Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Dad's Birthday...

Wednesday, April 22, 2009 – Dad’s birthday! At sea
Clocks set back another hour. We are almost there now…

Very busy day. Here was the tentative schedule before the day began:
Call clients about some issues
9:30 – meet for paddle tennis
9:30 – pick up planetarium tickets for afternoon show
12:30 – lunch with friends
2:30 – planetarium
4:30 – meet for cocktail party for 5PM
6:30 – cocktails with the Commodore and Sr. Officers
7:30 – dinner
8:45 – show

The day went like this…Up to a windy and blistery day and the upper decks were closed. The Commodore said the wind gusts were like 50 knots an hour -- the speed of the boat combined with the actual wind. Therefore, the upper decks were inaccessible. The hangers in the closet are banging around and the wind is whipping up a storm!! The waves are so pretty…as long as I’m not in a lifeboat bopping along out there…
But anyway, therefore, no paddle tennis. But I did play ping pong for ½ hour and really enjoyed it! There are two tables by the indoor pavilion pool and two whirlpools and the retractable roof was covering it all.

Have to admit that I first went to get an almond/marzipan croissant from the lounge…
Then picked up tickets to the Planetarium’s 2:30 show.
Worked on the speech for the party tonight and got out all the clothes for the day (formal evening). It is almost more of a pain to try to live out of two suitcases when you have all these other ones packed. The one item you need is bound to be in the other case…

Had to make copies, type up notes, go to the purser’s desk, sort out expenses, make a car reservation…the list keeps growing. Anyway, we had a very nice lunch with friends in the Britannia Restaurant and then ran to the Planetarium for the show “Infinity Express”. The show yesterday was better with more photos and motion and less dialogue.
Running late, I dressed as quickly as possible for the cocktail party. Well, let me re-state that. I could not get the zipper up in my emerald green ball gown; I love the color of the dress but the zipper has been a pain in the neck. Every time I wear it, it takes longer and longer to close. And this time was the worst. I finally put it over my head and pulled down with the zipper half up and if someone had been there videotaping the entire episode, AT A LATER TIME, I would have died with laughter to watch myself. But at the time, I wanted to scream!! I was stuck with half of it above me and not being able to pull it down. Oh bother. Finally it all came together and I ran up to host the party!!

The group had a small oddly shaped area in the Commodore Club on the 9th floor at the front of the ship. Large comfortable lounge chairs , drinks and hot and cold canapés. The Commodore, the Staff Captain, the Food and Beverage Manager and the Hotel Manager’s assistant showed up so that was great news. We took some photos and then hurried off to another cocktail party!

The 6:30 party was in the Queens Room in the back of the ship and there were formal officer introductions and more drinks. This was for the Grill guests and we met the Hotel Manager, John Duffy.

Dinner was nice and then the show was the Royal Cunard Singers In Concert. Took some photos around the ship and then worked on the computer.

The wind is still blowing. In the distance, we saw several rainstorms through the balcony and they are beautiful from afar.

Lectures today: NY Tour Talk, “Conversations with Kathryn Harrison”, “History of the Newsreels from Edison to D-Day”.

The Commodore is the highest rank on a cruise line. He is the most senior captain of the entire fleet. He is also the Captain of the ship.

I am amazed at the beautiful art around the ship; the murals are incredible. Have to make some time to walk around slowly and see it all.

I called Dad, for his birthday, from the ship at $4.95 per minute. The cell phone would not work as I can’t find a network; we guess that we are too far away from land to connect.

We did hear good news about the gentleman who was airlifted yesterday. He is resting comfortably in the hospital in Cornwall, UK. Great news.