Saturday April 20^th

At Sea

Packing Day

On past westbound crossings, the weather on our last sea day has been sunny, with calm seas, maybe a patch or two of fog. Everyone would be out on deck, as if emerging from a long harsh winter into a glorious spring. The dogs are running around on their own special deck area, the cats are peering out of their window. Pina Coladas by the pool become a reality.

Not so today. There are gale force winds, and a very heavy swell. We are even pitching and rolling. In the distance there is an extensive fog bank.

Perfect weather for packing. Now packing 4 suitcases and 2 carry on bags shouldn’t take too long, but it always does. Finally everything was squeezed in, and our handy dandy travel scale was teetering on the evil 49 lbs mark. Hopefully it is accurate.

We went to hear the guest choir, who were singing in the Grand Lobby. Andrew disembarked in Southampton, and this crossing two of the Cunard Singers did the hard work of putting the performance together. The choir sang a selection of Beatles music, and two of my favorite Abba songs – Mama Mia and Thank you for the Music. It was a great performance; clearly there are a lot of talented singers on board.

Then it was time to redeem our prize for the stamps on our Activity Card. Choices, choices. We settled on an umbrella (I’m always losing them), and a Cunard mouse pad. Seeing as I never use a mouse at home, and I have a perfectly wonderful Coca Cola mouse pad at work, I’m not sure why we ended up with that. Maybe it can be used as a trivet or place mat. I am sure I will find something to do with it. The good news is that it won’t take up much room in our over laden suitcases.

We checked our on board credit balance, and despite all of our visits to the various bars around the ship, and wine at dinner, we still had some on board credit left. A quick visit to the shop took care of that. I bought a black sparkly top, that so far does not seem to leave a trail of glitter, but I suppose time will tell. Now to try to find some room in one of the suitcases for it………..

We said a fond farewell to our tablemates at dinner. They have been wonderful companions, and I will miss them. Knowing my penchant for all things Cadbury, Brian the tablemate, had somehow purloined a Cadbury Easter Egg for me. What a good man! It will be difficult to pack of course; so will need to be consumed as soon as possible.

After dinner Brian, the husband, and I went to the Commodore Club to have our final drink in our favorite space, and say good by to the wonderful waiters who have taken such good care of us over the last month, and have found extra canapés and crisps to keep me quiet.

It was still fairly rough, and you could definitely feel the motion. We were also in dense fog, and we could hear the plaintive moan of the foghorn every 2 minutes. All of a sudden it was midnight, and we needed to place out last suitcase out in the corridor.

Like Cinderella, we ran back to the cabin, and flung our smart attire clothes and shoes into the waiting suitcase, before the last stroke of midnight, when everything could have turned into pumpkins, or else been left behind.

Despite repeatedly telling myself not to do so, I did indeed pack all of my shoes into the suitcase, but realized the error of my ways just in time to retrieve a pair before the case vanished into the bowels of the ship. Phew. This time last year I was walking barefoot around Cape Town after having made the same mistake.

As I sank into our wonderfully comfy bed, the Abba song, Thank you for the Music, was going on in my head. Indeed, thank you for all of the beautiful music and wonderful experiences, this trip has been even more than I could have hoped for. I am so lucky.