As reported on the socials, I had planned a morning at the ANA Intercontinental beach club in Ishigaki, but the tsunami alert following the Philippine earthquake put the kibosh on that. It was a stunning day and 30 of us were looking forward to swimming in the ocean and snorkelling off Maesato Beach. 

We had gone through immigration and were sitting expectedly on our bus when the tsunami alert came through. The local authorities cancelled all tours so it was back to the ship where the Captain and marine team were busy preparing the ship for a quick departure to the open sea where the tsunami wouldn’t harm us… but not until Shorex had retrieved the other passengers who had started their tour. 

Combined with the typhoon at the start, we lost three days of our itinerary. Sure it was disappointing but we were relaxed and accepting of the situation. What can you do?

We nonetheless had an excellent day. Jennie and I had pre-existing spa appointments but that left six hours to socialise, rest and… pack. I was relieved because my cabin by day 9 looked like the typhoon had entered it. It was a disgraceful mess and I needed to pack carefully so I could enjoy the next stage of our adventure and not be opening every suitcase to find things. So one carry-on bag for the two days in Hong Kong, another carry-on for the clothes to take to Judy the tailor, and the two large bags for home. But the day decided otherwise and I ended up only getting the small bag for Judy finished, and half of that had been done in Australia before I left. I am giggling as I write this.

After sitting out at sea while the tsunami passed, we then had to return to Ishigaki to complete our departure formalities, announced while we were ensconced at the spa. This involved everyone stepping off the ship to have our passports stamped. Much comedy about that. 

The usual Farewell Gala show and dinner was top-notch; it’s great to see the non-officer crew members parade our farewell in the theatre. Best of all, the Captain told us about our overnight cruise to Keelung: 2-3 metre waves, side on (best angle) and 30 knots for most of the way. Jennie and I were ecstatic as most of the cruise had been too calm for us, well I mean the sea not our lives.

Downstairs to dinner with the Captain, Madame Commodore Jennie on his left, and Grand Admiral Naomi on his right. The four other guests included Nadege, a lovely retired French engineer (who I pictured earlier in the week on the first gala night), and David, a Swiss finance lawyer and part-time judge. And to our huge delight, Keith and Randy, who we adore, so it made our night to have this extra time together. The travel ambassador Cyrielle completed the table, as it is also her job to manage the Captain! It was a throughly pleasant evening, and I am sure I managed to change the Captain’s opinion of me (after he had heard about various hijinks the night before). We are friends again.

Meanwhile, unbeknownst to me, Jennie has been updating her darling husband on all my shenanigans, and he wrote a poem about me. See below.

After dinner we were entertained by the gorgeous Francesco and Anna, while saying goodbye to our new friends. I will return to Le Soleal in seven weeks when she sails Broome to Fremantle via all the reefs, and many of the crew will be the same, including José so we will get the chance to perform again! 

In my cabin by 11, music volume down. It’s time to pack.

j