Music Magic

The Welcome bottle of pink champagne is finished. Mostly by Diva but TSH has allowed himself the occasional glass (without incident). TSH has been assured in the past that only on initial embarkation is pink issued and after that it is replaced by ‘normal’ white champagne. Diva charmed Isaac the butler, explaining that they are embarking 4 times. And he brought another bottle of pink champagne!

But Diva cannot be on form just now, as she has missed two opportunities to give strategic guidance to the Silver Spirit management. In conversation with the head butler she failed to mention the dust on the bathroom shelf, the less than thorough vacuuming and the persistent stain on the worktop. At lunch time, the executive chef was standing outside La Terrazza – although not engaging with guests – and she did not tell him about the missing grilled peaches. Perhaps the blueberry pancakes made up for them.

Regular readers will remember that on a previous cruise Diva brought along an electric toothbrush with no brush head. This time, TSH brought a brush head but has now lost it. So he is reduced to using a manual toothbrush bought on board.

The background music throughout the ship is as dreary and old fashioned as ever. Bad covers of USA rat pack, mostly.  If Royal Caribbean are trying to attract a younger set of guests they will need to do better. It was astonishing that within an hour in Panorama lounge this morning, TSH and Diva heard both Ed Sheeran and Queen. ‘It’s a kind on magic’. They made sure to tell the bar staff how much they appreciated the change.

The sea has been calmer than anticipated and perhaps TSH and Diva did not need their precautionary Stugeron.

The crew make a run for it

In Falmouth, TSH and Diva made it to the beach and promenade area and took a good look at the Brend hotel for future reference. This is their favourite UK hotel chain – like a cruise on land – but they have not stayed at the Falmouth one yet.

The days on the ship have been filled with Tai Chi, development of TSH’s steam engine website and Diva’s work on her astronomy course. She has already upset the course director by asking too many questions (she made constructive suggestions about how to improve the presentation of the maths) and has been told to spend some time improving her maths and IT skills. For those readers who are not aware, Diva has a BSc in Mathematics and had a long career in IT. War has been declared.

The prettiest view of Fishguard is from the ship, so TSH and Diva remained on board to enjoy it. However, some of the crew, who have not been allowed off the Silver Spirit for months, were treated to a short excursion to climb a hill and look down at the sea and the ship. As one put it: ‘We were so happy to breathe fresh air’. They have access to very little outside space. One of the older waiters (25 years with Silversea) at dinner was complaining about aching legs from the climb.

The spectacular sail-in to Greenock was enhanced by the lone piper at the quayside – a feature of most of the Scottish ports so far. Someone from the US asked where the pipers were – he could not believe that so much noise came from one person and one instrument.

On their 20^th wedding anniversary, Diva and TSH had pink champagne, a chocolate cake and a lot of fuss from the waiters.