At Sea

July 11^th, 2025

It’s feeling like Groundhog Day. The foghorn has been going since 4:00 this morning. We are really and truly back in the fog.

I checked our position on Cruise Mapper – we weren’t that far from Newfoundland. We still have a long way to go. Could it be foggy the whole way?

At the lecture he gave this morning Captain Hashmi said this should be our final day of fog. I do hope so! Still despite the fog people have seen dolphins and sea birds today, so that’s exciting.

We went to Captain Hashmi’s talk on the “Virtual Bridge”. Not only is he a wonderful captain, but he is also an excellent speaker. His talk was very informative, but also brimming with amusing anecdotes. I think he is better than any of the other speakers who we have seen this cruise.

He wouldn’t say whether yesterday’s medical evacuation would delay our arrival in Southampton, but he was hoping we would get there in time. We still have to stay clear of the icebergs this time of the year, and that means we have to be at least 14 miles south of the icefield, and that could be farther south than we would like to be.

The evacuation had added 280 miles on to our journey, but there was still time to catch up.

I was hoping there would be an opportunity for questions and answers at the end of the talk. I want to know what’s wrong with the ship’s whistles. Unfortunately, as soon as captain Hashmi’s talk was finished, he had to go to the bridge to deliver his noon update.

It being a foggy damp day, I was reminded of England. I had an urge for fish and chips and a cider. The pub looked really full when we arrived, but we were able to snag a table right near the entrance.

One of the specials today was chicken tikka masala. I still think it is odd that the steak and ale pie and chicken tikka masala are on the specials menu. I think they should be available every day. Anyway, I was happy with my fish and chips. Although I could do without the accompanying mushy peas.

The great excitement of the afternoon was that our table mates, Ian and Mary, were renewing their wedding vows and celebrating their 50^th wedding anniversary today. They had invited the rest of the table to celebrate with them.

The Board Room was decorated beautifully for the occasion, and when we arrived there, there was captain Hashmi waiting to perform the ceremony. I didn’t want to be too annoying, but I couldn’t help asking him about what was wrong with the ship’s Queen Mary whistle.

He smiled, and replied that she had a cold. I didn’t believe him, and requested a more detailed explanation. Why was the foghorn the only sound we heard?

Apparently there are rules about noise levels today, and blowing all of the ship’s whistles at one time would exceed these levels, so that’s while it was only the foghorn we had heard. He thought that by now we would all be sick and tired of hearing the foghorn.

I questioned whether this rule applied out in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. I suppose that the local wildlife could be upset by it.

Apparently not, and captain Hashmi promised that he would have the whistles in full force at noon tomorrow. Yay! I hope he does, but if he forgets, that’s alright. If the Queen Mary whistle is still functional, I’m happy.

The renewal of vows ceremony was absolutely wonderful. Ian and Mary read such beautiful prepared speeches to each other. Their love and respect for each other was so evident. We were all quite tearful, it was so moving.

We celebrated with champagne afterwards. What a lovely way to spend a foggy afternoon.

There was more champagne at dinner which was wonderful. There was also roast beef and Yorkshire pudding on the menu. This was delicious, and the perfect meal for a damp foggy day.

Friends of one of our friends are on board, and we were planning to meet with them for a drink. I managed to get the time wrong with meeting with them for predinner drinks, so we had to change it to post dinner drinks.

They gave me their table number, and I said I would go over to their table when we were done with dinner. Well, it turned out that by the time we were finishing up with dinner, I had forgotten the table number. At least I had remembered their names.

I went over to the Maitre d’ and asked him what table they were at. He asked for their stateroom number, of course I had forgotten it. He looked at me suspiciously and showed me a photo of a woman on his computer screen. Was this her? I had to confess I had never met her so I had no idea what she looks like. I was sure that yet again he thought I was stalking people, but relented and told me their table number.

I walked over to the table and yes, they were there. We arranged for them to come over to our table when they were done, and we would head up to the Commodore Club together.

We chatted until after midnight. They share our love of travel, and we had lots in common. It is always fun meeting new people on cruises!