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| MSC Sinfonia |
With the wonderful knowledge that only the internet can
bring, we headed for the airport knowing that parking in the carport parking
lot will cost us slightly less than using the Gautrain – even with the
Gautrain’s R1/day parking special for airport users. Thus being afforded an additional 30 minutes
of valuable sleep we set off to OR Tambo for our Second Holiday. A cruise - something we promised ourselves we will never
do!
In comparison with all the tales we heard we did well by
only spending one hour in the queue to board the ship, starting to feel the
excitement building. Linked to my
extreme claustrophobia and a lack of money we settled for a sea-view suite –
unfortunately not a veranda but at least being able to tell night or day
without having to leave the room. It was
more spacious than I expected, with lots of small spaces to pack things
away.
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| Collecting the Pilot |
I can also now understand when people say they get lost on the ships. There are a myriad of lifts and stairs, some taking you exactly where you planned to go, whilst others take you exactly where you do NOT want to go.
After participating in the
obligatory emergency lifeboat drill, the ships horn sounded a few frightful
blasts and we set off into the sunset.
Well, not quite, it was three o’clock in the afternoon, the sun was still high. There were no
streamers and no crowds with handkerchiefs wiping away tears on the pier, as I
remembered from the scenes of the TV show “The Love Boat” (oops, giving my age away).
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| Fruit sculptures |
After recovering from the shock of the price of a cocktail
we promptly opened the tab with a “tequila sunrise” and “pink mojito”. After a few of those we must have sailed into
choppy waters as it suddenly became much more difficult to walk a straight line…
With no room to negotiate we have been placed in the second dinner
seating, meaning we could only enter the dining room at 20h45. When you normally have dinner around 18h30
this was quite a long wait. Looking
forward to make new friends and meeting new people at the dinner table, Hennie
and I spent a miserable dinner alone at our table for eight. Whilst next door 4 couples having just met
was having a swell time. Story of our
lives... Seems the second seating was
too late for our dinner mates, and they decided to have the buffet, raid the
pizza station or settle for room service.
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| Crew performing a scene from "Ghost" for the Movie Quizz |
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| Spectators to the medical airlift |
Next morning Hennie and I were having a bit of debate on
where the sun rises as I seem to have too good a sleep and not realising its
strange to have the sun hanging low on the western horizon at 08h00 in the
morning. Our puzzlement were soon
resolved when an announcement was made that the end of the world is still not
nigh but that we have turned around late last night and is now heading back to
Richards Bay. This was not happening to
me!!!!. Well, I could count my blessings
when we heard that there was a medical emergency on board that required
immediate hospital care and that we are heading for the coast on order to have
someone airlifted of the boat, and it was not one of us. This helicopter evacuation was planned to
happen at around 11h00 that morning, and there after we will turn around and
make like a speadboat to Madagascar to still make our rendezvous there for the
morning of the 31st.
The airlift created quite a spectacle and raised the
excitement levels. Strange how we crave
sensation as everyone was on deck to watch and take pictures, moi included. Had a bit of a chuckle when I heard some
women wisely telling her companion that it was lucky that we already had a
practice drill for a helicopter airlift shortly after the boat departed – obviously
not knowing that was when they picked up the pilot when we left the
harbour.
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| Country line dance lesson |
They day was spent in the sun next to the pool as we were
not up early enough to reserve a lounger in the shade. Due to the speed we were travelling at there
was quite a breeze and it did not feel that hot. Both Hennie and I was covered in 40+ sunblock
but still managed to get sunburnt. But
compared to the other lobsters running around we did well and the ship shop was
doing a brisk trade in after-sun lotion.
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| Blue-blue sea |
That evening Hennie reluctantly agreed that we can go to the
Bingo.
And so a Bingo monster was born.
Hennie absolutely loved it, and it was a fun way to while the time until
our dinner seating. Speaking of which, the second night
at our dinner table we met two very young, beautiful, 24 year old women. We must have been a bit of a disappointment
for them as they were hoping for a ship full of eligible bachelors wanting to
have fun with them. I must admit it was
a bit of a disappointment for us as well.
There was virtually no topic that we could converse on and after hearing
the tale on how the blonde bombshell burst out in tears because on their recent
trip to Europe the ugly flight attendants told her her hand luggage was too big
for the cabin, and had to be stored in the hold. But her very previous make-up and hair
straightener is in the bag and she would not be who she is without it. After a lot of tears, and the male flight
attendant scolding her for ruining her make-up, they made a plan to keep her
and her bag in the same cabin and she could relax.
Phew.
