- Captain Albert's Website and Blog -

Ocean Liner History and Stories from the Sea, Past and Present. With an In Depth focus on Holland America Line

Category: Staff & Crew (page 1 of 13)

2026 Feb 19; Barcelona, going home and Verdict.

February 22, 2026 / / 8 Comments

By 05.45 hrs. some 20 sleepy guests had assembled in the lounge and were by 06.15 on the coach to the airport. The check-in was already open so we could flow straight through. Although early in the morning, Bacelona airport was already very full, with early flights going to the USA and Far East via various hubs in Spain or Europe. That was maybe the reason why we were taken so early to the airport as our flight was not until 11.10 hrs.   But all went well, and flying via Amsterdam brought us back to England by 17.00 Hrs.

The verdict.

This was a very nice cruise on a beautiful ship (if Nordic laid-back is your taste) and with very good service. The weather was not that great but then we do not go on a cruise for sunny weather or to bake in the sun.

The organisation for pre boarding and leaving the ship also went very well, if you keep an eye on the Italian penchant for making everything chaotic.

The drinks package of $ 25,– a person a day, was well worth having, if you enjoy cocktails and drinks in the evening. Wine, Beer and soft drinks are included with lunch and dinner.

There is only one announcement a day, the arrival announcement. For the rest is all quiet, except that on sea days the Captain seems to do a noon time “Voice from the Bridge” announcement. There is all day, soft classical music wafting through the public area’s. Whoever choose the music, did a good job as it was never irritating.

The ship has self service laundry’s on each deck and they are free. They come with Iron Board, a settee and a TV for when you get tired of looking at the the washing machine program. Much appreciated by myself as I always need an ironing board for my shirts after travelling. (Even after having done a training class on U-tube……………….)

There is the Viking Society for repeat guests but there are no medals or tiered levels based on days sailed. You simply get more discount if you sail more. They do throw a party each cruise and it comes with a short show by the Cast.

The Glare, testing friendliness. I do this every cruise, as standard. Looking each officer and crewmember straight in the eye when passing by, with a sort of open eye stare and observe the reaction. The crew  all scored 100%,; all cheerful and friendly. And looking at their body language it seemed to be a happy crew.  Officers were less; only very helpful and friendly when approached but not always when passing by or just being around in general. That gives a total score of 80%.

I did not see any engineers this cruise but the deck department did not always make the cut and also Front desk was lacking. Not when at the desk, “all smiles and concerns then”, but when they walked by.  Special compliments to General Manager Emma Harking from England. So far the most active and the most omni-present Hotel Manager I have seen on our last 10 cruises.

The food was without exception presented and cooked to a very high standard, I just found that for the quality of the cruise and standard the choices were a bit limited in the World Café for the rest nothing what so ever to remark.

So do we recommend Viking? Please read the daily blog and if you want to have a laid-back cruise with good food, nice crew and very little challenges, then yes.   This was a 7 day cruise and the ticket price included flights from our preferred local airport in England.

We had booked the lowest standard cabin, which is still an outside cabin with balcony, as we did not have any idea about what Viking was all about.  Total cost came to £5,468.00 UK pounds, or 4567 in euros or 5490 in US dollars. That gives a British per diem, per person of  290 pounds a day.   AND WE THINK THAT FOR THE SERVICE PROVIDED, WHICH HOVERS SOMEWHERE BETWEEN 5* AND 6*, IT IS VERY GOOD.

So we have booked another cruise , on the Viking Polaris in 2028 with what Viking calls The Northwest Passsage but it is more of poking the nose in (Baffin Bay) and then going back again. That is a 13 day cruise from Nuuk in Greenland and as it is a sort of Expedition ship and with difficult flights and a higher cabin catagory, a lot more expensive. But one only lives once…………… and thus we do it while we still can.

Our next cruise is in April, when we do a 5 day return to the ms Borealis (ex Rotterdam VI of Holland America) as My Lord And Master wants to see the latest upgrades they have made. It looks like that Fred Olsen has now completed / restored all what Holland America had but some of it went sort of by the way side after Covid.

I hope you will join us then.

 

2026 Feb. 18, Day 07 Barcelona Day 1, Spain.

February 22, 2026 / / 1 Comment

This morning we docked in Barcelona and were assigned Berth B, while the Costa Tuscani was at Berth D. Between 2010 and 2020 Barcelona heavily invested in new and state of the art cruise terminals which  now run from A to H  and then there are still the 3 small (old) ones at the World Trade Center. Unfortunately the mood in Barcelona has turned against the very large influx of cruise visitors and now there is the plan to demolish 2 of them again.

Cruise terminals in Barcalona

How that will work with nbr. H, I do not know as that one seems to have been built with MSC investments so their very big ships can dock there.  I do somewhat understand the concern of the Barcelonan’s as with all 8 big terminals full: with on average 2000+ guests on board, there are at least 16000 extra people milling around in downtown (and most of them, marching, during some moment of the day up and down the  Las Ramblas If it is a change over port day, then the approaches to the airport are clogged up with tour busses.  So a definite challenge to for the City Fathers, City Mothers and City Persons, (I am very inclusive…. to find a good balance between the needed revenue a large chunk of money for the Gaudi Church (La Sagrade Familia) and other buildings comes from the cruise industry) and still protecting the locals way of life in down town.

Photo of the Atrium taken from deck 3 down to the grand piano (Steinway size B) This is were we will wait tomorrow for the coach to the airport.

We have been to Barcelona many a time, so we decided to stay on board. Also because we have to pack in the afternoon,  we had booked a speciality restaurant booking in the evening, and we have a  coach connection to the airport at 05.45 tomorrow morning. And we were far from the earliest casualties as some guests were leaving at 02.45 in the morning.

The stern of the Viking Saturn. On top the Norwegian flag, as Viking is the last cruise company to have Norwegian registration which must be costly. Under the flag, the “Infinity pool water catcher box” under the deck 7 pool. At the water line, the “duckfoot” an extension with a dual purpose, it improves stability as it increases the surface size of the ship and also it inproves fuel economy as it acts as a “spoiler”, which you often see at the back of sports cars. (Photo courtesy, somewhere on the internet)

But it gave me the chance to walk the ship from top to bottom and to have a very good look at the interior. The outside of the ship is not so much different from the current design of other cruises ships, with a dumpy funnel, a macrodome, balconies all around the superstructure and the public rooms on the lower and the top decks with the majority of the cabins in between. But the inside design of the ship (and those of the other 12 Viking ships as they are all similar) varies considerably from other cruise company’s.

What I think is very cool is the gangway button in the lifts. When you do not know where the gangway is, you just push the button (above deck 8) and it goes to the right deck. I wish all ships would have that.

If the theme of the mega liners of Carnival, RCC,NCL and Celebrity is noise and action, here the theme is Nordic Tranquility. That might not be enjoyed by everybody but the fact that Viking is able to keep churning out a new ship each year (and this year even 2 with LNG propulsion) means that there are more than enough people who do like it.

The deck display next to each lift. Good and easy to read. The  only irritating thing is, it rotates with the gangway deck indication. So you have to wait until it comes around again.

This success is due to 3 things: smaller ships (40 – 60.000 tons is small nowadays), very good and balanced service and an harmonious interior that is consistent through the whole ship.  The ships must have been designed by a team that was given a concise briefing, did their job, and then the results were checked, to see if the briefing was followed. The President, Mr. Torstein Hagen comes from a maritime background and does therefore understand that a ship has to remain a ship, and that the end result should still be a ship and not a coorporate and ego-tripping muddle of Sr.Vice Presidents. And I think that has worked very well on these ships.

This is Deck 2 portside Atrium with sitting areas and game tables, both analog and digital.

The centre of the ships is “The Atrium” but is also called “The Living Room”.  (Saga Cruises has a similar concept).  It is mainly a lounge to sit and relax, especially on level 3. There is no library but there are bookcases full  (with very high quality books) in every corner and on every level. As well as in other lounges like the Explorers Lounge (crowsnest) on deck 7& 8). Game corners  everywhere integrated as a part of the overall concept. And the game corners were very busy, especially with guests travelling together and who enjoyed time together before the afternoon tour or after the morning tour.

Portside Forward Atrium Corner, deck 2. “Viking Museum”.

Then there is a bit of Nordic history (up and until the early 19th. century Sweden and Norway were one country) on level 2. Here is also the Future Cruise Specialist, whose office is hiding behind a very nice Viking Saturn model. Look for the model and you know where it is. The most lively part of it all is on deck 1. Here is Guest services located, but it has no counter. No, there are 6 desks with attendants (number in use depending on expected traffic during the day) so a discussion can take place in a more intimate and professional setting, instead of being “processed” at a long counter with multiple  slots.

Two of the six front desks. These two are in use on very busy days,

Shore excursion has a small stand there, for meet & greet, but for more indepth issues they take you to one of the Guest Services desks.  Diagonally opposite is the Bar, a combination of a coffee and cake stand and a regular bar.  I think it is located in this corner to be next to the Gangway, so guests can pick up a coffee before going off the ship or have a drink when coming back after an exhausting tour.  Then late afternoon it changes more and more into a bar and there are always 20 – 30 guests present. By 18.00 hrs. the cocktail crowd starts gathering before dinner, for cocktails and to listen to the Resident Pianist or the Classical duo. (The latter alternate between the Livingroom and the Explorers lounge)

The bar in the Atrium. To the left are high chairs & tables for eating your cookies or a lunch time roll. Low chairs and tables are all around the Atirum.

To my amazement it all works here extremely well, there is no noise, just the buzz from polite conversion with a tinkling piano in the background. The fact that the space is 3 decks high has no impact at all on the atmosphere. Where you walk the deck is marble but were you sit it is all carpet and thus no scraping noises and also no echoing noise.

A corner of the “Chefs Table” speciality restaurant.

Behind the Livingroom is on Deck 1, portside is the “Chef’s Table” a speciality restaurant (see further down) with a rotating menu. On the starboard side is Manfredi’s the second speciality restaurant that focusses on Italian Cuisine.  (see write up from some days ago). On the port side there is also the “The Kitchen Table” were there is a separate chefs cooking area and also options to do cooking classes.

The starboard side of “The Restaurant”. As you can see there is art everywhere and the long blueish painting is called “twilight” by Kenneth Blom painted for the ship in 2023.

Then on deck 2, there is the main dining room called “The Restaurant”.. (I think the designers wanted to ensure that a guest would not get confused about its purpose……….) This is horseshoe shaped and runs all the way around the stern. With in the center aft, a table for 14 guests. Indeed the Captains table, although Captains tables are not a regular feature of the Viking program. Normally a Captains table is 10 seats or less, but 14 can work very well, if there are Captain & 3 officers in attendance, you have a host at “each corner” of the round table).  I used to do that in the grey mists of time when on the South Pacific cruises and I resurrected the Captains tables from the old World Cruise days. Officers loved it, much more than having their own table as they knew that the Captain would run the show, keep things under control and would ensure that conversation flowed. (as well as the booze)

The Parfume and gadget shop. There is also a boutique and a jewellery store.

Then going towards the bow, there are the shops, on deck 1 and deck 2 (in my opinion overpriced and with very limited choice) and on deck 2 also the Spa, gym, and beauty salon. This is all very nice but I did not see too many customers. But maybe that was because we did not have any seadays.  On Deck 1 is the show lounge and that is a very clever set up. At each side in the back there is a Cinema and in the evening they pull away the bulkhead with the movie screen and it becomes part of the Show lounge.

The “Star Theatre”. The cinema on the starboard side is open and now part of the Theatre. The port side is still closed as there was a movie in progress.

The sightlines are very good as there are no pillars. (Every show lounge on every ship, can be without pillars, but it depends on how much a company wants to pay. Because a “free view” lounge without deck supports” calls for a heavier steel deck construction and that costs money, but it can be done. The seating rows are benches  and then a row in front of chairs( see the brown pillows in the above photo) and there are small tables in between for drinks. Also that works, unless you have a very – very tall and big person in front of you.  Drinks are served before the show starts from a very nice and large bar in the staircase behind the show lounge. Directly behind the showlounge is the Night Club called Thorshavn.

The Torshavn night club as seen from the entrance. The light stand on the left is fabricated in the shape of trombones. Not original as Holland America has the same one on board on the ss Koningsdam since 2016.

Then you get Deck 7 and 8 (outside deck).  At the bow, is the Explorers Lounge with music in the evenings. The only thing that irritates is  that the constellation display on the wall behind the bar, reflects onto the front windows and thus it is hard to see outside after dusk. But you can solve that by going up one of the 2 glass staircases to Deck 8, where there is no reflection. The music can still be heard as there is a gap with below.

Deck 8, upper level Explorers Lounge. Mainly meant as a quiet study area with lots of books about exploration. Note all the books in the bookcase.They are all real and of high quality.

Deck 8 Explorers, is mainly meant as a quiet place to read or work on the computer. There are nice books and a lot of Nordic heritage on display, including old farm utensils. Above this lounge, on deck 9 outside are games (skittles, ping pong, mini golf) but insulation is very good as I could not hear anything below, although there was a very lively group at the poing pong table with very piercing voices.

The study table at the far right corner has a glass top and doubles up as a historic display case about life in (winterly) Norway.

On the starboard side, deck 7, is a small food outlet (I would call it a small catering hatch that looks after a very small restaurant called  “Mamsens”. This is a Nordic version of breakfast and lunch nibbles based on Nordic specialities. Apart from the waffles, it was a bit too far out of range for our taste interest.

Mamsen is located in the starboard aft part of the explorer’s on Deck 7 and is a very small restaurant.

It was also never very full and the Chinese guests on board where complaining to the chef about why there were no noodles. Somehow they did not grasp the concept, and the chef, a very cheerful lady from Zimbabwe, could not make them understand either.  I listened to  the conversation with great interest, especially when one of the group tried to get into the kitchen to verify if there were indeed no Noodles.  (Maybe “Mamsen” is also a word for noodles in Chinese or Korean ???).

One might expect a “Blond Helga” as cook in a pure Nordic restaurant but here we had a lovely lady from Zimbabwe.  And no, she did not serve noodles.

Behind deck 8 Explorers are cabins and behind on deck 7 Explorers is the winter garden  and then the covered pool. Main focus point of the Winter Garden is “High Tea” in the afternoon. (When the General Manager found out about our experience with “the trolley” from the beginning in the cruise, she was there every afternoon to make sure it did not happen again. On each side of this place are seats and loungers, that Viking calls “The Lanai concept”.

The Wintergarden, a bright and open space.

As a side note, I have never seen a Hotel manager / General Manager so omini-present as this Emma from England. I hope that Viking appreciates it as she was everywhere, where the regular supervisors could not be for a moment. It is always nice to see a hotel manager walking through the diningroom, but he/ she does not need to be there as it is full of supervisors and related. Better to keep an eye on the flow in other areas.  So very Good.

The “ceiling” of the Wintergarden. Nordic pine made to resemble a forest. I wonder if the birds would like it when the Dome is open.

The aft part of Deck 7 has the small “Hamburger Bar”. The product is extremely good but it is a bit limited. Hence guests switch for one lunch between the two venues as the Lido, called the “The World Cafe”, is just  behind it. Again very good food but I had expected a few more options to choose from. There is a very small asian outlet, which is extremely good (Asian Chef). Then there are the regular counters, topped off with a nice ice cream stand.

The World Cafe. This is the portside.

Behind it all, another bar, which is very busy as softdrinks, beer and wine are included at lunch time for everybody. (Same as Saga and Fred Olsen and also most 6 star company’s) Then there is an outside terrace, called the “Aquavit Terrace”,  which today was in use as it was chilly but sunny. The stern of the ship has a infinity pool with in the front a jacuzzi.  To stop the Infinitiy pool water from raining down on the balconies below, there is a sort of box hanging under it. This makes  the ship look a bit weird from the outside. The first time I saw it, I thought it was some sort of cherry picker basket for cleaning windows.

The Infinity pool at the stern of the ship on deck 7.

On deck 8 aft, carefully hidden away from the guests, is a black glass wall under the aft end of the funnel. Inside is a Officer / crew bar. A very clever setup and it would other wise have been a wasted space  and there is also a hidden corner for smokers. For guest smokers there is a smoking section on the sb. side midships but I never saw it very busy.

Guest smoking area on deck 8 sb. side. Still a very civilized way to slowly commit suicide.

That completed my tour of the ship. Then we had to pack. Luckily we had not bought very much, apart from a Soup Spoon in Pisa.  But we still had to go the shops on board as we had booked another cruise with Viking, on the Viking Polaris to the West side of Greenland and Baffin Bay. For that we received $200,– on board booking credit but it had to be spent this cruise on board. Unusual, as it normally goes on the credit for the next cruise that you have just booked. So the shops still made some money as all the “on board bookers” came marching in. Now I am the proud owner of yet another Power Bank, a set of suitcase locks (TSA approved) and some perfume for her ladyship. It made the day of the very friendly Turkish shop attendant who could just scrape in her commission before she left tomorrow to go on leave in Antalya. Her next ship is the Viking Star for another 6 month contract.

The “Kitchen table” on Deck 1, where under guidance of the chef you can take cooking classes and also eat your own cooked food.

We had booked the Chefs Table for 19.00 hrs. on this last day as most other days were filled up. The higher category cabins (all of them, apart from us sinners living on deck 3) could make their bookings from home but the standard Verandah cabins  had to wait until on board. It did not make much difference in the end, accept the early times being booked up. Tonight we could go at 19.00 hrs., after cocktails, and the place was nearly empty. I think the packing and leaving the next day had reduced the enthusiasm for a “last extravagant supper” somewhat. This restaurant runs in 3 set- menu cycles,  Italian, Asian, Californian, but the names might differ somewhat from ship to ship. If you take a future cruise, it might be different again, as Viking has 21 of these options floating around the fleet. 5 courses with wine  included in the cruise fare.

The most puzzling thing on board is this staircase that leads from the back of “The Restaurant” deck 2 to the back of Manfredis Italian and the Chefs Kitchen on deck 1. and it goes nowhere else. It looks like a very posh way for the Dining room manager to commute between his restaurants. The piece of art on the wall is called “paper and wood” by Johanne Ness and Hanne Overland.

With it comes a wine paring of 4 different wines. Also included. If you have bought the drinks package ($ 25,— a day, but going up) then you get slightly better wines. Price wise I think, as wine is very personal, a I preferred the “cheaper” Pinot Noir with the Asian lambchops much more than the Spanish Tempranillo offered. But as far as wines are concerned, I was already very happy that they stored our favourite white wine (Austrian Veltliner, in this case Bereich Wachau) as Veltliner is not always on board. (Azamara has it, but Cunard does not)  So we had a very good dinner and then it was time  to put the suitcases outside as at 05.45 we had to be ready for transfer to the airport.

The blank bulkheads in the forward and aft staircases are covered with scenes taken from the Bayeux tapestry depicting the Normans (Norseman or Northman or Vikings) coming from Normandy, France, led by William the Conqueror in 1066 and defeating the English/ Anglo Saxon King Harold at Hastings.

Weather for tommorrow for when going home:  Overcast with rain during the day and temperatures aruoud 13oc / or 55 oF.

 

 

 

 

 

https://www.vikingcruises.co.uk/oceans/ships/viking-saturn.html

 

 

2026 Feb 17; Day 05, Sete, France.

February 18, 2026 / / 2 Comments

The last time I was in Sete, was in 2001 as captain of the ms Noordam (III). Then we docked in downtown Sete and we could walk directly into downtown. (50,000 inhabitants). Since then the port has been upgraded with a combined cruise and ferry pier. All very nice, but now you have to take a compulsory shuttle to the Gate, where the bow of my Noordam went 25 years ago. I am all for improvement but the compulsory shuttle service was setup in the French way and thus a bit more complicated than necessary.

Sete dock. A very nice new dock with ample room for the compulsory port shuttle bus and the Ferry docking at the other side. In the good old days we used to dock opposite of where the high apartment building is located and then just walk into town.

By 11.10 we were expected on the dockside and put in a nice sightseeing coach so I was quite happy. We left late as once again there were guests missing and then we drove out of the gate. I was now expecting that this sightseeing coach would drop us off somewhere in downtown for our walking tour. That was not the case, we lined up behind 4 other (shuttle) busses. Then we had to wait because the shuttle busses left every 10 minutes and it was not possible to speed that up, so we had another 20 minutes delay. Once our coach had made it to the official stop, we were allowed to disembark and the walking trip started from here. As the whole trip was supposed to last 2 hours, we had lost 30+ minutes as the tour guide kept the ending time the same. So 1hr.30 minutes instead.

Sete Jousting. This is the red team training boats, there is also a blue team.

Once lined up we marched into town and stopped at each bakery and patisserie for a look in the windows as cookies and pies are the big thing in Sete. Then on the canal there were the “jousting boats”. Once a year in August, there is a jousting duel on the water in rowing boats, a tradition that might even go back as far as Roman Times when Sete was already a port. The photo shows the bare training boats. During the jousting, a sort of bridge / platform is constructed at the stern of a heavier boat and the “jouster” stands on top of it with a pole, trying to push the opposite person into the water. The rowers have to manuver the boat in the best position possible and avoid being pushed into an impossible position so that the jouster cannot do the job.

This is the real happening with the boats that have the ramp with jousting platform.

Although Sete is small, it is a very nice place and it was very pleasant to walk around there; compact but interspersed with canals. Here the fishing fleet of the town is located and our Guide was very proud to announce that little Sete as 3 times as many Tuna fishing boats than Marseilles. There are several canals that go through the city and they are flanked on each side by restaurants serving the fresh catch of the day.

This canal connects the sea with an inland lake and is very popular with small time boaters and fishing enthousiasts. Mussles and fresh oysters even grow on the bridge pillars.

Then it was on to the covered market (Les Halles in french) to look at more cookies but now also at the Fish stands, cheese stands and other local specialtiy boutiques.  And that was the tour. Those who wanted could stay behind, those who wanted to go back to ship could follow the tour guide, although in Sete you cannot get lost.

 

The outside of the fish market. It was restored sometime ago and, an architect was let loose to create an inspring roof, and he came up with a………………………………… a fish net cover.

Then it was waiting again for the shuttle bus. The ID card checking and boarding of the shuttle bus was supervised by no less than 5 security guards. I have never felt so protected when stepping on a bus. We were back by 14.30 and time to take a nap as all that walking (and especially all that eating too much) does make you tired.

The inside of “Les Halles”. It is open every day from 07.00 to 13.00 hrs. and the place to go for “fresh” shopping by the locals.

We had cocktails in the regular atrium lounge , then on to the dinning room again; good food, good service but nothing special, and tonight we were early as we wanted to see the crew farewell and then the “Beatles show”.  Doors opening at 20.30 hrs.  The farewell show opened with a speech by the Cruise Director about how wonderful we were, as we sailed with Viking.

 

The crew farewell show with the -tall- captain in the middle.

Then a short speech by the thus far very elusive Captain. We have not heard a peep from him all week, no departure announcements, nor anything else, but it as it is compulsory to be part of the crew farewell, there he was. I have not been able to get anything out of anybody about what he is supposed to do as far as announcements go, but I do not get the impression that Deck and Engine are very much involved with the guest operation. So the Captain is more a “Chief Bus – driver” than anything else. It feels more  that the guest well-being is solely the job of the Hotel department. Headed by the Cruise Director and the General Manager.  Her name is Emma Smith and she is from England. We spoke several times with her as she is very visible in the ship and indeed “manages by walking around”. Also her office, on the side of the  Atrium with the door open, and directly approachable.

Then  we had a toast, with champagne handed out when coming into the show lounge followed by about 30% of the officers and crew marching onto the stage. Not much different from other company’s, only here with Viking, they pulled it off somehow with having all the crew lined up properly, instead the chaos you normally see. (and believe me it is not easy to do that, as it is not the same crew that is assigned each week, and they all want to stand”next to their friend” instead of being in the right position)

The “Beattles song show”.  I have a lively imagination but I had to stretch my Beattle’s imagination very far…………………. to figure out the connection of striped pajama’s with the Beattles. The Cast felt the same when I complemented them after the show. Why not have them wearing “Sergeant Pepper” costumes to make it a big more colorful ?

The show was about all the Beatles Songs and the singers were extremely good again. The same cannot be said about the person who designed the stage clothes as that was far from comprehensible. Especially after the costume change half way through when the men were dressed in a sort of prison uniforms.  But the show was very good and the Singers rightly received a standing ovation.

Then we decided to go for a nightcap and poked our nose into the Torshavn nightclub.  Quite intimate but again the sound level was a bit too much. So we went back to the Atrium Bar for a nice Brandy Alexander and a portwine.

The Thorshavn nightclub. On the stage the guitar player acting as a warming up act, for the very good, but very loud house band.

Tomorrow  we are in Barcelona for 2 days, with the second day being the dis & embarkation day. Tours will be going all over the city, Gaudi’s church and buildings of course and other city tours but also one to the Santa Maria de Montserrat Abbey, which is a 6 hour tour, and one I had never seen before. Cost for that one was well over $ 300,– and for that price I prefer to watch U-tube.

Expected weather tomorrow : sunny but chilly with temperatures of 13oC or 55 Fahrenheit

 

 

2026 Feb 16; Day 04, Marseille, France.

February 18, 2026 / / 0 Comments

I have been keeping an eye on the weather in the Nord Med., an area which is called “The Gulf of Lions” or Gulfo de Lions. (Lions as in correct spelling) The chance of a strong Mistral wind (funnel wind from the Rhone valley is always present) but regular northerly winds can be a problem is well. Those were blowing during the early mornings and that resulted in the appearance of the MSC ship in Villefranche. But it looked like that by 07.00 hrs. the wind would have died down sufficiently for our ship to safely sail into the new harbour of Marseille.

The port of Marseille. The ships are coming in at the far northern end of the breakwater.  The south side (although much better for windy codiitions) is only used by small craft. (Photo Courtesy” Med-Mediteranee)

The port of Marseille lay out is its own worst enemy as the sail-in channel is perpidencular to the northerly winds, so when the Mistral blows you get a higher number of port cancellations, especially with the cruise ships as they catch so much wind. And it can play havoc with the ferry schedules.  For us the wind had died down and we had no problem sailing in, swinging around and docking. At the other side of the dock was the MSC Orchestra the 2nd cruise ship in port.

We had booked / included in the cruise package / another walking tour, this time of the downtown  Marseille.  To my utter amazement, the tour guide was Dutch, having lived in Marseilles for 20 years being married to a frenchman. To the amazement of some of the fellow guests on the coach, she spoke english by translating Dutch straight into English. I think in english, so my english sounds much more native, She did the same with French, but for English and German she went back again to thinking in Dutch and then giving the english translation, Dutch syntax and idiom included.

Marseille is the largest city in France after Paris with about 2 mln. inhabitants. It is overcrowded and not exactly clean, although the multitude of cultures (many from North Africa and old French colonies) make for fascinating glimpses of how  other cultures live and work. (especially the small markets, each dedicated to their own cultural background with local products and marketeers screaming in their own language).

Palais Longshamp. Great museum collection and great gardens. And the outside is not shabby either. (Photo courtesy: Packyourbags.com)

So we drove around the port, up and down the  streets, and got a good impression of how Marseilles functions. First with a photostop at Palace Longshamp. This is a very impressive building, built between 1831 – 1869 to celebrate the completion of a canal that brought fresh & safe water to the city. It took 30 years due to planning problems and construction costs but now houses several musea.  We stayed on the coach as it was raining, so we let the photo-op go.

The Porte d’Aix in Marseille. Commemorating all sorts of victories the french had in the 19th and 20th century.

A very peculiar thing is that Marseilles has an “Arc de Triomph” (official Porte d’Aix or Port Reial) same as in Paris, about the same size, but looking slightly different on the outside. Officially marking the entry point when coming from Aix-de-Provence, but several governments were involved in the building process and wanted to mark the Arch for several subsequent battle achievements. There was the end of the American war of independence in 1784,  then the French Spanish Expedition in 1824, and when it was completed in 1839, it was to honor “all sorts of victories” so a very multifunctional monument.

Most of the sightseeing tour was along the Corniche (bench in English) which runs along the whole coastline of Marseilles. The road is officially named after the American President John F. Kennedy. It is where the most expensive houses are located, included Gated-Communities, and the best fish restuarants, often in converted houses from the fisherman days. The weather was horrible while driving along the coast so we were quite happy to sit in the bus and let the -french- world roll by. Photostop at the Corniche was the monument for fallen french soldiers in the East Med. and Africa during the First World War. Although we mostly think about Flanders Fields during WWI,there were many more theatres of war. In Eastern Europe, in the Balkan and also in Africa.

The “MonumentAux Morts Des Orients. Erected in 1927.

I took this photo from the coach as you cannot miss the monument, it really dominates the local sky line.  Most people in front of it, were from our busses, as the French themselves waited for better weather to have a look at it.

I felt straight at home. What Macdonalds is for the Americans, is HEMA for the Dutch. So we had to visit.

Then the rest was by Coach, followed by an hour to walk around downtown. And there we found a HEMA. This is a dutch shop /chain that sells anything you need for your house. It is very very Dutch, so finding it in the deep south of France, is about the same as finding a Wal-Mart on top of the Swiss Alps. Even the packaging was in Dutch but it did not stop the French from buying up a storm.

The Atrium bar. To the left is a sitting area with regular tables and from there you can spread out over the 3 floors of the Atrium, which is officially called “The Living Room”

Back on board it was time for lunch and this time we tried the “nibble” selection at the Bar on deck 1 of the Living Room. This is the 3 deck atrium of which the corner on deck 1 also functions as cocktail place and related. It serves small sandwiches with shrimps, salmon and beef and is a great for those who are peckish but do not want to be tempted by being exposed to the Lido outlay (called the World Cafe on this ship)

Wendy the Future Travel Specialist in full swing. We were quite impressed with her as she was able to rattle off every port of each cruise listed in the brochure.

Viking has a repeater program, The Viking Explorer Society,  (On average they have a repeater rate of 60 to 90% on board) and that means that you might get a drinks package and gratitues included on you next cruise depending on the promotion going at the time.  There is no tiered program as with Cunard or Holland America. To recognize everybody there was  a party in the Atrium and although we were not “repeaters” yet, the Future Cruise Lady had invited us. And with free drinks…….. who can say no?  So we got a few wise words from Wendy the future cruise specialist, some more wise words from the Cruise Director and then a short show from the ships cast / singers.  There are no medals or other gifts but the biggest day holder (this cruise 160+ days) was recognized with a bunch of flowers.

As the whole ship decor is “Scandinavian bare” it does not look very impressive during the day time with the tables not being set. But is is very cosy in the evenings.

The evening show was the Cruise Director himself who is also an ccomplished singer. He performed a selection of songs from the last 40 years. We did not go as it conflicted with our dinner reservations in “Manfredi’s” the dedicated Italian Restaurant on board.  And when one has to choose between food and culture, guess what wins.  It is free of charge and the menu is standard Italian restaurant style, as people would expect it shoreside. With a decent range of entries and very pleasant service. It is evey night booked to capacity and with Viking higher cabin catagory’s  you can book  at home, while mere mortals like us, have to wait until on board, and then it depends on space still available. However it turned out not to be a problem and we have also booked the other speciality restaurant, “The Chefs table” for the last night. That one has a set menu.  Then you can book cooking classes for  $60,– a person and for that you also get an apron. They run the classes in the evening so you will eat your own cooked dinner at dinner time. We saw a group of very excited ladies marching out around 9 pm. followed by a group of spouses, drink in hand, who looked rather less excited.

Tomorrow we are in Sete, France. (It is  pronounced Sept, without the t) Weather is supposed to be dry and sunny but with a cold wind blowing from the North giving noon time temperatures of  12 – 14 oC /  54 – 57oF)

 

 

Day 12: Dec. 28; At Home, Verdict & Review of the cruise.

December 29, 2025 / / 7 Comments

As usual, at the end of the cruise, I do a review  with our VERY PERSONAL opinion of the cruise. So if you think that Cunard is pure “Hallelujah” please do not be disappointed. If you decide to “snigger” because you do not like Cunard, please take into acccount, there is no perfect cruise company out there. If you look at all the cruises we have done in the last year, (see the write ups at the right hand side of the home page), I was able to shoot holes in each product and at the same time see things that made me go “WOW” why do other company’s not do this.

Cruising is very personal, and the bottom line for a GOOD cruise company is, did THEY deliver what they promised and did YOU enjoy it.

So we come to our personal verdict about this Cunard Cruise.

Did we enjoy the cruise YES. Would we have enjoyed it less in a lesser cabin: ALSO YES.  We had a Q3 suite, that is two steps down from the top and we expected for that level for everything to be top notch and perfect. You have a butler and a cabin steward and they try to do the best job possible. But those two can only deliver the standards set by the company. And Ludmilla and Mark did a very good job within those parameters.

The Glare: As explained when blogging about every cruise we make, this is a little thing I do during a cruise.  Every crewmemember I meet, officers and crew alike, I look them straight in the eyes and wait if they acknowledge me. The results can be quite striking.

Cunard scored only 75%. (e.g. 1 out of 4 did not make the cut). The crew on average scored 100%, no problems there. Even the sailors on deck. were chirpy and friendly and scored 100%. The challenge lies with the Hotel officers. The majority I met in the corridors, the Lido and the public rooms, looked away or did not acknowledge guests when walking by, or when talking to each other.  3 & 4 stripers in Hotel did not make the cut on average. And there is no excuse for that. If a lowly asst. steward can do it, then  a 3 stripe hotel officer should be  able to do it better. I only met two engineering officers this cruise and they were both polite, smiled and one even waited at the door, and they are normally the least customer focused.

Would I recommend a Cunard Cruise. In general yes.

It is a good product  and the only negative thing I hear from other travellers, Cunard thinks it has the most wonderful product but they are slowly overtaken by a whole slew of other operators in the luxury segment.

The are not helping themselves as they send out their post cruise questionaires “ONLY” to a number of “SELECT” guests. That way you never get the raw deal that you need to improve your product.

Main thing is you have to get used to is the system that the cabin -size is connected to a certain restaurant. That is quite posh but the extra’s given are not that wide apart anymore. There is not so much difference (compared to before Covid) between the menu’s between Queens, Princess, Club and Britannia. You just have a little bit more choice when going up from Britannia to Queens. It would not warrant the extra costs, if the larger cabins were not attached to it.

Compliments:

Beautiful ship (if you like  ships in a classical style) with beautiful lounges.

Beautiful cabins, as least on our level, but they should be better maintained. For this level of pricing, there should be nothing wrong.

Very attentive service, at least in the Queens Grill, with only two mistakes made in the whole of the 12 days and without any rushed service.

Very good and large cast company (12 in total), two orchestras (Stage and Queens Lounge) and entertainment everywhere. It resulted in Great Shows. This is a very hard working cast with a show every other night and a one full lenght musical “Come From Away” of 1h. 45 minutes as well. Great Christmas show. (not every company is doing that anymore)

Very good lectures (apart from one guy who was too sloppy in appearance and slissed when talking)

Formal nights (Although unfortunatelly not enforced in the lounges that are designated as formal)

Soft Ice Cream, self service machine in the Lido with the most consistent quality so far encountered during all our cruises.

Self Services Washing Machines on each Deck..

Challenges:

for Cunard to fix ( at least if it wants to anchor  “floating” customers like us):

The biggest one:

” On request”. Why does the guest have to ask for anything that has been paid for?…………………………… You need to have the Cunard web-site listing for your cabin level with you to ensure you get what you paid for.

“On request” ONLY was the following in a Queens Grill Cabin:

Ice in the cabin, Fresh fruit, Fresh flowers / plant . TV program, Binoculars, Instructions of how to operate the DVD player, Instructions for the coffee machine. Extra side dishes in the Queens Grill. The waiters know it is there but do not suggest anything to make the experience more perfect.

Status of the cabin. A lot of items that I found could have been corrected with better – detailed- inspections by Housekeeping. I paid a lot of money for this cabin so I did not expect that as a  guest I would have to start reporting stuff.  Wrong CD player, Glass curtains loose, Toilet seat loose, Plinths broken. Vanity buttons missing on the desk lights. With the help of the Butler and the Concierge it was all fixed but I was not not expecting to find anything wrong in a cabin of such a high catagory.

You can NOT expect the Butler and the Cabin Steward to look after all of this as they are on a very tight working schedule. This is officer and petty officer level responsibility.

Lots of carpet edges (corners and vertical padding) loose in the corridors. I counted 10 of them on deck 8 only on the first day and they were still the same on the last day. How difficult is it, to send a carpenter/Upholsterer  around with a pot of adhesive  to glue the carpets back ??. The carpet edges comes loose with luggage handling, so it happens all the time, make it a standard job for a Housekeeping supervisor to walk the corridors once a week and make a list.

Lido Restaurant. For a 5 star cruise company the amount and variation of food on offer is quite meager. If you are a cruiser who likes and spends a lot of time in the Lido Restaurant, GO or STAY with Holland America.

Internet: It is very good in general, except when the whole ship goes on line, especially on sea days. For mobile phones it all works but with laptops you loose the signal  on average between 10.00 – 11.30 and 14.30 – 16.30 on sea days, at least on Deck 6, midships staircase area. So only devices who use a small bandwidth can get on line. During those hours I can not reach my website / do my blog, as my website needs a bit more bandwith than checking Facebook.

One word of advise: If you want to sail Cunard, stay away from Queen Anne and choose one of the other 3 Queens.

The Queen Anne is a beautiful ship but Cunard has put the capacity up to 2950 and not increased the number of public rooms to handle these additional 450 guests (compared with the HAL’s Pinnacle class) so the lounges are overflowing during cocktail times.  In an ideal world, the Jewellery shop would be a lot smaller in size and in its place there would be another beautiful Cunard cocktail lounge. Talking to the guests it was mentioned that the cabins are a lot smaller and the storage space varies and is smaller but not in line with the increase in cabin size or cost. We noticed that during our two cruises but it still seems to be the case even after more cabinets were added.

That is all……………………………….  Nuntium ne necaveritis.

ps 1. My Lord and Master has booked another cruise for November 2026, going from Southampton to Zeebrugge, Amsterdam and Cherbourg on the Queen Victoria, as she wants to try the Q2 midships catagory. Q1 is of no interest as those cabins are in the bow and the stern and that is where the  movement is worst during the winter  storms.

ps 2.

It got a request from one faithful reader to explain what “yawning” is or when a ship “yaws”.  So here is a quick summary.

There are 6 ships movements officially recognized:

  • Heaving: vertical movement (the whole ship lifts up)
  • Swaying: transverse movement (lurching from left to right)
  • Surging: longitudinal movement (pushed forward and then settles back)
  • Rolling: longitudinal rotation  (leaning/ listing  from one side to the other)
  • Pitching: transverse rotation ( bow goes up, bow goes down, sometimes slams on the waves)
  • Yawing: vertical rotation (You make a sort of round movement that combines 3 or 4 of the separate movement one)

Some ships are more affected by one or the other movements than others. A ship like the Queen Mary 2, has been designed with a ships length that “rides the average length of the North Atlantic waves” and thus pitches a lot less then a smaller ship. It sort of barges through or over the waves. But without stabelizers in use she would still roll. Also her stern design makes her less prone to surging. But she also “yaws” when she gets the swell 3/4 quarter on the stern.

The  newest cruise ships, that look like a barge with an apartment building on top, “yaw” less because of the “box in the water” design. But in the wrong wave length, they can pitch considerably, so the best thing to do is then either to speed up or slow down so it hits the waves differently. The cruise ships constructed between 2002 and 2014 of which most have similar hulls as the Queen Victoria  tend to be prone to yawning and swaying as the stabelizers have a hard time handling that movement They are gyroscope controlled and that needs a change of horizon (leaning away from the horizontal) and movements other then rolling do not do that.

My personal solution to all these movements is to sit in the bar, recognize the sort of movement that is going on and then insure that my beer glass counteracts that move perfectly and thus does not spill any it’s contents.

 

I pinched this off the internet. A big thank you to FFQQ.com. There is not much difference between a cargo ship and a passengership if both are properly ballasted, so the center of gravity sits in the right place. The only difference is that most cargo ships do not have stabelizers.

 

 

Day 9, 2025 Dec. 25; At Sea.

December 26, 2025 / / 5 Comments

On departure the Captain announced that we would have a smooth ride home, only somewhat marred by a strong wind on the bow. In general he was right. The sea swell was not predicted to go above 3 meters and that is something a Signature/Vista class ship can handle without too much issue.  However where there is 3 meters, there is also 3.5 meters and 2.5 meters and hence the ship was not completely still in the water.  I think the guests who occupied the cabins at the stern, did not completely agree with the captains assessment as there was some movement; and around lunch time today the ship was even pitching  But compared with going south at the beginning of the cruise we are having an easy ride.

The sea state expected today. It is still mainly blue. and that is good.

We opened our Cunard presents this morning and found two nice christmas balls for the tree at home and two christmas crackers with inside white and brown truffles. And the card from the company. Lesley and I have stopped giving each other presents a long time ago as after so many years of marriage we already have everything and if not, the wish is so electic that both would buy the wrong present. Hence  you could say that this cruise was our christmas present. And a very nice one, albeit a very expensive one.

The presents we found on our bed last night. Nothing “big” but nice to receive as a souvenir. The teddybear on the christmas ball is dressed in a Cunard Bell-boy custome.

After breakfast in the cabin (not that we are so posh but it is the best way to stay away from a very calorific breakfast), we had a walk around and were just in time to see Father Christmas arriving in the Atrium. This ritual is nearly the same on every ship. Santa Claus suddenly pops up out of the funnel greeted by as many screaming children as possible (we do not have that many on board this cruise but they still were capable of making a lot of noise). Then it goes in parade into the ship, at a distance followed by  the parents, as not every little Johnny stays with the group. Some of them see this as a chance to explore somewhere he has not been yet and then needs to be scooped up by Pa or Ma.

Santa Claus in the Atrium, flanked by his elf and two “snow persons”.

Cunard uses the Atrium for these occasions as Santa can sit on top of the stairs and thus can be approached that way by the childeren but also a lot of guests can have a look down from one of the 3 levels and at the same time do not need to stay for the whole “procedure”. Also adults were invited to have their photo taken with Santa Claus, an Elf, and two “snow persons”. Quite a few still felt like children at heart……….

At 10 am. The captain hosted the Festival of The Carols and Lessons in the main Theatre. This is a typical english thing, grounded in the fact that the King is the head of the English Church. On the ship the Captain is his representative and thus assumes that title of head of the church as well. Therefore it has been a long tradition on the British ships that the Captain leads the Sunday Morning church service on board.  On the British cruise ships this tradition is still here and the Captain still heads the service, at least when sundays are at sea. For Christmas, this service had been padded out somewhat with carols and the Master of the Vessel reading “The Lesson”. There is a merchant navy prayer & sermon book out there, so if there is a Captain, who is not so familiar with the spiritual side of life, then there are templates that can be followed.

That was as much christmas as we could find, the rest of the morning had the standard items, with dancing in the Queens Lounge, Shops sales, Casino open, etc., followed by the next music recital by Maestro Robert Colville, who did not disappoint and even did two encores  (Highland Chatedral and Variations on Lambeth Walk) so he over ran the alloted time. That caused several of the audience to leave because when it is time to choose between culture and lunch, …………………………………….guess what wins.

His Majesty the King, Charles II of Great Britain & the British Commonwealth. The general focus of his speech was on working together and reconsiliation.

By 15.00 hrs. a lot of guests were assembling in the Royal Court Theatre to listens to the “Kings Speech”. For me of dual persuation, feeling British after 32 years but still having a Dutch perspective on life, I always feel it necessary to follow both.

His Majesty King Willem Alexander of the Kingdom of the Netherlands spoke about cherishing of what connects us. Our mutual responsibilities, Our Democracy, Our Rights of Law and Our Environment. And the need to instill these values into our children.

No doubt the other Kings and Queens of Europe had similar messages for their loyal subjects in a world that is getting ever more polarized and less repsectful of each other.( I do not know if there is a International Queen & King conference before christmas but it would make sense as most of the contents of these speeches were similar but with a local tweak)

So with these  Royal Reflections,  I hope 2026 will be a better year.

The crew had their christmas downstairs, also received presents from Cunard, and had Santa Claus downstairs for photos.  Upstairs the afternoon was the regular seaday routine with offerings from all the concessionaires and then by 17.00 hrs. cocktail time geared up again.  Tonight was formal night with a theme of Red & Gold. Looking around the ship, quite a few of the ladies, including my Lord & Master, had found a dress with red & gold. I could join in with a red jacket and gold cumberbund & bow tie, but in general the Gents where less brave than the Ladies. (Although I saw a few gentlemen in very fancy jackets). As mentioned before, we normal go to the Commodore Club for cocktails and 99%  were in formal, and about 60% color themed. The amplifier challenge from last night had been fixed and tonight we had a Duo, called the “Radio Duo” with smooth songs.

Christmas dinner was a variation on the christmas dinner but (I assume) re-imagined by Top Chef Michael Roux so a lot of the trimmings were not present. But we had fancy christmas crackers to pull.

The Lavelles. Three British Ladies who gave a very nice show. They will do another one later on in the Queens Lounge. (Photo Courtesy from somewhere on  the internet, a poster of when the Ladies were performing)

The show tonight was  a group of three Ladies “the Lavelles” who sang Motown hits from the 1980’s etc. And they were very good. Motown is not my first choice but the songs were belted out on “full volume” and high energy.  This was followed by a short performance from the cruise staff and cast with the 12 days of Christmas. The nice thing of this song is, that if it is done right, it goes completly wrong and ends up in complete mayhem. We were not disappointed………. and it was good fun to watch. Unfortunately I cannot show photos as there was this voice on the Tannoy again, advising everybody that recording was strictly forbidden. As mentioned before, I will never understand that.

Tomorrow is our 2nd day at sea, and the weather looks very good. Smooth seas, hardly any wind and with only a low swell running. Tenperatures are slowly dropping and by the time we reach Southampton, it will be down to 6 or 7o Celcius.

 

 

Day 4, 2025 Dec. 20: At Sea, sailing towards Madeira.

December 21, 2025 / / 1 Comment

We sailed last night at 18.00 hrs. from Lisbon, slowly moving down the river and as it was dry weather everybody could have a good view  of the “singing” bridge, the Vasco Da Gama statue and Belem Tower. The latter is where the pilot disembarks and that gives the option to speed up to stabelizer speed,  10 – 12 knots, and sail comfortably down the river. Halfway down the estuary the ship started to move again and has continued to do so for the night and the remainder of today.  The ships movement did reduce somewhat by evening as the 2nd (interfering) wave field diminished in influence but it remained wobbly. Tomorrow will not be a problem as  Funchal is located at the South side of the island of Madeira and that is in the lee side of most bad weather. Very light winds are so far forecast for our call and the breakwater is very long and large to keep all the swell out.

Today we had a full day at sea, including the World club gathering (repeater or loyalty party) and a formal night. Cunard runs an excellent lecture program with 3 lecturers so far rotating on this cruise.  Two of them were very good, and one (claiming to do something maritime but only one talk and then talked about Madeira wine) not so good as he read his whole lecture and was not dressed respectfully (no jacket, but a sloppy shirt) towards the audience.

Female Conductor, Mrs. Farnham. started out with directing theatre shows in London and from there progressed to choirs and orchestra’s worldwide.

So we went to  the 2nd & 3rd one. Nbr 2 was a Female Orchestra Conductor, who talked about how to become one, and the trials of making it as a female in a male dominated world.  When she started in 1991, 1.4% of the world’s conductors were female. Now it is up to approx. 5% and she was running classes to get more Ladies in front of the orchestra, instead of in the orchestra. A fascinating world that most people do not know anything about. Next one was a gentleman who had spent his life in Drugs Enforcement and, (this being his 2nd lecture) went from the legal business around the work, to the actual catching of drug smugglers accompanied with what went right and what went wrong stories.

The Christmas market in the Queens Lounge from 10..00 to 12.00. Not exactly very busy, but then the prices were not really “market value”.

Then we had to run to the Queens Lounge were our classical pianist was giving his second recital. This time with works of known composers (Lizt, Handel, Sebelius) but also lesser known composers (Nazareth, Bortkiewicz) and that brought a wonderful experience.  I got somewhat irritated at Housekeeping as they reset the lounge 5 minutes before the recital started (the floor had been cleared earlier for the Christmas Market = a sales effort from the shops and beverage) and continued finishing off after the concert had already started. Their supervisor had poked his nose in when they started but did not stay to ensure that the stewards stopped when the concert started.  Leadership takes a lot of training, even with a White Star program.

The Queens Lounge, still with the open dancefloor space recently vacated by the Christmas Market. Pianist Robert Colville is seen here still practising. Housekeeping moved in 10 minutes before the recital started and all guests were moved to the dance floor. Nothing wrong with that, but why start so late and thus not finish on time ?.

Then time for a soft ice in the Lido and back to the cabin as it was time to write yesterday’s blog.

Time to dress came at 18.00 hrs. as we choose to go to the 2nd party at 18.45 hrs. The first formal night was color themed Black & White, this second one does not have a theme and the third one will be Red & Gold.  So big boss decreed that we should have a different formal outfit for each night and hence for tonight it was blue formal for me blue jacket and blue cumberbund, to match her ladiesships blue dress.

In the grey mists of time Cunard held 3 parties, The Welcome on Board / Captains Intro party, then the World Club party  for the various levels of repeat guests (Gold, platinum, Diamond , achieved at by counting the days) and  also a “Senior Officers party”. When we went on the Queen Anne we found out that these 3 parties had been merged into one. Not nice for those who were looking forward to as many free drinks as possible, but understandable as each time they had to clear the Lido deck (section under the Dome) at 3 pm. in the afternoon to set things up for a party, to much annoyance of those on the sun loungers and/or watching the afternoon movie. If you have to do that 3 times in a 10 day cruise, then you get a lot of un-happy campers.

Wold Club party in the Queens Lounge. See above what a beautiful lounge this is for a party as long as not everybody insists on sitting down. The other 3 Ladies are the World Club loyalty team and they also sell cruises from an office on Deck 2.

World Club party in the Queens Lounge. See 2 pictures higher up, what a beautiful lounge this is for a party as long as not everybody insists on sitting down. Thus this evening we had this combined party again in 2 sittings and with literally everybody coming through the line dressed in Formal. What was nice to see is that more and more men are moving away from the standard black “Penguin Suit” and are starting to experiment with different color jackets. I have about 15  of them in various colors to tune in with my wife’s dress color choice and also because I simply refuse to wear an “undertaker suit” if I am going to a festive formal occasion.

So we had the chance to have a little chat with Captain Sharples, who turned out to be a good conversationist (not always the case, even with cruise ships captains) , then grabbed a drink and moved into the crowd. Those who could stand, did stand, leaving the seats graciously to those who could only sit.  It was irritating again to see that the invited officers were hovering around the front of the dance floor and were waiting for the guests to come over to talk to them, instead of being gracious hosts and mingle in the crowd.  Hence armored with a glass of wine Lesley & I marched over to a trio of junior officers who were “hiding” as far from the guests as possible and gave them a bit of training of how to entertain. They sort of freaked out when they found out my background but with a few stories and some Q&A they started to relax and enjoy themselves.

Then it was time to for Captain’s introduction which went in sequence of: first Chief Engineer ( he who controls the throttle, does control the ship), the Chief Human Resources Officer (all cruise ship companys have been upgrading the status of H.R as the well being of the crew is becoming more and more important), The Hotel Director (the only Lady among the staff), the Staff Captain (who was introduced as captain, to confuse things) and then the Guest Ambassador (who administrates the loyalty system) to introduce the guest on board with the most sailing days. This lady had clocked up 1200+ days since 1991. Her most beloved ship was the Queen Elizabeth 2 but she liked the new Queens as well.  It seems that the older ships, built as Ocean Liners, had a form of character that made them favourites what ever challenges they had when sailing. I still come across HAL guests who remember Rotterdam V (now in Rotterdam) as their favourite  while the new ships  have much better facilities. But they lack character and style. On those older ships, the atmosphere on board dictated how you went about your cruise and how everybody interacted. But those days of ” everyday sea day is a formal day except sundays” are long gone.

When coming down from dinner, we bumped into the Captain and his wife who were going to retrieve their 3 children from the Youth Club. They were also having to deal with the magic of a Youth Club on board. Day 1: they want to go home, Day 2: they will go home when asked, Day 3: they refuse to come out as they are “too busy”, Day 4 and onwards is drama and tantrums near closing time.  (I was once called out as Captain on such an occasion, when the mother in question accused the Youth Director about “brainwashing” her children, as they refused to come out, and neither Security nor the Hotel Director knew how to deal with it.  I managed to talk the kids around (not the mother) by promising a bridge tour with ice cream (which we did anyway each cruise in those days. Then the next day the father threw a tantrum as he wanted a bridge tour as well but could get not one as the (free) tours were fully booked.  ———–Working with people is wonderfull————–  So, we as Captain & family had another chat and I was drawn in to volunteer to take photos with the captain by passing guests.

Then a mysterious bottle popped up in the cabin. Sparking Wine, but why ?? No card, no nothing. Turned out that this was a gift on “repeater day” for those with a higher number of sailing days.

Dinner was a busy affair as a larger number of guests had decided that this was THE night to order A-la-Carte (like we did yesterday with Dover sole) so all the head waiters and the Maitre where in full swing to prepare, Dover Sole, Lamb, Beef Wellington and Chateaubriand at the respective tables. But with being on TOP and have the best trained staff in this Queens Grill of all the restaurants, it all went smoothly without hiccups.

Then we went to the show. Tonight the 4 singers of the cast were giving a performance focusing on Songs of the Movies (James Bond, Abba =the movie etc.) This was advertised in the daily program with having a back up of an 18 piece orchestra (so bascially all the musicians on board) but there were only 9 on stage. Still very good, but why mislead the guests in promising more than you can deliver ?.   The show was very good though. All the other Cast,  Entertainers and family had parked themselves in the front of the stage (in the least occupied seats) and they made enough noise to make the theatre feel completely full.

Tomorrow we are  in Funchal, Madeira. We will dock at the breakwater and with us will be the ms Ventura (P&O cruises) which will be with us in all the next ports. Lesley knows the wife of the Chief Engineer on the Ventura as they were at sea together in the grey mists of time, so she is trying to arrange a meet-up.

Weather for tommorrow: Sunny in the morning, rain possible in the afternoon with maximum temperatures  around 18oC / 64oF.

 

Day 3, 2025 Dec. 19: Lisbon, Portugal.

December 20, 2025 / / 1 Comment

Happily docked alongside for the night, everybody on board had a nice and quiet night and as a result there were a lot more smiling faces in the morning, than the day before. The local authorities indeed keep to the regular cruise schedule and by 8 am. the ship was cleared and a steady stream of guests went ashore to invade Lisbon. It was still chilly as it had just stopped raining but by 10 am. the sun came out and the world warmed up to a balmy 15oC / 59oC.   The Alcantara cruise terminal can handle  2 very big cruise ships or 3 mid size ones but we were the only cruise ship in port. Although not completly correct, as laid up half a mile to the north was the ms Funchal, This is an old passenger ship built in the days that ships still kept a regular connection from Lisbon with the outer islands like Madeira. Then she was used for cruising, by a whole slew of different owners and has laid up since 2023. There seem to be plans to convert her to a hotel but not much progress has been reported.

The cruise terminal is about a 10 minute walk away from downtown, hence there was no shuttle. Cunard had made available an ADA shuttle for guests with special needs. For those who did not want to walk all the way, the Big Red -Hop on Hop off- Bus has a stop right across from the entrance and that is a good way to get a first impression of the City, if you have never been there.  Big boss and I have been to Lisbon many a time, (start counting  in 1981) so we decided to stay on board and have a good look around the ship.

Cunard’s Employee of the Month. (Sr. Machinist). Under the White Star training and excellence system. Cunard’s crew training  system is a bit more elaborate than with other company’s as it encompasses training and  good service in one system. Each crewmember gets dedicated training for this (and wears a pin when passed), while at other company;s it is often learning on the job with a bit of tuition on the side. How long the training remains engrained in a crewmember I do not know, as I saw already several officers walking around with their hands in the pockets. But I like the idea of having a more dedicated – formalized school – approach to quality.

I received a few comments about my remarks about the tipping situation at Cunard.  Here a little explanation. Cunard does not included tipping/gratuities in the cruise price. This company adds the tipping charge – gratuity- to your on board account during the first night. If you have it, you can use your on board credit for paying it. The gratuities are $ 17 for the regular cabins and $ 19 for the Princess and Queens Grill cabins, per guest, per day.  The daily amounts are quite considerable  and many guests reduce them to a level they find reasonable or take it off completely. But, and this is the nasty bit, you can only do this on embarkation day, hence long lines at the Pursers Desk after embarkation.

In the United Kingdom, same as in the Netherlands and Germany, you only tip for extra ordinary service that goes beyond what can be expected. Plus these are nationalities who do not like to be told how much one should “give” somebody.  You want to decide yourself if that somebody is worth the extra money. For regular pub or restaurant visits when ashore in those countries, you do not tip as everybody is paid at the minimum a normal daily wage. (This might be different in the USA where waiters seem to rely on tips to make a decent living)

Each crewmember, working for a mainstream company,  earns a decent wage, as stipulated by the ITF, (International Transport Federation) that regulates a minumum of seafarer’s wages. Then most companies have a top – up point system for each function. The gratuities that you pay EXTRA above your ticket price are divided according to that point system. All Hotel crew are included,  except Bar and Wait staff as they have the service charge on each drink (15%). Also Deck and engine crew (sailors, machinists) are excluded as they have a higher basic wage. Same goes for the Officers, they are on a different pay scale. If the gratutities paid by the guests do not reach the 60% of what should come in (e.g.  the 100%y when nobody would have taken off the gratutities), then the company makes up the difference until it gets to 60%.  If more than 60% is received then the point system kicks in. Crewmembers who receive tip directly from guests are supposed to turn those in, and are added into the point system pool. If that happens, I do not know.

Most guests that I know off, reduce their gratuities with a certain amount and then give the rest directly to the crewmembers who serve them.   Therefore more and more companies are turning to  “Tips fully Included”  under a “Have it All” system, or a variation of that. This is the system that I prefer as it works very well as long as the guests do not start tipping extra on the side and thus create preferential treatment.

That happened to us on the Silver Spirit (see write up on this website) where everything is (officially) included; but a few “high rollers” still tipped considerably with the result that the bulter for the cabin section shifted his focus towards those few cabins. In our personal situation, the butler had to offer to help with packing but we never saw him and later realized that he was suspiciously “present” for prelonged times near 2 cabins  occupied by a group of VERY well heeled New Yorkers.

There is no perfect solution to this tipping problem but I have found with all the cruises, with different company’s, that we have made in past period, that “All Included” or “Have it All” works the best. Both for the guests as well as for the crewmember. it takes all the worries away and gives peace of mind. At least for us. I hope this helps.

Deck 9 outside. Hamburger Bar, but there are also Hot dogs and vegetarian options on the menu.

Thus we went on a walkabout of the ship. With everybody supposed to be going ashore, we were expecting that the ship would be nearly empty. This was not the case. We have a rather advanced age group on board, expecially in the dearer cabins, so there were still many on board. I might have to get up very early one day,  to catch some of the lounges empty to get a good photo. As the Q.V is a HAL Signature ship, it has the same lay-out on the outside but the interior is fitted out differently according to the needs of he Cunard Product.

The Aft deck with the outdoor pool has on the portside a Hamburger kitchen and on the Starboard side a deck bar. The  hamburgers & related are included; while if you order a hamburger in the Golden Lion or via Room service where you have to pay for it (US $ 11,–). Although free for the grill suites. Today was too cold but in the coming days, we will certainly try .

This is the  aft section of the Lido on the portside and this area is  especially kitted out for Breakfast. (See the two toast machines in the foreground as no real British person will ever contemplate breakfast without toast)

The Lido space is identical as on other Vista Class ships but the lay-out is different. Port and starboard side are identical but split into 3 sections. The centre section on both sides has more separated seating areas and can thus double up as a speciality Restaurant. Which happens here. Half the cruise it is a “Bamboo” restaurant with Asian Fusion and during the 2nd half it is called “La Plaza” and transforms into an Italian Restaurant. The cover charge for both is $ US 15,–

The Winter Garden as seen from the Bar area.

Forward of the Lido Restaurant is the Wintergarden with an overdecked bar, sitting area and music stage under a retractable magrodome. This is where Cunard tries to concentrate guests who do not want to dress up, nor want go to the Golden Lion Pub. There is entertainment at lunch time and in the evening, varying from Irish Music to a Duo but also Disco.  As can be seen from the photo, it is very much favoured by the older crowd for reading as the chairs are very comfortable and the Lido Restaurant is very close by for coffee and nibbles.

Going further forward is the midships swimming pool and in front of that the Ocean Spa. This Spa is operated by the Steiner Cooperation, same as with Holland America, but is called “Mareel” to make it sound more posh. For the rest it is the same, including the prices which are not for the faint hearted. My wife has already learned that if she approaches me about going to the Spa, it works a lot better if I have had a few drinks and feel a bit more philosofical.

One deck up, overlooking the pool area, and behind the Cormmodore Club (Crowsnest / Onbservatory), is the Yacht Club.  This is a circular lounge with a band stand and a bar and is used during day time as a multipurpose room (meetings, choir rehearsals etc.) and in the evening as a Disco and/or Jazz club if there is live music.  We both have very good ears so for us it is not the place to be in the evening. But on shorter cruises it is full every evening. On a cruise like this, it would be an excellent place to show off all the versions of wheel chairs, rollators, buggy’s and other “special needs” adds on board; it would attract a lot of interest.

We had cocktails in the Commodore Club again as the piano player is very good and engaging, followed by dinner in the Queens Grill. We had pre-ordered at lunch time Dover Sole and this was served to perfection by the Head Waiter.  Tomorrow we will be at sea again and the ship will still be lively while going south but by late afternoon the movement should start to diminish, with rainy and sunny spells.

Cunard is investing a lot in christmas decoration and it shows. This is the lower Atrium and it looks very christmassy. Late this evening there was a classical trio of three Ukranian Ladies playing Christmas music and it brought a nice atmosphere to what can otherwise be quite a cavernous area.

 

 

 

 

 

Day 2, 2025 Dec. 18: At Sea.

December 19, 2025 / / 7 Comments

We had indeed a bumpy night, with the ship being “attacked” with swell from 2 sides, creating a sort of swaying movement (the official name is yawning) that no stabelizer can correct. But in the course of the morning the wind started to subside and went down to about 35 knots and the North West swell eased off somewhat.

Our course is the red line and you can see that we started in the purple. That is 55 knots of wind.  The light green is about 20 knots. (Courtesy of the British Royal Meterlology Service. at Bracknell)

After breakfast again served by our butler, the ever efficient Ludmilla, we went out to to tell the concierge that the DVD player still had not been fixed. She was convinced that it was, as “the electrician” had been to visit. Obviously she had not absorbed anything of what I told her yesterday. So her phone came out again and  she was going to phone the Butler again. I stopped her and reminded her of what happened yesterday. Then we went back to the cabin to find Ludmilla , who had a solution. From somewhere she had conjured up a “new” DVD player but now with a 110 volt lead that fitted safely in the wall socket. Problem solved and kudo’s to Ludmilla. I will write her a commendation via the “White Star service” recommendation card system.

So what is the morale of this story: if you get flustrated with how long it takes sometimes to get something in the cabin repaired…… this might be why?  This is not just Cunard, it is similar for all companies. Our DVD player repair request went via Ludmilla who speaks -Columbian- English -, to the concierge who speaks -Bosnian- English, to the Front office who speaks -Philippino- English, involved a (Croation ???) Electrician, not even to think about houseleeping and front desk supervisors who might speak other forms of English again.  So they were all beeping each other and delegating from one department to another. Luckily my (retired) stripes still account for something and that kept the pressure up.I think that Ludmilla was able to “surf” on that momentum to find, and was given, an another player. The main thing is that for coming cruises, the DVD player works, if future guests would like to use it. I have done my good deed for the cruise.

Then we went to the library to see how the books were doing. Cunard maintains a very nice section of maritime books and I wanted to see if there was a new one that I did not know about. But no, all 75 were already in my collection. In time honored Cunard tradition all the seats in the library were taken up and mostly occupied by guests who were having their morning nap. There are also 6 internet stations there, who were mainly in use by younger guests (not asleep), with one gentleman working on 4 devices at the same time. (mobile phone, tablet, laptop and the library desk top) That will cost him a fair bit as the internet is not cheap with Cunard. ( $ 28,-  a day if bought by the day for emaiI, facebook and whats app , and $ 22,–if bought for the cruise for one device  = $ 264 for 12 days)   There are also packages for 4 devices and a premium package that includes streaming, voice calling and text but these are much more expensive. Depending on your repeater status you get some money off. We as platinum people received a discount of $ 80,–  The internet is on average very good, except at prime times (09.00 – 10.00 hrs and 15.00 to 17.00 hrs.) when the whole ship checks their email. Thus they still have to do something with the bandwith on board. Maybe they are doing that now as they were installing a new pod outside our cabin door today.

A new thing – fresh from the press – lesley got from her Travel ageant- is that on some cruises Cunard is offering what Holland America has been doing for a while,  a  “Have it All” package, whereby certain things, like the drinks package and the gratutities are included. Both are very expensive with Cunard and thus most guests pay them out of their onboard credit. Or with the gratuities, take them off (long lines at the pursers desk on the first day). So by following in the footsteps of HAL, Cunard will save the guests a lot of aggrevation  and discontent.

The shops sell duty free liquor and the prices are very good. Almost compatible with the English ferries going to the Continent. So we got 2 bottles of Bombay Bramble Gin which is a favourite of Lesley and very hard to get ashore in the UK.  We can pick it up on the day before the cruise ends. What happened to the days when the Duty Free was delivered to the cabins…………………

In the ship dance class was going on again, arts and crafts, shops were open, today they were plugging selected christmas gifts, and the rest of the public rooms were heaving. Everybody had to get out of the cabins for the cabin stewards to service and thus everybody was sitting all over the ship.

At noon time, the captain informed us that with keeping up the speed to 18-20 knots (15 knots required for the next morning) he would be able to arrive late evening in Lisbon to give us all a quiet night. And not having too much swell at the entrance, so he could get in. With the caveat that when he made the turn into estuary of the Tagus river, we all had to sit down as the ship might make some un-expected moves. The ship had to turn through the wind, which might cause the ship to list and then would get the swell on the stern  when sailing into the estuary entrance. That swell angle can  make the ship yawn (“lurch” in land lubber language) He would come back 15 minutes before he was going to make the manuver so we all could be ready.

The grill area by day time.

We like to have lunch in the Queens Grill and the service is very good; but afterwards I have to make an expedition to the Lido restaurant  for a soft ice cream. Most British company’s have soft ice, self serve machines, where you can fill your bowl or cornet to your hearts content, without the “expert interference” of a cook.  It is not good for weight control but Cunard does have the best soft ice on the seven seas. (When compared to Celebrity, Saga, P&O and Azamara) My own beloved company HAL does not even come close as they have frozen yoghert and the machines are quite often not adjusted properly.  Their saving grace is that they have a lot more condiments and sides, than Cunard, a lot of variations you can use to “top up” your ice cream to a real lunch time delight.

Part of the Commodore Club by day time. It is designed to give an Gentleman’s —- ships captains— club feeling with dark woods and ships models at the entrance.

For pre dinner drinks we like to go to the Commodore Club on Deck 10 forward. Last night and this evening it was not overly busy, no doubt courtesy of the moving ship. This is my favourite crowsnest as it is stylish and the service is efficient. Here Cunard has made an improvement. Since the 1990’s (and maybe even before) nibbles (peanuts and crips) were always “on request”. Now they come standard with the drinks; saves us having to remember to ask for it and saves the steward an extra journey to get the bowls when we forgot.

The Commodore Club by night. The grey hair and spectacles gentleman, seen above the railing is one of the two Resident Piano players who play during cocktail hours and also later on in the evening. This gentleman ran a sort of small quiz while playing. Tonight all his tunes had “flower” titles, or another common denominator. After 4 songs the question then was, what linked all four songs played.

While happily enjoying dinner in the Queens Grill, the Captain did come on the tannoy shortly after 20.00 hrs. with the urgent request to remain seated.  Now in Captains language, an “urgent” request is different than an “order”, so I knew it was not going to be that bad. And indeed, we only made one roll of about 3 degrees and had a few “bumps in the stern” and then we were inside. By 20.45 we sailed passed Belem Tower and picked up the pilot at 21.00 hrs.. Then sailed to the berth at Alcantara, swung around and were docked by 22.00 hrs. Giving all the guests and crew (and especially those guests and crew who had their cabins near the bow) a quiet and peaceful night.  Some crew experienced floodings on the lower decks, broken pipes, no doubt due to the movement of the ship, but it was all clean water. But that is life on a cruise ship that is 20 years old, the pipework becomes challenging.

We decided not to go to the show, a Flamenco show, but called it a day. Tomorrow we are not planning to go ashore but to have a good look at the inside of the ship. The weather in Lisbon should be nice, especially later in the day. A bit of rain in the morning, followed by sun shine in the afternoon and temperatures around 14 – 16oC / 57 – 61oF.

 

 

Day 1, 2025 Dec. 17: At Sea.

December 18, 2025 / / 1 Comment

And Yes, it was wobbly during the night but the captain explained at lunch time that he was trying to keep up the speed as much as possible and had been running between 18 to 20 knots at times. This with the intention of getting to Lisbon as early as possible. The earlier he would be, the easier it would to get into the river Tagus, and from there into the shelter to the dock.  He did not explain that there is a low sand bar at the entrance of the river and if the swell gets too high, this swell builds up over the bar. This results in a higher top of a wave but also into a deeper trough which reduces the depth of the fairway considerable. That might mean you cannot go in even when the weather itself allows it. This is very hard to explain to guests without a 30 minute dissertation on it, so I can understand that he kept it neutral.

Captain William Sharples Commander of the ms Queen Victoria

The Captain is William Sharples and is somebody I do not know as he is from the generation after me, (I am getting old……) so I never saw him at the simulator or met him in a port somewhere.  But at least he is trying to communicate and explain what is going on.  So I expect that tonight, if the waves allow, he will speed up again, a bit of inconvinience late at night but will not be as bad as cancelling a port. The local authorities in Lisbon have already announced that if the ship comes in early, they will not come out early, so going ashore will still be at the regular arrival time.

So what are we doing this cruise, Southampton – Lisbon (19 Dec.),  Funchal (21 Dec.),  Santa Cruz de Tenerife (22 Dec.), Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (23 Dec.), Arrecife (24 Dec.), At sea (25,26,27 Dec) – Sout- hampton (28 Dec.) As you can see, Christmas and Boxing Day are during the last 3 sea days.

Going back to our cruise.  Breakfast in the cabin  is possible until 10 am. and is setup in the cabin by the Butler. This level cabin, does not have a high table for eating from, so it is set up on the small cocktail table.  But the breakfast came on time and was of good quality.

Our Christmas tree

A most peculiar item arrived in the cabin last night. This seems to be our christmas tree. It is a small fir tree but no baubles nor even a bit of angel hair to make it festive. The cabins, one class up, which are the named suites like Laconia and Carinthia, have a full size tree full with decorations. So  we seem to be entitled to a tree much smaller but without a single decoration………….. The mind boggles.

This is our cabin 6109, see below, located midships right off the center staircase. So in bad weather (with 5 decks above and 9 decks below) it is about the most stable area of the ship. The bathroom is made up of two sections. A wash basin area with toilet and then a separate area for the shower and the bathtub. Next to it is the walk-in wardrobe.  The wash basin area has a door from the sitting room area to reach the toilet and a door also from the bedroom area.  None of the cabins in Queens Grill class have  a complete separation between the sitting area and the bedroom area; this is only the case with the very top suite.  The entrance has a desk to the left and a small bar with basin to the right. There is a glass storage area and a fridge. With the cabin comes complimentary (standard) drinks, still and sparkling water, and 2 bottles of spirits.  This is refreshed every day by the Butler. It also comes with fresh flowers but for our cabin this has been reduce to a single flower in a cabin. But a long lasting flower. Then there is the option for fresh fruit.  But this is only on request. It is not offered.  So if you ever book a cruise, with this class cabin, check the list of amenities in the Cabin booklet “Voyage Guide” or the Cunard website. (The same goes for  borrowing DVD’s,  see story below, no note in the cabin, so you have to know.  Then the menus for the coming day for the Grills is given to the cabin, so you can scrutinize it at your leisure.  There is a elaborate in- room-service menu but I have not been able to find out if is the same for all cabins or that the availability depends on the cabin class.

Our cabin from a Cunard photo.

Being a sea day meant lectures in the Royal Court Theatre, so we debated to go and see them and then realized that Cunard broadcasts them live and runs a replay on the tv. And, at least today, the lectures from last cruise were also still running on the tv.

So when went for a walk instead. As is similar for most ships, the public rooms are on Deck 3 and 4, apart from the Lido restaurant (deck 9), the kiddies place on Deck 10 and then the Grills on Deck 11.   Between the grill restaurants is a small lounge reserved for Queens & Princess guests with a desk occupied by the concierge. We went to see her, as we had found a challenge in the cabin. The DVD player was not connected. Cunard, at least on the Victoria, has not upgraded their TV system yet. So you cannot see your On Board Account on the tv., nor have an tv entertainment system with a large movie library. A few movies (english, japanese, german, spanish) run as a loop, but not continiously,  and then there are a number of news channels. (Weather depending)  so when the ship came out, a Dvd player was installed and you could get DVD’s from the concierge.

I think that sometime in the past, quite a while ago, a guest took out the adapter (2 pin european to 2 pin American) for own use and did not put it back. Since then the Butler has tried to fix it but did not get anywhere as she ran into onboard “Red Tape”. As that is the same within every company I knew at once what was going on. The Butler is part of Housekeeping, so she called Housekeeping but they do not have adapters as they are kept by the Front Desk / Pursers desk./ Guest services. Housekeeping calls the Pursers office, who says ———- it is your cabin, and thus your problem. And thus nothing happens.

So I went on  a mission to get an adapter. I went to see the concierge, a lovely lady from Bosnian background and explained the conundrum. (11.00 hrs.) She at once called the butler to fix it. I saw the butler after lunch, who of course explained that she could not do anything, she had tried before. So back to the concierge to defend the butler. Now I explained who I was before retirement and also explained what is in the Carnival Safety Management System and directives, e.g. that “adapter control” lies with the Pursers Desk. She went on the phone again. The message delivered must have come through somewhat garbeled as a gentleman from the Pursers Desk showed up with a European extension lead and a adapter from European to English British. 10 for effort, 0 for results.  He left and shortly after, a lady from the front desk showed up, accompanied by the ships electrician to fix the problem.  The electrician looked at the DVD player and said, “you only need a adapter, there is nothing wrong”……………. Yes we knew that. Electrician and Pursers desk Lady disappeared again with the promise to get the right adapter.  When we came back from dinner, there was an adapter on the table, delivered by the Butler. But the story does not end here, so the saga will continue to tomorrow.

Dance Class in the Queens lounge. They show it at the same time on the screen in the lounge so everybody can see the dance team at all times. Topic today was the Cha Cha Cha.

Leaving the cabin, we passed by the Queens Lounge where a dance class was in full swing and then to the shops. The ship has two atriums, the big one in the center From Deck 1 to Deck 3 that is where you come on board, and then there is a small one behind the Royal Court Theatre near the bow. This one goes 2 decks up. On deck 2 there is on portside the casino and on the right side the Golden Lion Pub. One deck up are the  shops all around this open top of the atrium.  The location of these amenities  here is of course on purpose, every day, those guests going to see the show or lecture, will have to walk through one of these two area’s and might thus be tempted to have a closer look.

The staircase in the small atrium with the staircase going up from deck 2 to deck 3 (and going back down as well). If I would get a dollar for each photo taken on these steps, then my wife would be very happy.

I think due to the wobbly weather, the Golden Lion Pub was half empty (normally it is always full, often with people who camp out there all day long) and so we decided on a pub lunch. To our utter amazement Cunard had decided to “re-imagine” the pub lunch with the aim to raise regular pub-grub to a level of cullinary heights. Which heights Mr. Michel Roux, world famous chef, wanted to achieve I do not know apart from the fact that you now have to pay for half of the dishes. Lesley had Fish and Chips with the strangest batter we have ever seen. I decided on the Ploughmans lunch and I think if a regular Ploughman would see it, he would have run out the door, cursing, screaming or sobbing, depending on his philosphical state of mind.   So we will not even dare to go for the paid dishes.  But they have beer on draft, and also Cunard now has its own beers, a pilsener, a ruby amber and a stout. (= a sort of Guiness but not as dense) They offer this also as a Flight of Beer, with 3 small glasses, and charge the price of 1 pint $ 7.50  which is reasonable.  I prefer a Guiness over the Cunard Stout but the Red Amber pale ale is very nice.

A full Queens Lounge for the afternoon recital. Please note the banners hanging from the ceiling in black and white, denoting the colour theme for this formal night.

Then it was time to move from English Culture to the music world and listen to a piano recital in the Queens Lounge.  On the keyboard Maestro Robin Collvill. he advised that he had been around for a while (playing piano for about 70 years) and still learning. We listened to a series of pieces varying from Grieg, to South American Tango and back to French impressionists. Very, very good and soothing to listen to, as could be seen from a number of the grey haired crowd who where revisiting former concerts……………..

Today is the first formal night, called Black and White. The 2nd one is formal- any colour goes and the 3rd one is Red and Gold. Also Cunard, while trying to keep up tradition, is finding it harder to keep the dress code going. Hence we received a special letter from the Captain, asking the guests to conform with the dress code or restrict themselves to the non dress code area’s. ( deck 9 with Lido and Wintergarden, deck 2 with the Golden Lion and the show lounge)  We love dressing up and have brought a different formal outfit for each formal night.  But this being Cunard and a mainly British crowd, (the germans are coming for christmas and new year, but they also dress up) 90% was dressed to the hilt. Even the Golden Lion crowd was predominantly in a Whistle-and-Flute….

Cunard christmas decorations are very nice and in the sb. forward corner of the Queens lounge they have setup a small christmas village.

While the wobbly weather continues during the evening, it will lessen tomorrow morning when we are past Cape Finistere on the North West corner of the Iberian Peninsula, the Commodore Club (Crows Nest on Holland America and Observation Lounge on many other companies) was half empty so we had ample seats to choose from, to listen to the Lady Piano player. And yes, all guests were dressed according to the Captains request.

Then after our usual good dinner in the Queens Grill, we went to the show lounge to see a performance from Aled Jones, This guy used to be a very famous choir boy singer (with 11 Cd’s) and managed after his voice broke to transform into a good classical singer (now up to 42 CD’s). I do not know famous he is in the USA, but he is in the UK, presents classical programs on the Radio and this winter he is also in the musical ELF in London. His show was very good and kept us well entertained. He is transfering in Lisbon to the Queen Anne, so he is keeping his fingers crossed that the Captain’s plan of “running away from the bad weather” is working out. I get the impression that most of the guests on board are repeat guests so with them the need to see Lisbon once again is not so much of an urge.

We will have another wobbly night and by tomorrow the wind is supposed the go down from 50 knots to about 35 knots and the swells should settle as well. At the moment we have two wave systems interferring with each other, which on occasion, causes the ship “to lurch” as stabelizers can only deal with the sideways motion (and are doing that very well)  The Captain will keep the pedal to the metal as much as possible to get into Lisbon before the wave system comes too far down and makes sailing into the Tagus River impossible.

 

Older posts

© 2026 – Captain Albert's Website and Blog –

Theme by Anders Noren — Up ↑