At Sea

We had quite a bumpy night, it was lovely to lie in bed and be rocked by the waves. When I awoke this morning and looked outside, it looked just like we were in the middle of a winter transatlantic crossing – just my kind of weather.

The sea is very rough today with a very heavy swell, but apart from a bit of pitching and rolling we are riding the waves very well. No sign of waves splashing up as far as the Commodore Club, but a window in the Winter Garden did get broken during the storm. The ever upbeat Commodore pointed out that we very lucky to be able to observe the angry seas from the comfort and stability of our beautiful ship. I have so much respect for those sailors who have braved these waters in small boats.

We had great talks today as usual – David Burgess on the “Culture of New Zealand” and Chris Frame on “Mary and Elizabeth: Cunard’s First Queens”, although you could argue that the Berengaria was really the first Cunard ship named after a queen. A lot of the information was not new, but Chris had some video footage of the Queens that I had not seen before so that was a real treat. I do so wish that Queen Elizabeth had been able to stay in Fort Lauderdale as a successful hotel. It would be great to have been able to stay there before going on cruises, as we have done on the Queen Mary in Long Beach. David Campese, an Australian rugby player, also gave a talk on his rugby stories. The rugby fans on board were very excited about that. The only rugby player I can name is Gareth Edwards, and I don’t think he is still playing.

I did not want to waste any time using my spa voucher, so this afternoon I had their wonderful fire and ice pedicure, which also involves a hot stone massage of your feet and lower legs. Now my toes look respectable for sandals again. All we need is sandal weather again. Although both pools are closed because the water was splashing out of them, there was no problem whatsoever with the water for the pedicure, and the nail technician had a very steady hand, so you can have a successful pedicure in the middle of a storm on this ship. I am still not so sure I would want to get my hair cut until the ship is a bit steadier.

We are hoping to have dinner in Sydney tomorrow, so tonight was the last night with our tablemates. We have been with Keith and Ann since Fort Lauderdale, so we will be very sad to say goodbye. Alan and Pam have only been on sine Valparaiso, but we were also sorry to say goodbye to them too. Our waiters, Nick and Milly, gave us copies of the menus from the voyage. More things to put into the suitcases, but I do enjoy keeping them. Nick is heading back to the Philippines on leave tomorrow, so we said goodbye to him too, Milly is staying on until Southampton. Lots of changes. That is the one thing that is wrong with a world cruise. You get to meet such wonderful people along the way, and visit such remarkable places, but gradually one by one, you have to say goodbye to them all.

We ended our evening by all going to listen to the New Zealand comedian, Simon McKinney. His show consisted mainly of doing impersonations – especially of Australians and South Africans. For some unknown reason he left Americans alone for the most part. Maybe we just aren’t that funny. Anyway, he was good for a laugh, and we enjoyed the show.

We said goodbye to our tablemates and headed up to the cabin to get organized for our big day in Sydney tomorrow.

The ship is still wobbling a bit, but it is not nearly so bumpy. This has been the first day when we have really felt that we were at sea, and I loved it. It is just a pity that the ship rattles rather than creaks. QE2 creaked so beautifully in rough weather.