14th January 2014

After another night of rock and roll, somehow, we both managed to get a decent amount of sleep, and I woke early. Not by choice, mind you, but because, unlike Sue, who meticulously tracks all shipboard announcements, I hadn’t set my watch back yet another hour. To top it off, I ventured onto the balcony just as the bow hit a sizeable wave, sending a mist of cold mid-Atlantic spray over me that washed away any last traces of sleep. Brrrrr!

Now refreshed and soon warmed by our internal showers, we dressed and headed for one of the self-service restaurants for breakfast. Up until now, we’d been dining in a waiter-service restaurant, which has the advantage of portion control by someone other than myself. Today, however, I fell headlong into the trap of overindulgence, and I can’t say I felt the better for it! Over coffee, we chatted with a couple involved in education, so you can imagine the direction that conversation took.

It’s worth mentioning the rigorous hygiene measures on board. In his inaugural welcome speech, the captain primarily focused on personal hygiene, stressing the importance of handwashing and explaining how easily germs spread through touching surfaces. His extensive focus on the unpleasantness of norovirus made a few passengers visibly uncomfortable. Beyond the electric hand wash machines stationed at every doorway, there’s a crew member behind each one armed with alcohol spray to squirt a blob on any passenger who fails to notice. They’re relentless. After a tour around the ship, your hands are likely well on their way to intoxication and practically magnetised to random food items. I fear that once I’m home, I’ll need to book my hands into rehab and put the rest of myself on a carb-free diet.

After breakfast, Sue and I settled in the lounge at the front of the ship, watching as massive waves smashed relentlessly onto the deck. It was truly spectacular. Fingers crossed, we’re hoping the bow continues to hold its own against the elements, though, after watching ‘Titanic’ in Southampton, I’m not feeling quite so confident!

We kept ourselves busy up until lunchtime. We began with a seminar on the sights of New York, followed by a coffee break, and then attended an excellent lecture by Ellen Baker titled ‘Working and Living in Space’. She shared her experiences as a three-time astronaut on the now-retired Space Shuttle. After another coffee, we caught a lecture on ‘New York and the American Civil War’. Sue then popped over to the market in the Queen’s Room on Deck 10.

We met again for lunch, opting for one of the buffet restaurants, where we shared a table with a couple from Bridlington celebrating their silver wedding anniversary. Once they reach New York, they’ll be boarding another cruise to the Bahamas, very nice indeed! She was unfortunately suffering from seasickness and had spent the last couple of days confined to their cabin.

After lunch, we watched the film ‘Paranoia’. I found it fairly good, but Sue nodded off halfway through, so I suppose it didn’t quite hold her attention. We then tried to attend a lecture titled ‘A Journey Through Time’, about the history of clocks. I say “tried,” as the lecturer struggled with the technology, needing help from the ship’s IT technician. First, he had trouble mirroring the laptop onto the projector, then he couldn’t understand why McAfee was blocking the file he wanted. Once he finally got the PowerPoint up, he seemed clueless about starting the presentation. I could have offered a few pointers, but British reserve kept me silent. After watching this chaos (our Irish presenter, Breenan Sheeney, bless him) for half an hour, we decided to call it a day before losing the will to live.

A refreshing fruit juice was much needed after that, followed by a relaxing retreat to our cabin with our books until dinner, definitely a more successful activity!

Dinner was informal, though jackets, shirts, and ties were still required. As always, the meal was excellent, and I once again rounded it off with a generous cheese course. This time, however, Sue had found her sea-legs and joined me for the cheeses. We dined with our usual table companions, then headed to the theatre for the evening’s entertainment, a pianist from Manchester. She had a sharp sense of humour, looked quite glamorous, and, naturally, played the piano superbly. Her set leaned heavily on Gershwin, who isn’t entirely to my taste, though I did enjoy her rendition of a classic tune from ‘Casablanca’.

We wrapped up the evening with coffee and a bit of reading, ‘Biggles’ for me, which is always a pleasure.