Grumpy Gramps

Monday 6th August Well this will be the last blog until we arrive home tomorrow. The cocktail party went off quite well but the canapés never reached us unfortunately but I am happy to say the bubbly got to us. Straight on to dinner (formal black tie event but I think my grandson has got mine so it was scarlet for me). We went to the show afterwards and after a slight hitch with the sound when the dancers ended up not knowing what on earth was happening. It got sorted out and the show began and ran without a hitch. It was all dance some of which was good and some a bit bizarre. Off to bed ready for tomorrow morning when we arrive in St Peters Port on Guernsey. We dropped anchor just before ... read more

Sunday 5th August We had our tea and coffee just after the QE berthed in Cobh on a beautiful sunny morning. We had a nice leisurely breakfast and then disembarked for a lovely saunter around Cobh. It is only a small town so it didn’t take too long. It is very, very hilly but commands great views over the bay. We were invited to a memorial service in memory of those who died on the Lucitania and those who survived on 7th May 1915. Nicky’s grandfather was one of the survivors so it meant something very special to us both. A pipe band marched to the memorial with various dignitaries and the QE ship’s officers. Commodore Rynd was the first to be invited to lay a wreath followed by several others. A priest then led prayers ... read more

Thursday 2nd August - continued Back on board we had afternoon tea and then time for Barry to have a little snooze whilst Nicky sorted out the laundry for tomorrow (hang the expense). Dinner this evening was semi formal - suit and tie but as usual we had an excellent dinner. After dinner we decided not to go to the theatre as it was going to be quite a lot of jazz which neither of us particularly like so we went back to our room and watched a really awful black and white film Harvey. And so to bed as we made our way down to Liverpool overnight. Friday 3rd August We were already tied up at the cruise terminal when we got up in time to enjoy our tea and coffee before getting dressed ready ... read more

Wednesday 1st August Much later1 Went back to cabin and fell asleep for several hours much to Nicky’s disgust as she went off to watch a hilarious Dick Barton spoof player by the theatre company. After watching that she took herself off to afternoon tea leaving me parched and fast asleep. Dinner was formal tonight and best bib and tucker was worn. Went to the theatre and watched a brilliant show starring Bruce Morrison who did songs, monologues and very funny comments about the 4 countries of the UK. Back to cabin and sleep. We are on our way to Greenock for the morning. Thursday 2nd August Woke up and looked out as we sailed up the Clyde to Greenock docking just before we went down for breakfast. A misty morning with the promise of a ... read more

Hi all Further to above we are now back from cocktail party and lunch - I'm pi**ed = Nicky not amused as she is not quite pi Hi all Further to above - Now back from cocktail party and lunch - I'm pi**ed - Nicky not amused as she is still slightly more sober than me - need to sleep. Be back later.... read more

UK Tour on Queen Elizabeth Wednesday 1st August Yesterday we woke early and had a very light breakfast in our stateroom as we would be leaving the ship by tender for a tour round the South Islands. We were sailing into Kirkwall on Orkney and a beautiful sight from our balcony met our eyes as we drew back the curtains. Fine morning and pleasant sail with the sea like a mill pond. The arrangements were good and we only had a short wait before climbing into the tender. A very smooth trip across to the jetty and the coaches were already lined up so no big wait before we were off on our journey. We had an excellent tour guide who originally came from Germany over 20 years ago, studied here and liked it so much ... read more

UK TOUR BLOG NO 2 Monday 30th July I am feeling very frustrated not being able to attach photos but TravelBlog seem to have made changes to their system and me being useless cannot fathom out how to get the photos into the blog. Last night I said we were off to watch a Scottish show - well I have to say that it was excellent. A small troupe danced, we had singing and pipes, drums and accordion covering many aspects of Scottish entertainment. Really fun to watch and listen to. We then changed for dinner - smart casual jacket no tie. Off back to the theatre again to watch the evening’s entertainment which was Bruce Morrison singing Andrew Lloyd-Webber songs. He was very good and he covered a wide selection from Joseph to Phantom, Cats ... read more

We start our cruise on the Queen Victoria on Friday 27th July 2012.... read more

Our Blog No.17 After we left Dubai Nicky met up with Alan and Marjorie who attend the same cardiac group on a Tuesday as Barry does and where Nicky is the Health Professional. A lovely surprise - they had already booked last year and never said a word to us that they were travelling from Dubai back to Southampton with us. They celebrate their 40th wedding anniversary on Sunday 10th April. Before we arrived in Safaga on Friday 8th April we had four days at sea where stringent precautions were taken to ensure we were not invaded by pirates. It was taken very seriously by the Commodore. Fortunately there were no incidents as far as we are aware! Safaga was not a very attractive area and we had already made the decision that we didn’t want ... read more