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!

Stuff and More Stuff (with apologies to Peggy)!

My friend Peggy really dislikes the word "stuff" but there is really no other way to describe the piles that are accumulating around my house.  There seems to be no end of items that I don't think I can live without for four and a half months.  On a land trip it is usually very easy to get to a store and pick up anything you might have forgotten (or didn't realize you needed).  On a ship - not so easy.  For the last two years I have been building a list of stuff that I think I should take.  I will be the first to admit that some will likely never be used and after this trip I will know better what I really need and what I don't.  So, what is included in my "stuff"?  Here is some of it....

• cameras and battery chargers
• binoculars
• iPhone
• iPad with iPad/iPhone world travel adapter kit
• MP3 player
• extension cord
• Belkin mini surge protector with USB chargers
• portable rechargers
• handheld scanner
• travel steamer (Cunard allows them)
• rollable compression bags and ziplock bags in different sizes
• inflatable hangars
• hanging clothespins
• large clips (holds towel on chairs, etc,)
• magnetic frames with family pictures
• eyeglass repair kit
• sewing kit and latch tool
• lingerie wash bag
• mini flashlights
• over door hangar
• hanging shoe organizer
• Carbona grease remover
• Goo Gone
• large tote (for dirty clothes to take to laundrette)
• small tote (for pool)
• small tote that rolls up for handbag (to hold all the stuff I'll buy!)
• Tervis tumbler with lid
• various shoe pads, cushions, etc.
• cooling towels and hand fan
• First Aid Kit inlucing OTC medicines for almost every possible ailment
• if space, plastic skirt hangars (that won't come home)

I am sure I will find a few more "must take" things before I leave.

I plan on being packed by January 6th so I will have more about the packing experience by then.

Smooth sailing until next time!

Packing

How do you pack for a 118 day World Voyage?

I have been asked that many times.  Here is what I have planned.

Packing Challenge #1 - The Weather

About one quarter of the cruise will be in cold temperatures and the rest in warm to hot.  Possibly the only really cold places will be Southampton (where I will spend two days before the cruise starts) and New York City.  Average daytime temperatures are in the 50s for the other "cold" ports.  I am planning on layering for these places.  I have a great water resistant LL Bean coat with a zip out fleece lining which I will be wearing.

Packing Challenge #2 - Evening Dress

Cunard is probably the dressiest of all the cruise lines.  We will have about 35 Formal Nights.  When I first started planning (and purchasing) for this cruise Cunard had formal, semi-formal, and elegant casual evenings.  Earlier this year it was changed to formal and informal.  This made me change my packing list - removing some of the more casual outfits.  Since I never get to dress up in my regular life, I am making the most of these dressy evenings.  I have mostly separates and won't have to repeat an outfit more than twice.

Packing Challenge #3 - Luggage

I love luggage and would buy new pieces every trip if I had the money.   All of my old luggage was from before the airlines got strict about limits, so I gave some away and the rest went to Goodwill.  After looking at some expensive lightweight Samsonite (over $500 per case at the outlet store), I found International Traveller (IT).  Very light (4-8 pounds depending on size) and a good price.  I bought three large pieces and one carry-on.  Weight-wise I should be okay if I can get everything in (I actually weighed my clothes).  I am also taking a very old frameless bag (which once belonged to my daughter) that I can roll up and put in one piece of luggage for all the mementos I return with!

Smooth sailing until next time!