At 0500 it seems that I am the only passenger up and about. First stopping for a latte courtesy of the WMF machine on Deck 4 – I wind up taking the elevator up to Deck 7 for no other reason than I have a bag over my shoulder and both hands full – one with my latte and the other with tea.
I really appreciate the silence and lack of other passengers. I have gotten to know the night cleaning staff since they seem to be the only ones up and about. Except, of course, for the bridge crew. I decided to make an early morning wander into the bridge. And before you ask – this is one of the interesting things/peculiarities about Windstar. Other than during drills, emergencies, or port entry/exit – the bridge is open to passenger visitors. Just part of the cruise – no additional charge.
So this morning I wandered down a flight to Deck 6 and forward to the bridge. From my cabin it is forward then the “display corridor” to the outside. Take a right and the bridge is directly in front of you. It is huge. Seriously, it is larger than any of the bridges I have seen on 2k-5k passenger ships. At night it is dark, lit only by computer screens. The lovely young officer on this shift attended on of the maritime academies in the UK. They spent about a month learning and familiarizing themselves with the new set up and equipment before even leaving the dock. Later in the day, stopping back and meeting a new shift, the officer on duty had previously served on freighters. He reported that unlike “the old days” many of the larger ports are almost completely automated. The end result is faster turn-arounds which is good for the shipping line and really hard on the crew. We also chatted about the “old days” where there was one satellite phone available for the crew – 5 minutes each once a week with a hard cut off. But perhaps the best improvement? Other than comms? A really good coffee machine on the bridge.
Thinking about just the changes in the last 15 years, with acceptable to decent to good communication at sea just about anywhere in the world everything has changed. Navigation has changed, tracking ships has changed (if you want to see how dense shipping traffic is – just go look at MarineTracker or one of the dozen or so of other websites and apps.) Then go listen/read Simon Winchester’s most recent book – Breath of the Gods.
Other than that – it was another lovely day at sea. It is our last day (and 0200 was our last time zone change). I am counting this as the last sea day since we dock late in the afternoon tomorrow in Freeport.
I went to Bamboo & Basil for dinner (second visit) and tried the new menu. Not as good as the first as far as I am concerned. When eating by myself, I really appreciate peace and quiet. Didn’t happen as there was another solo traveler at the next table who apparently needed to impress me with all of her travel plans. A bit too much wine on her part might also have been involved.
(OK – those of you who are not interested in cross stitch may quit reading here)
1) I went back and added the Ghosts to “Coffin Bound Coffee.” It was only a couple hundred stitches, but I needed to make sure that the small amount of white wasn’t going to leave me short on my last project.
2) then I finished “The Coffee” out of a pseudo tarot card series
3) So then…. rather than start something new, I hauled out an old UFO I had brought just for such an occasion (four finishes on one cruise is reasonable right?).
Seasonal Skies was a 2021 (I think) SAL from ShipsManor . I checked their website and don’t see it. Last time I even looked at it was probably 2024. The SAL portion? No problem. I stitched the 12 parts as they came out. The frame? Many colors in picky pattern., which is why it has been languishing. I finished about ½ of what was left and will complete what I can tomorrow. I ran out of two colors …..
