Nautica Impressions HKG to ATH

[cathi]

Jack, I just have to tell you that I love your writing. When you get home and put together the journal with your photos you will have an amazing memory of this fantastic journey. Just think when you finally end up in that "rest" home you can pull out that book and relive it all over again!! I sincerely hope you have several more trips with your parents and I do understand your mention of the changing over from child to parent, from their looking after you to you looking after them. So glad you can enjoy and recognize the significance of all this. It is what makes your writing so meaningful to so many of us. THANKS and please may we have one last page!

Cathi

[Twiga]

Jack, I loved your description of seeing the pyramids. Your words brought back the feelings of wonder and amazement that I felt when I saw them many years ago. I loved reading about taking funny photographs with Frank. I hope you will post them when you return home.

 

Reading about giving your father your fleece on the bus was touching. I will miss reading about your wonderful parents.

 

I had tears in my eyes as I read about your last day on the cruise. I hate to see it end. I have enjoyed reading your journal these past weeks. Please write and let us know how Ty is doing. He is in our hearts and prayers.

 

Thanks for such an enjoyable journey.

 

Nancy

[JackfromWA]

WALKING THE PLANK (ATHENS & HOME)

 

I made plans to enjoy my last supper with my first cruise critic friend, Sukey. Since I despise packing up my cabin, and can’t bear to imagine the interlopers who will shortly occupy my stateroom, I packed early so I didn’t feel I was under an impending deadline. I completed one suitcase the day before Cairo—after 33-days I easily filled it with exactly 70 lbs of souvenirs, clothes I wouldn’t wear till I got home and dirty laundry.

 

My parents are staying in London for a few nights, followed by a week in Holland before arriving back to Seattle in ten days. I am flying directly home from Athens. The baggage weight limitations are confusing as I cashed in a little over 400,000 American Airline miles (Christmas came early for Mom and Dad) and got all three of us first class One World alliance plane tickets. International first class is great, but unfortunately we are on American Airlines home instead of British Air. BA and Cathay Pacific have duvets, pajamas and down pillows in first, AA only has the down pillows. Both have full reclining beds, so I don’t expect much sympathy from fellow travelers flying coach or business, but since the award costs the same, I would always rather fly Cathay Pacific or British Air then American Airlines. Another disadvantage is American only allows two bags in first class, BA allows three bags, and since I am flying BA from Athens to London and AA from London to Chicago to Seattle, I was hoping the BA allowance would apply. Both AA and BA reservation agents said that I could only take two, and I was limited to 50 lbs each.

 

Anecdotal stories on Flyertalk.com indicated that I probably would only be allowed two free bags, but I could pay an extra $25 per bag to increase the weight of each suitcase from 50 to 70 lbs. However, since I was flying into London Heathrow from Athens on Saturday, and didn’t leave for the United States until early Sunday morning, I am required to claim my bags in London and pay both BA and AA for the extra weight. If I were transferring the same day, I would pay only once. I was annoyed by the airlines seemingly unfair and inconsistent policies. I stressed about the luggage before the trip, I stressed about this as my souvenirs piled up under my bed, above my closet and in the cabin drawers in the early days of the cruise, but ultimately I quit worrying about it by mentally budgeting several hundred dollars toward luggage—since the tickets were paid by miles instead of cash, the total cash outlay wasn’t too much, and I wanted to end my anxiety about getting my luggage home. I did weigh my bags on the last sea day, as they can’t exceed 70 lbs each. I carried my suitcases up the elevator to the Nautica gym on Deck Nine where a set of doctor scales is located. I wasn’t alone—at least six other passengers where weighing their bags too. It was almost certainly the most use the oft-ignored scales got the entire cruise. Coming down the elevator a fellow passenger and his wife noted my luggage.

 

“Are you moving out today?” he asked with a smile. He thought it was funny since today is a sea day.

 

“No, I can’t swim with this. It is too heavy. We’d both sink. I was up using the scales in the gym,” I replied.

 

“Were you weighing yourself there then?” he asked in a further vain attempt to be humorous.

 

With a look of amused shock I replied, “Are you kidding! I am not going anywhere near any scales until I am off this boat at least two weeks. I was weighing the suitcase.”

 

“I know, I know I was kidding,” he sheepishly answered.

 

His slightly rotund wife lightly punched him on the arm, looked me in the eye and said, “I am with you honey, except I am waiting two months before I step on a scale. You keep waiting and I will too,” she firmly said as she hustled him off the elevator.

 

When I mentioned my luggage anxiety to Sukey she told me she doesn’t worry about it. She uses a luggage service and has her luggage waiting for her when she arrives. It’s expensive, but the ease and reduced stress is worth it to her. We enjoyed a wonderful dinner, swapped stories, laughed, gossiped, shared memories, made genuine plans to keep in touch and far too soon, our ice cream bowls and my coffee cup were empty and it was time to leave the Grand Dining Room.

 

“I really want to get a picture of you and your parents,” Sukey said. They were sitting close by so we went to their table—they were having their last dinner with Nancy, Sandy and Bill—and Sukey took a few pictures. As she hugged my mom goodbye I saw tears welling in Sukey’s eyes. “You have a wonderful son,” she told my mom and dad. I felt a lump in my throat, I hugged her, and she left.

 

Until now I have never felt sadness from abandoning friends at the end of a cruise. I have felt a sense of sorrow for the loss of fine dining, attentive service and free time, but not from having to good-bye to my fellow passengers, many of whom I will never see again. At the end of some cruises I was glad I wouldn’t be seeing some of them again. The difference on this cruise is after a month, bonds form, friendships develop and too soon—thirty-five days in the context of a life isn’t long—our memorable time together abruptly and decisively ends. Because we had so much time to choose what we wanted to do, and who we wanted to share experiences with, I spent more time over 35-days with a few new friends then I spend at home with some of my friends over the course of a year. My mom went to a lecture about future Oceania cruises and toward the end a video of crewmembers was shown. “I actually had a few tears,” she said, surprised by the depth of her feelings. “That’s never happened to me at the end of a cruise before.” My mom wasn’t the only one. I heard that several passengers cried during the video, and all during our last day I witnessed and shared in hugs, kisses, tears and heartfelt farewells.

 

After dinner I went to the lounge to check my e-mail, but couldn’t got a thing done. The Warsaw String Quartet was playing ‘Time to Say Goodbye’ on the balcony above our heads, seemingly repeating it every fifteen minutes— I have never heard them play that song before—and fellow passengers I barely knew kissed me or shook hands goodbye. Friends and acquaintances I did know kept stopping by for one last visit. Even though I couldn’t get anything done, I didn’t mind. Frank wandered by and he gave me his business card as we exchanged goodbyes (he generously gave me a personally autographed photo earlier in the day in thanks for the photos). Eventually I decided to go to the computer room, thinking it would be quiet, as I needed to look up something on the British Air site, and the reception area was too emotional and busy. Even there I ran into a friend—the only other person in the room—and on the last night of the cruise we talked and awkwardly say goodbye.

 

I called Ty, his biopsy is rescheduled for next week, I tried to let go of my anger and frustration about that, then I wandered the halls, bid as many crew and passengers as I could good-bye, and finally went to bed. When I woke at 7 a.m. my cabin was bare. The suitcase elves had worked tirelessly through the night and the ship corridors were free of luggage. After showering and dressing I sadly looked around my constant cabin, it has been a cozy sanctuary for what felt longer than 35 nights, but with my silver elephant from Goa, computer, travel books, hiking shoes, Prickly Heat Powder and clothes gone, it was time for me to vacate too. I walked out and went upstairs with my parents for breakfast at Terraces before leaving. Stu and Jan were there, so I was able to say goodbye to both of them one last time. Our need to depart was loudly announced over the ship PA system, our cruise was over, and it was time to walk the plank.

 

Feeling very melancholy I handed the security guard my white room key so he could record my final exit. As he handed it back he smiled and said, “Hope to see you again soon Mr. Jacob,” (my legal first name is Jacob, my nickname is Jack). I smiled back, feeling slightly better due to his friendly gesture, and walked outside.

 

To my great surprise the Captain was standing at the bottom of the gangway, wearing a light windbreaker and a smile—at least when Nautica forces you to walk the plank her Captain greets you on the way down. When I stepped off the gangplank and on to Greek soil for the first time he looked me in the eye, firmly gripped my hand and said, “Thank you for sailing with us. It was a pleasure to have you aboard. We hope to see you again soon.” What a nice gesture, I thought. So often it is the little things that matter, and it is the aggregate of getting so many little things right that makes Oceania my new favorite cruise line—in spite of her smallish standard cabins; the impeccable, friendly, personalized service makes up for it. I have arrived at the realization that if a fantasy genie gave me a choice between a free week on Oceania’s Nautica or a free week on Regent’s Mariner I would choose Nautica —even though Nautica is significantly less expensive and has much smaller standard cabins. The little things have made all the difference; Mariner offers a fantastic cruise but Nautica feels like coming home.

 

We were directed to the port and I saw the Silver Cloud again. She arrived to Athens today too. We went to retrieve our luggage and I noticed some port baggage carts near them. I grabbed one and a Silverseas crewperson approached me.

 

“Excuse me, were you on Silverseas?” she asked—knowing full well I wasn’t as they only have a few hundred passengers and she would have recognized me if I had been one of their guests.

 

“No, I am from the Nautica,” I replied. It would have been hard to attempt lying to her as I was wearing a navy blue golf shirt with OCEANIA CRUISES NAUTICA proudly embroidered above my heart.

 

“These carts are reserved for Silverseas Guests,” she pretentiously scolded me. I wanted to kick her ass. I am a past Silverseas guest and know she shouldn’t be treating any passenger from any ship with that condescending attitude.

 

“Actually, they aren’t. They belong to the port, you just decided to move them here and then attempt to control them. Since they don’t belong to you or Silverseas any more than they belong to Oceania or me I am taking this one. You can complain to the port if you like, but I think you are on shaky ground and I don’t believe they’ll care.” I politely retorted. Her mouth hung open in surprise as I wheeled the cart away. How stupid, I thought. Does Silverseas really want to alienate potential customers? An Oceania crew person would have helped a struggling disembarking Silverseas passenger load their luggage on their cart.

 

Our driver was holding our last name on a sign as we exited the secure area. My brother was in Greece a few weeks ago, he will be at the US Embassy for three years beginning in August, and he tracked down a good company to pick our parents and I up and take us on a tour before dropping us off at the airport for our flight at 7 p.m. to London. Jeff warned the tour company that we had been gone over a month and had six large suitcases, three carryons, and possibly a few other items. He specifically told them not to send a standard limousine or sedan. They believed him as our driver pulled up in a 17 passenger Mercedes Bus. It was so big that all our luggage comfortably fit in the gargantuan trunk. It was expensive, we paid a little over 400 Euros, but it included an all day tour and guaranteed arriving at the airport on time, luggage intact with no transportation hassles.

 

My enthusiasm for the shore excursion was extremely subdued. I didn’t want to go to the airport after an all day tour; I wanted to return to my cabin. Despite never having been to Athens, I felt too glum to enjoy the excitement of more stimulating new sights. In the past seven days I had visited Luxor, Petra, the Sphinx and Giza Pyramids, all for the first time. Athens deserved better than my morose attitude. I attempted to put on a happy face, but taking a tour immediately after leaving Nautica felt like attending a wedding the day after a funeral for a friend. The sadness of the end of the cruise weighed too heavy on me, and my parents cheerful chatter annoyed me—I knew it was my problem, not theirs—so I put on my ipod and tried to work through my feelings. Looking at it now—from 30,000 feet in route to London on BA Flight 633, both my parents quietly sleeping across the aisle—I have a bit more perspective. My sadness wasn’t rooted in the end of a vacation, saying goodbye to new acquaintances and friends, or the loss of fine dining and egregious pampering. My real sadness stems from ending this time with my mom and dad. From here, I go back to my life, they go back to theirs, and though we live in the same town, have dinner at least every week or two, and frequently talk on the phone, we don’t live together the way we have for the past 35-days. We haven’t lived together like that in decades.

 

“We haven’t eaten so many meals together consecutively since I moved away from home,” I told my mom at breakfast this morning. Having this time together was a chance to go back home, live with my parents in a world constructed from our combined hopes, desires, foibles and weaknesses. It was a nostalgic, happy and profound experience. Today it ended. Soon I will be happy, I’ll appreciate the time with them as they appreciate the time they spent with each other and me, but I don’t let go of grief and loss too quickly. Grief properly transitioned to acceptance strengthens me and helps me see things in a wiser, more grateful and loving light. So, I sometimes hang on to feelings too long. I spent my later childhood, teenage and early adult years trying not to feel anything—the emotion battling half-human half-Vulcan Spock from the original Star Trek series was my role model, it was more palatable then turning into a sociopath—but today I savor my feelings. I know working through them is one of the healthiest ways of taking care of myself—it connects me with the loved ones who surround me, as well as the acquaintances whose lives brush mine. No matter how rich, painful, overwhelming or joyous the emotions, they eventually pass. In their wake I consistently find I have learned, grown and become a healthier, wiser, emotionally balanced content soul.

 

It is a reality of human emotion that my feelings about the pending loss of the familiar lifestyle I briefly enjoyed with my mom and dad on Nautica motivated me to briefly withdraw from them when their regular behavior—that I’ve mostly enjoyed the entire trip—annoyed me today. It’s silly to miss someone before they are gone, yet inevitable separations are usually the ones that cut the deepest. It is hard to really start healing until the person you love goes away.

 

Our guide Dmitiri was superb. He drove us to the Coliseum, safely and efficiently negotiated our seventeen-passenger bus through Athens’s traffic and offered to stop whenever a photo opportunity arose. Since my brother is going to work at the Athens Embassy, we wanted to drive by and see where he would work the next three years of his life. As we drew near I noticed a large American flag waving in the cool Mediterranean breeze. Just to the right of the flagpole a ten-foot diameter seal featuring the familiar imposing Eagle and identifying the building as the Embassy of the United States of America was prominently displayed on the exterior wall facing the main thoroughfare. I wanted to take a better picture then I could get through the bus window—I thought it would be fun to e-mail my brother and show him we had taken the time to go there—so I asked the guide to stop.

 

I pulled out my camera and quickly snapped five or six photos of the flag, seal and embassy. My photography quickly caused a small commotion. The Greek policeman stationed outside the building frantically motioned us over in a no-nonsense manner.

 

“Mom, you better hand me my passport,” I quickly said. The driver following the policeman’s hand gestures made an illegal U-Turn so the security guards could question me. Putting on my best American-in-Greece face I exited our bus with a smile, handed the policeman my passport and politely explained I was an American citizen visiting Greece and wanted a picture of the US Flag and Seal. They copied my name, passport number and birth date and asked me to retrieve my camera to delete all the photos. While they looked over my shoulder I removed all the pictures of Old Glory waving in the breeze, and the Seal of the United States of America attached to my homeland’s embassy. I wasn’t angry. With all the terrorist threats in the world I understand they are trying to protect people like my brother who bravely work in overseas embassies, but I was sad that the violence in the world makes taken a picture of my Flag at an overseas American Embassy a security risk.

 

Our next stop was the residence of the Greek Prime Minister and the Greek Parliament. We were encouraged to take all the photos we wanted. A major tourist attraction and photo opportunity is a military ceremonial guard stationed directly in front of the parliament building who stands still as a Beefeater and rotates hourly. It is a sad irony that we could photograph all the Greek government buildings we saw but the US Embassy is off-limits.

 

We went to the Temple of Zeus, a pleasant grassy stop where I snapped photos of the tall, imposing Greek Columns, then made our way to the Acropolis and roamed around at the top. It is impressive, drenched in history and imagination, but the thousands of teeming, pushy fellow tourists, effort required to get good photos, detracting scaffolds surrounding the Parthenon and my improving but still despondent mood made the visit less than I expect it to be when Ty and I go visit my brother and his family after they move to Greece.

 

Lunch was at a restaurant in a trendy beach area where Starbucks, Marks & Spencer, Armani and Benneton Stores intersect with style conscious locals and tourists. Dad, mom and I all wanted to have Greek food, so we passed by the exotic-for-Greece Applebee’s, Pizza Hut, Starbucks and hamburger joints and found a promising little Greek restaurant. The proprietor was friendly, the menus were in Greek and English, and soon we had ordered Chicken Gyros and Kebabs. To avoid any confusion we pointed directly to the items we wanted on the menu, and when they arrived the servings were large and the food well prepared. We had to meet the guide at 12:30 so at 12:15 I signaled for the bill.

 

“How much do you think it will be?” my mom idly inquired.

 

“It should be about 15 Euros, 3 a piece for the meals, 3 for the Coke Light and there could be a table or service charge,” my dad replied.

 

When the bill arrived it was 25 Euros. The proprietor deceitfully charged us for Chicken Gyro and Kebab plates—which are each an additional 4 Euros a piece and listed on a different page then the selections we selected—though we clearly identified through finger pointing, to avoid any language barrier, exactly what we wanted. I confronted him with his perfidious unsolicited culinary upgrade, his friendly personality disappeared and he shrugged his shoulders, blandly turned his back on us and walked away. We decided to pay for the meal—time was short and a 10 Euro fight didn’t feel like it was worth the effort to any of us then and there—left no tip, and returned to our bus.

 

The next two hours were the best of the day. We drove out of Athens along the coastline. The Mediterranean scenery was sublime. Blue oceans, traditional and modern Greek homes, lush vegetation; after the coastline of Egypt it was like Eden. We drove about an hour and eventually arrived at the Temple of Poseidon. The entry charge was 4 Euros each with a 2 Euro discount for senior citizens. Since both my parents are over sixty-five, my dad wanted his discount.

 

“Two senior citizens and one adult please,” my dad told the old woman at the small ticket stand.

 

She looked at him skeptically. “Where do you come from?” she asked in halting English.

 

“The Netherlands,” dad nimbly answered. Since he was born in Holland his answer was accurate enough to deserve the senior citizen discount that he quickly ascertained was only granted to travelers from other European Union countries. I was proud of his sharp money-saving response. The ticket seller grudgingly handed him two discounted senior citizens tickets for he and my mother along with the standard adult ticket for me.

 

The Temple had a few—maybe thirty—tourists visiting, and sits atop a colorful rocky promontory with a generous 180-degree view of the surrounding sea. If Poseidon had chosen it himself I can’t imagine choosing a better site. The actual Temple looked similar to the columns at the Temple of Zeus or those at the Acropolis, but the isolated, picturesque location and relative lack of crowds made it a much more memorable stop. I noticed a young couple kissing near the Temple, the ocean waves crashing on the shores below the hill behind them, and I envied their young, passionate love. It was a good place to be romantic, a natural place to kiss. Their Greek ancestors would approve, I thought. I felt good again—I wanted someone to kiss me in the shadow of Poseidon’s Temple so I could feel the romance pouring from the natural harmonious background of sky, ocean and Grecian columns perfectly arranged for expressing love. My slight depression had passed and I was glad I had come to Poseidon’s Temple. After spending thirty-five fair, sunny, calm days on and over the world’s oceans, the least I owed Poseidon was a brief visit. Now that I had thanked the God of the Seas, I was ready to fly home.

 

The drive to the airport took a little over an hour. Despite all the consistent information to the contrary from both British Air and American Airlines reservation staff, when I checked in the pleasant woman from British Air didn’t charge anything for extra weight and to my unexpected and delighted surprise she successfully checked my two large, overweight suitcases all the way to Seattle. I won’t see them again until I clear US Customs in Chicago sometime tomorrow afternoon. I completed the US Customs Clearance Form and question eight asked what countries I visited since I left the US. I suppressed a burst of laughter. Chuckling inside I wrote down the following in chronological order: Hong Kong (SAR), China, Vietnam, Thailand, Singapore, India, Oman, Egypt, Jordan, Greece and the UK. The list didn’t fit on the two lines provided so Greece and the UK ended up in the margin. Hopefully the Customs Border Patrol officer welcoming me home tomorrow is as amused by the number of countries I visited as I am, and understands I was sight seeing—not plotting to overthrow my government. I don’t want them suspiciously searching through my luggage, repacking would be a nightmare.

 

So the trip is over. New guests now occupy Stateroom 4024, new passenger are enjoying their first meals in Toscana, Polo Grill and The Grand Dining Room. The crew are trying to adapt to a new group of travelers—they’ll be successful, they are a well-oiled and polished machine—sometime tonight I’ll say goodbye to my mom and dad until I pick them up at Seattle Tacoma International Airport in a little over a week, and sometime tomorrow I’ll walk in my front door, embrace Ty, deal with Rusty’s unbridled canine enthusiasm at our reunion and Stewart will eventually come sit in my lap and greet me in his feline fashion.

 

Of course, that leaves each of you. I don’t want to say good-bye to any of you any more than you want to say good-bye to me. It has been a journey for all of us, and on some level none of us traveling together wanted it to ever end. A few of you pioneered this trip on Oceania before me, many more of you will follow in my footsteps and some of you will simply enjoy it through the magic of the written word.

 

I always wanted to be a writer. Now I am. If I never write another word I will always carry the unanticipated joy of knowing that with practice, inspiration, good teachers, wonderful reader feedback and the unmerited favor of talent I was able to make some of you, my unmet friends across cyberspace, laugh, cry, feel joy and nostalgia and through our shared thoughts and feelings communicate some of what I have learned, thought, realized, felt and experienced.

 

One of my favorite authors, Richard Bach, sent me a postcard in 1982. I had interviewed him for the Whatcom Community College newspaper, and he gave me his address so I could send him a copy of the printed article. In part his postcard—which still hangs on a special place in my home all these years later—reads, “Your article captured the spirit of our time together beautifully. We are all here for a reason, and yours I’d guess is to communicate what you’ve learned.” I have moved many times since his postcard reached me at a 28-day treatment center for drug addiction and alcoholism, and after seventeen years of continuous abstinence, many years of learning to live as an ethical person of integrity, and forty-four years of waking up each day on our shared planet, I believe that I have finally learned some lessons worth sharing—and I have developed the self-confidence and self-esteem necessary to subject myself to the criticism that always accompanies sharing the Truth I’ve discovered about myself and others. I still have so many things to learn, and places to see, but fortunately I have discovered someone else’s Truth is not always my Truth, nor is my Truth always someone else’s Truth. Truth is deeply personal, and though sometimes we get to share it—which is especially nice when it is shared with the significant people in our lives—other times we have to learn to tolerate a Truth that isn’t true for us—which can be challenging when the Truth is different for two people who love each other as deeply as our capacity to love allows. I believe love and tolerance allow us to bridge the gap when our deep personal Truths threaten to separate us from those we need to be close to. I know that is how my mom, dad and I try to negotiate our own different Truths—which like many other children and parents at times have threatened to irreparably separate us.

 

I still make lots of mistakes, false assumptions and bad conclusions—just look at how I initially judged Frank aka Lumpy—but that doesn’t negate the Truth that I finally have learned a few things worth passing on. I hope that in the many pages I wrote about this journey on Nautica with my parents that you discovered something that made your life a little happier, your time spent reading a little more pleasant. And whether it was an insightful Truth, or just a plan of how to make your own travels better, I feel privileged to have shared this time and space with you. For those of you reading this who were on the trip with me (I know some of you are out there), I hope it brings back some of the wonderful memories of our trip together on Nautica. Everyone’s heartfelt words for Ty’s good health, encouragement to keep writing, and the hundreds of loving, friendly comments you posted have brought great joy and new wisdom to me—and I wish the same rewards to each one of you.

 

I will write a follow-up—and I’ll reply to everyone who has recently posted questions or comments since I last did so—when I am settled home in Bellingham, Washington; despite an incredibly competent and loyal staff I have several feet of mail stacked on or around my desk, hundreds of work related e-mails, numerous phone calls, and over 3,000 photos from this trip to look through. Needless to say, like all of us who traveled from Hong Kong to Athens on Nautica, I’ll be busy for a few days. I’ll update everyone on Ty’s tongue biopsy as soon as we have the results. That’s a promise. We both appreciate your prayers and thoughts. I’ll get a few pictures up soon along with a link, that’s a promise too. Until then I want to leave you with the words of Robert Frost, which I unexpectedly discovered in Whatcom Middle School’s library many years ago while reading S.E. Hinton’s ‘The Outsiders. It captures the brief time on Nautica with my parents perfectly.

 

Nature’s first green is gold

Her hardest hue to hold.

Her early leaf’s a flower;

But only so an hour.

Then leaf subsides to leaf.

So Eden sank to grief,

So dawn goes down to day.

Nothing gold can stay.

 

-- Robert Frost, ‘Nothing Gold Can Stay’

 

Thanks for reading. God Bless.

 

THE END

[Marebear]

I am totally amazed by the marvelous insights you shared with all of us and the fantastic trip you took us through! Thank you seems so insignificant -- I will never forget the voyage - Dankeshoen, merci and gracias!

[merryecho]

Can somebody get me a kleenex?

[magicnelly]

Don't be dismayed at good-byes. A farewell is necessary before you can meet again. And meeting again, after moments or lifetimes, is certain for those who are friends.

Richard Bach

[Rob & Beckys mom]

That was a great ending, Jack. Thanks so much for taking so much of your time to keep us entertained. So much of yourself can be felt & seen through your words. Our son has 3 1/2 yrs. clean & sober, he now works at the treatment center where he spent 4 months. God really does work miracles ;) .

 

Jan

[scdreamer]

You have conveyed your feelings so clearly that I am feeling them, too. Thank you so much for taking the time to share your experiences and your impressions with us.

 

Because our upcoming October cruise begins in Athens, I was gratified to read what you had written about your short time there.

 

And you have definitely inspired us to dream of future journeys to so many other destinations with your lovely portraits in words.

 

Yes, you are a writer. And a damn good one at that!

 

Thank you so very much!

 

Leslie & Wayne

 

(p.s. We are sending positive thoughts for Ty's biopsy - all the best to both of you)

[Twiga]

Wow, Jack! What an amazing end to your journey. I had tears in my eyes reading your previous posting. This one really had me choked up! I could feel how hard it was for you to leave the Nautica. But I know that you left some good energy onboard, though, that I will feel when I board the Nautica in September. This will be my first cruise on Oceania and you have already made the Nautica feel like home to me.

 

My husband and I have planned to visit the Temple of Poseidon when we are in Athens. Now it will be even more special knowing how it affected you. I will remember what you said about the kiss at the Temple!

 

Thank you for your wonderful writing. You have touched so many of us readers. The end of your journey was also the end of ours-----no more installments of Jack's cruise to look forward to. Reading your last posting was like reluctantly having to finish an especially enjoyable book. Keep up the writing!

 

I am looking forward to hearing about your homecoming and also hearing how Ty is doing.

 

From a fellow back-of-the-bus traveler,

 

Nancy

[PennyAgain]

BRAVO!

 

Blessings for a long, healthy and happy life!

 

My sincere thanks.

[lahore]

Bravo....Encore!

[esther e]

Once again I have to thank you, Jack, for the seat I shared next to you on your voyage. Oh yes, you never saw me, but after reading your wonderful posts I realized I was right there, experiencing every thing you did.

 

My best wishes to you and Ty and I pray his biopsy goes well. I look forward to being on a trip with you again in the future.

 

Thank you for such a wonderful adventure.

 

Esther

[meow!]

Jack: Thank you once again for such a detailed and interesting account of your entire trip, the most comprehensive I have read. Only "SteveBear" came close to your achievement when he was actively posting on the Silversea column of this board about his several voyages. Folks like yourself and SteveBear made this board such a precious resource for its readers.

 

You must be fortunate to have 400,000 frequent flier points for yout three first class tickets. Based on what I read on the internet, and what I have seen as I walk past those premium seats on long haul fligts, I find that the difference between first and business classes is mostly in style, amenities and exclusivity. Otherwise they are similar in level of comfort. On the other hand, the difference between business and economy classes is physically substantial. The width of the seat and the "pitch" of business class give it more than double the area of economy, and you really feel the difference. In any case, both are very expensive, with a price ratio of roughly 4.5 : 3 : 1 for the three classes.

 

Being only ordinary cats with limited means, we usually fly economy, and realize that the savings are nearly enough for the next trip. Yes, after sitting in economy for a dozen hours each way, the legs may be a little numb and there is slight soreness in the back and the behind. However, as most commercial jets have a lot more economy seats than business or first class, it is safe to say that most people are in our kind of situation! Of course, as you can afford it, go for it and enjoy!

 

We have been on Oceania only once before, in April, 2004 for two weeks Barcelona to Venice. We have booked a second Oceania voyage for October, 2008, from Venice to Athens, sort of a continuation of the previous one from the western to the eastern Mediterranean. If things go as planned, we will once again enjoy the facilities of an R ship in a year and a half.

 

Just curious, is Bellingham close to the Canadian border? On the map, there doesn't seem to be a lot of things out there, must be really tranquil, quiet living. Good luck to you and your parents, and hope that your friend gets better! I still look forward to seeing the pictures you have taken.

 

meow!

[Wendy The Wanderer]

Meow, I'm with you. We have never had the luxury of collecting significant air miles (although I try as hard as I can now.) But last year we had the luxury of a travelling Business class to Europe for an RSSC cruise. Wow, what a difference! It really made the whole trip so much more pleasant.

 

We are now completely spoiled, and thinking of ways to finagle Business class to Europe in future. I am collecting Aeroplan (Air Canada, Star Alliance) points every way I can. RSSC has good business class upgrade rates (well, "good" is relative of course.) Too bad Oceania does not offer something similar. Here in Canada we have a charter carrier called Air Transat which offers "club" seats, for a modest price; we're also thinking about that, although they only travel to a few cities in Europe so we would have to plan that very carefully.

 

I'm betting Jack is having a wonderful trip home in First, if he's not home already! I'm sure we'll hear the follow-up in a few days.

[CruisingSerenity]

Thank you for sharing so much with all of us, Jack. I like reading Cruise Critic but it's just not going to be the same without a new installment of your adventures.

 

Man, what a read!

 

I still root for you to get a blog.

[Decebal]

Welcome home Jack. I still can't believe we've been reading your wonderful adventures for a whole month. It went by as fast for us, as it passed for you. Looking forward to the pictures, and thanks for sharing your experiences.

 

Thanks to you, I know now, that as mad as I am to see Luxor, sit my bottom on a Pyramid block, and blow a kiss at the Sphinx, I will not do it through a rushed 2 day ship excursion.

[jckvpa0]

Thanks for a great thread !!! I just happen to stumble on to it because my sister & dh boarded your ship on Sat. & I thought by some off chance maybe someone would be posting from on board. Actually I never did look to see if someone was posting because I just couldn't stop reading after I found your thread.

 

Once again Thank-You so much for taking the time to post. Your great description of the beautiful places you have visited has made me rethink my travel plans for the future.

[Aussie Gal]

Jack,

 

My mornings are not going to be the same again. I have enjoyed waking up and printing out your wonderful posts for the past 5 weeks and now that the posts and the journey has come to an end, I feel I have lost a very good friend.

 

Thanks so much for taking us along with you and letting us see the world through your eyes. My thoughts are with you and Ty and hope everything goes well.

 

Please keep in touch on this Board, as we would love to know what you are going to be doing next.

 

We have flown First class from Melbourne to the U.S. and back and it is a wonderful way to travel. We also used F.F. points. I wouldn't pay out the money for First Class but would for Business which is not that much of a difference, or it isn't on the airlines we fly with eg. Qantas, Singapore and Cathay. They also have the lie down beds, pajamas and good food plus the leg room and width in the seats.

 

Your parents sound delightful and you have all been blessed with each other. I have always felt that what you put into your children does come back threefold and more and you have proven that.

 

Jennie

[meow!]

I have always felt that what you put into your children does come back threefold and more and you have proven that.

That may (though not always) be true of parents who are very old and children who are middle age plus at present, I have doubts on whether that will still be true for the next generation!

[Aussie Gal]

That may (though not always) be true of parents who are very old and children who are middle age plus at present, I have doubts on whether that will still be true for the next generation!

 

We have two children in their mid to late thirties and we have been rewarded so many times by them both not in material things but in so many other ways. I am sure our grandchildren will be the same to their parents when they grow up.

 

I do believe it is all in the upbringing.

 

Jennie

[cathi]

Simply thanks, Jack. It's been wonderful and words cannot express how I feel after reading your words. I know Ty will be just fine with you by his side. Keep the faith. I only hope my recovering addict son will grow into as nice a human as you have.

[Toranut97]

Blessings, Jack, to you, Ty and your beloved furry kids in the future! You have so generously shared of yourself during your trip. I have saved all your posts in a file so I can re-read in the future. Thanks for your kindness, sharp vision and insight!

 

Donna

[monina01]

thanks once again.....I already miss your (alomost daily) contributions...It was a great way for me to start the day, in the early morning with a cup of tea and this wonderfull thread.

 

I am looking forward to seeing some of the photo's you promised you would post :o

[Isla Gal]

Jack – I’ve been lurking here for sometime reading your travel log and I just wanted to thank you for sharing your experiences and insights with us. Someday I hope I will get to see the places you visited, but if not you gave such vivid descriptions in some ways I feel I have already been! And what a gift to spend this time with your parents, my father died young and I regret not having more quality time with him.

Being a U2 fan myself (Joshua Tree is one of my 3 desert island discs!) I especially loved how you related “In God’s Country” into your journey. If you ever choose to I think you could give Rick Steves a run for his money!!:)

[JackfromWA]

Hello everyone, I made it home. Life is slowly taking on its usual form. My laundry is washed and folded and the jetlag is slipping away. Ty told me tonight that he learned, “absence makes the heart grow fonder” in a deeper sense… so the trip gave both of us deeper insight about our relationship. I know if I take a trip this long again, Ty is coming. I posted about ninety photos tonight. For those of you who have read since the beginning you will recognize many of the scenes. I tried to include those pictures that are most interesting to readers of the entire account of our trip. The link to the photos is now in my signature line, so if you click at the end of the post it will take you there. Just in case that doesn’t work, here it is:

 

http://web.mac.com/jhovenier/iWeb/Site/NAUTON.html

 

I will post again after I pick my parents up next week, and when I have news about Ty’s health. Thank you all so much for all the encouragement, kind words and support.

 

A FEW (belated-so-I-could-finish-the-story) RESPONSES:

 

 

FDR, if you are still reading I need to thank you. I wasn’t expecting my entire internet to be paid and your incredible staff removed every charge. I also received another gift you are probably aware of, so thank you. Your generous gestures were above and beyond; just like the service on Nautica. I had a wonderful time on the cruise—of course you know that since you have been reading this—in your last post you asked for more details and I hope you are pleased with the end result. I know I am. If in some small way my writing has helped your business I am pleased—Oceania deserves it.

 

Cruising Serenity, I am touched that you found something in my works that goes beyond the entertainment or thoughts about traveling. Thank you so much for sharing your feelings with me. I don’t think I’ll start a blog anytime soon, but if I ever do I’ll let you know. Thanks again for all your encouragement… it made a difference.

 

SCDreamer, thanks for the reading suggestion. I am going to get ‘The Red Tent’ from the library. Also, thanks for the well wishes for Ty and the assurance that I can write.

 

Zutalors, enjoy your trip! I hope you enjoy the Pyramids as much as I did.

 

ChatKat in CA, I am happily ensconced at home. My Wheaten was absolutely beside himself when I walked in the door. It was almost worth leaving for the enthusiastic reception! Enjoy Nautica next month.

 

Lagunaman, I loved meeting our brother and sister-in-law. They are both wonderful people and I wish I had more time to get to know them better.

 

Esther E., if there is a higher compliment to a writer than staying up way past your bedtime to read, I don’t know what it is… thank you! (p.s. I hope you got the much needed sleep finally) and I was glad you were sitting on the vacant seat to my side. Maybe we can do it again sometime.

 

Moninia01, I know… I didn’t want it to end either. You are welcome. I miss it too!

 

Lahore, I will always feel honored that I impressed an Australian. I will miss our frequent interactions here. You have been a wonderful inspiration… please stay open-minded to going to Luxor. I don’t think you will regret it if you go…. At least the one-day excursion.

 

Aneka, the pictures are up. I will write again in a week or so after Ty has his biopsy.

 

Penny Again, Thanks for the encouragement. I hope you get to Petra someday, and thanks for the Bravo. I wish it could have lasted longer too.

 

WendytheWanderer, I am trying to compile it and clean it up a bit. The stream of consciousness style didn’t lend itself to improving the grammar as much as I would like.

 

Molomare, I wish I could join you, I hope you have a wonderful time… I know you will.

 

MerryEcho, You cracked me up. That is exactly what we would say at Stack III in Fairhaven. Thanks for the happy memories and for the voice from home and thanks for the genuine encouragement to find my voice and keep writing. Photos are up!

 

Cathi, glad you enjoyed it. I hope you decide to do the Luxor and Cairo things. As strenuous as they can be I can’t help but encourage you to go. The trials are well worth the reward. I will put the journal together and it will be a keep-for-life personal treasure. I wish all the best for your son and your family.

 

Rob & Becky’s Mom, you are welcome and fortunately the flight home was fine. Do happy to hear about your son. He is lucky to have your support and I am glad he has been clean so long.

 

Emdee, thanks for your support. Actually FDR already did quite a bit for me and I hope that in some small way my writing contributes to their success. Oceania deserves it—they are a first class company.

 

Orchestrapal, I look forward to hearing about your experience on Regatta. Have a wonderful trip.

 

SagaRuby, as always I love reading your eloquent writing. Thanks for sharing your experience.

 

SecCCruiser, you are welcome, glad you liked the stories.

 

Hordorner, I look forward to hearing about your trip.

 

Meow!, My mom does exactly what you suggest. She keeps a large bottle of sanitizer and frequently fills the small bottle. Great tip! Yes, Bellingham is literally at the Canadian border. The photos are up.

 

Lauren Spray, thank you for the well wishes for Ty. I am starting to wish I were on that cruise with you, Lahore and Molomare. Have fun!

 

Carolhardy, I hadn’t heard much about Oceania either. You have nothing to worry about. They’ve earned the accolades others and I have given them.

 

Twiga, you are welcome. Thanks for mentioning the fleece. My mom enjoyed reading that too—they really are wonderful parents. Have a good kiss in Athens and enjoy the back of the bus… I’ll be there is spirit.

 

Marebear, you are welcome many times over.

 

Magicnelly, hmmm…. Quoting the Messiah’s handbook to me…. Very tricky and very clever. Thank you. It was perfect.

 

Decebal, glad you enjoyed it. I am sorry it went so fast too.

 

Jckypao, glad you liked it. Hope your travel plans take you to some of the great places I visited someday.

 

Toranut97, you are welcome. I am honored you deem the threads worth saving.

 

Isla Gal, you are my neighbor! I love Whidbey. I am sorry about your father, and I know I am fortunate. Ty’s mother died when he was only twenty, so he was very supportive about letting me do this with my parents. Thanks for the compliment—that is high praise indeed. Glad someone liked the U2 reference. ‘In God’s Country’ forever took on a new meaning to me after Wadi Rum.

 

Aussie Gal, I don’t want to say goodbye to you, so I saved you for last. Have a great trip. We will always have April 4th won’t we? I hope someday our paths cross in the “real” world.