Day 51 - Neptune Day

Lucky for me, I woke up at 0728 for no reason.  At 0730, there was a cryptic PA announcement with a strange poem and a rude “Wake up, Pollywogs!”  Shortly after, I could hear a parade of people stomping its way down the hall blowing whistles, hitting drums, and banging on doors.

Today was Neptune Day: the day when slimy Pollywogs would cross the equator for the first time to become Shellbacks.  We were among a lucky few that would cross at the Prime Meridian, making us Emerald Shellbacks.  But it wasn’t that easy!  We first had to pay homage to Queen Minerva and King Poseidon to prove our worthiness!

I went up to breakfast, catching another sighting of the parade of existing Shellbacks.  They were dressed up in togas with elaborate sparkly makeup and flashing glasses and props and were followed by Executive Dean John dressed head to toe in green sparkles as King Poseidon.

There were rumors over breakfast about the hazing to come.  On the upper deck, the crew were mashing up fish guts.  When the parade came through again and directed us upstairs, I didn’t want to go.  Luckily, participation was voluntary.

Victims would step into the wading pool and get a pitcher of fish guts (yes) pour over their heads.  Then they would jump into the pool, and as they were climbing out of the pool, they would be forced to kiss a real fish, followed by the hands of Queen Minerva and King Poseidon.  The next stage was with the Royal Barber – no appointment necessary.  A bunch of guys and a handful of girls shaved all or part of their heads (only to get sunburnt later)

Around 2:30, we all gathered on the back deck in preparation for crossing the equator.  Everyone was excited and taking photos with their recently-made signs and shouting things like, “Look, there’s the equator!”  (No, you can’t actually see the equator.)  As we crossed, the bridge blew the whistle, and within the minute we all transformed into Emerald Shellbacks.