Sea Days

 Sea Dates, March 13, 14, 15, 2024


March 13, 2024


A bittersweet day. The van der Hoevens are headed home in a few days.  Alexandra and I planned a get together.  Leon and Jan were so kind to host in their suite. Oh, what a night! Apps, alcohol, snake whiskey, toasts, drinking, gifts, drinking, DANCING, and singing in three languages!. 

We will miss them so much!


                                                            Jan and Leon's sumptuous suite!

    
                                    
                                                           
                                                             Snake Whiskey from Japan!




    
            
                                                        Monica, Monika, Tom, Lydia

    

                                                           Hosts with the Most - Leon and Jan

    
        
                                                                        Jim and Doug


    
          
                                                 Captain Frank, Alexandra, Arlene, and Kevin






    
                                                                              Karen



    
                                                                    Our Dancing Stars!
                                                                    Doug and Elizabeth


    
                                            
                                                          Goodbye, our friends, our leader!



March 14, 2024

I finally saw the art work of Thomas's  grandfather. 

Formal night.

The officers performed a special dance, Alexandra had told us not to miss it.


                                                     Thomas's Grandfather's art work on Lido.
                                                     His grandfather and father are both artists.




                                                                            Formal Night
                                                                            Val and Vee




    
                                                                
                                                                        Crow's Nest
                                             The Officers performed an 18th Century dance for us!
                                                                 They were excellent.
                                                                
                                                            
    
                                                                                        and Bernie

    
                                                            
                                                                   Alexandra and Frank







    
                                                        
                                                     Cathy, Monica, Karen, Gail, Arlene


    
                                                 
                                                                     Jim, Tom, Kevin





    
                                            
                                                              Rolling Stone Lounge    



    
                                                                 Penny and Jim



    
                                    
                                                                Another performance.








March 15. 2024

A lecture on Asian Street food.

A heartfelt goodbye from the all the passengers to Captain Frank and Alexandra.

Our first time to hear Tian Jiang piano performance.  He is a virtuoso pianist who has been profiled on CBS "Sunday Morning " Show. He was a student and teacher at Julliard's (labeled Julie's Yard by Kaitlin as a young child). He has played Carnegie Hall many times and toured the world!





    
                            
                                                

                                              All of us say goodbye!  Kimberly hosted the event.


    
    
                                                                His faithful sidekick, Henk.




    
                                                    Alexandra dances on last time!

    
                                                        
                                                                Tian Jiang - a virtuoso!






Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Sea Date May 10, 2024, Our Last Day

Image
 Sea Date, May 10, 2024  Our LAST Sea Day I toured the ship early in the morning to say goodbye.  It seems so strange to be leaving. Lots of Goodbyes. Farewell from the crew on the Main Stage. Last lunch. Our Goodbye Party. Bounce Reveal. Captain Frank's Goodbye Video. Karen and Monica's hysterical photo and video montage. Award ceremony.   Last No Bounce gathering at Seaview. Many tearful goodbyes. You really become family!                                                                                             Rangga                                                      ...
Read more

Sea Date, May 11, 2024 THE END

Image
 Sea Date May 11, 2024 O, what a once in a lifetime, around the whole world adventure! Departure Day Good morning Ft Lauderdale - 128 days, 38,000 nautical miles around the world, 44 ports and 24 countries !  What a trip 😎 (Thanks, Elizabeth. ) Port of Fort Lauderdale.  So many goodbyes. Arlene and Pierce couldn't fit her collection into the 2 seater. He left her and 3 bags, drove the one hour home.  Unpacked,  then returned for her. Hopefully,  home and rearranging her museum. Lots of shoving suitcases into our rented SUV. Last lunch with Kevin and Monica Bruning Bradlee on 5th Avenue. Dolce and Salato. Sunset on the home balcony. Cloud cover.                                                            So long to our supercalifragilistic crew!
Read more

Naha, Okinawa, Japan

Image
 Sea Date February 25, 2024 Day 2 Our tour concentrated on the Ryukyu Kingdom, the Imperial rulers prior to Japanese control. The Ryukyu Kingdom was a kingdom in the Ryukyu Islands from 1429 to 1879. It was ruled as a tributary state of imperial Ming China by the Ryukyuan rulers and treated as a vassal state of Japan at times.  They were the trading intermediaries between China and Japan . In 1879,Japan sent a military unit and annexed Ryukyu. Suiko, our talented, kind tour guide was back with us. It was a gray day with an off and on drizzle but still pleasant for touring.  We started at Syuri Castle Park.  It is the most famous landmark in Naha.  The G8 Summit that President Clinton attended held a large banquet here. It was the castle for the Imperial rulers of the Ryukyu kingdom.  Unfortunately, most of it was bombed in 1945, rebuilt and then burned in 2019.  The government is in the process of rebuilding trying to use authentic material and...
Read more