August 13, 2023

8:18 am GMT-1

(Yesterday’s) tea was heavenly—I had two shrimp sandwiches, two cucumber sandwiches, and the most delicious scone that was just out of the oven.

The Queens Room was set up beautifully with cups, saucers, small plates, and silverware. Waiters come around to pour tea from a silver pot and to serve finger sandwiches from a silver platter. There were five varieties of sandwiches—along with the ones I selected were chicken, roast beef, and something with horseradish. Music was provided by a harpist. (The program for this afternoon shows a string trio.)

Tea is also served in the Kings Court buffet and Carinthia Lounge. I hope to switch off days in all three. I remember that on QE2 I enjoyed the Lido for tea as much as the Queens Room.

On the agenda for today is an astronomy talk at 10:00, a Masonic Brethren get-together for Neil at 11:00, a planetarium show at 3:00, a Cunard repeater reception at 5:15, and the main show at 8:00.

And I still need to write about most of yesterday!

But first, some numbers. Our location at 7:30 am today was 50°43.9N 021°44.3W. Our speed was 19.5 knots. Air temp was 15°C/59°F. Wind force is 4 on the Beaufort scale.

11:04 am

Neil is attending the Masonic Brethren gathering while I sit with Marty in the adjacent Commodore Club. We are on Deck 9 at windows overlooking the bow.

Marty is looking at photos on my mobile phone. The mobile is a very welcome addition to my travel journaling, which sounds surprising but it’s really quite basic. I’ve photographed information screens, restaurant menus, and more that I can refer back to when writing. I’ve even screenshot the daily programs.

This is a lovely spot. Outside the window is nothing but ocean.

5:19 pm

We are in the Queens Room for the Cunard World Club reception for members of the repeaters program. We just had our photograph taken with Captain Andrew Hall.

Working backwards—we went to the Carinthia Lounge for tea and it was a bit of a letdown initially. There was a case holding several types of full-sized pastries, but that was it. All else, including the tea, was in the adjacent Kings Court buffet. There we found the wonderful finger sandwiches and little scones. And service! The person who poured my tea offered to carry my plate to my table.

Immediately preceding tea time was the planetarium show called Infinity Express. We saw galaxies and learned of the scientific developments that led to the many photographs and other learnings from the data we’ve been able to gather. There’s a dome that gets positioned in the middle of the ceiling in the Illuminations show lounge. Seating is in the chairs that have red fabric, and those seats can recline! The show was around half an hour long and reservations were suggested.

And before that, lunch today was in the buffet as I wasn’t very hungry. I usually have a small lunch at home, too. Yet I treated myself to a fantastic dessert—apple tart with caramel sauce. It is a spiral cut apple atop a thin biscuit, some cinnamon, and probably a little bit of sugar.

Back to the present. This champagne is good. There are a lot of people here, many who know each other from other Cunard voyages.

9:03 pm

Jazz in the Chart Room! This is the Vlad Zincenko Trio and we have just found the last seats in the house.

We just saw our first show in the Royal Court Theatre—pianists Worbey & Farrell. They were great. They shared one piano—the whole piano and not just one side per person. Often there were three hands sharing a two-octave space, one pair of hands crossing over a third. They played classical, ragtime, and rock. They also provided some comedy between songs.

The show lounge is nice. Seems small for a ship this size but there are many venues on this ship so it’s not a problem. There’s an upper level and lower level. We sat in the lower level tonight and the sight lines were unimpeded. I noticed two types of seating—long upholstered benches (with backs) and individual wingback chairs that swiveled. The chairs were very comfortable. There’s also plenty of room to walk in each row.

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