It was delightful to have unfettered access to the outside decks. In the warm sunshine, it felt refreshing to blow away the cobwebs with a full circumnavigation of the ship. We spent about half an hour in a lounge at the bow, enjoying a bit more reading, before moving on to some additional exercise along the deck. We passed couples playing deck quoits, bowls, and even paddle tennis, and for once, neither of us suggested joining in. However, we did exercise our minds in the Golden Lion Trivia Quiz. We were determined to beat our last score, but perhaps we should have stayed on deck and engaged in something more physical, as we ‘crashed and burned’. Despite prepping my nervous system with a pint of ‘Speckled Hen’, I think the increasing tightness of my belt was somehow restricting my cranial function. As for Sue, she claimed she was too relaxed to concentrate. Stupid Russians starting the October Revolution in November!

During coffee, we met our dining partners from the north-east and caught up on what they had been up to, before excusing ourselves to attend a lecture on ‘Central Park’. Our hotel in New York is just off the park, so we were very keen to learn as much about the area as possible. It seems we could easily spend an entire day just exploring the park, and sadly, with only two days in New York, I fear we won’t do the city justice.

During lunch, I spotted a small pod of whales about 200 metres off the starboard side. This time, Sue was sitting with me, and we both watched as the largest whale broke the surface and expelled a massive spout of water. They were with us for just five minutes before disappearing.

Afterwards, Sue went to watch Quartet in the theatre while I stayed behind to comfort Mr Pillow back in the cabin.

When Sue returned, she described the theatre as packed and the film as wonderful. We headed to the Lido for coffee, and afterwards, we took another stroll around the deck. However, the wind had picked up, and there was a chill in the air, so it was pleasant to return to the warmth of the inner decks.

After reading a little more in our cabin, we dressed informally for dinner and joined a full table of fellow guests. We all seemed to get on well, and the conversation typically started with discussions about what we had been up to during the day. Our description of Moby Dick, which we had seen during lunch, was particularly well-received.

Since Vanity Fair was being performed in the theatre tonight, Sue took her book, and I brought my tablet to read before the show, as we anticipated it would be popular and seating would be at a premium. We were right; getting there half an hour early secured us good seats in the centre. The show was very entertaining, featuring numerous costume changes, great dancing, and catchy songs.

Afterwards, we headed to our usual drinks spot in the restaurant on Deck 2. However, instead of retiring to our cabins, we went to the Golden Lion for a very amusing game of Liar. In this panel game, three crew members gave their definitions of strange words, and we had to vote on which we thought was the truth. It was extremely funny! Sue and I managed to get two out of four definitions correct and felt quite pleased with ourselves, as no one else scored more than two. After this morning’s crash and burn, it was nice to finish the day on a semi-high.