Home and Away II

We are home once again. The final morning on the Diamond Princess was marked by a bomb scare. A dog sniffed something in the incoming luggage which stopped the whole disembarkation procedure.

I was very proud of my fellow passengers. From the first announcement to the last, there was not any screaming, shoving, shouting nor other signs of panic. We were asked to stay away from the starboard side of the ship and to quietly move to the port side. People did as they were told without any fuss. A few minutes later, we were told why we needed to be away from the starboard side of the ship, and once again, there was not any panic. Over the next 30 minutes or so, we were given calm announcements as to what was happening and each time, there was no panic on the ship. Finally, we were told that it was a false alarm and the disembarkation process would begin in a few minutes. And, yet again, no one groused, as folks moved from port to starboard in order to leave the ship. It was a moment when I can say that we were all calm, cool and collected. It was a situation that was not comfortable, but everyone was ready for the challenge.

All the time I'm sure people were wondering if they would make their next connection, but no one voiced those thoughts while we were huddled in chairs on the port side of the ship. It ended and I think we were all a bit stronger for having witnessed a bomb scare. It was first for me.

Now that we are home, we are thinking about the next two trips. One is small...a visit to my sister and my aunts; the other is large...a 26 day cruise from Tahiti to Ft. Lauderdale by way of Easter Island and the Panama Canal. I think I'm ready for both.