CRUISE VIGNETTES 25, Enna G

THE MS ENNA G
A word or two about the ship. Our stateroom had twin beds, a couple of portholes, a private bath with a tub, two closets, and was larger and as comfortable as any we have had on any ship. The dining room was pleasant, and the meals were very nice. Breakfast had the variety of a Denny’s Restaurant, and the menus at both lunch and dinner had multiple selections. I had no problem finding plenty to eat at every meal. The waiters were from the Republic of Nauru, and were pleasant, helpful, and nice to be with.

There were a couple of public rooms, and each day there were scheduled things, such as movies, bingo, and other types of entertainment.

There was plenty of deck area to sit or lay in the sun. Give me a chair, a pile of books, a rail to rest my feet, and I will ride the rolling waves forever. I asked the Captain when the storm was scheduled, and reminded him that anyone could sail a ship in nice smooth seas, but I wanted to see what the Captain would do in a storm. We were later told that during the return from Saipan to San Francisco, after we left the ship, they did have some stormy weather, much worse than wanted by anyone on board. During my Merchant Marine trip, nearly 60 years ago, we were in two very bad storms. We were on the edge of one storm that was classified as a typhoon, that had done extensive damage to islands in the general area of the Philippines.

The Enna-G's swimming pool was a large steel tub that fit in the top of one of the holds, and acted as a cover of the storage area below decks. When we got near a port, they would drain the pool, lift it up out of the way, load or unload things stored below, replace the pool and fill it again.

SUMMARY
All in all it was just as pleasant as any cruise ship we have sailed on. The water was smooth, just as pacific (tranquil, a peaceful nature) as the Pacific Ocean can be. The other passengers were pleasant, we don’t remember that any problems developed during the weeks we were on the ship. (Of course, other than the man who died, as mentioned earlier.)

A trip on a ship is my favorite way to travel, except maybe for an RV trip through Europe. But on second thought, both are best. Now that you ask, we combined them one time. In Brandisi, Italy we drove the RV onto the SS Valentino, an elevator took us to the top deck, … … but whoops, that’s another story.