Destinations

The elegance of the Queen Victoria!

Many cruise ships have what they call a pub (I’m talking to you Royal Caribbean), but they don’t serve food and are really just another bar that sort of looks like a pub might, if it were a pub. On the Cunard ships, they have a proper pub that serves lunch that you might find in a pub and the food is included in your fare. My first day onboard Queen Victoria, I made my way to the Golden Lion and ordered the ubiquitous of fish and chips which included, of course, mushy peas. It wasn’t bad. They also have a “pie” of the day (for those of you who are not British, these pies made with meat or fish in a pastry and often with gravy over them. But not a hand-pie like a Cornish pasty. Confused yet?) I’ll try those later on in the voyage. I have time.

As you would expect, the Queen Victoria features a lot of art depicting her late majesty and Prince Albert. I like this one from their younger years.

One of my favorite spaces on the Queen Victoria is this multi-level library. It is absolutely stunning and a wonderful place to just hang out. The library staff are very helpful and with over 6,000 books to read, I might give my Kindle a break. With the exception of the guide books (and they have at least one for every country/port on our itinerary), you can check the books out to read in whatever nook you favor on the ship. I like the Chart Room myself.

This gorgeous clock and staircase are found in, of all places, the casino. I’ve found that the casinos on Cunard are much more quiet than what I am used to on America ships. We must like our gambling a lot more.

I’m settling nicely into my cabin at this point and making it feel like home. We will be spending 8 nights crossing back across the Atlantic to our first port of call, New York. The weather is rainy and cold so I haven’t ventured out on deck.

However, sitting here makes me very happy. There are many activities onboard, but I find I enjoy staring out at sea one of the most satisfying. As we move south after New York, the captain tells us we are likely to see more marine life such as flying fish, dolphin and perhaps whales. I’m hoping for a mermaid myself, but I guess they are rare 🙂

The plant is named Broomhilda at the suggestion of my daughter, Jessica. She was a gift from Cunard for those of us doing the full world voyage. I hope I can keep her alive. Jessie told me not to overwater her – which is good because plant neglect is kind of what I’m known for.

I have my map up and ready to track our route – although I have flipped it over to the less colorful other side since I took this picture it. It reminded me to much of middle school. I’m enjoying adding my little arrow everyday when we get our navigation update. The hats are part of the 1920s wardrobe I created to honor the centenary. A lot of folks have contributed to this project, so more on that later.

I suspect, I’ll have a lot more to add about daily life onboard as we progress. On my list are fencing lessons, to try and learn to waltz, play quoits on deck when we hit the tropics and whatever else tickles my fancy. I hope you’ll follow along and subscribe. I think the link is all the way at the bottom of the page. I’d fix that but I don’t know how 🙂

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