NB - A New Chapter - 12. ANC Chapter 12

We let Kyle and Jake to rest in their hotel rooms, as they needed some sleep, and Xander and the lads and I went to a café to get a late lunch snack, to pass some time. When we returned, we found Kyle and Jake chatting to the Concierge in the hotel lobby, and as soon as they saw us arriving, they ended their chat and came over to us. “I didn’t think he was your type Kyle?” I said softly, which made him laugh, “No, I was trying to get a date for you actually” Kyle replied, which made me blush, and the twins to laugh.

Once everyone calmed down, we sat down in the open lounge area of the lobby, “Ok, everything is organised, the other two lads will be leaving Bangkok at 10am their time on Tuesday, and they arrive in Moscow at 3.55pm local time, where they will have 3 ¾ hours to have a quick look around, before flying to St Petersburg, arriving there at 9.10pm on Tuesday evening their time.

We will be travelling from Helsinki to St Petersburg by that time, arriving at 8am on Wednesday morning, so they will only miss 1½ days of the cruise and one port of call, and they will have overnight to recover from their 11 ½ hours of flights” I announced to everyone. “Sounds great, I can’t wait to get on the cruise ship tomorrow” Kyle commented, and Jake nodded his head in agreement.

In the late afternoon, we all went for a walk around the nearby park, which was very impressive as is all of the Swedish architecture, before we returned to the hotel to shower and get ready for dinner. Check-out time at the hotel is 10am, and embarking onto the ship doesn’t start till 1pm, so we had a few hours for a leisurely lunch in the city, before we head to the cruise ship terminal.

At dinner, I noticed both Kyle and Jake were fairly silent, “What’s up guys, are you worried about the other two in Thailand?” I asked them both, “Yes, I am actually, I’m hoping the hospital will let them be discharged in-time for their flights” Kyle replied, and I am too, but I still can’t believe that I am actually out of Australia, and in Scandinavia, it seems so unreal” Jake added excitedly.

After dinner, we retired to our separate suites, to get a good night’s sleep, and I slept very well, which I was pleased about, as I had been having some restless nights sleeps over the past few months. When I woke early in the morning, I felt great, and getting dressed, I went for a long walk before breakfast, leaving a note on the table to let the others know where I was.

When I returned, they were all in the lobby lounge waiting for me, and Kyle suggested that I go and have a shower, before breakfast, and they would go in ahead and wait for me. After my quick shower, I started to pack my bags, and had it half completed, when I decided that I should join the others for breakfast, and they were already eating when I arrived.

“Right, now just to keep you informed, the twins, Xander and I will be on the 12th deck, cabins 12006, 1208, 1210 and 1212, while Kyle and your friends, will be on the 8th deck of the ship, in cabins 8000 & 8001, all of the cabins are near the front of the ship, and have balconies outside” I informed everyone, “What deck is the bridge on?” Xander asked, “Right below and slightly forward of yours and my cabin, so no jumping up and down on the floor, or we may get a complaint from the captain” I replied.

After breakfast, we made our way back to our suites to pack up our luggage, and to check out of the hotel, arranging for our luggage to be stored for a few hours, until it was time to embark onto the ship. With three hours to spare, we took Kyle and Jake on a two-hour long city tour, a lot that the rest of had already seen, but it was still amazing to look around this beautiful city.

After the tour, we stopped at a café for some lunch, and it was just after 1pm, when we arrived back at the hotel to collect our luggage, and to organise a mini-bus to take us down to the cruise ship terminal. “Wow, that is a huge ship” Xander exclaimed as the ship came into view up close, and we were all staring at it, as the mini-bus pulled up alongside the terminal.

As we approached the front door to the terminal, two cruise ships staff checked that we had tickets for the cruise and a valid passport, before allowing us to proceed up an escalator to the first floor, where more cruise staff were seated at some tables, and we presented our tickets, and we were issued with a ship ID card with a lanyard each, which was our access cards to our cabins, and ID to get back on the ship after off ship excursions at ports of call.

“Mr Sebastian Wagner, I have a message for you, that I was requested to give you on your arrival” one of the stewards said to me, and I thanked her, and was handed the envelope, totally unsure what it contained, as we moved on.

Before reaching passport control and customs, I stopped to look at the message. “Sebastian, you and your twin brothers and cousin are duly invited to dine at the Captain’s table tonight. Kind regards, Hans Erik Jorgen, 1st Officer” and I chuckled after reading the message, “What is it bro?” the twins asked in unison.

“It appears, our family has been invited to the Captain’s table tonight. Do you remember our first captain of the Southern Explorer, who was Norwegian?” I asked, and the twins nodded their heads yes, “Well he is now the 1st officer of this ship, and he has noticed that we are on this cruise” I replied.

“Wow, that is a coincidence, fancy meeting up with him again, after so long” Louis replied, “Sure is, and why have Kyle and Jake not been invited?” Joachim asked, “Probably because he doesn’t know we are travelling together, I will see if I can arrange for them to join us” I replied.

Once we had completed the customs and passport requirements, we stepped onboard the ship for the first time. “Welcome onboard the Marina, can you present your ID cards to the scanner please, so we can check you in as boarding, you will need to do this each time you leave and come back onto the ship.

We are currently on the 5th Deck, the lowest deck for guest access, except for the medical centre which is on Deck 4, on this deck, we have two of the smaller restaurants, the reception area, which is just through those doors, and some shops” the steward stated, as we scanned our cards, and stepped inside the ship.

Looking around the reception area it looked very grand, and we all stood there in amazement, before I suggested we move to the elevators to get to our suites. “I will see you guys in say an hour, meet back in the reception area, at 2.30pm” I suggested as we went up in the elevator, and stopped on the 8th deck, for Kyle and Jake to step out. When we stopped on the 12th deck, I took a deep breath and released it, “Here we go lads, a wonderful cruise of a lifetime” I said as I stepped out and lead the way forward towards our cabins.

“These are your cabins Louis and Joachim, I will let you get settled, Xander, you are in the next cabin, and I am in the cabin on the other side of you” I stated, and I waited for Xander to open his cabin door, “Wow this is huge, it’s got a lounge with...” Xander said until the cabin door closed, stopping me from hearing the rest of his statement, and I went up to my suite and opened the door, and I too was amazed at how big it is.

I opened the first door to my left to see a quite small bathroom with a shower and toilet, then there is a kitchenette, at the end of the small passageway, with a dining room, with seating for four, plus a study deck and chair. Beyond that, is a lounge area, with a big screen television, to the right is a separate bedroom, but I wanted to check out the balcony first, and I was surprised to see a good-sized balcony, with an outdoor lounge, table and chairs, and even a small jacuzzi.

Going back inside, I noticed a door in the back corner of the dining area, where I found a separate television lounge room, going to the bedroom, the bed was king size, with windows to the balcony outside, and a small passageway, which I discovered leads to a second bathroom, with a bath tub, bidet and toilet, and a large walk-in wardrobe.

When I heard a knock on my suite door, I went to open it, and Xander walked in, “The cabins are identical, they are amazing and so huge, oh and why are there two toilets in the master bathroom” Xander stated, and I chuckled at this expected question, “It is called a bidet, it is used to wash your bottom, after you have been to the toilet” I explained, and Xander looked confused at this explanation but soon shrugged it off.

“Now Master Xander, you are not to go wandering off on your own, you are to be with either myself, the twins or Kyle at all times, do you understand?” I stated firmly, “Yes, Sebastian, I understand” he replied, “Also stay back away from the edge of all balconies, especially in rough weather. Ships this big, take a long time to stop, and turn around, so it is not a good idea to not fall overboard, now go and unpack your luggage and I will see you in a short while” I added.

Once I had unpacked, and sent a message to Mr Jorgen, I decided to go and check on the twins, and when let into Louis’s suite, I was surprised to see the twins chatting to Xander, “Hey guys, all settled in are we?” I commented, “Sure are bro, this is more than I expected” Joachim responded happily.

“That is good, I have sent a message to Mr Jorgen requesting an extra two seats at the Captain’s table tonight, and I just have to wait for a reply, so how about we start exploring this huge ship shall we?” I said to everyone gathered, just as there was a knock on the door, and Louis went to answer it, coming back a few moments later, not looking too pleased,

“Apparently there is a fire drill in twenty minutes, that all staff and passengers must attend, before we set off, so when we hear the sound of a Horn blasting away, we have to make our way to our designated muster points, which is noted in the bottom right corner of our ID cards, and we are not to put on life jackets” Louis informed us, as we all looked at our ID cards. “Our muster point is Deck 12 Portside” Xander announced to us, just as the sound of a horn started suddenly.

“This is not a drill, all crew and passengers to put on life jackets and go to their muster stations, I repeat, this is not a drill, there is a fire in the Deck 2, please move calmly to your muster points” came an announcement loudly over the PA system. “Right, I saw that the life jackets are in the cupboard, I suggest we grab our wallets & passports, and our overnight bags if you haven’t already unpacked them, and that we stick together.

Xander, come let’s go to your cabin to get your gear, then I will collect mine, that way we can stay together” I announced to my brother and cousin, just as my mobile rang, and the caller ID said it was Kyle. “Hi mate, grab your overnight bag, passport and wallet, and tell Jack to do the same, we will see you once we are off the ship, just go to your muster station, and make sure you both stay together” I said to Kyle.”

“Ok mate, what a way to start a holiday eh, see ya” Kyle replied before hanging up. Once we had gathered our bags, passports and wallets, we made our way to our muster station, with ship staff giving us directions as we arrived, telling us off about bringing luggage with us, which we ignored, as they checked off our names from their lists.

Once this was done, with all of us from our section of our level of the ship present, we were directed to the emergency stairs to the crew area. All the way down to Deck Five, where we disembarked the ship, and were instructed to gather in the passenger terminal. Once there, I got onto the phone to start making some arrangements, firstly booking some suites at the hotel that we stayed at, for a further two nights for all 6 of us, in three shared suites, then looking for alternative plans for a holiday.

When Kyle and Jake appeared, they look very disappointed that we would not be going on the cruise. “Right Kyle first thing we need to do is to get your other two mates with us, so I am going to organise that you take the next flight to St Petersburg, stay one night, then the three of you fly back to Stockholm. By that time, I will have organised an alternative holiday for all of us” I announced.

“Sure, no problems, I can do that” Kyle replied, and he and I spent the next fifteen minutes huddled together to organise a flight, which was a little difficult, as the only direct flight for the day, had already departed, so I looked into executive jet charters, and we found one that would take Kyle to St Petersburg, with a fuel stop in Tallinn, Estonia, and that they can be ready in one hours’ time.

With that organised, I found a ship steward, and informed him, that even if the ship was to continue, that I and my group would not be joining them, and I asked for our luggage to be sent to our hotel, once the all clear is given. With that done, we set off to find a couple of taxi’s, one for Kyle to take him to the airport, so he could catch his flight, and the other two to take the rest of us to our hotel.

When we arrived at the hotel, we were warmly treated as old friends, who are regular guests, and we were checked in and ushered up to our suites very quickly, which I was pleased about, especially with all the drama that we have had today, and we decided to just relax in the hotel for the remainder of the day.

As we prepared for dinner in the hotel restaurant, my mobile rang, and it was Kyle’s caller ID, “Hi mate, how was the flight?” I asked cheerfully, “Tiring, I don’t know why you didn’t make the trip” Kyle groaned, “Because my dear friend, they are your high school and university friends, and I have only met them twice, and that was years ago” I replied with a short laugh, as I saw Xander indicating that he wanted to speak to Kyle.

“Kyle this is Xander speaking, when you get back to Sweden, can we try out some of what we did in Stanley, I would like to see how the acoustics are like in some of these grand Swedish Churches” Xander asked, and there was a silence on the other end for some time, “Hello? Are you still there Kyle?” Xander added.

“Oh, yeah, sure thing Xander, I would like that, you have an awesome voice, just like your late father, I would be honoured to do that again with you” Kyle replied, “I am looking forward to hearing you guys sing together as well” I added, loud enough so Kyle could hear. “Ok mate, get your cousin to try and organise access to some churches, and I would love to try out some singing in churches again” Kyle suggested, and seeing me nod my head, Xander informed Kyle that I would get right on it, before thanking Kyle and ending the call.