First day at sea

We awoke to find the ship rocking and rolling. It was probably Mother Nature’s way of reminding us that although we were headed to the warmer climates of the Canary Islands, we were still on the rough North Atlantic Ocean. Between the rolling seas and lingering jet lag, I felt a bit green. With John’s seagoing experience in the navy, he didn’t feel a thing.

Over the years, I’ve discovered three important things for dealing with seasickness: food, fresh air, and staring at a fixed point like the horizon. If that isn’t enough, I take ginger tablets. If all that still isn’t enough, I take a tablet like Bonine, which is a form of meclizine for dizziness. Today the seas were so rough, I jumped right to the hard stuff and now feel like such a wimp. Sometimes you do what you have to do. Usually after setting sail we have a few days of mild seas to get our sea legs, so that if we hit choppier waves, we would have already adjusted. This time, we sailed directly into churning water. Not a good sign of things to come.

We spent a good part of the day wandering around the ship. Actually, we lurched down corridors holding onto railings and trying not to run into other passengers who were also swaying with the ship. This is our first time on the Queen Elizabeth, so we had to learn our way around.

 The Queen Elizabeth

So what is the Queen Elizabeth like? Disclosure: In 2008, we did the Farewell World Voyage of the QE2 and feel there will never be another ship that can compare to her. However, the QE is a beautiful ship and won’t disappoint anyone who sails on her. The only comparison that we will make is that while the QE2, a true ocean liner, could do up to 31 knots, which is quite fast, the QE, built as cruise ship, can only do about 19 knots. After zipping through the water on the QE2, we feel that we are sailing at a very leisurely pace.

The Marvelous QE2

Okay, one more comparison but no more: our cabin on the QE is probably three times the size we had on the QE2. High points for the Queen Elizabeth.

The QE, which was launched in 2010, is the newest Cunard vessel. It is a lovely ship, decorated with rich dark wood paneling, brass fittings, and stunning art deco artwork, which could rival the collection of any major art gallery. (I’ll go into the artwork and include some pictures another day.) The ship is a good size and it wasn’t hard to eventually find our way around.

One bright note on this day of rough seas: the first guest speaker was Bill Bryson, author of such books as A Walk in the Woods, about his hike along the Appalachian Trail, which was recently made into a film staring Robert Redford; In a Sunburned Country, about his travels to Australia; A Short History of Nearly Everything, and many other books about his travels. Bill Bryson is an American from Iowa who has lived in England for so long he sounds British. I didn’t want to miss hearing him, so I dragged myself to the Royal Theater, which is right at the front of the ship and the worst place to be when the seas are choppy. It was so rough that Bill Bryson said that since the lectern was on wheels, he was concerned that it might start rolling across the stage.

Bill told the story of how he came to live in England (he took a temporary job there, met and married an Englishwoman, and ended up staying). He told stories about his family and childhood and read some passages from his various books. One person asked him what he thought of the movie A Walk in the Woods, which had been based on his book. He said that he had sold the producers the rights to the book and wasn’t involved in the making of the film. But he was quite pleased with how it turned out, especially since the producers had to reduce the story of his six-month hike to a two-hour film. A nice big check for rights to the book probably helped as well.

Bill gave a very entertaining speech and encouraged people to feel free to approach him while he was on the ship. He was just as personable and funny as he seems in his books. We were pleased to hear that he would be giving another talk in two days. Coincidentally, we had brought along a copy of his book about Australia, and upon first arriving on the ship, I had visited the ship’s library and gotten a recording of his book, A Short History About Nearly Everything. Both before I knew he was on the ship. ESP?

Later in the day we went to the Queen’s Room for a traditional English afternoon tea. It is quite a ritual with white-gloved waiters serving tea, small sandwiches, pastries, and scones with clotted cream and jam, while a harpist played classical music. Terrific ambience. Maggie Smith would have felt quite comfortable there. We had skipped lunch, so we felt less guilty about the zillion calories we consumed. My challenge now is to keep John from showing up there every day precisely at 3:30 p.m.

Queen’s Room

After a busy day, we returned to our cabin to find an invitation to have dinner the next evening at the Master’s Table with Deputy Captain Russell Robson. We’re not sure what the Master’s Table is, but we’ll find out tomorrow night. Stayed tuned.