from debbie

Wednesday, 14- August-2002

Hi family and friends!!

Made it back on the ship and back into the swing of things, cracking
the whip and making sure everything is right in Debbie's Crystal World. :-)

Opened my bags, the room was feeling a little weird... I unpacked my
clothes and put them away into the closet, and then it seemed more like the Chaos that is Debbie's Room. Then I found my boxes and opened those too, THEN it really was the Chaos. I've managed to move everything under something so that the stewardess can come in.

So the story about Ryan Air. The bus was over an hour late, There was a
lot of rain on and off, I had to call the company twice... THEN the driver screeches up and then expected us to pay him! I tried to not pay, but he called my bluff. I only gave him money because I knew a passenger more
desperate than I would give him the money. Sigh. Anyway. Then the plane
to London was delayed from 7am to 9:30am! We actually did leave before 9, I think.

So I am rethinking my recommendation of Ryan Air to everyone. After
all, On top of the 20 pound plane, there was a 10 pound fee, then 13 pounds for Stansed Express and 10 euros for the Charleroi bus... that's... 43 pounds = 60 plus 10 euros. 70 dollars, broken up.
Is it worth it??

My parcels finally arrived in London, which is good so I wont have to
kill my friend Nathan. I opened up boxes I left on the ship and was delighted to find little goodies I left for myself, ie beef jerky and my favorite instant noodles.

We have a million bigwigs from the Crystal company on board, CCI, and
our parent, NYK, and also some international travel agents and some guy who writes the Berlitz guide to cruising. So you can guess we are all trying to keep our noses clean... a bit frustrating for me because I want everything to be good but it isn't and it's not my fault.... Hmm... I take it back, at least I can pass the buck in this instance which is good. :))

What else? The Europe trip was absolutely fantastic-I am trying to
organize myself so that I can write a long letter detailing the trip... It may have to wait a bit as this cruise is rather busy! For now, I'll just say - go to Luxembourg. One of the surprise gems of the European continent.

Miss you all. It's 1:46am and I'm hungry so I am going to go and open
up an instant noodle packet and I will talk to you later.