The queues at the Mayflower test centre were non existent and after showing our passports and Covid vaccination documentation plus confirming our names, DOB and mobile numbers it was swab up the nose time and headed off to Dock Gate 4 and Ocean Terminal to drop off the car and bags.

We we’re pinged by text that we were Negative just after arriving and proceeded quickly through check-in only to find that the ship wasn’t quite ready. We ended up waiting about 30 minutes before being ushered through security and arriving on board.

Even though it’s only a couple of months since our last cruise it was very nice to be back aboard the Queen Elizabeth. 

We’re taking our first cruise in the Princess Grill this time, so I was very excited to see how much nicer a Grills cabin is over Britannia Balcony. I wasn’t disappointed, cabin 5001  is huge, and we are welcomed with a bottle of Pol Acker, 4 chocolate truffles and a couple of bottles of Hilton still water, this last addition was very pleasing for Jane as she’d forgotten her water. 

While we waited for our bags to arrive we decided to head up to the Concierge desk to check on our wine package and sort out some missing, shareholders OBC which had disappeared off my booking.

Then we headed off to the PG restaurant for lunch. We have a table for two this time as we aren’t sure how or if a larger table would work in the Grills and in these Covid times. It was also nice to meet with Karen an Sachin who will be looking after us for all of our cruise. The quality of lunch was no different from Britannia and was excellent as usual.

After lunch it was back to the room where our bags were waiting. I’m assuming that Jane has “Tardis” bags because it’s taken her three times as long to unpack than it took me, for the same number of suitcases and one fewer suit/dress carriers!

After a quick detour back up to the concierge desk to try and sort out our missing shareholder credit, we headed down to the Commodore Club for a livener. Jane started with a QE2 followed by a Cosmopolitan and I had an Old Speckled Hen as it promised to be gluten free with the possibility of a decent night’s sleep, time will tell. 

After our evening drinks we headed back to the stateroom for a shower and to get changed for dinner. I’m not sure how tall people are at Cunard Towers, but I’m unlikely to get my chest wet in the shower, never mind being able to wash my hair, or what’s left of it. I opted for a bath instead. 

Dinner in PG was all that I expected, we started with a muse bouchée of tuna tartare, followed by ham hock terrine and New York Strip au poivre for main. I had cheesecake for dessert while Jane attacked the cheese trolley with gusto, so much so I had to help her out.

Jane stayed in bed as she’s booked breakfast in the room, apparently the choice is better, in PG, but I never looked. I headed up to the PG restaurant as I wanted to try their breakfast. The have a more extensive menu again with item like devilled kidneys and more egg choices than you can shake a stick at. Needless to say I had prunes and figs followed by kippers and poached eggs.

We have a table of eight sat by us at dinner, we like a large table for dinner as we get to meet interesting people and I gave new blood to bore with my war stories. I had a chat with one of the diners there and they are all travelling independently and have a loose arrangement to meet at 19:30 so that would suit us. It be be this is the case as well with larger tables in the new world order in Britannia – I shall have to ask.

The first of the insights lectures on the cruise is Dave Mallinder and his series on the Singers of the Great American Songbook. Today, Nat King Cole. Things have changed from our August cruise on QE, we still have to wear masks in the theatre, but the seat restrictions have been removed and lectures are now 15 minutes apart rather than the 30 they were previously.

The next lecture was Dr Sheona Urquhart from the Royal Astronomical Society all about early space flight pioneers. Unlike David Mallinder, the veritable Doctor is a new speaker to me.

After the lectures I headed back to the stateroom to see how Jane was? There wasn’t a lot of swell but what there was had set off her motion sickness and she was feeling a little under the weather. We decided to get some fresh air, so had a walk around the Promenade Deck, three laps to the mile, and a mile later feeling refreshed in the breeze headed up to the PG for lunch. I had salt & pepper squid followed by a smoked salmon bagel, Jane had soup and a veggie shepherds pie. All were excellent.

We had a relaxed post prandial half hour in the Grills lounge we took a stroll back to our room to see if we could grab the Steward for a couple of jobs, nothing major, but we’ve all decaf coffee for the Illy machine, so that needs to go, and Jane needs a different pillow.

No sign of the Steward, so back up to the Garden Room for the Afternoon Trivia. We paired up with a very nice couple from the next table to us at dinner and got a respectable 16/20. After that it was Commodore O’clock and I need to carry on my gluten-free experiment by drinking Old Speckled Hen again tonight. Jane started on an expresso martini which she found a bit bitter, wrong choice for her rather than a bad drink.

It’s Gala night tonight with a Black and White theme. I really wish I’d tried on more of my outfits before coming on the cruise. As I’ve already intimated lockdown hasn’t been kind to my clothes as most of them seem to have shrunk through a lack of wearing! I squeezed myself into my Tux trousers and dress shirt for tonight’s dinner, at least my bow tie still fits OK. I don’t think they will see the light of day again on this cruise.

Dinner was excellent, a complimentary glass of fizz on arrival to compensate for the lack of a welcome party, followed by an amuse bouche of chilled leek and potato soup, followed by chicken terrine, chicken ballottine and cherry pancakes all washed down with a nice Reisling

Poor Dr Sheona Urquhart, she’d only just started her SETI presentation when there was a random crew announcement that cut her off mid flow while the Captain told the crew they needed to fill in an environmental questionnaire – I’m not entirely sure this was meant for public broadcast, but it killed the slideshow and took quite a while to get her back on line.

This was followed by Dave Mallinders Dean Martin talk where I was joined by Jane.

After the lectures we decided on a walk around the promenade deck for our daily constitutional, it was a more pleasant walk than yesterday’s, the sun is out and it’s nice and warm. We had an escort from the US warship Robert E Peary, I think that’s what the Captain said it was, which slowly passed us on the port side.

After that excitement we had worked up a appetite so headed up to deck 11 and lunch in PG. I had quiche, spaghetti bolognaise and tarte tatin. Jane was having a bit of a quandary, whether to go to the wine tasting at 14:00 or to save herself for cocktails at Commodore o’clock, we decided to lie in the sun on the loungers until she could make up her mind. Surprisingly the sun won over the free wine tasting.

After an ice cream on the loungers and a cappuccino in the Grills lounge we headed downstairs to the Garden Room for the 16:15 Trivia quiz. 16/20 again, but slightly better as the winners won with 18.

To celebrate our near win we headed up to deck 10 for Commodore O’clock where Jane had an Ichio Martini and I carried on my gluten-free experiment with Old Speckled Hen.

I had a relaxing soak in the bath before dinner, which was just a standard night. Jane was very excited though as she’d ordered the Rack of Lamb from the A La Carte menu. My starter of Jumbo Tempura Prawns followed by the lamb didn’t disappoint.

Then it was an early night for our arrival in Lisbon early tomorrow morning and our walking tour.

As it was a tasting tour we kept it light, just eggs Benedict for me and avocado on toast for Jane. We were slightly delayed leaving the ship as there were sky bridge issues but the were soon over and we were off and onto the minibus to Belem for Pastel de Nata. Once we’d ticked that off my bucket list, we were back onto the coach and heading back into Lisbon old town to start walking. We had another stop for Ovo Moles, another egg based delicacy. One more stop for Portuguese “tapas” and then back to Restorantes to catch the minibus back to the ship. In between all the food was lots of descriptive observations about Lisbon’s many landmarks.

We had booked this as a walking tour, so we’re surprised to find two of the party had mobility issues and it was a very slow affair getting around.

We returned to the ship after the Tapas tour a little too late for lunch in PG so opted to pop into the Golden Lion where, hopefully, they would still be serving lunch. Luckily for us they were. I had their Signature burger and Jane ploughman’s helped down with a glass of Douro and a pint of Old Speckled Hen.

I now needed to get some warmth back into my bones so we went upstairs to the Grills terrace to claim a couple of the comfy sun loungers in the sun. Out of the sun it was fresh, but in it it was very pleasant and I was nice and toasty before very long.
About 15:30 I headed inside to the Grills lounge for a coffee and het ready for the Trivia quiz at 16:15. We’re getting better, 17/20 this time,
The wine at lunch and on the tour meant Jane wasn’t bothered about Commodore O’clock, which surprised me. So after the quiz we just headed back to the stateroom for a snooze before getting ready for dinner.

It was another “Smart Attire” evening so after a shower we headed up to Deck 11 for dinner. I had a very nice prawn salad to start followed by an excellent Steak Diane. My dessert was a chia seed tapioca, not only healthy but delicious. Jane had Octopus to start and venison as her main.

We had nothing booked for Cadiz so another sea day is no hardship for us.
I went to breakfast alone as Jane was exhausted, with the instructions to bring her something nice back. Sachin dutifully supplied me with an American bacon and Avocado Bagel, even volunteering to get room service to deliver while I had my fry-up. I declined as I wanted the plaudits for delivering.
After breakfast I popped down to the Pursers office to pick up revised daily programme. There were two new lectures planned, firstly,  Dr Sheona Urquhart explaining everything about the Cosmos, or as such as can be fitted into 45 mins. I’ve really enjoyed her lectures on this cruise.

Secondly Dave Mallinder spoke on Doris Day. Jane came to this one, so he’s honoured as that’s the second of his she’s been to now.
We went up to the Grills lounge to have a coffee, but there wasn’t a free seat to be had, so we walked back down to the Garden Lounge for a tea instead. We then went back up to the Grills for lunch. Whitebait followed by Philly Cheese Steak sandwich. Jane has cauliflower cheese soup and seafood pasta.

There were some free seats in the lounge after lunch so we had a coffee there before heading off to do a bit of laundry.
We were so near with the Trivia Quiz, 17/20 again with the winners on 18 – so close, with two 50/50 questions letting us down.
The Captain said the storm should have been abating at 18:00 but on return to stateroom after cocktails in the Commodore Club it’s just as noisy in the room and the winds are still hitting over 50 knots. There’s a lot of wind noise through the balcony doors and when a wave slams into the bow it sounds like a thunderclap. It’s no wonder Jane had such a terrible nights sleep.
Smart Attire again tonight for dinner where I’m having Jimbo prawn tempura and pork cutlet. Jane went A La Carte and had shrimp tempura and a delicious looking chicken and prawn dish

After that I headed back to the stateroom to meet up with Jane before lunch. We were arriving into port, as I got there, so we’re back with a phone signal, this allowed me to catch up with work and do some geeky housekeeping.

It was pasta for lunch, so we both opted for the Carbonara, I had spicy crab cakes as a starter and custard tart for dessert. We went back to the stateroom to watch Chelsea’s demolition of Leicester. Jane rapidly got bored by this, so we went up to the Garden Lounge for the quiz, even though our quizmates we’re off on a tour. We didn’t win, but we didn’t disgrace ourself with 15/20.
After that we went to the Grills Lounge for Commodore O’clock where Jane met up with a lady who we’d met while on our Lisbon trip so had a good gossip with her. 

It was our second Gala night, Red & Gold, for which I was prepared with a themed bow tie and cummerbund, but Jane was relying on getting some accessories for her black gown in either Cadiz but missing the first and the constant rain meant we weren’t going into town, so Jane was off theme. She still looked wonderful and it didn’t detract from an excellent dinner. The head waiter was showing off his skills again, this time flambéing cherries for the baked Alaska. We took our first trip to the theatre after dinner to see the singers Forever Tenors.

Our guide, Sirena, shepherded us though the Roman amplitheatre, showing us lots of Cartagena’s history all the time plying us with various savoury treats, ending up with a boozy coffee before we returned to the ship.
Jane was determined to get some sun, so after dumping our bags back in the room we headed to get a sunbed on the Grills Terrace. But the weather gods intervened and before we’d got an hour in it started to rain.
We escaped the rain in the Grills Lounge, taking advantage of the free coffee and had a cappuccino.

The sun did come back out but the stewards had cleared the terrace of the beds so that the cushions didn’t get wet. There were sun loungers on the upper terrace sheltered from the rain under the shades, so we grabbed a couple of those until the ship departed Cartagena at 16:30.
We had Commodore O’clock in the Grills Lounge as Jane fancied snacking on olives. We never got the olives, but the waiters did come around with some cold canapes which were very nice.

I had my usual Old Speckled Hen and Jane had a Moscow Mule Deluxe which she enjoyed.
Dinner was Surf and Turf and as usual Jane got the biggest portion, I’m suspecting that our waiter has a crush on her!!!

We headed back to the stateroom to get some laundry out of the way as today is a quiet day for us. I was tasked with ironing several of Jane’s dresses, she’s left handed and apparently the fixed ironing boards are difficult to use. I find all ironing boards difficult to use so I’m not sure that washes with me, but anything for an easy life.

Once that was done I headed up to the Grills Terrace to bag a couple of sun loungers. It’s not as chilly today, even out of the sun. I’d even taken my top off, to get some sun, much to the dismay of my fellow travellers. We had a late lunch in PG with the intention of sunning ourselves for an hour after and the heading into Malaga for a walk.

We were out for a couple of hours, just walking around. The shuttle into town seemed very slow, and it also felt uncomfortable, so rather than getting it back, we decided to walk back. It’s a very nice walk, with a lovely promenade followed by the beach rather than just an industrial dock side.

Once back it was Commodore O’clock, so we headed up to the Grills Terrace again where one of the tables were free, so we sat there in the sun. Jane had an Aperol Spritz and surprise, surprise I had an Old Speckled Hen. We were joined by our mad Welsh friend who had spent the day in Mijhas. Jane then changed up her drink to a Margarita.

It was another Smart Attire night, so I didn’t have the worry that I can fit into my trousers that I have on Gala nights. Jane explored the new A La Carte menu opting for Chicken breast with a mushroom Ragu and potato rosti. A much better choice than my bacon wrapped pork fillet, which was a little overcooked and dry. Not enough to complain about as the staff would have swapped it out in a blink, but I’ve had better.

The show was the Fly Rites and as Jane had been very impressed with them on our August Staycation cruise she insisted we attend their show. I’ll just say they weren’t my cup of tea and leave it at that. Other members of the audience obviously disagreed with my assessment as they were dancing in the aisles.

My early morning alarm was a little earlier today, I was awakened by the ship’s arrival into Gibraltar at 06:45. This is no bad thing as I wanted to get ahead of the curve ready for an exciting morning’s shopping (btw this is sarcasm/irony) in Gibraltar.

I was alone for breakfast, Jane had booked room service ready for the rush out to the rock, so I went alone to the PG to collect postcards from our table mates that required posting at the Post Office, so saving them a trip if they were back late from their  tour.

I was all done by 8:45 and picked Jane up from the Stateroom before we descended to Deck A and off the ship into Gibraltar. We walked to the centre rather than take the ship’s shuttle buses, yet another futile weight management attempt. Needless to say a fortune was saved on our purchases…apparently. We wrote and posted postcards, then headed back to the ship to enjoy the last of our winter sun. The lower of the Grills terraces was mainly in shade, but it was glorious sunshine on the upper,  deck 12. It was lovely in the sun, but the chill in the air is very noticeable if the sun is obscured by a cloud. When this happened we decided it was Fish and Chips time in the pub. I followed this, with half a sticky toffee pudding dessert as Jane, “didn’t want a dessert”

After the pub it was back upstairs to get the last of the sun and watch the departure from Gibraltar from Deck 12’s vantage point. I didn’t last very long as the clouds came over and with the sun obscured and the wind picking up it was cold and a nice hot cappuccino had my name all over it in the Grills Lounge.

Jane eventually gave up trying to get a tan and joined me for a coffee before it was Trivia Time In the Garden Lounge. Jane felt very uncomfortable with my table choice, in the middle of the room as that was where the braniacs sat. It mustn’t have rubbed off on us though, we ended up with our usual 17/20 final tally.

Commodore O’clock followed, in the Commodore Club for a change. It’s always a quandary, Grills Lounge or Commodore Club. The Grills Lounge has better nibbles and canapes as well as free coffee, but worse views and less ambiance.

I had my best dinner tonight, tandoori lamb cutlets and Jane had roast beef. Mine was excellent, nicely spiced with just the correct amount of chilli kick.

My first lecture was with Dr Sheona Urquhart and her talk on our planetary neighbors. Hers have been my favourite series of lectures so far on the cruise, always delivered in a relaxed and informative style.

The second was Everest Explorer and mountaineer Cathy O’Dowd. She gave a very inspiring talk  on the trials of climbing Mount Everest. It was very good Indeed. I’m looking forward to her following lecture tomorrow.

The third and final of today’s lectures is the return of Dave Mallinder and his “Singers of the Great American Song Book” Tony Bennett. His lecture was scheduled to start at 12:15, I assume, so as not to clash with the Captain’s daily announcement, needless to say, the Captain was late with his announcement and cut Dave’s lecture just as it was starting.

We went to the PG for a late lunch and since we were at sea decided to take a constitutional around the Promenade Deck on 3 to walk off lunch. We did four windy laps before giving into the cold and heading up to the Grills Lounge for a coffee and stab at the crossword puzzle. Jane’s friend Lorna was there so she and Jane chatted until it was time for the Trivia quiz. We weren’t particularly good, only scoring 15/20 but we had fun.

Keeping true to habit, post quiz we headed for Commodore O’clock in the Commodore Club. Jane started with a Cosmopolitan followed by a Moscow Mule. I unsurprisingly had an Old Speckled Hen.

It was our final gala night, with a theme of Roaring 20’s. Jane had her special spangley dress and was looking the part. I had been very apprehensive about fitting into my Tux trousers, after 10 days of Princess Grill dining, but I released the last of the waistband buttons and I had just enough room to breathe. I had another excellent dinner, surpassing yesterday’s tandoori lamb cutlets, it was a prawn curry, possibly the tastiest prawn curry I’ve ever had, and I’ve had more than my fair share of curries. Jane chose to revisit the Corn Fed Chicken breast from the A La Carte menu and had the theatre of Crêpe Suzette for dessert.