Woke up this morning when the alarm went off, and looked out of our window to grey skies and a grey North Sea; it was difficult to see where the sea ended and the sky started. After the lovely sunny day we had yesterday in Rosyth, we were disappointed not to see the sun today, and we hoped it would fair up later on.
We got washed and dressed and made our way to the Palms Café for breakfast. Because tonight would feature the first of two Formal Evenings this cruise, we knew that there would be free cava on offer in the restaurants at breakfast so you could mix it with your orange juice and make a Buck’s Fizz (or drink it on its own). We were not disappointed. 🙂
I enjoyed a bowl of raisin bran washed down with coffee and a glass of the free fizz. After breakfast, we wandered out onto the rear decks but it was very windy and unpleasantly cold for the time of year. A look at the daily programme told us we could expect rain showers throughout the day, with a maximum temperature of 17°C and a force 5 wind (described as a ‘fresh breeze’).
We spent some time wandering around the Balmoral, which has hardly changed at all in the five years since we last cruised on her and, at 11 o’clock, we made our way to the Neptune Lounge to listen to a talk about the Hanseatic Trade between the North Sea and Baltic, and the nine countries and key cities (including London and Edinburgh) which were part of it. The speaker, Gavin Roser, was very engaging and spoke enthusiastically about his subject, accompanied with many photos and maps. It was an interesting lecture.
This brought us nicely up to lunchtime and we made our way to the Palms Café once again. I had a plate of cold meats and crisp salad vegetables washed down with a chilled glass of cava. The weather hadn’t improved and we didn’t need to go outside to see that it was raining heavily, noticing the soaked wooden decking. 🙁
After lunch we returned to 6009 where I made a start with this blog and read my book for a short while. I am reading A Summer at Sea by Katie Fforde; it’s about a girl who starts work as a cook on a puffer boat on the Crinan Canal. I thought it would be very interesting, especially as Trevor and I were in Crinan on our wonderful cruise on the Glen Tarsan in May 2021.
At three o’clock we made our way back to the Neptune Lounge to listen to a classical guitar concert by musician Ben Kearsley. He played all sorts of excellent guitar music, including Classical Gas, Harry Lime Theme, some music by the Beatles and lots of Spanish and flamenco music. A very talented guitarist indeed; we enjoyed his show a lot.
After the guitar performance we made our way back to our cabin as it was time to start getting ready for the Captain’s Cocktail Party at 5.30pm. While a lot of people on modern cruises don’t like dressing up and find the cocktail parties a bit cheesy, we absolutely love them. It’s a little bit of glitz and glamour and the chance to dress to the nines in fabulous full-length ball gowns if you want.
I spent some time doing my hair and makeup and applying some fancy nails before stepping into my dress, which was a floaty dark blue number with chiffon sleeves, an Empire-line bodice and long, flowing chiffon swags at the front, which streamed out behind me when I walked along. My dress elicited many compliments from other passengers on the way to the Neptune Lounge. 🙂
When we arrived, the doors were already open and the Captain and his officers and senior entertainment staff lined the sides, greeting the passengers as they walked by. We know Captain Steffan Ravneng from previous cruises; in fact, Balmoral is the first ship on which he has been a captain. We knew him from Braemar (2017), Boudicca (2019) and Borealis (2021) when he was the Chief Officer. He recognised our faces even if he didn’t remember our names, and said it was nice to see us again. 🙂
We enjoyed the party. As we entered the lounge the orchestra played a selection of lively tunes and there were already several people on the dance floor. Waiters flitted around holding aloft trays bearing glasses of prosecco, sherry, gin and tonic, wine or martinis. Trevor and I each took a glass of fizz, and shortly afterwards another waiter arrived with a selection of tasty hot and cold canapés.
Soon Tom McGarrity, the cruise director (or Enterainments Manager as Fred Olsen likes to call them) came onto the stage and welcomed us all to the party, and introduced the master of the vessel, Captain Steffan, who was clapped onto the stage to the familiar strains of Anchors Aweigh! Followed by his officers.
The captain did a nice little speech, before each of his officers and key staff introduced themselves. It turned out that Jessica McGarrity, the Future Cruises manager, is the wife of Tom. How nice that husband and wife can both work together while enjoying a life at sea. 🙂
After we partook of a few more top-ups of our glasses, dinner time came around so we headed for the Ballindalloch Restaurant and table #109, where we were joined once again by Jim and Margaret, John and Sheila, for a delicious gala meal. I enjoyed a juicy steak as my main course with green beans, carrots, asparagus and cheesy potatoes. It was washed down with rosé wine and finished off with a selection of cheeses and a glass of ruby port. Once again, there was no shortage of conversation on table #109, and we had a good time in excellent company. Meal times are something special on Balmoral. 🙂
After dinner we went along to the Morning Light pub once again, as showtime was a little later at 9.00pm (to allow for the second sitting’s captain’s party). We were joined by Jim and Margaret from table #109 as we enjoyed another drink. They asked if they could sit with us in the Neptune Lounge, and of course it was OK. 🙂
Tonight’s show featured an amazing soprano called Emily Yarrow. She sang some lovely numbers, some opera songs from the likes of Carmen and Turandot, and other classical-crossovers such as Sia’s Chandelier. She had a lovely voice that was mellow rather than screechy and we enjoyed her performance a lot. Several people stood up for her at the end.
It was then time to head back to the Morning Light for the evening trivia, but when we got there the place was absolutely jammed. We did see a large Chesterfield sofa that appeared to be empty, but when we got there we saw someone had stretched their walking stick along the length of it to ‘reserve’ it. Well, all I can say is if they can use their stick to reserve a seat, then they don’t really need the stick to walk, do they? 🙂
After looking around in vain for somewhere to sit, we reluctantly had to abandon the idea of the quiz, so we went up to the Lido Lounge to listen to the resident band, the Impromptu Trio, and partake of a cocktail or two. Soon they started setting up the room with a large drop-down screen and a couple of mics, because tonight was karaoke night! 🙂
The Lido Lounge filled up and a number of people went up to the DJ booth to put their names down to sing. I chose Amy Whitehouse’s Back to Black which I have sung several times before. When my name was called, I took the centre floor and had a strong sense of déjà vu as I had stood in this spot five years ago to sing, as well.
Lots of singers got up, including one bloke who sang I Am… I Said by Neil Diamond. He was absolutely brilliant, because he sounded exactly like Neil Diamond as well. All in all, the standard of singing was quite good. I got up to do a second song, Alejandro by Lady Gaga.
The karaoke went on until well after midnight, and everyone enjoyed themselves and had a good time. In the meantime, Trevor and I made the most of Fred’s all-inclusive drinks package, and I tried to ignore the little voice in my head telling me I would really regret this is in the morning… 🙂
Anyway, it was well after 2.00am when we left the Lido Lounge and returned to cabin 6009. We got washed and into our jammies and climbed into bed with its plump pillows and crisp cotton sheets, and were asleep more or less immediately. We would spend tomorrow transiting the Kiel Canal on our way to the Baltic.