Intermission as I warm up for the report on Fremantle and Perth

Thursday, 14 February 2013 – Indian Ocean off the western coast of Australia

I thought I'd share some random observations of shipboard life before I compose my short travel report on the last two days during my return visit to Fremantle and Perth. Nothing profound here:  I'll leave that for after we get home in just a couple of weeks.

1.       Sometimes there are some lovely sights that are basically mundane but strikingly beautiful. Note the view from the shoreline of Western Australia and the anchored bulk carrier freighters off Fremantle.

2.       Local travel agents get tours of the ship during port stops in the larger cities. Some of these agents are apparently either not amused or perhaps just board.

3.       However unsophisticated it may be, I find myself taking pictures of local signage that at first read are a bit puzzling.

4.       There are a number of characters on every cruise of this sort, just like real life I suppose. Note one fellow guest who seems not to mind bringing attention to herself. (By the way, she strolled down the pier a good 20 minutes yesterday beyond the "all aboard time" and was accosted by the Security Officer who appeared to reprimanded her as quite of few of us fellow guests watched from the ship. She just laughed at him. A good time was had by all.)

5.       The World Cruisers this year—we're on only 50 days of the much longer once a year itinerary—are an elderly group this year. It's a bit usual to see a handful of folks with walkers and wheelchairs, but it's downright depressing to see so many guests who are nice people whose bodies are failing them. One elderly woman, however, keeps fit by a daily swim but seems to feel the need to use empty water bottles as a flotation device.

6.       Best for last: the Hotel Director arguably possesses the most functional responsibility on a cruise ship. The great majority of the 320 odd crew members report to him. The Captain of course is the ultimate authority, but the Hotel Director has by far the biggest administrative and supervisory task of anyone on board. It's a bit puzzling that despite the gravitas of his job and possessing a most impressive CV, Normal feels occasionally appears on the Bridge Wing in uniform (looking from a distance indistinguishable from the ship's officers, even the captain) waving a gigantic hand, in this case at two Australian jet skiers who just looked terrified.

Much more later when we're safely back in Colorado.