We breakfasted at a café down the road, and then checked out
of our hotel and once again crammed all five cases, bags, fishing rods and
ourselves into a taxi to head for pier 90.
As we approached the pier we got our first glimpse of Cunard’s
“Queen Victoria”. Out of the taxi we piled and purloined two trollies to transport our luggage to the check-in where we were assured it would all be delivered direct to our state room. After a short wait we boarded the ship and headed
straight up to our state room where a bottle of Champagne awaited us. It was nicely chilled so it would have been a
shame not to open it. Afterwards we went
to explore the ship; but maybe we should have done that before opening the
Champagne…… Oops.
At lunch in the self-service Lido restaurant we met Brian. He flew over from UK yesterday, employed especially to act as dance partner for the dance classes during the week. He did this on a variety of cruises as a full time job. We met him several times during our voyage.
Upon returning to our state room some of our cases were
missing. We discovered we had been
upgraded to a better room but we were now on the port side of the ship, and we had
specifically booked the starboard side so that we could get some sun on the
balcony which would be south-facing on our easterly voyage. A trip down to the Pursers Office to sort
things out also revealed our missing cases.
Another state room on deck eight would be made available for us but not
until Monday afternoon.
When the ship was ready to depart we went up onto the top deck
to wave farewell to the streets of Manhattan.
Many of the other passengers were also up on the top deck; bar staff
were on hand for ordering cocktails.
Two
coast guard gun-boats escorted us out of the NYC harbour and then we followed
the coast in a north-easterly direction.
Our evening meal was the late sitting at 8.30pm – which gave plenty of
time to visit one of the many cocktail bars.
Alison always had the Cocktail of the
Day as this was a good way to try a new drink each day.
26th Apr – The Queen Victoria
We had breakfast in the buffet Lido restaurant as the main
restaurant hours did not suit our morning routine (ie we didn't get up in time). We then went to one of the presentations by
Simon Dinsdale, a retired Detective Chief Inspector from Essex. He gave a very interesting talk on “How to
Catch a Murderer” – referring to a specific case he had worked on.
In order to adjust to the time difference that we were
heading towards, the ship put the clock forward by an hour at noon on 5
different days of the voyage. Today was
one of the days.
We spent some more time familiarising ourselves with the
ship; the spa facilities; the outdoor swimming pool and hot tub; the Queens
room where the ballroom dances were held; the casino, shops, and art gallery.
Having entered service in 2007 the ship had undergone a refit in January 2015 so everything was ship-shape.
We were not sure if the ship was carrying the full passenger capacity of 1997 (crew 981) but we did hear that 800 passengers got on at NYC. There were also a number of people who had been on the ship since Sydney or LA and some were on board for the full 102 day voyage that began in January.
Having entered service in 2007 the ship had undergone a refit in January 2015 so everything was ship-shape.
We were not sure if the ship was carrying the full passenger capacity of 1997 (crew 981) but we did hear that 800 passengers got on at NYC. There were also a number of people who had been on the ship since Sydney or LA and some were on board for the full 102 day voyage that began in January.
Although this evening was not a formal one, gentlemen still
had to wear jackets for dinner; and denim, after 6pm, was “considered
inappropriate”. At the cocktail bar we
chatted to some people from Guernsey (Alan/Chris/Stewart/Ann). We also met Eric and Lyn at the table
adjoining us in the
restaurant.
27th Apr – Change of Room
After only 2 days on board we realised we were eating too
much so today we just had coffee and cereal for breakfast. To celebrate the Cunard 175th
Anniversary a variety of Cunard memorabilia were displayed in the Queens room
in the morning. Then another talk by
Simon Dinsdale about “Being a Body Guard” – a job he had done for Princess
Anne.
We both attended the blackjack ‘teach-in’ in the casino. To encourage further participation in the
blackjack games we were given some “free chips”; so we spent some more of our
time (and money) at the tables. We managed
to break-even after half an hour so left with chips in hand for another day.
By mid-day we were 750 miles from NYC and still had over
2500 miles to go before reaching the UK.
The clocks did not change today and as we had now been moved to a
stateroom on deck 8 (the ship had 10 decks) we went to our room to unpack
properly. This was also an opportunity
to catch up with some washing and use the free laundry. This proved to be an ideal place to chat to
fellow passengers.
Afternoon tea was delightful; small sandwiches, scones with
clotted cream and jam, plus cakes and a choice of tea. It was a very relaxing and sociable way to
pass the time.
We then joined in the “fun skittles” on deck 10; this included
activities such as standing on one leg to throw the ball. We were well into the middle of the Atlantic
by now and deck 10 proved to be a pretty blustery place!
Afterwards Alison went for a stroll; 3 times around deck 3 =
1 mile. The ship is nearly 1000ft long
and 106 feet wide. It was noticeable that
the crew were either putting away the deck chairs or tying them down. Were we heading for some ‘weather’?
Tonight was a formal evening and also the Commodore’s
cocktail hour for those who had boarded at NYC.
However because we had moved cabins today our invitation was not
delivered to our room; even though we had returned the invitation for the
previous occupants of our new room.
Having
seen the queue of people waiting to go in for the cocktails we did not feel
disappointed. Of course that did not
stop us from having our own cocktails where we met Wes & Sharon from North
Carolina.
After our evening meal we went to the 10pm showing of the
Song and Dance performance in the Theatre; a varied routine with some superb
costumes.
28th Apr – Moderate to Rough
We really noticed the difference of location in our new
stateroom. We were now higher up and
near the front of the ship and had spent the night being rocked to sleep as it
bobbed up and down and back and forth.
Apparently at around 5am we had passed within 35 miles of the location
of where the Titanic disaster had occurred.
We had to get up early to have our passports checked by
immigration in preparation of our landing in UK. This would mean we did not have to go through
passport control when we docked. Then
after breakfast we attended a lecture by Sir Terry Waite. Part way through the presentation the
Commodore made an announcement that the ship had to stop for some essential
maintenance on the engine. Sir Terry talked of the lead up to his abduction in
Lebanon in 1987, and time in solitary confinement. He made us all smile when he described
drawing penguins in an attempt to get one of his guards to obtain books for him
to read.
At noon the clocks went forward again and announcements
described the crossing as “Moderate to Rough”.
At afternoon tea we sat with co-diners Eric and Lyn. Afterwards Alison battled the “bracing air”
as she clocked up 2 miles around deck 3.
A quick dip in the pool was more like swimming in a rough
sea. The water sloshed back and forth
like a wave-making machine with such a strong force you needed to hang onto the
railings to be safe, but it was fun.
Cocktails started in the Commodore bar, on the top deck at
the front of the ship, and we looked out to sea as the sun set behind us. One of the bar staff told of a time the waves
reached the window. As we are on deck 10
that is really rough weather! Then we went down to the Mid-ship bar where
we were becoming ‘regulars’. After
dinner we saw Brian dancing with passengers in the Queens Room and then spent
some time listening to the Jazz band in the Lions Bar. Paul also checked out the casino but all the
card tables were full.
29th Apr – Still Sailing
We had ordered room service for early morning tea and coffee
on two occasions. Our only complaint
with the impeccable service was that this was not hot enough. On the way to the morning’s talk we paused to
watched the ship’s chef’s doing fruit and vegetable carving demonstrations. Aldon Ferguson was the presenter on the D-Day
Landings for this morning.
We also attended a complimentary demonstration on massage;
however Paul was still feeling the effects of the ‘moderate to rough’ crossing
and had to leave half way through.
Another lecture in the afternoon was about the Titanic. Is this the best subject whilst crossing the
Atlantic? Paul had to leave before the
end; a motion sickness tablet and some fresh air on the balcony helped. Although we were not sailing in ‘bad’ weather
there was a lot of movement within the ship especially on the higher
decks. Meanwhile Alison went out on
deck 3 again but some of the areas were closed off so she made her way to the running
machines in the gym. Due to the ships
movement walking (whilst holding the handles) was the only option on the
machines. This was followed by a dip in
the hot tub as the swimming pool had been emptied.
Another formal evening and the official photographers were
busy. Cocktails, dinner and then we
headed up to the Commodore bar for the 007 quiz. In the Hemispheres bar there was an Abba hour
and Alan & Christine, who were celebrating their anniversary, joined Alison
on the dance floor. Watching everyone
sway to the music and then lurch in unison as the ship hit a wave was rather
amusing. Eventually we got to bed around
1am.
30th Apr – Slightly Calmer Seas
Paul was feeling brighter today as he found his
sea-legs. We attended another lecture by
Simon Dinsdale on “Hi-jacking”. We gave
the showing of the film The Theory of Everything a miss, and enjoyed afternoon
tea again. This was followed by a brisk
2 mile walk around deck 3 to work up an appetite for dinner.
The ship seemed virtually empty when we went for pre-dinner
cocktails. The evening entertainment was
specially programmed to be early for those of us at the late seating for dinner
so we watched a clever magician for ¾ hour.
Strolling around the ship before dinner we spent time chatting to
various passengers that we knew. Then
after dinner we joined Alan/Chris/Stewart/Ann for drinks in the Hemispheres
Bar. However it was too noisy for
conversation as the band were playing so when Stewart and Ann went to watch the
late film the rest of us headed for our rooms.
1st May – The Penultimate Day
Breakfast was followed by another talk by Aldon Ferguson
about the Berlin airlift; a subject Alison was particularly interested in. As Aldon often gives the talk to Americans
audience his information was primarily sourced from the USA contribution to the
airlift efforts.
A second talk by Sir Terry Waite followed on. It covered the period leading up to and
following his release in 1991.
The sun was out today and the swimming pool had been
refilled, so passengers were making the most of it and the outside decks were busy. After our sushi lunch we finally got to spend
some time on our balcony in the sun. Then
Paul attended a get-together organised by Mr Ferguson for serving and
ex-service personnel. The room was a
little small as he had not expected so many people to turn up. The eldest attendee was a 92-year old
gentleman.
Meanwhile Alison went line-dancing. As it was located up on the top deck the
movement of the ship was accentuated. At
one point everyone stepped to the right just as the ship lurched to the right
and one lady went sprawling across the floor.
Fortunately she was alright.
Rosario & Carlo |
Our waiters, Rosario and Carlo,
had been most attentive during our stay and their service was impeccable.
Carlo had been working on cruise liners for
18 years and was about to retire.
Several of the staff we chatted to have worked for Cunard for a number
of years; usually 9 months working and 3 months at home. However the hours they work are not to be
envied and they rarely get time in port.
After dinner we headed to the black jack tables in the casino. Alison lost all her chips in the first 10
minutes so she left Paul to it and went to watch the late song and dance show
which had a movie theme. Afterwards she
joined Allen/Chris/Stewart/Ann in the Karaoke bar (they were pretending to be
backing singers).
After 2 hours at the tables Paul joined everyone for a last
drink; having finished with a $10 profit! and gaining all Alison's losses back.
2nd May – Final Day on Board
Paul was up early and fetched some croissants for breakfast
as Alison was having a lie-in. Paul
attended the last talk by Simon Dinsdale on the “Ipswich Murders” – a case he
worked on in 2006. Meanwhile Alison had
a Tango dance lesson with Dennis and also chatted with Brian again.
As this was our last full day at sea we made some preparations
for our departure, such as packing and paying the bill. We had qualified for on-board credit when we
booked the cruise so the damage was not too painful. The ship made announcements including the
birth of the new Princess. The ship had
been collecting donations towards the Nepal Earthquake disaster and had reached
over $3000 so far. The Commodore also
said this had been one of the smoothest crossings he had experienced over the
Atlantic! Let’s hope we don’t cross again in rough weather.
The last talk on the cruise was by one of the Ship’s Navigators
about the Bridge. A choir had been
formed by some of the ship’s passengers and they sang for half an hour in the
Grand Lobby.
On our way out in the evening the corridors were full of
suitcases ready for collection. We kept
a small case for our overnight things to take with us tomorrow.
Again there was an early showing of the entertainment, for
the late seating dinners, so we listened to the comedian before cocktails and
dinner. We were given a booklet of all
the menus we had been served as a memento of our 8 day cruise.
We visited some of the bars after our meal and met up with
our Guernsey friends one last time. The
ship was surprisingly quiet; most people were having an early night in
preparation of a long day tomorrow. We
knew we were sailing along the southern coast of UK by now but could not see
anything in the darkness.
3rd May – The Three Queens
By the time we woke at 6.30am the ship had passed the Isle
of Wight and was cruising gently up the Solent.
We watched from our balcony as we drew near the docks but to be honest
Southampton Docks are not picturesque.
So an early breakfast in the Lido restaurant for the final
time. Then we collected our carry-on
luggage and waited in the Theatre until our due time to disembark was
announced. Without having to queue at
any immigration desk we walked straight out, collected the remainder of our
luggage and were looking for our car rental desk shortly after 9.30am.
We eventually spotted the courtesy bus to the car rental
office, but were a bit early for our noon booking. So arrangements were changed, along with the
car we had booked. We then drove to
friends, Carol & Brian, who were going to put us up for a couple of nights
until we got ourselves sorted. As we
hadn’t seen them for a year we had a bit of catching up to do.
As part of the 175th anniversary celebrations
Cunard had all 3 of their “Queens” in Southampton today. The Queen Mary 2 (the biggest), and sister
ships Queen Elizabeth and Queen Victoria sailed out of Southampton just after
6.30pm that evening.
We went down to
watch their departure. Through the
binoculars from our vantage point we could see one of the Guards regimental
Bands, in their Busby’s, serenading Queen Mary 2 from the dock. It was quite something to see the huge ships
manoeuvre out of their moorings, turn around and follow each other out of the
Solent in the evening sunshine.
After visiting 37 States, covering over 42,000 miles in
three years of travelling, it was time for a rest. Only a short rest as next
week we head for County Durham with a group of friends for our annual walking
holiday.
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