Life onboard ship

You will probably guess that I wrote a substantial chunk of this piece, whilst on the cruise, which is why it alternates between the present and past tenses, but rather than a complete re-write, here, in all their glory, are some of my thoughts about life onboard ship. I’ve given up trying to post articles off of my phone, and I’ve given up on the ship’s Wi-Fi as well. Cunard use Elon Musk’s "Starlink" system, which at $24 per 24-hour period, works out rather expensive. 

The clock starts ticking from the moment you sign up, irrespective of time actually spent online, so it’s not like you are getting 24 hours usage either, especially as you are unlikely to be online in the small hours of the morning. The charging period doesn't take account of what else you might have to do during that time slot – sleeping, eating, washing, or generally enjoying other onboard activities.  

If we’re desperate to catch up on emails or social media, which we’re not, we can wait until a “port day” and connect using data roaming. In the meantime, any screen time I fancy will be taken up with typing out posts as Word documents, ready to be uploaded when we arrive back in the UK. That’s still 12 days away, although I expect the time will fly past, and before we know it, we’ll be sailing back up the Solent and docking at Southampton.

By the way, don’t expect much in the way of posts for a few days after my return, as I’m straight back to work on Monday 24^th June, and I fully expect to find both my in-tray and inbox full to overflowing. With me working just three days a week, the amount of annual leave due to me has been reduced accordingly, on a pro-rata basis. Leave then, is a precious commodity, and something not to be wasted.

In the meantime, here’s a quick catch up on what Mrs PBT’s and I have been up to. It’s only right to say at this stage that Eileen is quite a gregarious person, much more so than me, so she’s quite adept at engaging with strangers and striking up a conversation with them. 

This means, as on previous cruises, she has become pals with quite a number of disparate people, drawn various parts of the UK, and united by their addiction to nicotine. Eileen also won’t mind me telling the world that whilst she is a reformed smoker, she still has a minor craving for nicotine - something that is assuaged by vaping. Now smoking and vaping are strictly prohibited in all inside areas onboard ship, and the same applies to the majority of outdoor spaces as well. However, as on all cruise ships there are dedicated spaces for those who enjoy their regular nicotine fix, and after we have boarded, we usually go looking for the smoking area.

The location of these dedicated sections is invariably outside, which is fine during good weather, but not so good when things are less clement, although the cruise lines aren’t that cruel to smokers and do provide some degree of cover. So, as with smoking shelters in pubs, there is at least some form of roof over peoples’ heads. The shelter on Queen Anne is by far the best-appointed smoking area we have come across on cruise ships, although being sited on the topmost deck it couldn’t be any further away from the main parts of the vessel. Anyway, as on other cruises, my good lady wife has got to know some really nice people, along with some rather interesting characters.

So, what about onboard activities – guest speakers, quizzes – in the Golden Lion pub, cocktails with the captain (don’t bother), plus various shows, live music, films and guest speakers? Star speaker on this cruise has, without a doubt, been Scottish singer and musician, Midge Ure, who gave a flawless account of growing up poor in one of the rough parts of Glasgow, how he developed an interest in music, and his eventual success with Ultravox, and as a solo performer. He then went on to describe the involvement of both himself and Bob Geldorf, with the Band Aid and Live Aid projects.

Veteran broadcaster, and former newsreader, Angela Rippon, also gave a series of three talks, covering her career in television. She was a bit too excitable for my taste, although her presentations were generally well-received by an audience that must have grown up with her. Of more interest was a series of talks by a respected marine-biologist, whose name unfortunately, escapes me. Cruisers can, if they wish watch and listed to these talks in the comfort of their cabin, rather than in the theatre.  Eileen and I listened to a couple of these talks, which centered mainly around the theme of “marine creatures you would not wish to meet,”  so basically, they’re either going to eat you, poison you or both!

Then there are the shore excursions, and on this voyage, I have booked a full-on, whole day discovery trip to Rome, alongside a slightly shorter excursion to the historic Andalusian city of Córdoba. The first excursion departs from the port of Civitavecchia, whilst the second leaves from Malaga. I shall be abandoning Mrs PBT’s on both occasions, leaving her behind with time to chill out on the ship. 

Rome is obviously one of the world’s best known and most famous cities, and whilst surprisingly, it’s never ranked that high on my bucket list, I shall obviously take advantage of the opportunity to visit the place. Córdoba, on the other hand is a city that has been home to several religions, including Judaism, Islam (Moorish), and Christianity, with each faith leaving its own unique mark on the city.

As I said, there are still quite a few more days to go, and several different locations to visit, including the city of Barcelona, tomorrow’s port of call, Spain’s second largest city and the capital of Catalonia. Mrs PBT’s and I have been to Barcelona before, both jointly and on our own, so we shall give the organised tours and excursions a miss, and instead will be doing our own thing. My last visit to the city was in 2015, when I attended Barcelona’s beer festival. I also pre-booked a tour around Barcelona’s unique and most famous church, the Sagrada Familia. Catalan architect, Antoni Gaudi’s unique, masterpiece is slowly nearing completion, after over 100 years of stop-start building work. Construction started slowly, and then came to a halt during the Spanish Civil War, when many of the architect’s drawings and models were either lost or destroyed, but following the end of the conflict, work gradually resumed.

Following the restoration of democracy to Spain, along with the return of the monarchy, building work gathered pace, with Gaudi’s the cathedral scheduled for final completion in 2026. This date will mark the centenary of the architect’s death. Following my visit In 2015, I made a promise to return to see the finished Sagrada Familia in all its glory, so allowing for slack, I’m probably looking at 2027, at the earliest.

Returning to the ship, I’m trying to be a good boy on this cruise, by maintaining a relatively healthy lifestyle and not eating too much. Cooking Lager, please take note! This is despite the ever-present temptation, every way one turns. There are various opportunities for staying fit, ranging from tennis, deck quoits, improving one’s golf swing along with jogging around the promenade deck. There is also a fully fitted out gymnasium for the real keep-fit, masochistic, muscle building enthusiasts, whilst at the more gentle end of the spectrum, passengers can participate in yoga or dancing.

Apart from knocking off a few laps of the promenade deck each morning, none of the above appeals to me, but it’s been relatively easy to clock up the required 10k steps a day, especially given the size of the ship, so I’ve been doing plenty of walking, not just purposely around the promenade deck, but using the stairs, rather than the lifts, wherever possible. Deck walking is pretty boring, even if it helps one keep fit, so I’ve resorted to wearing earphones, something I disapprove of when I’m out rambling and see people totally oblivious of what’s going on around them. These individuals are definitely not in the zone, but even walking around a level and evenly-surfaced deck, you need to be aware of people coming up behind you – especially if you don’t want to get mowed down by a huffing and puffing, would-be marathon runner.

Finally, as well as trying to keep up with articles for the blog, I’ve been doing quite a bit of reading, and am halfway through the novel, Tender is the Night, by American author, F. Scott Fitzgerald – he of The Great Gatsby fame. The book was recommended to me by Retired Martin and has turned out to be a good choice, with a plot that is more substantial, and far more plausible than the story of Jay Gatsby. Had I managed to finish my book, there is a well-stocked library on board the ship, tucked away in a quiet corner of Deck 12, with views out across the ocean as Queen Anne glides majestically through the waves below.