Auckland to Sydney

Leaving Auckland, we sailed one day on the South Pacific Ocean and then one day on The Tasman Sea, known for its rough waters. This time was no exception. There were airplane style throw-up bags at all of the elevators, although we never saw anyone who used or needed one. And, good news, I didn’t need one either.

There was a question and answer program in the Grand Lounge the other day with the QE2’s Master and Captain, Ian McNaught. To illustrate how well the QE2 handles the waves and weather, he told about the time there was a wave measured at 96 feet that broke over the bridge and they just sailed on. (Look at a photo of the ship. The bridge is the part high up on the ship that sticks out on both sides.) That is about the size of the wave in The Perfect Storm, by the way. Here in our cabin in steerage, we hardly feel any movement at all. Just a gentle rocking every once in a while, like being in a hammock that puts you to sleep instead of waking you up. We love this ship. I wish we had known about her sooner!

The Captain also told a good story about taking the QE2 into a berth in New York City. They expected the berth to be empty to accommodate her at around 70,000 tons, but as they turned the corner, they could see that there were already two container (or tanker) ships in the berth. A ship this size does not change directions or stop immediately, so there was essentially nothing they could do. The ship first bounced off the German ship and then off the Japanese ship with no damage to any ship. The Captain said that he went immediately to apologize to the Captains, first to the German ship and then to the Japanese ship. The German Captain was gracious and accepted the apology. Captain McNaught said that he was concerned about apologizing to the Japanese Captain because they are known to be very serious about their ships. The Japanese Captain also graciously accepted the apology, saying “It is an honor for our ship to have been kissed by a queen.”

We are often in the Grand Lounge or the Theater on sea days for lectures or movies. A usual sea day begins with our waking up at leisure and dressing for the day. Breakfast at the Mauretania Restaurant begins at 8 am, so we are usually there about the time it opens. Then we go to a lecture about upcoming ports or other entertaining topics, such as the Captain’s Q&A. At 10:30, we have to be at the bridge lesson for an hour. That leaves an hour to wander, sit outdoors, talk with friends, check email or whatever until we are back in the Mauretania or Lido for lunch. Lunch is leisurely unless we have something special planned. Today Jerry did the laundry and I have been writing on the computer in the cabin. If we hadn’t had a plate of French fries at the Pavillion after lunch (!), we would be getting ready to go to tea in the Queen’s Room. Jerry has tea and I have hot water. There are cucumber and other sandwiches and several kinds of pastries. At the beginning of the cruise I tried eating scones just because they are so delicious, although not vegan, but my body said NO, so I stopped. So we will finish the laundry, sit outside on the deck for a while and then dress for the formal dinner in the Mauretania tonight. After dinner we will go to the show in the Grand Lounge where comedians, musicians, and others entertain us for an hour or so. And then, we head to the cabin, watch a little television and get a good night’s rest for another day at sea or in port.