Wednesday 19th January 2022, 11.18, The King’s Court, 32.56 degrees North, 21.56 degrees West.
Unless the on board internet improves enough for be to be able to send pictures, blogs 696 and 697 will be “posted” from Barbados – that’s the plan. Photos taken between where we are now, and Barbados, if worthy of publication, will be included in my continued account of this voyage.
Today is our first in a new time zone, and the Captain’s pessimistic prophecies of precipitation and poor weather have proved positive! The extra hour in bed (there are at least three more to come) failed to enable me to make it to the Britannia Restaurant for breakfast before the closing time of 09.30hrs. I did, however, find a nice bay window location in the King’s Court for my weekly treat of a small cooked breakfast. This unfortunately was interrupted not only by the intrusive but necessary crew drill, alarms and staged pandemonium et al, but also by an elderly couple, I presume hard of hearing, discussing for all to hear with uninformed authority, icebergs, Titanic, and interpreting the crew instructions. This proved too much, and I gracefully left a half drunk decaff coffee, to find somewhere to write in more peace. I just managed to find somewhere in the adjacent Carinthia Lounge (not Café, as previously stated) and ended up in conversation with two passengers from the “North Country” (Lancs/Yorkshire border), until after the Captain’s noon-day address.
I then managed three laps (walking) of the Boat Deck, which equates to 1.1 miles. By this time, the rain had stopped and the decks more or less dry. The sea is choppy but looks magnificent with the sun reflecting there-from. Occasionally, sun and spray make for a split-second rainbow 🌈. Although having experienced this on numerous previous sea trips, this never ceases to amaze me.
I chose to sit by myself for lunch in the Britannia Restaurant, but still managed to engage in conversation with two gentlemen, one of whom told me he had appeared at the Buxton Playhouse. He didn’t look old enough; I think the Playhouse had finished in the 1970s, being re-purposed as the Paxton Suite a decade (or less) later.
Back to Queen Mary 2. I am amazed that despite the strict covid restrictions, all is going very well indeed. The food is extremely good, the service all around the ship, efficient, friendly, courteous and professional. I am perfectly content with my inside accommodation and I quite like the way second sitting dinner is at a different table with different people each night. I also like being served in the one-time self service King’s Court eatery on Deck 7. At the moment, it is slightly harder to navigate, but no more difficult than a supermarket where items are no longer at their established location.
Queen Mary 2 is riding the “choppy” Atlantic ocean with little sign of turbulence. Turbulence, does, however, become more apparent when taking a shower!
I am completing this blog, after a pleasant lunch of duck cottage pie and two veg, seated comfortably in the cavernous Grand Lobby. Light classical music plays gently in the background, but soothes rather than irritates.
While it’s not toasty hot outside, and there is a strong south-westerly breeze, people have either found sun traps away from the wind, or are contentedly relaxing in the deck chairs and sunloungers provided around the ship. I feel so very fortunate. At home, if there is no mist, I can enjoy an uninterrupted view of Axe Edge in its never ending varieties of natural shades. Here, the sea offers an equivalent and is rarely tedious. Unlike Axe Edge, however, the sea can and does turn nasty – but not enough to deter me from travelling this way.
Thanks for reading, David, Grand Lobby, QM2, 15.57 hrs Wednesday 19th January 2022
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David's Cruise 