Also common to making a good landing in an airplane was the way that the boats had to respond to ever changing (one could almost say “fluid”) conditions. And, much like landing an airplane, there is no right way or wrong way. After a couple of hours of observing, I could see that different skippers used varying techniques. Seeing how they maneuvered with a combination of rudder and throttle inputs to the twin engines was fascinating. If that's not bad enough, I spent a couple of hours one afternoon drinking cold champagne on our veranda and watching the ship-to-shore tenders approach the ship and get in position to drop off passengers and take on another set. The lifeboats are pretty complex in their own right and I had been struggling with figuring out how the davits would move the lifeboat outboard of the ship and lower it to the water.

One of the highlights of the entire trip was when I happened to see some of the crew members testing one of the lifeboat davits. While she spent the week soaking in the scenery, luxuriating in the nearly unlimited high quality food, and shopping in the ports of call, I spent my time observing the operation of the very complex ship. Imagine my surprise when I discovered that those humongous cruise liners are, at the end of the day, really just big boats. How, I ask you, could I compete with that?įor some reason,probably having to do with my desire to buy an expensive electronic gadget for the airplane, the idea came upon me to finally break down and take her on a cruise for our anniversary. The competing vision, that of my spouse, was comprised of dreams of lazing about in a recliner and being served cold drinks by svelte, attractive Jamaican men. My vision of an acceptable cruise was something like the now defunct Windjammer lines where a small-ish number of passengers embarked on a sailing yacht to spend a week puttering about in warm Caribbean waters, and those that wanted to could take a turn at the helm or hoisting sails. For some reason I didn't mentally or emotionally equate a cruise liner with being a boat I viewed it more like a hotel laid on its side and set adrift on an ocean. For as long as I can remember, my wife has wanted me to take her on a cruise.

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