Thursday April 27, 2023
As we still had not heard anything, we asked other guests and Anne discovered that it had been “leaked” that the New York people would be put on the Sunday night flight. This was unacceptable as we had noted on our forms due to prior critical obligations. So Anne, being very adept in these matters, was able to obtain flights on Saturday and booked us to return to New York. After confronting the Purser’s office, she was able to discover that indeed this Sunday evening information was correct, so we informed them that we had completed our bookings and would not require the Cunard service. This “game playing” has left a “bad taste” in our mouths and we have sent a note to the powers that be in Cunard indicating our displeasure. We had previously written to indicate our great pleasure with the 4 month voyage.
We attended the Anne Sebba (historian) lecture which this time was on Julius and Ethel Rosenberg. A very interesting take in that after extensive research, she found evidence that Julius was indeed a spy wand warranted the punishment he received. However, Ethel, was an intelligent, capable, trained shorthand typist who never had anything to do with espionage. She was apprehended with the sole objective of “flipping” her (getting her to name other conspirators / spies) but since she knew none, a publicity campaign was started convincing the public that she was a major spy, still hoping that she would inform. Eventually after a bit of a mockery trial she was convicted and sentenced to the electric chair. However, the first jolt, setting her hair on fire did not end her life, it was subsequent jolts that killed her.
In the afternoon, the big excitement was that the ship was going to back out of the existing berth and back up one mile down the waterway and re-dock, port to dock at another dock. So we went on a 15 minute sail backwards, the first movement in several days. No-one was seasick!!!! We also found out that Cunard’s repairs would be completed by May 2, so to try and recoup some lost revenue, a five day “Coronation Cruise” to Liverpool and back would be put on. It was completely sold out 100% in 3 hours and 38 minutes. That is brand loyalty! The principal Head Waiter, who we have come to know, came to our table at dinner and shared the plans for the big day of the Coronation aboard (May 6). One last thing that we experienced for the first time was that all the lights went out, like on land, when a severe storm extinguishes the lights in a town. It only lasted 10 minutes, and the emergency passage lights came on as did the captain indicating that they would soon return. Lots of exciting things happen when the ship is under repair and we get a chance to experience them all.
Roger & Anne Travels 