Life on the ocean waves… and on land

Life on the ocean waves… and on land

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A Whale of a Time

Posted on November 18, 2014April 6, 2022 by bollingerbabe

We were awoken this morning by the sound of the captain’s voice coming over the tannoy, saying he was going to deviate slightly from his planned route, because there were reports of lots of migrating whales, who were in search of the herring shoals.

Therefore, after getting ready and having breakfast, we wrapped up warmly and went up on deck. Many people were about, cameras at the ready to photograph these magnificent giants of the deep. Sure enough, we kept spotting the tell-tale whale spouts, punctuated intermittently with sightings of black fins or tails. There did seem to be a high number of whales around; more than we’ve seen on other whale-watching trips. This was indeed a bonus to our holiday. 🙂

We’ve seen whales in lots of locations around the world; Alaska, Iceland, the Caribbean, Antarctica and even sometimes on transatlantic crossings or in the Mediterranean.

As the Boudicca glided through the stunning fjordlands we spent the day just relaxing and socialising with fellow passengers, eating and drinking (as you do!) and pleasantly passing the time.

Once it got dark (early afternoon!) we went along to the Neptune Lounge to watch the ballroom dancing lesson (today it was the cha-cha-cha) and enjoy a cocktail. At three o’clock they were serving hot tomato soup and garlic bread outside on the aft decks, but we didn’t fancy going out in the cold, so we just went back to the warmth of our cabin.

At 4.00pm I went along to the salon to have my hair put up, as tonight was formal night once again. I put on a velvet and lace dress, mostly black with some red on the fitted bodice; the skirt cascaded down at the back, which was longer then the front. I wore the dress with a black lace shawl, and quite a few people complimented me on my hair and outfit. 🙂

Dinner was the usual pleasant interlude, punctuated by interesting conversation and one or two risqué jokes, as we were all now pretty comfortable in each other’s company on table #32.

In the Neptune Lounge we found our ‘usual’ table near the front and watched the dancing couples prior to the show. Tonight the performance was called “Composers” and featured the Boudicca Show Company’s versions of the famous West End composers such as Rogers and Hammerstein, George Gershwin etc. It was of the usual high standard that we’ve come to expect on Fred Olsen cruises.

Then it was up to the Lido Lounge for the quiz in which a win yet again eluded us. There must be some good quizzers on this cruise! 🙂

At 11.30pm there was a late night cabaret special, featuring Dong Cuyos, known as the “Singing Barman”. Dong works behind the bar in the Neptune Lounge and is always singing, so they gave him his own 45 minute spot and we looked forward to hearing him.

Well… what can I say? Dong Cuyos is an absolutely fantastic singer – what he is doing working behind the bar on a cruise ship is beyond me. He has amazing talent which is wasted. He was called back for an encore and, when he’d finished, he got a well-deserved standing ovation. He wants to get himself on X-Factor or something like that – he’s better than some of the rubbish we’ve seen.

Afterwards we whiled away some time joining in the disco and enjoying a couple of night-caps. Then it was off to bed, once again after 1.00am. Time flies when you’re having fun. Tomorrow we were due to reach Leknes, in the Lofoten Islands.

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