Getting our Sea Legs

 January 19, 2025, 2nd day

We get a "Daily Programme" each day with lists the activities scheduled for the day.  It is a very useful tool to help you plan your day and evening. 

Front side

While at sea, there is a brief paragraph from the ship's Navigator telling you where the ship is and where it is going.  Ships position can also be viewed on our television where it shows us to be off the East Coast.  There is also a camera on the ships bow that can be viewed in real time.  I reproduced the Navigator's message below:

Reverse side

From our Navigator:  "Upon our departure from New York yesterday evening, Queen Anne proceeded down Buttermilk Channel, keeping Liberty Island and the Statue of Liberty to the starboard before heading back down Anchorage Channel.  After disembarking our local pilot in the Ambrose Channel, Queen Anne altered south to proceed down the Off New York Traffic Separation Scheme.  Throughout today, Queen Anne will continue south through the North Atlantic Ocean, following the coast of New Jersey, Verginia and North Carolina on our starboard side."

They talk about the "local pilot".  This is the highly paid local port official that all ports require be on board to navigate the ship to and from its docking pier.  I guess they don't trust the ship's captain and navigator to do it.  I believe this is required of all ships, no matter what type, even military.  A tugboat brings them on board when coming into port and picks them up as we are leaving.

 We both get a pretty good night sleep and wake to seas that are a little rougher than when we retired for the night, but not extremely so.  We decide to try the Britannia Restuarant again for breakfast to see what it is like as opposed to going to the buffet on the 9th deck.  So, we dress casual and head aft.  Breakfast is on the 2nd deck of the restaurant, the 3rd deck where we ate last night is closed.  I assume there is a lot less participation for breakfast.  The events of last night are repeated and we are seated and menus provided.  It is a complete menu with fruits, pastries, cheeses and meats trays, juices of all kinds and color and of course, entrees.  Sue normally eats light in the morning whereas I enjoy a big breakfast and normally don't eat again until dinner.  Sue gets avocado toast with fruit, and I opt for the Traditional Cunard offering of what amounts to Bangers and Hash, i.e. sausage, hash brown potatoes, mushrooms, black pudding, a thin slice of ham and a couple of over easy eggs along with my tomato juice and coffee.  Sue gets tea and cranberry juice.  Thankfully we didn't have to go through the silverware exchange like last night.  

A British couple was seated beside us and we soon struck up a conversation.  They boarded in Southampton, England and will disembark in San Franciso after spending a couple days touring.  They will then fly back to England.  It is there first trip to the U.S.  I would have to say, Americans are probably in the minority on this voyage since it originated in Hamburg before stopping in Southampton. We will undoubtably pick up more Americans in Miami and San Francisco, but the majority will probably remain British.  

The breakfast was OK, but I doubt I will order the Cunard Traditional again.  

We spent most of the day exploring the ship and visiting the shops.  I had good intentions of finding the gym to start my daily workout that I promised myself.  Tomorrow should be soon enough.

Around 6PM we dressed for dinner.  I had nothing since breakfast, but Sue had a light lunch during tea time at the buffet on the 9th deck.  We checked in on the 3rd deck Britannia, but our escort took us down the stairs to join the Early diners, they must have had a two-seat table they wanted to fill.  The menu had the usual items with some differences, Sue ordered an appetizer and a Cesear's salad as did I, but I also wanted to try their Duck Consommé'.

  We both ordered the Grilled Lamb Rump with roast potatoes, mushrooms and what tasted like parsnip slices.  Sue could not pass up the Zaatar-Roasted Cauliflower entree as well.  For dessert, we both ordered the Caribbean Banana and Rum Cake.  Tonight, I ended up with 7 utensils, Sue had six laid out.  My extra being the spoon for my Duck Soup.  

Everything was quite good tonight, especially the lamb. the only complaint we had was the mint sauce had a little too much vinegar.  The dessert was delicious and came with both a fork and spoon, our choice.

There is a lot of entertainment around the ship at night, but neither of us are big fans of sitting and listening to comedians or singers or musicians.  So, we retired to our stateroom for a quite evening of TV or Sue's online puzzles.

The seas have gotten rougher during the day and the ship is testing our sea legs.  It was more noticeable in the restaurant which is as far aft as you can go.  Sue has not been bothered with sea sickness so far.  We will keep our fingers crossed.

January 20th, 3rd day at sea.

After a restful night we head aft to the Britannia for breakfast.  We are seated at a table for six and at which one couple is already seated.  We can tell immediately that they are British by their accent.  After ordering we are soon joined by another gentleman that looks the part of a liberal professor with his bowtie and white hair combed back with a little ponytail.  He tells us his wife is probably lost and he got tired of waiting for her.  She soon joins us after about five minutes and says she took a wrong turn and ended up in the restaurant that is restricted to the next level of staterooms called the "Grille Balcony's".  They are from Boston he soon dominates the conversation.  He is very widely traveled and knows the area where the Brits are from.  He said he spent the first 21 years of his life as an "army brat" and had done extensive world travel.  Our meals come and I make the mistake of putting my lemon peel from my tomato juice on the small plate to my right.  He politely informed me that this was his "bread plate" and offered a way to remember which was which.  He made his left and right hand into an "ok sign" and said the left hand was shaped like a "b" and the right like a "d".  This represented bread on the left and drinks on the right.  How could I have lived 78 years and not known this!  I told him I appreciated the reference, but in my world, we don't have bread plates.  But in truth, I am glad to learn this so hopefully, not create any more faux pas during this voyage.

When we get back to our cabin, I happened to check the weather back in Iowa.  Good Grief, it is minus 24 degrees F wind chill with actual temperature of -9 degrees.  Glad we are headed to Florida!

We received a written invitation to a Welcome to Cunard event as 10AM in the Queens Room.  This is a major area with a stage where a lot of the activities take place.  We arrive and our invitations are placed in a container that they will draw prizes from as the presentations take place. 

The MC is a Canadian that has a long history with Cunard Line and he explains the basics of getting around the ship and every so often he draws a name and gives out a prize to be used aboard in the various departments.  Our names were not drawn.  We did see a woman carrying a small dog.  We read earlier that the only Cunard ship that allowed pets was the Queen Mary II.  This must be a Service Dog we assume.  She was a prize winner as it turns out!  

Today is Inauguration Day.  We return to the stateroom and watch the Britsh Sky News channel which is covering the event along with every other channel listed.  I tried watching MSNBC and CNBC, the only American channels offered.  I couldn't stand watching this ultra liberal coverage.  Why the decided on these two channels is a mystery since they probably have the least viewing audience of any network or cable channel.

After watching the swearing in ceremony, I figure it is time to start exercising so I put on my shorts and t-shirt and head down to deck 1 fwd where the spas and gym are located.  They have quite an elaborate array of exercise equipment.  Lots of treadmills, ellipticals, rowing apparatuses, dumbbells, etc.  Everything to make yourself into a lean, mean fighting machine.  It is about half to three quarters full.  I climb aboard one of the free treadmills and set it to my normal walking speed of 3 mph.

This is a small part of the exercise room

I select Rome on the video display which makes it look like you are walking through the streets past the Coliseum and other well-known historical ruins. I walk for 3 miles which takes a little over and hour and consider that good enough for my first outing.  I will expand my efforts as the cruise goes on, hopefully.

The Daily Programme listed a veterans get-together at 4PM in the Commodore Club on Deck 12 Fwd.  We attended one of these on our Alaska Cruise and enjoyed it, so we head up there and find more than a dozen veterans visiting together.  Sue finds common ground with some Air Force veterans but there are no Navy vets or Army people which I have any common interests.  We visit for an hour or so before heading back to our stateroom.

Tonight is Gala Night with a theme of Red and Gold.  So, I break out my brand new JCPenney suit, and select a white shirt and tie that has gold and red in it.  Sue has a floor length dress that is quite a festive red, orange and gold colors and she complements that with a red shawl.   

We head aft to the Britannia and check in.  Our escort again takes us down to the 2nd floor and seats us with a British couple at a table for four.  They are a very pleasant couple to visit with.  They boarded in Southampton and will cruise with us to San Francisco where they will fly back to England, this seems to be a common occurance.  We order our appetizers and drinks; the featured entree is Chateaubriand.  Sue and I both order it.  As for the British couple, he orders the Chateaubriand as well and she has the Trout entree.  

The meal was excellent, the best so far.  As we exit the dining area, there are opportunities to have your picture taken since you are all gussied up, a rare occasion for us.  We allow the photographer to pose us in various ways and will have the opportunity to review and purchase any that strike our fancy.  They will be available in the following day or two. 

By the time we finish with the photographer, it is going on 9PM and we head for barn.  The seas have a gentle roll to them, which should put us right to sleep.]

Tomorrow we will arrive at the Port of Miami.  We have no excursions planned, but do intend to go ashore for some shopping.  We think this might be a good time to try room service for our breakfast. 

We fill out the order form and select it to be delivered between 7 and 7:30 and hang it on the outside door handle.  It has to be out there before 1AM.