After a day at sea we anchored in Vietnamese waters. Nice white sandy beaches as far as the eye can see line the coast and centuries-old temples and palaces sit on hilltops. |
Captains Cocktail Party |
01 APRIL, 2018
QM2 Day 1 - at sea
Not only is today April Fools day but it is also Easter Sunday. The foundation day of our religion and our culture. We awoke early and decided to attend the Catholic Mass in Illuminations at 8.30. The priest is Father Bill Gold retired, of San Diego diocese and now travelling a bit. He informed us that whilst at sea Pope Francis is also our Bishop! We both found that very interesting and we were impressed with Fr Bill who seems to have a nice way with himself and people.
Still early and we hadn’t eaten so we went to the Kings Court for a full English breakfast with all the trimmings- as an Easter treat!
Then we had to decide what to do for the day. Which such a big ship it is difficult to decide what to do as the choice is amazing. This section of our cruise will take us around some fabulous places.
We took it upon ourselves to check the daily guide at breakfast and then mark off things that we wanted to do or listen to. First off we chose to go and listen to a port lecture given by Graham in the Royal Court Theatre. The lecture was about the ports after the Singapore stop and it helped Edward and I decide what we wanted to do. Bart very kindly spoke with his friend Anna who told us that we could definitely escort tours, but we would have to do a little training and this would take place the 2nd sea day after Singapore.
We took it upon ourselves to check the daily guide at breakfast and then mark off things that we wanted to do or listen to. First off we chose to go and listen to a port lecture given by Graham in the Royal Court Theatre. The lecture was about the ports after the Singapore stop and it helped Edward and I decide what we wanted to do. Bart very kindly spoke with his friend Anna who told us that we could definitely escort tours, but we would have to do a little training and this would take place the 2nd sea day after Singapore.
With this big item on our agenda settled we went to Deck 12 midships where the QM2 has an indoor/outdoor pool and lay in the sun for a short while and then had a nice dip in the pool. After such a busy morning we went back to 3L194 for a quick nap. I think that we are still getting over our jetlag but have been pushing ourselves through as we wanted to do so much in Hong Kong.
Evening entertainment involved meeting up with Bart and the Med Team for World Cruiser Cocktails in the Queens Room. Dress code was “Asian attire”. I was able to wear my velvet trousers and the beautiful double-sided Chinese Silk jacket with my hair up. Edward wore his dinner suit. He and Bart had Black Russian cocktails and I had a very nice glass (or two) of bubbly.
We stood chatting with the Medical team and with Anton who is currently stepping up to Guest Services Manager from his usual F&B Manager position. Anton was able to tell us that the lovely John Henry Wasserval had resigned to go and live with Benny Helqvuist in Helsinki. I am so happy for them both as they are a lovely couple and both individually wonderful kind people.
Dinner was in the Kings Court with the Med Team. We sat at a table with Bart and Rossea, a very nice pretty, Spanish nurse who has also spent time in the UK. We had a lovely dinner finally deciding to skip the show and adjourn to the Ward Room where Edward, Bart and I sat chatting up a storm. A quick hot shower and into a warm bed for a fabulous sleep in a very gentle swell.