Making progress across the Atlantic.......

We visited the Charter Bar for an aperatif before dinner. (Girls the  mojito didn't  compare with the mojitos in Benhavis!) All guests looked resplendent in their black and white. 

We sat at our assigned dinner table. Dinner is the only time one has to sit at the assigned table as formal dinner is served in the Britannia and most guests dine there at night. There are two sittings 1830 and 2030 - one has to choose the sitting when one books.  There is however an option to dine less formally in Kings Court, which at night subdivides into areas offering various dishes from around the world  or for a supplement one can dine at other restaurants such as The Verandah (French) or the Pizzeria. 

The fact that we haven't met our dinner companions all day gives one an idea of the scale of the ship. We did however meet the  politician again! 

After dinner, we adjourned to The Royal Court, where Stephani Parker, who has her own show in Las Vegas, thrilled us with her rendition of Whitney Houston songs. She was a consummate entertainer and involved the audience in the show. 

From there we went to the Black and White Ball. I managed to get CC to dance once!! 

After the Ball, we retired, exhausted It's hard work being a guest on QM2 !! 

This morning, we awoke early. (The captain is putting the clocks back one hour each night to prepare us for arrival in NYC.) We again breakfasted in the Britannia. 

Yesterday,  breakfast service was slow. This morning the same waiter was all apologies and we received super service. 

Breakfast over, we went out on deck to walk a few rounds of the ship - 2 rounds is 1.1 Kms! It was bracing! The crew were on emergency manoeuvres. 

I hope we won't need their evacuation services - the water this morning looks most uninviting! The force 7 winds 

           We're making progress!

resulted in the Bridge and the swimming pools being closed to passengers. 

White horses were to be seen everywhere. I wouldn't fancy evacuating into that sea! 

Not having been tempted to sign up for a fashion workshop or a flower arranging session (CC wasn't too keen), we decided to get the audio tour of the ship to learn if its history. Unfortunately, the audio system is being updated after the ship's recent refit but we self toured. 

Later having had a coffee at Kings Court, we adjourned to the Library. QM2 has an extensive library.  It is peaceful and relaxing as I look out onto the ship's Bridge 

while reading Ian Rankin's  Even Dogs in the Wild. 

Lunch followed. We eat in the Britannia as the quality of the food is better. It tends to be more fast food - pizza and burgers etc in the Kings Court. 

We returned to the library as it is a real haven. At 1530 hrs we departed for the Queen's Room, where afternoon tea is served by black and white liveried, white gloved waiters and we were entertained by a chamber orchestra. 

In true British fashion, we were treated to a variety of finger sandwiches, hot scones and a selection of mouth- watering cakes together with Twinings tea - the tea of choice on board. 

      The cakes hadn't arrived as I              

                photographed!! 

              The cake selection

It was a pleasant interlude. It takes place each afternoon.

At 1630 hrs, we returned to our cabin (state room) having left it this morning at 0900 hrs. We need a rest before the Captain's cocktail party followed by dinner and the show Apassionata, featuring the very professional Cunard singers and dancers. 

As I am now 48 hours on board, I will give you an account of the QM2.  I'm as yet not entirely au fait with the ship - having to frequently consult the map distributed to each passenger and the maps displayed in the stairways!! 

QM2 dwarfs most tall buildings on land 

It has 13 decks and 4 stairways ABC and D  The main common areas are on decks 2 and 3 - here are located most of the restaurants and bars and in addition each deck has bars, lounges and/or restaurants. 

 

  The Veuve Clicquot Champagne Bar 

The ship had a refit in May/June of this year and designer carpets and lighting are de rigeur! Designer shops abound on three decks. 

                The Upper Lobby

 

                 The Lower Lobby

         One of the many hallways

The above represent only a tiny fraction of the luxurious surrounding of QM2 

The ship is at full capacity with 2,700 passengers yet one is unaware of such numbers I took the above photos at all times of the day and one can see how uncrowded it is. Dinner is the only time one sees people in any great numbers. The QM2 is the essence of luxury, efficient service and decorum. 

Cunard"s Queens have welcomed royalty, army generals, writers and celebrities: 

 

        Can you name the above? 

The ship commenced its return voyage in Hamburg, sailed up the fjords of Norway, before arriving in Southhampton, where we boarded. The age profile puts us in the younger category!! Many are infirm. The passengers are all extremely pleasant and friendly and enquire as to your level of enjoyment of the voyage. 

The fashion and style is not as impressive as I thought it might be. There are alternating formal and informal evenings. On formal evenings black tie is required but if one does not wish to dress formally, one may eat at Kings Court and remain in its environs -  one must not attend at any of the other venues!! The rule is strictly enforced!! On informal evenings, a jacket is required. 

I must dress now for the Captain's cocktail party, followed by dinner and Inpassionata, a show performed by the very professional singers and dancers ....... more tomorrow. 

En route

Last night before dinner, we were entertained by the Welcome Aboard Show  It was  a spectacular show 

The finale was an excellent rendition of the songs of Neil Diamond. 

The show concluded at 20.30 hrs and we adjourned to the Britannia for dinner. Shared tables are allocated for dinner but one may have a table to one's self, if one wishes. We sat at a table for 6 and guess what - all Irish - one couple from Rathfarnham and the other couple from the north. 

The food was superb - 5 courses - lots of choice - forgot the camera again - sorry! There is even a low carb menu and I think I'll be on it in a day or two - what with full breakfast, lunch, afternoon tea and dinner in addition to food being available at King's Court all day together with tasty bites at the Carinthia, it is food overload!  

After dinner, we went to the Jazz Club for a post prandial and repaired to our room. 

There are 21 restaurants, bars and lounges of various types, including one exclusively serving Veuve Clicquot Champagne, Churchill's Cigar Lounge (pipe and cigar smokers only),  the Commodore Club, a night club, a real English pud  The Golden Lion and Sir Samuels with speciality coffee and Godiva 

chocolates - to name but a few. It is cashless on board and every effort is made to relieve one of one's $!! It is our intention to visit each and every one before we disembark at NYC. 

        Position and weather a.m. 

This morning we breakfasted at the Britannia  

A very small portion of the Brittania - it can seat in excess of 1,100 guests. 

Afterwards, we attended a lecture on The Multicoloured Universe  given by Dr. Alan Wilkins, a research fellow at Cambridge. It was most interesting. It is one of a series so I should be well versed  on astronomy by the series' end. 

A few rounds of the deck clocked up 5k steps - the aim 10,000 before day's end.  With so much space and numerous activities available (each day we are presented with a four page schedule of events to suit every taste. - from golf, needlework and dancing to bridge classes, from fitness to film, fashion shows and much much more), one can never be bored.  One would not be aware that the ship is running on full capacity with 2,700 guests in addition to the 1,200 crew as the ship Is so large and the diversity of entertainment so great. 

Lunch 1200 - 1330 - whereupon we are reminded not to forget afternoon tea at 15.30hrs. (I'll have to skip it - I'm fooded out at present) We shared a table with three Americans - one lady had sailed  from NYC to Hamburg, then up the Norwegian fjords and is now returning to NYC and thence to her home in Dallas, Texas. The first couple were from the USA but have lived in Britain for the last twenty years - he is a musician. The other couple were from Frankfurt. He is in the horse events business and was going to lecture in NYC, Boston and Chicago. 

Lunch over, it was time for a classical concert in the Royal Court Theatre , 

with classical pianist Hiroaki Takenouchi. It was a brilliant concert - what sound he could extract from the piano! 

Our next instructive lesson was on how to become a Forensic Scientist in two easy steps at the Illuminations Theatre.   

It was excellent. I had to quit early  in favour of seeing pink- haired Fashion designer Dame Zandra Rhodes CBE. However, when I arrived there was queue and a lady emerging from the crowd said she wasn't showing any fashion - merely conversing with people, so I left and repaired to the Queen's Room for afternoon tea with the Sunset String Quartet. I know I said I wouldn't but the cakes were too tempting. and there's Black tie dinner at 2030 hrs tonight. It's a tough life! 

Depart Southampton - on Queen Mary 2

This morning we left the hotel, took the tube to Victoria (be advised that most tube stations do not have lifts but plenty of stairs - not to be attempted if one has  heavy bags!), and thence to Southampton by train - 21/2 hours. 

We are to take the Queen Mary 2 (QM2) from Southhampton to NYC, arriving on September 8th, on the opening day of NY Fashion Week. This is QM2's first fashion cruise and there are people from the fashion world aboard. 

Queen Mary 1 is retired to Long Beach, California. We visited her some years ago.  In 2004, she was replaced by QM2.

When we enquired of a steward, where we might take a photo of the ship, he pointed us in a particular direction and reminded us that the Titanic sailed from the next dock on its ill - fated voyage!! 

On arrival, embarkation was efficiently organised - check in, security check all completed and we were on board within half an hour.  

Our stateroom  is very well appointed. 

We were greeted with a bottle of champagne on ice - nice touch! 

We adjourned to the Carinthia Bar for a spot of lunch (I'm still not going to tempt your palate - maybe at dinner tonight?) There was a fantastic array of food on offer and next door in the King's Court - an even wider selection - we are British you know and more British now that we have brexited!!

We returned to our room to unpack - I have never taken so many clothes on holidays - I have been well trained by Ryan Air!  With three black tie events, a Roaring 20s evening and dressing for dinner each evening, one requires an extensive wardrobe. At 1630 hrs the siren rang out and we had to go to our station for a safety demonstration and a lesson on how to put on a life jacket. 

Afterwards, we repaired to deck, we were to sail at 1700 hrs and the champagne was flowing- at a price!! 

As we waited whom did  I espy but a former, Irish politician! We had a word with him and he asked if there were any more Irish on board? I replied that iit was probably unlikely. He looked relieved!!

As it turned out we didn't sail until 1800 hrs and as we sailed out of port, the British flags were distributed and the English passengers treated us to renditions of 'Land of Hope and Glory' followed by ' Rule Brittania' as we looked on with a wry smile! Brexit is alive and well !! 

My only other experience of a cruise was from Fremantle to Singapore en route to Ireland, having completed a gap 6 months in Australia. On that occasion, there were streamers connecting the passengers with their loved ones on land. As the ship sailed out the streamers  broke. For K and I, it was very emotional - we had no one to see us off! However, in those days, unlike today, travel was relatively expensive, and it would probably be many years before one saw one's loved ones again, if ever? 

The pilot took us out to the English Channel and we saw the pilot ship return. 

We were commencing our 8 day voyage to NYC. 

Dublin - London

Another 'sort of' red eye flight. I'm sitting here at Dublin airport awaiting the 0940 City Jet flight to London City Airport. 

We'll stay in London tonight to see two of our children now working there. J has arranged dinner at the Michelin Star Westbury - a well renowned chef Alyn Williams graces its kitchen - I'm told!!

Tomorrow we leave by train for Southhampton, where we board the Queen Mary 2 en route to NYC. The trip will take 8 days. The trip could be done in 5 days but the ship travels at a slower pace to save fuel!! 

Unfortunately, the flight was delayed 11/2 hrs so we did not arrive at the hotel until 13.00 hrs. The Grand Royale,  Hyde Park, just a 3 minute walk from Queensway tube station. It is newly refurbished and a snip at £96. 

Last night we joined our two London based children for dinner at the Westbury. The meal was worthy of its Michelin star. We had the 'chef's surprise' menu together with matching wines. The meal was beautifully presented and tasted equally well. I won't tease you with photographs!   

Wimbeldon

Yesterday, J and I had a great day at Wimbeldon. I was lucky enough to get tickets on a lottery for international fans. Our queue was luckily short and within an hour of arriving, we were seated in Centre Court which was covered. We were glad of this as it rained most of the day and all other courts with the exception of Court 1, which I think is also covered, had no games due to rain. In the Centre Court,  one is totally oblivious of the weather. 

The seats were slow in filling up but when we arrived, the Royal Box was almost full. The first match was between Radwanska and ........ As this was round 2, there was a mismatch between the players. The game was won in 2 sets.

The next match was between Djokovic and Mannarino.

 Again a highly seeded player against a lowly seeded player but in spite of it being over after three sets, it was a good match to watch and D didn't have it all his way. 

The Court filled to capacity as the outsider, Englishman, Marcus Willis took on the mighty Federer. 

Willis was a wild card- played all the rounds which got him to Round 1, won it and was now in Round  2. He was a good player and challenged Federer at times. The crowd was behind him and the oohs and aahs made for a fun contest. 

It appears Willis was about to give up professional tennis but his new success has changed this. Both Federer and John Mc Enroe have advised him that he has a future if he loses weight, becomes fitter and spends time on the practice courts rather than always playing matches. He won £50k for getting to round 2, he had only won c £3k so far this year!!

Exiting, we passed Henman Hill. It wasn't a pleasant day to be sitting on the hill in the rain watching the big screen!!     

We repared to Covent Garden to dine at Balazars, and later adjourned to our hotel, tired. It had been a wonderful experience even if the weather was not conducive to strawberries and cream or Pimms on the lawn. We did however, imbibe a split of champagne!!  

This morning J left for work at 8.00. I breakfasted at 9, left the hotel at 10 and took a walk in Kensington Gardens. Unlike yesterday, it was a fine, sunny morning and I really enjoyed exploring the Gardens. 

I went to see Kensington Palace in its amazing setting. 

I also found Henry Moore's Arch. 

Having spent a couple of hours here in the morning sunshine, I took a Tube to Bank and met second son for lunch. 

Afterwards I visited the nearby Bank of England's museum, (well worth a visit) and then walked to London Bridge   train station , where I got a fast train to Gatwick. (30 minutes - not the Gatwick Express, which is very expensive). 

It too was an enjoyable day - a pleasant mid week break!