Cruising the Three Seas, part 4 (finale)

Our cruise ended where it began, in Dubrovnik.

Because we had a late flight home, this turned into a bonus day of exploration. Sarah and I went for a little wander into the port, where we found giant pencils and a Pope.

But the real highlight was discovering the uanassuming-from-the-outside, very-cool-on-the-inside Red Museum, chronicling the history of communist Yugoslavia.

Not much to look at from the outside 

The museum is a mix of history detailing how Yugoslavia came into being and artefacts from the communist era, which began in armed struggle against the Nazi occupiers in World War 2.

I kind of knew that Marshall Tito broke with Stalin and kept Yugoslavia independently communist. It allowed for a more consumer-focused state with promoting tourism as official policy.

Remember Yugo cars? I do!

The Sarajevo Olympics were the first winter Olympics held in a communist country. I liked their wolf mascot!

It was a fantastic, interactive museum with the opportunity to listen to top Yugoslavian tunes of the era.

It turns out this was the only museum I made it to on the cruise holiday, but I would rate it 10/10. And it had a fun little gift shop too. (Even the communist museums make you exit through the gift shop!)

So that was the final bonus morning of the cruise. We were able to have lunch on board the ship before getting in the coach for a very scenic ride back to the airport. 

Cruise whimsy

The crew of the Marella Explorer 2 were all lovely and some had a real gift for whimsy. The cabin stewards on the turn-down service amused themselves with crafting animals out of towels. It was always fun heading back from the evening entertainment and wondering what towelimals would be waiting for us.

There were some other quirky touches on board as well. Nobody ever explained the fibreglass cows.

I think I saw a blue cow too, but I didn't take a picture. 

Here's a top tip - magnetic hooks to hang stuff on the walls. Dave had done his pre-cruise research and bought a really useful set. I ended up with a cap rack at my end of our cabin.

Speaking of cabins, this signage amused me. Signs don't just get put up for no reason. I suspect some buffoon has hung his suit from a fire sprinkler in the past!

I was impressed by how well oiled the various processes were. On our last night we left our hold luggage outside our room and it was whisked away and sorted out. We didn't see it again until it appeared on the carousel in Birmingham Airport. Things like that made the trip very easy. 

We had one minor issue when my sister got glutened by one of the restaurants. I've learned that customer service is judged best when something has gone wrong and people try to set it right. At our next mealtime the head waiter hovered over us to make sure everything was OK and extra care was taken to make sure my sister's plates were absolutely gluten-free.

A side effect of studying business psychology is looking at workplaces and trying to ascertain the culture. The crew vibe seemed very positive, professional and yet informal. The captain introduced himself as Captain Richard in his announcements and stood on the quayside saying hi to passengers as they disembarked. All the staff were happy to chat and answer questions about ship life. They were friendly without being false and I can't commend them highly enough.

On our last evening on board, after the entertainment show concluded, members of the crew were all invited up onto the stage to receive a round of applause too. It was a lovely way to recognise the whole team, and the whole team deserved to be thanked for making our trip so brilliant. 

Maddening

The latest revelation in the Madeleine McCann saga is that "friends of the McCanns" saw a man carrying (possibly) a child, which could have been Madeleine. And the papers are full of it again - the McCanns are back on the radio - when will this ever end?

I don't know how many people I've talked to about this, but it seems most people reckon there's something fishy about the whole thing. And the verdict on the media coverage is that 'Kate and Gerry', as they're known to Daily Mail readers, benefit from being middle class and reasonably photogenic. Or at least Kate does. It was a single mother friend of mine - bizarrely also called Madeleine - who said "Now if it had been me who'd left my child alone, the papers would have had a field day and I'd be in prison right now."

As far as I can see there are four main possibilities.
1 - while 'Kate and Gerry' were out eating their meal, an unidentified intruder siezed the chance to snatch a child and either a) killed her, or b) is holding her hostage still over four months later [you decide which is the most likely scenario]
2 - while 'Kate and Gerry' eat dinner, an unidentified intruder, wrongly assuming no parent would leave their children alone for the evening, broke into the apartment to nick stuff, was surprised to find the children there and then had to do something because Madeleine woke up, and so either a) killed her, or b) is holding her hostage still over four months later [again, you decide which is the most likely scenario]
3 - 'Kate and Gerry' drugged Madeleine, even though they've now denied the accusations of sedating their kids, but cocked up the dosage, then cooked up the abduction as a way of avoiding jail, while disposing of her body themselves
4 - Madeleine is safe and sound somewhere and the McCanns know where she is, but, hey, they're famous now and got to meet the Pope etc. etc. So they keep the whole mystery going.

I honestly feel exhausted to the point of boredom with this whole case. Deep down, like most people, I think a little girl is tragically dead. We don't know what happened; we might never know. The McCanns might know, although I think they don't. What they do know is what we know - the guiltiest parties in this are the parents who abandoned their daughter so they could go out for a meal.