The sunset Monday evening....the last time we saw the sun until Saturday. The fog that we saw from Tuesday morning until Saturday. The library....a popular spot.
Tuesday August 3, 2010
Travel Information: 7:04 AM Partly Cloudy
Temp: 61.7 Humidity: 79% Barometer: 30.0 Rising
Winds: 14 knots, West, Force 4 moderate
Seas: Slight, .5 - 4 feet Position: 49.57N 8.21W
Southampton: 323.7 New York: 2809.5
Our first full day of the journey across the North Atlantic. Since our room has no windows, it is difficult to know when it is morning. However, the ordering of room service coffee and an alarm clock prevent the lollygagging in bed all day. It was a bit of a rough night. Shortly after going to sleep (around 10:30) our room developed a very annoying high pitched squeak. At midnight I got up, got dressed and went to the Pursuer’s office to ask that a work order be placed for morning. We had some trouble communicating the issue, but work order was issued. I went back to the room, and my room key would not work. Neil was sound asleep…yep, he could sleep through the squeak. Back to the purser’s office I went to see about my key. The officer at the purser’s office gave me a lecture about keeping the key next to a magnet. I assured her that I was aware of that and that had not happened, but I would certainly appreciate her fixing my key. I really didn’t want a lecture at 12:20 or 0:20 in the AM. After she made new keys, one for Neil as well, I had to go back to the room and wait for the head of housekeeping to come and reset the lock. It took him awhile so I sat on the floor in the hall and waited. This cheerful officer in complete officer dress shows up as cheerful as could be……He resets the lock, and I go back into the room to my squeak. The squeak all of a sudden stops about 2:30. It doesn’t happen again, so at 7:30 I cancelled the work order.
We went to the Britannica Room for breakfast. There’s something about having someone seat you and put your cloth napkin in your lap, and hand you a leather bound menu that is “just a trip.” It’s fun. They start out with juice, fresh croissants, danishes, and a selection of rolls. Then you get to choose from a selection of fruits. Then you have a choice of pancakes, waffles, French toast and eggs of all kinds. Then you choose from a selection of sides that include different sausages, different bacons…..ah, American bacon, beans, tomatoes, potatoes. There are also cereals to choose from. It is an amazing breakfast.
After breakfast we headed to Deck 11 to the Atlantic Room for Beginning Bridge. I have always wanted to know what this game was about, and they are offering a free class. The class is an hour and meets everyday of the cruise. The first class was quite fun. The instructors are quite good…taking it quite slowly. Our table mate was a woman from Kansas City who has played before.
After class we headed the library. We each checked out a book for the voyage and then bought a deck of cards so we can practice our bridge skills. We also paid an outrageous $7.00 for a small notebook so that we can finish identifying the pictures before we forget what the pictures are.
We decided to check out the lecture about pirates and piracy. The presenter is an attorney who has written two books about pirates and the law. He specializes in cases concerning piracy. He teaches maritime law and courses in pirarcy at a couple of New York City law schools. He seems to be quite young…talks about still being in law school in the early 2000. Today he talked about the pirates during the Roman Empire. He keeps telling us what he is going to talk about in his future lectures.
Seventh floor---lunch time. It is very windy and very cloudy, so walking on the outside deck is really not very pleasant. There are a few hardy souls out there jogging. Neil and I walked around part of the deck…we were pretty wind blown. We came in and walked around the corridors inside the ship.
About 5:30 we went down to the Captain’s Reception. We skipped the picture with the commodore since we had done that the first voyage. They like to sell you pictures at $25.00 a photo. I think there is a bit of a mark-up. The reception comes with free champagne and appetizers. We shared a table with a couple originally from England who immigrated to Canada sixteen years ago. They live northeast of Toronto but winter in the Carribean with their sailboat.
At six we headed off to dinner. We found our table, but we had no table companions. Actually, Phil and Gloria went to the Todd English Restaurant. We don’t know about Patty and Tony, but Roberta and Janet showed up and said this was their table. This means that we now have eight people for a table of six—people come and go. Roberta and Janet are from New Jersey, but live in Florida during the winter. Janet had found that she had lost her wallet and was obviously not having a good day. However, Roberta’s AAA travel agent sent her a bottle of wine which she shared. Our AAA travel agent didn’t do that; however, we didn’t book the crossing with her….just a few hotels. Roberta is a retired teacher and Janet a retired librarian aide who worked in the Rutgers Alcohol library. Our waiter came over and asked if we were in room 4136 and then he disappeared. In a bit he and two other waiters came over with a section of birthday cake and sang Happy Birthday to me. A number of other guests joined in. Like the wine we shared the cake.
Off to the Royal Court Theater to watch the Cunard dancers and singers present a musical review called Viva Italia. It was a wonderful presentation with lively songs and dances and beautiful costumes and staging. They are very talented young people.
After the play we stopped in the casino to play our dollar in the penny slot machine. The goal is not to win…it is to see how long we can play on our dollar. If you play long enough to get bored with it, we consider it a good play.
Off to bed…we gained an hour back last night. Tonight we gain another hour back. Somehow we are still tired.
Time: clock moved back one hour
Steps: 7,818
No comments:
Post a Comment