New York and Queen Mary Voyage - July 2014: Voyage Day 2

We ordered some basic breakfast items for our cabin which arrived 15 minutes before the window we had chosen and then went off to breakfast in the dining room. We had a table for two right next to another one and the couple there were very interesting. They had cruised quite a bit and were keen on Cunard, but they had also cruised with MSC from South Africa to the Mediterranean via St Helena. They found St Helena a great experience. They told us that everyone became a taxi driver for the day as the passengers descended on this small community and there was lots to see from the days when Napoleon was held prisoner here after the Battle of Waterloo. It seems that the British also used the island to hold certain Zulu chiefs during the Boer War. The couple we spoke to that travelling with MSC was indeed ‘interesting’ but didn’t regret sailing with them.

Then it was off to the enclosed pool which was very quiet, except for the loud background music playing and the fact that children slowly took the pool over, jumping in and splashing about.

At 12 noon each day the ship gives a public address for a general navigation update followed by a weather update and tells us to put our clocks forward if necessary. We had to put the clocks forward today. They used to change the time on the ship during the night, but say that they found that too many passengers became confused so they decided to change the clocks during the day! The cynic might say that it means that Cunard have one waking hour less each day to have to feed and entertain its passengers!

Sunrise Strings - mostly Ukrainian players, we think

We had now settled down as far as speed was concerned. The ship was doing 18-19 knots (22 to 23mph), about 2/3 of its top speed. Some crossings are 7 nights long, while ours lasts 8 nights.

Tripod had its first run out today ....

We had our first formal night, culminating in the Black and White Ball with dancing into the night. The real dance enthusiasts seemed to dance to the pre-recorded music before the band struck up at 10pm as the dance floor was less crowded at that time. We realised that, when the band started, the floor became crowded with dancers, some of who were very good while others seemed to be making it up as they went along!