Before the cruise

I had been watching this cruise for 2-3 months, just waiting for the price to drop enough for me to afford it. Oceanview rooms finally came down in price just 11 days before the cruise was due to depart! I booked immediately. Thus started a hectic couple of weeks, getting ready and planning all the ports to visit.

I admit to feeling stressed, especially as a new computer arrived during this time, and friends wanted to plan our next cruise for August. I knew I was not thinking clearly. It was so lucky that on the last Saturday, just a few hours before I set off for Heathrow, I phoned Jenny (who I met on the last cruise and who was coming on this one along with Judith, also from that cruise) and discovered that I was a day ahead of myself. We were not flying out until Sunday!

Sunday came and I left for Heathrow by public transport. I used my new airport lounge card and was able to relax and eat in a comfortable lounge until the time for my Qantas flight to Dubai at 10:30pm. (Dubai was evidently the place to go; there were numerous flights out that night, all with a few Cunard passengers. I envied J&J who flew from Birmingham on an Emirates flight and had an extra 7kg of luggage.)

The flight was as good as can be expected, and I managed a few hours of dozing.

Dubai airport is huge but very well decorated. After the UK’s cold weather, it was lovely to change into Summer clothes in an airport toilet. I had been warned that Dubai is very fussy about drugs, so had come prepared with a doctor’s letter, and had left quite a few supplements behind. However, there was no evidence of sniffer dogs or undue care.

The Cunard rep at the airport ascertained that I was not booked into the Hyatt for breakfast (J&J assured me I did not miss much) so I was put into a taxi all by myself and had my own conducted tour (Bangladeshi taxi driver) on the way to terminal. I was meant to wait there for a couple of hours until I could check in. That seemed boring, so I got on one of the free shuttle buses to the city, to a shopping mall. I walked through the shops, enjoying the space and sculptures. Despite the designer shops, all I bought was some Ventolin and a bottle of water.

I wandered outside and saw the impressive skyline with buildings of all shapes and sizes, and the intriguing architecture around the mall.

As I was handed my door key at check-in, I was asked where the other person was. It seems they had a Peter Perry down to share my room! They rectified that for me. (I was told later that he was in a room with a number similar to mine.)