Transatlantic 2
Wednesday 7th October
Up late and our for a run at 8am, only to find that the
upper running deck was closed due to strong winds, thunderous waves but not a
lot of rolling.
To alleviate the guilt of too much food, we speed walked 3 ½
miles round the walking track. That’s ten full circuits of the ship as it rocks
up and down. But the sun was out , well on one side of the ship, the side
facing the mainland of France.
The biggest stress for the day is where we are going to eat
lunch and what we are going to do for dinner. The choice is never ending,
Sushi, steak, Italian, French, themed buffet, Teppanyaki, burger, fish bar,
Irish grill!! Ice cream parlour, pizza joint, and the main restaurants.
Lunch in the main restaurant, which was excellent, then
collect our books and read before going into see the movie “women in Gold” well
worth going to see. Then it was another couple of miles round the deck before
having a coffee and aperitif of fresh
peeled prawns and salsa. A dozen large morsels each. What pigs we are.
The eating experience can be as formal or informal as you
want to make it. Plus the type of food available should meet all tastes. In
fact, after moving from the Irish bar and grill we smooched around for a while
before going into the 9 o clock show in the theatre. If we had still felt
peckish once the show had finished we would still find a few places open
serving all manner of delicacies, toasted sandwiches, filled rolls, chicken
wings, pizza and a vast array of tarts, gateaux’s and ices. So you could if you
so wished never stop grazing. Although the results of such binging is clear to
see around you. A good 20% of the passengers are morbidly obese. You have to
ask yourself, does the availability of food attract this segment!
The show in the theatre was truly amazing. Never thought l
would say that about a cruise performance, but this was so lively, punchy, but
more importantly it was professional. All 70s music, so there was a connection
for us, music from the disco, Donna Summers, the Tremiloes and the Queen. A
thumping good night.
8th October Thursday
Up early because the clocks went forward. Coffee at 6.45,
then a mile running round the top deck until they came and placed a sign across
the track. At which point l realised why the place was so deserted. Jogging
between 9am – 7pm ONLY. Oops!
Showered and breakfast. Grazing again. Such fun.
Then it was a mixture of walking, running, eating, after
which l showered and headed for the cocktail lounge and the captains club
party. Nice wine, few nibbles and plenty of conversation before heading off for
lunch.
Plenty of calamari frit, and then a little salad. More
walking round the decks taking in the bracing air, but it was cold. Well at
least one side of the ship wasn’t, but the dark side was. 5 miles later it was
into the theatre for the Shackleton talk, followed by afternoon tea. The
temptation was too great.
More book reading then dinner in another restaurant. Steak
tartare for me and salmon tartare for Judith. We then both had Shrimp Alfredo.
Gorgeous. And the restaurant was excellent, staff, ambiance. Plus the location
in the idle of amidships was conducive to a ;lack of rocking and rolling.
Another stroll and then into the theatre for the Frank Vally
and the four seasons tribute band. Excellent, although the high pitch vocal did
grind a little. Must have been their tight trousers.
Friday 9th October
Couldn’t get outside, all the doors had been cordoned off
due to high winds and wild seas. We had felt them all night. It really did rock
and roll.
So being a fasting day. Yes even on a ship with all this
food about. Need it to be honest. Our eyes were getting the better of us.
So it was a light breakfast in the room. Then into the
theatre for a talk about the gold boat sinking off Carolina. The steam boat
that traversed through the panama canal to San Francisco, west to East coast
with the gold from the gold fields. Very interesting talk & discussion.
The seas are getting worse due to the closeness of the
typhoon/hurricane that hit Florida. The eye is still not far away. The bow
bangs as it hits the waves, and the ship shudders. After our apple for lunch,
in fact we have water melon and honeydew melon for a change. After which we
managed to get round the pool in the sun with the moisture laden spray coming
over the top of us. Great.
27 foot waves so they say, but they eventually close the
outside areas to stop anyone being washed overboard, although on occasions we
find one door open and venture round and manage five or six laps before it gets
a bit hairy and we head inside.
So we end up eating, drinking, going to the movies and then
it’s more eating and drinking before we head to the theatre for a night of the
comedian. Then it’s a few rounds of the deck as it seems to have quietened down
a little . We pop into one of the clubs and watch couples attempt the salsa.
Music is good, but the dancing could be better, although most people managed to
do far better than l could ever do. Eventually we are knackered and head for
bed shattered. Must be working too hard at relaxing.
Saturday October10th and we have
arrived in Ponta Delgada in the Azores. Attractive place with Portuguese
fortifications and numerous churches
filled to overflowing with gold and silver anointments. Not touristic,
not surprisingly considering its location, hundreds of miles from anywhere, yet
the prices for food and wines are less than in France and the UK. Must be
subsidised.
Sunday 11th and it’s up late,
8am and into breakfast then immediately into the lecture theatre for another
talk from David Drummond on the secret of Oak Island. Once again fascinating.
It’s amazing what you don’t know. You vow to look into it
when you have time, but often something else gets in the way. Read a little and
then guess what. It’s time for lunch.
Monday 12th October
Another hour put back, so we were up at 6am for coffee. Bit
of a fast day today. So its fruit for breakfast, a little salad for lunch and
something fishy for tea in GINZO the oriental restaurant. I know l have said it
before, but the staff are so smiley, friendly and it comes across quite
genuine.
We have got into some sort of a routine these days, its ten
laps in the morning, an hour listening to the speaker, on whatever he is
talking about. He is a good orator, so makes anything sound interesting. Today
it was Robinson Crusoe, the real man behind the story, Arthur Selkirk, a
navigator. Form all accounts a really good one, although his peoples skill were
somewhat lacking. So much so, his shipmates left him on the island and sailed
away. He was eventually found after four years and four months.
The island was or should l say is located across from
Santiago in Chile, and now named after him.
We read our books in the shade whilst others turned on the
spit under the scorching sun. This last two days have been calm, sunny and
exceedingly relaxing to the point of boring. For me let it be rough. It’s more
exciting. Not so for all those who don’t have sea legs and suffer terribly from
seasickness. Fortunately, Judith was fine on this occasion, perhaps because the
ship went up and down front to back not wallowing side to side.
Tuesday 13th October
Up early, mainly due to the hour added, or should that be
taken back. Anyway, its 7am so we go up top for breakfasts and before we know
it, it’s time to head for the morning speaker at 9am. He seems to be getting
earlier each day. Today he is talking about the Kontiki voyage from Peru on the
balsa wood raft. Re-enacting the voyages of the Polynesians. Once again very
interesting.
10 laps and it’s time to shower and change for lunch in the
restaurant. Window seat overlooking the calm waters, deep blue, shimmering
under the strong sun. Calamari’s frit followed by fish and chips, cod this time
not some hard Vietnamese substitute.
Some more walking and then lounge just out of the sun and
read, until we notice that the ship has altered course and is slowing down. A
small boat has been seen and they are going to investigate in case someone
needs assistance. Eventually come along side and find that it’s an unmanned
weather station that has broken its mooring, with no one on board. The after 20
minutes of excitement and activity we resume on our original heading. Everyone
gets back to the serious business of relaxing and soaking up the sun.
We were going to watch the afternoon movie, but it was so
enjoyable outside we succumb to just reading. This is followed by a further 3
miles round the deck and more reading. This is the life. I was saying to
Judith, there is so much to do, time just disappears in an instant. Would we
get bored on a 42 day cruise to Australia! Who knows, but it would be worth a
try. I mean, you can just sit and people watch, imagining the stories behind
the faces. Most must have fairly sedentary lives, the size of their girth is a
tell-tale sign. Yet even some of the enormous people do try and exercise . It
may not just be overindulgence. Although, if you see these people staggering
under the weight of their overflowing plates of food at the buffet counter, you
get the feeling that it may contribute in some way. They follow Yogi Bears
motto, if you come to a fork in the road take it.
Wednesday 14th October
Another hour added, so we are in the restaurant bright and
early and eat our mixture of healthy and slightly less healthy foods whilst
watching the sun rise in the East. Prior to this we perform the mindboggling
game of cloud watching. Putting images to the various cloud formations, a dog
here, a face there. Fresh fruits and muesli to start, then cream cheese, bagel,
Danish pickled herrings, smoked salmon with capers and lemon. Copious amounts
of coffee to enliven the senses with caffeine peaks. Then indulgence, waffles
with maple syrup and crispy bacon. We leave before we have something else we
may be enticed to take and place in our orifice.
Thursday 15th October
The clocks were put back again last night, so we are up at
6am, for coffee then its round the deck to watch the sun come up. It had rained
last night, not that we knew anything about it. The deck was awash, and people
were saying how they had been kept awake by the thunder and lightning. That’s
the downside of having a balcony. Glorious temperature again. We are about 700
miles from Miami, should arrive by 7am Saturday morning.
Trust Davids funeral went off well. Ellen was trying to get
it sorted for the Wednesday, which was the only day David’s daughter could get
a flight out of the UK.
Seems strange to think we won’t see or hear him again,
except in our memory recall. The more l look back on what he said and did
inclines me to think that he had a suspicion that his time was coming to an
end. But l will miss the old bugger, with all his faults he was a kind
thoughtful individual. He was an old fashioned street trader who was not quite
PC in this modern world. He still thought he lived in a world where you could
be a male chauvinist. He liked women and showed it, which upset some of them,
but most people were able to handle him with a slap on the wrist. Other less
mature women did get upset and escalate things out of proportion. They didn’t
see what was just below the brash exterior of what was a multi-layered, wise
and interesting individual, with a giant heart. They were the ones who were too
full of themselves, and they missed out.
I am still amazed at the food on this ship, its excellent.
And the breakfast buffet has something for everyone. A five star hotel would
not be able to match what is provided on this buffet.
Fresh fruits, prunes, dates, canned apricots, apples, sliced
melon (three sorts), half grapefruit, cereals of various types, soaked muesli,
Granola, pastries, croissants, muffins, toasted breads, crumpets, bagels, cold
meat cuts, cheeses, smoked salmon, herring, cream cheese, capers, three
different types of bacon, ham, sausages, hash browns, corn beef hash, sauté
potatoes, grilled tomatoes, eggs anyway you want, fried, poached and omelettes
to order, oriental breakfast, fresh fruit juices, and lots more besides, l just
can’t remember everything that is on the buffet.
You need to pace yourself and just have small tasters. Not
that the majority of passengers do. They jump in with both feet, and work on
the pile high principal. Which ultimately means that they become a member of
the hang low club. Their stomachs that is. They perhaps haven’t seen their
private parts for some time, but don’t
seem to worry. Orgasms now emanate through the taste buds instead of the sexual
organs.
Should not really say that, but it’s my diary, and it went
through my head and it was transposed into the blog.
Friday17th October.
Another hour added, so up early again, three miles round the
deck and then breakfast of fruit. It’s a fasting day. Then into the lecture
theatre for another talk, this time about pirates in the Caribbean, and also
further up the coast of the USA from the Carolina’s to Boston. You don’t
imagine that pirates sailed as far up as Boston, but it was the British who
hired privateer’s to plunder Spanish vessels as they were at war with Spain.
These people then got greedy and started attacking any vessel that had gold and
silver o board.
Outside is wet today, very wet in fact with thunder and fork
lightening bouncing off the see. As it was a fast day we were intent on having
fresh fruit for lunch, but we found a couple of loungers in a sheltered area
and settled down to read.
At 1pm, the Captain came on the tannoy and gave an
announcement, which took us all by surprise.
We were expecting to land in Miami at 7am Saturday morning,
but the captain explained we were heading directly for Tampa as there was a
serious problem with the power supply (found out later it was the screws,
propellers or at least one of them that had shattered)
He was therefore going
directly to Tampa and arriving there on Saturday evening and disembarking the
guests on Sunday morning. Meaning we were missing a day’s cruise,
In fact the cruise company organised everything very
efficiently. They provided a room dedicated to internet for guests to amend
bookings. Another room with banks of phones for people to soot out any
adjustments to pickups, plus they offered free overnight accommodation in Tampa
for those of us who could not amend our reservation.
They also gave everyone 15minutes free internet on their own
wireless internet and 15% of our next booking and a refund of one days cruise.
Very fair. Nevertheless, this did not stop people panicking and waiting in
massive queues to try and resolve problems at the reception.
It must have been horrendous for the staff, but they seemed
to cope remarkably well under the pressure.
Has we were missing a day, we made the decision to forgo our
fast, and duly went into the restaurant for lunch. Popcorn shrimp and a prawn
burger with chips. Really low calorie.
Coffee and then the theatre for the four singers. Frank
Valli and the four seasons tribute band. Really
good entertainment. Bedtime and no added hour? this evening. Tomorrow
will soon quickly flash by and the cruise will be at an end. So packing needs
to be done, as do all the immigration forms and bills to pay.
 |
| Calm seas and plenty of relaxation |
Saturday 17th October
Up early for breakfast and then out for our constitutional,
sun has just risen, its only 7.20am.
We had a stowaway on board the other day. Judith didn’t
believe me when l told her. It was Thursday and a bird of prey was flying
alongside. Then it decided to take advantage of the ship and landed. I got a
good look at it as it came into land and it was an osprey. At this point we
were not too far away from land, so it must have come out, got caught in the
wind and decided to have a rest. Anyway, yesterday Judith said, look a seagull.
But as it got closer it was the osprey again. Perhaps hunting for its lunch.
Vindicated , and l wasn’t just dreaming.
Went and listened to the last talk of the cruise. Today it
was all about ship building in the 50s and 60s. Learnt an interesting fact
today whilst sitting in on the lecture. Modern ships don’t have traditional
propeller shafts. They now have the propellers mounted on swivelling pods which
house huge electric motors. These are able to rotate independently 360 degrees
and do away with traditional rudders and also the need for tugs to push them
into dock. From all accounts they are also far more energy efficient.
And it’s one of these that is causing the problem. And also
why a tug has just pulled alongside.
26 degrees presently and
sunny. All the fishermen are out in their sports boats with rods over the side.
Envious.
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