So .... a couple more hours and I'm off to meet Her Majesty!
I was in plenty of time for the 10.12 train; I sat beside a
couple who were also heading for the Queen. When I was waiting for the
connection from Central to the Quay, I started chatting to “Di” who wanted to
know if it was the right train. She was also meeting family at the Quay and
boarding the Queen. I arrived at the Quay at 11.15.
We watched each other’s bags while each of us used the
bathrooms and then I went across to the little park and sat to eat my sandwich
snack. It was incredibly hot, 32 degrees, very unpleasant. When Alison, Simmo
and Becky arrived near 1.00pm, we went straight around to see if we could at
least get rid of our bags, and found out we could go through checkin and board,
rather than waiting till our allocated time of 4.00pm. It was very quick, with
very little wait time.
Our bags were all in the cabins within a very few minutes;
we dumped our stuff and went up to the Lido, as it was by now well past
lunchtime. We all had a hearty meal, knowing that in a few hours we’d be having
another one! The Lido was busy but not over-crowded and the food was lovely. We
did some wandering around, getting to know the ship a little. She’s elegantly
decorated, a little more sedate without a lot of the glitz; the average
passenger age is older than we’re used to on HAL – certainly not as many
younger couples and Becky is on of only a handful of children on board. A half
bottle of bubbly was waiting for us in each cabin.
Alison and I went up for a coffee later in the afternoon
while Simmo and Becky had a swim in the smaller pool and I managed to spill
some hot coffee on my top. Thankfully not too much damage done. As we only had
½ and hour to dinner, I had a quick shower and changed.
The Maitre D talked to Alison about organising her
garlic-free diet, ordering the dinner menu the day before. Dinner was
delicious, far too much food; avocado and corn salad with turkey, ocean trout with
shrimp (prawns) and a decadent chocolate square. Our waiter brought chocolates
and marshmallows with the tea as well.
The ship started slowly moving and turning while we were still
finishing dinner, so we went straight up to the Lido to watch the city skyline
receding: what an amazing harbour, especially in the twilight.
After that into the showroom to see the very talented
classical guitarist – very enjoyable to watch and listen. As we walked past the Queen’s Room, we saw the dancers below
doing a cha cha and I spotted the “spare” gentlemen; they finished just as the
show was starting and were due to start again after the show, so I got changed
after the show and went down to “test the water”. First partner was an elderly
gentleman (they all are) who was an okay dancer but poor at leading. We did a
rhumba, which was nice. Then the only lady partner asked if I wanted to dance;
it was a waltz and she was a really good leader; after that was a samba and she
showed me a simple routine which was fun. My back didn’t like it all that much
but I was really glad I had that dance with her: hope it happens again! It’s
such a pleasure to dance with someone who can lead!
By the time I got back to the cabin, Becky was asleep in
Alison and Simmo’s bed because she didn’t want to be in my cabin. So I sat with
her while they went out for a while. They got back quite late, after spending
some time up in “The Pub”. I was very tired and ready for bed but my tummy
didn’t feel right.
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