All Aboard!!

I seem to be nine days behind with my Blips. Sigh. 
I must try and catch up - it's like living in a time warp! And I'm forgetting things and missing the whole point of keeping a journal. Big huge sigh!


Today was finally the day for our long awaited cruise. Awaited since we stepped off the Queen Elizabeth last year and came home and booked another one!
Nanny arrived to look after the Little Misses for us and we headed off.
I was so excited to catch my first glimpse of the Queen Mary 2 as we drove through Southampton. I've dropped my mum and dad off a few times but never been on it myself.
We had to queue for quite a while to drop our car and luggage off and then queue for ages in the terminal as everyone had decided to arrive at the same time and then the gangplank came away from the ship so boarding was suspended!!
So frustrating to be sat just feet from the ship, seeing people through the windows already eating and drinking and just wanting to get on. I even had to pay for a cup of tea to keep me going!!
I met a lovely woman in the queue for the tea. She's left her three boys at home alone and - like us - was giddy to be going off for a few days relaxation. It was her first cruise and she was relieved to see that there were other - relatively - young people!
Eventually we boarded and dashed up to our cabin. Balcony on deck 11. Lovely!! Our bags were in waiting for us along with our welcome back sparkling wine!
Then it was straight to the Kings Court buffet for a late lunch!! So much scrummy food to choose from! And an ice cream machine - with cones! And juice, tea, mint tea and coffee.
After stuffing our faces we had to head back to the cabin for our life jackets, head back down for the muster drill and then back to our cabin to dump our (hopefully never to be seen again) life jackets.
It's exhausting!!
We drank Bucks Fizz and ate peanut M&Ms on the balcony as we sailed away.  Perfect!
Then it was time for an explore. We headed up to the top of the ship and walked around the decks. It all looked so beautiful in the setting sun. 
We changed for dinner - Mr K looking dashing in his dinner suit - and went to the beautiful Britannia restaurant. 
After a hilarious tour of almost the whole restaurant following a waiter who couldn't find our table (table 356 which he eventually found between table 244 and 248!!) we had a delicious dinner. Amazing paté to start and pork medallions and dauphinoise potatoes for me, soup and steak for Mr K.
We had something with custard for pudding - nine days later, wracking our brains for twenty minutes we can't remember what it was!!!!!
We had post dinner peppermint tea, coffee and as much crystallised stem ginger as we could get the waiter to give us without looking like addicts.
Then we waddled to the Commodore Club at the front of the ship for a post dinner cocktail. When we got there I decided I couldn't face it and would really rather welcome a lie-down!!! Ha ha, we're such lightweights! I had to laugh at the thought of all the old dears boogying the night away in the ballroom and nightclub while I was dead on my feet and ready for bed by 11pm.
Well they are bloody comfy beds!!!