Blogs from Gulf Stream, North Atlantic, Atlantic, Oceans and Seas - page 2

My selections from last night’s Titanic Dinner Menu, which was our chef’s interpretation of the Titanic’s dinner 100 years on: First Course: Salmon with Mousseline Sauce. Lightly poached salmon, with classic Hollandaise sauce and whipped cream. Second Course: Cream of Barley. Barley simmered with vegetable stock and a dollop of whisky cream. Third Course: Asparagus Salad. Blanched green and white asparagus, drizzled with champagne saffron vinaigrette. Fourth Course: Punch Romaine. A real palate cleanser. A punch with crushed ice, fresh orange and lemon juice, white wine and drizzled with Bacardi rum. Fifth Course: Filet Mignon Lili. Grilled to your liking, on sliced fried potatoes, served with roasted cherry tomatoes, baby carrots and Madeira sauce. Sixth Course: Waldorff Pudding. Sautéed apple, raisins and ginger, baked with custard and sprinkled with caramelize... read more

... and here's a photo for our 3-yer-old grandson Bradley. His mum was having trouble describing to him what an iceberg was; the only thing she had to relate it to was an icecube. So for Bradly, this is the closest we've seen to an iceberg on this trip so far.... read more

The most interesting talk of the past two days was The Unsinkable Molly Brown, by Janet Kalstrom, who presented in the first person. It was standing room only in the lounge where she spoke. The estranged wife of Mr J.J. Brown, Margaret Brown, was travelling alone from France to New York to visit her sick grandchild whom she had never seen, when the disaster happened. Known as Maggie to close friends (the name Molly was created by Hollywood), she was in bed reading a book when the Titanic struck the iceberg. She ventured in to the hallway when she thought it was odd the ship’s engines had stopped, however it wasn’t until she returned to her cabin and saw a “bug-eyed” man looking through her window telling her to put on her lifejacket and get outside. ... read more

My goal to get through this cruise without barfing came to an end yesterday while attending a lecture ‘The Irish Aboard Titanic’by Senan Molony in the Neptune Lounge. Apologies to Senan – the lecture was interesting, but with the Balmoral battling rough seas and the lounge being close to the “pointy end” where movements of the ship, and the contents of my stomach, were more pronounced meant my goal was short-lived. Thank God for barf bags. Strangely, I’ve felt better since then and I think I’m actually finding my sea legs … but I won’t gloat too soon! It could just be the sea is calmer today. Unfortunately BBC newsman suffered symptoms of a heart attack yesterday and our ship had to back-track for 1.5hrs to reach a point where a rescue helicopter from ... read more