July 11th, 2018

How Great it is to be at Sea

Well the much awaited invitation to dine with the captain on this, the last formal night of the crossing, has not arrived. Thus I have to accept that yet again, I have been left out. The captain did write a nice note in my logbook, but alas did not ask me to share dinner with him.

The Senior Officers’ Party was at 11:15 in the Queens Room. I do prefer to have it in the evening, but I suppose a party is a party, so off I went in my “smart attire” to meet and mingle. This party is not as crowded as the others, and there are no speeches, making it a much better event.

It finished at noon, and because of the time change, it was soon time for the 1:15 choir practice,

which was followed by lunch at the Verandah with Deidre and Linda at 2:00. I was still full from breakfast, but managed to have the pate, coq au vin, and cheese selection. We were as chatty as ever, and at about 4:00 it was clear that the wait staff were anxious for us to leave so they could prepare the room for dinner.

I must say I do prefer the Verandah restaurant on Queen Elizabeth, and probably would not eat here unless I had a voucher. It does not appear to be that popular – it was the second from last day of the crossing and there was only one other couple there.

When I returned to my cabin I was suddenly overwhelmed by the desire to take a nap. So no talks for me today.

When I awoke it was time to watch the World Cup football match. Not only was this being broadcast in the Golden Lion, it was also being shown in Illuminations and on channel 41 in the cabins. I chose the latter. The only football matches I have watched are our sons’ youth soccer games, where neither of our boys were star players, and I would forget it was my turn to bring the juice boxes and Rice Crispy treats.

The match started off well, and when I turned on the TV England was winning. I was very excited because I was sure that if England won there would be some kind of shipboard celebration. Possibly even involving flags and traditional English music. It was not to be, and the more I watched, the more it seemed that Croatia was going to win. I took my time getting ready for the Roaring Twenties night, but suddenly at what I thought was 7:45 I realized that it was in fact 8:45. I had forgotten to change my watch at the midday time change. No time to fuss with my hair or my boa, I was going to be late for our 8:30 dinner.

You can always tell it is the Roaring Twenties night as there are the little tell tail signs of black feathers all over the ship. They do not seem to have made a non-shedding feather boa yet.

I had become annoyed with my original boa as it shed everywhere, it was scratchy, and it made me sneeze. I have forsaken it for a synthetic boa that I purchased earlier this year on Amazon. No it doesn’t look as good as a real one, but it is much easier to manage.

I wrapped it around myself and ran down the stairs to the dining room, you just can’t keep your tablemates waiting, especially as they are such great people.

During dinner there was the inevitable napkin waving and parade of chefs, and baked Alaska on the menu for desert. Some traditions just keep on going.

We all went to the Roaring Twenties ball, but somehow it just wasn’t that good, so after some dancing, we headed up to the Commodore Club and sat chatting until midnight.

Transatlantic crossings are such a civilized mode of transport. Anyone who is worried about getting bored really should have no fear. The days go by so quickly, and they are packed with loads of things to do. Moreover, the people you meet tend to be very interesting; it is all such a huge pleasure. Seven days is just way too short!