Hectic Departure   The departure on the QE2 was hectic. As we went down with wheelchair and wheeled luggage to our lobby, the downpours came. We got a taxi during a pause in the rain, but waiting in line inside the Ship Terminal, even being in the priority check-in line because of our frequent Cunard travel didn't help us when the electrical storm took out all the computers. They handed out folding chairs and we waited for an hour. Even once we were on board we were delayed two hours in leaving because of continuing computer delays in preparing the passenger manifests to send to the head office. We didn't even go up on deck for the otherwise always scenically worthwhile departure from New York because it just wasn't worth it because of the weather. Otherwise the trip so far has been fine. I had arranged to be in the same cabin going and returning. I had checked last year that it has a straight-in entrance for the wheelchair. But to add to the hectic atmosphere, the Purser's office called as we arrived and asked if we wouldn't mind changing cabins since they needed ours to make a suite for a family. I negotiated an upgrade to a higher deck. They also gave us a shipboard credit of $150 for our trouble.

Helen Gurley Brown   The lecture program has been less stimulating than on other trips but one that we liked was by Helen Gurley Brown. She's now 81 and still very lively. She explained how she took Cosmopolitan magazine, which had been in a slump for years, and as she put it, "with no education and little ability" got it to be the leading women's magazine, now with editions in some 40-45 countries. She hasn't been editor for years, but still remains involved.

It was interesting how she started her talk. I had maneuvred the wheelchair down the center aisle in the Grand Lounge so that I was sitting on the aisle several rows from the front and Bev was in the aisle. In other words, we were in the center and visible. When Helen Gurley Brown started her talk, the very first thing she said was that she was glad to see that someone had come in a wheelchair, not because someone was in a wheelchair, but because they're getting about and coming to lectures. She said she had taken care of her younger sister for many, many years, who was in a wheelchair with polio. That's one reason why she didn't get started at Cosmo until mid-life. Needless to say, at the end Bev and I went up to the stage and she came down to say hello and shake hands.

Engineers   We once again asked to be seated at the (round) table for eight hosted by the engineers, and we were glad to see again that we had an enjoyable group of passengers. Chief Engineer John Hanvey had his wife Wendy on board this trip and hosted two nights, and Staff (= Associate) Chief Engineer Simon Todd finally got to host last night. Our table has, as usual, been one of the last to leave the dining room because of all the pleasant talk and joking. As a matter of fact, last night we were the very last.

Receptions   There is always the Captain's reception before dinner over two nights that everyone is invited to as a matter of course. Half the passengers are invited one night and the rest the other. There's the World Club reception (always at 11:30 in the morning!) that we went to (more below). But we were glad to receive special invitations under our door to the Chief Engineer's reception last night before dinner. This year it was held in the Board Room way up on the Boat Deck. We'd never been there before and had a great time. John and Wendy and their daughter formed a receiving line to greet everyone at the door. Very pleasant.

World Club   Cunard has its World Club for repeat passengers. As the cruise host announced, Cunard doesn't like repeat passengers, it loves them. The basis for the club is now how many voyages one has made with Cunard. After 1-3 one has silver status, 4-7 gold, and 8 or more, platinum. We had gotten a letter saying we were going platinum this voyage, which is why we had priority check-in (of course, we already had that with the wheelchair, anyway), and would get our pins. Sure enough, there were two red pouches on our bed one evening with the pins, which show a lion rampant. Only after we were wearing them, someone else with one pointed out that there is a diamond chip in them. Sure enough, if you stare at the lion's head long enough, something shiny begins to come into focus. I assume that's the chip.

However, I started to think more of it after I had heard the statistics. It was announced at the reception that there are now over a million members of the World Club. There was a figure like 325 gold members, I think. But I was surprised to hear that there are only 90 platinum pin holders out of that million, with Bev and me apparently being the most recent.

Captains   The former captains of the QE2 Wright and Warwick (=Warrick) are now in Miami at the head office "test driving" the Queen Mary 2 on a simulator, since she'll be going into service next January. The QE2 will travel European waters then, and the captains will be Heath, who we just met on this voyage, and McNaught. The Caronia will go out of service late next year, and in April 2005 the Queen Victoria will start to travel European waters, like the QE2. The QM2 will be the biggest, at 2620 passengers, the QE2 and the QV will be about the same size with just under 2000 passengers each. The Caronia is about 1/3 the size of these two.

Dancing   We've been going dancing at the Yacht Club again this trip. They have a band from St Lucia that does a good job. We get nice comments, even the next day. We stay till they change to recorded music at 1AM, but in this direction you lose an hour a night (for the first five of the six nights), so if you want to have a life in the morning, sleep suffers, which I no longer can abide like I could when we were working. So, for the first time ever, for six days we've taken six afternoon naps. On three evenings I joined in on the Electric Slide. I got good comments on that, too.

Eduardus   The crew is very, very international. One of the waiters at our table is from Poland, the other from South Africa. There is a heavy representation from Asia. About a third of the behind-the-scenes crew is Filipino. I went to the baggagemaster this trip, since I finally wised up. For the first time we're leaving a bag with all our dress clothes and shoes and heavy coats to be picked up on the voyage back, so we don't have to schlepp them around Italy.

The baggagemaster turns out to be Eddie. I asked him where he was from--Lithuania. I said his name couldn't be Eddie in Lithuanian. He yielded it was Eduardus, which is what I called him then. I told him we were in Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania, when we drove to the Soviet Union in 1973. He could hardly believe that they had allowed individual travelers to do that, and not just groups.

He said Cunard wanted all baggage stored on the pier in Southampton for ten pounds a bag plus two pounds a week. It would have come to about $25, and I agreed. We were getting along so well I told him I was having a big of trouble getting the new wheelchair up and down stairs without help because there were two metal pieces that protruded to the level of the wheels, and I wondered if he could help me find someone to shorten them by sawing off about an inch each. He found a Filipino crewmember who did it for me. Today when Eduardus came to our cabin to pick up the bag for storage until we return, he told me to forget the fee. He'll keep it on board and will deliver it to our cabin when we return, which is very nice. That's life on board this trip.