A quick update on the cruise, from somewhere off the coast of Algeria

This article comes to you, courtesy of Mrs PBT’s who, just a day or so into her digital detox, decided that she really needed to reconnect with the world. Consequently, she signed up for a 24-hour, onboard internet package. She received a discount for being a Cunard Gold Club member, although I still won’t say how much the package cost. It might sound a bit hypocritical on my part to be criticising her lack of staying power, especially as I’m taking advantage of her purchase, so I won’t, apart from thanking her for the opportunity of posting this article from the middle of the Mediterranean.

Just so you know, I wrote this article a couple of days ago, so here we go. It’s day two of the cruise, and the second of 10 full days at sea. After yesterday’s overcast and slightly blustery conditions, it’s wall to wall sunshine today, and this afternoon it’s been positively balmy. We’ve spent most of the day cruising down the western coast of Portugal, having completed our, a surprisingly calm crossing of the Bay of Biscay. In the early hours of the morning, we rounded the most north-westerly tip of Spain, at Cape Finisterre (remember the shipping forecast), and commenced our long voyage south.

Tomorrow morning we’re due to berth at the southern Spanish city of Cadiz, the first port of call on the cruise, but in the meantime, it’s sit back, enjoy the sunshine, but not too much of it, and just generally chill out. I’m typing this, and other articles, on the new 13” laptop I treated myself to. You might remember me writing about my search for a suitable, small, portable device, well after much online searching, I found just what I was looking for, and at a reasonable price as well. It’s a Chinese brand called "Jumper" – strange name, but it seems to be doing the business, even though this is the first time I’ve used the device in the field, so to speak.

I’ve written before about cruising being the perfect way to relax, and even when the weather isn’t clement, there’s till nothing like sitting there, reading a book, or even typing out a blog post, whilst watching the wash from Queen Victoria’s powerful engines, disappearing into the distance behind us. We’re sitting at the moment, at the rear of Deck 10, virtually at the top of the ship, overlooking the pool deck, where lots of people are lying on sunbeds, literally frying themselves in the sun.  There’s some quite subtle and very relaxing “mood music” playing out, over the pool deck, but it’s barely audible up here.

Yesterday evening we attended the first of several gala dinners – the ones where the ship’s company encourage diners to dress up – black tie for those identifying as male and black dresses for those who identify as female – he said, facetiously. It was all rather swish, the food was excellent, and for once. The company was good too. This time around, Eileen and I were sat with a couple from Cheshire, who we both described as “down to earth and genuine” which was in stark contrast to some of the over-pretentious bores we’ve been lumbered with on previous cruises.

Tonight, it’s the Lido Buffet, where to be fair, the food is equally good, but you just need to help yourselves. I paid a visit to the Lido this morning, for breakfast, leaving Mrs PBT’s to enjoy her beans on toast, in the room. We almost slept through the waiter’s knock, as despite having been warned by the captain’s announcement about putting clocks and watches forward an hour, we almost slept right through. Looking out the window, dawn certainly seemed a long way off at 8am this morning.

The buffet was packed this morning, but when you’re on your own, you need to grab your food first, before laying claim to a table. Both tasks van proved troublesome but having the sense to procure a cup of coffee first, I had the other hand free, plus a convenient ledge to put my cup down, whilst I piled up my plate. You’ll no doubt be grateful that I don’t intend giving a blow-by-blow account of what I ate, apart from saying they rustle up a fine omelette on the Queen Vic, and they also serve an equally impressive, afternoon tea. This consists of dainty sandwiches (with the crusts removed), cakes, plus scones (with raspberry jam and clotted cream) is something of a tradition on Cunard ships, (it might be on other cruise lines too), but it only happens on sea days.

Eileen and I arrived just after 3pm, expecting the Queen’s Room, where the tea is served, to be half empty, but more seasoned sailors than us, obviously know the score, and the elegant ballroom was packed. The waiting staff still managed to find us a table, and we enjoyed a selection of dainty sandwiches – made with bread with the crusts cut off, a cake, plus a scone or two with strawberry jam and clotted cream. And that’s the trouble on a holiday like this, as unless one is careful, it’s far too easy to pile on the pounds and thereby undo all the good work the pair of us put into losing weight, over the past few months.  

Fortunately, portions are not massive, and given the distances between various locations on board ship, it’s also easy to keep one’s step count up. Without really trying (apart from three laps around the promenade deck), I managed to clock up 10,000+ steps yesterday, and I’m well on the way towards doing the same today. I’m going to have to sign off soon, as the sun is moving round, and it’s getting difficult to see the screen, but I have to say that I really like this combination of taking it easy, watching the ocean roll by, whilst at the same time, bashing out an article or two. It’s a way of life I could become really use to this, but without further ado, I’m going to sign off now, head down to collect Mrs PBT’s from her place in the shade and head off – perhaps for a pre-dinner drink at the Golden Lion – the ship’s pub, and then make our way up to the buffet.

I will update you all, tomorrow possibly, although with time ashore, in Cadiz, it might not be until Thursday that I hit the keyboard again!