Leaving Port Canaveral

Good morning,

The "Chiefen Car" was all packed up and ready to leave Port Canaveral on November 4, the day My Honey retired from Royal Caribbean Cruises after more than 31 years of service.  He had been working at sea for nearly 50 years so retirement sure looked good!

I had left the ship with the guests since I was on the guest manifest.  The guests had already come back to the garage and driven away.  I had the car all packed and was waiting for Kjell to finish a hand over meeting with the next Chief Engineer when...

...here he comes, the newly RETIRED Kjell.  What a smile!

One last picture before we headed North to the South Coast of Ohio.

On this day his job titled changed from Chief Engineer for Royal Caribbean Cruises, Ltd., to Director of Wood Working Design and Production for our own little on line shop, EvensensProductions.com.   

Retirement is good!

Lois

All Packed Up and Ready to Go!

Good morning,

Packing to go home this time was quite a job.  This is one of many cases that had the last ride home from Port Canaveral to the South Coast of Ohio when we retired earlier this month. 

Ohio, here we come!

Lois

Last Day in the Office Before Retirement

Good morning,

Earlier this month My Honey retired from Royal Caribbean after 31 years of service to the company and nearly 50 years at sea.

The last day we walked around saying goodbye to our friends on board.  When we stopped by his office, I took this last image of My Honey at his desk. 

Is that a happy smile or what!  :)  It was a good 31 years, but retirement sure looks good, too.

Lois

Coffee Talk - Last Before Retirement

Good morning,

For the last two months we were aboard Freedom of the Seas before My Honey's retirement there were "lasts" every day.

Kjell and I enjoyed chatting with our friends Rose and Howie Markowitz while having coffee on the Royal Promenade.

Just before I snapped this picture of someone called, "Chief!" and he looked the other way. 

What a lovely time with friends aboard Freedom.

Lois

Parked Next to Us - Oasis of the Seas

Good morning,

One of the terrific things about cruising is the change of scenery.

Every morning we woke up there was a different view outside our deck 10 window.  This time it was Oasis of the Seas, one of our Royal Caribbean sister ships.

We were tied up in Cozumel, Mexico, when I took these images. 

Enjoy!

Lois

Dinner with Friends - Giovanni's Table - Freedom of the Seas

Good morning,

We had one last dinner at Giovanni's Table aboard Freedom of the Seas before My Honey retired. 

Pictured with us are from left Tracey, John, Jeanne, me, My Honey, and Kyle.

As always, the friendship, food, and service were tops. 

It was fun, folks!  :)  Thanks for joining us.

Lois

The Last Bowing

Good morning,

There were so many "lasts" the final two months before My Honey's retirement from Royal Caribbean after 31 years.

This was the final goodbye wave from the bridge over the Royal Promenade.  Chief is on the far right.

Here he is again with a little more zoom.

 Click to watch the video!



Fantastic!

Lois

Chief Engineer Retirement Dinner - The Celebration Continues

Good morning,

The retirement events for My Honey continued aboard Freedom of the Seas.  The Officers Dinner to celebrate Kjell's retirement happened to fall on Halloween.  Above you see Kjell, a very sick looking creature (AKA Cruise Director Casey), and Captain Toni.

I'll just let you scroll through a few of these.  They are pretty self explanatory.  ;)

The pictures are all so good I couldn't select just a few.

 OK, time for some more serious pictures.  Above are Chief Engineer Kjell and Captain Toni.

 These are the officers of Kjell's Engine Department.

 And, these are Hotel and Bridge Officers.

 No retirement is complete without lots of food...

 ...and a yummy cake.

Oh, this is so staged.  :\

 Here we have Hotel Director Xavier, me, I'm not sure who he was supposed to be, but that's Mike from the terminal in the red dress, Chief Kjell, Mike's wife, Captain Toni, and another friend from the dockside.

 Ooooh, this picture needs a title!

 What a night!

 And, finally, the retiree had a few short words to thank everyone.

What wonderful friends.

:),
Lois

Goodbye Port Canaveral

Good morning,

There was a very special event at the beginning of the last sailing out of Port Canaveral for Freedom of the Seas.

This is our friend Al who is Superman (the boss) at the Port Canaveral Terminal where thousands of guests pass through each week to and from their cruises.  We first met Al when he worked aboard the ships, then he was offered the dockside job which he says his wife thought was the best thing since sliced bread.  Al works super wonders so I gave him a Superman T-shirt about a year ago.  It was very appropriate.  ;)

That's Freedom of the Seas' Hotel Director Xavier Matthias pouring the bubbly to share with the fabulous dockside team who do such a wonderful job each week.

Freedom's Executive Team was ashore to thank the Port Canaveral personnel.

I've sailed with my husband for nearly 20 years in and out of ports all over the world.  I can attest to the fact that Port Canaveral personnel are The Best!

Thank you, Port Canaveral. 

The following week, Freedom of the Seas re-positioned to her new home port in Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale.

Lois

Farewell to Freedom

Good mroning,

The last evening at the end of the cruise the Ohio and Texas folks all got together with us to say goodbye. 

Left to right:   Aunt Carol, My Honey, Russell, Catherine, Martha, Dr. Chris, Patti, and that's me behind the camera.  ;)

Great memories!

Lois

Coffee with Captain Toni

Good morning,

I snapped this picture of Catherine with Captain Toni while they were enjoying coffee toward the end of Catherine's week on board Freedom of the Seas.

It was a fantastic week celebrating Kjell's (Catherine's Dad's) retirement and Catherine's birthday.

Enjoy,
Lois

Dinner with the Ohio and Texas Folks

Good morning,

The food just doesn't end on a cruise ship.

This was a dinner with the our friends from Cincinnati and Dallas who were helping us celebrate Kjell's retirement.

Left to right around the table:  Dr. Chris, Matt, Carol, Catherine, me, Kjell, Russell, Martha, Liz, and Patti.

Thank you, everyone, for being here to celebrate this week.

Hugs,
Lois

Happy Birthday (Again), Catherine!

Good morning,

We celebrated our daughter's birthday all week while she was on board Freedom of the Seas. 

This time Daddy (not pictured) hosted a table in the dining room and we had cake again.

I don't think I've ever eaten so much cake in one week. 

Seated at the table left to right:  Our friend Russell, Catherine, our friend Matt.

Happy birthday, again, Catherine!

Love you,
Mom

Knitting Project at Sea

Good morning,

This is the last project I worked on while on board Freedom of the Seas earlier this month. 

I just love the way the colors of the yarn for this sweater match the color of the sea. 

This was a custom order that is now complete and has been delivered to the customer.  She will look stunning in it!

:),
Lois

Retirement Fun - What a Send Off!

Good morning,

My Honey got a great Retirement send off from the entire crew of Freedom of the Seas.  The 1,400 member crew was assembled in the theater for an all crew meeting when the Captain surprised My Honey (Chief Engineer Kjell Evensen) with a good bye program.

Pictured above are My Honey's Engine Department personnel.  That's him in the "king" chair, and, between the mirror behind him is Captain.

In this image are left to right:  Captain Toni Calne wearing the "Keep Calm, I'm a Captian" shirt, My Honey wearing the "I'm retired.  Don't ask me to do a d..mn thing," me, Dr. Chirs Thielen, Aunt Carol, Patti Thielen, and our daughter, Catherine.  Both Captain's and Chief's shirts were gifts from guests, different guests who had no idea the other gift was being given.  Great minds!

 The two images above were taken by the ship's photographers.

Following are some pictures that friends took during this event.  Pinnacle Members (those guests with the most cruise nights) were invited to the event and took quite a few pictures.

 Captain Toni sure put together a great send-off for Kjell.

 Smile, honey!

 Here come the Engine Department personnel.  :)

 A gift!  Kjell was given a gorgeous watch as a retirement gift from the crew members.

Thank you, Captain Toni, and all the other crew of Freedom of the Seas for the wonderful send off!

Lois