29 April, Thursday
Today started perfectly with breakfast in bed. Jeffery brought in our cold and hot meals, laid out the linen, china, and silver table settings, and left us in peace and our bath robes. The salmon omelet was superb. In fact, all the smoked salmon each morning has been so fresh and wild tasting. It tastes too good to have been farmed salmon.
Now for the ultimate relaxation: we are off to the Canyon Ranch spa. Our goal is to relax in the thalasotherapy spa pool and ancillary spa places until lunch. There are great changing rooms with a myriad of facilities: a Finnish sauna, reflexology foot baths, aromatherapy sauna, steam room, ice scrub, Jacuzzi, and full body shower and mist chamber. In the Turkish style aromatherapy sauna, there is a choice of music styles. After the heat of the saunas, John frequently rubs himself with the grated ice which continually falls into a bowl. Pam feels that this is a sign of insanity, yet tries it herself. She now knows it is a sign of insanity. We are now boneless. Our bones have melted away in the pleasure of the spa. We need wheelchairs to make it to lunch (not really).
It is high tea time again, and wheat-free goodies are on the platter just for Pam. Patrick, our maitre d', had promised wheat-free scones, and his staff delivered. It was the first time Pam had eaten scones, and these came with the required Devon clotted cream. The pianist, who in the evenings performs in the Commodore (CommoDorothy) Club, is playing happy birthday in various styles of classical, including as a dirge.
This afternoon we met Michael Binkley, the Vancouver sculptor. He carved the marble shells in the spa, and was teaching soapstone carving classes. People were doing fantastic things in only a short time. Cunard had approaching him about doing a class, and I think it was such a success that it will be repeated.
Our problem this afternoon and evening is that we are invited to too many parties. This is not a problem causing us any anxiety, however. We totally skipped the first cocktail party, and only glanced in on the second.
It was the final party which interested us. We had been nominated by a staff member to be invited to the senior staff reception. People who are noticed by senior staff as interacting, fun, conversational, or have a duplex suite are invited to the party. Not all Grill passengers are invited. Many are fun Britannia passengers.
We both watch most of the Des O'Connor show from the back of the Royal Court Theatre, then went to the Queen's Room for the Royal Ascot Ball. We danced and were awful in the Gay Gordons. Then it was off to the G32 nightclub. We chatted with Helga "Hurricane Helga" the Queen's Room singer from Montreal.
The seas are rough, and the ship was shaking. Extra pillows were stuffed around Pam so that she would not fall our of bed.
30 April, Friday
Although it was a night of shaking, there were no big rolls or pitches.
This is the afternoon when Pam claimed her prizes based on the number of tickets won at the various competitions. Pam got a QM2 digital travel alarm clock which displays the time, date, calendar, and temperature. She also got a black Cunard/QM2 t-shirt, and John got a rosewood photo album with an embossed cover and 100 photo sleeves. As Pam had twenty-one tickets, and we only used 18, she gave away the rest to people who needed an extra to get a better item.
We paid off the remaining bill, which was just for the daily gratuities, in cash, and we would leave the ship with absolutely no debt at all.
After dinner John spoke with Pamela Conover, the Cunard CEO. Pamela had approached him after dinner and asked if the overall experience was good. They had a short exchange, and Pamela said she hoped we would both be back. John thanked her for the ship. Her husband said it was great to be on such an historic voyage.
But nothing is faultless. We found out that over night the spa pool flooded and sent water into passenger accommodations on decks five and six.
We are now moving rather slowly. Our great speed and calm seas on the crossing have placed us too far along. We are expected at the pilot boat station at 03:00 in the morning, and at the Southampton docks at 06:00 tomorrow morning.
Page 5 > > Last day of the inaugural Transatlantic crossing of the QM2 from New York to London > >
