A Birthday Bash at Sea
- Paul Hallman
- Mar 9
- 3 min read
Today marks a very special celebration aboard the Coral Princess – Jan's 70th birthday!
Jan was actually born on March 8th, 1956, but being that we are cruising in Australian waters, we're a day ahead of the rest of the world. This means Jan gets the wonderful privilege of celebrating her milestone birthday not once, but twice!
The Gift Opening
The morning began with gift opening, starting with a present from her daughter Julie, who had thoughtfully given it to Jan before we departed Canada but was to be opened on her actual birthday. The gift was a book titled "How to Eat Cock" – a hilarious play on words about eating and cooking chicken! This was a perfect gift for Jan, who has always had a keen eye for spotting certain phallic-shaped objects in everyday life, from statues to trees and everything in between.
Jan, then opened my gift, which included a very special birthday card commemorating our cruise. The card was a beautiful fold-out design featuring a cruise ship, making it a lovely keepsake to remember this voyage.
As well her birthday present was a scarf, made by Peggy Rockman Napaljarri, a Lajamanu woman. She was born around 1943 in Lima, a northern territory in Australia, and today lives in Kathrine, Australia.. She has four sisters, three of whom are also painters. Peggy, for her part, began painting in 1986 and her works are today exhibited in several museums in Australia and they are sold by Outstations Australia. She has been custodian for several stories and ceremonies and is an important ceremony and law woman in the Warlpiri Culture.
An Evening of Celebration
We had a wonderful dinner planned at the Crown Restaurant with six other guests we had met during our cruise. Before dinner, we gathered in the restaurant bar for drinks and had a great time taking photos with our friends, everyone sporting funny glasses for the occasion.
At dinner, the staff captured the moment by taking our picture with the silly glasses. We were also joined by our wonderful wine sommelier, Tapi, who always ensures our wine glasses are never empty. His attentive service added to the festive atmosphere of the evening.
Then came a wonderful surprise – the staff brought Jan a birthday cake and sang Happy Birthday to her! It was such a heartwarming moment.
After Dinner Festivities
Following dinner, we headed to the Explorer Lounge to meet the crew. We shared some shooters that we had purchased off the ship with them – a fun way to end the evening!
Jan's longtime friend, the Anti-Martha Stewart, send her a birthday song created from phrases, personal experiences with Jan that are all knitted together into a Happy Birthday Song. If you know anything about Jan and listen closely to the words and phrases you will get a good chuckle. It's worth a good listen. Thanks Jayme, for a good laugh and for making my dear wife's day. I pulled the audio from the song and added a few photos for a keepsake.
Birthday Part Two – The Canadian Celebration
The next day in Australia – but her actual birthday back in Canada – I sang Happy Birthday to Jan and played the song on my ukulele, which I've been learning during our voyage. It was a sweet way to mark her real birth date of March 8th.
It truly was a Birthday Bash at Sea... filled with memories, laughter, and the good friendships we've made along the way.
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