Days 6 and 7 - At Sea

Wednesday

Had fish and chips for lunch today in the Golden Lion Pub - great chips.  I spent quite a bit of time trying to get the blog updated.  I could get to my blog site but could not get the "New Post" page to load.  There is a concierge for the full world cruisers and she is in the special area of the Garden Lounge for a part of the day.  She tried to help me but the internet link was not cooperating.  I was finally able to get it posted a few hours later but am still not having any luck uploading pictures.  Today was just not my computer day.  While I was getting ready for dinner I was going to play some music on my iPad - no music would play and then I discovered I had no sound on anything.  I tried everything I could think of and still no sound.  Finally, I decided I would have to find an Apple store when we are in port Saturday.

Had a drink in the Commodore Club before dinner because I was going to the show after.  For my something different I tried the appetizers they bring around at about 8:00.  One was shrimp and the others I have no idea although one tasted suspiciously like liverwurst which I would eat as a kid but no longer care for.

Dinner was very congenial.  We have a Dutch lady at the table who is trying to get people to choose the healthy options on the menu.  I am a lost cause but she tries with some of the others.

The show tonight was "Vanity Fair" which was postponed from a couple of nights ago because we were having such rough conditions.  It was billed as "music, dance, and culture of a bygone era" and was mainly from the 20s including music from Gershwin and Noel Coward.  The dancers and singers are good but I think I was spoiled with the stage productions on Disney Cruise Line.

When I returned to my stateroom I turned on the iPad and the sound was back.  I still have no idea what I did to make it disappear or to make it return!

Thursday

Having watched some of the lectures rebroadcast on the television, I was determined to make one in person today.  So, after a brief time in the sun and wind on my balcony, I went to the Royal Court Theatre to hear Ellen Baker, a former astronaut, talk about the Earth called "My Favorite Planet".  Met with some of my Cruise Critic friends and talked for a few minutes until the next speaker, Joyce Gold, started her presentation.  She spoke about famous women associated with Greenwich Village.  Both speakers were quite good.

After having lunch in the Lido Buffet I attempted a walk on deck.  The sun was still out but the winds were brisk so I did not last long and went back to my stateroom to check e-mail.  After losing badly at trivia (the winners tied with 18 - I had 10) stopped into the Lido for a spot of afternoon tea.  Dinner included the parade of chefs.  I had Beef Wellington and Baked Alaska - both very good.  The show tonight was a variety show with a pianist, a comedian, and the Cunard singers and dancers.

Smooth sailing until next time!

Days 4 and 5 - At Sea

Monday

I spent another leisurely day on board.  I actually had breakfast (not much of a breakfast eater) in the Lido buffet and met a lovely couple from Grimsby and we chatted  for awhile.  Later, when I went to afternoon tea in the Queens Room, we shared a table and talked some more.  For anyone who is concerned about cruising solo, don't be.  It is so easy to meet people you only have to be alone when you want to be.

If you ever travel on Cunard, be sure to take afternoon tea in the Queens Room.  The tables are set elegantly and white gloved waiters come around with tea sandwiches (cucumber and egg mayonnaise are my favorites), sweets, scones with cream and jam, and of course, tea (coffee if you wish).  You can get the same food in the Lido in the afternoon if you are in a hurry but nothing beats the beautiful service in the Queens Room.

I was invited to a birthday party for one of my Cruise Critic friends in the Commodore Club before dinner.  A very nice event with champagne and appetizers.  Then to dinner (informal night).  Lost a few dollars in the casino after dinner and decided to call it a night.


Tuesday

The sea is still rolling but is supposed to calm down tonight.  I stopped in for a perfume demonstration (not much to it but one lady did win a basket of goodies) and then happened upon the end of the single travelers get together.  While sitting watching the waves after lunch another Cruise Critic friend came by and we sat and talked for quite a time.

The afternoon brought my first encounter with the launderette.  Stories are legendary of the "wars" taking place in there (probably "urban legends" of the seas).  I heard one in the Lido about two women who got into a fist-fight and were put off the ship at the next port.  The people I encountered were quite civilized.  I chose my stateroom based in part on its position relative to the lifts and the launderette, so, while my clothes were in the washer and dryer I went back to my stateroom ( the laundry room is about the size of a walk-in closet so there is not much space to wait).  The dryer was set for 40 minutes and I went back after 35 and someone had taken my clothes out and put them in a basket.  Not sure if the timer is incorrect or someone was in a hurry to get a dryer (one is out of service at the moment so there are three washers but only 2 dryers).

Evening dress was a formal/informal choice and the Elizabethan Ball took place.  There were still a number of smartly dressed people although I did see more casual wear than before.  Only a couple of people had on "Elizabethan" clothing.  Watched the dancers and had (what has become a habit in quick order) my nightly cocktail.  There were not nearly as many dancers as in previous nights.

I had promised lots of pictures but I am having trouble getting my pictures uploaded to attach to my blog.  It has taken 10 minutes to upload about 15% of one photo and I have quit each time I have tried (gets expensive at 35 cents a minute!).  The pictures on my iPad are too large to put on the blog.  I have accounts with flickr and Photobucket.  If anyone has any suggestions please, leave a comment. Otherwise, I will be uploading pictures at free wi-fi spots while we are in port.

Smooth sailing until next time!

Days 2 and 3 - At Sea

Saturday

I slept late and awoke to a beautiful sunny, warm (10C/50F) day so I had to sit out in the sun for awhile.  Then it was off to the Cruise Critic Meet and Greet in the Commodore Club.  We had about 50 people attend.  Afterwards, I had lunch in the pub with some Cruise Critic friends.  Then it was off to the Internet Centre to get my internet service set up.  There was a long line and while I was waiting I met another Cruise Critic friend who showed me how to set up my account.  By this time we had moved passed the nice weather and the sea had become very choppy.  We are skirting around a big storm in the north Atlantic by going southwest and are closer to the coast of Spain than a normal crossing between Southampton and New York City would go.

Tonight was our first formal night.  There are often complaints about people not adhering to the dress code but that does not seem to be a problem on Cunard.  Most women had on long formal gowns and the vast majority of men had on tuxedos (also spotted were a few in Scottish regalia, white dinner jackets, and even white tie and tails!).  After another delicious dinner, I watched the dancers at the Cunard Ball.


Sunday

I was totally useless today and spent a large part of it sleeping.  It must be the rough seas that lull me to sleep.  My goal for the day was to get my last suitcase unpacked and I failed at that.  Maybe tomorrow??

Had afternoon tea in the lido and then went to change for our second formal night, another themed night - the London Ball.  Didn't really see much that was "London" about the ball except they did the "Lambeth Walk" and a few were dressed for the occasion.  We gained another hour of sleep tonight.

Smooth sailing until next time!

Day 1 - Departure from Southampton

After getting only 5 hours of sleep I was up at 7 am ( a time I seldom see).  I found places for all of my newly acquired items and checked out Cruise Critic before it was time to take my bags down to the lobby.  DreamflightPat, from our roll call, offered to take me to the dock.  I'm sure she wished she hadn't.  There were horrible delays in Southampton due to road works and the fact that three ships were leaving on World Voyages today (P&O's Arcadia, QM2, and QE).  It took us about an hour to go not much more than a mile.  Once we got to the port things were very fast - the porter had my bags out of the car (in much less time than it took the two of us to get them in!), I had checked in (no wait at all) and was on the ship in about 10 minutes.

I went to my stateroom first and checked it out.  Then it was off to explore the ship, have a bite at the lido, and snap some pictures.  By 2 all of my bags had arrived.  At 2:30 there was a reception for the full world passengers.  Found out there are supposed to be about 500 doing the full world but that probably includes those getting on in New York and Fort Lauderdale (91 days or more is considered the "full" voyage by Cunard) but there were still quite a few at the reception.

At 4:45 we had the muster drill but there was no checking to see if you attended.  We listened to the information and then tried on our life vests.  It took about 25 minutes total.  Afterwards I did some more exploration trying to put off the inevitable unpacking.  I finished my carry-on and largest bag before departure time.  I'm not sure where two people would put 118 days' worth of clothing!

At 8:00 there were fireworks for the QM2 and QE.  QM2 was supposed to sail out first but we heard there was a medical emergency on board that delayed her so we sailed first.  Unfortunately it was pouring at sailaway but I stayed out until it was time for dinner.

I am at a table for 10 and we are all solo travelers.  There are four women and four men and we come from Holland, Britain, the US and Canada.  We had two no-shows.  5 of the eight are doing the whole world voyage.  The food was very good and in order to break my habit of always ordering the same thing, I am trying something different each day.  Tonight's was a chilled pear and honey soup which was actually quite good.  I had turkey that came with vegetables, stuffing, cranberry sauce and a "piggy in a blanket".  I was a bit skeptical about this but it turned out to be a tasty English sausage wrapped in bacon.  For desert I had creme brulee cheesecake with a scoop of ice cream.  It was the best vanilla ice cream I've tasted.

There was an introductory show at 10:30 so two of us excused ourselves to watch the show.  Amanda Reid, the Entertainment Director, talked about different types of programs and had some of the entertainers perform.

I have had two nice gifts - a bottle of wine from Patty my travel agent (Thanks, Patty!) and a beautiful plant from ???
Tonight we gain an hour.  Our first cruise critic meet and greet is at noon, so I think I will unpack one more suitcase and sleep late.   I also need to talk to the people in the Internet Centre so I can post this.

Smooth sailing until next time!

The Day Before

After missing out on my needed eight hours of sleep for a number of  nights, I made up for it last night sleeping almost 12 hours!  After doing facetime with my daughter and her family, I headed out to do the remaining of my pre-cruise shopping.  Picked up just about everything needed and then back to the hotel to get ready for dinner.  A group from the Cruise Critic roll call had arranged to meet at Ennios Italian Restaurant.  We all had a great meal and enjoyed getting to know each other.  Sleeping will probably difficult tonight!

Smooth sailing until next time!

A Great Beginning

As I am writing this, I have just finished dinner onboard BA216.  The trip to the airport took about three hours because we stopped for lunch.  I arrived about 2 pm and the ticket counter opened up at 2:30.  My suitcases all came in at least 1.5 kilograms under the limit so I was pleased.  Took less than five minutes to get through security.  It was my first time in one of the full body scanners but I passed as did my carryon and 7 pound handbag!

I had two nice surprises in the airport.  First of all, one of the ladies that will be making the Southampton to Fort Lauderdale segment of the cruise found me in the airport.  We knew we would be in the airport at the same time but I was amazed she actually found me.  We had a very nice chat about the joys of retirement, cruising and some of our mutual friends from Cruise Critic.

My second nice surprise came at the gate.  As my boarding pass was being checked, the attendant crossed out my seat and wrote in a new one.  Turned out I had been upgraded to Business Class.  This is the second time this has happened to me on British Airways and it is a nice bonus!  The seats fully recline and there is a foot rest,  I can stretch my legs and not even touch the seat in front of me.  Their are so many buttons that I told the flight attendant I needed a User's Manual.  Sure enough, they had one.

Right now everyone around me is peacefully snoring and I, of course, am wide awake!

There are about four more hours until we land.

Smooth sailing until next time!

Almost time to go!

My bags are packed.  Goodbyes have been said. And now, it is just waiting time.  I hope to be able to sleep some tonight (will it is already Tuesday, so I guess I should say this morning) because I cannot sleep on a plane.

About 11 a.m. my ex will pick me up and drive me to Dulles Airport in Northern Virginia.  My flight is scheduled to leave at 6:15 p.m. local time.  I did my first online check-in and printed off my boarding pass on Monday night.  I got the aisle seat I wanted in premium economy (my days of flying "sardine class" are over).  I also paid the $168 fee for taking 3 suitcases (you are allowed two)  According to my handheld luggage scale, all three cases are under 50 pounds.

Here is a picture of my cruise closet before I started packing.

And here is my cruise closet today.

So now it is basically waiting and wondering what could I have possibly forgotten!

Smooth sailing until next time!