January 17. Dead in the Water or Up the River without a paddle
It was a restful day at sea until 2 pm when Alan and I participated in the Escape from the Piranha Equator Swim. Along with about 30 other passengers we joined Thom the cruise director to “plunge” into the Lido pool and dodge piranhas. Thom, all decked out in his dinner jacket, vest, formal shirt, bow tie, long black socks and Bermuda shorts poured a glass of symbolic brown river water into the pool and tossed in a few plastic tropical fish. He waded in followed by his flock, more sensibly dressed in bathing suits.
It was a restful day at sea until 2 pm when Alan and I participated in the Escape from the Piranha Equator Swim. Along with about 30 other passengers we joined Thom the cruise director to “plunge” into the Lido pool and dodge piranhas. Thom, all decked out in his dinner jacket, vest, formal shirt, bow tie, long black socks and Bermuda shorts poured a glass of symbolic brown river water into the pool and tossed in a few plastic tropical fish. He waded in followed by his flock, more sensibly dressed in bathing suits.
Much to our surprise the pool was not very deep (and it’s not very big)and I was just able to stand on tiptoes with my mouth above water. By the time another 25 or 30 people were in I was almost over my head. I guess the theory about displacement is true.
We skipped dinner in the Fontaine Dining room as we wanted to see the movie, a delightful film call Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day (don’t miss it), AND the evening’s entertainment, the “Incredible Magic of Marc Oberon“.
The magician was very good and even with him projected onto two large movie screens we couldn’t figure out how he did his tricks. About halfway through the show his mike failed. That was corrected. Then most of the lights went out. The cruise director came to the stage and told a couple of jokes. The lights came on.
The magician did a couple more jokes. The lights went out. Thom told a couple more stories and explained that there was a power failure (we had figured that out) and things would be restored soon. The poor magician tried to do a couple of tricks by flashlight. Not successful.
Most of the audience stayed put but I wandered out into the foyer. There was plenty of light from the emergency lights so I went down to the cabin for a flashlight ----just in case. Of course there was total darkness in the cabin but with the door open the hall light enabled me to find the flashlight.
On the way back to the upper decks I passed a woman in the hall in a jacket and woolen
hat clutching a small bag containing her passport and whatever else she felt she would need. She said she was sure we wouldn’t have to abandon ship but she wanted to be ready “just in case.”
Out on the deck and in the lounges (lit by the table candles) there was almost a party atmosphere. The river was calm, the temperature hot but there was a nice breeze and no one I talked to felt in any danger at all (except the woman in her winter hat). The biggest problem we had was the lack of air conditioning and running water. (About 3 in the morning the toilet flushed itself.)
The Captain and the crew handled the situation extremely well. Several times the Captain came on the PA system and explained what had happened and what they were doing. Crew members were stationed in the stairways handing out green glow sticks and giving explanations.
After some time had passed the anchor was dropped. We could see a few lights in the distance which the captain told us were fishing boats. I wonder what the fishermen thought of the darkened ship with little green lights bobbing all over it. We were also assured had all navigational lights were working.
Sometime after midnight I went to our cabin (Alan had been there since he left the show) and with the aid of my glow stick got ready for bed. Just about then on came the lights, up came the anchor, we got underway, and a while later the ac kicked in.
The explanation ---one of the three generators failed and the system overloaded and bled off the other two generators. The water cooling system failed and all power stopped.
The start-up had to be incremental so as not to start the whole failure process again.
Or something like that. In any event, it made for a more interesting night, we were never in any danger or discomfort (except for being a little warmer than usual) and we learned that Captain Gundersen and his crew are up to the challenge.
And speaking of the Captain-----most captains begin their broadcasts with “this is your Captain, speaking from the bridge.” Our captain often begins with “hello, it’s me again.” With his Norwegian accent we know who it is.
Tomorrow a sea day and the King Neptune crossing the equator ceremony.
We skipped dinner in the Fontaine Dining room as we wanted to see the movie, a delightful film call Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day (don’t miss it), AND the evening’s entertainment, the “Incredible Magic of Marc Oberon“.
The magician was very good and even with him projected onto two large movie screens we couldn’t figure out how he did his tricks. About halfway through the show his mike failed. That was corrected. Then most of the lights went out. The cruise director came to the stage and told a couple of jokes. The lights came on.
The magician did a couple more jokes. The lights went out. Thom told a couple more stories and explained that there was a power failure (we had figured that out) and things would be restored soon. The poor magician tried to do a couple of tricks by flashlight. Not successful.
Most of the audience stayed put but I wandered out into the foyer. There was plenty of light from the emergency lights so I went down to the cabin for a flashlight ----just in case. Of course there was total darkness in the cabin but with the door open the hall light enabled me to find the flashlight.
On the way back to the upper decks I passed a woman in the hall in a jacket and woolen
hat clutching a small bag containing her passport and whatever else she felt she would need. She said she was sure we wouldn’t have to abandon ship but she wanted to be ready “just in case.”
Out on the deck and in the lounges (lit by the table candles) there was almost a party atmosphere. The river was calm, the temperature hot but there was a nice breeze and no one I talked to felt in any danger at all (except the woman in her winter hat). The biggest problem we had was the lack of air conditioning and running water. (About 3 in the morning the toilet flushed itself.)
The Captain and the crew handled the situation extremely well. Several times the Captain came on the PA system and explained what had happened and what they were doing. Crew members were stationed in the stairways handing out green glow sticks and giving explanations.
After some time had passed the anchor was dropped. We could see a few lights in the distance which the captain told us were fishing boats. I wonder what the fishermen thought of the darkened ship with little green lights bobbing all over it. We were also assured had all navigational lights were working.
Sometime after midnight I went to our cabin (Alan had been there since he left the show) and with the aid of my glow stick got ready for bed. Just about then on came the lights, up came the anchor, we got underway, and a while later the ac kicked in.
The explanation ---one of the three generators failed and the system overloaded and bled off the other two generators. The water cooling system failed and all power stopped.
The start-up had to be incremental so as not to start the whole failure process again.
Or something like that. In any event, it made for a more interesting night, we were never in any danger or discomfort (except for being a little warmer than usual) and we learned that Captain Gundersen and his crew are up to the challenge.
And speaking of the Captain-----most captains begin their broadcasts with “this is your Captain, speaking from the bridge.” Our captain often begins with “hello, it’s me again.” With his Norwegian accent we know who it is.
Tomorrow a sea day and the King Neptune crossing the equator ceremony.
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