At Sea

December 15^th, 2023

It was quite a rough night, but not so bad that the poinsettia we were given on embarkation got thrown around the room. We had a bromeliad as a gift on the Queen Victoria in 2017 (Brunhilda) and it had to spend many a night in our garbage can on the floor to prevent it from plummeting to the ground if we hit yet another big wave. So far Patsy the poinsettia has been able to stay on the table. I do like a bit of motion, but don’t enjoy it when things get thrown around and broken.

One of the luminaries, Boston Globe columnist and author Beverly Beckham, gave a fantastic presentation on why we should write. I don’t need much encouragement, but I must say she was very inspiring and I loved her discussion on her journey to where she is today as a very successful writer. Lately I had been thinking how much I would have loved to know all of my parents and grandparents stories, but it is too late now. I wish they had heard her talk.

She gave us the assignment of:

Tell me about a single day in your life when you were in 7th grade
Why you remember
Why it is important.

Well I never need much encouragement, and I had fun in afternoon writing the assignment and emailing it off to her. Of course, I failed to follow her instructions faithfully. I didn’t write about a single day, but wrote about a single moment instead. But I remember it, and it was important, so I hoped that she wouldn’t mind, and would not be like my high school teachers who despaired at my inability to write anything on topic. I am waiting for her feedback.

After the talk it was time to enjoy the Explora Lounge. It is growing on me as a wonderful place to be during the day, especially the solarium at the front, which would be great if there was more sun. Even today it was bright and warm, especially on the few occasions when the sun tried to peek through the cloud cover.

Instead of piped music there was an artiste playing soothing guitar music. Just the place to curl up with a good book and watch the angry sea go by.

I forgot to go outside to listen to see if we blew our whistle at noon. There is a sea day tomorrow, so hopefully I will hear it then. Captain Diego’s noon announcement gave us an update on our position and weather conditions. No sign of calm seas and sunny skies in our future. This continues to be like the North Atlantic. I sense other passengers are getting restless. This was not what they paid the big bucks for.

We didn’t venture outside on deck all day. The closest we came was spending the afternoon on a lounger in the Conservatory. There was no water in the pool (or any of the pools), but the whirlpools were full. It was time for a glass of champagne and a visit to one of the whirlpools.

The whirlpools are large, with great sea views. They are described as being infinity edged, which isn’t exactly accurate, but close enough. I was the only person in the whirlpool and I sat there soaking in the bubbles and watching the sea go by. Heaven. Mind you, there is a reason they do not call them hot tubs. The water is comfortably warm, but certainly not hot. There are at least 5 more whirl pools on the ship. I will have to try them out to check the temperature. All but one of them is outdoors, so I think I will wait until it is less rainy and windy. This one will do very nicely for now.

The Conservatory is a lovely bright space. Usually I am not in favor of indoor/outdoor pools when the roof is closed, although the Pavilion pool on Queen Mary 2 is an exception. They usually are un bearably humid and smell of chlorine. It was hot and humid, but tolerably so, and no chlorine smell, but then again the pool was empty.

There is a lot of live greenery there, as is fitting for a conservatory. Some of the tropical plants are absolutely beautiful, and I fancy the idea of sitting under a palm tree when I am on a ship.

One feature of the Conservatory is the big screen. During the day it shows strange but apparently soothing patterns, but at night they show movies there. I am looking forward to that. Looking at the screen I remembered the huge screen at the pool on Discovery Princess when we were berthed next to her in Vancouver. It was showing a football game and blasting the commentary all over the port. I thought then that this was a bit tacky. However, maybe movies under the stars, or in our case under the shelter of the closed retractable roof, might be pleasant.

That made me think. There really is no equivalent of the Cunard Golden Lion pub. So where do people go to watch football or curling on board? I haven’t seen a big screen TV anywhere. Not an issue for me, but it could be for some.

Then there is no library on board, but there are plenty of books to read in our suite, so maybe that’s what there is instead. Although none of the books in our suite really appeal to me, luckily I have brought a sufficient supply of books on board with me.

Tonight is the night to try the Dyson hairdryer.

I have wanted one for the longest time and hint strongly at each birthday that this would make my life complete. Brian isn’t adverse to buying me expensive gifts, but I think has a hard time understanding what makes them so special. So I opened it’s special drawer and plugged it in. With great expectations I dried my hair. Well my hair did look fluffier, but it was also more tangled than usual, so I asked Brian what he thought. He said my hair looks no different. That of course could be so he could avoid buying a Dyson hair dryer, but I looked in the mirror and I had to agree with him. Yes, my hair was fluffier, but that’s not a look I aim for, so alas the dryer hadn’t worked miracles on my hair. I will have to make do with my trusty $25 Conair dryer from Target that seems to be indestructible.

We opted for dinner in the Emporium tonight. Quite honestly with the variety of foods available there, you could easily have a different type of food every night. However with a large supply of lobster tails and fresh oysters, along with endless champagne, I could easily just limit myself to that and forgo the pasta, which is very tempting.

The evening’s entertainment was performances by the singer Yaniv Zarif. He did 2 shows (experiences) and both were amazing. He has to be one of the best singers we have listened to on a cruise (journey).

The first show was music from around the world which he sung in 32 languages, and it was great. Very impressive yodeling and Xhosa clicks.

The second show was Broadway and West End hits. He has a beautiful voice with an incredible range. I hope he will do more experiences.

After that we headed up to deck 11 to try out the Malt Whiskey Bar. True to its name they have a wide variety of whiskeys and whiskies. Some are complementary and some are an extra charge. One is $300 a glass. I suppose that’s what you do with extra on board credit.

There was no Laphroig or Glenlivet unfortunately, but Brian was pleasantly surprised by a very acceptable French single malt. Luckily there was champagne, so that kept me happy. The bar is cozy and has a good feel to it. We were the only people there that late at night, but earlier on in the evening it had been packed.

We still haven’t found a bar that we really like. A Commodore or Chart Room alternative. This one might just have to do. Any bar in a storm.

It was after midnight when we returned to our suite. It had been a good evening, and we had another sea day to look forward to. Life it good!