DAY 1
Travelling to Waterloo station today in my Uber was an exceptionally pleasant experience. Overnight a frost had settled and the air was crisp, cold and fresh and the landscape was covered in a dust of icy frost crystals. A lovely morning mist had formed with the sun beams glowing through the trees. My journey was made more pleasant by the fact that the majority of vehicles were off the road as people were still off from work over Christmas and that rush hour traffic queues were not forming.
After arriving at Waterloo station I made my way to a local coffee shop and leisurely enjoyed my morning coffee whilst people watching. At 09:35 hours I made my way to platform 9 to catch the train to Southampton Central. I work my way down to the front of the train in the hope that I will pick a non-busy carriage however as the journey progresses I appear to be a magnet for noisy kids as the parents decide to base camp around my solo seat (instead of moving down the carriage to another section of the 100 free seats). Due to the amount of luggage I decide to stay in place and put up with the disruption. It is here that my trip begins on the iconic Queen Elizabeth cruise ship.
I have spent many years working onboard cruise ships both onboard and as a freelancer writing enrichment programmes for the Cunard brand however this is a rare occasion where I will be travelling over the new year as a guest of a work colleague. Generally I am not a fan of New Years Eve due to the large crowds and can’t wait for it to be over however this year I felt like doing something different.
I have spent many months working onboard the Queen Victoria and Queen Mary 2 however little time has been spent onboard the Queen Elizabeth. Pulling up at the Ocean terminal in Southampton I notice that the building is already busy with disembarking guests from the previous voyage. The iconic Queen Elizabeth ship towers above the building and still looks relatively new compared to the other two ships in the fleet. Compared to the Queen Mary 2 (my favourite) the Queen Elizabeth appears a lot smaller and looks like it has many windows.
After being greeted by my friend Inigo we checked in and he took me to the cabin which I would be sharing for the next 5 nights. The stateroom was a reasonable size and very luxurious. Even though the room had no windows it still appeared spacious and comfortable.
It isn’t long whilst being onboard that you begin to get sucked in to the routine. At 4pm the mandatory boat drill takes place and I go to the library with my life jacket and get signed off the checklist.
As the drill comes to the end I can hear the engines starting up and the ship begins to vibrate. As the ship pulls away from the dock I feel a sense of relief that we are now officially on our way to Amsterdam for the New Year celebrations and one hell of a party awaits us ….
DAY 2 – At Sea
“Your looking cuddly”, “You used to be so much thinner”, “Your looking heavy”. All through Christmas I have had this mentioned to me by various friends and family. After arriving to the Queen Elizabeth my friend onboard mentioned (out of the blue) that I should lose some weight as it would help get my confidence back. To be honest I was a little hurt by this suggestion but after giving it some careful thought for some time I realised that he was absolutely right. Christmas is always a time that many people overindulge with rich foods and drink and it tends to carry on over in to the new year. I have come away for new year to spend the new year onboard the prestigious cruise ship Queen Elizabeth. For anybody who has ever travelled onboard a cruise ship knows that you have access to an amazing selection of foods all accessible 24 hours a day. After thinking about my friends wise words and considering my location being on a cruise ship I decided to step up to the mark and begin my health regime (with the intention of losing weight) immediately. Some people may say that this was not really the ideal location or situation to begin this dramatic lifestyle choice however after heaving for breath whilst reaching for my trainers I decided that there was no time like the present.
The ship boasts a range of activities promoting health and well being including a spa and gym (as well as various onboard activities). I decided (after a healthy breakfast) to hit the gym. Unlike many gyms at home you do not have to travel to get to the ship gym so you can get back into your exercise routine easily in small stages. You can even begin by completing 20 mins then going back to your cabin for a short rest and then go back again as many times as you like. Being a sea day where you cannot get off the vessel the gym is an excellent activity for guests to indulge in. After 30 minutes on the running machine I started to feel the blood pumping around my body. Overall I spent 1 hour on this activity and came out feeling invigorated and ready to conquer the world.
After a short break it was time to continue with my health regime and book into the onboard spa. I didn’t want to experience any treatments however I did want to use the opportunity to relax and clear my mind. The spa boasts a hydrotherapy pool, sauna, various steam rooms, hot tile chairs and relaxation lounge. After a strenuous workout I was aching and decided to use the hydrotherapy pool. Placing one foot inside the water I realised it was very warm and gradually sank into the green lime coloured water slowly. The experience was delightful and I made full use of the water jets and water massage chairs. Overall the experience was delightful and I felt like I was walking on air when I left the area.
As I had a healthy filling breakfast I decided that for lunch I would just have an orange and a plum. For the rest of the day I felt invigorated to continue with writing for my blog and taking photographs of the ship. My room mate wants me to go back to the gym when he finishes work at 6pm. This is the great thing about being onboard a ship is that you can go back as many times as you like and you don’t have the effort of travelling far to the local gym or health club.
Cruising on a Cunard voyage gives the traveller the perfect opportunity to don glamorous evening wear. Cunard prides itself by offering the guest the traditional cruising experience enjoyed by travel lovers for over one hundred years. The Queen Elizabeth has many formal evenings onboard and this gives the guest the perfect opportunity to dig out the sequins, diamond necklaces or tuxedos and show off to the world. Take advantage of having the perfect photograph taken of yourself against the ships railings as opportunities like this cannot be ignored.
Dinner in the Britannia dining room is hosted over two sittings to cater for people who prefer eating earlier or later in the evening. The shows / acts are also scheduled to cater for both the dinner seatings. What I love about these formal evenings is that it’s a great opportunity to people watch and see some stylish (and not so stylish) guests dressed in formal attire. I find it very difficult packing for a Cunard voyage as it involves packing formal wear, semi-formal wear, jackets, informal wear, sports kit and beach wear. This proves a challenge particularly if you are relying on public transport to get you to the ship or if you only have a limited baggage allowance with an airline. The cruise line do email before the voyage begins a voyage planner with all the information you need about what to pack. I start my evening by wearing a black tuxedo, sequinned waistcoat and black and white patent shoes. Beginning with cocktails in the champagne bar, the officers who I am drinking with discuss the days events.
As a group I notice that we are getting a lot of attention from the guests as some of the officers have stripes on their shoulders. Guests approach the officers and start a conversation with them. It’s amazing to watch how the guests go to chat with the person with the most stripes at first completely bypassing anybody not in stripes. The group disperses and head for the dining room leaving the guests behind. During dinner we are undisturbed by guests as their attention is directed towards the Captains table. After dinner we retire to the Ward room for cocktails and discuss the events from the day in more detail.
DAY 3 – AMSTERDAM
The ship arrives in the port of Amsterdam before sunrise and already the countdown to the new year celebrations onboard have began with the ship being decorated and prepared for the party onboard in the evening. Novelty items such as hats, tiaras, necklaces and horns were distributed around the ships and the nets were hung on the ceilings in the Queens room and Grand Lobby for the balloon release at midnight. Some guests were up very early and had booked into the salon for a haircut or beauty treatment. The ship was buzzing with excitement as guests looked forward to the evenings activities. Amsterdam is a great city to party in. The Dutch are very liberal and laid back people who take pride in their city. Even though the weather is overcast, dull, grey and cold the city appears fresh and clean with very little litter strewn on the streets or graffiti on walls. The ship docks at the rear of the Central Station. Today there are two ships in the port; both the Queen Elizabeth and the Ventura. Upon leaving the port on foot I notice that the ships (apart from the nose of the Ventura) are completely hidden from view tucked behind the buildings. I am with a group of people who work on the ship and we have decided to spend the midnight celebrations watching the fireworks in Dam Square. 
We begin our evening with pre-drinks in the officers Ward room and then wrap up warm and head down to Dam Square. The walk takes about 30 minutes due to the volume of people flocking into the city centre. We find a great position at the side of the square with full view of the Palace. The atmosphere is electric and the crowd are excited. Fireworks are being lit all over the square by both the organisers and the public. Some fireworks are landing in the crowd which I find disturbing. At ten minutes to midnight I decide to capture the action and share the moment on social media using Facebook live. I can see other people are already using this medium and it takes a few minutes to connect probably due to the volume of people. As the countdown to midnight begins the fireworks start getting more frantic and louder and the crowd starts to cheer and work up to a frenzy. We poor a glass of champagne into plastic glasses and raise a toast to the new year whilst dodging the stray firework landing in the crowd!
Day 4 – Zeebrugge
The final full day of this mini adventure begins with a healthy breakfast consisting of fresh
kippers and a poached egg served on rye bread. All this was washed down with a piping hot coffee on the Lido deck of the ship – delicious! I do not normally cook kippers in my London apartment as the smell of the fish lingers around for hours so taking advantage of the kippers served onboard was a bonus!
I planned on spending the day with Inigo and his team mates however this morning the crew were being exercised in an emergency boat drill. From previous experience onboard these drills do take a few hours to complete so time would be limited onshore.
Inigo and the team finished the morning shift at about 12pm and we all met at the gangway to disembark. As time was limited we decided to stay local to the ship instead of visiting Brugge (half hour away on a coach). The local seaside town closest to Zeebrugge is Blankenberge which took us 15 minutes by coach to reach the centre.
Blankenberge is a small town situated on the coast, it has a large sandy beach, however it is overshadowed by the very large industrial port where we were docked.
The entire Belgian coast has a selection of gorgeous sandy beaches and each of the towns on the coast have their own characters. Blankenberge is a more family orientated seaside town with a selection of kids amusements along the sea front. Apparently when you get to the Belgium coast there is a tram that runs the length of the entire coast so you can move between towns should you want to see more than one town.
On arrival into the town we headed from the local waffle shop to experience the infamous Belgium waffles and coffee. The waffle selection is vast with a huge menu of toppings and flavours to choose from. I selected the standard Belgium chocolate waffle with minimum cream which again was washed down with a cappuccino. The others sampled a selection of waffles, mussels and Belgium beer (obviously not in that order).
Once on the ship and ready to depart I decided to sit on the deck in the hot tub and watch it sail out of port. The outside temperature was -2 degrees however the hot tub was lovely and warm with steam rising into the atmosphere. The perfect end to a fantastic New Years break.
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