Australia to Indonesia The Cruise: A Life at Sea

Imagine you've embarked on the journey of a lifetime.

A luxury cruise around the world.

I've done things and seen places that other people dream of seeing.

2,000 people are travelling some of the way,

but 400 lucky souls have signed up for the entire adventure.

Well, this for me is the culmination of a life's dream.

It sure makes your eyes water.

They'll be stopping at some of the most beautiful

and exotic places around the globe.

It's the most amazing thing ever.

But this all-inclusive package offers much more than sunshine

and sightseeing.

On this global odyssey,

the passengers have their very own vicar.

Welcome, everyone, to this very special and very happy occasion.

The ship IS my parish. Therefore I'm seeking to minister

to everyone on board, whether they're believers or not.

Welcome to The Cruise.

Since leaving Southampton,

Balmoral has traversed the Atlantic

and the Pacific...

..and she is now approaching Australia.

The Reverend Colin Still is the vicar on board.

He's a long way from the Parish of St John in Brighton

where he usually serves.

I have a very fulfilling ministry really,

and being able to take on the cruise chaplaincies as well,

that's an added dimension.

Throughout the cruise, he's been kept busy -

conducting daily services...

counselling passengers,

shepherding excursions...

..and renewing wedding vows.

..which is patient and kind, enduring all things without end.

But this isn't just a place to celebrate nuptials.

It's also fertile ground for new love to blossom.

There are some on-board romances. Like any group of people, there

are always some that are likely to be drawn together and find a partner.

MUSIC: "At Last" by Etta James

One such couple, John and Dylis, met on a previous cruise.

Their romance started with a brief encounter in a lift.

She was going down to her quarters,

and she mentioned that there was something wrong

with the plumbing in her cabin.

I'd had exactly the same problem,

I said, "I'll come and have a look and see if we can fix it."

I was in the bathroom, and of course you know the size of them -

they're quite small so it was quite an intimate sort of thing!

Wasn't it, really?

And that's where we sort of looked at each other...

And you've heard of this, "our eyes met"...

That was it.

And from that moment, my fate was sealed.

'We only met once, very briefly, for about two minutes.'

After that we all went our separate ways,

and I went home and I thought,

"What do I do, what do I do, what do I do? Is it just a holiday romance?

"Is it something to forget? Is it ridiculous?

"Am I making myself ridiculous?

"I'm in my seventies, what the hell am I thinking about!"

But I didn't get any peace, so eventually I rang her up

and I said, "Was it just a holiday romance or what?"

And she said something like, "I'm waiting for you."

It's quite amazing how it all happened,

because we both took a terrible chance, didn't we?

It was almost meant to be. Quite extraordinary!

'It just occurred to me that it might be nice to put a sign up,'

and it's self-adhesive, and I put one up in the lift,

the very lift on the Boudicca, where we met.

Sunday is Colin's longest day with two services for passengers...

# Amazing grace

# How sweet the sound... #

..And a late night communion with the crew.

The crew's service is important because these guys don't see

a priest from one month into the other.

-Nice to see you all, because you've had a long day, haven't you?

-Yes.

There are 500 crew on Balmoral, from many different faiths.

The majority are Filipino Roman Catholics.

It's just very useful for those that like to attend and worship

to have that facility offered to them.

Well, hello, everyone, and welcome to our mass this evening.

Erm, it's good to see you...

'And they are allowed to ask for time off if they want to come.'

I clear that with the management if they are working.

'Like the bar staff,

'they frequently don't finish till two or three in the morning.'

Some of the passengers keeping the bar staff busy are Ian Ernshaw

and his group of merrymakers.

Question three - who said "Work is the curse of the drinking classes?"

Who put Robin Day down?

'We've been at every quiz. I shouldn't be saying this...'

15's about our best score.

-He can't hear, he can't write, he can't spell.

-He's thick!

I'm thick.

There's not a lot going for us, you know.

One of the gang is George Ayling, who's on his maiden voyage.

-Is it?

-Yeah.

-Greaves? What - Jimmy?

I've met some wonderful people. You know, it's a community.

It's a village on the sea.

And any village has the village idiot, well, this time I think

they've got two - that's Ian and I - because we have such fun together.

About 10 years I've been cruising, and they've all been long cruises.

My first cruise was 76 days, and that was long. That was long.

But George has come in to the deep end, 112. He didn't mess about!

We said Gene Kelly, didn't we?

Add up the scores and pass them back to their owners.

12.

THEY GROAN

One day, we'll win, one day.

We've been here eight weeks!

Balmoral has arrived at its first Australian port -

Hobart, Tasmania.

On the cruise, Colin represents the Mission To Seafarers.

They are a charitable organisation linked with the Church of England

and they provide chaplains around the major ports of the world

as well as provide the chaplains for the cruise ships.

He's arranged to meet Bruce Mitchell,

the Mission To Seafarers' chaplain for Hobart.

-You must be Bruce.

-I am, I am indeed. Nice to meet you.

Welcome to Hobart, I've heard lots of good things.

Have you been waiting long?

Not very long, no.

Bruce wants to show Colin around his parish,

which has suffered recent devastation.

This area was burnt out on the 4th January

on a day where the temperature got to 41.8 degrees centigrade,

and the fire took out housing and land.

But fortunately no lives were lost.

As you can see, there's not much of this place left, Colin.

-Oh, it's heartbreaking, isn't it?

-Yes.

-It really is.

-Everything has gone. It's extraordinary, isn't it?

-Yes, yes.

Some of the fire reached 1,000 degrees centigrade and er...

I mean the intensity must have been there

-just to melt everything like it did.

-Oh, yes.

It's a sad little scene, isn't it?

How many homes have been lost overall?

Probably 80% of the houses in Dunalley have gone.

Something around 130,140 in this area.

The local hotel at Dunalley survived and that became a community centre,

with the public supplying free food and drinks.

So how long have you been a chaplain to the Mission To Seafarers?

I've been the Hobart chaplain since 2005, so around eight years.

It's a fascinating position

because you're caring for people of all sorts of nationalities

and backgrounds, and one of the things that we make very sure about

is there's no discrimination on the basis of race, creed or colour.

Bruce runs the Hobart Mission with a team of volunteers,

who offer help to the crew of any ship that comes into port.

Most of them come in here to relax and to get away from the steel box

in which they spend most of their time.

It's basically about providing physical, spiritual,

social facilities for seafarers,

most of whom come from Third World countries.

I've been to many Seamans' Mission Centres...

So you usually go to it?

Yeah, when there is a Seaman Mission Centre, you just,

the crews go there.

One of the major things that happens when the seafarers get here

is they hook into the computers so they can catch up

with their families, in the Philippines or India

or Ukraine, or wherever.

-Have you done that today?

-Yeah, just finished.

-And is everything OK?

-Yeah.

One of the things that we provide here is a foreign exchange,

but we also have bibles that are available to seafarers for free.

If they've got problems with welfare injustice on the ship or some such,

we can put them in touch with people who can look after them.

Fortunately that doesn't happen very often, but we're here to be a home

away from home. That's basically what it's all about.

The Balmoral is more than a home.

It's a floating village with shops, restaurants,

and even a gym, which John uses to alleviate a critical condition.

'I've got a degenerative spine condition,

'which is causing my spine to collapse.

'In my prime I was 5'10 and a half,

'now I'm down to about 5'6 and a half.

'When I get up, I attempt to stretch my spine,'

just a fraction, and that relieves the pressure on the nerve,

and then the pain goes.

'The future is something that I dread.

'I could wake up tomorrow

'and suddenly find that I can't move my legs, and one thing that

'horrifies me is the thought of being doubly incontinent.

'If it continues the way it has done, then I think I've got maybe

'another three or five years...'

of tolerable useful life.

Dylis also has health concerns.

It's been noticeable to me, for about the last 18 months...

..and I can't remember things. Like for example,

suddenly words go, and...

..it's upsetting. And I think... and it's going worse.

It's just significant, and it, erm, shows me how my brain is going.

Their weakening conditions will soon cause them to seek Colin's advice.

For most of the world trip, Balmoral has had a gentle ride,

but the Tasman Sea has a fearsome reputation,

and she can't escape the rough stuff this time.

As we are encountering some movement, I urge you all to please

use the handrails when moving around the ship.

LAUGHTER

I think we'll sit!

OPERATIC SINGING

Our estimated arrival time to Sydney is 1800 hours tomorrow evening.

We are very sorry for this, but we are at the mercy of the elements.

We've had to change plans a bit because we've been

delayed by seven hours because of the rough weather. But I hope that

we'll be able to get off the ship around seven o'clock this evening.

# Singing Too-ra-lie, oo-ra-lie addity

# Singing Too-ra-lie, oo-ra-lie, ay

# Singing Too-ra-lie, oo-ra-lie addity

# We're bound for Botany Bay. #

Sydney is one of my favourite cities.

This will be my 11th time that I've visited it.

It's the first time on board a ship, and that's a much more gentle

and comfortable way than flying that long distance.

It's the most wonderful entrance into the harbour

and it's the first time I've done it through the Heads,

and although it was a bit of a grey day,

yes, it brings up water to your eyes. It's a very, very special place.

After nearly two months at sea,

the cruise has reached its halfway point.

Colin's off to meet his niece - just a little later than planned.

Well, hello, everyone!

Hey!

'Liz is very special because when she was a baby I baptised her

'in my parish church, and I've enjoyed spending time with her

'and Gavin, her partner, in Sydney.'

The Mission To Seafarers chaplain took us to his home

and the fire came almost to within a kilometre of where he lived.

So you could see all the damage?

Oh, we visited one of the sites and it was just a chimney left.

It was awful.

'We always see it as important, seeing members of the family,

'and particularly Liz, because she's out on a limb, as it were,

'here in Australia, and she misses her family in Canada.'

I think they said there's 269 ships docking there this year,

-just in that Sydney slot.

-Yes.

That's how popular it is. Yeah.

It is the perfect slot.

Oh, it's beautiful, absolutely beautiful.

And tomorrow is a very busy day on the ship, because 600 passengers

are getting off, and 500 passengers are getting on - all tomorrow!

Wow!

'I've got a glass of wine in my hand'

because, yes, I have broken my Lent and fast, but before I started

the Lent and fast, I said, "When I'm in Sydney,

"I will break it and then I will resume it on... When we leave."

Cheers! Good to meet you, finally!

Yes, lovely to meet you!

-Cheers!

-Welcome back to Sydney!

The Cruise continues north along Australia's east coast,

to one of one of the wonders of the natural world -

the Great Barrier Reef.

The reef stretches for over 2,000 kilometres

and today Colin's taking a diving party to have a closer look.

'With every port, there'll be excursions,

'and I, like other members of the entertainment team,'

have the opportunity of volunteering as an escort.

# Somewhere

# Beyond the sea...#

'It's an opportunity to meet a lot of passengers that

'I don't otherwise meet, because they don't necessarily come to

'any of the services, or they dine at a different time.'

'Well we've just had a two-and-a- half-hour journey from the ship

'to this pontoon. It's an extraordinary experience

'because we're right in the middle of nowhere,'

so I'm looking forward to seeing quite a lot of fish.

'I'm planning to do some snorkelling. I've only ever done it once,

'quite a long time ago.

'I didn't make a great success of it and I kept going round in circles!'

That looks mighty long to me.

'I'm keen to do it because it's something I haven't mastered'

and it's important not to let it be something that I can't do.

'Well, I gather it's teeming with fish

'so I'm just looking forward to really seeing lots of coloured fish,

'and some stingrays maybe and whatever comes along.'

'I've enjoyed doing quite a lot of active things during my life.

'I jumped out of airplanes,

'and I enjoyed that. That was a great experience.

'And I've climbed mountains and, er, yeah, I've got to the stage now...'

I think where perhaps I ought to start stopping!

I'm much happier being by the water,

on the water, but not UNDER the water.

John and Dylis are facing an uncertain future.

So John's come to talk to Colin

about a particularly difficult issue.

I'm in a situation where I have got a sort of progressive disease

in old age, which has caused me a lot of pain.

If things just carry on, I'm going to die in a horrible manner,

and my partner has recently been diagnosed with dementia.

If there is a loving God, why does he want to make us suffer?

I'm told the answer's simple - God moves in mysterious ways,

he can't be understood, don't question it.

But I DO question it and I'm sorry if that's wrong.

I don't think God is expecting us not to question.

God loves you, that's the important thing, and he wants what's best for you.

And life, I mean the body is built to decay and to wear out,

um, but the way in which it happens sometimes is grim, and it's for us

to try and alleviate that suffering, and which medics very often do.

As you know, the medical profession are committed to saving life.

Um...from two stand points, we don't want to have to go through that procedure and decline

in that terrible fashion, and also we don't want to be a burden, and an expense to other people,

because that doesn't seem fair.

And if things continue as they are...in as far as these things are predictable,

we might have another three or four years.

By that time, she'll be about 90, I'll be about 80, and er...

..she's begged me, "if I decline quicker than you, don't let me get into this terrible state,

"don't let me become a burden, I want you to put me to sleep".

Rightly or wrongly, we feel rightly, we'll stop our lives

when they're no longer pleasurable,

when the pain increases to the point where

it's controlling everything, or where something has happened

where we can't look after ourselves.

We don't want to become a burden, and we intend to put ourselves to sleep.

Maybe arm-in-arm, and fade away.

And I can't think of anything nicer, quite frankly.

And that's how we feel and that's what we'd like to do.

Because really...if I lost John...

..well...

You'd have to do your own cooking.

(LAUGHS) True.

Very good, yeah.

That is a real Christian problem for our ethics.

The Christian Church has always said that suicide is not allowed,

that God has given us life and it's only God that should take it away.

But that presents us all with a conundrum, as you expressed yourself.

It's a very difficult decision because my Church condemns

suicide, and does not in any way encourage euthanasia.

It's my duty obviously, to let anyone, like John, know the position,

and I'm empathetic with him, but at the same time I would want to

emphasise the hospice movement and that side of the Christian ministry

which is so important

and has done such valuable work for people who are dying and

certainly gives them an opportunity

to die with dignity.

People think of it in terms of "but we're losing you."

But I think the point is, if we get to the point that we're talking about, we'll be gone anyway.

I'd like people to remember me as I was.

I've had a good life, an interesting life.

Met some marvellous people, and done lots of things.

Travelled the world...so what more could you ask?

And to meet John, and have somebody

who loves me so dearly, and is such fun, actually...

(LAUGHS)

..yes, life has become fun.

So I hope it continues until whenever...you know?

INAUDIBLE CHATTER

John is very much aware of his own pain and disability with the problem with his bones,

and with Dylis, there's a bit of dementia, but if that doesn't get any worse,

there's every prospect of them having many years ahead together.

I think our future will be very happy, very busy and very fulfilling.

There's still life left in the old dog!

I'm not talking about you.

As long as you don't say "the old bitch!"

That's naughty...

Sorry.

At their final Australian stop, Colin's busy escorting again.

Every day seems to have quite a few challenges and differences.

It seems to have picked up as the cruise has gone along, and yesterday was pretty hectic and heavy,

and today has been quite a full one too and we're only in the afternoon at the moment.

We're on the river Adelaide, and we've just been watching the crocodiles jumping.

And there are quite a lot of them in this river, so it's...and they've jumped up,

and it's been quite spectacular.

One passenger not on this excursion is thrifty Ian,

who normally arranges his own trips.

By travelling over these ten years now, I know if you do your homework,

you can save yourself a lot of money.

There's a Yorkshire war cry...

..and the Yorkshire war cry is "How much?!"

But If Ian wants to see the legendary komodo dragons at their next stop,

he has to join the official tour -

the only way onto the Indonesian Island.

This particular place we're never ever going to visit again,

so I'm really looking forward to seeing these dragons.

I just hope they've been well fed.

I heard they like chicken, Ian, so that lets me out.

C'mon, George! We're all dressed up ready, look. Plenty of repellant on...

..it'll even keep Maureen away from me.

So that should be OK, shouldn't it?!

Got away from one dragon, now I'm going to see another one.

THEY LAUGH

You said that, Pete. You said that, not me.

And these dragons climb... Can they climb?

The small ones can climb, but the big ones cannot.

Right, I need to know that.

OK?

Good luck, chaps.

It's going to be hard for me to keep my mouth shut!

The danger the dragons pose isn't just from their shark-like teeth and fearsome claws,

but also from their venomous bite.

Smile!

I'm trying...I don't want him coming up behind me.

He's on the move now, look.

My grandson, Stanley, was talking about the animals in the world that are most ferocious,

and this has got to be somewhere near the top,

because just looking at the creature frightens you.

It beats all my expectations...this is the one tour that I'm glad I did not miss.

Worth every penny, every penny.

I just couldn't get over how big they were, they were enormous!

I felt privileged to be there amongst these prehistoric monsters.

Did you feel threatened at all?

Not at all, but they didn't have an antidote if you got bitten by these dragons,

which we was surprised at.

Even a couple of the rangers had been bitten...and had been killed,

and of course there's...there's no doctors there.

One turned round and I thought to myself "Ian, get ready to run."

At least all three of you are back again, safely back,

so...and everyone is back to tell the tale. Brilliant.

All the hands are here...feet...good.

Next time we'll be having breakfast at the Zoo...

And there a tiny two-week-old baby.

I was so close to him and I blew him a kiss...like that.

..and changing plans put Choirmistress Sue under pressure.

There are setbacks all the time, so...

..we'll keep saying our prayers and hope for the best on Sunday.

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd