"Welcome Home..."

We have been back on the ship for just over a week now.   This was our Welcome Home to the ship. It really felt like we were returning home after being in exile!  What a wonderful welcome!!

Flags of all the countries were on display from Deck 7...as well as balloons on the gangway...

Thanks for making us feel so welcome and special!!

The rest of the week has been a crazy and intense!  As we prepare to sail, sometime in the future, there are so many things that have to happen.  This last week several times, over the overhead public address system, you would hear:  "All available crew to deck 3 to help unload supplies."

 Now, these supplies were not just one or two boxes, we were unloading 6-10 pallets of boxes or delivery truck loads...mostly food and ship shop supplies that would last us the next few months. 

How is this done?  The truck park on the dock at the aft gangway.  A human chain begins to form...the chain continues through the pilots entrance rounding the corner, down the hall, down the stairs to deck 2, down the hall and into the frozen storage area (about 50 or 60 people).  Or one person takes a load of boxes (ie: chocolate bars) carries them down the hall to the left, up 48 stairs, and then walk 1/2 the ship length about 65 steps to the fridge in the galley....back down the stairs and repeat.

Needless to say we all slept very well at night and had a few achy muscles in the morning.

AAHHHH...ship life.....