Tuesday June 06, 2023
Today we start another maritime adventure destined for the fjords of Norway where Anne and Roger are joined by Leslie and Cynthia Dweck on their first cruise. Leslie and Roger have been friends since 1963, so it is an exciting adventure for all. The two week trip takes us from Southampton to Stavanger, Lofoten, Tromso, Honningsvag, Trondheim, Alesund and back to Southampton.
We each drove to Southampton and boarded the Cunard Queen Victoria for the V315 voyage making our way to our respective cabins 6078 and 6074 where we were greeted by our Philippine Steward Christopher. After lunch, we checked with the head waiter to assure ourselves that the message from the Head Waiter on the Queen Mary in April had been recorded correctly. Namely that the four of us were to be at one table and we actually asked for specific tables – 623/625; 627/620; 650/652; 648 – which are all in the rear window and slightly separated from other tables. We had been assigned two totally different tables so were glad we were able to get that sorted and ended up at an acceptable table – near the entrance. We unpacked and got together for a nice dinner, meeting our head waiter – Hector; Assistant waiter – Sam and Sommelier – Saje. We had pre-ordered the captain’s collection of wines so we were set for the trip.
The lifeboat drill just involved having your card scanned at the reunion point (the Queen’s Room), and a talk over the loudspeaker by the American Captain – Evans Hoyt. During dinner the captain announced that a helicopter event was to take place in the aft top deck. Unfortunately a passenger had to be evacuated for medical reasons even though we were barely an hour or two into the voyage. A similar thing happened on our World Voyage earlier this year as we were leaving New York. We hope that the urgent medical evacuation patient will be ok and get the attention they need in time. The evening show introduced by entertainment director – Ashley Clay, was a young British girl Soprano Mary-Jess who won the Chinese singing talent contest – X-Factor and performed some beautiful songs. She had learned Mandarin as she did not do well enough in French and was not allowed to study Spanish at school so took up the Chinese national language. We retired early to complete the unpacking and get some rest after the “stressful” day!
Roger & Anne Travels 