Bound for Australia
1 March 2023
I sit in my cabin and look across my balcony at the extreme northern tip of New Zealand, passing to our left/port side as we make the turn west, now headed for Australia. It’s a 1000-mile trip from here, that will take 3 days. It’s hard to imagine, since Australia and New Zealand always look so close together on the map!
I’ll tell you about the omelet I had for breakfast today, but first I must discuss the differences between the Bowlins and me. For one thing, I keep the Do Not Disturb magnet on my door almost all the time. I let the cabin boy…I guess I’m supposed to call him the room steward…I let him in my room only about once every 3 or 4 days. From what I gather, David and Linda let their little guy into their room 3 or 4 times/day!
I don’t need fresh towels daily. In theory, I’m clean when I finish my shower, so my towel only has clean water on it. I like to make my own bed, a tradition I began, out of boredom, during the COVID days. I don’t need chocolates on my pillow or a towel folded like a swan. I enjoy my privacy. But to each their own.
Regarding the stewards, most, but not all, of the stewards are male. Most, but not all, are from the Philippines and Indonesia. For sure, none of them have blond hair or blue eyes. They work hard, but I believe they’re paid fairly and they get to see the world. We always see some of them, in civilian clothes, leaving the ship and shopping/sightseeing just like the ship passengers.
Another difference from the Bowlins, and this relates to the omelet, is that I don’t talk to strangers, while the Bowlins never meet a stranger. David constantly berates me for not asking for help when I need it. I’m one of those men whom women love to ridicule, a man who likes to figure things out and do things myself. I don’t ask for directions. I read signs. The Bowlins walk into a store and immediately ask for help finding things. I’ll tell them, “What you want is right there. See the sign?” (I’ve never been a people person.) But I’ll admit that their way is better. My way is me, and I’m perfectly content with me!
So, I’ve been seeing staff in the buffet cooking omelets and handing them out to people. I knew they were making custom omelets, vs the stack of plain omelets, also known as very dry tasteless scrambled eggs, on the help-yourself buffet. But there’s no sign up about ordering omelets, and I refuse to ask about it. This morning, though, I Googled “omelets Queen Mary 2″ and learned they will custom-make omelets any way you want, with any ingredients you want. You just have to ask. Duh. Ask. That’s asking a lot of me!
So I got my nice, tasty, fresh omelet with cheese, mushrooms, onions and tomatoes and it was a great change of pace from what I’ve been having for breakfast. Not as good as my sister’s omelets, probably because she puts twice the portions of ingredients in hers, but I’m content now. I would never have asked them, but I’m happy to ask Google!
The Bowlins and I attended just one lecture today, but it was a good one. A maritime history expert told us about Sir Samuel Cunard, the man who founded Cunard line upon which we’re currently sailing*. Cunard’s parents were British loyalists during the American Revolution, meaning they lived in what’s now the USA, but they took the side of the king. After the revolution, they moved the family to Halifax, Canada, were Samuel Cunard was born four years later.
Like many future successes, Samuel started young, opening a general store in Halifax as a teenager. He was early to note that steam power could be put on a ship to give the ship movement even if the wind wasn’t blowing, allowing an advantage over sailing ships. He had great success carrying people between Europe and North America in the days when his steamships were unique on the ocean.
Sadly, poor David, who loves sails more than steam, had one of those bouts we all have from time to time, nodding off and springing to consciousness about a dozen times during the lecture, the worst kind of sleep, though all sleep is good! I hope he can catch the lecture replay later on the stateroom TV system.
Nothing worth photographing today, so I’ll post a kiwi, the flightless bird that defines New Zealand!
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* Sailing. I’m torn about what to call what we’re doing. We’re at sea, but we’re not sailing. There are no sails. Steaming has also been used to describe it, but steam is no longer involved. We’re motoring, with electric motors driving the ship. But I’ll using sailing, because it just sounds better!
2 March 2023
Linda comments: Our cabin attendant is from the Philippines, he is 53 y/o and his wife lives in the Philippines now and he has two adult daughters there, too. His name is Zaldy….he has worked for Cunard for years. He takes care of 18 cabins. He usually comes in our cabin twice a day to tidy up and to turndown and always leaves something for us like chocolates, crisps, crackers, or Champagne.
My own cabin attendant is named I Have No Idea and I wish he would stop saying, “Hello Dr. Patrick” every time I pass him in the hallway. I’m reminded of Uber where, for an additional fee, you can pay your driver to NOT talk to you.
My sister played the same machine when we were on QM2 in October, our test voyage. She also ended up about $100 ahead.We’ll see how long I can make it last…
3 March 2026
I thought some of you might like to see what QM2 looks like in drydock. Amazing how little of the big ship is under water. The three “holes” you see below the water line in the front of the ship are the big bow thrusters, the internal propellers they use to push the bow (front) of the ship sideways to position her in port with no need for tug boats to push her.
The only place I’ve seen tugboats touch QM2 was in New Zealand, where it’s probably a government regulation to use them. They really aren’t needed for QM2. She can move, on her own, every direction except vertically! The only thing strong enough to lift the ship upward is the ocean.
The thrusters do, however, put out a huge push of water, and I can see how some ports would fear their banks being eroded/undermined by the force.
Tomorrow we arrive Australia, and we have a 7-hour excursion booked to see the “blue mountains,” whatever they are. We nearly died with 2 hours on a bus in Auckland, NZ. Hoping tomorrow’s bus is a bit roomier!