Almost home
I’m awake ridiculously early again because we as we move west, we keep gaining time, so our nights are longer. We’ll get our final hour tonight before landing in NYC tomorrow. Mom’s still asleep, and I’ve still got some internet minutes to burn, so why not send off a little epilogue?
To steal a line from Forrest Gump, this trip was like a box of chocolates. It was a floating sampler with far too many goodies for such a short time. We stopped at 15 different ports, losing one due to weather. We never had much time in any one of them – never even 12 hours ashore in any one spot. There were tons of options for things to see and things to do, and not nearly enough time for any of them – just lots of little tastes, little hints, little teasers.
I had several favorite stops, but it’s not fair to say I didn’t like certain places because there was simply no time to explore. We chose our shore excursions based on a few paragraphs on the cruise line’s website, and some were better descriptors than others. Based on what we know now, we’d have chosen differently. No huge regrets, just knowledge that “next time” we’d do something different. Not that there will be a next time. I’m pretty sure this was a once-in-a-lifetime trip for us.
I would like to return to the British Isles and spend lots longer exploring by land – that’s on my list for when I hit the lottery. I know seeing the major port cities isn’t the same as seeing the country – as if you could know the US by visiting NYC, Norfolk, Galveston, LA, and Seattle – there’s too much in between that you miss. We never set foot in Wales, so that’s a whole country yet to be experienced!
For me, I think the best day and with the best trip was Akureyri, Iceland. A big part of that was our guide, but it was also our first stop on an amazing island. I’d go back to Iceland in a heartbeat. And Guernsey – we just spent a few hours in St. Peter Port – never getting into the countryside. Same with Lerwick in the Shetlands – gee, I’m sounding obsessed with islands…
I’d have to say our trip in Bergen was the most disappointing, only because the boat ride in the fjord took up more than half of our time there. By the time we got back to the city, we barely had 30 minutes to see the sights there – knowing what I know now, we’d have stayed in the city and explored on our own that whole day. But who knew??
My other regret is that I missed the Northern Lights. I didn’t find out about the solar storm till the morning after everyone had seen the Lights. The next two nights were cloudy, and nothing was ever said ship-wide, so I missed out. On the other hand, we’ve got official certificates signed by the commodore and the cruise director to prove that we crossed the Arctic Circle – suitable for framing and everything!!
And today is our last day. Mostly, our plans are to finish packing, double-checking everything so we don’t leave anything behind. Our bags are to go out in the hall when we go to dinner, and tomorrow at 10, we assemble one final time in the Michelangelo dining room to be released from the ship. We’ll find our bags, go thru customs, then find **FCD **and head home.
Later this morning, The Princess Bride is being shown on the outdoor movie screen – Mom has never seen it so I’m hoping it won’t be too chilly to sit out there and watch. At 2 this afternoon, Chris Watkins will perform one last time for this cruise. We hope to see him, but he’s so popular, there might not be enough space. And we may or may not attend tonight’s final performance in the theater.
In some ways, I can’t believe it’s over so soon. In other ways, it feels as if it’s gone on forever (usually when waiting in line for a tour bus.) I’m glad Mom and I had the chance to do this – it’s the longest time we’ve spent together since I left home over 40 years ago. She’s now looking at her Caribbean cruise in January, and I’m looking forward to sleeping in an adult sized bed that doesn’t suddenly pitch and shake in the middle of the night, as well as a shower where I can raise my arms to wash my hair without the shower curtain sticking to my elbow. (I’m not being snarky here, but I honestly wonder how some of the people I saw aboard were able to fit in the shower stall. I had to turn off the water and open the curtain so I could prop a foot on the toilet and scrub my leg properly.)
I’ll miss having my meals prepared, served, and cleaned up afterwards. I won’t miss the sense of vertigo as I walked the long hallways when the ship was rocking ever-so-slightly – no problems with motion sickness, but feeling the floor rise and fall underfoot while trying to negotiate a narrow corridor full of stewards’ carts, well, that did set me off-balance a few times. Thank goodness for the grab bars along the way.
It’s closing in on 6AM Atlantic Time – one hours away from Eastern. Our cabin faces west, so it’s still dark, but I expect the sky is lighter on the other side of the ship. Once I get this sent off, I’ll get into the cramped little shower stall and prepare for the day. Almost back to real life.
