King Neptune Ceremony – Crossing the Equator – April 5th, 2011 - Day 33

The King Neptune Ceremony commemorates a sailor’s first crossing of the equator.  Originally the tradition was created as a test for sailors to ensure their new shipmates were capable of handling long rough times at sea.  Sailors who have already crossed the equator are nicknamed “Trusty Shellbacks”, Sons of Neptune, those who have not, are “Vile Pollywogs”.  During the ceremony, officiated by King Neptune, the Vile Pollywogs undergo a number of ordeals, largely for the entertainment of the Shellbacks.

After being led in tied together, each crew Pollywog was first forced to “Kiss the Fish”, then thrown along a table and covered with coloured egg-whites and finally thrown in the pool.  Kaylie, who runs the Kids Club was a Pollywog, which caused great entertainment for the kids!

By the end, all the kids were in the pool with the crew, and Charlotte had also been thrown along the table and covered in gunk!

Needless to say, the pool was drained that night and refilled!!

We finished off the sea day activities with a nice dinner for the parents / grandparents of the 4 (out of 6) kids on the ship.