Five sea days

Tuesday 9^th April – Pirates and Medical Emergency

I felt very virtous being up shortly after 9am, but I knew we had a pirate drill at 10am. It appears we are in pirate-infested water but we are not at risk. I was ready, breakfasted and standing in the corridor at the appointed time. No one came to check on us, and Johnny Depp did not come through my window, but we all had a good laugh. Evidently you go into the corridor during an attack so you won’t be hit if they shoot through the window. You stand next to the door as you then have the whole bathroom between you and any stray shots; bullets might penetrate the door itself.

Five minutes later the Captain made an announcement that a passenger was deemed to be in a critical condition and would be taken off the ship to hospital. Luckily we were close to Muscat in Oman, and a boat came out to take the passenger off the ship.

Before the voyage I had booked 2 shore excursions. I found the tickets in my cabin with a note pointing out that I had booked the German-speaking excursions, and asking if that was really what I wanted. That was very perceptive of the woman at the tour desk. However, she told me that it should not have been possible for me to book the German-speaking tour on the internet. She also took a copy of the internet confirmation I’d received, as it said nothing about German on it. There seems to have been a glitch on their system. I had certainly been given two booking options, but the only difference was that one had children at full price and the other had children at half price. I’m glad it was all sorted out but I suspect it will end up costing me money, as there will no doubt be another foreign exchange bill on my credit card when the money is returned.

The midday dancing class was cha cha. One of the hosts was so reassuring: ‘You’re doing very well’. I bit my tongue and did not tell him that he was not quite doing what the teachers told us, but was turning too soon.

I met up with the two J’s at the dance class. We talked incessantly over lunch, catching up. Judith and I went to the Pirate lecture and then to afternoon tea. The Navy Commander giving the lecture was on board to advise the crew. He told us we were low risk because of our speed and our height above the water. Despite that we have an armed response team on board. Piracy has decreased dramatically over the past year because of all the international measures. The proceeds of piracy seem to be used to build up infrastructure in Somalia, including things like a mobile phone network. Perhaps they are building themselves into a situation where they will no longer need the funds from piracy. (They’ll be able to initiate more overseas money scams instead.)

After dinner I again went to the two dancing sessions (7:45 to 8:30 and 9:15 until late) but left about 11pm. J&J had not turned up but had decided they needed an early night. I was surprised to find a pot of hot milk in my room when I got back. My room number was 1076 and the 7 written on the notecould have been 2, so I assumed it was a mistake and put it outside in the corridor. I wish I’d rung up and complained, as events turned out.

Wednesday 10^th April (clocks back one hour) - Drowsy Diane

I had much trouble waking up enough to get up, even with the extra hour of sleep. I made it to the Solo Travellers’ Get-together by shortly after 11am, but left just before 11.30 to get some breakfast/lunch.

The midday dance class was tango, with some new steps to learn. The dance teachers on this cruise have a slightly different way of teaching from those on the previous cruise, but still leave us standing in awkward positions as they go through the next steps closely.

I stayed on to watch the first quarter hour of J&J line dancing. It seemed quite easy. I visualised the steps in my head and was able to do their first routine the next morning in my room. (I tried that with the salsa class on Thursday but visualisation did not work as the important thing was the rhythm, not the steps.)

The lecture on Petra seemed useful so I attended that. It was very slow-paced, but it gave me an idea of how far I would be able to walk. I have decided not to walk up (then down) the last thousand steps to one tomb, even though it looked interesting. Enough will be enough.

I was incredibly sleepy all day, despite long sleeps for the previous two nights. After a quick afternoon tea in the Lido, I ended up lying on my bed reading and drifting in and out of consciousness until it was time to dress for formal dinner.

Very few people went to the 7:45 dancing session and the hosts were standing around talking to each other. I had to be sensible and refuse, or I would have been dancing every dance. I think I can really only dance every second or third one.

An early night was in order, and I must have been well asleep by 10:00, with the ‘Do not disturb’ sign on the door for good measure. I woke at 10:30 to repeated knocking on the door. I called out to ask who it was and was told ‘Room service’. I got up to find a man with another jug of hot milk. I said I had not ordered anything and he told me there was a standing order. That explains what had happened the previous two nights! (Was it for the wrong room or was it left over from the previous segment of the cruise?) I told him there was a mistake and he promised to fix it. Unfortunately my sleep had been disturbed. I took a sleeping tablet and went back to sleep but kept waking up all night.

Thursday 11^th April – Meeting Peter Perry

Although my sleep was disturbed, it lasted close to 12 hours! I did not get up until about 9:45.

Breakfast, Solo Travellers’ meeting and dancing class followed each other in short order. I had never learnt the Salsa before, so it was challenging. I hope to try it out on the dance floor soon.

Time passed quickly (as it always does on a ship) until afternoon tea – a formal affair in the ballroom.

Dinner was a lively chat, followed up by two dancing sessions, with a rest between. A highlight of the evening session was finally meeting Peter Perry! He too thought the story of my check-in was hilarious, and we ended up with many jokes. Both J&J, and also Frances, burst out laughing when they were introduced to him separately. A legend come to life!

Highlights of the dancing included two dances with Paul (the very tall singer, who prefers his own choreography to any dancing ‘rules’, so one never knows just what he will do next, but knows it will be done at full stretch to keep up with his long strides) and another Viennese Waltz with Rock. I stumbled my way through the Viennese Waltz but loved it, and determined to have a private lesson one day, so that I can dance it properly.

Friday 12^th April – Hot and humid

I had an early and noisy awakening with metallic bangs against the side of the ship. The pirates at last? No, I suspect they were preparing to launch a lifeboat above me, as shortly afterwards came the Captain’s announcement: ‘For exercise, for exercise. Man overboard.’ It was a ship’s drill.

The Solo Travellers’ Get-together was again held in the Winter Garden with the roof open, which alerted me to how hot and humid (70%) the weather has become. It leaves me rather anxious about how I will cope on the trip to Petra. I kept wandering back and forward between the get-together and the nearby pool, where two of the men spent 15 minutes creating a superb ice sculpture each.

I had been looking forward to the waltz dancing class, but was horrified to see the level of difficulty expected of rank beginners. Instead of starting with the basic step, they were taken straight into the spin turn followed by a whisk and double chassees.

In the afternoon I walked around the deck in order to see the guards on watch for pirates, and to judge how I will manage the walking at Petra. I found three members of the Cunard security team set up with binoculars, sound guns and loaded water hoses ready to deter pirates if necessary.

The main dance that night was a modern band, too loud and no ballroom dances. I gave up at 10:30 and went back to my room. I am definitely a ballroom dancer, not a jiggler.

Saturday 13^th April – Dirty Dancing

I don’t know what caused all the banging noises in the night, but no pirates appeared.

The dance class was rumba. My last dance was with Jorge (gentleman host), and inbetween our giggles we decided to make a proper go of it and gaze into each others’ eyes and ‘smoulder’, especially as our new step involved us standing face to face with my arms on his shoulder and his arms around me.

The day actually went rather slowly, perhaps because I was aware that I needed to rest, and perhaps also because I had fun things on my mind.

The solo travellers had afternoon tea together in the Queen’s Room. Afterwards I went up to the top deck and watched the first few minutes of some friends playing a shuffleboard challenge.

After having a couple of wonderful Viennese Waltzes with Rock (young gentleman host, French Canadian, learning English) on previous nights, I decided I wanted to learn more. Dan and Olena, the dance teachers, had agreed to give me a private lesson and to split it into two parts because of my health, so the first lesson was this afternoon. It was wonderful! I know it’s an advanced dance, but when you know the waltz well, the steps are relatively easy. However, the trick is dancing it together, so you need a man who knows what he is doing. Dan is fantastic to dance with and I could follow him with only a couple of hiccups. Olena even taught me the cheating way to do the fleckle – the step that Len Goodman, head judge of Strictly Come Dancing (Dancing with the Stars) is always talking about. Dan said he felt comfortable dancing with me, which means I was following his lead okay.

Because we are going to Petra and I did not want to be tired, I only went to the 7:45 to 8:30 dance session. Towards the end of the session Rock and I did a cha cha together and I was giggling inside as he, too, ‘smouldered’ and looked into my eyes during the appropriate steps. (Trevor, on my last cruise, had told me I should be doing that in the Latin dances but I’d never tried it out until today.) I was sorry that we did not have a Viennese Waltz during that session.