All at Sea.

Our 7 day crossing of the the Atlantic has started very well and we’ve settled in as if we’d not really ever left the ship.  Meeting up with so many entertainment team members, waiters, cabin stewards and even some passengers from the past has been so exciting.

The weather has been superb so far and the sea conditions excellent.  Three times round the promenade deck is one mile and James (skiving off and standing at the stern instead of walking!) saw his first whale on Tuesday. 

The ship’s props are powering its 84,000 tons through the water at an average 18 knots at the moment as the captain is trying to outwit a storm and keep us all comfortable.

Mornings generally start off with a game of deck quoits or shuffle board while the North Atlantic air gets rid of the cobwebs.

James won the deck quoits on Tuesday, with Doug winning it on Wednesday.  Here’s Doug whiling away some time with Tom, one of the entertainment team, who has to organise about forty competitors each day.

Wednesday evening saw the Captain’s Gala party around the Neptune Pool.  It’s a good time to chin-wag with some of the ship’s officers and crew and find out what they get up to while we’re enjoying ourselves.

This cruise sold out quite quickly (and we weren’t quick enough off the mark to get a place!) but at the last minute a few cabins became available again.  This time we were quicker off the mark but, naturally, we didn’t get much choice.  Hence we have a lifeboat outside our window.  We’ve laid claim to it in case of an emergency and James has gone down to the deck below and familiarised himself with the launching instructions!

James is also tall enough to see over the top so, for him, it’s no great problem and, although it might be fun to drive a lifeboat, we’re not expecting or wishing for the chance to try it!

On this trip we’re aiming to walk at least two miles around the ship each day and at the moment the North Atlantic weather is good enough to do it shirt sleeves -although nobody’s getting much of a sun tan!