Day 63 27th July at Sea in the Atlantic Ocean
Between Ireland and Bermuda
Five sea days between the last port of call and the next. Everyone is just about up to date with their laundry; those who enjoy a tipple are enjoying a glass or two of the wines they purchased all over Europe. Since leaving Ireland the clocks have been turned back 2 hrs. It is lovely having an extra hour in bed every so often. I was up this morning, walking the decks at the new time of 5.50am. Three days ago it would have been 7.50am. Just lovely! Paul just loves the extra bed time! After the hectic days we experienced Europe, it is lovely to have time to recharge.
A thick sea fog on the first day and half out from Cobh caused a complete white out. Apparently it is a usual occurrence in that section of the Atlantic Ocean. A blanket of bright white was all I saw looking out from our balcony. I turned on the TV to the ship's camera and there appeared a white screen, anyone who is tracking where we are from home would have had a puzzling sight. The seas have been unexpectedly good, only a little bit of movement. And we are running at around 19 knots with our lovely four engines….kiss, kiss, and kiss!!!!
We heard a couple of the ship's band were given their passports and requested to leave the ship in Cobh after returning drunk from shore leave. Mmmm, interesting! We did see two fellows walking off the ship with their instruments just before the ship sailed. I haven't heard about the 4 passengers who missed the ship in Scotland, reboarding the ship in Ireland but that may never come to light.
This morning I had breakfast sitting on the balcony overlooking the main swimming pool. Of course you know who was catching a few zzzz's in the cabin. Anyway I found it entertaining to watch the deck attendants and some crew setting up an unusual type of equipment alongside the main pool. At first there were about 15 of them standing there whilst a control for the piece had been pressed, continually. A senior staff member then came out and took charge. The piece was reinserted and Walla: the arm started to operate! It was a chair with hydraulics to lower mobility impaired passengers into the pool! The first time I had seen it, ever. I did not know the ship even had one and wonder if any of our passengers with mobility problems who would appreciate a swim know about it. I know the ship is gearing up for entry into USA and possible inspection. The QM2 got an unsatisfactory inspection report in June this year, so it will be interesting to see the results of the DP if it does attract the spot check.
I can't believe we are over half way through our cruise. People at home kept asking us how we would manage 104 days on board the ship….well so far we are loving it. Everyone seems to get into a pattern participating in the various activities offered by the ship by attending the event that interests them. On the beginning of each leg, we notice the new passengers are walking around at a faster pace than the rest of the ship. They seem to be active in everything on offer, rushing here and there, not wanting to miss out, just like we were in the first week we boarded the ship. Even in the horizons buffet I can see people are not piling their plates high with food, which seems to occur at the beginning of each sector. The ship's passengers have become more relaxed.
I haven't seen many children around, I know there are a few on board but they must be in the children's club most of the time or doing other activities from us.
Since Paris the days' temperature has been a cooler but this morning as I walked the deck, I had to take my jacket off as the weather is starting to warm up again. We expecting 34C in Bermuda which is 2 days sailing away.
Day 64
Clocks were turned back again last night, which makes 3 hours in 4 days. I am loving the extra hours! The ship has run out a quite a few selections of wine and they won't restock till Fort Lauderdale. The cheaper bottles of bubbly have sold out, friends ended up with Grant Burge @$41 a bottle instead of the selections in the $25 and $29 range. White wines and reds in the more economical range are also sold out. Lucky we are able to bring on a bottle each at various ports as I am sure a riot would have broken out by disgruntled wine drinkers who are not prepared to pay for wines in the upper price range. Of course our shore purchased wines are enjoyed in the privacy of our cabins. I think there is a $20 corkage fee for wine brought into the dining rooms.
Day 65
This ship is starting to have some very disagreeable smells wafting around the bow of the ship. The laundry on level 5, stunk like rotten cabbages, I hope the cabins nearby don't have to experience the same. When I mentioned this unpleasantness to some staff, they just looked and sounded bemused……smells? I don't know what you are talking about…..der! Although we have our laundry done for us, I prefer to wash and iron particular items myself. At the moment our laundry is taking longer to come back to the cabin and as usual the laundry on our level is always full, hence level 5 laundry.
We have experienced 30 to 40 km winds in the past couple of days which has caused a reasonable amount of movement. I haven't walked the promenade deck in the past few days as there has been a lot of sea spray causing the decks to be wet and slippery. This morning we had our first walk for several days, thank goodness. Bermuda tomorrow.
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