Day 4 Sunday 22nd April, Atlantic Ocean
Looking out at the sea from our balcony the sky was overcast and the air temperature was definitely chilly. The swell had lots of white caps.
Breakfast was a quiet affair as our table companions didn’t want to engage in conversation.
On the Promenade Deck we were on our nine laps (or, 3 miles) around the deck. Both sides of the ship were now cold as the sun was not breaking through the cloud. We kept thinking that we could see activity at the side of the ship but probably this was nothing more than the swell and wind combining.
On one side of the deck we did catch spray that was being blown up by the wind. In places the deck was becoming quite wet. For the first time there were no sea birds in sight, disappointing as we were getting closer to the Azores. The monotony was broken as we passed another cruise ship going in the opposite direction.
After some time in our cabin to get warm with a cup of tea and a catch-up on our books it was time for lunch.
Lunch
Our table companions in the Meridian were full of conversation compared to our breakfast companions. My choice of lunch was between a lamb (kebab) curry and a burger. I ordered a side salad with blue cheese dressing to accompany the burger and fries. The lamb curry did look good though when it arrived for others on the table.
The gentleman on my right was a vegan and found that he couldn’t eat any of the main courses. The waiter was unable to find any alternatives in the kitchens either. We listened to how the Queen Mary 2 had rescued a solo yachtsman in trouble on the Atlantic. The seas had been so rough that the ship’s Captain had had to position it to try and create an area of sea calm enough to launch the rescue boat.
After my unsuccessful morning I went out on to the Sun Deck (deck 10) at the stern to look again for sea life. All I managed to see was this plastic bucket
This time I took my big lens and wore lots of layers and a woollen hot. After 2 hours I had seen nothing moving. below me passengers were sitting around the pool, sheltered from the wind, sunbathing as the sun had broken through the cloud cover. Up on the Sun Deck (ironic?) I was not sheltered from the wind and had to finally give up and head back to the cabin for a cup of tea.
The temperature had fallen even more and the sky was overcast after 5 pm.
Our evening
We changed early for dinner as we planned to go to the Globe to hear a Fleetwood Mac tribute concert played by the Upbeat Duo. Despite arriving 20 minutes early the place as almost full. Luckily our friends had saved us some seats near the front.
I ordered a Doom Bar and a large Sauvignon Blanc from a waiter. Our order arrived during the second number when all the lights were dimmed.
The show was a brief run through of the history of the band told in between their music. The music was drawn mainly from after when Stevie Nicks and Lindsay Buckingham joined and the hit albums started.
The lighting for this show was not great. The audience had bright spotlights directed at them that made the duo appear as silhouettes. The lighting set up was geared for discos not a live stage performance.
That wasn’t our only issue in the lounge as the wine did not taste right and we waited till our bill appeared and asked for it to be changed. He said no problem and took it away.
What happened next can best be described as a surprise. The waiter arrived with a ‘member’ of the bar staff. We received a short lecture on not drinking wine that wasn’t ‘right’ and deciding to send it back to the bar. The bar man then opened a new bottle of wine (this time from New Zealand) and with a flourish filled a small measure and plonked it into a glass and walked away.
All a bit embarrassing.
After the show and still a little unsettled we went straight down to the Meridian for dinner. I started with a salad , then soup with scampi and chips as a main rounded off with treacle toffee pudding.
Our friends who had witnessed the wine incident and we were strongly encouraged to go down to Reception by everyone on the table. This we did after meal well after 10 pm. While we waited I went into the Atrium to find an image for my 365 challenge.
We met two senior members of hotel staff to recount our recent experience. Their apologies were accepted and we went immediately to the theatre to watch the Spinettes perform. No photography was the norm in this theatre so no images here. The show was much the same as we’d seen before.
Back in our cabin we reflected on the evening and moved on to pack for our first port of call in Ponta Delgado.
… Day 5 Ponta Delgada