Day 15 of our cruise aboard Diamond Princess was the last one and, like the day before, we spent it at sea. Sea days are always relaxing but the final day of any cruise is always touched by the sad acceptance that your time travelling at sea is coming to an end. There’s usually a little bit of a different feel among the passengers and you find yourself sighing a lot and saying “I don’t wanna go home” and “We really must find a good stowaway-friendly spot on the ship” to your other half. Well, we do.
We had no big plans for the day other than to leave packing as late as possible because all the while your clothes are still in the wardrobe you’re still on holiday and they can’t remove you from your room. Old maritime law. One thing we had discovered, though, was that through a combination of the ESPN channel that was available in the state rooms and the time difference between where we were on our approach to Japan and the east coast of the USA we would be able to watch the Patriots taking on the Bills first thing in the morning. With me being a Patriots fan this was something I couldn’t really miss so with breakfast out of the way we settled into our room ready to watch some football. I know the rest of the world and I shouldn’t call it football but you pick up American terms when you’re a fan of American sports. Same applies when you’re a software developer; we all spell colour color in our heads. We even say it that way. You can’t tell but we know we’re saying it without the ‘u’.
The game wasn’t long underway before there was a shipwide and in-cabin announcement from the captain. In-cabin announcements are rare and are for important things. The captain announced that two passengers had been taken seriously ill in the early hours of the morning and required an air evacuation by helicopter. However, the Japanese Coast Guard helicopter had turned up an hour ahead of when it said it would which had thrown a spanner in the works as far as Diamond Princess was concerned because the passengers weren’t ready to be moved and the top decks had not been cleared of people, something necessary for any ship that wants to keep its Days Since Helicopter Rotors Sent Passengers Flying Overboard figure as high as possible. While that activity was taking place as quickly as possible and while the ship was being turned to make it easier for the coast guard to gain access we were treated to the helicopter circling, looping out, and making close overflies for the best part of half an hour. For me, then, it became a task of ducking out onto the balcony to see if there was anything to see (naturally nosey, me) and ducking back into the room to make sure I didn’t miss any of the football action. It was the most exercise I got during the cruise.
This was the second time we’d been on a cruise and had a helicopter airlift for passengers take place, the only previous time being earlier that same year aboard Sapphire Princess. As with that occasion the main action seemed to be visible only from the port side of the ship. We tend to cruise on the starboard side out of habit so for us there was plenty of sound of spinning rotor blades from above and occasional signs of things getting battered by the downdraught of the helicopter but that was all. Eventually, the pitch of the helicopter sound changed and it became clear it had flown towards land as the noise died off, the ship started turning back to its original course, and there then followed the announcement thanking everyone for their patience during the matter. We hope the passengers involved were okay.
With that unexpected activity complete and a victory for the Patriots viewed we grabbed some lunch then went for a nose around the ship to find a spot to read and see if there was anything going on. This was early afternoon and it was time for the Egg Drop Challenge for those who had signed up for the event. In case you’re unaware or can’t guess, this challenge involves constructing something that will protect an egg dropped from the top of the piazza with the winner being the person closest to the centre mark. As with most other activities on the ship this was popular with the Japanese contingent of passengers and mostly ignored by the rest of us; so many Japanese passengers took part, in fact, that they had to drop in pairs in order to get through the challenge before dinner. If you ever find yourself working for a company that does one of those utterly humiliating and dreadful team-building events involving you making things like bridges out of spaghetti or towers out of straw or a sensible business plan out of tears then try to sit next to any Japanese fellow-employees if possible because what they appear to lack in construction ability they more than make up for in will-do-all-the-work-so-you-don’t-have-to ability which is key to your success in any large organisation.
The last sea day was a busy one for the piazza on Diamond Princess. Not too long after the entertaining egg drop challenge had completed and the floor area had been cleared of any residual egg shells and yolks from the less successful uncontrolled landings a large group of passengers who had been learning different dances from around the world during the cruise gathered to show off their moves in the Festivals Of The World performance. Your challenge is to guess what festival and culture is being represented in the video below and if you guess correctly then you’ve done better than me because I still don’t know.
The early evening then saw the piazza transformed for the late night balloon drop. This is something we’ve never attended on any cruise because it’s always been rammed with people, we just haven’t felt the urge to stake out a decent viewing location early enough for the farewell party, and the timing always seems to clash with a bar somewhere else on the ship serving us a drink. One day we’ll see one, I’m sure.
We headed to the Elite Lounge in Skywalkers for some nibbles and cocktails and final sunset views over the ocean from the aft of Diamond Princess. It was a stunningly beautiful sight with which to end the cruise. These are the views for which we cruise.
Our final evening meal was interrupted as per tradition by the Baked Alaska Parade which naturally meant that Baked Alaska was the last dessert we ate aboard the ship.
We finished the night off with a cocktail in Crooners and another one in Skywalkers for some final disco music to round the cruise off in traditional style. In the morning we would be in Yokohama from where we’d started the cruise and several hours later we would be flying back home. Boo and, indeed, hiss.