Day 8 - At Sea

Day 8 – Friday 17^th January 2014 – At Sea

Somebody’s prays have been answered, the wind and seas have gone down and we going for it, at our maximum speed of 23/24 knots, this is the fasted for me on any ship, I have sailed on before.  The downside of this for Cunard, at this speed, the ship will be consuming 250 tons of fuel in 24 hours.

The morning gym exercises were followed by a tour of the Britannia Restaurant galley, a look around behind the scenes.  A short but informative tour and all of the chefs were very happy to answer any of our questions.

Today’s dance session was the quick step, amazingly, I got the hang of this one and managed two laps of the dance floor before being told to stop.

Lunch in Weatherspoon’s, cheese pasty and a pint, I must be cutting down.

Dress code for tonight is informal and the special evening cocktail is Pimms No.1 not quite to my liking but we got it down, preferred the canapés.

Theatre entertainment was London Palladium night with a take-off of the stars who had appeared there.  I was really impressed with costumes and dance routines, it really is very, very professional and I have not spotted a step out of place.

After the show we had already made the decision, no night caps, and went off to our beds knowing an early start in the morning for arrival in New York.

Day 7 - At Sea

Day 7 – Thursday 17^th January 2014 – At Sea

Today the weather has not really improved with a Force 7/8 gale with cloudy skies.

The morning session in the gym and sauna certainly gets you in the right frame of mind and sets you up the rest of the day.

The 11.00 lecture in the theatre was given by Ellen Baker, our astronaut, with a talk on My Favourite Plant, Earth and how life may have evolved here and what may be out there in space.  Once more presented with some amazing pictures and thought provoking, keeps the brain cells moving.

Dance session today was the advanced waltz, I have not even mastered the basic waltz, so it was in at the deep end though I managed not to kick anybody.

The Golden Lion (Weatherspoon’s) lunch time session with cottage pie which then moved into an afternoon siesta.

Dress code today is formal and all spruced up for pre-dinner drinks and canapés.  Tonight everyone was at the dinner table and I had prawns/lobster/baked Alaska which was excellent.  The night in the restaurant ended with a parade of the chefs, dressed in their white suits and hats, they walked around the tables in a crocodile line while all of us clapped and cheered until they gathered at the main restaurant staircase for a photo shoot, it was very impressive.

Into the theatre for a variety show which included the dancers, the very funny comedian and the brilliant piano player.  We ended the night in the Golden Lion, a karaoke with nut case Laura, the presenter in charge.  She sure puts a smile on your face.

Alas, the seas are building up again, as we try to make up for lost time and maintain our speed, we are bouncing about and it is going to be another rocky night.

Day 6 - At Sea

Day 6 – Wednesday 15^th January 2014 – At Sea

At last the wind and sea have eased with a force 3/4 wind and a sunny day.  There are even better views today of the sea from the gym and sauna.

We are starting to get into a routine on board with exercises in the morning, lunchtime dance session, today being the jive, followed by Weatherspoon’s for lunch.  With the afternoon spent wandering about trying to take in the lots of wonderful things on board.  Colin tends to go off to the movies which are held in the theatre in the afternoons.

This morning the crew held an emergency exercise which simulated a cabin fire on Deck 4 midship, it was not ours, it all went very well.  Questioning the Pilipino crew members they all enjoyed taking part, which is very reassuring.

We receive every night a daily program which is very informative of all the activities which will be going on the following day.  Giving you plenty of time to plan the next day and pick which of the many and varied activities you wish to join in.

Tonight the dress code is informal and today’s cocktail special is Mojioto, gin with a lot of mint, strange taste but they went down well with the canapés in the Café Carinthia.

Dinner consisted of shrimp soup/steak diane/apple tart and once again, very nice indeed.

A stroll along to the theatre, after dinner, to see a production by the singers and dancers of Vanity Fair.  The costumes were magnificent and the dance routines spectacular.

At the end of the show we went to the ballroom where the orchestra were playing big band music.  When it all finished, it was up to the Yacht Club but there were not many people around, maybe they cannot stand the pace.  We ended another very enjoyable day with our Mojiotos. 

Day 5 - At Sea

Day 5 – Tuesday 14^th January 2014 – At Sea

It is nothing like this as the Atlantic gale persists and we are down to just over 12 knots.  The skies are overcast and the deck areas are still closed off and those with balconies are advised to keep the doors closed.

The morning of gym sessions were very enjoyable as the exercises are becoming a little easier.  Today, I found just behind the gym on the starboard side, a door leading to a changing/locker room, with an adjoining shower room and a sauna.  I am a great admirer of this type of relaxation, so it is kit off and into the sauna.  Now these are normally a wooden box in which you gradually cook until you perspire profusely.  The difference here, the box has only three wooden sides with a stove in the corner with the coals on top to throw the water on.  The fourth side has a clear window from the deck head (ceiling) to deck (floor). So, here you are, sat on the wooden bench on Deck 9 in your birthday suit, lathed in sweat looking out to the sea, watching a gale raging in the Atlantic Ocean, it is surreal.

Today’s dance class was the samba, more wiggling with little else to show for it, though the ship’s movement helped everyone in a strange sort of way to get round the floor.

The lunch and pints in Weatherspoon’s was accompanied by the ship’s orchestra playing traditional jazz and they were great.  At 14.00, there was an informal masonic meeting held on Deck 10 in the Admiral’s Lounge, ten of us turned up.  We could not really achieve or organise anything, as most of the others are leaving the ship in New York, but two of us are going all the way round and await to see if others may attend forthcoming meetings.  We all received certificates, stating we had all met on the Queen Elizabeth.

Took advantage of Deck 3 being open and with movie camera took pictures all the way round the deck, to show how this ship operates in bad weather.

Dress code tonight is either formal or informal, monkey suit for me.  Pre-dinner drinks and canapés in the Café Carinthia, we were back to our normal G&T’s which were cheaper than today’s cocktail special.  Dinner consisted of scallops/lamb/caramelised banana, it was delicious.  For the first time our table for six was full, with Colin and myself, Linda and Richard a couple from Norfolk who run a bed & breakfast business.  Alison and Joanne, who are both lawyers from the Bristol area.   

On leaving the restaurant, everyone swaying along the lavish corridor making our way from the stern to the forward end and into the theatre to see again the country singer Zac Winningham and this show was even better than his first.

Finished the night in the Golden Lion with a trivia quiz, hosted by Laura, (a look alike of Kate Bush) and she is unreal, a complete fruit and nut case.  We all went to bed with a smile and the gale maybe starting to ease.

Day 4 - At Sea

Day 4 – Monday 13th January 2014 – At Sea

View of the stern from Deck 3 with two azipods driving in a force 8 gale.

Another good day’s start in the gym then into the Theatre to listen to today’s lecture, ‘Working and Living in Space’, given by Ellen Baker, an American Astronaut, who has spent 24 days in space on three separate shuttle missions.  The lecture was given with many amazing photographs taken from space and how they live and work on the space station, thoroughly enjoyed the talk and it is not every day you get to meet an Astronaut.

Dance class today was the tango which proved a little difficult but a lot of fun, as we skated around the floor to the rolling of the ship. 

Weatherspoon’s, for a fish and chips lunch with a couple of pints. I good get used to this.

In the afternoon, wandered around the forward end of the ship, taking pictures of the Commodore Room, Gym and Yacht Club, then the afternoon siesta.

Cocktail of the day in the evening at the Café Carinthia was a ‘Mai Tai’ which consisted of five different spirits, it was beautiful.

Dinner’s selection was prawns/sirloin steak/ice cream, all very nice.  After dinner wandered along to the theatre at the forward end to be entertained by Marie Keane, a pianist from Manchester and she certainly could rattle those ivories, a wonderful show.

Finished off in the Commodore Room, with cocktail night caps. 

The seas are building again and the decks are closed off and expecting another bouncy night.

Day 3 - At sea

Day 3 - Sunday 11th January 2014 - At Sea

Day 3 – Sunday 12^th January 2014 – At Sea

                                    Atlantic Ocean as seen from the ship’s stern doing 19 knots.

Awake at 09.00, it had been a slightly rocky night with force 6/7 winds outside. Into to the gym for over an hour then to a meeting held by the staff entitled the flat belly seminar,  wasted on me.

Into the ballroom for the lunch time dance session, made an idiot of myself trying to do the cha-cha-cha., more wiggling required.

It was into the Golden Lion for the match, amazingly over a ploughman’s lunch with pints of Speckled Hen (my favourite) watched the Manchester City versus Newcastle game on the tele, with a perfect picture.  Pity about the score but we were 400 miles North West of Cape Finnesterre in Northern Spain.

Second formal night and all done up again, my penguin suit came with a waist coat, afraid it will be left in the wardrobe (that’s the flat belly seminar for you).  It was the Captain’s Welcome Party, we all had to form an orderly queue before being presented to him, hands shook, pictures taken and after a few friendly words, ushered into the ballroom to be given champagne and canapés.  We mingled with the ship’s officers and other invited guests (we were the second sitting lot).  I introduced myself to the Chief Engineer, Jason Truman and discussed the forthcoming voyage.  The Captain/Master, Chris Wells, this man is a star, introduced in a very light hearted manner, each of his main officers, from all of the different departments who keep this ship running.  He also informed us of the guests on board.  There are 240 doing the world wide cruise (which includes us), with a total of 1900 passengers on board, speaking 24 different languages.  A crew of 900, who spoke 40 different languages, giving a total compliment of 2800 persons on board.

For dinner this evening, it was crab/lemon sole/cheese cake.  The service is wonderful and of course, a bottle of wine with the meal.  Myself and Colin will alternate each night on the choice of wine.

Part of the night’s entertainment was the London Ball and some of the guests were into the occasion with full union jack suits and dresses.  The best one for me was the man dancing with his lady, on his head balanced a bobby’s helmet with a flashing blue light, brilliant.  For us, it was into the theatre to watch the comedian, he was very funny for someone with the ship rolling and pitching in a full gale.  The theatre is situated at the forward end on Decks 1,2 and 3.  The stage curtains were swaying back and forth, as the ship occasionally slammed into the waves. The comedian sliding about trying to keep his balance while doing the impossible of stand-up comedy.

On Deck 10 back into the Yacht Club for an Abba night, a lot more people in the room tonight, after the night caps, return to the cabin; another eventful day.

 Not advisable to go on deck, the weather is deteriorating. 

Day 2 - At Sea

Day 2 - Saturday 11th January 2014 - At Sea

Day 2 – Saturday 11^th January 2014 – At Sea

 Day 2 - Saturday 11th January 2014 - At Sea

Awake at 08.30 after a good night sleep in a very comfortable bed.  It is a sunny day with a slight sea swell from the North West and a slight breeze.  Informed at 08.00 we had passed the Bishop’s Rock light house on the Scilly Isles and now into the Western approaches doing 19 knots.

Stateroom (4120)

A visit to the gym at the forward end of Deck 9 with its many fitness machines to hopefully keep the weight down to reasonable levels.  The area covers the full width of the ship with panoramic views over the ocean, as you pedal your bicycle or straddle a rowing machine and may imagine you are rowing across the Atlantic.

Also on deck 9 is the Lido, a 24 hour eating emporium, trying to impress, I only had a light breakfast.  The fitness instructors hold seminars during the day and at 11.00, I went along to one about Detox which was alright, as I learnt about all the things, I have been doing wrong.

At 12.15 down to the Queen’s Room Ballroom situated on Deck 2 for my first dance lesson, the slow waltz.  These two skinny instructors, Darya and Eugene from the Ukraine were very good looking after a packed dance floor of nervous beginners.  We all managed to get through it.

At 13.00 back up to the Lido for a very light lunch.  On this same Deck there is the Garden Lounge in which for a couple of hours in the morning and afternoon an area is cordoned off for us worldwide cruisers to relax and have our own tea/coffee and selection of hors d’oeuvres. We also have our own hostess Rachael to look after our every needs.

Stateroom (4120)

This is all getting too much, so its time for the afternoon nap.  Early evening is spent getting polished, as it is our first formal night with the Cunard Ball.  We all looked splendid in our penguin suits and the ladies in their gowns.  For appetisers, we went to the pub, the Golden Lion on Deck 2, for gin and tonics before dining in the Britannia Restaurant on crab spring rolls/beef/apple pie which were superb.  Our French couple have moved on to be with their country folk, as I do not think they wanted to go home an English Geordie accent.

At 22.30 into the theatre to watch and listen to a young American fork/country singer, Zac Winningham, playing 60’s/70’s music and for someone who has just been playing guitar and a ukulele for 10 years, he was great.

Where to next after the show, the Cunard Ball was still going in the ballroom but we decided on what we know and back up to the Yacht Club to finish us off.  The weather had been steadily declining and for everyone’s safety they had decided to close access to Deck 3, the only one where you can actually walk all the way round the ship.  If you do 3 laps of the deck, you will have covered 0.9 mile.  I will leave that for another day when the sun is shining.