=DF wrote:
> Thanks Nonnymus for that amazing story.
> You are absolutely #ucking hilarious.................../"MS Salivation"=
/
> //=20
> B.
>=20
Thanks, Beta. . . or may I just call you B? Cruising is=20
about people and having fun, so I break the rules=20
occasionally and post one of my tales. It's all in fun.=20
R.T.C. reflects this with camaraderie and friendships that=20
go past the keyboard to real people. Over the years, Mrs.=20
Nonnymus and I have met a good number of r.t.c. folks and=20
have forged some wonderful friendships. The GGC's are a good=20
example of how people can "ease into" meeting many of the=20
r.t.c. folks without the worry of being trapped in a=20
situation that is uncomfortable. GGC participants can come=20
and go as they please and if they meet couples or=20
individuals they enjoy being around, can spend time with=20
them. If they don't feel comfortable with someone, there=20
are many other people and places to be.
Nonnymus
> =20
> "Nonnymus" > wrote in message=20
> news:cJJ7g.175943$bm6.1635@fed1read04...
> =DF wrote:
> > Have you lost your mind ?
> > Or are you nuckin' futs ?
> >
> > Why in the world would anyone sail on a freighter ?
> > Can't even imagine the service from the white gloved concierge !
> >
> > B.
> >
> B.- Mrs. Nonnymus and I mistakenly took a cruise on a Tuna
> boat, thinking it was the MS Celebration, last year. While
> there was a bit of a need to adapt to a Tuna boat instead of
> the cruise ship, we had a great time. I am reposting our
> experience in the hope that you can expand your horizons and
> include freighter and Tuna boat cruises in your vacation plans.
>=20
> Nonnymus
>=20
>=20
> My wife and I recently returned from an Alaskan cruise that
> turned out to be somewhat different from what we expected. I
> accept some of the responsibility for not having opened my
> confirmation or ticketing information that out travel agent
> sent. However, I still place a good deal of weight for the
> mistake on the agent.
>=20
> When we called the agent, we requested that he make
> reservations for the MS CELEBRATION, out of Vancouver. When
> we got to the pier and began filling out our forms, we
> discovered that he'd made reservations on the MS Salivation-
> a 93' tuna boat. It was quite a shock when we had to take
> yet another taxi from Canada Place and go to the fishing
> pier instead.
>=20
> The MS Salivation was tied up to the dock, taking on bait
> when we arrived. The wife was first to board. Since the
> ship had no gangway, they tied a rope under her arms and
> hoisted her aboard. It was windy that day, and the breeze
> let everyone see her bloomers. It was embarrassing for her,
> but she got to quickly know the crew, at least. I rode on a
> bait box onto the deck and we were shown to our stateroom by
> one of the engine crew. The Salivation only has one
> stateroom for guests, and it's located between the fish hold
> and engine room. Since the hold is iced down to reduce tuna
> spoilage, and the engine room is approximately 185f degrees
> during operation, the stateroom's temperature ranges from
> one wall being approximately 25f to the other being 185f. We
> found this very convenient during the few times we were
> permitted to sleep, since by choosing which hooks to place
> our hammocks on, we could adjust our temperatures accordingly.
>=20
> We were pleased to find that our travel agent had supplied
> us with a complimentary bottle of his favorite wine-
> Thunderbird Red and a delicious plate of Tuna and bread,
> with onion. He tells us that it's a favorite appetizer in
> Pennsylvania. The choice of wine was enhanced by its
> aluminum screw cap, since our traveling corkscrew had been
> confiscated from our luggage by TSA out of concern we might
> hijack a ship with it.
>=20
> Departure from the pier was scheduled to be at 3:00p, but
> our captain was still drunk from the previous evening and
> didn't arrive at the boat until Noon. I found it necessary
> to help out the crew in loading in ice and bait so we could
> depart before sunset, at least. This is a great time to
> leave Vancouver, since the winds are traditionally out of
> the West and pick up before sunset. This, coupled with the
> boat's speed and direction helps to blow away the smell of
> the slightly spoiled squid, used as tuna bait by the vessel
> during its week long excursion.
>=20
> As previously mentioned, our stateroom was located directly
> below the main deck, between the fish storage hold and the
> engine room. Access was by a straight ladder, carefully
> placed in the storage hold and tied off to a metal beam. The
> stateroom was decoratively painted in a dark brown color,
> which we later discovered was called "rust" by the crew.
> Besides a folding chair and card table, we had two
> generously sized hammocks, one blanket and a bath robe
> bearing the Holiday Inn logo. I inquired about towels and
> was told that since there were no shower or bath facilities
> aboard the vessel, they were not needed.
>=20
> The only complaint we had about the stateroom, was that
> lighting was quite poor. There were no windows, so all we
> had was a 15 watt bulb hanging from the ceiling. I brought
> this to the attention of our steward (who also was the
> primary hook baiter when fishing) and he replaced it with a
> more generous 60 watt bulb. He explained that the stateroom
> we had was primarily used for squid bait storage, so a
> larger bulb wasn't necessary. However, since our travel
> agent had booked it for our Alaskan excursion, they were
> storing the squid on deck in 55 gallon barrels for this
> trip. That also explained the salty, nautical "air" we had
> noticed in the stateroom upon arrival.
>=20
> Dinner that evening was on deck, and quite festive. The
> crew had placed a sheet of plywood over two squid barrels,
> covered it with a checkered oilcloth and it became our
> table. . . table #1, in fact. Dinner consisted of Tuna,
> Wonder Bread and catsup. Because of our political beliefs,
> the crew removed the Heinz catsup at our request and
> replaced it with Hunt's, which we now prefer. My wife had
> her tuna blackened, while I had mine fried. Other choices
> were boiled, braised, breaded, raw, grilled, baked and
> roast. The bread and catsup were excellent accompaniments
> and the loaf of bread was sealed tightly between meals to
> prevent salt spray from softening it.
>=20
> Sleep the first night was a bit difficult, since the 93'
> boat encountered 85' waves. The hammocks were both a
> godsend and problem. The best part was that they permitted
> us to sway side-to-side as the boat rolled, and they could
> be adjusted toward the hot or cold stateroom walls for
> temperature control. The downside was that they were placed
> 9' above the cabin floor, up toward the ceiling and we were
> continually pounded against the ceiling as the boat pitched
> and rolled in the 85' waves. During the night, I climbed up
> out of the fish storage hold and requested some additional
> rope to permit them to be lowered. The captain had sobered
> up some, and told me that the only rope on a ship was the
> rope for the ship's bell. Other than that, it was called a
> LINE. I then requested about 30' of LINE and was handed an
> entire skein of clothes line. That really helped to reduce
> the number of times we were banged against the ceiling and
> made climbing into our hammocks much easier, since they were
> closer to the stateroom's floor.
>=20
> I mentioned that the ship had no shower or bathing
> facilities. Our stateroom DID come equipped for our
> personal needs, however. Over in the corner was a 5 gallon
> drywall bucket, on which the ship's engineer had placed a
> toilet seat. It was quite convenient and could be scooted
> around to either the hot or cold wall for more comfort when
> in use. A few nights into our cruise, we did request that
> it be emptied on a daily basis, since it had a tendency to
> turn over during several of the storms we encountered. There
> was also a slight learning curve to using it, since the seat
> had a tendency to slide off- much to the distress of my wife.
>=20
> It was great being able to access both the engine
> compartment and bridge during the cruise. The captain had a
> bit of a drinking problem and after Happy Hour, which began
> about 1:00p, he would permit and even encourage anyone to
> take the helm. The Chief Engineer was a large gent named
> Mordo, who never seemed to leave the engine compartment. I
> asked the captain about this and was told that Mordo had his
> own hammock and 5 gallon bucket down below, and preferred
> the warm temperature and scents of his beloved engine
> compartment to the spray and breeze of above deck. Mordo
> was also concerned about several arrest warrants, and feared
> being spotted if he was on deck. It worked out well for the
> ship, since the crew would merely toss down some Tuna for
> Mordo to eat and occasionally haul his 5 gallon bucket out
> for dumping overboard in the Alaskan waters. My wife and I
> were offered a tour of the engine room, but respectfully
> declined.
>=20
> Since this was a Tuna boat, the entire 7-day Alaskan cruise
> had no ports of call. We were "at sea" the entire time. At
> first we had some concern about why this was called an
> Alaskan cruise, but the captain explained that we would be
> presented with a wooden train whistle that said, "Skagway
> Alaska," a polyester tee shirt saying, "Juneau Alaska" and a
> surprise Taiwan-made trinket bearing the Ketchikan moniker
> when we completed the cruise. We considered this, and felt
> that it adequately conveyed the Alaskan experience well
> enough that we were satisfied.
>=20
> During our days at sea, the captain hosted a daily contest
> called "Who can bait the most hooks?" We were placed on
> folding chairs on deck with a 55 gallon drum of warm squid
> beside us. At the count of 3, we began baiting hooks with
> the squid and after 8 hours, the person who had baited the
> most hooks won a prize. During the first three days of the
> cruise, I easily won. However, as the squid "softened" in
> the warm barrels, my wife's greater dexterity prevailed and
> she began winning. She also reported that the combination
> of "squid squeezings" and squid water from the barrels did
> wonders for her hands. The MS Salivation had no spa, so
> this was their substitute for Steiner's. It also saved us
> quite a bit of money that would have ordinarily been spent
> at another ship's spa.
>=20
> Meals aboard the Salivation were generally informal, with
> only one formal evening. Breakfast consisted of Tuna, bread
> and catsup (Hunt's). Lunch was Tuna, bread and catsup
> (Hunt's). Dinner was at 5:00p sharp, immediately following
> the hook baiting contest, and consisted of Tuna, bread and
> catsup (Hunt's). There was one exception to this, however,
> During the first breakfast of the cruise, we were offered
> the choice of Tuna, bread and catsup (Hunt') or Calamari,
> bread and catsup (Hunt's), Since the squid was not chilled,
> it would have not been a good idea to have selected Calamari
> following the first day of the cruise.
>=20
> As previously mentioned, meals were served on deck at our
> squid barrel and plywood table. During formal night, the
> captain joined us on deck and we found our tablecloth had
> changed magically to a barely soiled furniture pad cleverly
> labeled, "North American Van Lines." This was quite nice
> and when soaked with spray, prevented the paper plates from
> scooting around as the ship pitched and rolled in the waves.
> The captain had his own beverage, which he drank from a
> hip flask, but he presented us with a second bottle of wine
> from his private stock. Unlike the Thunderbird Red given us
> by our travel agent, this wine had a genuine synthetic CORK.
> We asked that it be chilled, so the steward placed it into
> the Tuna hold for a few minutes. Since the ship had no
> corkscrew, we were forced to break the bottle's neck off. We
> filtered the wine through our steward's a tee shirt, and it
> was delicious- having a salty, fishy flavor.
>=20
> Dinner that evening consisted of Tuna, bread and catsup
> (Hunt's), which was served by our steward. For formal
> night, he washed both his good hand and the one with only a
> thumb on it, and also changed into a fresh tee shirt and
> boxer shorts.
>=20
> Our Alaskan Cruise's success was naturally measured in part
> by the number of Tuna caught. In the 7 days we were aboard
> the MS Salivation, over 1500 tuna were hooked, brought
> aboard and gutted. We were offered a choice of whether we
> wished to participate in the Hook Baiting contest or its
> Tuna Gutting alternative, but both chose the Hook Baiting
> for its simplicity. It was a vacation, you understand. I
> have to admit that by the time we finished our cruise that
> we would have become quite handy with the gutting knife.
> However, the prize for winning a gutting contest was that we
> could keep the knife, and we realized that despite its
> sentimental value, TSA would confiscate it at the airport.
>=20
> Our ship returned to the fish dock in Vancouver at 1:00a,
> but we could not disembark until the Tuna had been off
> loaded. This was accomplished by 5:00a and we were
> permitted to go ashore. I rode ashore in one of the empty
> squid barrels from the deck. The captain and crew were all
> on deck to wish us well and possibly to see a rerun of my
> wife's bloomers, as she was hoisted ashore. She has a great
> sense of humor and since she realized that they were all
> standing there to see her bloomers, she played a trick on
> them and didn't wear any that morning.
>=20
> In all, our Alaskan Cruise was somewhat different from what
> we had expected aboard a Carnival ship. As mentioned
> earlier, I blame myself as much as the travel agent, since I
> never opened the cruise ticket package until we were at the
> docks. However, we salvaged what we could of our vacation
> and made the most of what we were handed. The MS Salivation
> is a bit small for cruising Alaskan waters with 85' waves,
> and being the only paying passengers aboard the ship has
> both benefit and drawback. On one hand, we had the full
> attention of our steward when he wasn't placing squid on
> hooks, but we missed having other passengers to visit with
> while competing in the daily squid baiting contest. With
> the whistle, tee shirt and trinkets given us at the end of
> the cruise, we felt we really didn't miss much of the
> Alaskan experience, but it would have been fun to at least
> go ashore once to see a Totem Pole or visit the Red Dog or
> Red Onion saloons.
>=20
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