Already, the sense of time passing quickly reminds me that we are now well over half way through the first part of this journey.  Tomorrow morning at 3 o’clock, we ahall pass 160 miles north of the resting place of R.M.S. Titanic, if I have heard the Captain’s noon-day address correctly, over the “din” of the Carinthia Lounge where I had joined the couple I met yesterday, for this morning’s trivia quiz. 

I am still dining casually in the King’s Court on Deck 7.  The stir fries up here are fresh and hot. But tomorrow, if not tonight, I hope to return to the main restaurant for lunch and dinner. 

For me, this voyage is a little different.  There are three dining options for those in non-Grills accommodation, first sitting dinner at 6pm, second sitting at 8.30, and the recent introduction of anytime dining in Britannia (upper) at a time of your choice between 6 and 9 o’clock.  For the first two options, you enjoy a reserved table with the same table companions throughout the voyage, usually on the lower deck.   Travelling alone, as I almost always do, I decided to opt for anytime dining. It had worked well when I had a travelling companion.  For the first time since my very early cruises, I know absolutely nobody on this voyage.  But somehow, I frequently find myself in conversation with a wide variety of fellow passengers.  The ship feels full, and certainly, dining in the King’s Court is as chaotic as it ever was, this being part of its charm.  This is much more of a family crossing than suggested in social media and other sources.  Nobody appears badly behaved.  I have not come across any rudeness that can happen.  But there’s  plenty of joyous noise and the occasional protesting baby!   Today’s crossing is as fresh and exciting as my first Cunard transatlantic voyage from Miami to Southampton in the late 1990s. 

For late June, the weather could be described as disappointing.  The 4th sea day remains colourless and I shall need to wrap up if I wish to join the hikers on the Promenade Deck.   Some brave souls are striding round as if in the middle of summer; most are clad as if in Antarctica. 

This afternoon, I attended The Last Laugh, a kind of tribute play featuring the characters of the late comedians Tommy Cooper, Bob Monkhouse, and Eric Morecambe.  To their admirers, this was a brilliant show, with tons of humour, laced with poignent dialogue.  The actors potrayed the characters convincingly.  The three of them were depicted sharing the same dismal dressing room, analizing each other’s material and styles as well as reflecting on such things as dying, both on stage and in reality.   I’m not sure how the U.K. humour was received by our North American passengers. Only a handful walked out during the ninety minute play.

Although I had enjoyed a slightly more substantial lunch today, I still had Afternoon Tea in the Queens Room,  my appetite making a perhaps, unwelcome return.

Around 5.45 pm, I ambled to Illuminations, now in cinema mode to see the 2024 movie Better Man, starring (although I didn’t know it until the end!) Robbie Williams (the voice of).  In the movie, he was potrayed as an anthropomorphic* chimpanzee, which had me confused through much of the film until all was explained on Google afterwards.  I didn’t find it the easiest movie to follow, but the “artistry” was beyond phenomenal if a little fast paced and “difficult to get first time.”  The film was 2 hrs and 15 minutes in length, and not specially edited.

Dinner in the Britannia Restaurant was followed by “Show time,” in the Royal Court Theatre and finally, a superb jazz band in the Chart Room.

Much better than eight hours in a plane!

*probably the only occasion I will use the adjective anthropomorphic!

Many thanks for reading, David 23.25 hrs in the Chart Room.   30/6/26.