Alan and Marion's World Cruise

March 23rd, 24th, 25th On the QM2 Bridge

2007-03-25T10:21:00.000+01:00

Friday 23rd March. Was the morning that it hit us how close to home we were! Oh dear, all good things have to come to an end and I began to pack a few things in readiness. Alan went to his lecture by Captain Dick Routledge about the Concorde disaster over Paris and we met up later for lunch. During the morning we had started our transit through the Straits of Gibraltar and the sea was calm. This day was the first of the QM2 Charity Days and we were going to attend the World Cruise Charity Fair at 2.00pm. All monies raised will be divided between Shelter Box, Pegasus Children’s Trust Vision and Each – East Anglia’s Children’s Hospices. Alan announced that he had spoken to the Queen’s Grill Maitre D’ for permission and that he would be doing a sponsored minimum 40 length swim in the pool (where he exercises each morning at 4.30am) to raise money for the charities with only the Queen’s Grill guests participating! I was shocked – but had to applaud him and took a photo of him on is scooter to attach to the sponsor sheets that the Maitre D’ had offered to take to each table as he paid his usual visit during dinner. The afternoon fair was great fun and we happily tried out our skill at darts, throwing the bean bag where I won a bottle of Becks, hoop la where I won a bottle of champagne, and hugging and kissing where I paid $2 to kiss three of the crew, one being Victor, our butler! Alan kissed the girls and had his photo taken with one of the Russian dancers. There were many other games that made it most enjoyable for all who attended. The world cruise map was auctioned and raised $3,300 and many of the individual ‘cancelled’ maps were sold for around $100 each. By now we were clear of the Straits of Gibraltar and on a northerly course following the western shoreline of Portugal towards Cape Finisterre and the Bay of Biscay. After all this excitement we returned to our suite to dress in style for the Ascot Ball. Before dinner Alan waited at the dining room entrance whilst I had a quick Kir Royale in the lounge, but his intention was to be seen and recognised for his sponsorship. Most guests know each other now but he thought it would be good PR. After dinner we went to the Ball and joined a few friends until the theatre. The show was excellent as usual, and the Cunard dancers, mostly Russian, performed wonderfully as they showed us many of their traditional dances. Alan called into the dining room to see how his form was going and had a big surprise because it had already amounted to US$1,200 and there was all tomorrow to go! What a lovely end to the day.
Saturday 24th March. Alan came back to our suite at 9.00am and announced that he had achieved a swim of 60 lengths for the charity at 4.15am this morning that had been verified by the housekeeper on duty. An official notice was printed and posted in the dining room for all guests to see. I must say I was very proud of him and particularly pleased for him! Need I say – I spent most of the morning packing (all ten suitcases!) Anyway at 11.30am I went to the White Elephant Auction, this was where any guests who had bought something whilst away and then decided they didn’t want it, could donate to the charity auction. It was fun and I saw a Versace World Cruise tie go for $130! (We will keep ours.) There were all sorts of clothing and souvenirs passengers didn’t want, but I decided I had bought enough anyway and was keeping all mine! The total amount raised was US$20,108 during the two days. As usual Alan went to a lecture and this time it was ‘Safety and Seamanship’. After lunch we got an invitation from the Commodore to go and visit the bridge!! Well that was a pleasant surprise as no one is allowed up there, even by request so we felt quite privileged. It was amazing and I thought how much Andrew and Mark would have enjoyed it too, but they will have to suffice with photos of us!!
We had all the computers and radar explained to us and much, much more. It really was a treat to stand and look out from the bridge window just like all the Officers in charge. We both took a hold of the ships steering wheel as you can see, but I think she was on autopilot at the time! What a memorable occasion this was. Following evening cocktails with a Lancashire couple we had befriended throughout the world cruise, we wandered around to say our ‘good-byes’ to some of the crew because shops would be closed until after the ship sailed from Southampton. We had also arranged that we would dine with friends, Pam and Jerry, from Australia, and Bill and Karen, from Wales, who dined at the table next to us in Queen’s Grill, so a special table for six was organised; (the staff are so obliging and nothing is too much trouble.) It was a most enjoyable and entertaining meal and we were the last to leave the dining room! Then Alan was delighted to hear from the Maitre D’ that all his hard work had paid off (literally) and the final amount he had raised was US$11,840.! Well done Alan, I say!! Tonight clocks had to go forward one hour before we arrived in France.
Sunday 25th March We had arrived in Le Havre at 5.00am where we were berthed for the day. This morning when Alan was having breakfast, as arranged the Maitre D’ gave him the monies and documentation and informed him that the Commodore had invited us to meet him on the bridge at 10.00am when he could make his presentation. We were very pleased to hear that we could present the Commodore in person and were escorted by Beniamino, our Maitre D’, and Anja, the Social Hostess, to the bridge. When Alan announced the amount he had raised Commodore Warner was in shock! Eventually, when both he and his Staff Captain could speak, they were full of praise and gratitude. Alan looked so proud. Photographs were taken and then the Commodore presented Alan with a framed photograph of the QM2 on her maiden call into Southampton.
We returned to our suite delighted with his response and generosity only to receive a telephone call from him five minutes later asking if he could drop in to our suite and sign the photo for us. Whilst Commodore Warner was with us we were able to chat informally having all recovered from the obvious astonishment at the sum donated. Then Alan and I went ashore at Le Havre and hired a taxi for a few hours that took us to Honfleur, a very pretty little port where the streets were lined with old properties dating back to the 17th century. We found a nice restaurant for lunch to celebrate Alan’s very successful achievement and enjoyed a couscous and seafood platter accompanied by a bottle of St. Emilion Grand Cru, 2000, and the buzz of the French enjoying their Sunday lunch. After a walk around the picturesque town and the purchase of some local Calvados we found our taxi and returned to the ship. Our last evening dinner on board was highly charged with enthusiasm when we were thanking everyone in the dining room that had looked after us for three months, they were a great team and we will miss them all. Then farewells to our fellow passengers, after which I left Alan to enjoy a last drink in their company whilst I returned to finalise our packing!! The weather has been chilly and reminded me of home so I am ready now to return to a normal routine and the company of family and friends. We will have to put our clocks back one hour this evening to agree with British Summer Time upon our arrival at Southampton in the morning.
What an amazing World Cruise this has been for us - on the Maiden World Cruise of the Queen Mary 2 - ending March 26th 2007. I hope that you have enjoyed sailing with us.

March 20th, 21st Rome, 22nd.

2007-03-22T23:50:00.000Z

Tuesday 20th March . After leaving Piraeus we set a southerly course through the Elafonisou Channel south of Peloponnesus, then westwards across the southern Ionian Sea towards the Straits of Messina. Alan went to listen to Carol Marlow, the President of Cunard, for a special presentation about the new Queen Victoria - whilst I struggled to log on to the Internet, which was very slow due to our position. After lunch we took on a pilot to aid our passage through the narrow straits of Messina between Sicily and mainland Italy. We were delighted that Dr Ruth Westheimer had boarded the ship in Athens and went to hear her speak (to a full theatre) in the afternoon. We found her very amusing, yet as expected, explicit in her talk on ‘sex’. Questions were read out from the floor that had been earlier written on paper as passengers arrived – she answered them openly and honestly, but retains them as these are the basis of all her books. At the age of 79 she still lectures at Harvard and Yale and has her own web page. (http://www.drruth.com/) for anyone in need!! We had organised a cocktail evening, ‘soiree’, in our suite before dinner to celebrate our 43rd wedding anniversary with new friends we had made on the QM2, so we hurriedly prepared ourselves so that Victor and our steward could get the suite ready before our guests arrived at 6.45pm. It was a very enjoyable couple of hours spent with 6 couples of different nationalities and yet we were all able to converse freely, mainly due to the fact that our guests spoke good English, and we, being British accepted it (as we do!) We managed to get through five bottles of champagne, half a bottle of gin, two large trays of hot and cold canapés and nibbles – and that was before we all went down to dinner! Groan! In the dining room all our immediate table guests clapped as we entered the room, which was rather unexpected and nice. For dessert the Maitre De presented us with a heart shaped cake and two candles to blow out, which we then shared with a table of four who had earlier been amongst our guests. Even our waiters joined in the celebration in cabaret style! Then the Commodore announced that we were just passing by the volcanic island of Stromboli and that the volcano was active so he had slowed down. We all dashed out on to the deck to see the magnificent sight about half a mile away. The volcano was 1100 feet high with red hot lava oozing out and streaming down the sides into the sea. It was a shame it was dark because although the red hot glow was more impressive in the dark it was not really possible to get a good photograph, but what a sight it was! Afterwards we went to the Queens lounge to end our celebration with friends. We put back our clocks by one hour and are now just one hour ahead of the UK, but if they put their clocks forward next weekend (for spring) we will both be the same when we arrive home on the 26th.
Wednesday 21st March. We arrived in the port of Civitavecchia, Italy, at 6.00am. Our fellow guests told us that the market there was incredible, but as it was very cloudy and cold we decided not to go ashore in the morning. Temperatures had plummeted since we arrived in the Mediterranean and we were back to 16 degrees Celsius with occasional showers – and shivering, just like at home! After an early lunch we boarded our motor coach for Rome, especially organised for world cruisers, so we expected it to live up to the high standards of previous similar events. At 4.15pm we arrived at the famous Villa Miani perched high above the city. The view was amazing; we could see the whole of Rome, the Vatican City and in the background the Seven Hills of Rome. This view is of St Peters and Vatican City. We were welcomed by a group from Capri who sang to us from the terrace walls as we climbed the steps to take our champagne whilst absorbing the wonderful sights in front of us. The villa was built in 1930 to a Georgian design for the Miani family, which has its own story. We entered and admired the elegant rooms as we walked through to where tables had been set for our buffet dinner and entertainment. The group from Capri began to sing and dance whilst we helped ourselves to the array of foods on offer as well as wine that flowed freely - again! It wasn’t long before they asked for audience participation and I was encouraged onto the floor! Very soon a group of us were part of the entertainment, but it was really good fun for everyone and the atmosphere was electric. It was time to say good bye and board our coach for Vatican City. We had been granted a private viewing of the Vatican Museum, which is not a museum of artefacts; surprisingly it is the Vatican itself. We entered through the huge bronze door that the last Pope had designed to replace the older one shown here with Michaelangelo on the left and Raphael on the right, above the door. We were in a small group of disabled, with private head phones so that our guide could talk to us wherever we were instead of the usual head set that is pre-recorded. This turned out to be by far the best way to tour the long corridors because we could stop and ask her questions without missing anything else and also we were not with the larger groups that came with us (150 people in all.) I have to say it was the most magnificent place I have ever walked through because the walls and ceilings were just amazing. The corridors stretched for at least half a mile before we reached the entrance to the Sistine Chapel so it was a good job I had Alan in a wheelchair, also because he was alternating the video and the digital for me so that I could get as much as possible on both cameras as we progressed. (Because it was by special invitation we were allowed to take flash and video, which is not normally allowed.) Here is a section of the Sistine Chapel ceiling and walls but we have it all on video.
The Alter and alter wall is magnificent. I won’t display more photos but I would like to! We returned to the ship at 10.00pm just before we sailed toward our last port of call, Le Havre, on March 25th.

Thursday 22nd March. Back at sea, and what a rough sea! We had been rolling around all night in a Force 8 gale; the first really rough sea and bad weather since our transatlantic crossing in January. It was very cold at 10 degrees Celsius and we have also had hailstones and thunder. The wind was north north-westerly at 50 knots with ‘white horses’ forming on the 14 foot high waves. My steward told me that many of the crew were sea sick, so I expect some passengers would be too! I did decide to have a pill and wear my acupuncture wrist bands when I got up just to be safe, rather than ill, and the chocolate I had for elevenses helped immensely! Alan went to a lecture by Cunard Historian, John G. Langley, and I began writing up my blog, which I am glad I decided to do as I would never have been disciplined enough to write my diary over the full three months. (I can just add a note to my autobiography and refer to this separate journal.) At mid-day we were passing 14 miles off Minorca, the eastern most Balearic Island and then after lunch, at 2.15pm we were passing Mallorca, the largest of the Balearic Islands. The Commodore reassured everyone that the stabilisers were out and that the ship would weather the gales as I understand some passengers had been quite concerned. After all, this is the first bad patch of weather many of them have experienced, but I can’t believe it is the Mediterranean and not the North Sea! We have the Bay of Biscay to weather yet so I hope the ‘high’ around Spain remains stable for our crossing. We went to the theatre in the afternoon to hear Dominique Ava play the violin and she was marvellous; now aged 27, she had been winner of the ‘BBC Young Musician of the Year’ award as well as many others. During the evening we were heading on a south westerly course towards the Alboran Sea and the Straits of Gibralter. The weather had changed to sunshine with a more acceptable sea so the ship was sailing along nicely at last. Alan and I dined in the Chef’s Galley with our Swiss friends, Pierre and Gabrielle; it was an ‘Italian’ theme this time. Unfortunately, we had to refuse an invitation to dine with the Hotel Manager, but we had had this evening booked with our friends for some time. Our evening ended in the Commodore Club sipping brandy before I returned to find a ‘hot spot’ and log onto the Internet to post this blog.

18th, 19th March, Athens

2007-03-20T13:26:00.000Z

Sunday 18th March. Our world cruise had reached 38,247 n. miles as we arrived in Piraeus, Greece, at about 10.30am. It took an hour to manoeuvre the ship into her mooring through the narrow harbour entrance because we had to reverse in and then turn 180 degrees. After an early lunch we allowed the hoards to exit the port on the shuttle buses before we attempted to take our leave. At 2.30pm we were heading into Athens and looking forward to spending the afternoon and evening in the city. We were dropped off at Plaka, just across the road from Hadrian’s Arch and the Temple of Olympian Zeus so I hopped across and took photos leaving Alan waiting at the pavement cafe. We strolled around some very pleasant small streets with plenty of tourist type shops and lots of jewellers. Then we came across a square with yet another ruin to study, which was overlooked by the hill and The Parthenon, but we didn’t climb up there as we had visited in the 80’s. It had been warm and sunny during the afternoon, about 22 degrees, but by 6.30pm when it was turning cooler, we found a nice restaurant in the square. ‘Diogenes’ was very popular with the locals and the tables outside were soon filled with people wearing warm clothing. We dined in a small room that was tastefully decorated. People we had been talking to in one of the shops had recommended the restaurant and some wine from central Greece. Hatzimichalis, a dry red, from Syrah, Grenache, Cabernets and Carignan grapes, at 26 Euros, was indeed very good! Alan had veal and I had lamb, and although it was tasty it wasn’t anything special, but the atmosphere in the restaurant was most enjoyable. At 8.45pm we strolled to catch our shuttle bus back to port. By the time we were on board again we decided an early night was all we could manage!
Monday 19th March. After a restful night we awoke to brilliant sunshine and a very busy ship. All the tours were heading off in every direction possible so we kept a low profile because we had our formal dinner to look forward to with Carol Marlow, the President and Managing Director of Cunard. About 400 world cruisers had been invited to dine with her at The Athens Ledra. I had made afternoon appointments at the beauty and hair salon to prepare for the occasion so I had a leisurely morning before lunch. We were collected from our suite at 4.45pm because they had organised individual cars for disabled passengers (which was better for us than climbing on a bus.) Upon our arrival we were greeted by a group of school children holding the flags of different countries to symbolise the many nationalities that were attending. Following the red carpet we were guided into the atrium where Carol Marlow welcomed each guest individually and then yet another welcome by the Commodore before taking a glass of pink champagne, or any of the other drinks offered. We moved on to where a string quartet played classical music and then stopped to sit and chat with other guests as we enjoyed the welcome. There were several podiums situated around the open aspect lounge where Roman athletes were depicted by men dressed accordingly as statues that slowly changed their pose. When we entered the dining room my breath was taken away by the magnificent sight of tables dressed with yard high glass vases containing green apples topped with cascading white roses, lilies and green ivy. Even the chairs had a sprig of ivy and a white rose tied to the rear of their covers. The resident orchestra played whilst a group performed several traditional Greek dances, then the school children sang. A lady vocalist entertained us whilst we had dinner, which was four courses with wines, ending with champagne for the loyal toast and then Greek liqueur. After this the ‘athletes’ came and performed their slow motion positions to the theme from Chariots of Fire. We had good company on our table and that made the evening so much more enjoyable, but it had to end at 10.30pm because we had to get back to the ship before she sailed at midnight. It was indeed another well organised event that we will often recall.

15th, 16th March Suez Canal, 17th

2007-03-17T12:47:00.000Z

Thursday, 15th March. Today we awoke to a cooler breeze than we have had since leaving Fort Lauderdale, it was almost too cool to sit out, but we managed an hour. The sea was rougher than usual but not enough to effect the ship. Alan went to a lecture with Cunard Historian, John Langley, (who had been at the captain’s table with us,) the talk was on Charles Dickens’ notes about his transatlantic voyage to America in 1842, which Alan found very interesting. I strolled around the ship and found interest in the corner of a bar where a group of passengers from Tahiti had began playing their traditional music and singing. I gather the Commodore sat and listened to them yesterday so it must be a daily occurrence! After that I joined the quiz team and sat with a couple from the UK, we scored 12 out of 15 and the three we got wrong were ‘his’ answers! I’ll play on my own if there’s a next time! Throughout the morning we continued on our north north-westerly journey through the Red Sea paralleling the coast of Saudi Arabia to the east and Sudan to the west. Then shortly before noon we sailed 70 miles from the border between Sudan and Egypt as we continued to steam toward the Gulf of Suez. I met up with Alan for lunch and we decided on a lazy afternoon, so I put on a DVD, which lasted three hours forty minutes, so that was the rest of the day gone! Our evening was relaxed too because after dinner we went to the theatre to see Brenda Cochrane sing. During the evening there were two ‘Strangelings’ wandering around the ship, (actually buskers from Covent Garden – again!) The clocks went back a further hour so we are now only 2 hours behind the UK. At 2.15am we arrived at the Suez Canal and took our place in the waiting convoy until our 6.00am start.
Friday, 16th March. At 3.00am Alan woke me up shouting “Quick Marion, come and look at the whales”, I leapt out of bed and fumbled around in the dark until I heard Alan say, “Sorry love, I was talking in my sleep!” Thank you Alan!! He was up early enough to see the ship commence its journey through the Suez Canal at 6.15am. (I looked out and saw miles of sand so turned over for an extra hour.) There were 30 ships including ours in the convoy, and passenger ships take precedence, so we lead the way. It was however, a very interesting day and we spent all morning on the balcony enjoying the sights, but it was a bitterly cold wind with temperatures around 16 degrees all day and no sunshine. Here’s the entrance about 6.30am. The canal was started in 1858 and completed in 1869. There are no locks because the sea level is the same at both ends. On a typical day three convoys transit the canal, two southbound and one north bound and there are passing areas where convoys await their turn. One is Bitter Lake and the others are Lake Timsah and Ismailia. The scenery changed as we progressed, but on the starboard side, the east bank, where there were still many signs of earlier wars, it remained very much a desert, the Sinai. The military presence was very much in evidence with tented outposts spaced at regular intervals. The lookout, which was manned by a lone armed soldier, resembled a tea chest supporting a flag that had been perched on a higher sand bank. The port side, the west bank, developed into a very green and highly populated area, which is due to water being piped a hundred miles from the Nile, mainly for irrigation purposes. There were several ferries across the Suez Canal linking Egypt’s east and west bank. First we saw the Gebel Mary Am World War 1 Memorial on port side. Then around mid-day we were able to see the Camp David Memorial on starboard side, this was erected to commemorate the signing of the peace treaty between Israel and Egypt, which was brokered by America at Camp David. The memorial is bayonet shaped and there is a parade ground to one side. To Alan’s great delight we approached the El Ferdan railway bridge, which is the longest swing span bridge in the world. It was completed in 2001 with a span of 340 metres . The previous bridge was destroyed in 1967 during the Arab Israeli conflict. Around 1.30pm we approached the Suez Canal Bridge, also called the Egyptian-Japanese Friendship Bridge. This is a high level fixed road bridge at El Quantara. It has a 68 metres clearance over the canal and was started in 1999, it was completed in 2003. The QM2 had only a 5 metres clearance. We went for lunch at 1.30pm and after more sightseeing we were leaving the canal at 4.00pm and entering familiar territory, the Mediterranean Sea, which was when our pilots disembarked the ship. At this I escaped to the gym to get warm! We had an enjoyable evening dining with our friends, Kay and Peter, and their daughter and her friend who joined the ship at Dubai. We went to the Lotus Asian restaurant again.
Saturday 17th March. We were awakened by the Commodore at 7.00am when he announced that due to strong north westerly gales no shipping was able to enter the harbour at Alexandria. We circled around 35 waiting tankers until 10.00am when the Commodore announced that it was not practical for us to wait any longer as the tours booked for Cairo, the pyramids and Nile cruise would not now be able to complete their journeys. Everyone was most disappointed as it was to have been their big day for many who had not visited Egypt before. I presume the Egyptian salesmen who travelled with us through the canal must have departed with the pilots. We set sail for Greece in a north westerly direction with new plans to arrive in the port of Piraeus around noon tomorrow (18th) and stay overnight before beginning our original planned full day visit to Athens etc (19th). Hence today we are at sea! The temperature is 20 degrees with a breeze but the sea is calm.

13th, 14th March

2007-03-14T11:58:00.000Z

Tuesday 13th March. (Belated birthday greetings, John Mc, sorry we missed it.) Last evening’s dinner at the Captain’s Table was wonderful. We were seated where our name cards were placed and to my surprise I found myself sitting next to Commodore Bernard Warner. He was a charming man and chatted to us all in a well practised manner. I found some reasonable questions to ask and then enquired about our next port of call, Alexandria. He said he would get back to me with more accurate information, and he did. The next day an envelope arrived with a personal letter from him telling me all I needed to know, which I thought was very gracious as his time is precious. Our meal was excellent and wine flowed freely, as it does! The dessert was specially prepared for his table and was very impressive in presentation as well as the manner in which it was served. Conversation at the table, which seated 7 guests, a lecturer and his wife, the Commodore and his secretary, was lively and most interesting. Unfortunately, the name on my place card read Maria Filby, so I laughed and told Commodore Warner to call me Marion, he apologised for the mistake and said he would get another written out for me, not that I was bothered. However, the next day an envelope arrived addressed to me with a place card for Mary Filby! It was a nice thought but someone got it wrong again!

After our most enjoyable Monday evening Alan had spent all day Tuesday resting on the balcony and taking in the sunshine and fresh air. I joined him and did some odd jobs before going to the gym. We continued west south-westerly during the morning through the eastern extremities of the Arabian Sea. By late afternoon we approached the Gulf of Aden, a stretch of water dividing Yemen from the north coast of Somalia in the African continent. Unfortunately, due to our position we did not have access to satellites and so I was unable to get onto the Internet. We decided not to join in with yet another formal evening and dined in our suite whilst watching a DVD, The Aviator, which was much better than I had expected. Our clocks went back an hour and we are now 3 hours ahead of the UK.
Wednesday 14th March Another leisurely day at sea. This morning we entered the straits of Bab el Mandeb. The straits marked our entry into the Red Sea dividing Yemen from Djibouti and Eritrea. By lunch time we were 40 miles west of Yemen and 80 miles east of Eritrea and had sailed close to a group of small islands. At this point the Red Sea was only 500 metres deep. There are 200 types of coral here and it is the most northerly tropical sea - with more salt due to a higher level of evaporation. Through out the day we sailed parallel to the coast of Saudi Arabia to the east and the Sudan to the west. By nightfall the cities of Jeddah and Mecca will be at a distance of 40 miles off the starboard side. Alan attended a lecture on digital camera use and I went to the last Spanish class. This evening we are invited to a cocktail party for World Club guests and we have just been presented with our platinum badges for reaching the top level of Cunard cruises. (This affords us extra advantages when sailing.)

March 10th,11th Dubai, 12th.

2007-03-12T11:06:00.000Z

Saturday, 10th March and we were sailing deeper into the Arabian Sea. Humidity was increasing although we were still able to sit out on the balcony with temperatures around 30 degrees, and we were enjoying a calm sea, which was 29 degrees with slight breeze. Alan went off to his lecture on Dubai by Professor John Reich, and I went to finish my beaded necklace and earrings, which turned out quite nice. Then it was Spanish class and I am struggling amongst very advanced students! They want more and I want less! By lunch time we were heading into the Gulf of Oman and because there are 1200 passengers leaving the ship at Dubai, it was quite hectic around the shopping areas. I won’t be sorry to see some of them go; they did seem to be of a miserable disposition! We had more interesting things to do and planned for our day in Dubai seeking out where to go, how to get there and how much cash we would need. At sunset we entered the Gulf of Oman and continued on a north westerly course towards the Straits of Hormuz and the entrance to the Persian Gulf. We passed six miles to the south of Ra’s al Ku in Iran shortly before 10.00pm. Our evening was relaxed with an enjoyable dinner before a visit to the casino where I had a successful hour playing craps before retiring. Alan still had a very bad headache and went to bed earlier. Clocks went back one hour so now we are 4 hours behind the UK. Time is passing far too quickly for us!!
Sunday, 11th March. Unfortunately, Alan was not well enough to go ashore today, so I decided to go alone. At 9.15am our waiter, Hansel, arrived and asked me if I would like him to escort me to the gold souk because he was meeting his friend there at 9.45am. Of course I accepted and off we went; the gray haired English lady and the handsome young Indian! Hmm! We took a taxi into Deira, an old area of Dubai where there are more traditional shops in the souks. I was amazed when we arrived to find that a ‘souk’ was just an area of shops, and not a type of market. There were so many shops and so much gold and magnificent jewellery that I was in my element, and although this was what I had expected it was still a huge surprise. I left Hansel buying an engagement ring for his fiancé and wandered in and out of more jewellery shops. It wasn’t long before I found a nice ring for Alan, so I worked it out in dirham, converted it to dollars, then pounds to see if it was a bargain and by then the jeweller had reduced it even further thinking that I was haggling!! None of the money exchange places were open so I paid in dollars and asked for change in dirhams, but as it happened I didn’t need them. It was a good morning and I was delighted with my purchases, I now have a burkha and a super pashmina to wear, plus something else for the children! Temperatures were about 29 degrees but because the shopping areas were so shaded it was quite pleasant. At lunch time I found a taxi and went on a 45 minute ride along the new coast road to see the new Bur Al Arab hotel. I was a bit disappointed to find that unless you have a reservation you are not allowed into the road leading to the hotel, but I asked the cabby to wait and took a few long distance photos! Back to Port Rashid and enjoying the sights along the way, beautiful expensive new houses and roads. The whole area is still being developed and I took photos of the huge sky scrapers that are quite unique in design. After 2 hours the taxi driver was delighted with his high tip in dirhams because the price of the taxi was so cheap! Everyone was back on board by 5.00pm and we sailed at 6.00pm passing one of the Palm Islands where new housing/hotels/golf course/shops etc is being extensively developed from land reclaimed from the sea. Alan was much better but chose to dine in our suite whilst I dined in the grill and enjoyed sitting with a lady I had made friends with.
Monday, March 12th. Alan went off to hear the lecture on Roman Architecture by Judith Dupré, followed by “The Magic of Concorde” with Captain Dick Routledge, whilst I caught up on all the bits of admin we had outstanding - I can’t believe the number of forms we have to complete for every port of call, but they are a necessity. We had left the Persian Gulf and sailed back through the Straits of Hormuz again during the night and by noon we were 17 miles off the coast of Oman with temperatures around 25 degrees. It was hazy again due to dust particles from the Arabian Desert, which is 900,000 square miles in size and off our starboard side. We have been invited by Commodore Bernard Warner to dine with him at the Captain’s Table this evening, so that will be rather nice as it is a ‘black and white ball’ evening. We have dined with other Officers many times before, but never with the Commodore, so this is a first for us! We are sailing in a south westerly direction toward the Gulf of Aden with a further 2340 n. miles through the Red Sea before the Suez Canal. We expect to arrive at the Suez Canal about 2.15am on Friday (16th) so hopefully we will be able to enjoy the experience when dawn breaks. We have five days at sea until Alexandria on March 17th and there is still plenty to do. We have clocked up 34, 682 nautical miles to date, which is 39,884 miles.

March 7th & 8th Cochin, 9th

2007-03-09T12:29:00.000Z

Wednesday, March 7th. We received confirmation of our hotel booking at 9.00am and excitedly commenced packing our over-night bag. We watched our arrival into the Port of Kochi and were surprised to see such a flat lush green landscape of palm trees extending into the distance. Cochin is the principal sea port in the State of Kerala. We were welcomed by a group of musicians with two decorated elephants, and beautiful girls who marked us all with red dots on our foreheads, which made our arrival all the more ‘Indian.' We were met at the port by a hotel chauffer who stood holding our name high above the heads of the waiting crowd. It was a delight to get into the car and be given a bottle of water and cold wet towels to wipe our perspiration away; after only ten minutes in the sun we were melting! Maxwell, the concierge travel manager, was awaiting our arrival on the steps of the Taj Malabar Hotel and greeted us like royalty (it was only a mile from the ship.) We were the only ones from the QM2 to stay overnight and they obviously thought we must be very important people. We were given a pierced coconut to sip from whilst being asked what type of bed we wanted, twin or double? We said it didn’t matter about the bed but we would like a room with the best view. This was indeed a superior corner suite on the 5th floor overlooking the ocean and the QM2 on the one side and from the other side we had views across the bay to the modern city of Cochin in the district of Ernakulam. We returned to meet Maxwell who had organised a hotel car to take us wherever we chose. He asked if we would like him to escort us, so off we all went, Maxwell, Verghase (the chauffeur, wearing his official uniform and hat,) Alan and me. First we went to the old town of Cochin where we stopped to photograph elephants on the road along our way, and then we slowed down to allow the wandering ‘holy cows’ that roam freely everywhere, to cross ahead of us. Narrow twisting roads with much tooting of horns and small three wheeler open sided ‘taxis’ called ‘ducducs’ (because they look like mobile rickshaws) swerved regularly to avoid collision. Along the roads were a mix of very poor homes and very wealthy homes because everyone tried to live in this busy area (the land was expensive, but the house building was not.) First we stopped at St. Francis Church where Vasco De Gama (who commissioned it) had been buried, his tomb is still there but his body was returned to Portugal in 1538. Then we went to see the Chinese fishing nets along the Fort Kochi promontory; these are operated with a system of pulleys and weights on a cantilever action, which is incredible to watch. Next was their oldest church, which happened to be Dutch! All along the roadside were stalls filled with bric-a-brac and clothes. We asked to be taken to some shops where I could look at saris and Verghase took us a further mile to Jew Town, the oldest part of Cochin where ‘black Jews’ arrived in the 6th century. Here were small narrow lanes so we had to leave the car and walk a few yards down the very busy road where every shopkeeper invited us, and all the other tourists in! Maxwell suggested which shop we should enter (some looked a bit dodgy) and I was encouraged to try on a sari! I was shown numerous patterns and designs of silk until I chose one that the shopkeeper dutifully wrapped and tucked me into as Alan and Maxwell sat and watched in amazement. I decided against this purchase and then we had silk shawls and jackets produced at such great speed until I was totally confused, but we did cross his palm with dollars in the end!! Moving on quickly we walked a few yards down the road to look inside the synagogue, but first we had to take off our shoes (although Alan was allowed to keep his on.) The floor is finished with imported handmade Cantonese tiles and antique Belgium chandeliers hung elegantly. Maxwell suggested we hurry or the palace would be closed and he wanted to show us it. En route I spotted another shop displaying silk kaftans and stepped inside for a few moments, but managed to find something else for Alan to barter over before we were hurried along our way. Mattancherrry Palace was built by 16th century Portuguese merchants as a gift to Raja Veera Kerala Varma of Kochi in exchange for exclusive building rights. I went inside and looked around at the many wall paintings, not dissimilar to tomb paintings, some furniture and robes. The Varma Raja’s had lived there most of the time and had reigned from 1502 to 1964; it was indeed worth a visit. When I came out the men were all sitting in the car waiting for me and by then, it was 5.30pm and we were ready to return to the hotel. I know Alan enjoyed the bartering experience because he got them much lower than I would have settled for. The challenge was starting in rupees, converting to dollars (used for the purchase) and converting to sterling to see if it was a good buy all at the same time! When we returned to the Taj we both had a swim in the infinity pool that was most welcoming with an unaided temperature of 28 degrees. This was followed by a lazy G&T on the pool terrace as we relaxed and watched the sun set across the bay. Darkness was falling so we decided to shower and dress for the evening because we had booked to dine in the Rice Boat restaurant, which was situated hanging over the backwaters. Our meal was truly Indian because we chose our fish from the fresh catch of the day, and we had Barova, an Indian wine that has an imported Australian shiraz blended with their own Indian grapes. We started with shrimps (one big gambas) cooked in spices that were to die for. Alan’s ‘back water’ fish and my ‘crocker’ fish were served with one fillet grilled and the other served in a banana wrap having been cooked in a mix of fragrant herbs and spices and served with basmati rice. Our Indian desserts were interesting and very sweet. Entertainment for QM2 visitors had been set on the lawns with a traditional South Indian buffet for anyone interested. This included traditional activity counters like cane weaving, pottery, astrology and artifact shops. Dancing such as Kathakali, Mohiniattam and Kalaripayattu were performed throughout the evening. (Male dancers and their make up takes 2 hours to apply.) We browsed the hotel jewellery shop and saw some magnificent traditional designs as well as amazing gems. It was very hot and humid and we were pleased to sleep with both ceiling fan and air conditioning!

Thursday, March 8th. Alan got up very early and had another swim before I joined him for breakfast, which was a traditional three course Indian meal! Our morning was at leisure around the hotel before returning to the ship. The bill was unbelievable, including all the personal attention, transport, meals and tips it was less than one of my new dresses!! We sailed 2 hours late from Cochin but were pleased to see so many local people lining the shores and having boat trips out to see the QM2 before we left. By evening we were well on our way through the Arabian Sea en route to Dubai, a distance of 1613 n miles. We were pleased to be back on board and heading for a new destination, but we have such fond memories of Cochin that we would like to return to India if possible. After a cocktail party and dinner, our evening entertainment was the Theatre Company performing songs by Elton John. We put back our watches by a further half an hour so now we are just 5 hours ahead of the UK.
Friday March 9th was as expected, a lazy day at sea. I went to a new class during the morning, which was beading, so I have to keep going to finish the necklace I have started! Alan rested because it was ‘Friday medication,’ he wins some and loses some, but today was not good. The afternoon was uneventful navigationally as we continued on our course north west towards the Gulf of Oman. I went to the gym but I know I am losing the battle! Tonight is the Masked Ball so we are about to get ready.

March 5th and 6th.

2007-03-06T17:48:00.000Z

Monday, 5th March. It was good to be sailing again and even better to have the extra hour in bed! By dawn we had exited the Malacca Straits off the north coast of Sumatra and altered course to west-northwest through the Andaman Sea. Alan had been to a lecture on Cochin and then had coffee in the Commodore Club where the Commodore chats to ‘world cruisers’ (we have our own section of the lounge every morning.) Not everyone goes, there are usually about 20 – 25 meet. I had been on the Internet in the adjoining lounge where I can plug in. By noon we were entering the Indian Ocean and the Bay of Bengal. The Commodore pointed out to us that because the sea was like a mill pond at this point, and where in certain areas we could see waves breaking on top of the calm sea, it was a sign that currents from three different seas were meeting, causing a rip tide. I had been watching this strange phenomenon from my balcony before he gave his noon bridge report, which explained the unusual occurrence that I had seen. I had also seen a couple of large fish similar to Marlin (or swordfish look-a-likes) leap out of the water, which was great. Alan had seen lots of small black dolphin, but I missed those! The Commodore also pointed out that we were close to Banda Aceh on the west coast of Sumatra where the Tsunami earthquake erupted beneath the sea on December 26th 2004 reaching 9.3 on the Richter scale, lasting for a full 8 minutes, which is the longest ever recorded, and moved the planet by half an inch. (This I didn’t know!) Today the temperature was 27 degrees and 99% humidity, which was better than the 99% humidity and 34 degrees we had left in Port Kelang! However, we will be remaining on this course close to the equator until we pass Sri Lanka and head north to Cochin. After lunch we stayed on the balcony until I went to the gym at 4.00pm. After an evening at the Lotus Asian restaurant with friends, Peter and Kay, I went to our suite and Alan went to see Kyle Espin, a piano/vocal entertainer at the theatre. We put our watches back an hour so that we are now 6 hours ahead of the UK.
Tuesday, 6th March. I had another Spanish lesson this morning but need to do homework, which I haven’t had time for, so perhaps when I get home I will be able to spend more time on the language because I have been enjoying it. Alan went to find an interesting lecture to sit in so we met up for lunch at 1.00pm. There was a matinee show with comedian Yacov Noy, which we both enjoyed before I dashed off to the gym again. We are still heading west through the southern section of the Bay of Bengal and by 8.00pm we should make landfall near Dondra Head at the southern tip of Sri Lanka. After an hour of paralleling the southern coast we alter course to steam northwest throughout the night across the Gulf of Mannar, the stretch of water dividing Indian from Sri Lanka. We should arrive at Cochin tomorrow at mid-day and will be staying over-night so we ‘hope’ to book into the Taj Malabar, a five star hotel. From here we can shop and sightsee until dusk and then enjoy a traditional Indian gourmet dinner in elegant surroundings before retiring. Then in the morning we can relax around the magnificent outdoor pool before returning to the ship for lunch before sailing. (Fingers crossed - we will have to wait and see??) We have to put our watches back ‘half an hour’ this evening, so we will then be 5 and a half hours ahead of the UK. We didn’t know about the earthquake in Sumatra until I received your email, we must have passed over the area before it happened, or, as we have been told, they are rarely felt at sea. (As with the tsunami.)

March 2nd, 3rd Singapore, 4th Port Kelang.

2007-03-04T08:09:00.000Z

Friday, 2nd March. Our day at sea was as usual, but Alan decided against attending his lecture because he was having a bad ‘Friday medication’. I went to Spanish class again and then we rested most of the afternoon in preparation for our big day ahead in Singapore. I watched a film and Alan slept out on the balcony. At sunrise depths beneath the keel shelved to 50 metres as we continued south south-west through the South China Sea. By noon the mouth of the Mekong River and Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam were on our starboard side, but at a distance of 90 n. miles and we were positioned at Charlotte Bank. The sun was rising higher in the sky as we steamed at 25 knots towards the equator again and humidity was increasing. We retired early. The Commodore had informed us we would be rounding the south-east corner of Malaysia on the south coast of Singapore about 3.30am and docking about 7.00am at a very busy port, therefore a shuttle service and limousines would be available.
Saturday, 3rd March. As predicted we entered the Singapore Straits at 4.00am and speed was reduced to 18 knots for the approach to the pilot station. The pilot embarked at 6.00am, 2 miles east of Kusu Island for our short passage to our berth in the Pasir Panjang Terminal at 7.00am. It was very hot and the humidity was high, so we dressed as sensibly as we could for a day shopping in the city. There was a long queue for the shuttle busses and we decided to use the limousine service, which was a good move because the shuttle would not have taken us any where near where we wanted to go! We took the wheelchair and at 10.30am we were dropped off at the Raffles City shopping mall where we spent a couple of hours browsing before actually purchasing some jade jewellery for us both! Then it was time for lunch. We found a nice restaurant and asked for a typical Malaysian meal, which was excellent in taste but similar to a Chinese meal.
After this we stepped across the road to visit Raffles Hotel. Once inside we could see the attraction, it was a marvellous place where the courtyard housed a gazebo bar with large shady umbrellas covering elegant wrought iron tables in a tropical setting amongst palm and coconut trees. We quickly seated ourselves and ordered two Singapore Slings! It was BLISS!! There are three floors to Raffles and whilst Alan chatted to two ladies on the next table I went on a walk about. I found the shops without any trouble and spent a while looking around before returning to suggest that Alan came to see too. There were antique shops, furniture and bric-a-brac as well as numerous bars and eateries. The famous Long Bar was full to bursting. There are three floors, but we only managed two before I found the Golden Silk boutique and just had to try everything in sight - followed by the same in the Oriental shop. It certainly wasn’t a cheap day, but it was so much fun!!
Time was passing too quickly and we had to be back at the ship for 5.00pm so we rang our limousine driver and she arrived at the main entrance to Rafffles within five minutes (what service!) It only took fifteen minutes to get back to the ship and just as we reached port the rain started, the thunder and lightening followed and we were like drowned rats as we stepped out of the car (and that was underneath the marquee too!!) The tropical storm caught everyone out, even the immigration and crew who were assisting passengers on board, we had to wait ten minutes before we could even think of using an umbrella to go the three yards across the gang way! It was such a laugh because everyone was soaked to the skin and my hair had curled instantly. We were late sailing due to refuelling, but the whole ship buzzed with excited passengers relating their day ashore in Singapore. It was one of the best yet and the city is a delight to the eyes, it is amazing. After dinner we went to the lounge for a Singapore Sling, but it was no where near as good as the original (and we have the recipe.) Then we went to the Mystery Play at the theatre, which was amusing and light, but most passengers went to bed early as they had to be up for tours the following day.
Sunday, 4th March. Having sailed 175 n. miles from Singapore, for security reasons the night security crew who were wearing flak jackets and carrying weapons had paraded around the deck as we approached and moored the ship. It must be a necessity or they wouldn’t have done it! We are now in the Strait of Malacca between Malaysia and Sumatra. It was so humid that we couldn’t stay out on the balcony for very long and were relieved that we hadn’t booked a tour. The port terminal building was quite new, and later when we went ashore for a stroll, we were delighted to find a few shops to browse around. This view from our balcony;

By lunch time we headed back to the comfort of air conditioning and relaxed after we had eaten. It would have taken almost two hours to get to Kuala Lumpur and we didn’t feel so inclined. I was very disappointed to discover that yet again I have lost another day of video – that is the second disc that has been corrupted. No idea why, the next one in worked OK again!
Tonight should be a good show by the Cunard Theatre Company so we are looking forward to that. This evening we set sail for Cochin, India, which is 1667 n. miles through the Andaman Sea, the Laccadive Sea and the Arabian Sea, all in the Indian Ocean, when we will arrive at Cochin at 1.00pm on March 7th to stay until March 8th. Our watches go back again this evening so that we will be only 7 hours ahead of the UK on March 5th.

February 28th Hong Kong, March 1st

2007-03-01T10:23:00.000Z

Wednesday, 28th February. Alan woke me up at 5.40am to go out onto the balcony as we approached Hong Kong. Fortunately, we were on the starboard side to see it all but as it was still dark all we could see were lights on the island. Within ten minutes we could see the silhouette of hills as dawn began to break. It wasn’t long before we were sailing close to the shore with Lamma Island on our port side. We recognised Repulse Bay, where, in 1981, I had my first paddle in the Pacific Ocean. Then high on the next mountain we spotted the cable car lift that took us up to Ocean Park; it was so exciting to be able to remember these places. The ship sailed around the point and we skirted Aberdeen. This photo of first sight has been lightened because it was only 6.15am. We could see huge sky scrapers that had been built where Kai Tak airport once was, but the whole area had been developed to its limit. The ship was too large to dock on Hong Kong Island and we sailed slowly into Qwai Chung container terminal on Kowloon Peninsula where we moored at 7.00am. We could just see Hong Kong Central from the ship but it was hidden in cloud. We didn’t rush because our day began at 10.30am when we met our group of about 70 ‘Queen’s Grill World Cruisers’ who were on the specially arranged Chinese New Year lunch with us. We enjoyed the panoramic drive, which took us through the tunnel and under Victoria Harbour across to Hong Kong Island. From there we drove across the island to Aberdeen and arrived at The Aberdeen Marina Club, where lifelong membership is approx £200,000 with a monthly fee of £250 - and members have to be sponsored. We were indeed privileged to be there, it was amazing! Above is the entrance and the terrace area. After being greeted at the entrance to the ballroom, where lunch was to be served, and given a fortune cookie by the gentleman below, we were escorted to our table for the celebration lunch. (Alan was wheeled in ahead of us.) After we were seated, accompanied by Chinese drummers, the lion entered by dancing around the room and onto the stage. I had positioned myself so that we sat close enough to get good photos and video the dancers. Four musicians played throughout the meal. The tables seated ten, but during lunch we were not expected to remain in our seats for the whole seven courses because around the room were tables with artists at work. We were invited to enjoy having our fortunes told, names written in Chinese calligraphy, personalised Chinese knots tied, and silhouettes artistically cut in minutes at any time that suited us. Here is Alan sitting for his silhouette. The fortune teller prophesied that Alan will outlive me - so Andrew and Mark had better toss a coin for possession! This was the luncheon menu; Steamed shrimp dumplings, steamed pork dumplings with crab roe, deep fried vegetable taro dumplings and steamed vegetarian dumplings; Braised pumpkin soup with assorted sea food; Stir fried dice beef with garlic and spring onions; Deep fried garoupa with sweet and sour sauce (the head is a delicacy, which was dressed and served with the tail fin for all to try – (Peter, a typical colonial type with Jimmy Edwards style moustache, who had lived in India - ate it all!) Poached seasonal vegetables in superior broth; Fried rice Yeung Chow style; Chilled honeydew melon with saog in coconut milk. Plenty of wine and green tea accompanied each course. It was a beautiful afternoon and we ventured out onto the terrace where the view was magnificent. We overlooked the yacht club marina, pools and boats, but also the Jumbo floating restaurant that Alan and I had been taken out to during our last visit when it was moored off shore and very popular venue. It was in one of the early James Bond movies too, but in recent years had to be brought in to the harbour for preservation. (Here I am with Jumbo in rear and I am wearing my red Chinese knot.) The afternoon seemed to wiz by and we had to leave at 3.15pm for our drive back to the ship. Some chose to be dropped off in Kowloon to shop but Alan and I thought better of racing around for the last couple of hours. We sailed out late because the Commodore had been given special dispensation, which allowed him to sail the QM2 through Victoria Harbour between Hong Kong Central and Kowloon, but it had to be at high water because there was only two metres of sea beneath the ship. It was a wonderful opportunity because at 8.00pm the city sprang to life, apparently, every evening at this time, for fifteen minutes the ‘Symphony of Light and Music’ takes place. All the lights on the tall business towers are synchronised to dance with the loud music played. (I have recorded it.) It was an amazing sight to see as we sailed parallel to the illuminated city that was also celebrating the eleventh day of the New Year! This year is the ‘Year of the Pig’ but also a special year because it happens to be the sixtieth anniversary when the year of the pig is said to be doubly lucky. The Chinese New Year starts on February 18th and lasts 15 days, but we were told that this day (Feb. 28th to us) was January 11th to the Chinese. We saw the Excelsior Hotel where we had stayed previously, and it stood proudly above the ‘noon day gun’, which is still fired. However, a new tunnel beneath the harbour has been built in the typhoon shelter area that was in front of the hotel, so now it is surrounded by other buildings, but it was still a majestic sight to see. The QM2 did a circuit of Hong Kong Island before heading in a southerly direction toward our next port of call, Singapore. This had been a really wonderful day to remember.
Thursday, 1st March. Alan was at his lecture while I had a lie in before sorting out all the paraphernalia from the previous day. By lunch time we were still in the China Sea sailing at 26 knots in temperatures around 25 degrees cent. with a gentle south easterly sea breeze. The sea was shallow in this area, only 2000 feet beneath the ship. We didn’t do much during the afternoon, except I wrote up this blog! Tonight is a formal evening and the show is ‘The Beatlemaniacs’; more talent embarked at HK. By midnight tonight we will be 55 n. miles off Da Nang, Vietnam.

February 24th, 25th, 26th, 27th.

2007-02-27T05:36:00.000Z

Saturday, 24th February. Alan was out on the balcony at 3.00am this morning watching the tropical electric storm. I had heard resounding bangs as if the steel of the hull was being hit by large unknown objects and wondered what it was, but didn’t stir too much. When I saw Alan coming back inside and heard about the magnificent sight he had seen I wished I had looked out. He said that bursts of blue sheet lightening had lit up everything as far as he could see, then intermittently there had been loud explosions in the sky that burst into golden lightening that fell to the sea like giant octopus shaped fireworks, again illuminating the whole horizon. All this was accompanied by continuous heavy rain and thunder that first exploded and then rumbled around for ages, which explained the banging I had heard reverberating through the ship. It lasted from 2.45am to 3.30am and then settled down as the rain stopped. During the morning we steamed west north-west paralleling the coast of Papua New Guinea, which was visible at a distance of 12 n. miles. This area is littered with small islands and the first we saw had an active volcano called ‘Manum’. The island, which is five miles wide, had 9,000 inhabitants until major eruptions in 1964 caused them to be evacuated. The last big eruption was in 2004, which was similar in size and caused some deaths. The island is now uninhabited and the still active volcano continues to smoke with small regular eruptions, which at this moment in time had an amount of grey smoke nestling upon the summit. Later in the day we altered our course to a more north westerly heading through the Bismark Sea towards the equator. I had attended my Spanish class whilst Alan attended the continuation of his lectures. In the afternoon the crew held their ‘Tug-of-War’, which was won by the ships engineers (the big fellows!) Alan went on deck to watch and came back with a lobster coloured face! (The humidity and temperature was very high so after my experience last time I decided not to venture out!) The chefs had a display of their ‘signature’ dishes and passengers circulated to vote for the top three. We both had a lazy afternoon and I watched a film before and during my gym session. Then we dressed early because we were dining with Kay and Peter Bradley again, but this time at the Chef’s Galley. It was Pan Asian food; a very interesting selection of Thai, Korean and Malaysian dishes. Following that Alan and I went up on deck to catch the exact time of crossing the equator again. The Commodore had suggested about 10.00pm, but in fact it was exactly 10.34pm. An Australian couple joined us out of interest and were delighted to have experienced the actual event with us. I celebrated by doing my ‘Titanic’ pose, which Alan captured. It was a great evening up there with the moon and the stars shining so brightly overhead. It has been wonderful to see the ‘Southern Cross’ and the ‘Dolphin’ (the only two I can identify and name) but the rest have been a sight to remember. I wonder if we will ever go back into the Southern Hemisphere? We put our watches back one hour and are now 9 hours ahead of the UK.
Sunday, 25th February. As expected it was very warm and humid by the time I got up so I sat on the balcony reading newspapers, doing a crossword and my Spanish homework, whilst Alan attended his lectures. We are now in the Northern Hemisphere and heading north-west into the Philappine Sea with the sun creeping south of us again on our port quarter. It was King Neptune’s crossing the equator party on deck again but we let this one pass us by and went for an early lunch. We had our immigration inspection for arrival in Hong Kong in the afternoon and then after a stroll around the shops I went to the gym while Alan rested. The temperature had been around 29 degrees but with high humidity and a nice breeze. By 8.00pm we were 200 miles west of the Caroline Islands and 10 miles west of the Palou Islands – in line with Davao on the south east coast of the Philappines. It was an enjoyable evening because we had the Pirate’s Ball, where plenty of passengers entered into the spirit of the evening. I was asked to dance by one of the many ‘escorts’ that are in the ball room, mainly for ladies travelling on their own, but on this occasion the guy must have been desperate and he asked me to dance – which I did! Later Alan updated his wall chart and then we went to bed.
Monday, 26th February. Temperatures still around 29 degrees and humidity at 75% as we continued sailing north-west through the Philippine Sea. At dawn we were at our closest point to the ‘Challenger Deep’ in the Mariana Trench, the deepest point of the ocean at 10,923 metres lying 700 n.miles to the east. During the day we sailed parallel to the coast of the Philippines passing the smaller islands of Samar and Leyte to the west. I had been to Spanish and Alan went to hear Prof. John Reich lecture on ‘The European Discovery of Asia’ and then we both went to watch the Japanese Chef’s prepare Sushi. Now we have some good ideas! We were able to watch the ‘Oscars’ live on TV via satellite to see Helen Mirren get hers. I went to the gym early because we had another cocktail party before dinner as it was a formal evening, and where this time we met Commodore Warner. (We usually go through the other door to avoid introductions, but on this occasion we forgot.) Then we went to the theatre because it was the first of the new Cunard Theatre Company’s shows, (they got on at Sydney after leaving the QE2.) Jazz Blues and Rock n’ Roll was a great production, which we thoroughly enjoyed. The sea was a little rougher during the evening due to a strong wind.
Hola Mark
Yo intentaré hablar con usted cuando yo consigo casa.
¡En el momento yo estoy aprendiendo Caperucita Roja!
Yo puedo traducir, pero no puede pronunciar muy bien.
Tuesday, 27th February. The weather improved by morning and we had gentle beautiful blue seas with sunshine and lower humidity, which was quite a relief. Shortly after sunrise we met landfall off the north-eastern top of Luzon in the Philappines before altering course to the west and passing 4 n. miles off Palani Island. This point marked our entry into the Babuyan Channel separating the archipelago of Luzon from the Babuyan Islands. These islands are a series of volcanoes that remained visible throughout our transit and were of great interest to see. By mid-day we sailed close to the islands of Fuge and Barit with beautiful sandy beaches and these marked the end of the channel and our entry into the South China Sea with only 600 feet beneath our keel at this time. Temperatures were about 25 degrees and we were travelling at 26 knots with a following breeze. During the afternoon we steadied on a north-west by westerly rhumb line course taking us across the South China Sea bound for Hong Kong. We had a restful afternoon in preparation for tomorrow and with an ‘elegant casual’ dress code for the evening we relaxed in anticipation of our day ahead. The show was a mix of comedy and skill with a juggler/comedian and a magical dance act. We put watches back one hour tonight and that makes us 8 hours ahead of the UK.

February 21st,22nd,23rd.

2007-02-23T02:08:00.000Z

Wednesday, 21st February. After our exciting day yesterday it was a lazy day at sea because we were quite tired. Alan attended two lectures whilst I wrote up my blog and sorted through the numerous photos we had taken. The temperature was 25 degrees and the sea was calm as we sailed in a northerly direction about 9 miles off the north eastern coast of Australia; now in the Coral Sea and passing the Great Barrier Reef with a depth of only 65 metres under our keel. The ship was quiet, as is usual when we have just picked up new passengers, but they will soon find their way and the ‘buzz’ will build again! Even the gym was quiet; perhaps the new passengers are not the energetic kind? We had taken onboard new acts for the theatre and this evening was a group of performers from the West End musical scene; we weren’t that impressed, but we will see when they appear again. It was a formal black & white evening and Alan wore his new scarf and hanky just for you Mark D.
Thursday, 22nd February. I had a late breakfast before my Spanish class (I will try to reply in Spanish to the ‘comment’ I received!) and Alan went to a lecture by a South Pole scientist, Dr. Jerri Neilson (female), who talked about life over a twelve month period where there are six months of daylight and six months of darkness. At lunch time we were 140 n. miles due east of Whitsunday Island heading north towards the Solomon Sea, east of Papua New Guinea. The air temperature was 28 degrees and the humidity was 91% as we neared the equator again; (my hair curls when I step outside!) The theatre show time was Jonathan Kane, as Sir Elton John. He started off badly, but soon gained our enthusiasm with a very professional act. (He also had a video of Kiki Dee so that he and she did the Elton John double act – your club singing friend of yesteryear, Peter!) We are chatting to the new passengers now that they have settled in and most are Australians taking the short cruise to Hong Kong. Watches went back another hour so we are now 10 hours ahead of you.
Friday, 23rd February. We are now sailing in the Solomon Sea and continuing in a north, north westerly direction. Well into the tropics with temperatures rising, our latitude is currently matching the suns declination, as its daily path will now arc through our sky on a perfect east to west line passing directly overhead, through the zenith at noon. During the morning we were winding our way between numerous small uninhabited tropical islands with clear emerald green lagoons where waves gently lashed the sandy beaches. I longed to stop and enjoy their tranquillity but we kept a steady course. (My camcorder lens steamed up when I tried to film them.)To our west is Papua New Guinea and the sea is like a mill pond with not a ripple to be seen. Alan is at his lecture on ‘Mutiny on the Bounty’. There are plenty of activities on board and we are never bored, but I got a film out of the library and intend to have a quiet afternoon before the gym and swim. This evening’s theatre will be two acts, magical dance and comedy. We should cross the equator about 10.00pm tomorrow evening, but no doubt Alan will give us an acurate time when we do!

February 18th,19th, 20th Sydney.

2007-02-21T03:59:00.000Z

Sunday, 18th February. After leaving Auckland we sailed up the north eastern coast of New Zealand and rounded the ‘North Cape’ in the early hours before turning to a north westerly direction and heading toward the Tasman Sea. After the excitement of the previous day the ship was quiet but for the ‘in transit’ passengers (us) that had to go through Australian Immigration before noon. We had a busy morning because after immigration we attended the lecture on opals, as a supply of same had been brought on board at Auckland and was to be put on sale in H. Stern’s jewellery shop. It was a rush for me because I didn’t want to miss my Spanish class at 10.30am! Now Victor, our butler, is speaking Spanish to me (and I don’t know what the heck he is saying!) We met up for lunch and then hurried along to the theatre to watch the RADA performance of ‘Drinking Companions’ and ‘Gosforth’s Fete’ by Alan Ayckbourn; both were excellent, but the latter was best! I went to the gym while Alan rested before our evening dinner, which was a formal occasion again. The theatre show was a string quartet, ‘String Fever’; the three Broadbent brothers and their cousin. They were both amusing and extremely good musicians, also the first performers to have received a standing ovation from the audience. We put our clocks back and are now 12 hours ahead of the UK.
Monday, 19th February. We sailed in the Tasman Sea toward the coast of New South Wales and our next port of Sydney, Australia. The Tasman Sea is named after the Dutch explorer, Abel Janzoon Tasman, famed for being the first European to discover New Zealand and Australia. The air temperature is 21 degrees and rising and the sea temperature is 22 degrees, with calm conditions. This morning I checked my emails and must thank all our friends who are adding comments to the blog, we are enjoying your interest too. Then I went to my Spanish class again and Alan rested as we had been invited by Kay and Peter Bradley, from Buckingham, near Oxford, to attend the Rotary lunch at 12.30pm as their guests. There were about 60 guests from all over the world and we dined in a private room. Our speaker was the Purser and he got quite a few direct questions that he had difficulty in answering, but I am sure he will have learnt a lot about on going communication with passengers!! We prepared for our day in Sydney during the afternoon as it will be a very special day for us because we are meeting Pat and Philip Harman, who live in Turramurra. I contacted Pat last September when she wrote to the Blakeley Gazette and asked about her ancestors, who also turned out to be my ancestors (we are sixth cousins once removed!) We communicated and this will be our first meeting. For fun we went to watch the ship’s talent spot at 5.00pm, which was rather amusing, we had a grandma who tap danced (forever and ever) and we couldn’t clap her off!! We missed the theatre because we hadn’t been paying attention – and it started earlier than usual! Our watches went back again and we are now 11 hours ahead of the UK.
Tuesday, 20th September was an early start. As we approached Sydney harbour at 6.00am we were both out on the balcony watching the marvellous flotilla of floodlit boats that escorted us along our way. As in Auckland, numerous helicopters were flying over and around the ship. We have now cruised 25,331 nautical miles. When dawn broke I started to film our approach and have some wonderful views of Sydney Harbour Bridge and the Opera House. Our Captain, Christopher Rynd, took the ship up to the Harbour Bridge and turned around so that passengers on both sides of the ship had seen all the wonderful sights of the harbour, (he disembarked at Sydney and our new Master is Commodore Bernard Warner). People lined every possible area along our route and cheered, whistled and waved, shouting “Welcome to Sydney”. The special welcome was because as well as this being Queen Mary 2’s maiden world cruise it was also the first time she had sailed into Sydney, and what a welcome we got, it was tremendous! After our parade around the harbour we moored and were able to disembark. I had telephoned Pat and Philip at 7.00am and arranged for them to pick us up at the port gates at 10.00am. Alan sat in his wheelchair at the main gates and we waited in the shade of a big palm tree, which was a good job because we were waiting for forty minutes! The lady police officer kept coming over and asking if she could help find our friends for us because the crowds around the gates were growing as more and more people came to see the ship. When she related that there was also another gate where passengers were being met we began to get a bit worried! I asked her to contact a police officer at the other gate and find out if Mr & Mrs Harman were waiting there for us. Instead of this she called a police vehicle that took me to the other gate, while Alan remained under the palm tree! My two wonderful young police officers helped to find Pat and Philip very quickly and then insisted that they escort us back to pick up Alan because the traffic was at a standstill and we wouldn’t be able to make our own way there. Kevin and Adam, by now we were on first names and getting on like old friends, whisked us out onto the clearway and through the standing traffic to where Alan was patiently waiting (loitering with intent!) Because we couldn’t park on his side of the road we stopped up a side road opposite. First stopping the traffic, Adam walked across to fetch my lap top over to me, before returning once again to stop the traffic and push Alan across to join us. We thanked them profusely, as one would, and they asked where Philip was taking us. They then insisted on guiding us quickly through the traffic to the Botanical Gardens - where they did eventually leave us to enjoy the rest of out day! (I asked for their cards and will email Kings Cross Station to thank them later.) We stopped in the Botanical Gardens to enjoy the sights across the harbour, the QM2 and some of the amazing trees and shrubs growing there. Next Philip whisked us off to the Opera House where we were allowed right up to the steps because we had ‘disabled stickers’. The temperature today was around 28 degrees. I took photos and looked for Emma’s hat, but apart from one or two little girls wearing hats, I couldn’t see one that looked as though it had been in the water! Sorry Emma, I did try! Next we went to view the Harbour Bridge, over, under, sideways and almost upside down until Alan was satisfied with the design! We watched groups of people climbing the bridge, up one side and down the other; this is an experience that can be arranged. By now traffic in the city was almost at a standstill because everyone was coming in to see the QM2, so we set off for lunch at ‘Doyles on the Beach’ at Watsons Bay, south of the city. It took twice as long as expected to get there, but our reserved table was awaiting our arrival. It was the most picturesque place on earth with views across the bay to the city and the bridge; we sat outside under sun shades with a gentle cooling breeze keeping us comfortable whilst we enjoyed an exceptional sea food meal with wine. I had barramundi fillets coated with Cajun spices with a green pea mash and Philip had grilled barramundi. Pat had grilled red snapper and Alan had stuffed jumbo prawns and Tasmanian Bay scallops. They followed with a dessert, but Philip and I were much stronger! After our meal I paddled in the Tasman Sea - just another ocean to add to my paddling experiences. Sadly, it was time for us to return to Sydney and the Opal shops at The Rocks, or I might not get another chance to look! Then we went to Pat and Philip’s home at Turramurra, over the Harbour Bridge and north of the city, for a well deserved drink of tea with sandwiches. Alan and I were amazed to find that Rainbow Lorikeets, wild and brightly coloured parrot like birds, enjoy their garden because Philip feeds bread twice daily to them. I have some movie film because I was so taken with their beauty. We were so grateful to Philip, who is a sprightly 81, for driving us on our sightseeing tour of Sydney and both their company gave us a great deal of pleasure. It wasn’t as if this was our first meeting, because we got on so well with each other right from the start. (Well we are family – however distant.) Pat and I looked at some of her family history books while Alan and Philip chatted. Then Philip showed us his Moreton Bay fig trees that he has cultivated into bonsai since planting seeds from the figs twenty years ago. We left Turramurra at 7.15pm for our forty minute drive back to the ship so that we could be on board to watch the big firework display at 8.45pm. It was not to be! The traffic was horrendous and we couldn’t move once we got over the Harbour Bridge. The whole city was gridlocked with people trying to get a glimpse of the ship, and of course the QE2 had arrived at 7.00pm, so to have ‘two queens’ in Sydney at the same time, was making history. (I refer to ships!) Our journey was not easy and we did get very worried that we may miss the boat! It took two hours to travel a couple of miles through city streets, although we did see quite a lot of night life as we sat for a considerable time in their ‘Soho’ area! Everyone just ignored traffic lights in the end and stayed bumper to bumper to make any move possible. The people were all in jovial mood as there had been plenty of celebrating during the day and evening. We managed to see some of the firework display over buildings and down the streets to the harbour as we sat in grid lock. Alan and I considered walking the last half mile, but Philip pressed on, queue jumping and skilfully negotiating opportunities that arose, and he got us to the ship with five minutes to spare before the gang plank was raised – however, a few others were late and the ship did not sail on time, but I was so relieved that we were on board! I bet Pat and Philip were too!!!! Thanks to you both for your friendship and a truly wonderful day in Sydney. Leaving at this time were the Governor and Mayor of Sydney who were among 100 dignitaries being entertained on board QM2 as guests of Carol Marlow, the President and MD of Cunard, and the Captain and Commander, who received the traditional plaque commemorating the ships first visit to the city. We sailed away at 11.15pm to tumultuous cheers, whistles and singing. We waved our Union flags from our balcony when people began singing Rule Britannia because we took this as a great compliment. Boats stayed with us all the way out of the harbour, the folk on the hillsides waved torches in various directions and Alan returned their wave with his so that they recognised a personal response. We were still waving at 12.30pm until the last boat slipped slowly behind as our ship gathered speed and sailed off into the darkness once again. We now have seven wonderful and restful days at sea with 4,460 nautical miles to Hong Kong, China. WOW! What a fantastic day!

February 16th, 17th Auckland.

2007-02-18T09:16:00.000Z

Nautical Fact; The International Date Line is a line running North to South along the 180th meridian of longitude, but with some adjustments to avoid dividing certain island groups that are bisected by it, namely the Aleutian islands off Alaska, and the Fiji, Tonga and Kermadoc groups as well as New Zealand in the South Pacific. The International Date Line is the geographical point at which the zone times GMT +12 and -12 meet bringing about a 24 hour time change. If you were to set out from Greenwich, which lies at 0 degrees longitude and travel eastward, the time zone you are in moves forward by 1 hour for every 15 degrees of longitude you traverse, meaning that if you were to continue around the world ending up at Greenwich again, you would have moved ahead by 24 hours and therefore be ahead by one full day of the calendar. To allow for this anomaly, if we were to cross the International Date Line eastwards we would add on one day of time, but going westwards we subtract a full 24 hours.
Therefore the consequences of losing a day means that we are now 13 hours ahead of the UK instead of eleven hours behind, which we were before we crossed the International Date Line. Therefore we will continue to retard our watches as the voyage continues toward the UK starting with February 18th.
Friday 16th February. We continued on our south westerly heading passing the Kermadoc Island Group in the afternoon. These islands are uninhabited except for the permanently manned Raoul Island Station, a government meteorological and radio station and hostel for Dept. of Conservation officers and volunteers that has been manned since 1937. The temperature today was around 26 degrees and the sea temperature has increased to 30 degrees, although due to the moderate winds it has become choppy again. Nothing to hurry for today so we both did our usual things in the morning. After lunch we went to the art auction where we were pleased to see that the artist who painted the underwater sea life pictures we brought back for the children in 2002 had become very popular and his art work was in demand. Alan decided to adjust his Friday medication with losing a day and also to suit being in Auckland tomorrow, so it wasn’t a good day for him and we took things easy. The evening show was the last performance from those who will be leaving the ship in Auckland.
Saturday 17th February. On our approach to the North Island of New Zealand we past the Great Barrier Island at 4.00am and the pilot boarded at 6.15am to guide us into the Rangitoto Channel at sunrise. We were out on the balcony watching our arrival into Auckland from 7.00am. It is known as the ‘City of Sails’ because the harbour is often dotted with hundreds of yachts, which was a beautiful sight to see. Our welcome was amazing because light aircraft flew overhead and helicopters were giving sightseeing flights around us. We had a flotilla of small boats and sailing yachts escorting us en route to Jellicoe Harbour where we berthed at 8.00am. We were facing the Harbour Bridge that spans across to the central part of the urban area that occupies a narrow isthmus between the Manakau Harbour on the Tasman Sea and the Waitemata Harbour on the Pacific Ocean and Auckland is one of the few cities in the world to have harbours on two separate bodies of water. New Zealand is very strict on Biosecurity Regulations so as passengers left the ship today the MAF Quarantine Officers were stationed at the gangways to conduct searches of all hand luggage to ensure that we did not take any food or plants ashore with us. We changed our money to New Zealand dollars because shops will either not accept, or give fair exchange for US dollars or sterling. Then it was mandatory that we all left Jellicoe Wharf by shuttle bus, to be taken to Britomart (travel station) on Queen Street. From there we were free to do our own sightseeing as we did not have anything booked until 4.30 in the afternoon. Queen Street was as busy as Oxford Street and we enjoyed our shopping spree. We photographed Sky Tower before having lunch in one of the big stores. Then we had to return to the ship for our ‘Grill Special Event’, which was a visit to the Auckland Memorial Museum, which was built on the highest point above the city with marvellous views across to the ocean. We were greeted by Maori Singers that entertained us whilst we had wine and canapés in the atrium before going up to the glass restaurant on the top floor. It was very elegantly set out with ten tables of eight. We were served with a delightful three course meal and wine flowed freely, during which we were once again entertained by the Maori Groups. A group of children also sang traditional songs to us and ‘danced’ with their hands. This was followed by the adult group showing their ball swinging expertise and Alan kept a low profile as this was known to be one of his fortés whilst in the Florida Keys! Some of the men performed their traditional Maori dances that were both, loud and boisterous, as expected, but fun! Then two of the waiters and the head waiter held a very amusing exchange of challenges with each other, culminating in them all singing. They were in fact three professional opera singers and their rendition of a selection of the ‘Three Tenors’ songs was tremendous and brought tears to my eyes. It was a truly great evening, and one that we think has been the best so far. The dancing continued outside as we prepared to join our coaches to return to the ship for our 10.00pm sail away. Once on board the QM2, Auckland gave yet another memorable treat as we prepared to sail, a half hour firework display that lit up the sky. Then as we moved slowly out into the Rangitoto Channel we were once again escorted by hundreds of small boats with their crew and passengers shouting and whistling to us as they reluctantly waved us on our way. We stayed on our balcony waving back to them for an hour before the ship gathered speed and headed into the darkness of the night. Another wonderful people to have had the pleasure of meeting.

February 12th,13th Pago Pago, 14th, (15th IDL)

2007-02-15T09:45:00.000Z

Monday, 12th February. We continued on our south westerly heading across the South Pacific Ocean passing over Nova Trough with averaging depths of 3500 metres. Also passing islands called the Phoenix Group of which Canton Island is the largest and most northern. This island is an atoll, made up of a low, narrow rim of land surrounding a large shallow lagoon. It got hotter and the humidity got higher so that we couldn’t bear to be on the balcony for long. Today Alan continued his interest in Walter Cunningham’s lectures whilst I posted my latest blog and answered emails. After lunch I went to the lecture by Chris Butler, the astronomer. It was strange because he did talk about the stars but through his personal paintings! Anyway, prior to this I met one of the technicians and asked him about some problems I was having with my lap top, so he had a look at it during the lecture and I hope he has sorted me out! We will see. I had a really good work out at the gym because I needed it! In the evening we had made reservations at the Chef’s Galley, on this occasion chef was cooking a four course Indian meal.

(There are also Italian, French and Pan Asian evenings.)There were about twenty guests in the galley; a purpose built dining area with cameras and screens where we all sit facing chef at his work station. This was a most informative and social evening for all who attended.
Tuesday, 13th February and we arrived in the American Samoa Island of Tutuila where we docked at the small village of Pago Pago (pronounced Pango Pango.)

We were greeted with sounds from their Samoan Band who were on the quayside, as were a number of stallholders awaiting our arrival in anticipation. It was a very hot day with high humidity, temperatures were in the 30+ degrees and we were mopping up perspiration as it dripped from our faces. Even the locals said it was hot and sat fanning them selves with fans made from dried banana leaves. We were very lucky because here they get frequent and very heavy tropical storms. The people were very nice and polite, some spoke American but many still chatted away in Samoan and didn’t understand us. We hadn’t booked a tour of the island and thought we could hop onto a bus, but after spotting the local transport, small colourful buses mostly filled to capacity, we decided to take a taxi part way around the perimeter of the island on the coast road. There are no roads across the island because it is what it is, a volcano. The coast road does not go all the way around, so if you want to get from a. to b. you go east or west and back the same way. It is a very lush green island and we saw many banana trees, mango trees and coconut trees, all bearing fruit, along the road side. It is amazing to see the amount of tropical plant life here and we can only assume that volcanic rock hosts many minerals to support so many varieties. At lunch time we found the ‘Don’t Drink the Water’ café, recommended by one of the shop assistants, and ordered their local dish of fish and chips, which was deep fried breaded swordfish and chips with salad and tartar sauce – delicious! Because of the heat their way of life is between slow and stop; no one hurries anywhere and only some shops have air conditioning; mainly the shopping mall; concrete structure with corrugated roof. There are two on the island and both contain only a supermarket that sells everything plus a sewing shop, jeweller, barber and café. We visited both! The houses are built in groups along the coast and on stilts if on the side of the volcano, there does not seem to be much wealth on this island except for the ‘Governor’s House’, which stands out on the hillside. After a bit more window shopping we decided to get a taxi back to the ship because the roads and paths were too uneven for me to push Alan, and he had walked quite some distance. There were plenty of sewing shops where the locals have their clothes made and they all still wear the traditional dress of blouse and matching sarong, or shirt and sarong for men. Few wear western fashion. Here are the taxi drivers waiting at the port.

Once back on board the ship we drank gallons of water to replenish ourselves and Alan sat on the balcony whilst I did the laundry – again! We saw a turtle swimming beneath our balcony; he must have been at least a metre in size and stayed around for quite some time because he was joined by a number of others. When the ship left port at 6.00pm we had a helicopter fly over and drop a handful of flowers on the ship, unfortunately, they missed our balcony so we didn’t catch any! Apparently, it is the Samoan’s traditional farewell, which we thought very nice. In the evening there were a lot of people wearing their purchase of traditional shirts and sarongs so I guess the stall holders had a very good day – I know the taxi drivers did because ours told us so!
Wednesday, 14th February was St Valentine’s Day. I went to a Spanish class in the morning and Alan went to his lecture. I missed the first three Spanish classes but I think I will catch the next three as it was very good. (I had to listen and learn because all the direct questions for us to answer were asked in Spanish.) I can’t promise to have a conversation with you Mark D. but I will try. The weather was still very humid and temperature about 27 degrees and the sea was like a mill pond. At lunch time we saw the Fiji Islands and Tonga in the distance. In the afternoon we went to see RADA’s performance of Noel Coward’s ‘Private Lives’ (a 50 minute version), which was excellent and we are looking forward to their next presentation. I had my usual work out at the gym and seem to be holding my own against the weighing scales!! The evening began with the Captains ‘World Cruiser’s’ cocktail party and our dinner followed. The hotel manager gave me (every lady) a red rose as we were escorted into the restaurant, I didn’t get one from Alan but he said the jewellery covered that!! We both had Hawaiian Wahoo, a white fish similar to swordfish and that was superb. Alan usually stayed with meat and the new name we have found for gigot, or lamb shank, is Osso bucco, but tonight was an exception. Our evening ended with the Grand St Valentine’s Ball, which was quite a lavish affair and most enjoyable, almost every lady chose to wear red, (and some men!) which was rather exciting to see. Tonight when we go to bed we will lose one day as we will cross the International Date Line, although it will be at 10.30am in the morning, we will in fact start our day as Friday, February 16th. I am posting my blog while Alan does his usual circuit of the ship.
Thursday 15th February. Crossing the International Date Line. It doesn't exist - one day lost.

February 10th, 11th X'ing Equator

2007-02-12T21:34:00.000Z

Saturday, 10th February was a lazy day at sea so I decided to pamper myself! I began with two hours in the Canyon Ranch Spa, starting off with a reflexology foot bath followed by a tropical shower before an aromatherapy sauna – (in here I met a very nice Chinese man who told me all about Hong Kong.) Then it was a graceful plunge into the massage pool where I lay on the bubble bars until I almost fell asleep and floated off. I thought I should move around a bit so I launched myself across to the pool centre where the Jacuzzi burst into action around me and I felt obligated to exercise my leg stretches! I spotted two very strong water jets and positioned myself beneath one in the hope that it would batter about two inches off my hips, but in reality it didn’t. The tropical storm waterfall was most invigorating so I stay beneath that enjoying the shoulder massage as I slowly rotated. I met Alan after his continuing maritime lectures had finished and he marked up our wall map so that we knew where we were. After a short break following lunch I decided on an hour in the gym before returning to the spa. Another sauna and bubbling water experience followed before my 4.30pm appointment in the beauty parlour where I had booked a fifty minute body massage and moisturiser in preparation for the formal evening ahead. It was very relaxing, especially when I was cocooned in a plastic ‘body bag’ before being lowered into a bath of warm water where I floated weightlessly whilst my feet were gently massaged. Next was my hair appointment and I began to feel like the million dollars I had just spent! Alan was almost ready for the Captain’s Cocktail Party when I returned to our suite, so I hurried along (for the first time this day) and we made our 7.30pm appointment – just! The beautician told me to drink plenty of water after my treatment, but unfortunately there was only champagne flowing in abundance so I had to make do with that! We dined later that evening and after our caviar appetiser we both sampled the Hawaiian Moonfish, which really was excellent. (It is similar to tuna or swordfish, but it tastes much sweeter.) We wished we hadn’t had the dessert but if we hadn’t we wouldn’t have known how sumptuous it was. We had been drinking Wolf Blass, Yellow Label, a South Australian Cabernet Sauvignon most of the time, and yesterday when our sommelier informed us that it was the last bottle, we were most disappointed. Then in the evening he informed us that he had found 20 vintage bottles of this in the Captain’s cellar and had placed them to one side reserved for us, (phew - what a relief!) Feeling lucky I played roulette for half an hour, doubling my money this time – much to Alan’s delight as he looked on, so I cashed in and we made a hasty retreat to bed. The temperature during the day was around 26 degrees and the sea was calm and a beautiful blue as we headed south towards the equator again.
Sunday, 11th February. We awoke to grey skies and 90 degrees air humidity with temperatures around 25 degrees. The sea temperature was said to be 24 degrees on our report from the Bridge. Alan attended his lectures again; he will be so knowledgeable when he gets home, although he does sleep through parts of them! I was on whale and dolphin watch on the balcony – but must have dozed off! At 12.15pm we attended the ‘crossing the line’ ceremony with King Neptune and his entourage (we didn’t actually cross the equator until later in the evening) but as we didn’t get a good view last time we made sure of a front seat and I took some video. Twenty passengers volunteered to be ‘Pollywogs’ and get covered in food before kissing the fish and jumping into the pool. It was better organised this time and disabled passengers got to sit at the front instead of being trampled in the crush!
Here is the beautiful Moonfish that each ‘Pollywog’ had to kiss before jumping in the pool; its skin and fins glistened rainbow like colours in the sun. Lunch was good again and this time we both had grouper; the selection of fish on board is wonderful. About this time we sailed west of Line Islands, one of which is Kiribati, better known as Christmas Island, where the A Bomb was tested in the 50’s. While Alan went to the art auction I busied myself sorting out in the suite before going to the gym to crunch those calories whilst watching ‘Phantom of the Opera’ (I bought a head set to listen as I worked out.) I caught the sun whilst at the ceremony and have a rather bright coloured chest so I couldn’t wear a low cut top this evening! We ate early so that Alan could get out on deck around 9.00pm to catch the actual crossing of the equator – he did and the time was exactly 9.22pm. Meanwhile I waited in the Veuve Clicquot Champagne Bar and treated myself to a glass of Rosé. Then we went to the theatre to watch the Cunard Dancers followed by an amazing pair of gymnasts, ‘Duality’, performing in slow motion. The final act was a flautist, Gary Arbuthnot, and he was terrific! Here we are in the theatre early, and as you can see all seats have tables. The bench seat rows are alternate between the swivel chairs that we prefer to use.
So our voyage in the Southern Hemisphere begins again and tomorrow night I will be up on deck 12 with the astronomer, Chris Butler, who joined us in San Francisco, to learn about the stars beneath the world, that we can’t see from the Northern Hemisphere. We put our watches back an hour this evening so from February 12th we will be 11 hours behind the UK. We are now over half way through our holiday and we don't want it to end!

February 9th Honolulu

2007-02-10T04:48:00.000Z

Friday, February 9th. At approximately 10.00pm last night we past over the Tropic of Cancer as we sailed over the Molokai fracture zone towards the Hawaian Islands. This morning we arrived in Honolulu, which brings our total number of n. miles sailed since January 2nd to 20,233 and our 39th day. We arrived at 7.00pm to an overcast sky and temperatures in the low 20 degrees. We took the opportunity to ‘phone home’ and succeeded this time, wishing Mark a happy birthday for tomorrow. Our circle tour of the island began at 10.45am and we had an excellent driver who told us a great many very interesting historical facts as we travelled along. Driving through the city and along the Waikiki Beach area we were able to view the many elegant and expensive properties en route to our first stop, Hanauma Bay, located in Koko Head Park. Its rugged grandeur was created by volcanic activity 10,000 years ago and this beautiful sandy cove with palm trees on the beach is now a popular spot. Over the centuries the sea eroded the outer crust of the volcano and gushed in forming a delightful bay. Here we were able to look back and view Diamond Head, one of the many volcanic cones in the Honolulu area and where humpback whales frequent these waters. Of course we had our usual tourist stop for shopping, where we bought a sandwich for lunch, and Alan found another barber shop where he spent ten minutes and ten dollars! The next bay, Halona, was where Burt Lancaster and Deborah Kerr made history kissing on the beach in the film ‘From Here to Eternity’, (Alan’s favourite.) This bay has a submerged lava tube that when tide conditions are right, waves surging through, erupt in a spectacular geyser of sea water, but it didn’t happen for our visit! Motoring on we travelled through the tropical rain forests and up 1200 feet to Pali Lookout at Nuuani State Park for the amazing views over the island. Our next stop was at Punchbowl Veterans Cemetery, which has been developed in the crater of a volcano and where all those who died on the USS Arizona are buried. The last survivor was buried there last Monday and so now the cemetery is closed except for visitors. This was a very moving experience and our driver, a war veteran himself, told the history well. It was surrounded by the most beautiful Banyan trees in regimental alignment with the gravestones. We did not go to see Pearl Harbour, site of the USS Arizona memorial and haunting reminder of the tragic events of December 7th 1941 because of the amount of walking involved. It had remained overcast most of the day with the odd light shower, but it was very comfortable for our day of sightseeing. We returned to the ship to prepare for our departure at 7.00pm and set sail for Pago Pago, one of the American Samoa Islands some 2270 n. miles south east of the Hawaiian Islands, which will take us across the equator and into the Southern Hemisphere again. We set our watches back last evening and so we are now 10 hours behind the UK.

February 6th, 7th & 8th

2007-02-09T08:41:00.000Z

Tuesday 6th February. A lazy day at sea after our hectic two days in San Francisco. 1800 new passengers embarked with 450 world cruisers remaining onboard so there will be a lot of new faces to get accustomed to, including some crew. Alan began the day by attending two lectures “In the Path of Captain Cook” with Geoffrey Blainey, followed by “Our Home Planet” with Colonel Walter Cunningham who was one of the astronauts on Apollo 7. I did the obvious and went to the laundry before blogging! We now have a DVD player in our suite so I got a film out of the library and watched that before our formal black and white Ball in the evening. It is good because we can also view our own DVD recordings of this cruise (very amateurish – but I will try to improve!) The table for two we now have by the window is very nice and the elderly American couple to one side of us are very pleasant. Elisa had informed our new waiters very well so they knew what we liked etc. It had rained all day and was a quite chilly Force 5 with 7.5 ft. swell as we headed south west with 2076 n. miles to Honolulu. The show was an American singer, Tony ‘B’, who sang songs from legendary entertainers. Clocks went back an hour.
Wednesday 7th February. Ships time was 9 hours behind the UK as we continued our south westerly circle track across the Pacific Ocean towards the Hawaiian Islands. We sailed over the Murray Fracture Zone, one of the principal east-west rifts in the crust of the northeast Pacific Basin, with depths averaging 4500 metres. Alan went to another lecture by Geoffrey Blainey, followed by a new lecturer, Bill Miller, talking about the Great Atlantic Liners. The temperature was 15 degrees, cloudy with showers and quite a roll on the ship due to the swell and Force 7; luckily we had become accustomed throughout our six weeks. After Alan’s swim and my gym we decided to eat in our suite and miss the formal evening as it was a repeat of the last segments cocktail party and show - so we ‘slummed’ it while Victor set out the dining table and served our three courses and champagne with his usual flourish. It was DVD time then for the remainder of the evening (Alan fell asleep, but he needed to, I don’t know how he keeps going so long on such little sleep!)
Thursday 8th February. After a rough night at sea with drawers flying open and closed we were pleased to get up and greet the warmer climate of 20 degrees, although we still had a Force 5 and 12 ft. swell. Fortunately, we were well enough to enjoy the morning lecture with astronaut, Col. Walter Cunningham; he had some amazing tales to tell. Today we sailed over the Huddell Seamount with depths averaging 2000 metres. After lunch we were delighted to attend the RADA production of ‘Bottom’s Dream’ an hour tale taken from ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’. The theatre company, lead by Clive Kneller, whom we met on our last QM2 cruise, will be on until Sydney and have three more shows to perform. After that we both slept until Victor woke us up for canapés at 5.30pm! In the evening we joined the team playing ‘Call My Bluff’ and won! The clocks go back an hour ready for Honolulu tomorrow and I am sending this now as the Internet is difficult to log on to in this area, it takes an hour. Not many folk about due to rough seas, but it has got warmer.

Februry 3rd, 4th & 5th San Francisco.

2007-02-06T20:00:00.000Z

Saturday, 3rd February. Throughout the morning we travelled parallel to the coast of the Baji California (Californian Peninsula) and in the early afternoon we passed some 25 nautical miles west of the Cedros Islands and the entrance to Sebastian Vizcaino Bay, one of the large shallow bays and renowned breeding grounds for the Grey Whale, but we didn’t spot any. The temperature was dropping as we headed north and was around 22 degrees with a strong cool breeze so we didn’t stay on deck for very long. Alan had been to a couple of lectures and I spent an ‘interesting’ hour in the launderette – the place where you hear all the ship’s gossip! We had a quiet afternoon because we were starting our evening at 7.00pm in the Queen’s Grill Lounge having drinks with our fellow diners, Gill and Jeffrey (spelt wrong in previous posts), and John and Mary, because they will all be leaving the ship on February 5th at San Francisco. We had arranged for our three tables to be set together for a farewell dinner and ordered 3 chateaubriand, which was wonderful, but I think we should have a few days very light eating now! Tomorrow will be a busy day as we arrive in San Francisco and there will be a lot of interest from the US. Tonight we put back our watches again and are now 8 hours behind the UK.
Sunday, 4th February. Throughout the night we continued on our north-westerly heading paralleling the Mexican coastline, bound for the Mexico/USA border where we crossed some 130 nautical miles west of Tijuana in the early hours. Now paralleling the United States coastline we past San Diego and Los Angeles some 110 n. miles to the east. Temperatures were around 12 degrees and back to our British climate! At 3.00pm we approached San Francisco Bay and picked up our pilot before entering the main shipping channel heading for the Golden Gate Bridge, the second longest suspension bridge in the US. We were overwhelmed by the number of small boats and yachts that accompanied us on our way. The fire tender boats escorted us with their water hoses jettisoning water out to great heights. (First picture with Alcatraz in the background.) Here we were met by the Second World War ship, the Jeremy O’ Brian, one of only two remaining of 2700; the other is the John Brown moored at Baltimore. The volunteer crew’s average age is 75 and they carried 600 passengers to view our arrival. We sailed under the Golden Gate Bridge around 4.00pm with a clearance of only 3.5 metres and I was on deck 11 at the front of the ship to film it all. The CNN news helicopters were buzzing the ship as were the police patrols. There was quite a chill in the strong wind as we continued and sailed past downtown San Francisco on our starboard side and Alcatraz Island on port side (left). Passing Pier 39 the sea lions that reside there slept throughout the whole episode. Along Fisherman’s Wharf we were amazed to see so many people; it seemed the whole of San Francisco had come out to welcome us with cheers and waves. The view of the city hills was fantastic as the sun shone down on them and brightened the day for us. When we reached the Oakland Bay Bridge we completed a full 180 degree swing giving us a full view of the city before heading north to a temporary anchorage just off Treasure Island, the US Naval Station, where we had to go through Immigration control whilst on board. After clearance we sailed into Pier 27 at 8.00pm. Our tour of China Town began at 8.30pm, but as it was Sunday most of the town was closed. Not that it mattered, it was not a very exciting place at all and we were unimpressed! Dirty, dismal and grotty are just a few adjectives and after walking through several streets for approximately one hour we were pleased to return to our coach. Manchester’s China Town is much better! There followed a sightseeing tour of San Francisco’s main areas which was far more interesting and we ended the tour with a drive over the Bay Bridge, which links San Francisco to Oakland and Berkeley. The bridge is approx six and a half miles long, but we didn’t cover the full distance; we stopped en route to view the QM2 and look back across the illuminated bridge. (I was pleased to be able to ride over the bridge because it is the one that Danny DeVito drove over at the start of the series called ‘Taxi’, and it was just as impressive.) Alan was very tired after this excursion because I had bumped him and his wheelchair up and down the kerbs and steep pathways in China Town trying to keep up with the rest of our party. I went into the only remaining fortune cookie making shop and picked up a couple for us, Alan’s said “Appreciate the carer’s around you” and mine said “Your good deeds are never forgotten”. Well, that said it all! (Picure right)We had intended to bring back a Peking duck for supper, but when we saw the shop we decided to leave well alone! (Probably our stomachs were quite relieved.) We were back on board in the comfort and luxury we had become accustomed to by 11.30pm to prepare for our day in San Francisco.
Monday, 5th February. We were up bright and early and at the Indian Embassy for 9.00am. It took about an hour and a half to get our visas sorted so then we jumped into a taxi and headed for Market Street in downtown S.F where we went into Bloomingdales. It was a lovely warm summer day around 22 degrees. We had been recommended to eat at either Sammy’s or Tadich Grill on California, so we went to Tadich around noon. It is the oldest restaurant in S.F built in 1849 during the California Gold Rush, but moved premises several times, including its demolition during the 1906 earthquake, and is now a popular place for businessmen’s lunch. By arrangement we met up again with Gill and Jeffrey, who had left the ship and were en route to the air port.
The seafood cioppino that Alan and I had was out of this world, our taste buds sizzled! Whilst chatting with many of the people we met it was very apparent that the people of S.F are friendly and were eager to hear about the QM2 because it had been such a highlight over the last few days in their city. Alan and I then hot footed to find a cable car for a ride up and down the great hills of S.F. We spent almost an hour chatting away to both the passengers and the ticket collector, who turned out to be the cable car supervisor, James Waterfield, who liked to ride the cars. He explained that there were nine and a half miles of cable under the road and the cars hooked on to it to be pulled along the road. When we got to the end of the line the ‘anchor man’ changed ends of the car and held on to the hand brake whilst his foot was placed firmly on the foot lever. It was a marvellous experience that we both enjoyed immensely. The ‘tram cars’ turn on a turn table at the end of the line, but these are different from ‘cable cars.’ When we had completed a full circuit James jumped off and assisted Alan into his wheelchair and promptly took us on another hours sightseeing walk (I was dashing behind this enormous black American who was talking ten to the dozen.) He showed us so much that we would not have seen had he not escorted us around, purely for his own pleasure, although Alan did see him alright! He had to leave us and get back to his ‘car’ so he called us a taxi and we went to Fisherman’s Wharfe on Pier 39, we were moored at Pier 27 so it wasn’t far from the ship. We spent a couple of hours wandering around this very busy tourist pier and then found at the end there was an area where the seals have lived since the 1989 earthquake destroyed their normal habitat. They are very happy on the rafts that the city placed at the end of the pier for them and appear to have adopted this area as their new home. I was about to take a photo of Alcatraz Island and before I could get the camera out a mist dropped in and took it from our sight. It was amazing how quickly it fell over the water, almost in a blink, so we decided to return to the ship because it also dropped very cold, almost immediately. We didn’t have time to visit Alcatraz, but we did the things we most wanted and enjoyed our day immensely. While we had been off the ship the Mayor had visited and presented a plaque and announced that February 5th would always be known as Queen Mary 2 Day. Secretly, Arnold Schwartzneiger, the Governor, had also visited the ship. I was so tired, and full, that I went to bed at 6.30pm and decided to miss dinner. Alan went because we had asked for a new table next to a window and he wanted to show willing, as well as being hungry! I slept right through until 8.45 am the next morning! We put back out watches again tonight. (It is 12.45pm Feb 6th at this moment and I guess you are 845pm now.)

January 30th, 31st, February 1st Acapulco, February 2nd.

2007-02-03T04:21:00.000Z

Tuesday 30th January. The temperature rose to 31 degrees throughout the day and we were warned not to spend too much time in the sun. Alan went to listen to another lecture and I went swimming in the open air pool for half an hour before the gym and came in with sun burn marks on my shoulders and back, some folks had certainly over done it and looked quite red at dinner. It was a formal evening and the theme was Mexican Fiesta so the ballroom was decked out in sombreros and the like. We went with Jill and Geoffrey and had a really fun time; I was dancing with Jill whilst Alan and Geoff looked on and took photos of us collecting balloons and making the most of the occasion. We put the clocks back and were 5 hours behind the UK, but this will continue for a day or two more yet.

Wednesday, 31st January. In the early hours we passed west of Isla Del Coco, the only island in this region that receives sufficient rainfall to support a tropical rain forest. The island also has a rich folklore of buried treasure and 300 expeditions have failed to locate it! I spent the morning dealing with our Indian visa applications before going to the lecture on Acapulco with Alan. After lunch I went to the Body Blast session in the exercise room, not knowing what it was! Well, I spent 90 minutes working out with weights ending up with kick boxing exercises (I will match Thomas when I get home!) and then I had an hour relaxing in the Jacuzzi before dinner! Our day at sea was on a north westerly heading through the Guatemalan Basin towards Mexico with temperatures in the 30’s again. I spent an enjoyable hour in the casino playing ‘craps’ with advantageous results before joining friends at the bar. The clocks went back an hour so at this stage we were 6 hours behind the UK. It’s nice to keep getting the extra hour lay in!!!
Thursday, 1st February. We arrived in Acapulco at 7.00am and I was on the balcony taking photos at 8.00am whilst Alan was scooting around the deck somewhere. It was another humid day and temperatures rose into the 30’s again making hats a necessity. We caught a tender to shore at 10.00am and had just a five minute ride to the pier. The air conditioned port shopping mall was a treat, but we decided to stroll into old Acapulco to see the sights. It was about twenty minutes walk along a dusty hot dual carriageway being pestered by so called ‘official tour guides’ that we hastily left behind. However, we were pleased to accept the help from another further along the way as we needed to cross the wide and busy roads - he stopped the traffic and found a ramp for Alan to use before leading us safely across. We rewarded him of course so he led us around the shopping area and waited outside each shop we visited before taking us back the way we came. We were grateful in the end as it would have been a difficult few hours without him. The old fort on the hillside stood proudly before us but we didn’t feel like the hike up to see it! By 1.30pm we were back on the pier boarding a tender back for our lunch on the ship – no suitable eating places in port. After twenty five years, although the place has grown in size since my last visit, it is still not one of my favourite places and the mothers with children are still sitting on the pavements begging. We looked at some wonderful Mexican silver and their fire opal jewellery, which was in abundance. Lunch was delicious as usual and I had Maoi Maoi, a white steaky fish (I have had very little meat throughout.) I snoozed on the balcony during the afternoon while Alan watched the tenders on their round trips. We left Acapulco at 5.20pm and within half an hour we were able to film three hump backed whales as they played off our starboard side, it was a fitting end to our day in Acapulco. There are now 1830 nautical miles ahead of us to San Francisco. We are expecting a great welcome there and being escorted in from the Golden Gate Bridge by one of the two remaining Liberty ships (The last of 2000 US World War II battle ships.) This volunteer crew’s average age is 75! You must try to watch this from the ships web camera on 4th February, as we are going to be surrounded by water sprays and helicopters reporting for the CNN News. The sun set at 6.35pm and we prepared for our ‘elegant casual attire’ evening dinner starting of course with canapés and G & T on the balcony. Our fellow diners were sad that this was to be their last port of call before disembarking at San Francisco – we are sad that we only have two more segments left - time is passing too quickly!
Friday, 2nd February. I put our watches back an hour last evening by mistake! This morning I went to post my blog but was informed that we were between satellites and that Internet connection would not be available for at least 12 hours! Today we sailed approx. 14 miles off the Mexican Coast in a north westerly direction, the air was cooler at 25 degrees and accompanied by a stronger breeze. The sea is still very calm and we have been very lucky all the way to date. We went to a cookery demonstration by two of the executive chefs, which was most interesting and Alan will no doubt be attempting these recipes when we get home! After lunch Alan went to a film about the ‘Bridge’ on this ship and I went to the gym to try and loosen off my aching legs since the ‘Body Blast’ exercises! Quite a lazy day really because I then went to the cinema to see Robin Williams in ‘RV’, which I would recommend as being very amusing. It was a formal night tonight and we chose the New Zealand Roughy from our very extensive dinner menu. We did put our watches back this evening so tomorrow we will be 7 hours behind the UK. (We will lose February 15th when we cross the International Date Line and compensate for all our backward changes.) I am now going to post this blog and attempt to pick up any emails so I will reply as soon as I can.

January 28th, 29th, 30th

2007-01-30T15:04:00.000Z

Sunday, 28th January. Last evening began with yet another cocktail and champagne party in the Queens Room with other selected passengers. After dinner we went to the theatre and it was a terrific show both for scenery, pyrotechnics, dancing, singing and costume, we really loved it. It was Rock @ the Opera from Freddie Mercury to Madame Butterfly and Pinball Wizard – it was breathtaking.
Today was a restful day lazing (sleeping) on the balcony before lunch. We were heading north westerly, paralleling the Peruvian coast all day. We were sailing in the Humboldt Current (or Peru Current) that brings colder waters into the equatorial region and is largely responsible for the rich marine life and diversity of animals found in and around the Galapagos islands. (I forgot to mention that in Valparaiso a pelican flew quite close to our balcony.) The temperatures were 26 degrees with slight sun so very comfortable outside. We went to the unveiling of the Bellarri jewellery today – there’s always something to try on!! I was also able to get our Australian visas on the Internet today, now just the Indian ones to sort out – we forgot to apply for them at home!! We have made contact with Dennis and Juli Gaugel, the American friends of Art and Janet Eklund, whom we met on QM2 a few cruises ago. It was informal dress and so I wore my new one from ‘Sacs’… We had a delightful evening meal with a wonderful menu to choose from, we have started with escargot or caviar quite a few times, and there is always an unusual chilled soup with a hint of liquor, followed by choice of salad before the entrée. Tonight I had Doraido, a Chilean fish, which was delicious, and Alan is delighted with the choice of meats available (but having normal portions.) The desserts are very tempting too as are the hand made chocolates that arrive daily with coffee (I usually have four - but must stop here Jacintha I can’t allow myself to continue!) Our fellow diners joined us in the Queen’s lounge for drinks. When they retired we went to the casino for a while and I came out $9 up.
Monday 29th January. We put our clocks back one hour last evening and so we are now 4 hours behind the UK. The temperature was 28 degrees and very humid. We went to learn all about diamonds today – and there’s more talks to come!! At mid-day we passed Trujillo, Peru’s second largest city at a distance of 270 miles on our starboard side and had sailed 1692 miles from Valparaiso with 1726 to go to Acapulco. I am back at the gym after a two day break because of other commitments, and I need it!! We had drinks this evening with Dennis and Juli Gaugel and that was a most enjoyable meeting. Formal dress again and this time with a Latin influence. We had drinks with Geoffrey and Jill after dinner and then went to the casino where I played Craps again - but lost this time!
Tuesday 30th January We crossed the equator at 6.00am this morning and are now in the northern hemisphere again; it is hot and sticky about 28 degrees this morning. Today we will be paralleling the coastline of Ecuador 90 nautical miles east of the Galapagos Islands, which consists of 19 separate volcanic islands. (Darwin 1831-1836 on HMS Beagle scientific voyage etc.)

January 25th, 26th Valparaiso, 27th

2007-01-27T19:03:00.000Z

Thursday, January 25th. Last evening after dinner we went into the casino where I played ‘Craps’ (such a lively game) for the second time learning a bit more, in fact after half an hour I had tripled my stake (now I am ahead again) so I cashed in and went to the theatre with Alan. We went to see a comedian, Lenny Windsor, who used to write for Benny Hill, he was very amusing and this afternoon we went to hear about the life of Benny Hill, who was a very sad and lonely man. This morning I went to a lecture on emeralds whilst Alan went to a lecture on our next port, Valparaiso. It was only 12 degrees outside and the sea was like a mill pond with good visibility as we were in sight of Chile. There was a lot of enthusiasm because over the last three evenings the comet, McNaught, has been clearly visible crossing the night sky, we haven’t actually caught site of it yet, but we will keep trying as it should be around the southern hemisphere until February 9th. (This comet was discovered in Australia at the Siding Observatory, NSW, on August 7th, 2006 by Robert McNaught.) Because it was Burn’s Day today, we ordered our haggis to be served tomorrow evening instead of tonight. The haggis was paraded around the Golden Lion pub for all to see at lunch time, but there were far too many folks there so we avoided the event. We invited Wendy and Gray McHanlon for pre dinner drinks in our room before we all went to the Lotus restaurant for an Asian 5 course dinner, which was most enjoyable. Then we retired to the Commodore Club for drinks whilst the pianist entertained us. Friday, January 26th and we arrived in Valparaiso at 8.00am having cruised a further 1895 miles since Cape Horn and in total since leaving Southampton 12,908 nautical miles. This is Chile’s main industrial and naval port so we had to take a shuttle bus from the ship to the port gates and go through customs before we joined our tour bus. The Chilean immigration officer who had been on board since Puerto William left the ship here. There were three other ships in port and the Chileans had all come to town to stand and stare; it was so busy there that I was pleased we were moored a mile or so away at the breakwater next to the old Naval School and Academy. There were plenty of war ships opposite our balcony and we had small tour boats circling us all day. Our tour to the vineyards at Vina Mar in the Casablanca area began at 2.00pm with a half hour journey through the town of Valparaiso. The temperature was 26 degrees and very sunny. It was an amazing sight to see the avenues of grape vines en rout; they stretched for miles surrounded by beautiful mountains. We sampled only three wines and had a tour of the distillery, which was most informative. Prices began at $4 a bottle and we bought three bottles of Vina Tarapaca 2001 Gran Reserva cabernet sauvignon for $40! We will enjoy those sometime when we dine in our suite.

On our return journey we visited the popular Chilean summer resort of Vina del Mar. It is high summer here and school holidays so the beach was packed. Buskers do their acts in the middle of the road when the traffic lights change! We saw jugglers and acrobats three people high! We have been so impressed by the cheerful and friendly people of South America; they are all really pleasant and certainly not pushy. We returned to the ship just before she sailed at 7.00pm so it was a long day, and we were amongst the ‘few’ who bothered to dress and go down to dinner! We did so because that evening was the unveiling of the emerald collection!!!!! We did have an early night though. We set sail for Acapulco and I am looking forward to more sea days, I can’t get enough of them! The sea is so soothing and sitting on our balcony is a tonic. (With a gin and tonic!)
Saturday, 27th January and a quiet day at sea, with temperatures about 28 degrees
So I have been on the balcony watching the ocean and looking for dolphins, which everyone else seems to catch sight of except us. We have watched our DVD recordings to see what they have come out like, and talk about being an amateur – well I do need some practice! Anyway, I can only get better! Tonight we are at another champagne reception and it is formal again. We will be passing Easter Island and crossing the Tropic of Capricorn at 8.30pm this evening (we are still 3 hours behind you.)

January 22nd, 23rd Cape Horn, 24th

2007-01-24T18:12:00.000Z

Monday, January 22nd was a lazy day. We started off our day with a lecture about Cape Horn to tell us about the new route we were taking. The Captain had negotiated with the Chilean authorities that after we had rounded the Horn in Drakes Passage (at approx. 9.00am) we could take an alternative route that involved turning the ship around and heading in a northerly direction again before joining the Beagle Channel where we would cruise westward to Puerto William for Chilean clearance (about 2.00pm) and then continue through the fiords past the ‘hanging glaciers’ leading to the Magellan Strait before reaching the Pacific Ocean. Cape Horn is the greatest sight of ship loss in the world (approx. 800 wrecks) – and at least 10,000 sailors have died there. Apparently, it is the westerly winds that mainly prevail and create the havoc where the ocean is extra deep and has undercurrents from the Drake Passage. Up to 1910 cargo ships were still sailing around the Cape. Alan rested after lunch and I spent the afternoon at the casino and then the gym before dinner on another formal evening.
Tuesday, January 23rd Cape Horn. Overnight we had sailed between the coast of Argentina and the Falkland Islands. At 9.00am we were on our balcony as we sailed toward Cape Horn with the wind in an easterly direction, which was amazingly in our favour as it meant that the sea was calmer than usual. The mist hovered above the mountains as we approached the Horn and the sun shone down on the many gigantic rocky projections from the ocean. We could clearly see the light house and penguins on one of the trajectories. I took lots of DVD film as we sailed around Cape Horn (seen in the photo) it was a magnificent sight to see and we were fortunate that we were on the starboard side for first sighting.

The south face of the Cape is called ‘the face of the Devil’ because sailors fear it so much; we sailed very close due to calm seas. After a half hour viewing, ballast was released to port side as the ship was turned for port side passengers to enjoy the views too. We then sailed northwards towards the Beagle Channel (named after Darwin’s ship ‘Beagle’) passing between enormous mountainous ranges. At 1.00pm we entered the narrow channel and a half hour later we were in the McKinsley Passage. At 2.00pm we stopped at Puerto William for Chilean clearance; (picture right) this is a small naval base with ice breakers and is the most southerly town in the world. The sun was very hot (too hot too sit out in) but the breeze had a chill and so the air temperature was 10 degrees centigrade, which must have been a delight for the locals. A large old wooden two mast yacht past en route to her next heading via the open seas, the sailors waved and shouted to us (it looked like Jack Sparrow’s Black Pearl.) We delayed a while to drop off the immigration controller who had joined the ship in Montevideo before continuing our voyage through magnificent scenery toward the ‘hanging glaciers’

The passage narrowed and we were only a short distance from amazing sights when we arrived at 5.00pm to spent 45 minutes photographing the five incredible glaciers as we sailed past. Each one in turn had its own degree of beauty but one particularly magnificent glacier cascaded down bringing oxygenated ice from a great height turning the sea an emerald green. It was three hours of unforgettable experience and we were extremely lucky with the brilliant weather. A small sailing boat past our ship about 5.15pm and the captain announced that he had been in contact with the English loan sailor who was en route to South Africa and had sent us his best wishes. By 7.15pm we were entering the Canal O’Brian leading us through to the Magellan Strait. We had spent the evening in the ballroom after dinner because the casino had to be closed whilst we were in Chilean waters. It was fun because we were sitting with four of our fellow diners, Geoffrey and Jill from the UK, and John and Mary from Charleston, SC. and I was able to have a few dances.
Wednesday, January 24th At 2.00am the QM2 cleared the Cockburn Canal and entered the Straits of Magellan until 7.30am when she reached the Southern Pacific Ocean. When I awoke we were already on a northerly course running parallel to the Chilean coast towards Middle Chile en route to Valporaiso. It was a dull and rainy day so all passengers were relaxing or doing laundry! Alan attended a lecture about ‘Shackleton’s Triumph’ by Capt. Richard Hayman, who had given commentary as we progressed around the Horn. He has been wonderful throughout our cruise, but is not the ship’s captain, he is Christopher Rynd. I spent most of the day sorting out my lap top because it had big problems, but as you can see it is OK now so I am going to get this blog off right away!!! Alan is at a Malt Whiskey tasting!!!! It is a formal evening tonight.

Just to confirm that the news in the UK is wrong - There is no sickness on this ship - it is QE2 that has the Norovirus not us. Thank goodness.

January 20th Montevideo, 21st

2007-01-21T17:22:00.000Z

Saturday, January 20th and we cruised very slowly with only two metres of ocean beneath the ship as we entered the harbour at Montevideo through a very narrow channel. It was incredible steering by the pilot as he slid us into our mooring sideways churning up vast amounts of sand from the ocean bed as he did so. We all stayed on deck to watch as this took almost an hour. It was a very hot and sunny day with temperatures over 30 degrees again but as there was a nice breeze it didn’t seem too bad - my hat wouldn’t stay on! We hadn’t booked a tour of the ‘old city’ so we decided to take the shuttle bus into the city centre, which was a beautiful place with tree lined avenues and plenty of shops. En route, ‘street boys’ were approaching both drivers and pedestrians carrying very large kitchen knives - to sell - and had several more stuck into wooden crates by the kerbside! We thought how unusual!! Anyway, when we got to the city I bought a pair of sandals for $13, I couldn’t believe how cheap things were. In an arcade we found a barber’s shop so Alan grasped the opportunity and had his hair trimmed. When I asked how much? It was $2!! I gave him $5 and he thought it was his birthday. (We didn’t take pesos because dollars are accepted here.) Spanish is their language and few speak English so it was fun, but the people are charming and very friendly. The barber suggested a nice restaurant so we went to eat lunch at El Fogúm, which had a huge barbecue in view (more like a log fire!) Alan had suckling pig and I had moules provéncal and both dishes were superb and only $16, so he got $20 as we didn’t want pesos in our change. We had trundled the streets with Alan pushing his wheelchair for long enough so we got a taxi back to port. The wheelchair was hanging out of the trunk and the tail gate left wide open – I kept looking at our reflection as we past shop windows to check we hadn’t lost our baggage! His charge was $5 so I gave him $10 (it was good to see his big smile!) We had time to shower before our 5.00pm departure to the Hippadrome for our evening at the races. It was a very impressive ‘dirt’ race track, and the elegant marble buildings had been renovated during the last three years. We were able to walk past the open stables as the horses were being groomed for the parade ring opposite. We had arranged to go with Jill and Geoffrey, whose company we have enjoyed since we sit near each other in the Queens Grill. We had tables reserved by the window, each with their own tv, and the dining room overlooked the track and winning post.

There were 9 races starting at 6.00pm and it was more luck than studying form as we didn’t know any of the horses or jockeys, but it was great fun anyway. The three course meal was unusual and we didn’t eat very much, but we drank plenty of Uruguayan wine!!!! The evening ended with a deck party around the swimming pool with lots of music and dancing and a midnight buffet (which Alan was soooo…looking forward to!) What a super day we had.
Sunday, January 21st at sea. Bliss again, we have five days cruising to look forward to before Valpariso. It doesn’t seem like three weeks away from home – I hope we still feel this way in another month! We are finding so many extra complimentary opportunities available to us as ‘world cruisers’ that were not advertised and all worth accepting. The latest is a black tie dinner in Athens. By noon today we had travelled 160 nautical miles from Montevideo and were still in shallow waters (only 100 metres beneath our keel) but increasing our speed in the afternoon. (I sat on the balcony typing this while Alan went to a lecture on the Falklands War by Air Vice Marshall Ronald Dick.) We expect to reach Cape Horn at mid-day on the 23rd. Tonight clocks go back for the first of six hourly changes before we reach San Francisco (so we will be three hours behind you tomorrow) and we are currently 40 degrees south of the equator on a level with New Zealand. I expect this afternoon will be gym, Jacuzzi, evening dinner, show and casino before bed so I will close now and meet Alan for lunch.

January 18th Rio de Janeiro and 19th

2007-01-20T11:50:00.000Z

Thursday, January 18th and when I awoke we were docked in Rio de Janeiro with a magnificent view of the statue, Christ the Redeemer, towering high above the city. Alan had been on deck to watch our arrival in the dark and said it was pretty impressive. Our panoramic tour began at 8.30am and the temperature was 31 degrees, but it was overcast with a light breeze and therefore bearable for us. We past a Roman style viaduct that had been built in 1710 to bring water from the hills, it was in perfect condition and now being used as a road (approx. half a mile long.) Alan was beside himself wanting to investigate it from an engineering point of view. Then we were taken to where preparations for the next ‘carnival’, which takes place on February 28th, were under way. The ‘boxes’ surrounding the main parade area were being decorated for use by the groups of ‘Cariocas’ (local Brazilians) who make and wear their amazing costumes. The city is a very busy place and over populated, but interesting to view. Their second Cathedral was built between 1966/72 and is incredible, a truncated cone with four magnificent stained glass windows reaching from floor to ceiling, where there is a further glass window in the shape of a cross. The walls between are open vents that allow air to circulate and create a cooling effect. The bell tower is the building to the side of the cathedral and has a bell on each of three stages. We visited all the palm tree lined beaches en route including Ipanema and Copacabana, where amazing sandcastles of bikini clad girls were on display by their creators and surfers inhabited the rolling waves of the ocean. Because Rio is built on vast granite hills the city has numerous long tunnels across it, and we went through them all! There is much history but that would take months to get through. The whales used to swim up the canal between Copacabana and Leblon beach to the natural lake where they would give birth away from the shark infested waters of the Atlantic. Unfortunately, the Cariocas over hunted in their waters and in 1910 the whales moved northwards never to return. Sugarloaf Mountain sits on the peninsular of Rio and greets visitors to the city: there is a cable car lift across to the top but we declined taking that ride. Portuguese navigators sighted this bay and assumed it to be the mouth of a river on January 1st 1502 and so named it “River of January” – Rio de Janeiro. The language spoken is still Portuguese. We returned to the ship at 2.00pm and after lunch I went back on land to collect my watch from Stern’s jewellers after having a battery replaced. Many were on deck as we left port but Alan and I were enjoying G & T and canapés on our balcony in the sun that had managed to come out before our departure. It was a good day ending with 1010 nautical miles to sail before reaching land and Montevideo on Saturday. We wandered around the ship after dinner and dropped in at the casino for a while before retiring.
Friday, January 19th was a restful day at sea. The ocean was calm and the sun shone down on us. I had another lay in and Alan did his thing! I actually managed to watch a film on TV. Did you know that you can log on to the Cunard site and watch from the Captain’s bridge on the web camera? You will be able to see each port of call that we visit and perhaps cruise through the Suez Canal when we do that. Don’t forget to post your comments we enjoy reading them and know that you are here with us, or send an email as normal. I understand there has been snow in Scotland today – hope you don’t get it too!! We arrive in Montevideo tomorrow but are running late due to a late departure from Rio awaiting the arrival of delayed passengers!

January 16th,17th.

2007-01-18T00:07:00.000Z

Last evening began with cocktails and canapés in the Queen’s Room by invitation of the Captain to all ‘world cruisers’. It was a splendid event and Alan I found a nice table for two not far from the main display of hot and cold canapés, ice carvings and a huge cake iced with a map of the world and all our ports of call. We mingled with guests and Officers for an hour whilst champagne was plentiful, before heading of to the Queen’s Grill for dinner. A show in the theatre followed before we joined passengers at the Rio Carnival Ball where all were encouraged to wear our brightly coloured ball masks. Alan chatted with the Executive Chef of the QM2, Klaus Kremer (seen here). By this day we had sailed 3901 nautical miles from F.L. and had a further 765 to Rio.
At 12.10am on Wednesday, 17th January the temperature was still 80 degrees and the humidity 79 degrees with calm seas. We eventually went to bed! Early morning and Alan enjoyed a lecture about Rio whilst I had a lay in until lunch time! I thought I ought to get back to the gym in the afternoon as when I weighed myself I discovered that I had gained four pounds since we boarded the ship! We didn’t do much the rest of the day, but prepared ourselves for an early start for docking in Rio de Janeiro at 4.00am in the morning, and ready for our 8.00am start. We were advised against wearing jewellery on our tours etc. as crime is quite high here.

January 13th,14th,15th,16th

2007-01-16T16:31:00.000Z

On Saturday, January 13th we headed toward Barbados continuing on our south easterly track to run parallel with the Brazilian coast through the Amazon Ridge. The temperature was 28 degrees and it was a beautiful day. Passengers were sunbathing on deck and I had a lovely swim in the Pavilion Pool late morning while Alan went to a lecture, ‘The Age of Exploration’ by Captain Richard Hayman. After lunch I went to learn how to play ‘Craps’ because it appeared to be such a fun game as all players shouted excitedly! After a leisurely afternoon I went to the hairdressers. My new hairstyle is really taking shape. It was another formal evening but with a twist, as we were sailing the Caribbean it was ‘Pirates Night’. We should have borrowed Thomas’s Captain Jack Sparrow head gear, as it would have really stolen the show!
After dinner I went for my first real game of Craps! Alan watched and we had a really exciting couple of hours, it was very lively and great fun, but I lost my $50 this time. (I do have a better idea of how to lose now though!) Because our watches were to go forward an hour we had an early night.
When we awoke on Sunday, January 14th the Trade Winds were beginning to take effect and the sea had a swell, but not too much. The air was humid and on deck it was just like a sauna with temperatures around 29 degrees. We were travelling at 27 knots and had sailed 2158 nautical miles from Fort Lauderdale. With 2370 to go we were almost half way to Rio de Janeiro. We were heading south easterly taking us some 300 nautical miles north east of the Mouths of the Amazon River and through the Demerar abysal plain. Then through the Amazon Ridge and the Arquipelago de Fernando de Noronha, a group of small islands some 200 nautical miles off the coast of Brazil where we will continue our southerly track paralleling the Brazilian coast. Tomorrow we will be crossing the equator. After making contact we had coffee with Gary and Wendy O’Hanlon and chatted for a couple of hours. (Alan has got the suite number of the Gaugels so we will be making contact soon.) It was a pleasant surprise to find an invitation from the Environment Officer, David Latham, to dine with him in the Brittania Restaurant at 8.30pm. We had to ring the captain’s secretary to accept and arrived promptly. He was a charming young Officer and very interesting to speak with although we weren’t impressed by our other four ‘competitive’ dinner guests.

At 9.10am on Monday, January 15th Alan stood on the balcony with his GPS and announced that we had just crossed into the southern hemisphere. He had watched as the latitude changed from 0 degrees north and registered 0 degrees south confirming that we had crossed the equator. The sea didn’t seem to care, it remained deep blue and calm with slight white waves breaking alongside the ship, but we rejoiced as it was our first crossing of the equator on the ocean. At 10.00am we had an emergency drill – a bomb search in which we all had to participate. Dummy bombs had been planted to ensure that a search was carried out by passengers. Then for those who wished to join in there was an emergency evacuation to life boat stations (one step further than the normal boarding drill.) Had there been a real emergency the ship was just six hours from Fortalez, Brazil, at this time. We didn’t go that far, but did search our suite as requested. It is good that these procedures are carried out. At lunch time all passengers gathered by the Terrace Pool for the ‘Crossing the Line Ceremony’. Volunteer ‘Pollywogs’ were coated with various liquids from the ships galley and thrown into the pool in the presence of King Neptune, his Queen and Seaweed Court. (Of course we will be crossing the equator four times on this cruise so perhaps we will get closer to the fun next time.)

After all this excitement we needed a rest after lunch so I went to the cinema while Alan had a snooze. We dined that evening at the Lotus Japanese restaurant with Kay and Peter Bradley, friends made in the dining room on the QE2. It was a five course meal that was as delightful as we remembered from previous cruises. We listened to the pianist in the Commodore Club until the early hours when we advanced our watches yet again (we are now 2 hours behind the UK.) We have cruised past Recife and Cobo Branco the eastern most tip of Brazil today. (Are you marking it on your map, grandchildren?)
Our first interest of the day on Tuesday, January 16th, was listening to a passenger lecture on his experiences in the Nazi death camp, Auschwitz. Having visited and been very moved by the camp I felt great empathy in his recollections. He had entered aged 15 in 1944 and watched as his parents were taken to the gas chamber. He and his wife have founded the National Holocaust Endowment Fund to establish and fund college level education on the Holocaust. With light breeze and calm sea we were travelling at 25 knots toward Rio it was brilliant sitting on our balcony in the warmth of the sunshine during the afternoon. This evening is a Rio Carnival masked ball, so we are looking forward to that and I am going to the gym to lose a few pounds first!!! More about this later.

January 10th,11th,12th.

2007-01-12T20:54:00.000Z

We had cruised 952 nautical miles south from New York to Fort Lauderdale where we began our disembarkation on Wednesday, January 10th, at 10.15am. We were escorted off the Queen Elizabeth 2 and through US Customs!!! There’s a story to tell – but need I say more? Then identifying our baggage before it was loaded onto the Queen Mary 2 was a bit of a hassle searching for each suitcase while Alan looked after those retrieved. Eventually, although we did have a (useless) assistant, Alan located a baggage handler who quickly, at a price, took our baggage to the loading bay whilst we were escorted to the shuttle bus. Then boarding procedure began - of course we got the trainee on her first day!! After four photo attempts for our ship’s cruise card – having to tell her how to receipt our passports – explaining that as UK citizens we did not require a Brazilian visa – asking her to return our credit card (which is now logged for the shipboard account at boarding station) I think I was about ready to explode. Alan had already flopped and was sitting nearby on his scooter! After a short walk up the gangway pushing the wheelchair containing two suitcases (I had let the assistant go) we were greeted by a cheerful, smiling ship’s crew and taken to Deck 9, Suite 9057 – I actually cried with relief! I felt as though I was home at last! Our suite was gorgeous with a welcoming bottle of champagne, and we have a whirlpool bath too! The sun was shining with temperature at 20 degrees – bliss!

Our butler, Victor, from Equador, arrived and introduced himself, he said he wanted to be just as efficient and helpful as our butler at home! (I must get Alan some white gloves to wear with his Ascot Suit when we return!) Our steward is a very nice young man too. (I didn’t think I would use the butler service, but have since enjoyed his presence for serving my breakfast in our suite, sorting out our other needs and fetching tickets etc for us)
We went straight to the restaurant for lunch and chose a very good table in a corner with views. The first two men we met were Americans, Warren and Ed, (David and John, you will no doubt know of Ed Richard, the producer of Summer and Smoke, by Tennessee Williams, now playing at, I think he said the Appollo). They were seated nearby and chat most evenings during dinner. After lunch we decided to unpack properly and put everything in its place for the next 72 days. I have the dressing room and Alan has three wardrobes, so enough space for everything. It was a very tiring day and we were looking forward to departure at 5.00pm. We were moored next to QE2 and there was a flotilla of small boats cruising around waving etc. while the band played on deck awaiting the start of our Maiden World Cruise. BUT – we did not depart until 8.00pm – many of the US citizens who boarded did not have their Brazilian visas and the ship was not allowed to sail until they had been acquired by the ship’s staff! There are 1700 passengers on this first segment who will leave at San Francisco, and 500 like us on the world cruise- we are finding many extra advantages available to us, which is very nice indeed! We had dinner and met our other diners seated close by, it was a relaxing evening and we went to bed early.
Wednesday, January 11th, our first day at sea - with 4527 nautical miles ahead of us before Rio. Time to relax, but we managed to be busy all day! Alan had a swim, I went to the laundry (might ask Victor to do it next time) we went to the Planetarium show, the shopping mall and I logged on for 32 hours Internet use at a cost of $479 (that’s with 50% discount for prepaid) so that should see us through to the end of March. (Do keep in touch) We sailed past the Bahama Islands during the day with temperatures of around 23 degrees so it was lovely to be out on the balcony enjoying the beautiful blue ocean. The Queens Grill restaurant is absolutely wonderful and the food is amazing (I am having the calorie counted dishes at this stage.) At the evening black and white ball the elegance on board was far superior to that on our transatlantic crossing. We enjoyed the glamour of the variety show and are so looking forward to everything ahead of us.
Clocks went forward one hour on the morning of Friday, January 12th (we are 4 hours behind you.) Alan had been up and in the pool and Jacuzzi before 6.00am and I awoke to brilliant sunshine, 28 degrees (80 f) to spend the morning on the balcony breathing wonderful fresh air while he went to a Fabergé show and lecture. At this time we were passing between the islands of Peurto Rico and Hispaniola followed by Culebra and St Thomas. By lunch time we were 3500 nautical miles away from Rio. The ocean was one mile deep at this point, but we haven’t seen any sea life yet! Throughout the afternoon we were in the 18 mile passage of the Caribbean Sea between Guadeloupe and Dominica in the Leeward Islands. (Are you marking your maps Eloise, Thomas, Abigail and Emma?) I haven’t had time to play on the Xbox in our suite, with 73 games to choose from – but I will at some time. The interactive TV is great we can order, book, view our account or watch many other programmes at a click of a switch. The evening was another formal occasion and another glamorous dress. We are looking out for the Gaugles and O'Hanlans.

January 8th & 9th

2007-01-10T05:16:00.000Z

Monday, January 8th and we arrived in New York at the Brooklyn cruise terminal at 6.00am after travelling 3124 nautical miles (3592 statute miles) from Southampton in some of the roughest seas we have experienced. The Captain announced that we had cruised in force, 7, 8 and 9 gales throughout our six day transatlantic crossing. It was raining and warmer than expected at 8 degrees centigrade when we moored. Mist hovered around the sky scraper buildings hiding their enormity from view, but we were within sight of the Statue of Liberty as she stood out in all her beauty on the dismal landscape. We disembarked for immigration at 9.45am and went quickly through the fingerprint and passport check (although I don’t appear to have any finger prints at all!) Nevertheless the nice man let us through for the 10.00am transfer to Manhattan and after travelling through the Battery Tunnel under East River we were at the Sheraton Hotel on 53rd Street by 10.30am. I had hoped that we would have been taken over the Brooklyn Bridge - but not on this journey! Alan had his wheelchair but he walked all the way to Saks on 5th Avenue at the junction of 50th Avenue (about 30 minutes). At this time the temperature was 16 degrees centigrade and it was raining, so we decided to have lunch. The restaurant on the 8th floor was very elegant and we both enjoyed our $50 lunch. From there we descended floor by floor admiring the amazing designer fashions – not to be beaten I did try on a few and settled for a little chiffon number by Fuzzi (I desperately wanted a Saks bag!!) The rain had stopped by 2.00pm and we decided to stroll back along 5th Avenue to pick up our shuttle bus at 3.00pm. En route we popped into H. Stern the jewellers and browsed!! Of course we can buy on the QM2 from the H Stern shop if we choose so I decided not to purchase the earrings at $20,000!!!! Here we are on 5th Avenue…….

We boarded the QE2 at 4.00pm disappointed that we hadn’t gone over the Brooklyn Bridge (our reason to return?) Our departure time of 5.00pm was delayed until 6.45pm when we set sail for Fort Lauderdale in Florida, where we will disembark from this ship and embark on QM2. After dinner we watched JimTavare, a talented musician with his double bass comedy act. He was unique and very amusing.
We awoke on Tuesday, January 9th to a brilliant blue sky, sunshine and a perfect blue calm sea. The temperature was 12 degrees in a strong breeze. Alan and I started our packing and then took a break to go to the Thallasso Spa for a massage in the mineral water baths, it was wonderful. After lunch we did more packing and then I popped into the cinema to see The Devil Wears Prada while Alan rested before our second visit of the day to the Spa. We were looking forward to the evenings entertainment because it was the first of the Cunard Theatre Company’s shows. (midnight) Just come out from the show and it was great!! The theatre company join the QM2 in Sydney so we can cath up with the rest of their shows then!

January 7th.

2007-01-08T22:11:00.000Z

Last evening’s Ball, which followed our exceptional dining experience in the Queens Grill, was most enjoyable because there was also a dancing demonstration by two professionals. The ocean was quite rough again over night but by Sunday morning, January 7th, it had calmed, although there were strong winds. We are currently heading south west toward New York at 24.3 knots and have received our immigration cards to complete for arrival. Apparently, everyone, including crew, will have to disembark for immigration inspection regardless of nationality. We have purchased tickets on the shuttle bus to Midtown Manhattan ($15 each) for our shopping and sightseeing day because we were informed that the city taxi drivers do not pick up fares for journeys to our mooring at the Brooklyn cruise terminal on East River. This morning we had a lazy morning with breakfast in our suite then Alan went to a lecture by Captain Les Evans, who flew Concorde between 1999 – 2003. I watched it on the TV channel after my film, King Kong, had ended. (All lectures are repeated on the TV so we don’t miss any). Unfortunately, on his way back the lift doors trapped him on his scooter as he was leaving, so much so that another passenger had to prize them open! Alan’s arms were badly bruised and he was taken to the medical centre where he was checked over and given Ibuprofen to reduce the inflammation. I had to tighten up screws on the scooter arm rests and polish scratches to the base - is this the beginning of our holiday? He was quite shaken (or shaking actually) but gradually settled down over lunch when we and our fellow passengers made light of it. He then went to another lecture, the second by Ted Scull on the history of New York, which I later viewed on TV. I went to a ‘hot spot’ to log on for my emails and then we met to watch the Talent Competition!! (The first variety show of our cruise - and it was fun!) Alan had invited two couples from near by tables to have pre-dinner champagne with us in the Queens Grill lounge because Dick and Joann Hemp, from Reno, Nevada, were to disembark the next morning. Here we are before our parting…. After dinner I caught the late showing of Superman Returns at the cinema and Alan went to the variety show to see Jeri Sager, JC Fisher, Vincenzo Gentile and Suzanne Godfrey before we retired to prepare for our early start in New York.

January 4th,5th,6th

2007-01-06T19:08:00.000Z

On the afternoon of Thursday, January 4th, I found my way to the gym, which was way down in the bowels of the ship! Not a lot of equipment and therefore a need to book ones time on each machine. I was delighted that on this occasion I was able to exercise my needs there and then, probably because most passengers were suffering the effects of the rough sea. The pool was closed at this time, but looked inviting. Another formal evening and delicious dinner, with more guests appearing around the ship as they found their sea legs! We had quite a laugh in the Golden Lion pub watching the karaoke until midnight when we put our watches back for the third time, after which we relocated to the Yacht Club for the 60’s rock n’roll dance. The sea continued to roll us about when we awoke on Friday, January 5th, and the Captain announced that it was unlikely to change for the next 24 hours. Alan had been out and about since 5.00am and had dared to venture out on deck for some fresh air, finding a sheltered corner where he wouldn’t get blown overboard! We strolled around the ship’s shopping mall (not without spending) as there was a jewellery show prior to a talk on ‘gem stones’, which we attended before lunch. In the afternoon Dr Terry Waite, CBE, gave his first of three lectures about his experiences as a hostage in Beirut. Alan stayed for Ted Scull’s lecture specialising in New York’s railway and maritime subjects and I returned to the gym before our black and white formal evening. The ships dress code has to be strictly adhered to from 6.00pm daily, but in comparison to the Queen Mary 2 I do not think that female guests dress as elegantly, there are far fewer glamorous gowns! The Queen’s Grill lounge offers superb canapés with drinks pre dinner so we found a pleasant seat and enjoyed the moment. Our evening entertainment was opera singer JC Fisher, an interesting hour, one of many choices. However, choosing between pianist, harpist, two vocalists, dancing or karaoke gave us little to get excited about. I think this ship is for classical music enthusiasts. The theatre company are still rehearsing as they embarked at Southampton, so as yet they have not put on a show! I can’t tell you how much I am looking forward to boarding Queen Mary for their entertainment schedule! I haven’t been to the casino so that pleasure has yet to come and the films showing are not of particular interest to me.
After putting back our watches again we awoke just south of New Foundland on Saturday, January 6th, to a calmer sea and thick fog, but at least we felt little of the ships movement, the squeaks were greatly reduced, our picture now hung still and our doors did not need to be secured. Alan had his first early morning swim as the pool was now open. I am enjoying late breakfasts in our suite whilst Alan eats in the Queens grill every morning. We were invited to the Captains World Club member’s cocktail party at 11.30am where we were introduced to Mrs Muller, who has been a resident on the ship for 13 years! The Captain was unavoidably detained due to the thickening fog. Air temperature outside was 3degrees and the fog was caused through the cold water coming south from the St Lawrence River and meeting the relatively warm air of the Atlantic. (It had been 12 degrees all the way across the ocean from the UK) We were several miles north of where the Titanic went down, but very confident in the Queen Elizabeth2! After lunch a leisurely afternoon before exercising the calories away and preparing for the evening red, white and blue ball.

January 2,3,4. 2007

2007-01-04T14:07:00.000Z

We boarded the QE2 on January 2nd 2007 at 1.15pm and were shown to our suite, which was very elegantly decorated with separate dressing room and bathroom incorporating full suite and shower. We were pleased to have so much space and after lunch we unpacked quickly before taking our first trip around the ship. Through negotiating the scooter we have discovered that the port side is wheelchair friendly but on the starboard side the steps remain without additional ramps. I guess we have to travel on the left! The Police Brass Band played all afternoon around the ship and then at 5.00pm there was an incredible firework display on the starboard side, which we watched from our cabin window. The band returned to the quay to continue their ‘sail away’ serenade. Unfortunately, stores were still being loaded due to the ships late arrival (woman overboard on New Year Eve) and so we did not sail until 7.00pm. However, the Captain said we would soon make up our time – and we have!
The evening dress code was informal and we were very pleased to find our table for two in a good position when we went to the Queen’s Grill restaurant for the first time at 8.45pm. The couple adjacent were chatty and the meal was excellent. Afterwards we strolled into one of the lounges and listened to a harpist playing whilst we had our night cap. The sea had a swell when we went to bed but by morning it was at force 8 strength and increased as the day progressed. We both enjoyed a ‘talk’ in the late morning – Alan’s by Benedict Allen, an English adventurer, and mine was an introduction to the Spa and beauty facilities followed by the Tanzanite show, after which I sat and watched the ballroom dancing until we met for lunch. The ship was by then bouncing about a bit and we both decided to prepare for worsening weather by taking a ‘Calm’ – which was a good idea and so was a snooze in the afternoon! It was a formal dress evening and we went to the gold/platinum members Captains welcome cocktail event before dinner where Alan was approached by Terry Waites who found great interest in his scooter and they chatted a while. By now the ship was bobbing up and down and not many guests came out to play! Dinner was most enjoyable and later we went to hear the Broadway star, Jerri Sagar, sing songs from her shows. Again, not many guests had ventured far from their cabins! Overnight the sea calmed a little but by morning the swell was quite strong again and the picture on our wall was swinging along with the movement, even I was feeling a bit wobbly. Not to be beaten we both went to a demonstration before lunch. I have just logged on to QE2 Internet connection so I hope it works! We have put the clock back twice and will do so again this evening so at least we are getting a lay in every day! First impressions of the ship are that she is very elegant but too small for me, I think 10 days will be enough!

A Guide to Posting YOUR COMMENT on our blog.

2006-12-30T18:44:00.000Z

If after reading my blog you would like to add a comment, here is how you can do it!

Find the 'post' you want to make a comment on, then:-
Click on 'comments' and the page will appear.
Follow instructions:-
'Leave your comment' - type your comment in the box.
Choose identity "Other" - then enter 'Your own Name' and leave 'Web Page' empty.
In 'Word Verification' box you must type in the letters of the alphabet shown above the box.
You can preview your comment or just go ahead and
Click on 'Publish your comment'.

This will then come to me on my normal email so that I can accept or deny publication depending on content.

East peasy!

Ports of Call

2006-09-06T15:25:00.000+01:00

NewYork-USA; Fort Lauderdale -Florida;
Rio De Janeiro-Brazil; Montevideo -Uruguay; Valparaiso (Santiago) -Chile; Acapulco -Mexico;

San Francisco -California; Honolulu -Hawaii;
Pago Pago -Samoa; Auckland-New Zealand; Sydney-Australia; Hong Kong; Singapore; Kuala Lumpur -Malaysia; Cochin -India; Dubai -UAE; Alexandria (Cairo) -Egypt; Piraeus (Athens) -Greece; Civitavecchia (Rome) -Italy; Le Havre (Paris)-France;

Invitation

2006-09-05T14:12:00.000+01:00

Hello everyone,

We have set up this blog so that our family and friends can follow us on our round the world cruise. We leave Southampton on the Queen Elizabeth 2 on January 2nd 2007 and embark on the Queen Mary 2 at Fort Lauderdale on January 10th after calling at New York on January 8th. We hope that you too will enjoy the experience and join us by reading our diary as often as you choose.

jkjk

Above you can see the Queen Mary 2 where we will be spending the next three months in absolute luxury - before returning to Southampton on March 26th 2007.

To our friends who are 'house sitting' - you know where the dusters are and don't neglect the garden!