Thailand to Sri Lanka 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 people dream of seeing.

2,000 people are travelling some of the way, but 400

lucky souls have signed up for the entire adventure.

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.

I think 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 happy occasion.

The ship is my parish, and therefore I'm seeking to minister to

everyone on board, whether they are believers or not.

Welcome to The Cruise.

It's nearly three months

since the cruise liner Balmoral left Southampton. She's seen off

the Atlantic and Pacific, and now she's heading into the Indian Ocean.

The ship's minister is the Reverend Colin Still.

One of the reasons a chaplain is on board the ship is

either for Christmas or Easter, because it's then that we conduct

the holy communion service, which no-one other than a priest can do.

Right now, we're ready for business.

Holy Week is always full of activity and it is busy, but because I have a number

of special services, and then there's the choir, there's just quite a lot

of arrangements for each of the services.

I've got a crew mass tonight at 11:00,

so that will be the end of my Palm Sunday, almost at midnight.

-The Lord be with you.

-And also with you.

Our crew are on board for nine months of the year, and some of them

have very young children at home, they have wives,

so they don't see them very often, so that separation is painful.

Nesty Coronel met, fell in love with

and married her husband Michael whilst working on board.

You look after quite a few passengers in their cabins,

how many are you looking after, Nesty?

19.

19? That is a lot, isn't it?

Yes.

Like many of the crew, Nesty has to sacrifice a life at home to

provide for her family.

You've got a three-year-old?

Three-year-old daughter.

And that's the hard bit, isn't it? It must have been difficult

saying goodbye to her just after Christmas?

Yes, actually, we just let her sleep.

In the other house,

so we can see her when we leave, cos it is hard.

It is so awful.

But life is... Life is like that.

Choirmistress Sue Alderson is also missing family,

especially her ailing mum.

She gets news whenever she can.

'I haven't called my daughter, Hannah, since I last did...'

Are you there?

'..because I don't know how to do it properly.'

-'Hello!'

-Oh, you're there! This is amazing.

'So we just email and text, and that's fine.'

I would have felt bad, much worse, if I hadn't been able to do that,

because you would end up worrying what's happening all the time,

but now that I'm getting messages through, it is a lot better.

The choir helps, from being away from home. I think without

even my mum's problems, I might have been a bit homesick

over four months, and even if it's just for a split second,

it takes your mind off anything that's really troubling you.

Smile!

They've arrived on the island of Phuket in Thailand.

We've got a great excursion today here at Wat Chalong, which is

one of the... Well, it's the biggest Buddhist temple in Phuket,

and these temples are beautifully kept, and obviously greatly revered.

I have every respect for the Buddhist religion, it has a lot to commend it.

Well, religion goes right to the heart of people's spirit

and soul, and it gives the meaning to life and enables us

to have hope and also to try and make sense of this crazy world.

Next stop, an elephant sanctuary.

Hello.

Right foot first.

I haven't ridden on an elephant before. I've ridden on a camel,

but not an elephant.

What is our elephant's name?

-Wabbo. Wabbo.

-Wabbo.

I think it's the most amazing thing ever, it's so exciting.

I'm quite overwhelmed, really, a bit taken with it.

We're not getting off. We're just going to stay on, go round all day.

-Hello.

-Hello, hello.

-Wonderful.

-Thank you, it's just been absolutely amazing.

I just loved it, it was really something very special,

nothing too demanding, just magic.

It was more than I thought. I thought it would be a bit

more touristy, but it's not. The conservation that they do here

is fabulous, and the way that they look after the elephants,

that the Mahout has his own elephant for life - imagine that!

Having an elephant for life - why wasn't I born a Mahout with an elephant?

Bye-bye.

Whilst some passengers are on a short cruise, about a third

have paid to go all the way around the world.

Most of our passengers are over 60,

and many of them have saved up in order to do a cruise of a lifetime.

Retired builder Ken Marshall

and his wife Shirley from Yorkshire are celebrating

their 60th anniversary by renewing their wedding vows.

BOTH: Today, in the presence of our family and friends,

we affirm our continuing commitment to this marriage.

Shirley and Ken cruise because Shirley loves to see the world

and she's vivacious and she's very energetic.

On this happy occasion for us and for everybody. Happy days.

She drags poor old Ken along, he comes along to please her.

I've seen a lot of the world, because I was in the RAF,

but I've come on this trip for Shirley to enjoy herself.

For Ken and Shirley on the occasion of their 60th wedding anniversary.

You know, you're busy in life. You work, you bring children up.

You reach a pitch in life and you think,

"Eh, what have I seen? Nothing."

And I think, "Gosh, before I can't go,

"I want to see everything there is."

Ken's got a number of medical conditions, but he seems to cope,

and he's very often quite happy just to stay in his cabin.

It is lovely he does this out of love for her and to make her happy,

and that's one of, I think,

the successes of their 60 years of marriage.

Shirley more or less has to do things on her own,

but I trust her wherever she goes!

He just waits for me to come back to him,

and I wish he could come with me, but he couldn't cope.

I enjoy it. I have no tears

to be miserable, I do enjoy being on the ship.

My grandchildren call it Granddad's nursing home on the sea.

Oh, that's enough.

And a couple of them call me Corporal Jones in Dad's Army,

because I have the shakes like Corporal Jones,

and they think it's wonderful to take the mickey out of Granddad.

As Holy Week progresses, the crew are preparing for Easter...

..with hundreds of hot cross buns.

# He likes bread and butter

# And he likes toast and jam

# That's what really pleases him

# And he's a loving man. #

But they are also anticipating something far more sinister.

The passengers will notice around an increased patrol of the ship,

which will consist of our security personnel

and contracted UK security personnel.

They're going to see razor wire around Deck 7.

They're going to see water cannons and additional searchlights.

Captain Stoica is overseeing the operation.

We're taking all of these precautions

due to pirate activity in this area,

and to make sure that we're ensuring a safe transit for our passengers

and crew in a high-risk transit area.

They'll be in the danger zone in a few days' time.

We're notifying the Coalition Forces and the Royal Navy,

and they'll be there for us to help in case we need it.

Balmoral makes its way to Colombo, the capital of Sri Lanka.

This afternoon, we're doing a little tour of the city,

and we've got some of the crew with us on this little sightseeing trip.

Two of his party are Nesty and Michael.

Do you like spicy food?

Not really, compared to Thai and Indonesian.

I was glad of the opportunity of getting to know them better,

simply because it's not easy to deepen relationships on board

with the crew, because I don't see enough of them.

I think they had a lovely afternoon, and I certainly did.

How do they put the flower round the neck?

I imagine they have scaffolding, you know, a crane.

-Maybe they just throw on it.

-I don't think so.

One, two, three.

We've just seen some of the major sites in Colombo,

but not long enough, unfortunately, because they had to be back

for their duties, so we had to cut it rather short.

Shirley's keen for Ken to see a little more of the world.

It's a tuk-tuk ride, which I haven't been looking forward to.

People have terrified me this morning,

saying it'll be this, that and the other.

Look at the kites, Ken.

It's turned out absolutely top drawer.

It's wonderful, and the hair-raising driving is marvellous.

Hey, look at that building there, Ken.

You don't mind me not getting out, do you?

There's lovely buildings, and seeing the temple was something else.

It's been tremendous.

I've done nothing but sit in a tuk-tuk, and had a wonderful time.

If we hadn't come on this tour today, we'd have gone to see Colin

in the cathedral, because it's a big day for Colin, today.

It's at St Peter's Church.

Colin's been invited to take part in a special service

for The Mission to Seafarers, a charity which provides help

and support to ships' crews all over the world.

We're here in St Peter's Church,

preparing for the Thanksgiving service

and celebration for seafarers.

I'm looking forward to taking part in it, and a lot of people

are involved, and it will be, I'm sure,

to the glory of God, and will be a great celebration.

Nice to meet you, it's good to be here.

I was a bit surprised to find quite so many naval cadets.

The whole church was filled with them.

It's the first time he's been asked to give a sermon on foreign soil.

We've got the High Commissioner coming,

the Chairman of The Mission to Seafarers is coming,

our archdeacon here, and some of the clergy.

So it's a very special celebration,

and it's a privilege for me to be part of it.

You here in Sri Lanka are an island nation,

just as I have come from Britain, also an island nation,

and we are very much dependent upon the sea.

It was a very visual service,

because the cadets looked incredibly smart

in their white uniforms, and then carrying all the flags

of the nations was also very meaningful.

The Blessing of God Almighty, the Father,

the Son and the Holy Spirit.

With the help of the band and everyone else,

it made for a really uplifting and a very good service.

Shake hands, that's the way.

Nice to have you here.

I've had superb day, and everybody looked after us very well,

as I don't walk far.

Are you going to walk with me?

Come on, then. Do you want to go listen to him talk down there?

No. This will be far enough for me.

Smile.

It's wonderful.

I love having him with me, but sometimes it's just too much.

You've got your finger over it.

So, I have to go by myself, but when he can come with me, it's wonderful.

We've got more photos than soft Mick.

Today's been special, absolutely special.

-Every day's special with you, Shirley.

-Thank you, love.

Sue's coming to terms with some bad news.

I heard during the week my mum has had a stroke

and has been in hospital, but she's out now and back in the nursing home.

The family has been superb.

My sister and her husband and my daughters

have taken it in turns to go each weekend.

Friends are superb, and they've been visiting as well,

and letting me know how she's going on.

So, we just hope that she, yeah, pulls through.

Fortunately, her husband's on board.

David's been marvellous.

He's a wonderful support, and he always manages

to say the right thing and put everything into perspective.

He's very, very good indeed, so I'm pleased to have him here with me.

Don't bring any bags out. The only thing is, glasses on.

It's the final rehearsal before Easter Sunday...

You'll need to move swiftly. Are we ready?

..and the heat's on for the choir.

Don't fuss.

Don't look to the sides or say, "I should be here,"

or, "You should be there," or anything else. Straight into place.

We've all had a very hot day.

The temperature is 97, and everybody's exhausted.

Please don't twitch heads one way or the other.

No! Speaking. Please, go back to the sides.

Sorry to be like this, but it is so important.

It's kind of like, what are we doing, what are we singing, what do we do?

Everybody goes a bit to pieces, really.

Straight up, eyes this way. Walk in Jerusalem.

# I want to be ready

# I want to be ready... #

Andy's done really well, and I think it works really nicely,

with him leading into the service quite gently.

Perfect.

They're all doing a different part, more or less different rhythms,

so that can be a bit tricky.

THEY SING

Stop, stop, stop. I feel you coming in too soon.

Just having the confidence and remembering the words,

because they've learnt these words in the last few days, as well.

THEY SING

# John said... #

Same note.

# John said... #

We'll be OK tomorrow.

I'm sure it'll be fine tomorrow, and people will understand anyway,

won't they? So...

As Balmoral moves into the pirate zone,

the passengers must be prepared for action.

In approximately 15 minutes' time, we'll conduct a mandatory

exercise for all our guests and crew on board.

The Safe Haven drill consists of gathering the passengers and crew

in a safe location in case we're going to be under pirate attack.

Everybody, sit down, please.

It may appear excessive, but Balmoral's been threatened before.

When it happened in 2009, it was very crowded,

because if you can imagine, we had over 1,000 passengers

and 500 crew that had to go into those two Safe Haven areas.

Ian Earnshaw remembers the incident well.

Before the attack, everything was normal on the ship,

completely normal, because everybody didn't think

for one moment that it would ever happen.

There may be trouble ahead.

Where do I sit? Anywhere? Anywhere.

Drama teacher Carol Bunyan witnessed the first encounter.

One night, the ship was encircled by small boats,

and I think they were recceing.

It struck me it was a recce, and then a couple of days later,

the Captain's voice came on.

He said, "This is not a drill, this is not a drill."

And you just felt the hairs on the back of your neck just prickling.

While the attack was taking place,

the ship was moving from side to side quite violently.

I mean, it made sense to be sitting on the floor.

A little daunting, a little daunting to see,

because it makes you think, "Oh, this is not Johnny Depp,

"this is not fun, this is actually quite serious,

"and somebody could get hurt."

We were informed that a United States warship was in the proximity.

The American Frigate got itself between the Balmoral

and the threatening little boats, and the captain put his foot down,

and we ran off like Mulley Cheese Wallop in a dignified

sort of way, while the frigate coped with the small boats.

But when the ships did its manoeuvres

to avoid the attack, the ship would rock from side to side.

The main danger is the people standing up would fall on those

that were laying down, and that's when the bruises would happen.

They were in far more danger of that

than being hit by the Jolly Roger flag.

Colin and I were actually in charge of getting

people down on the floor.

That was the only resistance, people saying,

"I'll never get up, dear, once I get down."

The older people, that would have reminded them of the wartime Blitz,

like going to the London Underground in the cities, under the shelters.

So, that took them right back to that time of life,

and in fact, I heard them singing.

Some old war songs further down, started singing war songs.

We had There'll Always Be An England,

lots of stirring Vera Lynn stuff went on.

I think the passengers thoroughly enjoyed it, actually,

a lot of things to write on the postcards home.

It threw everything into chaos, that night, but it was good fun.

We sat there, sitting with different people, people probably

that they'd never met, so everyone was talking.

I would imagine friendships were made.

I think it was, you know, it was an experience.

They'll have to remain ready, as Balmoral will be in high-risk area

for the next two weeks.

Well, it's Easter at last, and there is quite a responsibility,

because I've got three services to take and three different

addresses to give.

So there's quite a bit of stress,

so I'm just glad to be here early to get everything ready.

CHURCH MUSIC PLAYS

It's a day, indeed, to rejoice,

and we share that happiness with Christians all around the world.

Amen.

Easter Day is the most important,

because it highlights Jesus' purpose in coming, knowing that

not only are we forgiven, but also that we have that gift

of eternal life.

Colin's organised the music for the Crew Service.

Hello, Tim, that's the hymn sheet for today,

and there is the service sheet.

Welcome to our Easter Sunday Holy Communion, or Mass.

It's lovely to see you all here today.

SHE SINGS

We've had a great service this afternoon, and I think the crew

appreciated introducing music, which I've done at long last,

and also be able to enjoy Easter service, mindful of their families.

So, it's been good in the parish at sea

to be celebrating Easter in this way.

So, it's two down and one to go.

Happy Easter, Ken.

Happy Easter to you. Did you have a pleasant day yesterday?

-Busy one.

-Happy Easter.

-And to you.

I'm not that religious.

-Morning, Colin.

-Good morning, Ian.

I don't normally go to church,

only on christenings and weddings and funerals.

But I like Colin, I've got a lot of time for Colin,

so we're all going down there, a few of my party going down,

which will be nice.

Jesus Christ is risen today. Halleluiah.

It's always a tradition of being a joyful service and bright.

It's been quite a hectic week, as Palm Sunday was a bit

frustrating, because we weren't able to have the choir sing.

They're going to sing today the piece they prepared last week.

# I want to be ready

# I want to be ready

# I want to be ready... #

The knee started shaking, and I could feel myself

getting a bit nervous, but fortunately,

it seemed to go reasonably well.

I thought it could have gone a lot better, but hey ho.

# Oh, by and by

# By and by

# Oh, by and by

# By and by

# Oh, by and by

# By and by

# I'm going to lay down my heavy load

# For I tried it on at the gates of hell... #

It went really, really well.

I thought it was a lovely service as far as the choir is concerned.

I think they did a superb job, they looked fabulous,

they sounded good.

I'm really proud of them.

# Ready

# To walk in Jerusalem just like John. #

Next time, Colin remembers those who fell at El Alamein...

They shall not grow old, as we that are left grow old.

..and Balmoral is coming home after four months at sea.

-It's been so good. It's been marvellous.

-It really has.

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