Got up this morning just after eight o’clock as usual, and went out on our balcony for a look around. As expected, we could see miles of blue sea, with one or two ships passing as distant entities on the horizon. The sea didn’t look as calm as it had been, there were tiny cresting wavelets although no “white horses” as such.
We breakfasted with B & C in the Lido as usual, and extended an invitation to them to join us in our stateroom at 11.00am to enjoy the chilled bottle of Lanson’s champers they’d brought us on Monday.
In the meantime, we went up on deck in the fresh sea air, and did our mile (3 laps) around the promenade deck, stopping every now and again just to watch the Queen Victoria gliding through the waters, and watch the hypnotising view of her white wake stretching out far behind. No matter how many times I’ve seen that sight, it is one that I’ll never tire of. There is something simply wonderful about the vast expanse of sea and sky; the way it makes us feel so tiny and insignificant in the grander scheme of things.
We wandered around for a while, then returned to our cabin to put some things into the suitcases that we wouldn’t be using again. Then we looked at the programme for today to see what we fancied doing, but it was great not having any particular plans, just taking the day as it came. 🙂
At half past ten, Trevor went down to Deck 2 to take part in a tour of the ship’s galley, while I just stayed behind in the cabin, read my Kindle and did some of this blog. Shortly after Trevor arrived back there was a knock on our door, and we opened it to welcome Billy and Carole with their champagne flutes, as Trevor opened the champers and dispensed it into the four glasses.
With a sense of déjà vu, we toasted each other and sat and chatted, while we quaffed the champers and Billy agreed with me that it is difficult to stop at just one glass. 🙂 Thus we passed the time in the pleasant sunshine; Trevor had wedged the balcony door open with the small table so we enjoyed the gentle breeze and the sounds of the sea. At noon we heard the Captain broadcasting the navigational information from the bridge; he advised us that the Queen Victoria was at 37º 53′ N, 15º 49′ E and we were on course to arrive in Naples at 7.00am tomorrow.
Shortly afterwards, we went our separate ways; B & C back to their cabin, and Trevor and I along to the Golden Lion for one of their delicious pub lunches. When we got there, the friendly Romanian barman made a beeline for us and brought us our regular drinks of a prosecco for me and an Old Thumper for Trevor. While we were in there, we listened to the relaxing background music as we enjoyed our meal, and chatted with the barman when he wasn’t serving other customers.
The afternoon passed in its pleasant way, and at two o’clock we made our way to the Royal Court theatre to watch a play put on by member of the theatre company. It was called “California Suite” is a 1976 play by Neil Simon. It is a comedy composed of four playlets set in Suite 203-04, which consists of a living room and an adjoining bedroom with an ensuite bath, in The Beverly Hills Hotel.
Each 30 minute section told the story of guests who had stayed in the suite; a divorced couple bickering over custody of their daughter; a married man who has a terrible shock when waking up after a party; an Oscar-nominated actress who tires of the act that is her marriage, and two couples finding out that holidaying together can be disastrous.
After the first couple of acts, there was an interval of 15 minutes, and Trevor took the opportunity to go to the Golden Lion and get a couple of glasses of prosecco. 🙂 Then we watched the second two acts; it was after four o’ clock before we left the theatre, after an entertainingly-different way of spending the afternoon.
As tonight was the Royal Cunard Ball, and therefore the last of the formal evenings, I took my time getting ready and dressed in a long Gothic gown made of black velvet and lace, and a copper satin ruffled skirt, which I teamed with a black sequinned wrap.
In the restaurant I started with a chicken liver parfait before enjoying a delicious lobster tail served with breaded king prawns, rice and griddled tomato, courgette and asparagus. We washed it down with crisp rosé wine, and our sommelier advised us that the Benedictine was on half-price special offer, should we wish to indulge afterwards. 🙂
After the coffee and petits fours were brought round, we did indeed order a Benedictine each, then followed it with some crystallised ginger pieces as we left the restaurant fit to burst.
Show time tonight consisted of Allan Stewart, who was a singer, comedian and impressionist. He was mildly amusing but I wondered what the non-British passengers thought of him, as some of the impressions he did were of British TV personalities, game show hosts etc. who may have been unknown outside Britain. He did seem to be a throwback to the 1980s but nonetheless it was an entertaining 45 minutes spent.
After the show we went along to the Queen’s Room, where the ballroom dancers filled the floor to the sounds of the live orchestra, and it was the usual glitzy and glamorous occasion.
Finally, we returned to cabin 5130 where I divested myself of my long, formal gown and high heels and enjoyed a gin and tonic from the minibar on the balcony before retiring for the night. As usual, we’d had a lovely day, and we were feeling quite sad that our cruise was fast coming to an end. 🙁