Holiday Fun On Board The Queen Mary 2

The Queen Mary 2 is beautifully decorated for the holidays, and the Captain and crew created a fun holiday environment for all to enjoy. Santa landed on board the ship on Christmas morning bearing gifts for all of the children. Later in the day there was a classical guitar concert, later a lavish tea time in the beautiful Queen's Room ballroom, and finally a special menu for Christmas day dinner.

Merry Christmas From The Queen Mary 2!

Dan and I wish all of our loved ones and friends a very Merry Christmas. This morning we’re at sea for a third day en route to our first port, St. Kitts. We enjoyed a beautiful rainbow off the starboard side just before breakfast this morning. Yesterday the festivities on board included the passengers singing of carols in the Grand Foyer led by members of the crew. Earlier in the day we walked two miles around the promenade deck and then visited the gym for some stretching, weight lifting and cardio. We also attended an interesting lecture entitled “The World of State Ceremonial Music, UK,” presented by Lt. Col. Graham Jones, MBE, who was the former director of the Royal Guards bands. In the afternoon it was tea time in the Queen’s Room with delicious finger sandwiches and confections. The ship’s orchestra provided live music for ballroom dancing. Finally we joined our friends from Baltimore, Franklin and Chad, and the rest of our travel group for dinner in the beautiful Britannia Dining room.

On Board The Queen Mary 2

This is our fourth voyage on the magnificent QM2. We boarded on Saturday, December 22 after driving from Philadelphia to the Red Hook cruise ship terminal in Brooklyn, NY. Our friends Franklin and Chad, who live in Baltimore, invited us to join them on this cruise. We met them when we arrived in Brooklyn and we all went out to lunch at the surprisingly good Red Hook Lobster Pound restaurant before boarding the ship. The ship sailed Saturday evening and will take three days to arrive on Wednesday in St. Kitts, the first of five ports that we will visit on this cruise. Life on board the QM2 is different than on most cruise ships, as the Cunard company strives to maintain the atmosphere of a luxury liner from days past. During the day the ship offers a series of guest speakers on various topics. We enjoyed a presentation on Christopher Columbus on Sunday. In the evening there is a dress code in the restaurants and bars, and there will be three or four festive formal attire evenings during the 12 day duration of the cruise. Deck 7, the promenade deck, is a favorite of ours for walking. Three laps equal 1.1 miles. Our group from Pied Piper Travel dines together in the evenings so we have a set table arrangement. Our comfortable cabin, a sheltered balcony, affords lots of space for all of the extra clothing we brought along. The food quality is noticeably better on this voyage, which our friend Franklin attributes to a change in the head chef. Today, Christmas Eve, there will be some holiday festivities on board including the singing of Christmas carols in the grand foyer. -Jim

Holiday Tree

Early Snow Falls!

What happened to Autumn?

We "Good Americans"

The news is filled daily with more and more evidence of our slide into Facism. Yet we stand by hoping that our votes will somehow save us from ourselves. However, we may well be kidding ourselves big time. Are we not "good Americans" as we stand by while Trump's ICE stormtroopers tear families apart, while he demonizes Transgender people, incites his followers to violence, heaps destructive lie upon lie daily, attacks the media, openly declares that he is a nationalist, and more? We should be in the streets shutting down business as usual and filling the jails with our bodies.

Sardinia, Italy, August 30, 2018

We last visited Sardinia approximately 30  years ago. This morning we docked in Cagliari on the Southern coast of the island. Dan is taking a tour of the town while Jim opted for a few hours at the beach and swimming. Later today the final aftetnoon tea dance party will take place. The theme will be music from the disco period in the 70s, so it should be a lot of fun. We'll be dining with our friends Alan and Geoffrey from England once again. We met them on a cruise and we've sailed with them a couple of times before. For the final event of this cruise this evening we'll see Airotics, a talented couple that performs acrobatics. Tomorrow (Friday) morning early we begin our trek back to Philadelphia. We enjoyed the cruise very much and we'll be coming home with many fond memories.

Palermo, Sicily, August 29, 2018

Our excursion included a brief tour of the city with sights such as the Norman-Romanesque Cathedral, the Teatro Massimo, parks and villas. But since we've visited Palermo a couple of other times, we signed up for a "Secrets of Sicilian Cuisine" tour. A chef at the di Salvo villa, owned by a Baron, showed our group how to prepare tomato sauce, eggplant Parmesan, veal rollatini, panelle (chickpea flour squares,) and almond cakes. The demonstration was followed by a lavish luncheon which included assorted antipasto (with a savory caponata,) pasta, veal dishes, wines, and a rich, thick ice cream covered with a delicious heavy chocolate sauce. - Dan

Valetta, Malta, August 28, 2018

Dan's excursion in the beautiful limestone city of Valetta started with a ride on a lift to the Barraka Gardens, with their spectacular view of the harbor and cities opposite. A walk through the broad streets to the co-cathedral of St. John pleasantly reminds one of the past grandeur of this fortress city built by the Knights of St. John and the islands other rulers from the Turks to the French and English. The cathedral is a simple, dignified Renaissance building on the outside but with the most ornate Baroque decoration inside. It also contains one of Caravaggio's masterpieces, "The Beheading of St. John," his largest painting and the only one he ever signed, painted especially for the Knights. A visit to the lavish Piccola Rocca Palace concluded Dan's tour before he returned to the ship. Jim spent the day on board a privately chartered boat that visited Malta's beautiful Blue Grotto area, where swimming and an on board picnic ensued. - Dan