At Sea

July 9^th, 2025

Just as you think you are well away from the coastal fog and are out in the wild Atlantic Ocean, you find you are wrong. Yes, we were awoken by the foghorn again and are still sailing through dense fog. We can’t see the water, but it must be totally calm, there is absolutely no motion on the ship. We could be on dry land, not the ocean.

We are apparently moving at 16 knots, but it doesn’t feel like we are moving at all. This is an amazing ship.

It was a wonderfully lazy sea day. Lots going on all around the ship, but there was also plenty of time to relax.

Brian bumped into Ian and Mary and thanked them for the invitation. As it turns out, when they invited us, they were told that we were no longer on the ship, having disembarked in New York. They reassured the organizer that we were still here, and not leaving until Southampton. Sometimes the ship’s manifest really appears to be a work of fiction.

One issue with eastbound crossings is that in crossing from New York to Southampton you lose 5 hours. That’s why I prefer westbound crossings, you gain 5 extra hours. More time to sleep or party.

I was concerned that the ship’s whistles hadn’t sounded when we left New York, only the foghorn. Just before noon I went up on deck to make sure I heard the noon whistle loud and clear. It was cold and very damp on deck, and no one else was around. It was quite eerie.

I stood as close as I could to the funnel and waited. Noon came and went, but it remained silent.

This is not good. There really must be something wrong.

Instead of losing the hour in the middle of the night, for 5 out of the 6 days at sea on an eastbound crossing, you lose the hour at noon. So you hear the captain’s noon announcement, and then suddenly it is 1:00 PM. On previous crossings the choir rehearsal has been at 1:00, not very convenient for lunch. On this crossing it is at 2:00. Much better.

When I arrived in G32 for the rehearsal, the room was already crowded. Lots of eager singers on this crossing.

The songs we practiced today were “Walking on Sunshine” and “My favorite things”. Yay, I could channel my inner Julie Andrews for the latter. It will be fun doing these songs, but I still miss the days of singing stirring British music, such as my all-time favorite, Jerusalem. Here we are singing “Eternal Father” in March of 2020. It turned out to be quite prophetic – we were in peril as we were thrown off the ship a few days later in Fremantle due to the COVID situation.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=knr31XdIzxU

In days gone past there was always the captain’s welcome reception on the first sea day. There hadn’t been one on the last leg, and there wasn’t one tonight. I really miss the introduction to the senior officers. This is where you find out where the passengers with whom you are sailing hail from. You learn how many cats and dogs are on board. All very interesting stuff. Plus you get a glass of sparkling wine.

All that remains of this tradition now is a glass of no longer sparkling wine is given to you when you sit down at your table for dinner. Hardly a substitute. If I had seen who the senior officers were, I might know who to speak to about the whistle. Mind you, I don’t think I have seen an officer, let alone the captain, out and about on the ship so far. This is so different to Seabourn.

Tonight was our 3^rd formal night; the theme was red and gold. It took me years to find the perfect red dress, so I am very happy when I get to wear it. It is disappointing that Cunard has done away with theme gala nights for the most part, I always loved them.

For a gala night, dinner was also a bit disappointing. I was so excited to see that chateaubriand was on the menu. However, what we were served bore very little resemblance to what I was expecting. Two thin slices of overcooked meat? What was the chef thinking? Still, I had a souffle for dessert so that made up for it.

The show tonight was “Be our Guest”. It is always fun to watch, and I enjoyed it. There is a nice familiarity to the shows that we see over and over. I even miss “Apassionata” which I thought would be here forever. Alas, it is no more.