Had a lovely meal at the Crooked Billet on Sunday with our wonderful family. Love you all lots 💕

Started today in an amazing relaxed state, packing done, house almost ready to leave for 109 days, finger & toe nails looking perfect & then OMG, the unexpected email from Cunard to say we needed to produce copies of the Sri Lanka & Indonesian etas on embarkation at Southampton😲

Only 2 days to go, panic stations !!! We were led to believe these would be done on board ship. Long story short - 2 hours of uploading photos, converting documents into PDF’s & over 100 US dollars lighter we ( the royal one !! 🤣) have eventually sorted everything, phew 😮‍💨

After a glass of red wine & a much needed chocco, normal service is resumed 🤪

Yesterday we finished packing, defrosted the freezer, blitzed everywhere & got the house shipshape (pardon the pun🤪🤪) before going to Jess & Rich’s for a lovely & much appreciated dinner cooked by Jess. Thank you my lovely 😋💕

Today is the start of our big adventure 😃 We met up with our “partners in crime” Amanda & Ian at Woolley Edge this morning before setting off in convoy for Southampton.

I am pleased to say we have all now arrived safely in Southampton & are looking forward to a great meal at the \240lovely Italian restaurant we go to with Yvonne. We would like to say a big thank you to Yvonne❤️ for allowing us to to park both cars on her drive for the duration of our cruise.

Soooo excited 😊 We have boarded the Queen Victoria & arrived at our Stateroom 5109. Our dining table number in the Britannia Restaurant is 623 & we dine at 8.15pm.

We have just found a complimentary bottle of champagne in our fridge & lots of lovely welcome notes from the ship crew. Cheers everyone 🥂💕

On our way across the Atlantic, let’s hope the sea is kind to us 🤞

7 sea days on this beautiful ship ahead of us. The decor is amazing. I feel as though we have gone back to another era 🤪

Day 18 & we have arrived in Bermuda 🇧🇲

What a lovely colonial island 😊.

We all opted to share a minibus with fellow travellers to go to the capital Hamilton.

After a somewhat bumpy journey, with a would be Sterling Moss !! we spent a lovely few hours of retail therapy, taking in the sights & sampling the local lager & wine.

We decided we would try another mode of transport to return to the ship so we jumped on the local ferry for a different view.

We have arrived at Port Canaveral. Our first stop in the USA 🇺🇸 so the whole ship must clear immigration & customs.

Everyone must disembark for this process & no one is allowed back on ship until everyone has been checked. Could be a long morning 🤪

The tannoy has just informed us it’s our turn so armed with our passports & Esta’s we are on our way.

Yeah 👍 they must like us because we have been allowed through with a “have a nice day” 😊.

Unfortunately it could be a couple of hours before we can get back on Ship & we don’t have a trip booked here so we are heading for the shuttle bus to see where it takes us.

We have been dropped at the Ron Jon surf shop at Cocoa beach 🏖️ It’s been a long time since we were here. 1990 if my calculations are correct.

Fort Lauderdale here we come 😊 So looking forward to our Everglades trip.

Bright Orange stickers with the number 4 Cunard on them. Our excursion has begun. Follow the lady with the orange 🍊 umbrella. Feel like a proper tourist now 😂. All I need is a selfie stick !!! Gutted I forgot to bring the one Richard offered to lend me.

Just met Captain Anne who will be driving our wind boat. Asked her if Chris & I could sit at the end of the seat to get some good photos. Bless her, she kindly obliged & I had a great seat. Feel a good tip coming her way 😜

What a great experience, thoroughly enjoyed the Everglades it was amazing 🤩

Good morning Aruba 😊🏖️☀️, what a beautiful island. The boys are going to find a bar to sample the local beer. Balashi which is supposed to resemble Heineken & Chill which tastes like Corona 🍺.

Amanda & I however have a much more exciting day planned 🤪 an all inclusive day on a private island relaxing on a sunbed by a beautiful beach, sipping tropical drinks & cocktails 🍹. Well it would be rude not to 😜

After a short boat trip across the bay we landed at the jetty & made our way to a gorgeous sandy cove where we managed to bag two sunbeds under a cabana right next to the sea. Absolute bliss ❤️

What a wonderful day 😊

Today we transit the Panama Canal. A mixture of amazing lock constructions, rainforest wildlife, lakes & mini islands.

A ridiculous contrast of nature at its best with a seemingly never ending queue of massive cruise ships & even bigger freight ships waiting to leave the Caribbean Sea, cross through the canal & finally arrive at the Pacific Ocean later in the day.

It is a very slow process but an amazing experience.

The Panama Canal webcam captured us ( the Queen Victoria) going through the locks.

Ooh!! we have a surprise change to the itinerary. We will be spending tomorrow in Panama City 😊so the ship’s under parts can be cleaned. Maritime requirements for some countries in the South Pacific Ocean.

Cunard have worked really hard to arrange short notice excursions for its guests & we have opted for a boat ride on the Panama Canal to see the wildlife

After a short coach ride we reached the nature reserve where we boarded our sedate looking boat.

Hola Guatemala 🇬🇹 No excursion today but the area around the port that has been specially developed for tourists looks gorgeous 😃

5 days at sea ahead of us now but that’s not a problem as we thoroughly enjoy our sea days 😊

We are going to miss our stop in Cabo San Lucas Mexico 🇲🇽 due to our unscheduled day in Panama City.

A lovely sunny day today spent on board ship

Today we had to divert to Cabo San Lucas bay so a patient with appendicitis could be picked up by a coastguard tender & taken to shore for an emergency operation 🙁

It was doubly sad as the man & his wife were doing the world cruise. We all wish him a speedy recovery.

The stop was something special for us as I managed to catch a whale 🐳 on camera, just before it disappeared under the ship.

So looking forward to today in the wonderful city of San Francisco 🇺🇸.

Sailing into SF early morning

San Francisco day 2 & what a difference a day makes. What happened to the gorgeous weather

OMG I can’t believe we have finally arrived at the place I have always wanted to visit. Can’t wait to see everything you have to offer HAWAII 🏖️

We sailed into Honolulu on Ohau island at sunrise. I was soooo excited 😛 I was up at 6.30am.

Lots more to see in Honolulu 😊 🇺🇸

Today we cross the equator & the international dateline & lose a whole 24 hours 😳.

There is a traditional ceremony at sea where we have to obtain permission from King Neptune & Queen Neptuna to cross the equator line.

If it is your first time across an equator line you are classed as a Pollywog & have to be initiated to become a Shellback (seaman who has crossed the equator before.

The ceremony was hilarious & involved lots of singing & dancing a court, masses of different coloured gunge, kissing a wet fish & a plunge in the ships swimming pool.

Good morning Samoa 🇼🇸, our 1st Polynesian island in the South Pacific 😊