1st days at sea

April 17, 2008 – first full day on-board Having again turned the clocks ahead one hour, it was a slow start to our morning. (Every day we set the clocks so that by the time we reach the UK we’ll be on ‘their time). Coffee and toast was delivered, showers were taken and we headed out to try and make arrangements for a Galley Tour, a taxi in Southampton and other housekeeping activities. Then off to the library to get the day’s puzzle, read the newspapers (Herald Tribune, USA Today, Financial Times, WSJ, London Times and a few German papers as well.). On a cold, rainy day the library is a most popular spot along with the Casino that is able to go night and day now that we’re at sea (God knows why). In early afternoon Bob had arranged a Cruise Critic meeting up at the elegant Commodore Club. We, the Friends of Bill W. (Alcoholics Anonymous), the Friends of Dorothy (Gay&Lesbian), and god knows who else were all meeting at the same time, and the array of people trying so psyche out which group they belonged to was amusing to watch. Cruise Critic is made up of people who are interested in cruises and ships and who are willing to share their knowledge and their questions on-line. Each unique cruise has something called a ‘roll call’ where those who will be on board for that cruise identify themselves, and often agree to meet (in the flesh) on the ship. While the gathering continued (with cocktails), I took off for a classical piano concert in the Royal Court Theater. Anthony Hewitt is a young British ‘prodigy’ who played many of the old saws - but did so very well. The theater was quite full with attentive and quiet listeners, all of whom seemed quite impressed by his skill based on the level of the clapping. What was interesting was that the ship had a camera which projected his hands on a huge pair of screens on either side of the stage so that if one couldn’t see the keyboard directly, one could see it on the screen – now if only one could have had freeze-frame or replay. What makes the Queen Mary 2 so amazing to me is the variety of ways that people can spend their day while encased on a moving ship on a rainy, foggy and chilly day. While there may be over 2500 people on board, we never seem to see them. Some may be involved in sports (walking the decks, using the gym, playing golf, taking classes on yoga or tai chi); those with a gambling streak may be in the casino; others have found ConneXions where one can either take computer classes, use a vast array of ship-provided Dell computers, or simply set oneself up with a Wi-Fi connection on your own laptop; some guests are playing games (doing jigsaw puzzles, playing scrabble, learning to play bridge), and others are simply napping, reading relaxing or sitting in the vast variety of dining areas for a coffee, some desert or whatever suits the fancy while having quiet conversations. Whatever suits your fancy is made available somewhere on board. Tonight is a ‘formal’ evening so Bob is getting into his tuxedo with studs, cufflinks, cummerbund and shiny shoes; I’m wearing glitter, sparkles and fancy high heels. All dressed up with nowhere to go – except an elegant dinner. As usual the food was fabulous and our group of nine is beginning to blend. We chose to sit in a different seat at the table so that we could chat with others. Each couple orders its own wines, and if you don’t finish it, your room number is put on the bottle and will be saved for the next meal. So far I would say that our waiter and sommelier are less attentive than the couple we had on the last trip. Things just seem a bit sloppier… but then, there are nine of us, and last time we were a table of four. After a lovely dinner, and the usual chit-chat, Bob and I went to the Commodore Club where we could have a last after-dinner liqueur and listen to some gentle live jazz piano playing before moving our clocks ahead another hour and falling into bed with the sound of the ships’ fog horn in the background. (We’re in a bed of fog and the horn must be blown at least every 2 minutes to alert others to our existence). A lovely lullaby of the sea that reminds us of living near the Golden Gate in San Francisco..

April 18, 2008 We awoke to the same sound that lulled us to sleep. Our first item on the agenda after coffee and toast (and Bob’s blueberry muffin), is a tour of the ship’s galley. There are about 12 of us on the tour, and while we hoped to see everything, we are shown the area which our waiters would see. First one sees the cold appetizer area, then the warm appetizer area, and the huge ‘entrée’ pick up and assembly area.. Then we are shown the dessert area. The statistics are astounding: 150 chefs in 12 different kitchens including one uniquely for room service; 85 dishwashers, pot washers and galley cleaners and god knows how many waiters and waitresses; wine stewards and bus-boys. On any typical 6-day transatlantic crossing where one is unable to restock anything the ship carries: 50 tons of fresh fruits & vegetables – with the right proportion of green and yellow bananas for example… 12 tons of meat 8 tons of poultry 13 tons of fish 2 tons of sugar 2 tons of cheese & dairy products 32,400 fresh eggs 5,000 gallons of milk 20 kilogram of caviar 4 tons of flour This is to make approx. 16000 meals a day. The volumes are staggering and obviously we had a lot of questions. Our guide Paul Hamilton from Norway is the person responsible for ordering all the food. He showed us a computerized tote board that lists at the beginning of each evening the expected number of each plate to be served: example: beef, rare; beef medium; lamb rare, lamb medium; shrimp, lobster, swordfish etc. They make a ‘guesstimate’ of what will be ordered at each meal, based on the type of individuals are aboard (nationality, age etc). Then as each meal is ordered the tote board lowers the starting number…so for example, at last nights second seating they assumed 602 beef medium would be ordered, but they went over that amount by 29. In one sense one is amazed at their abilities to predict what will be consumed, but it also shows just how well they know their clientele. After all, to guess wrong is to have too much wastage. Naturally that whole planning process appealed to me and left me with a ton of questions and wanting a more detailed tour so I could ask all my questions. Having spread germs throughout that galley, we happy guests went on to our own lunch. In the afternoon while Bob sat happily on the Internet I attended a RADA performance of Richard III. Since the performance was to be completed in 45 minutes, one could call it the ‘reader’s digest’ version, but all the key speeches were there, and the plot moved along crisply – almost as I wish other productions might. The players as always were very professional and received great rounds of applause from the over 500 people who attended. To sit in a darkened theater listening to Shakespeare while going 26 knots across the ocean has a charm. Sailing in the same fortnight that the Titanic sank in 1912, we are skirting south of the Grand Banks ice field, following the reverse of the Titanic’s exact course. The captain at his noon-time announcements told us that we would pass over the remains of Titanic (over two miles below) at about 1630 (4:30pm). How cheery. Bob marked the event with a Guinness.