When Queen Elizabeth left Southampton several hours late on Wednesday, after waiting for a special train carrying 300 passengers from snowbound Scotland and the north of England, I speculated on Twitter that if it had been just 30 people, they may have missed the boat.
As it turns out, I hit the nail on the head. Captain Chris Wells told guests at his cocktail party last night for passengers travelling in Grills class that there were indeed 30 passengers who failed to make it to the Ocean Terminal on time.
Their attempts to catch up with the newest Cunard ship at Vigo and Lisbon were thwarted by the wildcat strike among Spanish air traffic controllers, so they have probably had to return home with some unexpected extra time for their Christmas shopping.
Without them, there are a total of 1,915 passengers on board, 77 short of full double-occupancy capacity. Those from the UK number 1,509 and there are 110 from the US. The biggest number of foreign passengers is from Japan – there are 160 aboard, together with a Cunard international ambassador who repeats the captain’s announcements in their language.
We are being looked after by a crew of 1,013, from 53 nations.
The ship is on a high state of alert for the dreaded norovirus, and the captain has broadcast a number of advisory messages on the public address throughout the day. It would appear that members of the ship’s entertainment company are among those who have been struck down, as tonight’s performances of Sing – featuring 19 musicians and four dancers – has been called off and will now take place on Tuesday, according to entertainment director Amanda Reid.
If it had been planned for tomorrow night, there’s a chance it would have been cancelled for different reasons. Following a blustery and thundery day in Cadiz, Captain Wells is forecasting a rough crossing to Gran Canaria tomorrow.
We have to pass through a huge band of cloud and rain associated with a deep depression which will bring winds approaching Force 8, and a four metre swell which will have the ship rocking and rolling a bit.
Shame I forgot to pack the Stugeron !
About the Author: John Honeywell
John Honeywell is a travel writer specialising in cruise ships and cruise travel. Winner of CLIA UK's Contribution to Cruise award 2017.
Oh my gosh! I will be coming down from Scotland to catch her on January 5th. I hope the weather acts right then! Missing the boat on a crossing is a bad thing.