Almost to Hawaii

Tropic of Cancer

Fourth day out from San Francisco, we have just crossed the parallel of latitude known as the tropic of Cancer. This means we are now in the “tropics.” The temperature has warmed to 72 degrees. The sea is still quite lumpy, but we are adjusting.

We have had two formal evenings - with the Cunard Ball last night in the Queen’s room. Dancing to a full orchestra is delightful. Jean and I have joined a pick-up choir (the Soundwaves) which will perform on the 27^th of February in the theater, backing-up the acting group on the ship. Today we learned our parts for “Master of the House.” We have a rehearsal schedule covering the next few weeks. Yesterday, we played our first game of duplicate bridge in 20 years.

We have been attending lectures on the ports we will be visiting, as well as lectures by an anthropologist on the peoples and events of the Pacific. Today, the focus was on Hawaii and then World War II - all appropriate for our visit to Honolulu tomorrow. No problem with currency for this port.

Third day - still at sea

Keeping the Elephants away

Walking down the street, a lad passed a window where an elderly lady sat, tearing up newspaper and throwing the scraps out the window. Curious, he asked her what she was doing. I am keeping the elephants away she replied. “That’s silly, you can’t control elephants with confetti,” the lad respond. The lady replied indignantly, “Well, you don’t see any elephants do you?”

 The Novo virus is the latest “elephant” for cruise liners. When we took an Alaskan  cruise on Holland America, the captain and crew would not shake hands with passengers - you could only touch elbows. On most ships there are ample dispensers of anti-viral spray and lotions. On Queen Elizabeth, the Lido restaurant does not allow guests to get their own coffee or juice at breakfast. Crew members with surgical gloves will get your drinks for you. The British guests (many of whom have been on the ship since Southampton) are feeling put out - Cunard apparently adopted this strategy after New York, and again after San Francisco.  Although breakfast is a cafeteria  format in the Lido, crew serve all the portions, or have pre-dispensed portions on plates. It must be working - Jean and I are still healthy and well.

Yesterday we feared that the door to our balcony door was broken. No matter how we tried, we could not get it to open. This morning, now that the winds from the South are no longer over 50 knots, it opens quite easily. Most of the walking on the deck was restricted as well. Of course, there are lots of places to walk indoors on the ship, so it’s not a problem, other than the unexpected lurching and swaying from time to time.  I have great admiration for Magellan, Drake, and other explorers, who circumnavigated the globe in ships only 200 feet or so long. The Queen Elizabeth is wider than those ships were long.

Second day at sea

The Relativity of Time

Time seemed more ordered and correct in Maryland. Days were punctuated by regular appointments, choir rehearsal on Thursday for example, and regular shows on television. Weekends were set aside for visits with friends or dinners in restaurants. We have been on the cruise for only two days, and already we are starting to ask each other which day of the week this is. On previous cruises, days at sea were rare, and you could tell the days of the week by the ports you visited. Crossing the Pacific Ocean, with many days at sea between ports, the significance of particular days of the week lose their meaning.  We figured out it’s 2 pm on Monday and realized we haven’t been at sea for even 2 days (we boarded at 4 pm on Saturday).

The Super Bowl “started” at 3:00 PM yesterday, another time distortion. We missed Madonna and the second half  of the game to attend dinner. The program was shown with lots of ESPN ads, but not the usual ads that amuse one during the lengthy delays between bits of action. I guess time distortion and reality distortion go hand-in-hand.

To be sure there is a daily schedule on the ship. But the schedule is voluntary - nothing is required - and time shifts as we move westward. The clocks will be turned back an hour tonight. (I remember being on one cruise where they had a different carpet in the elevator for each day of the week. You could always orient yourself in time by changing floors.)  Perhaps the distortion of time is also affected by the duration of the voyage. On cruises that are only a week or two in duration, you need to plan carefully to catch the events on the ship before they are gone. With more than 80 days at our disposal, there’s no pressure to plan.

To quote the captain, the seas have been lumpy. Fifty knot winds this morning, made for creaks and moaning, with some bouncing about in the front of the ship. The Pacific Ocean has not been living up to its name.  We met the captain yesterday afternoon at a reception for those taking a World Cruise, and he said the weather was going to get rougher.  Jean said, Oh, good, because she doesn’t like just to be on a ship that, with the modern stabilizers, doesn’t feel as if one were at sea.  Be careful what you wish for!  As we write this, there were just a couple of loud bumps, but the ship is still intact.

First day at sea

Sunday February 5, the first day at sea.

We boarded the Queen Elizabeth just before 4:00 PM in San Francisco on Saturday, and sailed under the Golden Gate Bridge around 9:00 PM. We are on our way to Hawaii.

We were pleased to discover there is an Anglican (Church of England) communion service this morning. The priest was a woman, a fellow passenger, who was asked by the ship’s staff to conduct the service. Some of the guests complained that the Catholics had better support than Anglicans, so the staff recruited her. She will be with us until Sydney. Hopefully, they will find someone else after that. The service is much closer to the old 1928 prayer book, along with Cranmer’s prayer of humble access.

Since this is Super Bowl Sunday, they will try to show the game in the Royal Court Lounge, the ship’s theater. For us the game will start at 3:00 PM. That’s just as well, as we have our first formal evening with tuxes and evening dresses. Of course, out ability to see the game will all depend on the quality of the satellite connection.

Coit Tower

Coit tower is on top of Telegraph hill - a climb from the harbor. Named after Lillie Hitchcock  Coit - who lived in San Francisco in the early 20th century. She fled to Europe after being almost killed by relatives and lived in Paris and was a guest in the court of Napoleon III, before returning to San Francisco in the 1920s. The heart-pounding climb is worth it, and the view from the top of the 220 foot tower is grand.

We are six hours from boarding the ship. We can see the Queen Elizabeth above the buildings as we look toward the harbor from our hotel on Fisherman's wharf.

San Francisco Arrival

We arrived in San Francisco yesterday evening. It was 9 PM local time, but midnight at home. We are staying at the Marriott on fisherman's wharf. This morning, after breakfast we walked down to the harbor. We watched and listened to the sea lions (they've been making their home there since the San Francisco earth quake.) From the wharf you can see the golden gate bridge and Alcatraz. Along the way we stopped to watch sour dough bread being baked.

We are 30 hours away from the start of the cruise. The weather here is delightful, about 60 degrees. This afternoon we will enjoy cable cars, Coit's tower, and dinner at Alioto's. Tomorrow we board the ship.

Things to take on a trip

An earlier version of this posting was deleted while I was trying to work with the iPad. The photo above shows a partial collection of cables and converters that will be necessary for the trip. For my shaver, I need the stand as well, because the cable does not connect to the shaver, but to the stand. The stand has contacts for the shaver. All these gadgets seem wonderful, until you need to pack for three months.

I know from previous tips (a Viking river cruise on the Rhine), that if you forget a cable for your shaver, your wife will have to live with the stubble.

We fly to San Francisco in four days. In less than a week we will be on our way. I am excited. While I love the iPad, it does not seem ready for prime time. I guess I will stay with the Windows laptop for this trip.