January 30, 2006
Neptune Day
We crossed the equator at 3:00 am on January, so me and a couple of my friend set our alarm clocks and went out to the deck to celebrate our first time crossing the equator!
The Neptune festivities were suppose to start at 7:30 the next morning (I didn’t get very much sleep). I was told by one of the Resident directors that we would all be woken up at 7:30, and it would be in my best interest to be up before they came and woke us up. So, my roommate and I, heeding the warning, got up at 7:00 am and enjoyed our peaceful breakfast. Well, the wake up call was pushed back to 8:30 am, so we really had a lot of time to enjoy the morning, and to enjoy being on the equator!
At 8:30, King Neptune, Queen Minerva and the Royal Guard marched around all the decks banging on drums, pots and pans, waking everyone up, as it was time to start the festivities.
This is a long time tradition. When ever a sailor crosses the equator for the first time, they must go through this ceremony. This was the first time crossing the equator for a majority of the people aboard, so a very big event on the ship! Even the captain takes part, as this is kind of his ceremony, the induction! Before going through the ceremony, we are known as “worthless pollywogs” and after the ceremony; we are all promoted to “trusty shellbacks”. The Royal Guard was all of the staff and crew that dressed up, like our house keepers, and servers in the cafeteria. This is a lot of fun for them and something they look forward to on each voyage.
So this is how it all works, to be inducted. First, the royal announcer introduces the king and queen, they take a seat, and then the royal announcer reads the “vows to the sea”, if you agree, then you may began the induction. Next, you get fish guts poured on your head.
Then you jump into the pool to “cleanse the soul and spirit, this pleases King Neptune”. (Take a good look at the color of the pool now, this is the beginning of the ceremony… just wait, it gets really gross after the 100th person with fish guts jumps in…)
Next, you kiss the fish, promising to “respect the sea and all that is in it”
Then you kiss King Neptune’s ring, since he is king of the sea. And lastly, you get your head shaved, to represent a new beginning, and a new you (I didn’t shave my head… I have a wedding in October!). After all of this, you become a “trusty shellback”. I have quite a few friends who did shave their heads, and so far they insist that they don’t regret that they did it.
Susie use to have an /afro, but not any more! It is a great honor to have the captain shave your head, so he shaved 5 heads total.
My roommate and I also jumped in with the royal guard.
This was a very fun day, and since it is such an important milestone in a sailor’s life, we did not have classes! So, it really is a good celebration! If you see my parents, I sent a good video home with them all about this day, it should be pretty entertaining! There is also a profile on there of my roommate, if you want to get to know her a little better, she is a lot of fun!
This is King Neptune and Queen Minerva! Got to make friends with the best of them! And since we are in the business of making friends, we decided we should go straight to the top! Here is a picture of us with the Captain of the ship himself! (He hates pictures and originally said no, we looked at him and said Plllllleeeeeeesse! And he couldn’t say no, so we got our picture after all! And then he ran away, because he did not want to take any more pictures!
The next day we were allowed to take a bridge tour, this is where the captain hides out all day. So we got to see the front, and he even let us sit in his chair! (It pays to make good friends!)
Yes, I think I could be the captain of the ship!
This is what the bridge looks like!
And this is the front of the ship! The water is so beautiful! We asked the first mate if he sees very many whales or dolphins out there, and he said yes, but what he is really looking for is a mermaid! ;)
