Yo ho! Yo Ho! A Pirate's Life for Me!

I know it’s been a while since I wrote, but there hasn’t been too terribly much to tell.  I will get you all up to date, though.  After Petra the ship returned to Egypt to the port of Safaga where the guests were touring to Luxor and the Valley of the Kings.  The crew had organized the third and final crew tour that day, but there were complications.  It seems the Safaga Port Authority really screwed up and took forever to clear all of the crew passports for our tour.  As we waited and waited, we finally had to cancel the tour because with the travel inland and everything we would have no time in the port.  This was a big bummer especially for those poor crew members who were only going to be able to get off the ship in this particular port by special permission, etc.

Instead we took the shuttle bus in to a resort that had a really big pool spread out along the coastline with some beach, a swim-up bar, restaurants, etc.  We just spent the day soaking in the 100+ degree heat and awaiting our departure from the frustrating, hoop-jumping, haggling, dirty Egypt.  We had just about had enough.  That night we also had a special event called “Sheik, Rattle, and Roll” where we were dressed in Sheik-inspired outfits and performed 50’s and 60’s music on the pool deck.  It was actually really cute and we tried to have fun with the whole thing. 

Finally we sailed away from Egypt and had basically 4 sea days until we would port again in Salalah, Oman.  This was where things starting getting interesting.  Donna Hampton has certainly been concerned because the past 24-28 hours we have been passing through the Gulf of Aden, off the coast of Somalia, also known for the recent pirate attacks in the past year or so.  Now- we have been fully briefed and prepared and I have felt 100% safe on board the ship, but of course we have to be prepared for anything.

The ship has had Israeli guards on board for the past few days that are here specifically to protect the ship.  Also our ship is certainly not a target for the pirates and we travel too fast for them to even have any way to attack us.  We also have taken other safety measures like closing off some of the open decks, shutting off certain outside lighting, we have had ship escorts around us from various countries, and even had a couple helicopters circling today as we cleared the more dangerous area.  Everything has gone very smoothly and I am glad to report that there is nothing to report!  Donna- breathe. 

We did have some fun yesterday, however, by making light of the situation and sort of giving everyone permission to be distracted and laugh at our own fears.  We did a Pirate Treasure Hunt on board!  Ha ha!  It was actually really cute.  It was a big scavenger hunt where guests broke into teams and had to complete pirate-themed tasks in order to get “skull points” and win a small prize.  Of course guests were more than ready to get into full competition mode and all the entertainment staff were ready to play, too!  We were each in charge of a different station.  I was decked out in full bandana-clad, tattooed, eye patch-wearing, blacked-out-tooth, scruff-covered glory!  Ha!  It was really fun and definitely got our minds off everything happening that day. 

Anyway- I can’t believe I haven’t gone insane having 4 days at sea like this, but I have been keeping busy preparing my cabaret for next cruise.  (It’s a one man show with me on the piano called, “Boy with Dreams.”  Look for details and hopefully recordings in the next couple weeks!)  I have also had fun eating in Compass Rose almost every night and watching guest entertainers perform.  One lady performing on board right now is Giselle Summers and her show the other night was a tribute to Barbara Streisand and she BLEW ME AWAY!  If you closed your eyes you would absolutely believe she was Babs herself.  (I couldn’t help but get a little sentimental thinking of Dad crying listening to “The Way We Were” during her rendition.  Ha ha!)  My last saving grace to stay busy has been 2 Arabic channels that have been showing on our tv while sailing through the Red Sea.  They play English movies with Arabic subtitles and I couldn’t be any more thrilled!  It’s the little things.  So…that’s my life right now.  Not too much to report, but I will be glad to head to a port tomorrow after a long break!  Hope you are all doing well and the crisp autumn air is making you feel more alive everyday.  Enjoy it!

Tripp