30 May 2007:

Morning:

We are back out on the sea.....and feeling just a little of the motion of the ocean. The seas are running at 2-4 feet, but the wind is cold and brisk...finally....maybe I’ll get a chance to wear one of the jackets I’ve been carrying with me since the beginning of the cruise...while we had heavy overcast at sunrise, the skies have been clearing all morning, but the forecast is for more rain tonight and tomorrow. In spite of the relatively small waves, we are kicking up a large amount of spray from the bow....and so are the other ships along our route.  

I’m happy to have a sea-day to rest, but the joy of having a day of sloth is tempered by finding our disembarkation information in the mailbox. We still have two more days on the ship, but now we know that the voyage is almost over....and later today I will have to begin the task of packing for disembarkation.

The Star Princess has sailed 7677 nautical miles from Fort Lauderdale and we have 364 miles remaining to our next....and last....port call in Oslo. Then it will be a short sail to Copenhagen and the end of the cruise. 

....As folks on the email list may have noticed the Wireless Internet came back up after being down the last 4 times I tried to use it....so I tried to unload all the emails that I hadn’t been able to send recently....

I am faced with a dilemma. After so many port calls and chances to re-stock the liquor cabinet, I have not managed my resources properly and I find myself with an excess of liquor and wine. I will be over my allowed limit to bring back into the U.S. and I don’t have enough time to drink it all the excess....I know some of you will find that hard to believe, but it’s true. So something must be sacrificed. Will it be the good scotch, the Jack Daniels, the Burmester Tawny Port or the 2 bottles of French wine that I was so proud of.....decisions, decisions!!

Afternoon:

I have done as much packing as I can this far in advance; I will have to wait until tomorrow evening to finish and make the final decisions. This is the second hardest part of a cruise...knowing that it is nearly over and having to get your mind in gear for the return to the real world. The hardest part, of course, is actually getting off the ship and re-entering the real world....a world where there are no cabin-stewards to take care of you or porters to carry your bags.

Tonight is the final formal night of the cruise, so after being missing from the dinner table for two days in Russia because of late tours and last night because we went back to Tequila’s Steakhouse, I will have to dust off my small talk and spend the evening with my usual dinner companions.

31 May 2007:

Morning:

As we enter the Oslo harbor under dark grey skies, the rain which has been falling off and on all night, turns itself off again for a while. But even so, it doesn’t look promising for a walking tour of town....which is the plan for the day.

Afternoon:

My umbrella recovered its magic powers and by carrying it I managed to hold off the rain. The walk through Oslo was very pleasant on this cool, cloudy day....much nicer than the crowded bus tour from 10 days ago.

My only real disappointment with the cruise so far has been the loss of the gym on the last day of the transatlantic cruise. Not being able to punish myself for my excesses in food and drink has left me feeling sluggish and caused me to begin using an extra notch on my belt. I suspect that I will require much pain, deprivation and suffering once I’m home to recover from this trip.

The Star Princess is back on the Baltic Sea enroute to Copenhagen, its position is 59 degrees, 18.36 minutes North, 10 degrees, 36.37 minutes East, having sailed 8066 nautical miles from Fort Lauderdale and with 243 miles remaining on this voyage.

Our disembarkation instructions for tomorrow morning say that we have to be ready to go ashore by 6:15am....so tomorrow will be yet another early day.....and a very long one since we will be traveling for nearly 22 hours to get home.....so this will be a short and final posting from the Star Princess....unless something really interesting or really disastrous occurs. I’ll try to clean up the website and add some final notes once I’m home and rested.

Note to Madeline T, who sent me the email....I responded to your email, but I received a “Delivery Failure Notification” message back so I don’t know if you got my reply.