July 21, 2024

Gallbladder Removal Surgery

One of the big reasons I returned to Philly when ship notified us of the last delay, was to attend to a health item that had surfaced for me, right before originally departing on 5/18/24. It was recommended that I have my gall bladder removed sooner than later due to large stones and a lesion that was showing on recent scans. I had originally scheduled it for 9/11, right after my niece's wedding weekend of 9/7, since I was going to be home then anyway. With the ship notifying us of the delay and itinerary changes, it seemed prudent to get this taken care of now. So on Thursday 7/18/24 I had outpatient surgery to remove my gall bladder. I had it done by a Jefferson Doctor, Sami Tannouri, who does a ton of these everyday at Methodist Hospital. The whole procedure was rather easy and I'm recovering with very little discomfort. I see the Dr. on Tuesday for a follow up and should be cleared to fly and join the ship next weekend for our maiden voyage out of Belfast! Amazing how everything is falling into place.

TIOMAN ISLAND, MALAYSIA

By Pat Patrick • July 7, 2026
Today, I braved the heat ( it's a blazing 84) to walk around a little bit and get the feel for life on Tioman Island, Malaysia . The Village of Tekek is where we tender to and this is where the Ferry , the Island's National Secondary School, Health Clinic and Airport (really just a strip) are located. The most notable feature is the Rainbow Bridge over the inlet.

TIOMAN ISLAND, MALAYSIA

By Pat Patrick • July 6, 2026
Fun day in the waters of Tioman Island, Malaysia snorkeling with friends. Life is good! It was nothing fancy, a boat & captain, who spoke minimal English and barely interacted with us, for roughly 7 hours. We started the outing spotting a group of dolphins and was quickly at anchor drop 1 of 6. The distances between the 6 snorkel spots was minimal, which gave us lots of time in the water (at least 45 minutes, at each spot) with an added stop for a lunch break at local restaurants. Even the restaurants were fast and efficient, definitely used to catering to the boat crowd.

HAPPY 4th of JULY from SE ASIA SEA!

By Pat Patrick • July 4, 2026
Wishing everyone a Happy 4th of July! Here on the Odyssey we celebrated in the SE Asia Sea on our way to Tioman Island, Malaysia . We have such a talented and dedicated group of residents here, they put together a fun hour of things to celebrate and embrace a lot of what we collectively love about the USA. Even our residents from other countries - Canada, England, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, Germany , etc. joined in the fun! ( I lent my flag below for decorations)