At sea

We are now in the tropics, and instead of a bright sunny day it is hot, overcast, and humid, with frequent rainstorms. We decided not to sit out on deck, and retreated to our usual spot in the Commodore Club. This is the perfect place to watch the stormy weather go by.

We will be crossing the equator in 2 days time. A person who has never sailed across the equator is called a Pollywog, and once you have done this, you become a Shellback. We will be observing the ancient nautical tradition of a Crossing the Line Ceremony on board. I first crossed the line by sea when I was about 6 months old, on the Windsor Castle during a voyage from Cape Town to the UK. We have a DVD of the 16mm film my grandfather took of this auspicious occasion. It shows a screaming baby being covered in gunk, and being dunked in the pool despite her clear distaste for the whole exercise. I do not recall this thank goodness, but I do have memories on subsequent trips back to the UK, of Pollywogs being found guilty by Neptune and his court, and being doused in green slime and thrown in the pool. I always thought it was kind of an unpleasant process, besides which, the pool would be extremely nasty for several days after that.

Brian is a Pollywog, and has volunteered to take part in the ceremony on board QV. He had to sign a waiver, and was warned that the gunk may stain his clothes. He also will have to kiss a dead fish. Not good, seeing as he is allergic to fish. However, there will be a couple of mermaids on hand (the very attractive dancers), so maybe he will get to kiss one instead to prevent possible poolside anaphylaxis. What’s more, he doesn’t get thrown into the pool. They explained that this was because they would have to drain and clean it if they went in the pool, obviously Union Castle didn’t have such concerns. Luckily he will be escorted to the poolside shower prior to returning to our pristine cabin.

We received a flyer today for a Laundry Promotion for Full World Voyage Guests. If you have one bag of laundry ready by tomorrow morning they will have it washed and ironed for us by 7:00 PM the following day. There is a maximum of 20 items per bag, and a cost of $40. This is actually a pretty good deal, as it usually costs $5.25 per shirt/blouse according to their price list. We would probably take them up on the offer if we had 20 items in need of a wash, and could fit 20 items into their small bag. However, it looks like we will just have to let this offer go by.

Tonight is a formal night. It is also the night for the World Club Cocktail Party, and the Ascot Ball. There is a craft session this afternoon where you can create exotic headgear for the ball. Emma and I did this previously while on QV, and the official photo of us in our creations can be seen in our family room. Not having my partner in crime with me on this trip, I have decided to make do with my new fascinator instead. Not quite an exotic Ascot hat, in fact not a hat at all, but still quite fun I think.

The World Club Cocktail Party was as crowded as usual, but we still found a good spot to stand and drink, and met some new people. There are 1750 World Club members on board, and the couple that had traveled on Cunard for the most days is on their 21^st World Cruise on Cunard. Good for them. I am certainly having the best time, but even if I had the money I am not sure this is what I want to do every winter for the next 20 years.

Everyone at the cocktail party, and in fact everyone we saw around the ship, had followed the dress code, and it looked lovely. There were many men in their white/ivory dinner jackets and that seemed perfect for a steamy day in the tropics. Many women were also in short dresses, but they looked fine too. There were surprisingly few fancy Ascot hats, and fewer women wearing fascinators than I would have expected. My fascinator nearly didn’t get to be worn tonight. This was its first outing, and even though I had bought some clips in Fort Lauderdale, it still refused to sit at the correct angle on my head. Finally, many clips and harsh words later Brian had it in a good position, so we took the inevitable selfie and we headed off to the party.

I had escargot and fillet steak for dinner. There were cherries jubilee for dessert again, usually a favourite of mine, but I was just too full and regretfully had to give them a miss.

The show tonight was a lovely singer from Portsmouth, with the intriguing name of Ngo Ngofa. She has an amazing voice, and sang some Cilla Black songs, so I was very happy. It was yet another perfect evening, and my fascinator was still in place when we got back to the cabin. A triumph of hair clips.