Saturday, January 31, 2009
Blog to Hawaii
On the way to Honolulu: We left Long Beach Tuesday evening with a US Coast Guard escort out of the harbor. Let me explore the ship a bit with you and catch up on the blog. Seeing that this is Super Bowl week imagine if you received the ball in the end zone and ran the 100 yards to the other end zone then to do it again and then to do it a third time and that is the approximated distance of the Queen Victoria from bow to stern. Actually the ship is still a bit longer. There are three banks of elevators of four each at the front, rear and middle of the ship. There are 10 stories of public levels. Sandy and I are on the sixth floor cabin 6042. The elevators closest to us will take us to the spa work out area on the 9th level or down to deck A for the lower section of the Royal Theatre. The work out area has lots of treadmills and other machines plus weights, mats, balls and just about anything you can think of for a good work out. There are constant classes of dance aerobics or spinning or steps to fulfill the need of any exerciser. The treadmills face the large floor to ceiling windows in the front of the ship giving the widest possible view of the ocean horizon and surroundings. Sandy and I have been pretty good about working out so far. This is also where the beauty salon, massages, steam rooms are located. Above the spa work out area on the 10th level is a night club with panoramic views all around with a roped off section just for round the world travelers. There is also a dance club that goes till all hours of the morning.
Back to the 9th level again where there are two pools located one on each end of the ship with the Lido restaurant in the middle. The hours of the Lido are: Continental breakfast from 4AM to 6:30AM, Breakfast from 6:30 to 11:30AM, Lunch 11:30 to 3:00PM, Afternoon snack 3:00PM to 6:00PM, Lido Grill Dinner Buffet 6:00PM to 11PM, Late snack from 11PM to 4:00AM. There you have it round the clock eating! They make a great individual pizza for you and they have round the clock chocolate and vanilla ice cream machines with cones available anytime you want.
There are many, many grills, bars and restaurants available throughout the ship. So let’s take the elevator to the second floor. As we are towards the front of the ship when we get off the elevator we will walk towards the rear section where along the way we stop first in the “hanging and dangling” section as I have called it. This is the casino with lots of bings, pings, clangs and musical chaos going on all the time. The hanging and dangling is the smoke that hangs in the air (One of the only places on board ship where smoking is allowed) and the dangling is the butts extending from the lips of the few gamblers at the machines. Yup that’s right, only a few people are there at any given time because our Brit hosts haven’t caught on to the no smoking message and almost all non smokers seem to avoid the place like the plague. Right beside the casino is the Golden Lion Pub and you can have a lunch of fish and chips or a burger. Tell what you want, they bring it and there is no charge as all has been paid in the price of the cruise. Drinks are not covered. Moving along you pass through wonderful hallways that feature maritime exhibits (the largest floating museum) more bars and then the glorious Queens room. Here is where the balls are, the dances are, along with the Captains receptions and dance lessons and BINGO plus gathering for shore excursions. As a matter of fact when we take this walk you can start with the sound of the slot machines then move to a beautiful harp being played, then music for country line dancing or rhumbas or tangoes, then a 4 piece chamber orchestra, a pianist or a full big band. All of this as we are just strolling on level two and all going on at the same time. We then approach the Britannia Restaurant where we dine at night at the 6:30 seating. The Brittania is a two story restaurant and the Queens room is two stories. There is also a two story library. We have had a change in Los Angeles of our dinner companions and maybe not for the better but we shall see. We still have (I told you I would get back to them) Mary Jones from Melbourne Australia. Mary is 93 years old! She flirts she charms and she is not the least bit shy taking on the powers to be on the ship so that she can watch her beloved Australia Open. She is all of 5”2 with eyes of blue has a keen interest in all things. She has outlasted two husbands both named Keith. One of them was high up in the Education system/department of Australia. Next is Vernon from Cardiff, Wales. Born in Ireland and migrated to Wales, separated from brothers and sisters at an early age and reconciled with them in adulthood but it’s not a close connection. Never married he nonetheless escorts a lively lady and the two of them are seen around the ship together. (In LA he arranged for her to join our table and she seems most charming and is from West Virginia close to the Greenbrier. Her name is Nellie). Vernon is 83 years old and I won’t guess about Nellie. Next is Derrick and Pat from England, near Liverpool. Derrick is our age and unfortunately underwent some serious surgery before the cruise and is having a bit of a mood swing problem. Derrick and Pat have moved to a table for two and all of the rest of us miss them. Next comes Harry and Ivy. Harry had a terrible car accident 11 years ago and is incapable of carrying on a conversation but understands all that is said. He is an electrical engineer and reading his facial reactions is a gift that we are all coming by and his smile is as broad as can be. Ivy is a saint and helps him in and out of his wheelchair and reads him the menu and interprets his wishes and needs. She is also a bit of a pistol and lots of fun. Harry and Ivy are our age too. Last for now is a treasure of a new friend. Her name is Nancy and she is from Bethesda probably less than a couple of miles from our home. She is well traveled and has a wonderful sense of humor. She sings “I’m just wild about Harry” to Harry and it always brings that huge smile to his face. She loves jewelry and loves to buy it so she and Sandy have bonded and are planning a few expeditions together. Finally, the waiter whose name is Sodep is from India and he keeps us all very contented indeed. He is very young and quite handsome and a favorite of the ladies at the table.
PS: I read this to Sandy and she wanted all to know that we are working out hard at the spa. Tis true!
Last but certainly not least for this tour is the Royal Court Theatre: At our end of the ship is a three story full theatre with orchestra, loge and box seating. Every night there is a performance of song, dance , comedy (including a ventriloquist) or a production including all of the above. The dance troupe is fabulous and performs everything from ballet to tap including Irish step dancing (am I in heaven or what?) and they perform a great imitation of “Riverdance”. The Court singers do good to better but never reach best and all the other performers come in and out at the ports so that there is always fresh talent. The sets, staging and costumes are spectacular for the most part and its easy to forget that you are on a ship in the middle of the ocean. The shows are all backed up with a wonderful band/orchestra (depending upon the show) and all in all it becomes a wonderful experience.
Well tomorrow Hawaii and I’ll continue the blog next week. Can you believe it’s been 3 weeks?
PS: A fellow passenger was commenting that if you go to cunard.com you can click on to the world tour and see where the ship is and there is a live-cam. If you are so inclined.
Back to the 9th level again where there are two pools located one on each end of the ship with the Lido restaurant in the middle. The hours of the Lido are: Continental breakfast from 4AM to 6:30AM, Breakfast from 6:30 to 11:30AM, Lunch 11:30 to 3:00PM, Afternoon snack 3:00PM to 6:00PM, Lido Grill Dinner Buffet 6:00PM to 11PM, Late snack from 11PM to 4:00AM. There you have it round the clock eating! They make a great individual pizza for you and they have round the clock chocolate and vanilla ice cream machines with cones available anytime you want.
There are many, many grills, bars and restaurants available throughout the ship. So let’s take the elevator to the second floor. As we are towards the front of the ship when we get off the elevator we will walk towards the rear section where along the way we stop first in the “hanging and dangling” section as I have called it. This is the casino with lots of bings, pings, clangs and musical chaos going on all the time. The hanging and dangling is the smoke that hangs in the air (One of the only places on board ship where smoking is allowed) and the dangling is the butts extending from the lips of the few gamblers at the machines. Yup that’s right, only a few people are there at any given time because our Brit hosts haven’t caught on to the no smoking message and almost all non smokers seem to avoid the place like the plague. Right beside the casino is the Golden Lion Pub and you can have a lunch of fish and chips or a burger. Tell what you want, they bring it and there is no charge as all has been paid in the price of the cruise. Drinks are not covered. Moving along you pass through wonderful hallways that feature maritime exhibits (the largest floating museum) more bars and then the glorious Queens room. Here is where the balls are, the dances are, along with the Captains receptions and dance lessons and BINGO plus gathering for shore excursions. As a matter of fact when we take this walk you can start with the sound of the slot machines then move to a beautiful harp being played, then music for country line dancing or rhumbas or tangoes, then a 4 piece chamber orchestra, a pianist or a full big band. All of this as we are just strolling on level two and all going on at the same time. We then approach the Britannia Restaurant where we dine at night at the 6:30 seating. The Brittania is a two story restaurant and the Queens room is two stories. There is also a two story library. We have had a change in Los Angeles of our dinner companions and maybe not for the better but we shall see. We still have (I told you I would get back to them) Mary Jones from Melbourne Australia. Mary is 93 years old! She flirts she charms and she is not the least bit shy taking on the powers to be on the ship so that she can watch her beloved Australia Open. She is all of 5”2 with eyes of blue has a keen interest in all things. She has outlasted two husbands both named Keith. One of them was high up in the Education system/department of Australia. Next is Vernon from Cardiff, Wales. Born in Ireland and migrated to Wales, separated from brothers and sisters at an early age and reconciled with them in adulthood but it’s not a close connection. Never married he nonetheless escorts a lively lady and the two of them are seen around the ship together. (In LA he arranged for her to join our table and she seems most charming and is from West Virginia close to the Greenbrier. Her name is Nellie). Vernon is 83 years old and I won’t guess about Nellie. Next is Derrick and Pat from England, near Liverpool. Derrick is our age and unfortunately underwent some serious surgery before the cruise and is having a bit of a mood swing problem. Derrick and Pat have moved to a table for two and all of the rest of us miss them. Next comes Harry and Ivy. Harry had a terrible car accident 11 years ago and is incapable of carrying on a conversation but understands all that is said. He is an electrical engineer and reading his facial reactions is a gift that we are all coming by and his smile is as broad as can be. Ivy is a saint and helps him in and out of his wheelchair and reads him the menu and interprets his wishes and needs. She is also a bit of a pistol and lots of fun. Harry and Ivy are our age too. Last for now is a treasure of a new friend. Her name is Nancy and she is from Bethesda probably less than a couple of miles from our home. She is well traveled and has a wonderful sense of humor. She sings “I’m just wild about Harry” to Harry and it always brings that huge smile to his face. She loves jewelry and loves to buy it so she and Sandy have bonded and are planning a few expeditions together. Finally, the waiter whose name is Sodep is from India and he keeps us all very contented indeed. He is very young and quite handsome and a favorite of the ladies at the table.
PS: I read this to Sandy and she wanted all to know that we are working out hard at the spa. Tis true!
Last but certainly not least for this tour is the Royal Court Theatre: At our end of the ship is a three story full theatre with orchestra, loge and box seating. Every night there is a performance of song, dance , comedy (including a ventriloquist) or a production including all of the above. The dance troupe is fabulous and performs everything from ballet to tap including Irish step dancing (am I in heaven or what?) and they perform a great imitation of “Riverdance”. The Court singers do good to better but never reach best and all the other performers come in and out at the ports so that there is always fresh talent. The sets, staging and costumes are spectacular for the most part and its easy to forget that you are on a ship in the middle of the ocean. The shows are all backed up with a wonderful band/orchestra (depending upon the show) and all in all it becomes a wonderful experience.
Well tomorrow Hawaii and I’ll continue the blog next week. Can you believe it’s been 3 weeks?
PS: A fellow passenger was commenting that if you go to cunard.com you can click on to the world tour and see where the ship is and there is a live-cam. If you are so inclined.
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Long Beach
Hi again. I’ve been having trouble with the blog with either the wireless service being down on the ship (for 3-4 days) or posting the pictures when I have had access. The connection , when working, is slower than dial up and with a rate of 50 cents per minute seems to stretch on forever with very little becoming accomplished at the end of my efforts. I’ll keep trying so bear with me, please.
In the meantime: Yesterday we were in Cabo Saint Lucas the second of our Mexican stops. ”Cabo” as it is called in the US is a city located at the southern tip of the Baja peninsula and is quickly becoming a high end holiday destination with a number of resorts and timeshare clubs appearing along the coast between San Lucas and San Jose del Cabo. Sandy took Cooking lessons from a chef at one of the hotels and received her certificate as an expert Mexican cook. Along with about twenty fellow travelers she ground roasted garlic, roasted onions, roasted green tomatoes and jalepenos using a mortar and pestle made out of volcanic rock. The group prepared their own lunch and Sandy declared it a feast indeed. Delicious was her exact quote.
In the meantime I left the port on a catamaran to snorkel . Several miles up the coast we dropped anchor and donned fins and mask and snorkel. You entered the water by jumping overboard or by a ladder extended into the water from the middle of the boat. I, of course, jumped and the water was chilly but refreshing . I swam away from the boat and commenced my snorkeling. My vision was blurry but I could make out the colors and the forms of fishes all around me. I wished that my glasses could fit under the mask. I surfaced and looked back at the boat some twenty yards away and one of the crew members was yelling Senor, Senor and pointing to the top of his head. I realized that my mask was firmly on the top of my head and not over my face where it belonged. What a difference a mask makes! Everything sparkled and the coral was wonderful. I fell in with a school of fish and swam with them moving back and forth. Underneath my chest was a beautiful yellow and purple striped fish that followed me for a very long time. I was wondering if I looked like lunch to him. After 45 minutes or so we boarded the catamaran to head back to port. Along the way we saw 15 to 20 whales right alongside the boat. The first sighting was by a woman who yelled “It’s so big” and just as we turned to see what she was referring to up popped the huge mother whale many, many times larger. The captain then chased after the humpback whales over the next half hour or so and some were so close to the boat you could have easily thrown a ball and hit them. Another wonderful memory.
The day before at Puerto Vallarta Sandy and I joined a tour by boat to a destination on a wonderful cove on a remote part of the area that famous director John Houston once owned. W e had a Mexican buffet with lots of choices and variety. There was snorkeling and kayaking and nature hikes and was a great way to spend a day. The waters are a mixture of darkest blues to turquoise and are beautiful and so, so tropical. The weather has been in the eighties and sunny and I have pictures to show it if I can just upload them. Puerto Vallarta is situated on the Pacific Ocean’s Baja de Banderas and its proximity to the bay brings together the agricultural valley of the Ameca river and the important mining centers in he Sierra and makes the port on of the more interesting tourist destinations. However, Puerto Vallarta was a thriving Mexican village long before it became an international tourist destination.
As I write this we are getting close to American waters and will dock in Los Angeles in the morning. We lose a lot of passengers but pick up an equal amount as the cruise is sold out. Even before I have had the chance to introduce out table companions we will lose three (we think) and pick up new folks. I’ll get to all in time I promise.
In the meantime here is a bit of the gossip on board: There is a fine dry cleaning and laundry on board but they do not do regular laundry. Each deck on board has their own launderette with three washers and three dryers and an iron and ironing board in each. Imagine the different nationalities gathered together to wait on available washers, dryers and irons. It’s not pretty and extremely tense in some situations. People open dryers to check how far along the process is and when confronted with wet clothes close the dryer and forget to start it again so the poor soul that comes back after 50 minutes finds a dryer full of wet clothes and starts again. This in turn backs up the folks whose washing is done and are now waiting for the dryers and that leads to people taking out wet clothes and putting them in a basket (or somewhere) and putting their own clothes in. You just about have to take a guard position and defend your machines. Now imagine the ironing, the washing, the drying, the tension, the dirty looks, the different languages, the positioning for the next available machine all going on in the smallest room imaginable. It’s not pretty but it is pretty interesting. The gossip: On the Queen Mary last year there were two incidents that passengers at the time swear are true. A British woman was doing her laundry and being British ironing everything including her gown. She took a break and returned to her cabin for a while and when she went back to the launderette her gown was missing. That led to lots of confusion but no gown. The next night at a ball she saw her gown on a woman dancing. She approached her and said “that is my gown!” and the woman looked at her and replied “prove it!”. I’m not sure how it ended but everyone has a theory of how they would have handled it. The second story was that the launderette was full and people waiting for the washer or dryer or iron when a battle broke out between two women and get ready for this: one hit the other in the head with the iron! Blood went everywhere because of the head wound – the captain broadcast an appeal for blood over the intercom and the woman and their husbands were put off the ship in the next port (Rio). I didn’t hear whether charges were filed or not. Now I’m not sure if these rumors are true but it makes sailing a bit more interesting.
In the meantime: Yesterday we were in Cabo Saint Lucas the second of our Mexican stops. ”Cabo” as it is called in the US is a city located at the southern tip of the Baja peninsula and is quickly becoming a high end holiday destination with a number of resorts and timeshare clubs appearing along the coast between San Lucas and San Jose del Cabo. Sandy took Cooking lessons from a chef at one of the hotels and received her certificate as an expert Mexican cook. Along with about twenty fellow travelers she ground roasted garlic, roasted onions, roasted green tomatoes and jalepenos using a mortar and pestle made out of volcanic rock. The group prepared their own lunch and Sandy declared it a feast indeed. Delicious was her exact quote.
In the meantime I left the port on a catamaran to snorkel . Several miles up the coast we dropped anchor and donned fins and mask and snorkel. You entered the water by jumping overboard or by a ladder extended into the water from the middle of the boat. I, of course, jumped and the water was chilly but refreshing . I swam away from the boat and commenced my snorkeling. My vision was blurry but I could make out the colors and the forms of fishes all around me. I wished that my glasses could fit under the mask. I surfaced and looked back at the boat some twenty yards away and one of the crew members was yelling Senor, Senor and pointing to the top of his head. I realized that my mask was firmly on the top of my head and not over my face where it belonged. What a difference a mask makes! Everything sparkled and the coral was wonderful. I fell in with a school of fish and swam with them moving back and forth. Underneath my chest was a beautiful yellow and purple striped fish that followed me for a very long time. I was wondering if I looked like lunch to him. After 45 minutes or so we boarded the catamaran to head back to port. Along the way we saw 15 to 20 whales right alongside the boat. The first sighting was by a woman who yelled “It’s so big” and just as we turned to see what she was referring to up popped the huge mother whale many, many times larger. The captain then chased after the humpback whales over the next half hour or so and some were so close to the boat you could have easily thrown a ball and hit them. Another wonderful memory.
The day before at Puerto Vallarta Sandy and I joined a tour by boat to a destination on a wonderful cove on a remote part of the area that famous director John Houston once owned. W e had a Mexican buffet with lots of choices and variety. There was snorkeling and kayaking and nature hikes and was a great way to spend a day. The waters are a mixture of darkest blues to turquoise and are beautiful and so, so tropical. The weather has been in the eighties and sunny and I have pictures to show it if I can just upload them. Puerto Vallarta is situated on the Pacific Ocean’s Baja de Banderas and its proximity to the bay brings together the agricultural valley of the Ameca river and the important mining centers in he Sierra and makes the port on of the more interesting tourist destinations. However, Puerto Vallarta was a thriving Mexican village long before it became an international tourist destination.
As I write this we are getting close to American waters and will dock in Los Angeles in the morning. We lose a lot of passengers but pick up an equal amount as the cruise is sold out. Even before I have had the chance to introduce out table companions we will lose three (we think) and pick up new folks. I’ll get to all in time I promise.
In the meantime here is a bit of the gossip on board: There is a fine dry cleaning and laundry on board but they do not do regular laundry. Each deck on board has their own launderette with three washers and three dryers and an iron and ironing board in each. Imagine the different nationalities gathered together to wait on available washers, dryers and irons. It’s not pretty and extremely tense in some situations. People open dryers to check how far along the process is and when confronted with wet clothes close the dryer and forget to start it again so the poor soul that comes back after 50 minutes finds a dryer full of wet clothes and starts again. This in turn backs up the folks whose washing is done and are now waiting for the dryers and that leads to people taking out wet clothes and putting them in a basket (or somewhere) and putting their own clothes in. You just about have to take a guard position and defend your machines. Now imagine the ironing, the washing, the drying, the tension, the dirty looks, the different languages, the positioning for the next available machine all going on in the smallest room imaginable. It’s not pretty but it is pretty interesting. The gossip: On the Queen Mary last year there were two incidents that passengers at the time swear are true. A British woman was doing her laundry and being British ironing everything including her gown. She took a break and returned to her cabin for a while and when she went back to the launderette her gown was missing. That led to lots of confusion but no gown. The next night at a ball she saw her gown on a woman dancing. She approached her and said “that is my gown!” and the woman looked at her and replied “prove it!”. I’m not sure how it ended but everyone has a theory of how they would have handled it. The second story was that the launderette was full and people waiting for the washer or dryer or iron when a battle broke out between two women and get ready for this: one hit the other in the head with the iron! Blood went everywhere because of the head wound – the captain broadcast an appeal for blood over the intercom and the woman and their husbands were put off the ship in the next port (Rio). I didn’t hear whether charges were filed or not. Now I’m not sure if these rumors are true but it makes sailing a bit more interesting.
Friday, January 23, 2009
23 Jan 09
1-20-09
Sandy and I celebrated the inauguration on board the Queen Victoria off the coast of Honduras. We settled in the pub and watched via CNN. Our audience was made up of Brits, Australians and of course Americans. There were great cheers for politicians and family members as they appeared on screen. One of the biggest cheers was for Sen. Ted Kennedy with widespread approval of all in the Pub (a pub of course). Each appearance by President Obama caused cheers and loud clapping. When the Bush folks were shown they were greeted with silence and a bit of booing when Cheney was shown in his wheel chair. Everyone stood for the National Anthem and some sang along. Everyone loved and laughed at the Benediction of Rev Lowery and his black don’t get back, if your brown stay around, if your red get ahead and if your white do right. There were three African-American women sitting beside us and all teared up from time to time as did Sandy and I. A woman passed out Obama – progress buttons with a red, white and blue background and a likeness of Obama. We each received one and proudly wore them. Early on a couple of crew came in to hang red, white and blue bunting and pennants. It was a very festive event and a memory to last forever. Just when the President was to take the oath of office the Captain came on the intercom for his daily report and preempted the coverage on CNN. There was an immediate protest and boos that grew even larger when the first mate came on to report the navigation details for the next day (We arrive in Guatemala) however the reports were over and we joined half way through the oath taking. The spirit on board ship of passengers and crew alike was of hope and optimism. We dined in the Brittania room and headed back to our cabin to resume watching the parade. While waiting for the elevator a woman saw our buttons came close to look again and pronounced her disgust and said “He is ruining our country as we know it” and I asked her if she had been paying attention the last few years and had she noticed we were in one of the worst depressions of our country? She replied it was all the democrats. The elevator arrived and we three boarded. There was an English couple already on board. We arrived at the sixth level (our stop) and the woman said “I will never follow that n*****” and she stormed off the elevator and took to the stairs. The English couple saddened and said that it was a shame that there were still people in the world like her. It really hurt and shocked me and took some joy of the day from my heart. I’ll focus on the fact that I believe this is the best political day of my life (followed closely by the Reagan inaugurations) and is our best hope going forward. As I’m writing this the news is coming across that Sen. Kennedy and Sen. Byrd had medical problems and we are waiting for further details.
I’ve been remiss in my blog and will try to catch up a bit here. Since our last blog we visited Curacao in the Netherland Antilles. Curacao is one of the ABC islands of Aruba, Bonaire and Curacao and is off the coast of Venezuela. We docked at Willemstad the colorful capital. Curacao played an instrumental part of the slave trade and was made the center by the Dutch West India country in 1662. Dutch merchants brought slaves from Africa to the trading are called Asiento. From there slaves were sold and shipped to various destinations in South America and the Caribbean. Slavery was abolished by the Dutch in 1863. We took a tour of the northern end of the island and visited former slave quarters, spectacular ocean coves and beaches. The island is colorful and the houses are many different colors. The architecture is primarily Dutch. I’ll attach a few pictures.
After Curacao we traveled west to the Panama Canal. It took from 7:20 AM to past 5 in the afternoon to transit the canal. The canal is actually three locks connecting to two large lakes. Going from the Atlantic to the Pacific the red on right rule for buoys is in effect. People turned out to see the “Queen” progress. This has happened along the way with crowds coming to see the ship. I had no idea that the Cunard lines had such a huge following. Back to the canal: the ship fits into the locks by inches and requires four locomotives (mules) to guide her through.
The country is beautiful and Panama City seems to rival Miami’s skyline something I wasn’t expecting. Our guide by intercom said that lots of people were retiring here.
We’ve seen dolphins, flying fish, brown boobies and lots of marine and bird life. We have settled in more and more and I’ll get back to fellow passengers in the near future. The ships wireless network has been down for the past few days so I have had to wait to post this.
Sandy and I celebrated the inauguration on board the Queen Victoria off the coast of Honduras. We settled in the pub and watched via CNN. Our audience was made up of Brits, Australians and of course Americans. There were great cheers for politicians and family members as they appeared on screen. One of the biggest cheers was for Sen. Ted Kennedy with widespread approval of all in the Pub (a pub of course). Each appearance by President Obama caused cheers and loud clapping. When the Bush folks were shown they were greeted with silence and a bit of booing when Cheney was shown in his wheel chair. Everyone stood for the National Anthem and some sang along. Everyone loved and laughed at the Benediction of Rev Lowery and his black don’t get back, if your brown stay around, if your red get ahead and if your white do right. There were three African-American women sitting beside us and all teared up from time to time as did Sandy and I. A woman passed out Obama – progress buttons with a red, white and blue background and a likeness of Obama. We each received one and proudly wore them. Early on a couple of crew came in to hang red, white and blue bunting and pennants. It was a very festive event and a memory to last forever. Just when the President was to take the oath of office the Captain came on the intercom for his daily report and preempted the coverage on CNN. There was an immediate protest and boos that grew even larger when the first mate came on to report the navigation details for the next day (We arrive in Guatemala) however the reports were over and we joined half way through the oath taking. The spirit on board ship of passengers and crew alike was of hope and optimism. We dined in the Brittania room and headed back to our cabin to resume watching the parade. While waiting for the elevator a woman saw our buttons came close to look again and pronounced her disgust and said “He is ruining our country as we know it” and I asked her if she had been paying attention the last few years and had she noticed we were in one of the worst depressions of our country? She replied it was all the democrats. The elevator arrived and we three boarded. There was an English couple already on board. We arrived at the sixth level (our stop) and the woman said “I will never follow that n*****” and she stormed off the elevator and took to the stairs. The English couple saddened and said that it was a shame that there were still people in the world like her. It really hurt and shocked me and took some joy of the day from my heart. I’ll focus on the fact that I believe this is the best political day of my life (followed closely by the Reagan inaugurations) and is our best hope going forward. As I’m writing this the news is coming across that Sen. Kennedy and Sen. Byrd had medical problems and we are waiting for further details.
I’ve been remiss in my blog and will try to catch up a bit here. Since our last blog we visited Curacao in the Netherland Antilles. Curacao is one of the ABC islands of Aruba, Bonaire and Curacao and is off the coast of Venezuela. We docked at Willemstad the colorful capital. Curacao played an instrumental part of the slave trade and was made the center by the Dutch West India country in 1662. Dutch merchants brought slaves from Africa to the trading are called Asiento. From there slaves were sold and shipped to various destinations in South America and the Caribbean. Slavery was abolished by the Dutch in 1863. We took a tour of the northern end of the island and visited former slave quarters, spectacular ocean coves and beaches. The island is colorful and the houses are many different colors. The architecture is primarily Dutch. I’ll attach a few pictures.
After Curacao we traveled west to the Panama Canal. It took from 7:20 AM to past 5 in the afternoon to transit the canal. The canal is actually three locks connecting to two large lakes. Going from the Atlantic to the Pacific the red on right rule for buoys is in effect. People turned out to see the “Queen” progress. This has happened along the way with crowds coming to see the ship. I had no idea that the Cunard lines had such a huge following. Back to the canal: the ship fits into the locks by inches and requires four locomotives (mules) to guide her through.
The country is beautiful and Panama City seems to rival Miami’s skyline something I wasn’t expecting. Our guide by intercom said that lots of people were retiring here.
We’ve seen dolphins, flying fish, brown boobies and lots of marine and bird life. We have settled in more and more and I’ll get back to fellow passengers in the near future. The ships wireless network has been down for the past few days so I have had to wait to post this.
Saturday, January 17, 2009
Fort Lauderdale plus
We are settled in our cabin and notwithstanding the picture in the last blog it is starting to seem comfortable and dare I say “roomy”. Well not quite roomy but livable.
We were assigned a table for 10 but have only nine dining with us each evening for dinner. Two couples from England, an older gentleman (late 80’s) from England, a bon vivant from Canada (more to come) a neighbor from Bethesda (can you believe it!). Almost 800 passengers are cruising “round the world” some for the fifth or sixth time and more. Our Canadian friend, Don Brody is on this 10th trip but is only traveling to Los Angeles this time. Don is the very, very friendly type and talks to everyone. He knows the staff from prior voyages and salutes them with a thumbs up and memories of cruises past. He is really delightful and is perfect for this setting. He sends out more than 450 Christmas cards each year to people he has met cruising. He has lots of stories and is a “topper” of all stories told. He lives with his sister outside of Toronto and is very involved with charity work and is on the board of a college in Nebraska. He seems to spend most of his time running his family’s foundations. More to follow about other table mates later.
The food so far is wonderful. There are lots of choices and variety. Dinner is with the same guests and the same table each evening (with a table of nine we all rotate each night). Lunch and breakfast are served in the same dining area but it is open seating. There are lots of other locations to dine on board and Sandy and I have been using room service for breakfast and sitting out on our balcony and staring at the ocean. As I write this we are at sea off the coast of Cuba and it is in the high 70’s with a wonderful breeze.
Yesterday we docked at Port Lauderdale and we took a tour of the Everglades. We went on an airboat with a flat bottom and a large driving propeller at the stern and “skimmed” the surface of the shallow waters. We saw alligators and lots of birds. It’s a quite beautiful spot. The weather was hot and humid but the speed of the boat made it comfortable. The boat seated about 40 people and was so loud they hand out earplugs. After the ride we attended an alligator demonstration. The alligators were called by name and the ranger hand fed them.
Back on the bus our guide told us that after WWII the Army Corps of engineers went to Australia to obtain seeds of two hardy trees to plant in the Everglades as these specific trees drink lots of water and the goal was to dry out the Everglades. It worked too well. The Everglades at one time extended to Orlando and now are about 40 miles south of Orlando. So they set about killing the trees but the problem was with this variety of tree if you attack them they immediately drop all of their seeds and you get more trees. Only recently have they started to make small incisions and planting poison to kill the tree over a longer period. So for those who have visited Florida that explains the stands of leafless trees.
Sandy and I were both a bit homesick and Sandy really missed the kids and grandkids. She made many calls but didn’t reach anyone. Next chance on our cell phone will be LA at the end of the month.
There is entertainment every night in the Royal Theatre and so far we have seen a wonderful singer who won the Ed McMahon talent show in the US and its counterpart in England. There was a great show called “Celtic Heartbeat” that was an imitator of “Riverdance” and a comedian. Which brings me to the passengers: There are young people on board but the average age is probably in the sixties. Small percentages (2-3%) have canes, wheelchairs, walkers and oxygen tanks. I really admire the people that won’t stop and keep experiencing life. However the comedian made two observations: His grandfather stained furniture – but he didn’t mean to and he had one audience that didn’t laugh at all but at the end of the show there wasn’t a dry seat in the house.
More to come.
We were assigned a table for 10 but have only nine dining with us each evening for dinner. Two couples from England, an older gentleman (late 80’s) from England, a bon vivant from Canada (more to come) a neighbor from Bethesda (can you believe it!). Almost 800 passengers are cruising “round the world” some for the fifth or sixth time and more. Our Canadian friend, Don Brody is on this 10th trip but is only traveling to Los Angeles this time. Don is the very, very friendly type and talks to everyone. He knows the staff from prior voyages and salutes them with a thumbs up and memories of cruises past. He is really delightful and is perfect for this setting. He sends out more than 450 Christmas cards each year to people he has met cruising. He has lots of stories and is a “topper” of all stories told. He lives with his sister outside of Toronto and is very involved with charity work and is on the board of a college in Nebraska. He seems to spend most of his time running his family’s foundations. More to follow about other table mates later.
The food so far is wonderful. There are lots of choices and variety. Dinner is with the same guests and the same table each evening (with a table of nine we all rotate each night). Lunch and breakfast are served in the same dining area but it is open seating. There are lots of other locations to dine on board and Sandy and I have been using room service for breakfast and sitting out on our balcony and staring at the ocean. As I write this we are at sea off the coast of Cuba and it is in the high 70’s with a wonderful breeze.
Yesterday we docked at Port Lauderdale and we took a tour of the Everglades. We went on an airboat with a flat bottom and a large driving propeller at the stern and “skimmed” the surface of the shallow waters. We saw alligators and lots of birds. It’s a quite beautiful spot. The weather was hot and humid but the speed of the boat made it comfortable. The boat seated about 40 people and was so loud they hand out earplugs. After the ride we attended an alligator demonstration. The alligators were called by name and the ranger hand fed them.
Back on the bus our guide told us that after WWII the Army Corps of engineers went to Australia to obtain seeds of two hardy trees to plant in the Everglades as these specific trees drink lots of water and the goal was to dry out the Everglades. It worked too well. The Everglades at one time extended to Orlando and now are about 40 miles south of Orlando. So they set about killing the trees but the problem was with this variety of tree if you attack them they immediately drop all of their seeds and you get more trees. Only recently have they started to make small incisions and planting poison to kill the tree over a longer period. So for those who have visited Florida that explains the stands of leafless trees.
Sandy and I were both a bit homesick and Sandy really missed the kids and grandkids. She made many calls but didn’t reach anyone. Next chance on our cell phone will be LA at the end of the month.
There is entertainment every night in the Royal Theatre and so far we have seen a wonderful singer who won the Ed McMahon talent show in the US and its counterpart in England. There was a great show called “Celtic Heartbeat” that was an imitator of “Riverdance” and a comedian. Which brings me to the passengers: There are young people on board but the average age is probably in the sixties. Small percentages (2-3%) have canes, wheelchairs, walkers and oxygen tanks. I really admire the people that won’t stop and keep experiencing life. However the comedian made two observations: His grandfather stained furniture – but he didn’t mean to and he had one audience that didn’t laugh at all but at the end of the show there wasn’t a dry seat in the house.
More to come.
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
First update
Thursday we flew to NYC and had a small problem with our boarding pass because there was another Tom and and Sandy Bresnahan flying Delta from Albany NY to Cincinnati - how’s that for a coincidence? –
The plane was a small 50 seater with 3 seats across. When we settled in our seats an invisible baton swirled in the air to conduct the sneeze concerto. Achoo, Blatt, snort, kerchoo sounds rose all around us leading to the first two questions of the trip: How quickly do you have to adust your airflow vent to direct air down and away from the front of of your face? Does it do any good.? We talked to a young woman on her way to study in Ghana and a guy (poring over a Turkey guide book) on his way to a 10 day vacation in Turkey.
15th floor of the Mariott in Times Square, dinner in the hotel and the first report that there may be a snow storm on Saturday.
Friday we walked over to Saint Patrick’s to light candles in very cold, windy weather. Always feels good to be in New York. We then braved our way back through the wind for lunch at the hotel . Friday night taxied to Lincoln Center for the wonderful production of “South Pacific”. We were 4 rows from the stage and I had one seat next to me on the aisle. A heavy set gentleman with a cane arrived and filled up the whole seat and then some. He said he would tell me a very romantic story. Seems he and his wife attended “South Pacific” New Years Eve 1954. He mentioned holding hands with her and how much they had enjoyed the play. A quietness hung there and Sandy and I were feeling a bit sorry for him but also thinking how great it was that he was attending the play and how nostalgic and sentimental a moment. After a few minutes of conversation I mentioned something about his wife and he replied that she was sitting several rows back as they could not get seats together.
As it it turned out she did have an empty seat near her and at intermission he joined her for the second act and I returned to breathing normally.
Saturday a bus to the ship and room 6042 on the sixth level. The ship is beautiful and well decorated.
At dinner we learned it was a very rough crossing from England and the passengers were bounced around a bit. One couple said their floor buckled and the bed rose up and down off the deck in the worst of it. It was explained to us that The Queen Victoria is built like a ship compared to the Queen Mary II built as an ocean liner. As I write this on our second day at sea I can report that we are a bit bouncy (pitching and rolling) but the weather has been rainy and windy with gusts up to 35 knots. We toured the ship and we were told by an American staff person (one of two on board)that the security for the Queen Victoria cruise is above us and beside us and below us. Planes, subs and ships – so bring on the Gulf of Aden… Speaking of guests we have met some interesting people so far that will find their way into the blog as we go along.
Queen Victoria ship facts: Maiden voyage: 11 December 2007
Gross tonnage:90,049 Length: 964.5 feet Width: 106 feet Draft: 25.9 feet Height: 179 feet with guest capacity of 1,980
The plane was a small 50 seater with 3 seats across. When we settled in our seats an invisible baton swirled in the air to conduct the sneeze concerto. Achoo, Blatt, snort, kerchoo sounds rose all around us leading to the first two questions of the trip: How quickly do you have to adust your airflow vent to direct air down and away from the front of of your face? Does it do any good.? We talked to a young woman on her way to study in Ghana and a guy (poring over a Turkey guide book) on his way to a 10 day vacation in Turkey.
15th floor of the Mariott in Times Square, dinner in the hotel and the first report that there may be a snow storm on Saturday.
Friday we walked over to Saint Patrick’s to light candles in very cold, windy weather. Always feels good to be in New York. We then braved our way back through the wind for lunch at the hotel . Friday night taxied to Lincoln Center for the wonderful production of “South Pacific”. We were 4 rows from the stage and I had one seat next to me on the aisle. A heavy set gentleman with a cane arrived and filled up the whole seat and then some. He said he would tell me a very romantic story. Seems he and his wife attended “South Pacific” New Years Eve 1954. He mentioned holding hands with her and how much they had enjoyed the play. A quietness hung there and Sandy and I were feeling a bit sorry for him but also thinking how great it was that he was attending the play and how nostalgic and sentimental a moment. After a few minutes of conversation I mentioned something about his wife and he replied that she was sitting several rows back as they could not get seats together.
As it it turned out she did have an empty seat near her and at intermission he joined her for the second act and I returned to breathing normally.
Saturday a bus to the ship and room 6042 on the sixth level. The ship is beautiful and well decorated.
At dinner we learned it was a very rough crossing from England and the passengers were bounced around a bit. One couple said their floor buckled and the bed rose up and down off the deck in the worst of it. It was explained to us that The Queen Victoria is built like a ship compared to the Queen Mary II built as an ocean liner. As I write this on our second day at sea I can report that we are a bit bouncy (pitching and rolling) but the weather has been rainy and windy with gusts up to 35 knots. We toured the ship and we were told by an American staff person (one of two on board)that the security for the Queen Victoria cruise is above us and beside us and below us. Planes, subs and ships – so bring on the Gulf of Aden… Speaking of guests we have met some interesting people so far that will find their way into the blog as we go along.
Queen Victoria ship facts: Maiden voyage: 11 December 2007
Gross tonnage:90,049 Length: 964.5 feet Width: 106 feet Draft: 25.9 feet Height: 179 feet with guest capacity of 1,980
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