do any of us remember style?).

[MMDown Under]

Welcome home Ruby and Donald.

 

I hope you both had wonderful cruises, full of happy memories.

 

did you have good weather, with above average temperatures, like we've been having?

 

24 today, 26 tomorrow Quebec.

 

I look forward to catching up on my return home.

 

We are currently on. A Weeks car hire from Montreal with our daughter, before returning to Toronto.

 

Nice to see Crown Princess in port at Quebec yesterday, and Eurodam in port and Seabourn S. Sojourn (?) at anchor at Ha Ha bay Saguenay.

 

Fall colours looked beautiful in that region at the beginning of the fall season.

Edited September 24, 2011 by MMDown Under

[Saga Ruby]

I've had such a lovely time catching up with your notes. All of them are interesting but, of course, the romantic adventures - or the lack thereof - of Lady Rackstraw are quite interesting. I see that Marion is still enjoying the provinces of Canada - what a nice, long itinerary. On the other end of the travel scale, on the plane home from Tokyo, a Korean couple was flying to NYC to visit their daughter at Columbia Law for 5 days, then back to Korea "because I have a job." And Conte is readying for his next Silversea cruise. My suggestion about packing is to take everything and make daily choices later.

 

Speaking of romantic adventures, my 3 weeks on Silver Shadow produced more than one escapade. Now, now, don't leap on a premise and sprawl to a conclusion. But it was fun: The ladies in Reception say that I will receive an invitation for the last formal night to be a guest at the Safety Officer’s table. They smile mysteriously and say this is a special honour. I say I don’t want to sit at another table for 10-12 like the Cruise Director's table on the most recent formal night. I was seated at the Hotel Director's table some days ago and I find these large tables to be nothing short of a social brawl. The ladies at Reception say there will be seven of us at table, so I RSVP yes. That night, I don my gypsy black silk dress and other regalia and off I go to La Terrazza.

 

The seven attendees enjoy an extended dinner with lots of fun and laughter. I am seated next to the First Engineer who is thoroughly handsome, a Bulgarian with olive complexion, green eyes, an intent focus, and a deep, sexy voice. He says this is his first passenger dinner and he is nervous. I manage to entertain him throughout the 2 hr. dinner. Lots of gentle razzing back and forth. I pronounce “Petropavlosk” and he says, “Perfect.”

 

As we leave the table, the ship lurches and The Engineer firmly places my arm in his and we walk out to the elevators - and keep going. I have no idea where we are headed. We stop at the end of the Deck 7 corridor at what seems to be a blank wall where a tiny machinery room sits under the Jacuzzi. The Engineer says he thought I might like to see the pumps and pipes for that machine, that it is part of his daily duties to keep Water World onboard the ship in working order. We are standing in a loud, hot “closet” inches away from each other and The Engineer is staring at me. All I have to say is, “Would you like to see my suite?” and let the games begin. I say nothing.

 

Donald - Gideon the Butler was outstanding and most appreciated. His attention to detail is impressive. One small difficulty is that I am a single woman traveling alone and I realize that he doesn't want to be in my suite with the door shut and the door stopper doesn't work at all. But, over the next 3 weeks, we get comfortable with each other and his smiling face is always a treat. After two weeks, Gideon shows me a photo of his darling young son and wife. It tugs at my heartstrings to think of Gideon working so hard, so very far away, to provide for his family back home in the Phillipines. Gideon likes to see me come racing out to dinner in my evening finery and always expresses his delight in the current outfit so I do a Loretta Young turn each night for his approval. A nice ego boost.

 

Conte - as Donald will tell you and as you know, the food portions on Silversea are much more moderate than the "belly up to the bar" portion sizes in most American restaurants. I took to the S/S concept and lost another 10 lbs on this cruise, making a total of almost 60 lbs in the past two years. Who knew I could be so happy and so "in trim" on a luxury ship like Silver Shadow?

 

All right, my peeps. Time to sleep. Catch ya on the flip side.

 

Ruby

[RalphRackstraw]

A hearty welcome home to the returning voyagers! Would you believe I have progressed from page 1 to 128 in the thread archives? Still looking forward to the account of Ruby's exploration of Antarctica (a highlight of my own Bucket List), but it just wouldn't seem right to peek ahead without enjoying the older posts in sequence --- and I am enjoying them!:)

I found this picture I took of the Lido area around the First Class pool aboard Constitution on our Mediterranean cruise in 1966. Perhaps this was one of the now notorious pick-up spots.:rolleyes:

Conte's photo of the Constitution recalled to mind those good old rounded funnels: not elegant or racy, but sort of pleasantly homely, like visual comfort food. Mom sent me a few more Constitution memorabilia: a postcard view, the ship's bulletin for 31 August 1965, and a luggage tag.

[Conte Di Savoia]

Welcome home, Ruby. It's so nice to have you back where you belong!

We want to hear more about your transpacific adventure after your circadian rhythms are back in working order.

 

I tried to follow your cruise via the internet with mixed results. The ship did not report its global position after leaving Vancouver but I did spot the Shadow on some port Web cams.

 

Ralph

I love the simplicity of the daily Program aboard Constitution. Movies, dancing and bingo and card games were about all there was to entertain the passengers, but then expectations were not that great either. I notice that the next stop was Alghero, Sardinia. We also stopped there on our voyage. Strange what we associate with some places. Alghero was where I first ate squid, a food which, in my youth I viewed as much to yucky. I quickly let go of that assessment and now enjoy it quite a lot, but none has every been as fresh or tasty as what I had in that seaside restaurant in Alghero.

Edited September 26, 2011 by Conte Di Savoia

[RalphRackstraw]

Well, perhaps I won't be reading Ruby's account of her trip to Antarctica. I have forged ahead to page 146, and on 141:

I am cancelling my Antarctica cruise. The scenario is this: A stranger walks up to my front door, puts her hands out and says, "Pick one." One hand has $14,000 in it, the other hand has 10 days in Antarctica. Every single time, I make the business decision and take the money.

Quite so. And yet, if it wasn't so riotously expensive, each of us would love to spend some time in "The Last Place on Earth". In the meantime, I have my sights set on InnerSea Discoveries and their small-vessel explorations of the Southeast Alaska coast. Every time I take the kayak out, I tell myself I'm training up for my future paddling among the ice floes.

Have any of you experienced Southeast Alaska in late May? What weather did you have?

[Saga Ruby]

Welcome home, Ruby. It's so nice to have you back where you belong! We want to hear more about your transpacific adventure after your circadian rhythms are back in working order. I tried to follow your cruise via the internet with mixed results. The ship did not report its global position after leaving Vancouver but I did spot the Shadow on some port Web cams.

 

Conte - Thanks for the welcome home. Your astute comment about circadian rhythms is spot-on. As you well know, after being gone for 3 weeks there is so much domesticity to be accomplished at home. And I'm sleeping 3-4 hrs a night so my energy level is not exactly high. But again, many thanks for the referral to Silversea. The pax-to-crew ratio is almost 1:1 and it makes for a fine voyage experience. You had me smiling about Kodiak seeming to be a dreary commercial port - a flawless description but, due to an exciting adventure with a waiter and a taxi driver, it is now a favoured port memory.

 

Well, perhaps I won't be reading Ruby's account of her trip to Antarctica. I have forged ahead to page 146, and on 141:

 

Quite so. And yet, if it wasn't so riotously expensive, each of us would love to spend some time in "The Last Place on Earth". In the meantime, I have my sights set on InnerSea Discoveries and their small-vessel explorations of the Southeast Alaska coast. Every time I take the kayak out, I tell myself I'm training up for my future paddling among the ice floes. Have any of you experienced Southeast Alaska in late May? What weather did you have?

 

Donald will be able to answer your question about Alaskan weather. He has a long history of cruises in that area so we'll wait to see what he has to say.

 

To All - Ralph's dedication to reading this entire thread is impressive. If he makes it across the finish line before experiencing a visual impairment, perhaps we can present him with a Compass Rose (get it? Saga Rose? Oh, never mind!) or ennoble him with a title such as Most Honourable Member of the Order of the HMS Ruby Pinafore.

 

Ruby

Edited September 27, 2011 by Saga Ruby

[RalphRackstraw]

I have started reading Mr. Meriwether's autobiography, My First 100 Years, 1862-1962. Here is an early anecdote:

“In 1875 my mother and I were houseguests of Mrs. Isabella Beecher Hooker, sister of Harriet Beecher Stowe whose Uncle Tom’s Cabin did much to cause the War Between the States. Mrs. Hooker lived in Hartford, Connecticut. At breakfast soon after our arrival, Mrs. Hooker said: ‘Mark Twain lives next door. Would you like to meet him?’

Mother, who had recently read Mark’s Innocents Abroad, said she certainly would like to meet the author of such an amusing book.

After breakfast, we walked across the lawn, pushed through a hedge and presently were in Mark Twain’s study on the second floor. He greeted us cordially and said: ‘Isabella, I am glad to meet your friends.’ Then he pointed to a manuscript on his desk and said to me: ‘Son, I’m writing about a boy just your age; his name is Tom Sawyer.’

I looked at the manuscript; on it were blots and erasures. I said: ‘Gee, I can write better than that!’

Mark laughed: ‘No doubt you can. I can too when I’m not in a hurry.’”

Mr. Meriwether does not claim so, but I have to wonder: Did meeting this sassy and adventurous 12-year-old boy impress Mark Twain and play a part in developing the characters of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn? :)

[Saga Ruby]

Tell me where you stand on your new tome. I assume it is long since delivered to the publisher but when will it be issued?

 

Are you off on another cruise? Are you doing the Christmas markets at the end of the year?

 

Do tell.

 

Ruby

[Saga Ruby]

In Seward, I hired a taxi for an hour to take me around to some old haunts. [Perhaps by now, Ralph has reached the "One Day in Seward" part of this saga.] But there was a new twist to the tail on this trip.

 

The taxi driver was a 40 yr.-old female, recently divorced, and relieved to be so. She talked eloquently about being a woman in the man's world of Alaska, not always a flattering photo.

 

We were downtown when she got a call from one of her regular customers, Esther, who was marooned at her hair-dresser's salon and needed a ride home. Upon consultation with me, we went to pick her up and take her out to her home off the highway.

 

When Esther got in the taxi, she was startled to see me sitting in the front seat. I told her that I had chartered the cab for an hour and that the ride home was on me. After a moment of hesitation, she accepted the ride.

 

When the driver asked her how she got to the salon in the first place, Esther said that her son had taken her there, but when she called her son for a ride home, he said he couldn't come get her because "there are two grizzlies mating against the side of my truck and I can't get out of my house!"

 

Ruby

Edited October 2, 2011 by Saga Ruby

[Host Sharon]

Tell me where you stand on your new tome. I assume it is long since delivered to the publisher but when will it be issued?

 

Are you off on another cruise? Are you doing the Christmas markets at the end of the year?

 

Do tell.

 

Ruby

 

Long story but the text is pretty much completed - just waiting on feedback from the top brass at P&O - tomorrow!!! No Christmas markets for me this year - Israel and Egypt in November/December on Oceana. Can't wait. Now just have to work up a talk for the Ocean Liner Society's International Ship Show in London later this month !!! eeek!

 

Ralph - bet you didn't know Mark Twain sailed on a P&O ship on his tour of Europe!! (No, I didn't either till recently but it is all in the book!)

 

Looking forward to more Silversea stories Ruby. My friends sailed on Silver Cloud last year but had horrendous weather from Hebridies to Iceland she had to sleep on the sofa as thrown out of the bed !

 

For the last week here it it's been in the 80s so basking in the summer we never had !!

Edited October 2, 2011 by Host Sharon

[Host Sharon]

he said he couldn't come get her because "there are two grizzlies mating against the side of my truck and I can't get out of my house!"

 

Ruby

That sounds like a reasonable excuse to me !!

[Kapricorn]

Donald - Gideon the Butler was outstanding and most appreciated. His attention to detail is impressive. One small difficulty is that I am a single woman traveling alone and I realize that he doesn't want to be in my suite with the door shut and the door stopper doesn't work at all. But, over the next 3 weeks, we get comfortable with each other and his smiling face is always a treat. After two weeks, Gideon shows me a photo of his darling young son and wife. It tugs at my heartstrings to think of Gideon working so hard, so very far away, to provide for his family back home in the Phillipines. Gideon likes to see me come racing out to dinner in my evening finery and always expresses his delight in the current outfit so I do a Loretta Young turn each night for his approval. A nice ego boost.

Ruby

 

Ruby, as soon as I saw Gideon the Butler I knew that you would be very well looked after. First impressions are very important. I am so glad that for over three weeks he proved his worth.

 

I don't think that ship's deck and cabin staff are supposed to be in passengers' cabins with the door shut. This is to prevent suspicions of hanky panky going on. I've been told that staff can be fired for that reason, though we know that such activities do occur aboard ships. That was why Gideon was not comfortable being in your cabin with the door shut, especially you being a single lady.

 

I have my sights set on InnerSea Discoveries and their small-vessel explorations of the Southeast Alaska coast. Every time I take the kayak out, I tell myself I'm training up for my future paddling among the ice floes.

Have any of you experienced Southeast Alaska in late May? What weather did you have?

 

Ralph, over the years I've been to Alaska in all months of the cruise season. Weather there is unpredictable. There is no such thing as a typical day weather-wise. I always bring layers of clothes to use depending on if it is warm or chilly. During May I've worn shorts, t-shirts and sandals, and other times I've worn layers of warm clothing, scarves and gloves against bone-numbing chilly winds.

 

Donald.

[Saga Ruby]

I don't think that ship's deck and cabin staff are supposed to be in passengers' cabins with the door shut. This is to prevent suspicions of hanky panky going on. I've been told that staff can be fired for that reason, though we know that such activities do occur aboard ships. That was why Gideon was not comfortable being in your cabin with the door shut, especially you being a single lady. Donald.

 

Back in the '70s and '80s, the Big Bad was to have a crew member found in your cabin - hanky panky. I'm not saying there was no intermingling of crew and pax back in the day, but it was done on a very sub rosa basis. As I swanned around Silver Shadow, speaking my few words of Tagalog, showing off my Technicolor sox, enjoying a certain social status amongst pax and crew, I could sense responses from lonely men missing their spouses so, at times, I had to walk a very fine line. Editorial comment - the "lonely men" included some of the pax's husbands. I was determined to be neutral on the ship as these environments are hotbeds of gossip and I didn't want to be included in that mix.

 

It is still a hanging offense for a crew member to be found in a pax's cabin, but my sense is that the cruise lines do not want to be exposed to liability of a crew member in a pax cabin, particularly that of a single woman. If I hollered sexual harassment, then let the games begin. We have moved on from the questionable practice of crew in a pax cabin to legal liability issues. It's all so very complicated and I very much appreciated Gideon, on the random event, coming into my cabin to deliver dry cleaning or asking for my signature on a Customs form, letting the door close behind him. He was taking quite a risk and I appreciated our covert understanding that nothing untoward would happen when he was with me in my suite.

 

Ralph - apropos of nothing, where are you getting the word "discussants?" Ain't seen that one before.

 

Ruby

Edited October 3, 2011 by Saga Ruby

[RalphRackstraw]

Ralph - apropos of nothing, where are you getting the word "discussants?" Ain't seen that one before.

 

Ruby

Mr. Webster says:

Definition of DISCUSSANT

 

one who takes part in a formal discussion or symposium

 

 

First Known Use of DISCUSSANT

 

1926

It just seemed like a nice, inclusive term to describe this community of ship-daft online forum posting persons, though calling us "formal" is rather a stretch! :)

Mom sent me some nice photos taken aboard the Leonardo da Vinci on our Naples-to-New York crossing, 6-14 July 1961. I will upload them soon.

[Saga Ruby]

No Christmas markets for me this year - Israel and Egypt in November/December on Oceana. Can't wait. Now just have to work up a talk for the Ocean Liner Society's International Ship Show in London later this month !!! eeek!

 

Excuse me for taking Sharon's comments out of context but you reminded me that Donald brought to Silver Shadow my very first copies of Sea Lines - or is that Sea Lanes? - from the OLS. I spent some quality time with the magazines, learned fresh information about the state of current shipping news, quite enjoyed them. Thanks Donald.

 

Mr. Webster says: It just seemed like a nice, inclusive term to describe this community of ship-daft online forum posting persons, though calling us "formal" is rather a stretch! :) Mom sent me some nice photos taken aboard the Leonardo da Vinci on our Naples-to-New York crossing, 6-14 July 1961. I will upload them soon.

 

I always squirm when someone calls me daft. My attitude? Prove it! Am looking forward to seeing the da Vinci photos. I have so enjoyed seeing Conte's and Ralph's photos, brochures, and passenger lists of those long-ago sleek liners of yesteryear. Thanks for taking the time to bring them on to our thread.

 

Conte - what do you do with the nice "leather" Silversea zippered ticket holders? Do you stuff them in your attic or use them or trade them with other ship-daft (ooops!) folks?

 

Ruby

[Conte Di Savoia]

Mom sent me some nice photos taken aboard the Leonardo da Vinci on our Naples-to-New York crossing, 6-14 July 1961. I will upload them soon.

Unbelieveably our paths nearly crossed by a matter of hours! We departed on Leonardo Da Vinci on the following day, July 15. Those were the days when ships overnighted in port affording crews some shore time in the Big Apple.

 

Am looking forward to seeing the da Vinci photos. I have so enjoyed seeing Conte's and Ralph's photos, brochures, and passenger lists of those long-ago sleek liners of yesteryear. Thanks for taking the time to bring them on to our thread.

 

Conte - what do you do with the nice "leather" Silversea zippered ticket holders? Do you stuff them in your attic or use them or trade them with other ship-daft (ooops!) folks?

Ruby

The Leonardo Da Vinci recently came up on in a thread of another Web site, Latest Cruise News, and so I had to post a picture. She was definitely one of the most stylish looking liners built.

 

We have several renditions of the SilverSea ticket holders and I occasionally reconnect with them when I go through some drawer in the house. Obviously I don't keep them well organized. But, as I think I may have mentioned, my favorite out of the collection is the one we received for our first trip with them when they started up in 1994. It's leather, not pleather (not in the dictionary but is a plastic reproduction of leather) and larger than the ones they distribute now, easily accommodating tickets, passports, reservation confirmations etc.

 

Still waiting patiently for a detailed review.

[Saga Ruby]

Still waiting patiently for a detailed review.

 

Silver Shadow far exceeded expectations. I was greeted by my butler immediately upon arrival, suitcase delivered promptly. After contemplating the food offerings for three weeks, I can say that the quality was excellent altho’ Italian desserts were not as rich as some I have had. As Donald has mentioned, the moderate serving sizes of the various courses were inspiring and indirectly pointed out the massive portions expected in most American restaurants. I liked the moderate portions. Eating as an indoor sport no longer interests me.

 

On two occasions I was invited by officers to La Terrazza for an Italian evening meal and I would not try it again. At one point, a small dish of pasta, duck ragout, was presented and, when I tried to use a fork and spoon to eat it, I could easily lift up the entire mass - not to my liking. Evidently I’m not that big a fan of “gourmet” Italian food. But the offerings in The Restaurant (the MDR) were quite good each evening and all of us quite enjoyed the pastry chef’s artwork on the plates as dessert was served. Quite imaginative and well-rendered to lend an elegant touch to a meal.

 

The suite was lovely - quite large and usable, lots of storage space, no wear-and-tear visible throughout the suite. There were minor nicks in the desk-top which were caused by pax slamming down their ice buckets on it. I do take off points for lighting over the couch - if Gideon hadn’t come up with the solution of a floor lamp, I would have been unable to read my Kindle which is an important part of my daily life. Having said this, I would point out that this problem with lighting was immediately resolved by Gideon.

 

My Vista suite had a large picture window which satisfied my desire to view the ocean rushing past. I still don’t feel that I need a balcony in my cruises and the Terrace suites, one level up from mine, share a balcony which is not acceptable to me. My Vista suite was 287 sq.ft. and perfect for this solo traveler; it would comfortably accommodate a couple. I liked the severely-limited smoking areas.

 

The artwork throughout the ship lent an air of luxury and elegance to the experience. The fact that all of it was for sale deducted nothing from the effect.

 

I didn’t attend the entertainments other than one - George Sakellariou is an outstanding acoustic guitarist, well known in those circles, and I never missed his performances. He was selected by Steve Jobs some years ago to perform for a family reunion and George has played all over the world. Did not see other entertainers.

 

I was treated like a queen by the hotel staff for the entire 3 weeks, felt positively doted on. I enjoyed dinners at the Hotel Director’s table, the Cruise Director’s table, and the Safety Officer’s table which is evidently a special honour. Each evening, I would walk up to the Restaurant Manager’s desk and ask for a large table so each evening I was meeting new people then began to be invited to various tables. Haven’t been such a social butterfly since my teenagerhood. In all cases, the waiters were good, many were excellent and made outstanding suggestions for my dining pleasure. I enjoyed speaking various languages with them. I was so warmly welcomed that my joke is that I felt like ship’s pet. For two days before disembarkation in Incheon, I said my goodbyes to the hotel staff and was hugged and patted many times. It was devoon. The warm and welcoming response of the hotel waitstaff to this solo traveler made this voyage outstanding and memorable..

 

I did not attend onboard activities; I made it up as I went along. No trivia, no bridge, no “Italian as a second language,” few Enrichment Lecturers altho’ I watched several of them on my flatscreen, in-cabin TV. I had to quickly bone up on one lecturer as he and I wound up dining together every night for the week he was onboard.

 

The manager in the Internet Café patiently taught me about the good and the bad of new softwares, laptops, choices. It is wonderful to have that kind of expertise available; I was constantly asking questions about a future purchase of a laptop and softwares. Ian helped me use the online check-ins and print out my boarding passes. His cheery attitude and welcoming manner were appreciated. He said I should come to the Café daily because I was a welcome guest when I walked in the door. Maybe it was the issue of Wired that I passed along to him?

 

The few public rooms I used were well-appointed and luxurious. Having said that, in the 3 weeks I was onboard Shadow, I never had afternoon tea nor did I ever find the Fitness Center. Donald has hinted at a disaster that occurred to me in the Spa - the day after embarkation, I went to get my hair trimmed and walked out looking like a guy. Worst haircut ever. After my personal disaster, at table that evening, I met an Aussie man who said he had gone to the same hair dresser one hour after me. “I colour my hair and she used the wrong colour on me.” [heavy sigh]

 

What can I say? I have come home to Silversea. It is now the official cruise line for Saga Ruby. I would not hesitate to repeat this itinerary from Vancouver to Incheon because 12 out of 21 were sea days and that was the appeal for me. I’ve been, seen, and done enough in the cruising world that I have little interest in finding a new, exciting itinerary. I am sated by the exceptional level of service onboard Silversea and will watch for cruises on her and her sister ship, Whisper, as time goes by. In the meantime, I’ll be back in Maui for two weeks next May while perusing Silvesea brochures to find another soul-satisfying voyage such as this one.

 

Silversea positions itself as a small, elegant luxury cruise line. For me, that is a perfect description.

 

How ‘zat?

 

Ruby

Edited October 3, 2011 by Saga Ruby