Underway!

 

January 18th, 1st day at sea.

We take a car/taxi, that the hotel clerk called for us, to Pier 12 where the Queen Anne is docked.  The ride took about 15-20 minutes, and the charge was only $16, I added a generous tip as I expected it to be much higher.  We give our bags to a porter who will take them aboard for us and we go into the terminal and join the line of returning passengers and others like us who are boarding for the first time. There doesn't seem to be much of a line compared to other cruises we have been on.  We get our boarding passes verified against our passports and proceed up the enclosed gangway and board the ship.  We are welcomed by crew members and told to go to our muster station D, which is where we will go if there is some kind of emergency, this is a requirement, and they scan our boarding pass to register that we were there.

We are on the 2nd deck, our cabin 4167, is on the 4th deck, there are 14 total decks above sea level.  Since our cabin is an odd number, we know that it is on the starboard (right side looking forward for you land-lubbers). We locate the stairs amidship and climb two decks and go aft to our cabin where our two suitcases that we had pre-shipped from Iowa, are parked in front of our door along with our two ship's ID cards. 

Our cabin seems small at first but certainly adequate for our needs.  We spend the next hour or so unpacking and putting clothes in closets and shelves.  There are plenty of hangers, one thing we were warned there might not be.  Only one of our three bags that we gave to the porter arrived and we are getting a little concerned because we are leaving the dock.  I see a steward and ask him about it, and he said they were still sorting so that was reassuring.  

As indicated in earlier communication, a bottle of sparkling wine and two glasses were waiting for us.  We poured ourselves a glass and did our best to take a selfie of ourselves toasting the start of our adventure.

We were a little concerned how restrictive our "Obstructed View" balcony would be.  It really isn't obstructed that much but we are directly in line with the first of a series of lifeboats.  So it restricts our view down, but there is not much to see there anyway.  And, because we are recessed inward because of the lifeboats, our forward view is somewhat restricted.  But overall, we are pleased with our location, low down and amidships.

It is getting dark, and we have a nice view of Manhattan skyline across the East River all the way from the UN building south to Ellis and Liberty Island.  The Statue of Liberty is lit up and her green color with the lighted torch is easy to see.

Manhattan skyline, UN to the right, One World Trade Center on the left

Our remaining two bags arrived around 7PM and we spend the next half hour putting things in place and then dress for dinner.  We opted for open dining which means we can be seated anytime between 5:30 and 9PM.  There was a note that said a reservation for 8:15 had been made for us for this evening.  Tonight is a "Smart Attire" night.  It is either that or a "Gala" which happens twice a week we have read somewhere.  Smart attire for men is at least a collared shirt and long pants.  Gala evenings require a suit, sport coat or tux with accompanying tie or bowtie.  For women, appropriate dress or gown.

We are assigned the Britannia Restaurant, and open dining is on the 3rd deck balcony which surrounds the Early and Late Diners on the 2nd deck which is visible through the open area below.  It is a busy place and seems like there are as many waiters and bus people as patrons.  We give the Maitre' D our room number and he assigns us an escort to lead us to our table.  There are a lot of tables for 2, some larger tables for 6 or 8.  They are all set with linen tablecloths and napkins and salt and pepper shakers that seem to weigh a pound each!  The pepper, as we found out later, is so fine it seems to float away and right up my nose!  The saltshaker has an opening not much bigger than two or three grains of salt and is frustratingly hard to use.  We later saw people unscrewing them and getting salt that way!  

Our waiter comes and hands us the menu to peruse followed by the wine steward.  We decline the wine for tonight, maybe on one of the Gala dinners.  There is a nice selection of appetizers, entrees and desserts.  We order two appetizers thinking we would split them, a risotto and a baby shrimp cocktail. We each also order Cesear's salad. For entrees, Sue orders a chicken eggplant dish, and I go with a beef dish.  After ordering our waiter comes back and sets four forks and four knives of various sizes and shapes, for the each of us!  What are we going to do with all this hardware?  Our desserts arrive and we BOTH are served the risotto; it is not a large portion but tasty.  When we are finished, our waiter picks up the dishes and the used fork and one knife whether it was used or not.  Now we are getting the picture.  Next comes the shrimp.  Small portions thankfully, and quite good.  Waiter comes and collects dishes and more hardware.  Next the Cesear's salad, same operation.  We are down to one sharp knife and fork when our entrees arrive.  Sue's chicken was a little dry and my beef was a little chewy but not bad.  We were still a little hungry believe it or not, so we asked for the dessert menu, and I ordered a pudding, and Sue ops for a brownie with orange sauce.  We were out of silverware now so here he comes with more forks and spoons.  If we would have ordered dessert to start with, would we have a collection of over 20 knives, forks and spoons? 

We find our way back to 4167 and retire for the night.  It has been quite a day, and we will let the slight motion of the ship rock us to sleep.