July 28, 2025

TOM & DONNA'S WEDDING CELEBRATION

A couple of months ago I was talking to two of my favorite shipmates, about their upcoming wedding and what plans they had made.  Tom and Donna met the first night we sailed from Belfast and I saw the relationship foster and grow, as Donna lived just a few doors down from me. They both fell hard for each other and were quickly inseparable, it was great to witness! They went off the Ship a few months back, to spend time in Italy, and Donna shocked us all, by proposing to Tom on their 6 month anniversary! They were married last month in Colorado, surrounded by a bunch of her friends and 2 couples from our Ship. I asked if they had a special song and they said no and there wasn't going to be any dancing or music at event. But Tom did offer, that he had suggested Footloose but was shot down - they are both so shy and claim to be non dancers. Hence the seed was planted!


I knew a bunch of us would want to celebrate them and their nuptials when they returned to the Ship and we had so much fun with Angie and Gian's flash mob and Ship wedding, that I thought it would be fun to create something similar for Tom & Donna. So I started recruiting from amongst their friends on board and quickly found many who were willing to go out of their comfort zone for these two. I found line dance moves to Footloose very easily, but the problem was the song is sooo fast, none of us could keep up to the beat and get through the 3 minutes. So with some tech support from other friends, we reduced the music down to 80% speed and cut down the length of the song significantly. We held secret dance rehearsals and I recruited Donna's sister too when she returned with them.Here's a look into one of our practice sessions.

And here's 2 different views on how it came out on the actual day we did the surprise.

I told Tom & Donna when they came back to ship after wedding, that Bosco and I wanted to meet them for drinks in Morning Light Bar area and then we could go to Thistle Dining Room Saturday night and hear all about their wedding and adventures. Instead we ambushed them with flash mob and group dinner with 20 of us, plus the rest of the Ship friends and staff joining in. A special evening evolved and I know they were really touched by the outpouring of love and good wishes!

We did an encore dance after dinner in the Coral Lounge and Tom and Donna joined in, while our cruise director / DJ egged us on to finish the dance at 100% speed. I take a slight tumble but bounce back up - see if you notice!

By Pat Patrick • October 1, 2026
WOW!! I can't believe it has been two years of sailing around the World already for me and my fellow shipmates on the Villa Vie Odyssey! We left Belfast, Ireland back on September 30, 2024 and it has been such a great adventure to date! We have been to 201 different ports, some more than once, during those two years, with much more to come!
By Pat Patrick • September 29, 2026
Before coming to Cambodia , I sadly have to admit I was unaware of the landmine problems they face. On our first night in Siem Reap, where we hiked up the hill to try and see the sunset views, there was a small band of men playing instruments and our tuk tuk driver explained to me they were victims of landmine explosions who had lost limbs or their sight and were trying to make money via donations to support their families.
By Pat Patrick • September 28, 2026
I rallied for our last temple of the morning, because I heard this one was unique and I think it was my favorite. Ta Prohm was built starting in 1186 by King Jayavarman VII as a Buddhist monastery and university dedicated to the king's mother. It was left mostly un-restored so that huge banyan and silk cotton trees grow directly over and through the walls. In 2001, the Lara Croft: Tomb Raider movie was filmed here.