July 9th, 2018

Very Definitely Still at Sea

The Day I Touched the Moon

The first thing I did this morning was visit the Voyage Sales office and get the price for the July 2019 QM2 Iceland Crossing. You can do this as a round trip from New York, which would be wonderful, but there is also just the Southampton to New York voyage. The itinerary is New York, Southampton, Liverpool, Reykjavik (overnight), Corner Brook, Halifax and New York. Very tempting. I got the pricing from Jordan, and sat in the Commodore Club thinking how great this would be.

There are a few Mennonite couples on board and they were in the adjacent Boardroom having a meeting and singing hymns. It seemed quite incongruous but actually was quite pleasant. Not something you experience every day in the Commodore Club.

I decided to venture out on deck again. It was sunny, but still quite cool. Not warm enough for me to sit our there. I stopped by the kennels and said hi to the dogs.

The cat is apparently an inside cat. All the animals will have their portraits taken with the captain tomorrow. I bet they can’t wait. I found out that it costs $800 to $1000 for the trip. Not cheap, and you have to reserve a kennel at least a year in advance, but clearly worth it for their owners.

Although the Boardwalk Café wasn’t open, they did have a bar going out on deck.

I went to watch the bell being rung at noon, and then on to choir practice. Then it was time for more education.

In keeping with the negative theme of education on this crossing, General Nick Halley’s talk today was on “The life and Death Struggle for World Order”. Oh dear ☹.

I thought that John MacLean’s talk on “Near Earth Objects – OMG we’re all going to die” would also be depressing, but it turns out that the odds of being annihilated by a comet are small, and if a comet hadn’t wiped out the dinosaurs we would not be here at all. The lack of dinosaurs enabled mammals to thrive, and here we are today enjoying Queen Mary 2. I suppose if the next comet does wipe us out the cockroaches will inherit the earth. Maybe I should show them more respect.

John talked about asteroids, comets, and meteorites. It was fascinating, and he was very knowledgeable. The meteorite that hit a rural area in Russia did cause some damage, but it would have been significantly worse had it hit London. Although we have a fairly good system for monitoring near earth objects, it does not provide full coverage of our little planet. So the possibility of a direct hit does remain………..

After the talk he showed us his small piece of the asteroid Vesta (one of the largest asteroids out there), which was lovely, and would have made a fantastic counter top if it had been the right size. However, with its current size it would also make some rather splendid earrings or pendant on a silver chain.

He also had a piece of the Russian meteorite that we were passing around. The young lady next to me dropped it on the floor, so there were a few anxious moments as her brother and I crawled around on the dark colored carpet trying to locate it.

I thought I would try the Carinthia Lounge for tea today. There were no sandwiches, but the cakes and pastries were great.

It will not replace the Queens Room as my favorite place for tea, but it certainly is a good option for a quick bite. While I was having my tea, a troupe of young pirates marched through, led by the Kids Zone staff. They seemed to be having a great time.

For his presentation on the history of the electric guitar, today Paul Garthwaite discussed one of my favorite groups, Dire Straits.

His discussions are in the Golden Lion pub, so there will not be a guitar presentation tomorrow – there will be a football match instead. There is much excitement throughout the ship about the World Cup. Go England!

Tonight was the second of three formal nights on this crossing. I wore my black dress and sparkly top, which continues to shed sparkles wherever I go. I do wish it would stop.

I had asked the astronomy lecturer, John MacLean, to join Deidre and myself for a pre dinner drink in the Commodore Club. He is really fascinating, and it was great to learn all about his life. I had made sure that the barman could find some chocolate syrup for me. I mean how could you meet with a world famous astronomer and not have a Milky Way martini? The barman came through and sure enough I finally had one. It was worth the wait. It is soooooo much better than their substitute, the chocolate affair martini. Now I know he can make them, there will be no stopping me.

John had brought along his piece of the moon to show us. I remember seeing a moon rock many years ago at the Smithsonian when we were in Washington on vacation with my grandparents. It was hidden in a display case, closely protected by a security guard. I was in total awe at seeing it. My grandmother was absolutely delighted, and grabbed the security guard telling him that there was a piece of the moon in the display case, and that astronauts had gone all the way to the moon and back to get that little piece of rock. He dryly replied, “Yes I know ma’am”.

Well there I was sitting sipping a Milky Way martini in the QM2 Commodore Club with a small piece of the moon in my hand. I was bursting with excitement. The only thing that could possibly have made it better would be to have had Brian there with me. It was just amazing ☺

After drinks we went to the World Club cocktail party. It was absolutely packed – it seems like more than half the passengers on board were eligible to attend the party, and they were all there. Deidre was recognized as one of the passengers who had sailed the most days with Cunard. Well, 14 world cruises certainly would help to get you there.

Captain Wells talked about the yet to be built new Cunard ship, and joked about the potential names. There was much audience participation, and Queen Anne seemed to be the most popular choice, Queen Camilla the least. Later when I was talking to Hugh about the ship, he recommended Princess Anne. I like that. As a child I was obsessed with her when we lived in London. Mum and I would ride a double decker bus around Buckingham Palace gardens in case I could catch a glimpse of her playing with her dolls. I never did.

Dinner was as lively as ever, good food, excellent service, and stimulating conversation. What more could you want.

Tonight we managed to get Hugh and Gordon to join us in the Queens Room after dinner, so we were all there except for Jessie who had decided to watch the show. We had a splendid evening dancing the night away with the gentlemen hosts, and Gordon, who is a superb dancer as it turns out. Alas, we could not persuade Hugh to dance, but he seemed to be quite happy sitting there drinking his tea.

Next thing I knew it was midnight, and time to return to my cabin. I was looking forward to climbing into that comfy bed again. My only complaint about this crossing is that the ocean has been way too calm, and apart from a short period when there was quite a heavy swell, you honestly would not know you were on a ship. I do like to be rocked to sleep, but it looks like that may not happen at all on this voyage alas.