4th October, 2023
By Kayode Akinropo
Let me start with this quote from Ibn Battuta, “Travelling – it leaves you speechless, then turns you into a storyteller.”
We recently went on a Mediterranean Sea cruise holiday/novel promotion with MARELLA DISCOVERY 2. We flew from Newcastle International Airport to Palma de Mallorca Airport in Spain from where we cruised to 11 ports: Palma, Majorca, Spain; Propriano, France; Piombino, Italy; Cannes, France; Barcelona, Spain; Ibiza Town, Spain; Palermo, Sicily/Italy; Naples/Napoli, Italy; Ajaccio, Corsica/France; Civitavecchia, Italy and Palamos, Spain.
Though the ship can carry 2,074 passengers, there were only 1,800 passengers and 700 crew from 40 countries when we cruised! It has 11 decks, 8 restaurants, 8 lounges and bars, 2 swimming pools, 4 Jacuzzis and 9 elevators.
Lobby Deck has the ship’s all 16 service boats; 10 lifeboats (each can carry around 150 people), 4 passenger tender boats and 2 rescue boats. The cruise ship was alive 24 hours for whatever you might wish to do!
When we had a ‘Day at Sea’, we sailed for between 36 and 40 hours without seeing any land area! Sound unbelievable? And you know what? Still, MARELLA DISCOVERY 2 is regarded as the smallest ship in the Marella Cruises fleet! Beyond belief!
Every fantastic thing on the ship worked perfectly well 247! But once we’re at sea, we lost contact with the outside world! And when you’re there, you want to appreciate how marvellous, awe-inspiring, extraordinary and outstanding our Creator, God the Almighty, is, by just looking, observing, enjoying and taking in everything He’s created on this planet Earth!
Once Iyabode, myself and Scars Do Heal (S.D.H) settled down, we interacted well with the wonderful crew; from Captain Andy Boyd, who’s the Master Sailor to Davey Beattie, the cruise director and so many other staff as we all became one big family at Sea.
On how we could sell our novel, we’re told by the person in charge about rules and regulations regarding that. We’re encouraged to do it on a one-to-one basis. That brought some wonderful results! The crew easily agreed to take photos with us once we let them know our intention and they also told us new ways we could market the book next time!
We made some new wonderful friends from around the world. They bought copies of ‘S.D.H’ and promised to promote the novel in their own ways when they got back home!
One of the unforgettable days was when we wore our Yoruba traditional clothes for a photo shoot at sea! Iyabode and I didn’t fail to tell everyone on the ship that we’re an authentic African couple!
The look on people’s faces, the celebration, the acceptance, questions and people’s readiness to either take pictures with us or help us take our pictures is a story for another day. Some even said they wished they could dress like us one day.
It would have been a pipedream or mere fantasy when ‘S.D.H.’ was published less than two years ago hoping it would get to this stage! But gradually, with the staunch support of fans and the special grace of God, the novel is already getting global recognition.
Kayode Joseph Akinropo is the author of SCARS DO HEAL: A Young Child’s Battle For Survival. He could be reached via +447735751023, [email protected] or Facebook.