Helicopter airlifted passenger and last Black and White Ball

Tuesday, April 21, 2009 – helicopter airlifted passenger and last Black and White Ball
We set the clocks back an hour. We are only four hours ahead of DE time now.
Sunrise was 5:30 AM and sunset is 8:12 PM.

How could I forget one of the nicest treats? In the Princess Grill, we get personalized stationery!! You can order it however you want. I put “Luisa Georgov, Ensemble Travel”. How innovative. But it looks great!!!

Cloudy and cool. We are definitely in the Atlantic in Spring.

I was up early for appointments and running around. At 8:00, the Captain came on the loudspeaker requesting the Chaplain. He came back on shortly thereafter and announced we were headed back to the Scilly Islands and a helicopter would soon be hovering overhead to transport a gentleman to the mainland. We were asked to clear all upper decks and remain inside the ship, and to not even be out on the balcony. We knew we would have a good viewing point from the Commodore Club so we headed up there and watched as it approached the ship. It circled four to five times and the man was lifted in a gurney to the helicopter to be transported to a hospital. We pray he will arrive safely and be assisted quickly in the hospital. Thank goodness for the advanced technology in the communication and transportation fields – imagine this happening in the 1920s. We have seen this before on a cruise from Bermuda to the USA and it is quite amazing. We should be so grateful this is an option in an emergency at sea.

I picked up free tickets for the 2:30 planetarium show for “Passport to the Universe” narrated by Tom Hanks. There are four shows a day but since the theatre only holds 150 people, tickets are required. It was not a problem to get one – there was no queue when I went at 9:00. Since we are in the Grills, they also hold some tickets back for those guests and keep them in the Grills Lounge.

Of course I visited the Grills Lounge to see what they offer for continental breakfast! And much to my chagrin and happiness, I found they have croissants stuffed with marzipan!!!! Oh dear. I was elated and upset at the same time. My self-control is not going to work on this one, I’m afraid…

Back to the computer center to get help with sending and receiving messages and we took the tour of the ship’s public rooms. 45 minutes of wandering around with a guide and now we are attempting it on our own!

Letters were sent to the officers inviting them to join our cocktail party, I met with the Hotel Manager’s assistant to send out invitations and we enjoyed a nice lunch alone in the Grill.

We hurried to Illuminations to see the show; the chairs recline so it is easier to look above. I swam in the Pavilion Pool with a retractable ceiling. It was quite cool outside with the wind blowing but lovely and sunny. I even took a nap – for 2 hours!

We met our dinner mates – from Topeka, KS and St. Charles, MO! How coincidental since Gene is from Kansas City! One couple did a two week tour of the UK and the other spent two weeks in London in an apartment. Had a very nice dinner – surf and turf. I could not manage any appetizers or soup or salad but of course I could manage dessert – pears in wine sauce.

Entertainment was flautist Bettine Clemen (who was also with us on the Queen Victoria) and tenor Aaron Shaw. We went to our final Black and White Ball, danced the gavotte, saw the professional dancers do two routines, met others and went to the Jazz Club, casino and Golden Lion Pub. Very nice evening onboard and met a nice couple from Liverpool who were married the day I was born and, therefore, celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary recently. This is their gift to each other – they are doing a round trip.

Lectures: “Hacking the Brain: What optical and auditory illusions tell us about the mind”, “Three Cunard Queens – the Royal Rendezvous, Farewells and New Beginnings”, “All About Oscar – A Brief History of Hollywood’s Golden Night”, and an art history lecture.

Music onboard: Classical concert with Pianist Stephen De Pledge, Jazz Club in the Chart Room, Cunard String Quartet, G32 disco with DJ and Caribbean Band Vibz and three pianists playing around the ship. There is no shortage of entertainment in the evenings.

This ship is magnificent in its murals, paintings, historical displays and art. It is classic and still modern. Many of the color schemes are the same as on the Victoria but the layout of the ship is completely different. We are still getting lost but finding so many beautiful corners to explore while doing so!