DAY 35

Sunday, March 1^st 2020

 

Airlie Beach, Whitsunday Islands

 

Today was the day I had been looking forward to for years – today we are snorkeling at the Barrier Reef, how totally cool is that!

 

I LOVE snorkeling, and our best holidays have always involved a snorkeling adventure of some kind or another, but I have always thought nothing would beat snorkeling on the barrier reef!

 

We decided to go with the ships tour as organizing a private one seemed too complicated, and I am glad we did.

 

We anchored quite a way from Airlie Beach, but we didn’t have to worry about a tender ride there as the tour catamaran picked us up right from the ship.

 

It was about a 2 hour ride to the pontoon, and we sat on the top deck of the boat and watched us motor thought the beautiful Whitsunday Islands. There was no shade up there, but it wasn’t too hot or sunny, and in fact we were cooled off by a couple of passing squalls.

 

There were bathrooms on board (so you could change if needed), they served us fruit to nibble on, and there was also a concession stand so we could keep well hydrated.

 

Finally we arrived at the pontoon. We all piled off the boat and onto the pontoon to choose our snorkeling gear and stinger suits. Now I had never met a stinger suit before, but I thought they were a really good idea. They are sort of full body Lycra swimsuits that literally cover you from head to toe – including mittens for your hands. The idea, I think, is to protect you from jellyfish and UV rays, so that seemed like a good idea. However, they are not attractive on everyone, especially those of us who are not as tall and thin as we would like to be. They are very unforgiving, and alas, they make you look like a Teletubby.

We picked out our fins and Brian chose a mask (due to extreme myopia I travel with my own one with prescription lenses), and off we went into the warm deep blue waters, and there we were, snorkeling on the Barrier Reef, wow!

It was really beautiful, loads of intricate corals, brightly colored fish, and good visibility. Everything I had dreamed of.

Brian and I always stay close to each other when snorkeling so I grabbed on to him, only to scare a poor man who clearly wasn’t Brian.

 

Then I realized there was a challenge. I usually recognize Brian by his bright blue swim trunks, yellow mask, and red fins when we are snorkeling. However today, everyone was wearing the black stinger suits, they all had yellow masks, and 80% seemed to have blue fins. I thought it would be intrusive to grab onto every passing swimmer until I located Brian, but I didn’t like not being with him.

Luckily Brian located me, so looking very Teletubby like, we could paddle off hand in hand and not lose each other again.

We were quite a distance from the pontoon when we heard someone yelling ‘rescue, rescue!’, and saw someone being pulled out of the water and onto the pontoon. The staff seemed to be taking care of things so we snorkeled on, marveling at the sights below us.

 

A delicious buffet lunch was served on the catamaran, and then we went for a ride in the semi submersible boat they had there. It was just like the Nautilus in Disneyland, except it was real, and we traveled along the edge of the reef getting a great view of the coral and the fishes. It was great fun.

 

There was also beginner scuba on offer, but having been warned not to leave valuables on board the catamaran, we had only brought small change for drinks, and didn’t have our credit card with us, so we had to give that a miss.

 

Then we eased our bodies into our wet stinger suits (not a pleasant experience) and headed back into the water for one long last snorkel.

 

All too soon, we were told that we needed to get out of the water as it was time to head back to the ship. We waved goodbye to our fishy friends, dried off, and settled back into our seats on the top deck of the catamaran for our two hour ride back to Queen Mary 2.

 

Brian and I agreed that it was really not the best snorkeling we had done, and being surrounded by so many other snorkelers was a bit of a challenge. However, we had had a fantastic day, and we were tired but happy.

 

My happiness did not last.

 

When we got back to the ship I called a friend to talk with her about our tour in Brisbane, and she let me know that her husband had died while snorkeling on the Barrier Reef this afternoon.

 

Whilst Brian and I were gliding over the beautiful scene in the water below us, feeling that we live in a wonderful world, Bill passed away. It had been such a perfect day. To lose him seemed so incredibly unreal. It was just wrong. It had to be a mistake.

 

Sadly, it was real. Bill was an amazing human being, always smiling, always upbeat, always something good to say. And he was another huge fan of the Commodore Club. I could not face going back there. It is so hard to accept the fact that he has gone.

 

 

DAY 34

Saturday, February 29^th, 2020

 

Yorkey’s Knob

 

Yorkey’s Knob was our bonus port because we missed Bali, which was on offer because we avoided Bitung.

 

I initially thought that it was going to be a poor substitute for Bali’s palm fringed shores, but I was so very wrong. It is one of the best ports I have ever been to.

 

The day didn’t start too well. Yorkey’s Knob is a tender port, and there were initial problems with getting the tender system running, then it was a very long, bumpy ride into the jetty with several passengers looking very green and unhappy.

 

However, things soon improved.

 

We started off on the Kuranda Scenic railway. We had received a letter from the tour office warning us that the train would be very hot and uncomfortable (this is after we had bought the tickets), but it turned out to actually be very comfortable, and there was a gentle breeze coming through the windows so it was fine. The tour office had told us to sit on the left side of the train to get the best views, but in fact it is best to sit on the right. You can by snacks and drinks at the café on the station, which is good as you can’t buy anything on the train.

The train ride was lovely, climbing up the mountainside with great views of Yorkey’s Knob and our ship in the distance. Construction of the railway line was quite a feat of engineering, needing trestle bridges, steep curves and several tunnels. We made a brief stop at Barron Falls, and then we ended the trip in Kuranda.

We had about an hour and a half to explore Kuranda and have lunch on our own. There is a butterfly park and Koala Sanctuary there, but we decided to give these a miss and eat and shop instead.

 

We had lunch at Annabelle’s Pie Shop, and then wandered around the shops and market, buying 2 lovely dishes to take to friends back home.

 

Then came the highlight of the day – the skyrail train back down to Yorkey’s Knob. This is a wonderful ride above the oldest rainforest in the world, and it was a magical ride, I didn’t want it to end. Brian had downloaded an app that gave us a running commentary of what we were seeing below and around us.

We made 2 stops – one to view Barron Falls from the other side of the Barron River,

and the other so we could walk through the rainforest on a boardwalk. We had hoped to see some wild life on our walk – especially tree kangaroos – but all we saw were butterflies. Still, it was a wonderful experience, and I am so glad we were able to do this trip.

Our coach took us back to the tender landing through a couple of the neighborhoods and the sea front in Yorkey’s Knob, and then it was time to take the tender home.

 

Luckily there was a tender waiting for us, and off we set. However, the water had become quite rough, and the 2 tenders before ours were unable to offload their passengers, so we sat bobbing around for an hour and a half until it was safe to go back on board. I had a much-needed nap, but it must have been awful for those who get seasick.

 

The water continued to be rough, and there were ongoing issues with the tenders. Once all of the passengers were on the ship they were unable to upload the tenders due to the large waves, and in the end we had to pull up the anchor and turn the ship around so this could be done. Then one of the tenders got stuck half way up and it took a while to get it going again.

 

Sometimes it is just easier if you can dock the ship!

 

While all of the issues with the tenders were going on, I decided to go for a swim in the deck 6 pool as it is just down the corridor from our cabin. The water was lovely and warm, and there was no one else there. It was the perfect way to relax after a really spectacular day.

 

At dinner we found out that the daughter of one of our tablemates had gone to the same boarding school in Kent as me. It’s a small world!

 

DAY 33

Friday, February 28^th, 2020

 

At Sea

 

Today was another treat. We spent most of the day passing by beautiful little islands. We were going really slowly, so we had a good look at them. Most seem to be deserted, but they had beautiful white beaches, mangrove swamps, and were surrounded by that beautiful azure water. All very inviting.

 

We sat in the shade on the loungers on the Promenade deck, and watched the world go by, well at least Australia. It was all very relaxing. It was hard to get up and move so I could get ready for tonight’s World Cruise party.

 

Now these are always fun, and due to a miscommunication I did not get to go to the party on the previous segment, but I sure wasn’t going to miss this one.

 

At first I had thought that it was a poor choice to have a party on the open deck on what was likely to be a very hot, humid and windy night. There are certainly many suitable venues on this ship, and the area on deck 12 neat to the Boardwalk café seemed to be a strange choice.

 

Well it was for the passengers with early seating as their party at 5:15 had been unbearable hot, and very windy. The ice sculptures were melting fast. However, by 7:45 the wind had died down, and was now no more than a gently breeze fanning us all,

 

The stars had come out (still no Southern Cross though), and the band Purple Haze was playing while the waiters circulated handing out glasses of bubbly. It was actually a rather pleasant affair, and although the ice pagoda was clearly only a shadow of its former self – it was still standing.

When I returned to our cabin there was a letter to me from Simon Palethorpe, the president of Cunard. I would like to think that he wrote the letter just to me because he knows I am a fan, but I have a sneaky suspicion there are probably at least a thousand other people on the ship who received a similar letter.

 

Basically the letter acknowledges the frustrations expressed by the group who call themselves the Concerned Cunard Passengers (CCP), and in order to recognize the disruption caused to my original plans, a future cruise credit valued at $978.45 had been credited in their reservations system to be used on any Cunard voyage.

 

It’s time to plan another cruise. Where to next?

 

DAY 32

Thursday, February 27^th, 2020

 

At Sea

 

Ruth has been home for 9 days now, and still has problems with getting back to her regular sleep routine, and recovering from her arduous journey home. Brian has settled well into our new time zone despite the fact that we both keep on being woken up in the middle of the night by phone calls on our cell phones. We can’t turn the phones off as we need to be available for family and work reasons, but getting a call at 3:00 AM about extending my vehicle warranty is annoying, especially as I have frequently told them that my car has done over 250,000 miles and to stop calling me. It just doesn’t work. Ignoring them doesn’t seem to help either. Luckily there is nothing to stop me sleeping in on sea days whilst Brian is at the gym.

 

There are several children on board, who are very well behaved and delightful to talk to about their experience of doing a world cruise. One of the children decided that if the grownups could have auctions, then there should be an auction of the children’s artwork, with the proceeds being donated to charity.

 

So in the Queens Room this morning there was an art auction, with a pirate in attendance, looking remarkably like Captain Hashmi. The auction raised over $1,100 for charity. Congratulations to the resourceful youngsters on board!

 

We spent this afternoon navigating our way though the shallow passages between the islands of the Torres Strait. There are at least 274 islands in the region. Captain Ian Perry gave a commentary on what was going on as we slowly made our way through the straits, trying to avoid reefs and sand banks.

 

One of the islands is called Post Office Island. Years ago ships would leave mail there, which would then be picked up by passing ships and taken to their destinations. The ships leaving the mail would also leave a bottle of brandy or rum as a gesture of thanks.

 

It was magical to watch us slowly glide through the calm, shallow, turquoise water. I hadn’t realized that we would be doing this, so it was a real treat.

It was difficult to hear the commentary from deck 14 which is our usual favorite place for watching what’s happening, so I ended up watching our progress from the front of the ship on deck 7, near the spare propellers. Here the view was good, and the commentary easy to be heard. The other advantage was we could see flying fish and turtles.

 

Some of the islands are inhabited, and we could see little fishing boats in the distance.

 

With land so close I checked my phone, and sure enough there was cellular service for a brief period of time. I went on Facebook and there was a posting that the reveal of the name of the new ship was going to be on April 20^th. Alas, not at our World Voyage Gala, but we will be on Queen Mary 2 at the time, so that should be exciting.

 

There was a follow up meeting to the hijacked Cruise Critic meeting last week. This was not a Cruise Critic meeting but a get together for people to criticize how Cunard was dealing with our current situation. I chose not to go as I was concerned that it might just be a lot of people complaining and shouting at each other, and I preferred to experience the once in a life time experience of us effortlessly gliding through a beautiful, serene, part of the world.

 

I think I made the right choice. Speaking with friends who went to the meeting the main concerns continue to be compensation for missed ports, and that we were not upgraded to better cabins or given a refund when the passengers who came on board in Fremantle were paying $50 a day for Grills Suites. Also that the $250 we received at the end of the Dubai sector was per person, rather than $500 per cabin. The singles feel that they lost out as they had to pay significantly extra for their single cabins. I think they do have a point.

 

Anyway, there was apparently a lot of inaccurate information going around, and people talking over each other. The group will be putting together an email expressing their concerns.

 

I’m just taking things day to day – who knows what will happen next. With the coronavirus issues there are so many things that can still affect our cruise, let’s just enjoy each day as it comes.

 

Tonight was the Masquerade Ball. Inspired by tablemates on a prior cruise we had brought some famous people masks along with us, which we had planned to share with our table for the Masquerade Ball. We are currently sitting at the perfect table for this – they all have a great sense of humor and I know would love to be part of the fun.

 

Well as luck would have it, we are finally sitting at a hosted table tonight, and I doubt that our masks would go down well there. There may be another Masquerade Ball before New York, but half of our table is getting off in Sydney. Hopefully their replacements will also be a fun crowd who enjoys being a little bit silly.

 

This is a photo with us all wearing masks from that previous cruise:

Our hosted table turned out to be quite delightful. Our friends Peter and Christine were there too, and we met a lovely English couple who were in Queens Grill, and on their first world cruise, having only been on one previous short cruise. It was fascinating to hear their thoughts on the trip. They had not been in the Britannia restaurant before and were totally enchanted by the grandeur of the space. I must say the Grills dining rooms are lovely, but lack the elegance of the Britannia dining room.

 

The food was delicious (how do you choose between lobster, langoustines, or chateau briande?) and the company delightful.

 

Our perfect evening concluded with watching String Idols in the Royal Court Theater. They are 2 very talented young violinists who we have listened to many times, but they never fail to impress me. It has been a good day.

 

DAY 31

Wednesday, February 26th, 2020

At Sea

 

A much needed sea day after 2 hectic port days in Darwin, so I spent most of the day in the Commodore Club. It is jolly hot out on deck, but lovely and cool inside.

 

As we are heading towards the Great Barrier Reef, we have our pilot on board already, Captain Ian Perry, who will be guiding us along the way. He gave his first talk today – it was on “The Great Barrier Reef”. Well you have to start somewhere.

 

There was a chocolate extravaganza in the Kings Court at lunchtime. Not as extravagant as the one on Valentine’s Day, but still very chocolaty, and there was a chocolate fountain. My kind of lunch.

 

There were no talks in the afternoon, but the pianists Esnult and Dantas gave another fabulous piano recital. I thought it was actually better to sit back in the cool of the Royal Court Theatre and let the music flow over me than it would be to sit in Illuminations and be illuminated with knowledge about the seas and the heavens.

 

Despite getting a letter from the World Club when I embarked in Dubai that I would only be entitled to attend one World Club party, which would be during my first sector on board, and no more after that, I did in fact get an invitation to tonight’s World Club party. There still seems to be the misconception that I returned to the US from Fremantle, and then came back on board as another person in Fremantle. Go figure.

 

Anyway, I do love a party, so we got all dressed up and headed to the reception, entering the Queens Room on the starboard side to avoid the crowds wanting to shake hands with the captain.

 

Captain Hashmi gave yet another amusing speech. Although he does seem to recycle his material a bit, who could blame him? He constantly has to be witty at all of these parties.

 

The issue of the name of the new Cunard ship came up again. He didn’t say when the great reveal will be (I’m hoping for the World Cruise Gala in Melbourne), but did say that it was definitely not Queen Meghan (he then appeared very embarrassed after saying that, and looked like I do when something spurts out of my mouth when my brain doesn’t have the filter on), and may not be a Queen at all. Unlike his previous speech there was no mention of a Countess. I’m still in favour of Queen Anne or the Mauretania. Time will tell.

 

Tonight’s featured entertainment was an Australian group called the “Redtie Edge Band”. Looking at the write up in the Daily Programme I thought they were going to be just another boy band, but they were a group of 3 male musicians and a female vocalist. She had an amazing voice, and the guys were fantastic musicians, so it was a wonderful show. The sort that makes you want to get up and dance. Which some of us did. I am really hoping that they will play again in the Queens Room, or the deck 8 pool area, so we can really dance the night away to them.

 

Inspired by my dancing we decided to finish off the evening in the Queens Room where the Big Band Night was in full swing.

 

No, I didn’t actually get to dance due to Brian’s reluctance to get involved with ballroom dancing, and the gentleman hosts fear of injury from dancing with me. However, we had a great time sitting and watching the dancers who knew what they are doing glide effortlessly around the ballroom dance floor, and listen to the wonderful music from orchestra and the singing of the very talented Kelly Young and Michael Burke.

 

We were quite exhausted by the time we got to the cabin, but we remembered to put our watches forward another half hour so that we would be in sync with Yorkey’s Knob on Saturday.

 

DAY 30

Tuesday, February 25^th, 2020

 

Darwin Day 2

 

It was still hot, but not quite so hot today. We have been very lucky with the weather in Darwin. There was a cyclone nearby a few days ago, and there is a tropical depression just off shore, which is why it’s so windy, but no really awful weather.

 

We took the shuttle bus in to town, and then took the number 4 bus to the botanical garden.

 

We spent hours wandering around the garden – even in the heat it felt OK there, especially in the tropical rain forest area where we stopped to have a drink near to a waterfall.

It wasn’t one of the better gardens we have seen, but it is always wonderful just to wander through the trees and flowering plants on a port day. We were especially impressed with the section on Madagascan baobab trees. We love to see baobabs, and to see relatively young ones with loads of leaves was a special treat.

We took so long there that we decided to forgo a visit to the Darwin Museums – the 2 most interesting ones we thought were the military and flying doctor ones. We will have to see them another day.

 

We took the number 4 bus and the shuttle bus back to the ship and walked to the water-side area and had a fantastic, and reasonably priced, late lunch at the Oyster Bar.

Then it was time to go back on board for our 4:30 PM sail away.

 

There were people and cars lining Stokes Hill Wharf to wave goodbye to us – it wasn’t as crowded as Fremantle, and much quieter, but it is always great to see people come out to see us sail off into the distance.

 

We had a great view of Darwin as we sailed away, but it was so windy out on deck that we retreated back to our cabin to watch from the shelter of our sheltered balcony. All you can see if you are seated on the balcony is the sky and clouds – so you have to stand up. But then it would probably have been too windy to be out on a glass-fronted balcony. However, you would have had a great view. Life is full of compromises alas.

DAY 29

Monday, February 24^th, 2020

 

Darwin Day 1

 

It was really hot and humid when we headed ashore in Darwin. It was a very short walk to the air-conditioned cruise terminal. There was no ATM or wifi, but there were several souvenir shops selling jewelry, crocodile leather, and local Aboriginal crafts.

 

We caught the shuttle bus to the central business district which only took a few minutes. It is about a 20-minute walk, and there is a lift and sky bridge to help get you there.

 

I had wanted to do the jumping crocodiles tour, but my suggestion didn’t go down well, so I abandoned it.

 

We spent the morning walking around the CBD, and shopping. There are several souvenir stores, as well as nail and hair salons for those wishing to avoid the onboard spa prices. There is also free wifi – all very civilized.

 

Brian was looking for a new belt, and he found one at a great store called Cotton On. He also bought some sandals and sunglasses – not good quality but serviceable. And then I bought 2 sundresses, perfect for the pool,

 

I saw a lovely little handbag in one of the shops, but on closer inspection it cost $1,800. Even for Australian dollars that was very steep. When we walked past the shop later, it had gone. So had the larger one for $3,000 that also caught my eye.

 

Feeling happy with all of our purchases we sat down in the shade of a banyan tree to have a soft drink. It was really, really hot.

After a vain attempt at rehydration, we found a great Coles supermarket where we were able to stock up on supplies for the cabin and our soiree, and then we decided to escape the heat and head back to the ship for lunch.

 

After lunch we organized the cabin, and then went ashore again to explore the nearby waterfront area. There are several bars and restaurants, an ATM, as well as the inevitable souvenir shops.

There was a great little beach and swimming area, and we noticed that quite a few passengers from the ship had descended on the beach. It was a sea of brown Cunard swimming towels.

We stopped by one of the waterfront bars. When we were in Perth, Brian’s cousin had recommended that I try an Aperol Spritz, and this seemed like the right opportunity to do so,

 

It was very refreshing, but quite bitter in a Schweppes bitter lemon way. Anyway, it was cold and wet and went down very quickly. By the time I got back on the ship I was in desperate need for a nap. I was wishing that we weren’t expecting 12 unsuspecting friends to descend on our cabin in a few hours.

 

Luckily I awoke in time to help Brian out with the preparations. We had asked Michael, our steward, to get wine glasses for us, and to fill our ice buckets. Then we obtained cheese, crackers, olives, dried apricots, grapes, and nuts from the Kings Court, and we were good to go.

In Malta you can buy a really delicious snack called Twistees, and in Coles I had seen a snack called Twisties, so hoping they were similar I had purchased a bag to share with our guests. As it turned out, although not as good as the Maltese ones, they were quite acceptable.

We had thought that the best way to fit 14 people in to the cabin would be to utilize the balcony, so we moved the desk chair out there and put a cushion on the little table, so now we could accommodate at least 4 people in the fresh air. More could also be there, admiring the beautiful sunset and the lights of Darwin.

Well it was not to be. It was way too hot and humid to be outside, so there was no choice, 14 of us would be in the cabin.

 

It actually worked out quite well, and I think a good time was had by all. I do love having stateroom soirees – I mean it’s not quite the same as having a butler help you out with one in a Queens Grill suite, but it certainly is cozy.

 

After all of the guests left, and we had tidied up the cabin, we decided to head up to the Kings Court for dinner, having missed dinner in the dining room.

 

On returning to our cabin there was an invitation awaiting us. Could it be? Is it possible? Hope springs eternal………………No it wasn’t an invitation from Captain Hashmi, requesting that we accompany him for dinner, but it was an invitation from Girlie Muega, the Hotel Operations Manager, inviting us to join her for dinner on Thursday, February 27^th. Not exactly what I had dreamed of, but I’ll take it!

DAY 28

Sunday, February 23^rd, 2020

 

At Sea

 

We put our watches forward by a half hour last night – I thought that Canada and India/Sri Lanka were the only countries with a half hour time difference, but clearly this part of Australia does too. I don’t know why I find this half hour business so annoying, to me, it’s like they can’t make up their mind which time zone they are in, or they are just trying to be different. Imagine what the world would be like if every time zone was a half hour different, or even 20 minutes different. It would make life much more difficult.

 

So now it’s 10:30 AM on Sunday February 23^rd on the ship, and 5:00 PM on Saturday February 22^nd back home. Very confusing.

 

When I was in the shower this morning fighting with the fabric shower curtain, I was initially wishing that when they do the next upgrade to the ship that they improve the Britannia bathrooms. The bathrooms in the new Britannia Club and single cabins are all glass and marble, and look great.

 

However, I then thought that they are so old fashioned that they would qualify as being retro.

 

I have always been put off by the showers in the Britannia cabins, but as I was fighting with the fabric shower curtain this morning, I came to the realization that they are OK. Yes, it would be nice to have marble and glass bathrooms like the new Britannia Club and single cabins. However, there is something pleasingly retro about them. The bathrooms on Queen Mary and the QE2 reflect the eras of when the ships were in service, and that is part of the charm of staying there.

 

These bathrooms are definitely not modern, but quite honestly nor is the ship these days, so why not have bathrooms that reflect this. I am also a bit wary of glass showers on ships. There was an occasion when I fell out of the shower as the ship hit a big wave. Falling through the shower curtain was one thing, crashing through a glass shower door would be something else again. And besides, those glass showers are a real pain to keep clean.

 

In the afternoon I first went to an excellent piano recital by two lads called Esnult and Dantas.

 

Then I headed off to Professor Nigel MacLennan’s talk on “Thrive Beyond Fifty Five: Using the Mind for a Healthy Body”. He had made everyone temporarily happy with his talk on happiness, so I was expecting great things. Illuminations was packed, obviously this was a popular topic.

 

I emerged from the talk feeling depressed. I really didn’t learn much that was new, but it is always difficult to hear facts that you wished would go away. The answer to thriving lies in not drinking alcohol, no red meat, eat less protein, lose weight, exercise more, eat less sugar, and no caffeine. Doing things like crossword puzzles and soduku do not help your brain, you need to constantly learn new things as brain activity thrives whilst you are on the learning curve, but declines once you have mastered something. So you have to constantly be learning new stuff. It’s like learn Mandarin today, after you have mastered Mandarin, then you have to learn how to paint, next you have to learn how to drive a speed boat, and so on. It all sounded quite exhausting. He also said that doing 2 things at the same time was good – so Bruce the didgeridoo playing guitarist should be thriving.

 

Yes, I do know he’s right, but I wish he wasn’t. It made me head up to the Kings Court for a cup of tea and a chocolate éclair.

 

Tonight was the Black and White Ball, so I got to wear my white top that sheds sparkles. It is shedding less, and the day will come when it sheds no more. With all of the newcomers on board I was quite expecting that there would be several people not keeping to the dress code, but at least in the dining room everyone was dressed very nicely, and most were wearing black and white. It was really good to see that.

 

The meal included all of the bad things that we aren’t meant to eat if we with to thrive. It did have all of the good healthy stuff too, but a gala night is not the time or place to change life long poor eating habits. Especially when there is liver pate, tenderloin and chips, and chocolate mousse. Life is good on QM2.

 

DAY 27

Saturday, February 22^nd, 2020

 

At Sea

 

This is the bag I received last night:

We decided it was time to send out the invitations for our planned stateroom soiree on Monday. The issue is always how many people can you comfortably squeeze into a cabin? After much trial and error we had previously settled on 8, with a maximum of 12, although the level of comfort diminishes exponentially. Somehow we ended up inviting 12 guests, forgetting that it will actually be 14 people total if you include us. Oh well.

 

I went around the ship delivering the invitations, and by the time I returned to the Commodore Club I already had our first response. Friends came over and said they would love to come, but what time was the party? I couldn’t believe that I had forgotten to put a time on the invitations. Actually, yes I can believe it. I just have to stop being so scatterbrained.

 

In the afternoon we sat out on our balcony enjoying the sun. I am always in two minds about whether or not to go with a glass fronted balcony or a sheltered one. The decision is usually made by the price, the sheltered ones tend to be much cheaper.

 

With the sheltered ones the cabin tends to be darker, and you can’t see the water when you are sitting down or lying in bed. However, you can usually be out on your balcony when we are at sea, and today was no exception. There was enough of a breeze to keep it cool, but it was not too windy at all. In fact it was extremely pleasant. All that was lacking was a swimming pool.

 

You can tell we are sailing around Australia by the music we heard on board today. We had lunch in the pub and the pianist, Campbell Simpson, played Waltzing Matilda, and then when we were having drinks in the Chart Room the Mark Hodgson Trio played it again.

 

The show tonight was an Australian guitarist, Bruce Mathiske, who played the guitar and the didgeridoo simultaneously. Not a particularly pleasing combination quite honestly, but I was very impressed that he could do it. It takes all my efforts to play just the guitar, without also managing another instrument at the same time. Not even Rolf Harris tried to do that.

 

DAY 26

Friday, February 21^st

 

At Sea

 

People often enquire if there is a problem with noise from the Promenade Deck above the cabins on deck 6. Well we can certainly hear the joggers thumping above, but it is not that loud, and does not disturb us. However, if someone is very sensitive to noise, it could be a problem, and I would recommend booking cabins on deck 4 or 5.

 

The storms have passed and it was a lovely sunny day. We decided to try the Boardwalk Café for lunch. There was no shade, so I was happy that we had our hats and sunglasses with us. It was actually very pleasant sitting out on deck, and fun to find another venue for lunch on sea days.

 

Deirdre was hosting this segment’s Virtuoso Cocktail Party in G32 tonight. Kim is still incapacitated from his fall on deck 14 in Dubai. He is doing better, and is now out of the hospital in Dubai, and getting treatment in Brisbane. So without Kim to assist her, I offered to try to help out.

 

I was having a good time circulating among the guests when all of a sudden, whilst gesticulating as I talked, I ended up sending a glass of red wine flying. Luckily most of it ended up on me, and not on the guests. A very helpful waiter helped to mop me up, and fortunately as I was wearing a little black dress there was very little evidence of the mishap when I returned to chat to Brian. Ah ha, I thought, no one needs to know about the incident.

 

After the party we headed to dinner. As I walked down the grand staircase in the dining room I noticed that I had managed to get red wine all over my tights, and it looked like I had major bleeding going on. It was very much like the balcony on deck 4 before it was repainted.

 

I thought that if anyone asked what the matter with my legs was, I could explain that it was just rust. However, no one asked me. Brian never even noticed.

 

When we returned to the cabin, there was a world cruise gift for me – a tote bag. That was nice, but I am still hoping for a scarf.

 

I went to sleep thinking that my life would be complete with a world cruise scarf, and an invitation to dine with the captain.