2nd Star to the Right

[Timo]

Kirk claims in his log that while he himself will never again command the ship (except for this "final cruise"), another crew will take over the ship.

He got that wrong: Starfleet never assigned another crew to this ship as far as we can tell, and instead launched another Enterprise. So perhaps he got everything else wrong, too, and there was no final cruise, just an attempt at one until USS Herbert showed up and fired a warning shot across the port bow?

Or did the "decommissioning" refer to the ship (rather than the onboard semi-retirees) being decommissioned, and then promptly recommissioned as the USS Irrelevant for another twenty years of indistinguished service so that Starfleet could use the more prestigious name for a PR coup? That happens in real navies, too...

Timo Saloniemi

 

[ChristopherPike]

I tend to support the U.S.S. Yorktown got refitted and renamed Enterprise A theory for the Voyage Home. The ship is well-worn again by The Undiscovered Country and must be more than 10 years old. It simply can't have been as new and gleaming as it appeared, when Kirk was rewarded with it.

 

[Mojochi]

I don't think we were supposed to read any more into it than a touch of poetry--and one of Nicholas Meyer's trademark literary allusions.

I always just assumed they took a "victory lap" as Mojochi said, and took the scenic route home.

That being said, if you think about it... Not one of the films takes place while they were on active duty. 6: Due to stand down, 5: On leave awaiting the new ship's shakedown, 4: In transit, on route to Earth as renegades, 3: Awaiting new assignment, 2: called up during training exercise, 1: Called up during refit.

They almost always end up with a "Hey Enterprise! You are only hope! We Need YOU!" situation. These people are cursed to have god knows what waiting around every corner, while they are idle. Why would a victory lap necessarily go any less unmolested? lol

So maybe they take a day or two for a little farewell jaunt, & right around the corner is a new encounter