Oops - Heterosexual Couple Joins Gay Cruise...Mid-Atlantic Swim!...Deal of/Day
Now, THAT'S awkward.
Spotted a story on TravelMole the other day about a heterosexual couple in Italy who mistakenly booked tickets on what apparently was Italy's first gay cruise.
The middle-aged husband and wife apparently weren't happy and are said to be suing the cruise line. They claim they weren't told it was a gay cruise, and that they felt out of place among the 1,500 gay passengers and seemingly didn't want to take part in events.
Can't imagine why.
Perhaps worse than having their cruise ruined - undoubtedly the cruise line will settle - was that the couple spotted some of their thought-to-be heterosexual friends on the ship.
"Hey, YOU got fooled? I thought it was a cruise for straight people, too!"
NOT A FREAKIN' CHANCE - CRUISE LINE OFFERS MID-ATLANTIC SWIM
I've heard of cruise ships that have these marina decks. They're small platforms (large, probably) that sit at the back of the ship and allow folks to go for a dip in the ocean; presumably when the ship's not moving.
Anyway, they usually let folks swim when they're near a port or near the beach or in some protected area. But a story I spotted in USA Today's Cruise Log says cruise industry watcher Seatrade Insider reported that the captain of a SeaDream Yacht Club ship took things to something of an extreme by allowing folks to take a dip in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean.
"Guests had been telling me they would like to swim in the Atlantic and at dawn on Thursday, Oct. 15 I knew that this was the day," the unnamed captain said. "The seas were as still as a pond."
Seatrade Insider said the ship was 958 nautical miles west of the Azores and some 1,541 miles east of the Caribbean. I haven't been able to determine how many lunatics people took him up on his offer.
Luxury Travel Magazine said the Captain later held a special ceremony and "awarded his Atlantic swim team a 'Certificate of Accomplishmen' to highlight the feat."
"It's just an example, of SeaDream Yacht Club going the extra mile — in this case the extra nautical mile in mid-Atlantic," the Captain said.
I don't know about you, but there's NO WAY IN HELL you'd get me out in the middle of the ocean for a swim.
I'm happy to snorkel near the beach and surf and all that, and I'm a pretty good swimmer. But I'm not going in the water 1,000 miles from land, no matter how calm the water is. It gives me the heebie-jeebies just thinking about it, to tell you the truth.
JIM'S DEAL OF THE DAY
Sugar Ridge, a brand new resort in
AN OLYMPIC SIDENOTE
It was with great sadness that I read today of the death of Vancouver 2010 chairman Jack Poole.
I got to know Jack way back around 2001 when Vancouver was just starting its bid for the 2010 Winter Olympic Games. He had an obvious passion for the bid, and he was hugely instrumental in making it come to pass.
He'd been suffering from cancer for a long while but had made some rebounds along the way. It's sad to see him go, especially with his dream less than four months from becoming reality.
THE KINDNESS OF STRANGERS
Our foreign desk here at the Star got an interesting email today. Maybe somebody out there knows the family he's speaking of? Anyway, here's the letter.
Bonjour. I'm writing from Normandy, France. Last July I found, in a telephone booth near the motorway, the diary of a Canadian family(from London?). They had flown from Toronto to Frankfurt and visited part of Europe. I'm now trying to trace these people to send them their diary. Unfortunately, although I gathered some info from the diary, I have no family name or address.
I've been emailing different places/organisations in & around Toronto, and someone suggested I contact you. Is there any chance this works, in your opinion?
Any suggestion or advice will be most welcome.
Francis Métier
Cherbourg-Octeville, France
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