Early this morning the Balmoral departed Hamburg and set off back down the Elbe River to the North Sea bound for Bremen. We were not due to arrive until around eight o’clock tonight, so once again we had a relaxing day on the water. 😊
We didn’t really do much today to be honest. We just spent some time wandering around up on deck looking at the pleasant scenery passing by, then I took my Kindle into the Morning Light Pub to read before the morning quiz at 11.00am. This time it was just Trevor and I participating, and we scored 15/20. The winners got 16. ☹
We enjoyed a couple of pre-luncheon drinks then made our way to the Ballindalloch where they were serving a traditional Sunday roast at the carvery. Trevor enjoyed a beef dinner but I just stuck to some cold cuts and salad; we each washed it down with a glass of chilled rosé wine.
Afterwards we just returned to our cabin and caught up on some sleep after all the late nights we’d been having. Then we just read, watched TV, did some of this blog then got washed and changed for dinner at 6.15pm. Sometimes it feels we do nothing else on a cruise other than eat and drink! 😊
Once again, we enjoyed the usual delicious and perfectly-served meal in the convivial company of table #76. Then it was off to the Neptune Lounge to get some good seats for tonight’s performance by the Balmoral Show Company, called “Ministry of Rock”.
The show was excellent. The cast were all dressed in the punk/New Wave/rock style clothing of black leathers, ripped jeans and wild hair styles of the 1970s and 80s, and featured the music of Queen, Bon Jovi, Bryan Adams etc. as well as high-energy dancing. Of course, they were accompanied by the superb Balmoral Orchestra. Everyone said it was a fabulous show and we all agreed that the entertainment on board FOCL ships is original and high-quality.
Then we took part in the quiz at 10.00pm up in the Observatory. By this time we had docked in Bremen and the lights of the buildings and shops shone outside the observatory’s panoramic windows; we could see a Primark and TK Maxx. No need to tell you the resultof the quiz! But we had the chance to redeem ourselves later as they were holding “Name That Tune” in the Lido Lounge, and music tends to be my forte in quizzes.
There were 15 questions but each question was worth two points; one for the song title and one for the artiste. We scored 28/30 and were hopeful, but another team scored full marks!! So we were robbed once again! ☹
It was late when we went to bed, around 1.30am, and we left Joanie who was happy to remain in the Lido Lounge.
Back in cabin 4137 all was quiet once again as we settled down to sleep. We looked forward to exploring Bremen tomorrow.