Malcolm's diary of QE2's final world cruise.

[Malcolm]

There was a very valedictory feeling about the ship last night. Everywhere was full of people taking their last photographs and having their last drink – until about 11-00 pm and then almost everyone disappeared to bed. We aren’t rushing to get off to sightsee today and that has meant that we’ve been about to view the morning’s activities. It has been a morning of guests waiting to get off and guests being called to disembark.

I was up and dressed before Paul. I went for a walk ashore to see if there was anything interesting within walking distance of the terminal. The answer is that no, there isn’t! Not even a couple of souvenir shops in the terminal itself. It is possible to get off the ship, walk down to the taxi stand and then return to the ship but that’s it.

There have just been three announcements made through the cabin. The first was that the ship has now cleared customs. A bit late, considering that I’ve already been off the ship and come back onboard again. The second was that the ship will be sailing at 1800 hours and passengers should be back onboard by 1730; that announcement also said that crew leave had been granted and that crew may go ashore. The third announcement said that we were sailing at 1700 hours and should all be aboard by 1630. This third announcement may have been directed at crew (I missed the first couple of words) but does make me wonder how the crew can sail an hour before the passengers!

The four of us took a taxi to the Queen Mary. This cost US$ 25.00 including a tip. The taxi picked us up from the terminal and dropped us at the gangway for the Mary. Here we parted from my parents, leaving them to go their way whilst we went ours. We had thought it would probably take us a couple of hours to see the ship. In fact we spent four and a half hours there before we had to leave and get back to the QE2!

We started our explorations by heading up to the Sports Deck to see the Bridge, Wireless and Radio Rooms. There were also some of the senior officers’ cabins on view here.

We then started to head downwards and got to Sun Deck. I was delighted to be able to see into the Veranda Grill through its windows but was disappointed that we couldn’t get inside.

The Promenade Deck is the main deck for tourists visiting the ship. Here is the Observation Bar (rather touristy – we were going to stop here for a drink but decided not to bother) and the main shopping promenade. This is still as it was installed and is a very attractive space. The shops there sell mainly souvenirs but there are also a hairdressers and a ladies outfitter. The Promenade Deck is also where the Queen’s Salon (1st Class Smoking Room) and Royal Salon (another 1st class room) are located. These were both in use for functions today but, as the Queen’s Room was only setting up we were able to see that room. Before leaving the Promenade Deck we had lunch at the Promenade Café – not fantastic but not that bad either.

From the Promenade Deck I went down to the Isolation Wards (until today I’d never realized that transatlantic liners had such things) whilst Paul stayed on the Promenade Deck to avoid the steps. We then headed to the bow area located on M deck before heading onto A Deck and the Fire Station Controls. I suspect that we went through a door that we shouldn’t have at this point although we didn’t see any signs saying that the area was for hotel guests only. We ended up on one of the original corridors of the Queen Mary. There were cabins off on both sides. These decks are very impressive and appear to be unchanged from the way they were when the QM as in service. If we did go through a wrong door I am very grateful.

We continued down the A Deck corridor until we reached the reception desk. We had decided that we would have time to catch the “Ghosts and Legends” Show before we got a taxi back to the QE2 however I remembered something that had been posted on CC a little while ago – ask at the reception desk to see a cabin; if there’s one available they will  let you see it. We did ask but we didn’t get to see a cabin; we got to see a suite of rooms. There was a sitting room, double bedroom, single, inside (think MI although the single on the QM was a lot bigger than most MIs), bedroom and two bathrooms. The cabins had televisions now and there was an extended range of toiletries available but the cabin was basically as it was in 1934. Thank you to whoever said to go and ask to see a cabin – it was a very valuable tip.

We never got time to see the “ghosts and Legends”, the 1st Class Dining Room, the engine room nor the submarine moored nearby. The Queen Mary will be worth a lot more time on our next visit.

We decided not to risk the 6-00 pm sailing time being correct and were back by 4-15 pm (rightly as it turned out – we sailed at 5-00 pm). Back on the QE2 there was a letter waiting from Warren Smith. He has arranged for the Hotel stores tour to take place tomorrow morning. We went on deck to watch us sail. We thought we’d order a lemonade from a passing waiter (We recognised him and he recognised us; he knew that we’d been on since Southampton and that we’d always had the soft drinks package). We’d ordered when I realised that we hadn’t bought our drinks package for this leg. He would neither trust us that we were going to buy one nor would he arrange for us to purchase one there and then. We ended up not having a drink.

The promised band did not materialize and we had to content ourselves with a quiet sailaway. Perky came made an announcement over the PA system. He welcomed aboard the new people who had joined us for this leg and said that because of other ships we would not be able to turn round but would reverse out of the port. He went on to say that the Coastguard had given permission for him to sound his horn and he would therefore be sounding it as he left.

First on Deck we bumped into Susan and Michael (ONADECK). They had been on the cruise at Christmas and we had been looking forward to seeing them again in LA. Whilst we were talking to them another man came up and asked if we remembered him. It was Bob who we had met with his Partner Chris on the Christmas 06 trip.

We went to the Chart Room for a drink before dinner. As we walked in two “odd” (:p) women jumped up and hugged and kissed me. It was Angela and M-L. They were sitting with Matthew, Paul and Tim. Michael and Ben joined us later as we all sat and had a pre-prandial drink and made introductions/catch-ups. We all confirmed the arrangement to meet in the Yacht Club at 10-00 pm that evening.

Once dinner was over Paul and I sat in the Golden Lion for 20 minutes. It is somewhere we dislike strongly but, as we only has to pass 20 minutes before we met the rest of hate CC group, we thought it would do. Whilst we were sitting there Michel came through for a break. We were able to pass a few minutes chatting quite happily. It was good to talk with Michael but it really was unfortunate that we were seen in that place!

Here is where I stop mentioning names (because my memory is so bad I’m bound to miss someone out). There must have been about 20 at the CC meeting in the Yacht Club. I was very pleased that the people boarding at Los Angeles thought the meeting time was 10-00 pm. I thought it was then as well but most of the people on the full world cruise thread were saying that the time had been arranged for 10-30 pm. Although most of the people on the entire cruise had never met most of those joining at LA we still got on like a house on fire. It was turned 11-00 pm when the party started to break up and nearly midnight before we decided to call it a day. The party was still going when we left.

[Malcolm]

The gym was busy again this morning. It was full of new people all eager to show their keenness! When the clocks start going on (tomorrow) the numbers will drop. When I checked the sheets I haven’t been booked in beyond today. I’m not too bothered – I’d already thought I’d give tomorrow a miss (the clocks going on, there’s another new show I want to see and a lot of CC people I want to see as well) and here’s my excuse!

The people in the cabin next door have changed. We wondered a while ago because the bridge arguments stopped, although we thought that the people in there had just worked out that we could hear everything they said. Now there is a definite Australian accent in the voices next door so we can be sure they’ve changed. I guess we’ll never find out what they were doing with all that sticky tape!

10-25 am – five minutes before the hotel stores tour was supposed to start. I’ve just had a telephone call from Warren Smith saying that he has just spoken with the stores and they have said how busy they are. Apparently they took a very big delivery yesterday at LA and they are in the process of storing it all away. The advice was that we did not do the tour today so it has been rescheduled for the 4th March (another sea day) at 11-00 am.

Another day when we did get a midday announcement from the Captain; quite a long announcement as well! In his announcement he said that 60 people are onboard with no luggage because of the problems at T5. I hope that BA can sort it so that the luggage is in Acapulco before we get there.

This afternoon was the second Cruise Critic get together. There were over 20 people there at the meeting’s busiest. Tomorrow is Judy’s (Oldchick) birthday and Charlie (songanddance) had arranged for there to be a cake at today’s meeting. The meeting was also the first to include the soft toy contingent. Bluey, Doggy Boy, Pip, Lyn and Margot were all there flying the flag for mascots. At about 4-20 pm it was decided that eight humans amongst us should go for afternoon tea. The soft toy contingent decided they would join us. The waiters were not best pleased when they had to find a table for eight (plus five) partway through service. This tea was the first official Cruise Critic Teddy Bear’s Picnic (I hasten to point out that orange cats were not welcome).

It was the Gala Dinner menu again (!) and I hadn’t fancied anything from the menu. I asked for a special order for both my appetiser and entree whilst Paul just had the special order for his appetiser. We had both said we would like Fociaccia del Potate (sp?) – a kind of potato soufflé with Grappa; the Maître ‘D had never heard of this but listened to the recipe and said he would sort something out. What the kitchens produced was nothing like the dish that Paul makes at home but was very acceptable. It was also a “proper” soufflé – not like the sweet ones that they serve as a pudding – it did collapse quickly if not eaten.

The photographs from the World Cruise Dinner were in our cabins when we got back for the night. They are horrendous! On the night we had told the photographer that there were four in our party and the photographer had told us that he was taking one picture of the entire table. What we have got is a picture of mother, Paul and I with my father sitting facing away from the camera; with the woman who was sitting to Paul’s left also facing the camera (Paul did not get off on a particularly good footing with her as her first question to him was what department did he work in on the ship).

[Malcolm]

I went to see Lisa bout the World Cruise Dinner photograph. She said that “they” had spotted that the picture wasn’t that well composed and had spoken to Graham (the officer at the table). His response had been that all the other people at the table had said they didn’t want their picture taking. That’s it. I find it hard to believe that the photographer could not work out that there were more than four people at the table wanted their photographs taking. Graham tells Lisa that he was busy talking to the man on his left and therefore wasn’t in the photograph. As the host for the table wasn’t it his job to ensure the photograph was taken correctly? Lisa tells us that there’s nothing else she can do about it. We’ve left the photographs with Lisa – we don’t want them.

I thought it had gone on too long to be true. Perky didn’t make any announcement today. We did get the usual navigational information – from a Deck Cadet. I wonder if anyone’s pointed out to Perky that there are a lot of people who look forward to the Captain’s announcement.

Yesterday I was delighted to be able to access the internet from the cabin. It was the first time I’ve been able to get access despite having tried it in the past. I’ve tried twice today and can’t get a signal again. I’ve also been to three wireless points – I can’t get access there either. I’ll have to try again tomorrow.

Michael of Michael and Susan (ONADECK) had invited us to drinks before dinner as it was Susan’s birthday. It was meant to be kept quite because, like me, Susan doesn’t like a fuss made of her birthday. Paul and I had rather broken the surprise by sending her birthday flowers earlier in the day. We met Michael and Susan in the Chart room at 7-30 pm. Michael (Tour Office) and Anna (Cruise Sales) joined the group later. The party had to break up at 8-45 pm. If it hadn’t we would all have missed dinner!

After the quickest dinner we’ve ever had (45 minutes to include 3 courses and coffee) we went onto the deck outside the Yacht Club for a Ginger Beer and then to meet Bob and Chris for a drink. I didn’t get to bed until well turned midnight again.

[Malcolm]

We’re anchored in Acapulco Bay this morning. After a leisurely breakfast (for me) and a cup of tea in the cabin (for Paul) we both went to the Grand Lounge to get tender tickets at 9-00 am. We were delighted to find that there was no queue and that, as soon as we’d got tickets, we were told to go straight to the tender. This is the second time we haven’t had a problem with tenders. If this could be kept up then it would make tender ports preferable to docking ports.

The tender dropped us at the Cruise Terminal. This is about a mile from the old part of Acapulco. Be warned; not only is this not a pleasant walk but you also have to run the gauntlet of taxi drivers all trying to sell you their tour to see the Cliff Divers (we did want to see the divers, just not first thing). For over half of that mile walk we had to tolerate people trying to find us taxis or show us shops that we didn’t want. This problem did ease as we moved further away from the Cruise Terminal.

Our first impressions of Acapulco were that it was not that pleasant. Our second impressions went on to confirm that! We had intended to walk into the old town but had instead ended up in the current centre. It was full of beggars, hawkers, and people wanting to show you where to spend money. It was not nice. Acapulco has a system of licensed guides. They are not paid by Acapulco but make their living from tips earned by giving help to tourists. We had generally avoided them but out of desperation asked one the way to the Cathedral (in the heart of the Old Town). He was very helpful and certainly warranted the tip we gave him (US$ 2.00) for helping. He told us that we had walked past the road leading to the cathedral and that we should retrace our steps until we got to the correct turning. We did so and found ourselves in a much more interesting part of town.

The old town was pedestrianised with wide streets and several small squares with fountains, etc. We spent a very enjoyable half hour wandering around this area. We did find the cathedral. It was a very modern building (by comparison with most cathedrals in the UK). Work was started on it in the late 1800s and finished in the 1920s. Paul’s comment was that it looked like a picture palace built in the 1920s!

We got a taxi back from the Old Town to the Cruise Terminal (we couldn’t face either the walk or the hoards of taxi drivers). The taxis for hire on the street are very interesting. They are Volkswagen Beetles that are painted blue and white; there are hundreds of them and they are cheap our taxi cost us US$ 5.00 and US$ 1.00 tip for the journey back). As we were dropped at the taxi stand it meant that we didn’t have to face the drivers we’d walked past on the way out.

We’d agreed to meet my Mother at 11-30 am and go together to see the divers. As we were at the terminal early we asked at the official stand about talking a taxi to do what we wanted. The driver quoted a fare of US$ 200.00 to do what we wanted in a large van (it would have seated 14!). We didn’t haggle as we felt that fare wasn’t that bad for the added convenience and space a large taxi just for us would give. As it was just turned 11-00 am we decided to go back into the terminal proper and have a drink before we went looking for mother. We were just about to order when both she and my father arrived. We all had a cold drink but dad did not stay with us – he decided to walk into town on his own. Mother, Paul and I got into the taxi at 11-15 am.

We had said that we wanted to see the Chapel of Peace in the hills overlooking Acapulco but had thought we would visit after seeing the cliff divers. Our driver told us that the chapel shut at 1-00 pm for a siesta and we would therefore need to go there first. Despite being busy with Cunard tours the chapel and its grounds still had a very peaceful air. The views form the grounds are certainly not to be missed. It is a fabulous location to get views out over the bay and the QE2. I suspect that the views from there are still quite good, even when the QE2 isn’t there!

From the chapel we made the journey back round Acapulco to La Quebrada, the place where you go to view the divers jumping. There are two places where you can view the divers jumping. The first is the public viewing area. This is down quite a long flight of steps (over 50) and was quite crowded by the time the divers jumped.

The second is from the Hotel El Mirador. The hotel charges US$ 14.50 per person for either two drinks or a light snack and one drink, a seat and table and a good view of the divers. We only got to the hotel at 12-55 pm for the 1-00 pm show and got the last table. It probably had the worst outlook of any of the tables there but it still had quite a good view). The restaurant does take credit cards although they are very slow at processing them; we paid cash and they were able to handle that fairly quickly.

Of the two places I would guess that the public area has the better view of the divers. The hotel has the major advantages of being on the flat, you can get something to eat and drink whilst watching and it has good and plentiful seating. The divers are not spectacular. If I were in Acapulco again and there was something else I wanted to do then I would quite happily miss them. But I am pleased to have seen them.

When we’d finished lunch our taxi took us to the Fuerte de San Diego. This building is just up the hill from where the tenders dock. There is an entrance, with a bridge over the road, almost next door to the terminal. However it is still quite a climb up to the fort. I am glad we got the taxi to take us there. The fort, heavily restored, was last used in the battle for Mexican independence. It contains a museum telling the story of Acapulco. The fort itself is not the most interesting of places but does offer some more spectacular views over the city and bay. We gave the museum a miss however I’m told that it does contain some good pieces.

We wandered round the shops in the terminal – nothing of great interest and nothing that we’ve not seen elsewhere – before we got the tender back to the ship. We were back onboard by just turned 4-30 pm.

After dinner Paul and I went to sit outside the Yacht Club. They had cleared away all the sun loungers, put tables in their place and hung coloured lights from the deck above. This is only the second time this has happened on the World Cruise and at Christmas (the first was when we overnighted in Montevideo). There is no mention of any event outside the Yacht Club tonight; not even “Cigars Under the Stars” something that is scheduled there no matter what the temperature.

I’ve just checked yesterday’s Daily Programme to make sure that the event wasn’t mentioned and then written the above paragraph. Whilst I was writing it Paul was looking back through the programme. When I’d finished writing he found mention of it – ‘Evening Under the Stars” – hidden away under the heading “Recommended Drinks for Today”!

Whilst we were there Joel and Jane (Novascotian) came and joined us. It really is wonderful thar CC means you know so many people on the ship. There is usually someone about who wants to chat or have a drink.

[Malcolm]

I had a relatively leisurely morning this morning. After going to the gym I skipped breakfast and spent quite a long time doing nothing before I had to get up and get dressed. I tried to send emails from the cabin with no luck – I can connect to the network but have no joy in accessing the ship’s servers to gain internet access. I then went down to the computer centre and tried there. No problem – I was able to connect straight away and, with only a few users online, the internet was quite quick.

We had wondered about Peter Crimes’ talk on the Panama Canal. Some of his latter talks, particularly those on the Pacific Islands and the West Coast of the States have tended towards the geology of the area and have not been as informative as some of his other talks. We need not have worried; he didn’t mention any more about the geological structure of the canal area other than to say it was made up of a lot of rock and mud! Unlike the talk on Los Angeles it was very busy. Every seat was full five minutes before the talk started and there were people standing in the aisles.

I wonder if I’m being too hard on Perky. We saw him this morning, wandering through the short corridor that links the Queens Room with the Chart Room. He did stop at the one table in there and exchange a few words with the people sitting there. His parting words to that table were something to do with having to get back to the Bridge to make his announcement! (Overheard comments so I’m not sure that is what was said )

I am being too hard on Perky! He’s just made quite a long midday announcement which included a promise to make an even longer one tomorrow when he will give us provisional timings for our trip through the Panama Canal. He’s promised that he will not only give the information but that it will be published in the Daily Programme for the day as well.

Today was the Cabin Cavalcade. There were 14 cabins to view. They ranged from MIs and an M6 to 3 Q2s. And from Five Deck right up to Sun Deck. One of the surprising things was the Q2s. All Q2s are on either Sun or Sports Deck and have similar facilities however we saw a “normal” Q2 that had a full balcony, a Q2 towards the front of the ship that had a shorter balcony and a separate sitting area off the main cabin and the Q2 that doesn’t have a balcony but is a much larger cabin. We also managed to visit the Synagogue, the Princess Grill Bar and the Princess Grill, the Queens Grill Lounge and the Queens Grill and the Mauretania Restaurant.

I thought that I’d been almost everywhere you could go on this ship. I was wrong. Matthew showed us a route from the A stairs to the penthouses that didn’t involve the Queens Grill Lounge. I have often seen these stairs but have never thought too hard about where they go; I’ve just assumed that they led to officers’ quarters. I now know where another of those unlabeled flights of stairs go!

Today has set me thinking about other places I would like to see. I have never been in either a Q1 or a QS. I would like to see both (more than one QS as they are all different). I would like to see the nursery (not because I want anything to do with kids but because I am interested in the ship?).What have they done with the kennels? I’d like to see what’s left. I’ve never seen the kitchens for either the Mauretania or the Queens Grill. I haven’t included the engine rooms because they are totally out of bounds and I haven’t included anything else on decks Six, Seven or Eight because they are normally out of bounds. Who can I ask to see these places? What else should I be asking for?

I really think I have been misjudging Captain Perkins. Tonight was the Gala Farewell Cocktail Party for full World Cruise Passengers. It was very similar to the welcome cocktail party that was held at the start of the world cruise in that there was a buffet with canapés, smoked salmon, prawns, caviar, an assortment of small cakes, etc. There was also the usual problem of people ordering drinks, the drinks not arriving, ordering more drinks and then both lots turning up ten minutes later! However both Paul and my parents made this party; Paul and I got to a brief chat with Captain Perkins. The conversation wasn’t world shattering: just about Jamaica (Perky was born there) and his advice to people going to see the island (only on a tour) and the difficulty of anchoring there.

Captain Perkins also made a speech to the entire room about the future of the cruise, the ship and Cunard. He was less than flattering about the Vicky (a la Captain McNaught).

[Malcolm]

We were very late getting up this morning. We missed breakfast and that meant I managed to finish yesterday’s report. I was able to email it from our cabin again! I wonder what it is about this part of the world that makes wireless signals travel further. I didn’t turn the antennae on the laptop off when I’d sent it; I’ve just looked at the network status and it’s showing only limited connectivity now so I suspect I was lucky.

Carol Thatcher is the Guest Lecturer onboard for this section. Her first lecture, “Consorts: From Evita to Carla Bruni”, was this morning. In many ways it wasn’t about consorts at all, in many others it was all about them. I think she used the concept of consorts as a way of talking about the subjects that interested her. Whatever, her talk was very interesting and filled up fifty minutes very nicely. She talked for just under half the time and then used the remaining time to invite question from the audience. Not surprisingly most of the questions were related to her family and life in No 10 although there was one question asking her about consorts in other lives. She came across as very devoted to her parents and her father in particular and was quite willing to accept that things in her early life were not usual, or even occurred once, to other people.

After the lecture it was time for our Ship’s Stores tour. Warren had telephoned earlier this morning, while I was at the lecture, to say that Thomas would be conducting the tour and that we should meet him at 11-000 am in the Midships lobby. I had arranged for my father to do the tour as well so the three of us met the other couple in the lobby just before 11-00 am. Thomas was already waiting so it was about 10-55 am that we all set off.

We first caught the lift down to Five Deck (eek!) and then walked along about a third of the ship. Thomas then directed us through the big double door, just past the Car Lift, marked “Crew Only”. From there it was down another two decks to meet the officer in charge of the stores, Gregory Dorothy. Gregory then took us on a tour through the stores areas. We started in the dry goods store, then the frozen fish, raw meat, fruit, veg and ice cream freezers; the banana store, the housekeeping store and the spirits, wine and beer cellar (They still have the tanks that were used to carry beer but they are no longer used). We got to see one of the goods lifts from inside and the store under the hatch in the foredeck. It was also interesting to hear stories about the stores and to know that the ship won’t run out of butter before reaching Dubai (because of an ordering mistake).

I had thought I’d have managed to write much more than a single paragraph about the stores. I’m not sure what else I can say about them though. I do have lots of video showing the vast piles of potatoes, the storeroom with boxes of pineapples going from floor to ceiling (not just pineapples but strawberries, melons, Kiwi fruit, asparagus, cauliflowers, bananas, almost every vegetable or fruit you could name). Pictures do not do justice to the sights of the stores; you really need to be there to understand just how much stock is held there.

I did see one sight that will gladden the hearts of most Cunard passengers – there was a place in the wine cellar for keeping Pol Acker. There was only one bottle left. Unfortunately, when I commented on this, I was told that there are four places around the ship where it is stored and only this one was empty.

The entire tour lasted just over 1 ½ hours so I missed Captain Perkins’s midday message (although I have it on good authority that he did make one). Yesterday he had told us that he would be giving the approximate times through the Panama Canal – we missed those as well although we weren’t too bothered as we’d been told they’d be in the Daily Programme.

The Nautical Auction was due to start at 2-00 pm. Its preview was due to start ¾ hour before, 1-15 pm, we didn’t have time to go into the restaurant for lunch so decided to make do with a snack from the Lido. It was good (by motorway service station standards) but the atmosphere was still that of an up market transport caff; with as large number of people, all trying to eat as much as they can, in as short a time as possible. I would not have chosen to eat there had there been another alternative.

After lunch I stopped for a coke and Paul a smoke in the Chart Room. We got to the Grand Lounge at about 1-20 pm. The preview was already underway however as it was only a couple of tables, in front of the stage, we hadn’t missed anything.

The Auction consisted of 66 lots. These lots were arranged either on the stage or on the tables. There was an A4 sheet detailing 63 of the lots in the auction. The lots consisted of things like: a glass globe given on the 2004 WC; a 1000th voyage pin; the souvenir books from the 1977 and 1982 WCs; an Azimuth ring; an old porthole; a used piston ring; etc. There was also a selection of items from the Wardroom: Polo shirts, Rugby shirts, tie pins, lighters, plaques; etc. To finish off there was a miscellany of items: a pilot card from 1982; a megaphone found on the bridge (nobody knows “when it was used or what it was used for”); various courtesy flags from countries the ship has visited and won’t be visiting again; a house flag and the World Cruise Chart – a map of the world showing the full route of the World Cruise, every port we’ve visited and signed by both Captains and the Bridge team.

About twenty minutes before the auction was due to start two officers went through the collection of items to be auctioned and described them. Some of the lots were so “unusual” that they had great difficulty in describing them. I was particularly interested in the crew items (a towel and a set of mugs); the Wardroom items (Rugby Shirt, Polo Shirt, Tie Pin, Belt and Cummerbund); the Final World Cruise Banner (there was also the 25th WC Banner and the 40th Anniversary banner); the ship’s plaques and, of course, the World Cruise Chart.

The first few items went fairly cheaply – the 1000th voyage pins fetched US$ 40.00. Then the prices started to go up. The Christmas Gift of 1997 went for US$ 100.00 and the crew towel for US$ 90.00. I bought the 1977 souvenir book for US$ 120.00 and that was the last thing that went cheaply.

There were two 40th Anniversary Cruise Banners; they went for US$ 500.00 and US$ 520.00! The Rugby shirt for US$ 240.00; the lighter for US$ 400.00 and the Azimuth Ring for US$ 650.00. Even the rather battered megaphone went for US$ 200.00. The courtesy flags started to go at US$ 150.00 and went up to US$ 750.00 for Australia. The Blue Ensign went for US$ 1100.00; a lifebuoy for US$ 1300.00 and the porthole for US$ 1850.00. The final item, the World Cruise Chart went for US$ 6000.00! For ¾ of the auction (1 ½ hours) the prices were so high that it felt like there was no point in being there.

After the auction Paul and I got as far as the Chart Room. We experienced problems trying to get a drink – there was neither steward nor server working. When a steward came into the bar to put out ashtrays we got our drinks. I got a second drink with no problem. Then it came to the third drink (Paul’s second); the steward had vanished again but the server was still on duty behind the bar. I went to the bar to order and showed my Cruise Card with the Soft Drinks Package sticker. I was asked if we both had stickers and I replied in the affirmative. She then demanded to see them both (ignoring the fact that we had previously ordered drinks form her (via the steward) on two occasions within the past 15 minutes; I had to go and get Paul’s card off him to prove that we were both entitled to the drink. Whilst we were in the Chart Room we met Leone who should have been invited to the Farewell party tonight. She had been and was so cross with the invite she had torn it up! The invite had been to all passengers dining in the Mauritania Restaurant.

I nipped back to the cabin to put away my 1977 souvenir guide and then it was off to the Final Ensemble Travel Cocktail Party of the World Cruise. This time Peter Crimes (the Destination Lecturer) and his wife had been invited. He gave a short talk on how and why he had got to lecture on cruises.

As parties go this one was quite good. Paul got there and ordered a whisky with water on the side – it arrived with the water in a separate jug. My father ordered the same and was told that they no longer serve water on the side! I asked for a separate glass of water and was told that was alright (why?) and then pointed out that Paul had been served with a jug of water, the steward just shrugged and said that he’d been told not to serve them.

Although we still didn’t have the timings for the passage through the Panama Canal we’d been told that we would be starting early and decided to have as early a dinner a possible and then head to bed. We were through dinner by 8-30 pm and were heading to bed by 9-30 pm. The Daily Programme arrived shortly after that and informed us that our arrival at Miraflores Lock was scheduled for 6-40 am. Wanting to be on deck long before that we sat an alarm for 5-00 am and went to sleep.

[Malcolm]

The alarm rang at 5-00 am. Neither of us wanted to get up but we did want to see the canal and so were on deck just before 5-30 am. It felt funny to be walking through a quiet ship (or at least that’s how it seemed) carrying sun hats and glasses ever although sunrise wasn’t due for another ¾ hour. The ship stopped feeling quiet when we got to Boat Deck. It was thronged with people all searching for the best place to put their sun lounger for the day. We went to the walkway beneath the Bridge and claimed the last two places looking out over the bow. We stayed here until 9-00 am, when we were through Miraflores Locks and we decided to go for a late breakfast.

Mary – your email didn’t reach the cabin until the middle of the night. I didn’t get to read it until first thing this morning. I hope the timings I posted were of some use to someone. I went to the computer centre to post those times; whilst I was there I saw a new notice saying that there was a shortage of paper on the ship and that things should only be printed if absolutely necessary. I wonder if this will mean a reduction in the number of pointless flyers from the shops and the beauty department.

At 5-30 am it was still dark. Paul had difficulty photographing the Bridge of the Americas as there was not enough light to get a good picture. He also had difficulty getting his camera to focus, until he wiped the lens – coming from an air-conditioned ship to humid Panama quickly had caused condensation to form on his camera. I was not so lucky. My camcorder would not work for the first hour because of condensation on the tape heads.

As we sailed into the entry of the Canal we could see the tall buildings of Panama City in the distance on the starboard side. It wasn’t long before we saw the entrance to Miraflores Locks. There were boats heading upwards in both directions and it seemed to take ages before the boat on the starboard side had locked out of the lower chamber. I was surprised when the canal authorities immediately started to empty the chamber again for us. Despite there being no time lost in the handling of the ship it was still turned 9-00 am when we departed Miraflores Locks (we had been advised 8-00 am in the Daily Programme).

Paul and I went to breakfast and then headed back to the cabin to rest a little so we missed our passage through Pedro Miguel Lock (Missed? We saw it from the cabin – that in itself is an experience) [What you see are the walls of the lock. After months of seeing sea with the occasional bit of land the walls were really disconcerting!]. We were back on deck again in time for our passage under the Centennial Bridge to the north of Pedro Miguel Lock. We took photographs from the area under the ship’s Bridge and then started to walk around Boat Deck. All the outside decks were packed. I think there were more people on deck than I‘ve ever seen before – even Christmas day in the Caribbean or the three ships sailing from New York.

We walked around Boat Deck for a while vaguely hoping to find a seat. We weren’t hoping very hard because, as I’ve already said, the open decks were packed. However we were lucky. As we walked round the stern of Boat Deck there were two empty chairs right by the water cooler. Better still one of the good stewards from the Chart Room came past and managed to get us both cold lemonade. It soon became obvious why those chairs had been vacated – the seats were in full sun and had no breeze to cool them. We stayed there for the next half hour until the ship had almost entirely passed through the Gaillard Cut – the work that was required to dig this is unbelievable. It’s only a short stretch of waterway but a mammoth construction task.

Once the ship had started to emerge into Gatun Lake Paul and I did another partial circuit of Boat Deck before we decided that it was too hot and deck and we’d head back to the cabin for Paul to doze and me to catch up with this journal. It was incredible to sit in the cabin and see big container ships passing so close.

We had been due to start locking down Gatun Locks at 1-30 pm. As we were an hour late leaving Miraflores Locks I guessed that the same would still apply. At 2-00 pm I went on deck to have a last look at Gatun Lake before we began our descent. As I left the cabin Captain Perkins was making an announcement. He confirmed the hour’s delay in sailing but then went on to say that we had been delayed further and that there were four boats to lock down in front of us. He was not optimistic about our making Cristobal this afternoon and will give a final decision when he knows how quickly we make it down the locks. His reason for missing Cristobal is that we need a speed of 28.5 knots to get to Cartagena in time. I do wonder why we can’t increase that speed to 31 knots (we’ve done that a couple of times under this captain) and delay our arrival in Cartagena (we aren’t due to sail until 9-00 pm; There are no tours scheduled to leave before 10-00 am and non due back after 6-00 pm so I don’t think that a delay of two hours would bother any of the passengers).

It’s half past three. They’re just starting to get the first of the Gatun Locks ready for us. I think that the Captain will have a hard job announcing that we will not be going to Cristobal.

At 4-15 pm Perky announced that we would not be going to Cristobal after all. I feel sorry for him. (Really, I do ) He was so uncommunicative at the start of this contract that he is now automatically getting the blame for everything.

It’s now 6-45 pm and Cristobal is far behind. I’ve got a question for Perky: Why are we doing just under 21 knots? I assume that for whatever reason we’ve not been able to get into Cartagena early so we’re going slower to economise on fuel and arrive when we should. However if two extra hours means we can drop our speed by 7.5 knots (remember – Perky told us that we needed a speed of 28.5 knots to make Cartagena in time) we would not have made the next port in time had we stuck to the original schedule and speed. There may be a reason for this reduced speed. For example: we would need 6 ½ engines so we do half the distance with 6 and half with seven or there are restrictions in navigations around the Panama Canal and that reduces our speed, we’ll speed up later. We’ll have to see.

Two hours later and I must apologise to Perky. We have increased in speed. We’re now doing 21.1 knots! I think my question still stands. (At 9-05 pm the speed was down to 20.9 knots) I think what makes this a major problem is that it is not the first time that the passengers have been told a half truth to cover up (cover up what I’m not quite sure, sometimes it’s financial, but others I’m not so sure about). 9-30 pm and the speed’s now 20.8 knots.

Why do some waiters serve water on the side and yet others have been told not to? The number of staff who are rude are in a very small minority – Cunard Management refuse to accept that their staff can be rude. When we went to the Caribbean Cunard informed about half the guests (the other half were left to find out when they got on board) that some of the ports would be tender ports rather than a dock 24 hours before those guests travelled; The Captain said Cunard had known for over a year. I know what happened with the Gala Dinner photograph and the host at the table, yet I’m told the host disagrees with me entirely but I’m given no chance to dispute his word. Why do they sell far too many tours and then seem surprised when it all goes wrong?

Am I just grumbling for the sake of grumbling? Have I become fed up with the World Cruise Is four months onboard too long? I don’t think so.

[I still ask myself that and I am coming up with a broadly similar answer – four months is an awfully long time to be on holiday and that had an effect on my feelings but a lot of the problems were Cunard related and there was nothing I could have done to have avoided them]

I don’t want the end of the cruise to come quickly. These are all fairly minor events but when something like this happens every day you start to expect the problem to come out of Cunard doing something to help itself rather than putting its passengers first.

On a slightly nicer note when we got back to our cabin this evening there was the final World Cruise “Gift” waiting for us. It is a 2” x 6” miniature picture. The picture starts on the left with the Farewell World Cruise logo and behind that is a section of the globe showing Asia and the North Pacific. To the right half of the picture is QE2 travelling against a blue background of sea and sky. There is a letter from Carol Marlow calling it a “water colour”; however on the back a label calls it a “miniature print”. It is a very nice souvenir and one that we shall hang on the wall when we get home.

[Malcolm]

I woke at 6-00 am this morning and put the TV on to check our speed – 20.0 knots. I don’t want to think that Perky is telling porkies (note to all people not from the UK – porkie = pork pie = lie) but he is certainly not telling the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth (part of the oath in a British court). I am sure that there is more than a couple of hours delay that was the reason for missing Cristobal.

We docked in Cartagena at about 9-30 am. I was surprise (although I’m not sure why) to see another ship docked beside us – the Celebrity Constellation. That is an ugly ship. From our porthole I can’t see any endearing features about it at all. It may however explain why the tours are so restricted at this port. I suspect that Celebrity has all the coaches booked for the morning and our ship has had to take second place again. (I was later told that it’s not unusual for there to be four or more ships in, I can’t see any other reason for the lack of tours though)

As our tour is not until this afternoon there isn’t much we can do this morning other than hang about the ship. Staying on the ship in this port is just like a sea day except you’re not actually moving. As there are almost no tours this morning there are lots of people about. We have been advised by both the port lecturer and the tour office that Cartagena is not that safe to walk about on your own.

It’s now 11-30 am and I’m looking for something to do. We’ve walked on deck – it is very hot and humid; we’ve filled our water bottles at the pavilion; we even got to the restaurant five minutes early for lunch! In the end it was half past one and we thought we might as well make our way down to the dockside and wait for the tour. We didn’t have long to wait; as soon as we were on the shore we were put into a coach. We’d set off by 1-40 pm.

Our first stop was at La Popa Monastery. On the way to the monastery we passed through some areas where regular Carthaginians lived – this was nothing but a shanty town and it was reminiscent of some of the poorer areas of Dakar. It seemed as if we only stopped for ten minutes but we were probably there for twenty. There are three reasons for stopping at the monastery: the view – a very good view over the city but really not much different from many views we’ve seen over the past four months; the gold altar – Paul thought it impressive, to me it looked garish; and the monastery courtyard – very attractive with bougainvillea and other flowers in abundance but alone not worth the journey.

From there it was back onto the coach and the short journey to the Fort of San Felipe de Barajas. The fort was started in the 17th Century as a method of deterring pirates from raiding the town – then an important silver area. The fort is very tall. The tourist access is similar to the access to get to the acropolis in Athens however there is far more climbing involved! Once at the top we had a five minute breather before we had to return to the coaches at the bottom. This fort is a World Heritage site and would be a reason for visiting Cartagena without any of the other sites on the tour. We could quite easily have spent half a day here without having to visit any other sites as well.

The next stop was Las Bovedas. This is a section of casemates that are now used as shops selling Colombian handicrafts. This stop was supposed to be 20 minutes however we left after 15 because everyone was back on the coach and waiting to leave. We left both shopping stops early. I think that there was only one person on the coach who bought something at one of the stops.

The coach then dropped us at one of the gates to the old town (or walled city).The whole area is pedestrianised so it was not possible for the coach to take us any further. This is a very picturesque area of Cartagena with lots of wooden balconies, narrow roads and open squares. The walking tour took us through Simon Bolivar Square before ending up in the Church of San Pedro Claver – the patron saint of slaves.

Before we left the old town we stopped at the Naval Museum for a (very welcome) bottle of water and a ten minute sit down. We were then briefly taken through one of the museum’s displays charting the development of Cartagena and its forts.

The last stop was at the Pierino Gallo Shopping Mall – an open air building with two levels of shops selling souvenirs, handicrafts, leather goods and emeralds (there were about a dozen shops selling emeralds). We were supposed to be at this mall for half an hour; after 25 minutes everyone was back on the coach so we returned to the ship.

Despite the shopping stops being slightly shorter than planned the tour still over ran by ten minutes. I think that there was enough subject matter in this tour to have filled a tour twice its length. We certainly saw as much in this four hour tour as we did in the 9 ½ hour tour of Shanghai.

One thing that we noticed about Cartagena was how safe the areas we were in appeared to be. The old city itself was very quiet with only a few street traders about. However everywhere we went was surrounded by a ring of armed guards. I am sure that the authorities had decided that they wanted to encourage tourism and were therefore making certain that nobody got hurt at any of the tourist sites. The areas outside these sites appeared ropey at the least.

The day had been so hot and humid and the tour had involved so much hard walking that by the time we got back to the ship all our shirts were soaked through with sweat. Where as you might expect dark areas around your sweaty bits these areas had joined up so that they were no longer separate. (It did mean that when we got back onto the air conditioned bus clothing became very cold and clammy).

When the tour got back to the ship we both returned to the cabin. I left Paul there while I nipped back to look at the shops in the cruise terminal. There wasn’t much – a cafe, a bar, somewhere selling perfumes and spirits, an ATM, several souvenir shops and a tourist information centre that had shut – so I was only about ten minutes before I turned round and headed back to the ship.

Before I kicked my shoes off I thought that I’d better check that my booking for tomorrow morning in the gym (they seem to have forgotten to carry it forward so many times already). I was quite correct. They hadn’t booked me in. We are now so close to the end of the cruise I’m not going to bother about reminding them again I’ll just keep booking myself in.

We were both ever so disappointed to find that the Lido wasn’t open for dinner this evening. This disappointment was mitigated by finding that there was a Barbeque at the Funnel Bar from 6-30 pm to 8-30 pm. We were sitting in the Chart Room enjoying a pre-prandial when we realised it was 8-30 pm and we’d missed the barbeque. We were so disappointed

On the stairs down to the Britannia Grill there is a sign which says that gentlemen must wear a jacket and tie to dinner. As the dress code for tonight is Elegant Casual the “and tie” part had been covered over with sticking tape!

We didn’t do anything exciting after dinner. Today has been so tiring that we just went back to the cabin and to bed. We were asleep by 11-00 pm.

[Chris]

The Celebrity ships really are ugly aren't they. I think it's a combination of design and decoration - their livery leaves a lot to be desired.

[Malcolm]

The Celebrity ships really are ugly aren't they. I think it's a combination of design and decoration - their livery leaves a lot to be desired.

I think that it's something to do with there being nothing about their ships that can be called nice. Externally (I've never been inside and so can't comment) there's nothing that's even plain 

[Malcolm]

Today's entry comes in two parts. We had to keep the second part, our bridge visit, quiet until we were off the ship. Now we are off the ship, well off the ship , I've put it back in chronological order.

[Malcolm]

The sea was quite rough this morning and the cabin floor was not that stable. I looked out of the porthole and it was pouring with rain. Once I was back from the gym the rain had stopped and the seas were calming slightly. By the time I was back from breakfast the sun was shining although the seas were still quite rough.

There was a knock on the cabin door at about 9-15 am. It was Glen Peters, the Ensemble World Explorers representative. He was bringing a “small gift” from Ensemble to mark the end of our voyage. Both Paul and I have got leather “Change Tray” for use on our dressing tables at home.

Peter Crimes was lecturing on Jamaica this morning. Whilst his talk didn’t make it sound quite as bad as I had thought I am still glad that we are doing a tour there. I have heard so many uncomplimentary comments about Jamaica I wouldn’t be going ashore if it wasn’t on a tour. We were sitting in the balcony as usual. About 25 minutes into the lecture someone started to snore (I think it was a man but it could have been a woman with a deep snore). That went on for about five minutes and ended with the entire balcony in laughter. We never did find out who was snoring though.

No Perky again at midday. We just got the Officer of the Watch today at 12-04 pm. It was just as well really; I’d had a long email from Myles that I wanted to reply to and I wanted to send emails to both Karie and Kathy. It didn’t strike me at the time but Myles asked “How does it feel to be nearly at the end?” We’re seeing Kathy in New York; her email ended “Looking forward to Saturday”. Both these set me thinking that the end is almost here? When I read on the calendar that tonight is the last formal night before NY I was thoroughly upset and cannot ignore the fact that this trip is now almost over.

I think my biggest feeling at the moment is one of fear or dread; almost a fear of the unknown. I’m not too bothered about what will happen when I get back – that will sort itself out in time. But how will I manage without someone to bring me tea each morning? Make the bed? Cook all my meals? Do my washing? Being on this ship for so long has had a very institutionalising effect and I am scared of what will happen when the ship is no longer there to look after me.

After lunch we had the second part of the Stores Tour that I’d won at the Spring Fair. However as they say “It would be appreciated if you would keep this invitation private and not discuss it with fellow passengers” and there are a lot of fellow passengers who are reading these notes I’m not going to say where the tour finished up until we’re all home again.

The medical centre called Paul in the mid-afternoon. Would he go down and see them and collect his x-rays. He went to see the nurse and she asked his name. She then went away only to return after five minutes and ask his name again! After finding his records the nurse said that the x-rays he’d just had taken were ready for collection. Paul hasn’t had any x-rays since before Valparaiso and told her this. The nurse said that he had and, presenting him with a DVD, here they were. When Paul got her to check her records she reluctantly agreed that those were the ones taken before Valparaiso and that Paul did indeed have a copy. When he got back Paul wanted to send an invoice for his wasted time! In the end we decided not to bother - that it was so good of Cunard to think that we might have some spare time and to find something for us to keep us occupied!

Paul took the immigration forms for the US to the pursers. Whilst he was there he also wanted to upgrade his Platinum World Club membership card to a Diamond one. The pursers were quite happy to cut his old card in half to stop it being used and then, having destroyed the old one, to say that they couldn’t issue a new one. They suggested that Paul try the cruise sales office. They say that one should be on its way soon (given that neither my parents nor myself have ever received a new membership card I doubt it).

[Malcolm]

Our “stores tour” was divided into two sections. The first, the actual tour of the stores, had already happened. We got a letter on Friday 4th April regarding the second part. It was from Andrea Kaczmarek, the Captain’s Secretary. The letter was conveying Captain Perkins’ wish that we be invited onto the bridge on Monday 7 April. It also included the sentence “We would appreciate it if you would keep this invitation private and not discuss it with fellow passengers”. As there were (I’m writing this on the 8th and an having great difficulty saying were and not are) people reading this from the ship I felt it only fair to leave details of this invite until everyone has left the ship.

[As the wish to keep the bridge visit private no longer exists I’ve put it back in chronological order]

We met Andrea on Boat Deck at A stairway and were escorted through the door opposite the entrance to the Queens Grill and past the Captain’s cabin. I assume that Perky was there because there was a curtain drawn across the doorway but the door was not shut. We went up another level and through a double set of doors designed to prevent light being let onto the bridge at night every time someone came through the door from the rest of the ship.

We first spent a long time on the Bridge itself. We were shown the instruments at the back first by a Second Officer who answered any questions we put to her. Then the tour moved onto the instruments at the front of the Bridge and the windows that overlook the front of the ship (with a first class view). I got a chance to sit in the Captain’s chair (we were told that he doesn’t sit in it that much unless he has to spend a long time on the Bridge as the view and access are better if you’re standing up.

Then it was out onto the port Bridge Wing. This was the first time that I’ve been out there while the ship has been underway. It is a very strange feeling to be standing at the end of the Bridge Wing, to look at the side of the ship and to think just how much water there was below you!

Finally we returned to the Bridge proper for five minutes before returning to the land of normal passengers’ below. We never did get out onto the starboard wing – there just wasn’t enough time. I would think the entire visit took just over half an hour although I could quite happily have spent all that time just on one Bridge Wing.

[Malcolm]

Why did Cunard choose Jamaica as the last port of call for the World Cruise? (At least it’s the last port for a sizeable minority who are getting off at Fort Lauderdale.) It’s an anchor port with a dubious safety record. Having seen Jamaica I wonder why Cunard didn’t pick somewhere with a bit more for the tourist to do other than sunbathe or look at very minor sights.

Today was the day of the final Ensemble World Explorers tour and we were due to meet in the Yacht Club before 8-30 am for a departure at 8-30 am. Both Paul and I had been rather worried about my mother taking this tour. We had been told that it involved extended periods of standing (one in excess of 30 minutes) and required walking a moderate distance. Five of six of the people who were entitled to go on the tour had cancelled, fearing that the levels of physical exertion would be too much. The tour was graded at level 4 with level 5 requiring the most exertion (Perth had been a level 5 and my mother had managed that although there were no warnings given about the length of walks or stands).

Mother had arranged to meet the group at the gangway to the tenders so, at just turned 8-30 am we all set off. Tendering out was very easy and we all got on a tender almost straight away. The entire tendering process was quick and we were ashore by 9-00 am. There were two coaches, each seating 22 people, provided. I am very pleased that my parents, Paul and I got one coach whilst the poison dwarf got into the other (She and Paul had sat and pulled faces at each other in the Yacht Club!)

Our first stop was on the Tryall Golf Course. This was about a half hour drive from the ship. It was at the site of a sugar factory that had burnt down a long time ago. The waterwheel from the factory was still standing and water was running over it. Whilst it was a picturesque spot we both hoped that the island had something better to offer. On a positive note there were several stalls there selling rather nice items in carved wood – we bought a couple.

The coaches then took us back towards Montego Bay to visit the Alpha Arts Pottery Works. This is a small studio with one potters’ wheel and one pot decorating table. Both were demonstrated. The studios are situated in nice beachside gardens with views across the bay to the QE2. There is a small shop at the pottery where they sell the items they have produced. We were given a glass of fruit punch and had plenty of time to browse in the studios before it was back on the bus.

It was about 11-20 am by this time. Our guide announced that our next stop would be for lunch at the Day-O Plantation Restaurant. By 11-30 am we were in our seats! We were first served a drink, either fruit or rum punch, and then a drink with the meal, wine, beer, soda or more fruit punch. The main course was three different Jamaican specialities (jerk chicken, ackee & codfish and fried snapper). All were interesting, the chicken and snapper the tastiest.

During lunch Paul Hurlock (the owner of the Day-O) played music, sang and provided entertainment. Once lunch was over there was a dance/acrobatic troupe also providing entertainment. Unfortunately this entertainment went on for far too long. Once the troupe had finished their act they invited the guides and then anyone they could get from the diners up on stage to sing and dance. Including this entertainment lunch took just over two hours!

The scenery deteriorated when we left the restaurant and now started to become rather dry and tired. We passed back through Montego Bay and saw some of the hotels that cater for a lot of the tourists that come to Jamaica. We passed several theme pubs and speciality bars that were designed to cater to the tourist – I’m very pleased that they didn’t cater for us!

The last stop on the tour was at the house that Johnny Cash used to own and live in when he was in Jamaica – Cinnamon Hill. Although this might have been of great interest to Johnny Cash fans it was of very little interest to us. It was just a mansion that was kept as it had been (even down to the washing-up on the draining board) 40 years ago.

Then the coaches started to return us to the ship. The scenery heading north from Montego Bay is certainly much better than that to the south – the north is lush and green whilst the south is dry and rubbish strewn. It wasn’t long before the coaches were caught up in a traffic jam. What our guide said should have taken ten minutes ended up taking an hour.

The last tender was scheduled to leave the port at 4-00 pm. We didn’t reach the port until 3-59 pm. The bus however did not drop us off at the tender dock where it had picked us up in the morning. Instead we were dropped at the Cruise Terminal and made to go through security before getting onto another bus to take us to the tender point. We ended up getting back onto the ship at about 4-30 pm, the time at which we were due to sail. I don’t think we were the only people caught in the traffic – the ship didn’t actually sail until 5-45 pm (I found out that some tours were delayed until 5-30 pm).

[Malcolm]

I am feeling miserable. This trip is coming to an end and I’m miserable. It’s not home sickness (although I freely admit that I’ll be pleased to see home again I’m not that bothered if it’s next week or next month). It is like the feeling of sitting by someone’s hospital bed knowing that they’ve been given a very short term prognosis and waiting for them to die. Today’s a sea day so there’s even more time to just sit and brood?

We were sitting in the Chart Room at midday. Perky failed to make his announcement (again!). At 12-07 pm we did get the navigational information announcement made by a “Cadet”. Perky leaves the ship when the refit starts and Captain McNaught takes over when the refit is complete. He will then stay here until he takes her to Dubai. As Perky’s been with the ship for so long I suppose he’s feeling sad that he won’t be seeing her again after Southampton. At least I still have October to look forward to.

We went to the pursers to cash the last of our travellers’ cheques. They managed it with no problem at all. Whilst I was there I asked how much was outstanding on our account and said that I wanted to pay some off. The purserette did a very quick job of convincing me that I shouldn’t pay anything off using a credit card until we reached Southampton. I asked for a copy of the bill and checked the amount due. It’s only US$ 5828.24 for over four months! Remember that I did pay US$ 3000.00 off at the beginning of February when they took the cheques the hospital in Valparaiso wouldn’t accept so our total invoice amount stands at US$ 8828.24. (GBP 1000.00 per month? or GBP 250.00 per week? For two people! I think that’s a bargain) I had thought that I’d need to pay of more than that to leave a significant balance.

I’ve just been swimming (very quiet and as pleasant as any exercise can be). Once I was out of the pool I went to the lift to bring me back upstairs and got talking to a man who was waiting. The lift didn’t come, when the button was pushed the light came on but, when it was released, the light went off. This turned the conversation to the number of staff that is riding in the public lifts. It is not just for luggage on the evening before departure. There are regular occasions on A & E lifts that the entire lift is in use by a cleaning trolley; D is used for general furniture and C is frequently used by staff going to work in the Caronia Restaurant and Princess and Britannia Grills. Regularly A, D, C and E are used to move large quantities of dirty laundry. Both of us thought that this use of lifts was another thing introduced by Carnival that went to the detriment of the passengers.

We were invited by Chris and Rob to help them drink their bottle of Champagne (NOT Pol Acker). Theirs is the big Q2, the one without the balcony. We spent an hour and a half there. When we finally left it was past the start time for the Cruise Critic farewell party for Sharron and Jerry who are leaving us tomorrow in Fort Lauderdale. The numbers of full world cruisers are dwindling. Leone has worked it out: on the way back to Southampton there’ll only be six of us left.

When we went back to our cabin after dinner we put the lights on. There was a bright flash and then the only lights that would come on were the concealed lights by the window and by one of the wardrobes. I called the pursers and they got an electrician to come, set the fuse that had tripped and replace the bulb that had caused the trip within about 15 minutes – it was less than five minutes from my call to the electrician arriving. I don’t think it would be reasonable to expect faster service.