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Queens of Three Eras

Prologue

In less than a week I will be comfortably on Queen Mary. No, not Queen Mary 2, she comes later, but the Queen Mary Hotel in Long Beach, CA. I couldn’t think of a more fitting place to stay for my layover in Los Angeles before I catch my plane to...

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Jan 22, 2020

The Itinerary

We chose this itinerary initially because we liked the way the voyage took us around Australia, and we could stop off at the ports along the way and spend time with our Australian friends and family. Well as luck would have it, having booked the...

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Jan 23, 2020

DAY 1

Queen Mary Hotel, Long Beach, CA The first Queen   She is a queen of a long gone era. The RMS Queen Mary sailed from 1936 to 1967, and at times during her career she was the largest ship afloat and the fastest ship. Together with her sister...

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Jan 28, 2020

DAY 2

Tuesday January 28th, 2020   Happy 41st Anniversary to us   I leave Queen Mary and head to Dubai   When I woke up I noticed that the receipt for payment for my room was peeping out from under the door. As I went to check it for...

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Jan 29, 2020

DAY 3

Wednesday January 29th, 2020   Dubai   I woke up at 5:30 AM Los Angeles time, 5:30 PM Dubai time. We were 12,500 meters above Baghdad, going at a speed of Mach 0.83, with an outside temperature of - 60 degrees Celsius. There were...

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Jan 29, 2020

DAY 4

DAY 4   Thursday, January 30th, 2020   A Queen of Another Era   Ruth had arrived in Dubai several days ago, and had been very busy sight seeing in Dubai and Abu Dhabi.   I had not had much time to catch up with her news last...

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Feb 2, 2020

DAY 5

Friday January 31st, 2020   The Third Queen   I had planned to spend the morning wandering around QE2 taking photos, but it was not to be. Deirdre asked me to accompany her to the hospital, so naturally I obliged.   Kim is in a...

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Feb 3, 2020

DAY 6

Saturday February 1st, 2020   Muscat, Oman   Happy Birthday Emma!   I had no idea that sailing into the harbor in Muscat would be so beautiful. As the sun rose we sailed past steep the mountains and it felt like we were in a fjord...

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Feb 4, 2020

DAY 7

Sunday February 2nd, 2020   At Sea   Bad Hair Day   How I have been looking forward to a sea day – a day spent in the Commodore Club and at the pool simply relaxing.   The internet is still down, and there is no cell phone...

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Feb 4, 2020

DAY 8

Monday, February 3rd, 2020   At Sea   My hair has not lost its orange glow, but I am getting used to it, and surprisingly enough no one except for Ruth has commented on it. I’m not sure why.   I enjoyed a wonderful lazy day...

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Feb 5, 2020

DAY 9

Tuesday, February 4th, 2020   At Sea   We are getting ourselves on to Sri Lankan time, and were supposed to move our watches forward one half hour last night. I was able to get my mobile phone to change time, but my Fitbit failed to...

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Feb 6, 2020

DAY 10

Wednesday, February 5th 2020   Colombo, Sri Lanka   Trying to be a tour escort   When we walked out on to our balcony this morning it was hot, hot, hot already – and very humid. At least it didn’t look like it was going to rain....

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Feb 7, 2020

DAY 11

Thursday, February 6th   At Sea   When I went out on the balcony I thought yuk, it’s hot, humid, overcast and windy. A kind of Commodore Club day.   Ruth went out there and returned declaring it the perfect day for sitting by the...

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Feb 8, 2020

DAY 12

Friday, February 7th, 2020   At Sea   Laundry Day   Yes, it was time to hit the launderette. Thanks to Ruth placing my washing in the washing machine soon after the launderette opened, everything went very smoothly. But, yay, I do...

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Feb 9, 2020

DAY 14

Sunday, February 9th   At Sea   Heading to Australia   With the money I had saved not going on the tours I decided to treat myself to a pedicure, especially as there was a 20% in port discount today, and they were going to honor...

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Feb 10, 2020

DAY 15

Monday, February 10th, 2020   At Sea   We were due to have passengers disembark in Singapore and Hong Kong. This is currently not an option, and so these passengers now either have the choice of disembarking in Port Kelang or in...

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Feb 11, 2020

DAY 16

Tuesday, February 11th   Port Kelang   The Daily Programme says “At sea en route to Fremantle, Australia”. So why is the cruise port of Port Kelang right there outside our balcony, and what on earth is the Seabourn Ovation doing next...

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Feb 12, 2020

DAY 17

  DAY 17   Wednesday, February 12th   At Anchor in the Straits of Malacca   Well we haven’t bid Asia a fond farewell just yet. We are still just off shore near Port Kelang.   When I got out of the shower instead of...

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Feb 13, 2020

DAY 18

Thursday, February 13th, 2020   At Sea   Crossing the Equator   We were still in the Straits of Malacca when we woke up this morning. There were ships of all shapes and sizes around us, but no cruise ships in sight.   It was...

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Feb 14, 2020

DAY 19

Friday, February 14th, 2020 At Sea Valentines Day without my Valentine, in the Doldrums So now we are well and truly in the southern hemisphere, but instead of brilliant sunshine and gentle breezes, it is overcast and rainy. Ruth went out for...

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Feb 15, 2020

DAY 20

Saturday, February 15th, 2020   Still at Sea   It has been 10 days since we last set foot on land, and it will be another 3 until we can do so again. Hopefully.   Nearly every one I have spoken to is OK with this. They do discuss...

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Feb 16, 2020

DAY 21

Sunday, February 16th, 2020   Yup, Still at Sea   There was still no message from guest relations regarding our plane tickets. Ruth was also getting very frustrated about the lack of information about disembarkation on Tuesday.  ...

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Feb 17, 2020

DAY 22

Monday, February 17th, 2020   At Sea   Packing Day   I have to change cabins in Fremantle when Ruth leaves and Brian arrives. I had tried to see if I could remain in the same cabin until New York, but someone new is moving in...

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Feb 18, 2020

DAY 24

Wednesday, February 19th, 2020   Fremantle/Perth   I love it when you have overnight stays in a port. I do miss the motion of the seas while I sleep, but it is so nice not to feel rushed on your first port day, and obsessed by getting...

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Feb 22, 2020