Day 5

  Atlantic Ocean, United States
Tuesday, August 12, 2008

I'm beginning to dread the friendly room service knock at my door. It comes much to early! Regardless, I'm still secretly glad it comes because it forces me to leave my all too comfortable bed. During the evening the wind had begun to pick up and for the first time I actually felt like I was on a ship in the middle of the Atlantic. It was a slow smooth rock that just induced sound sleep. What shocked me was when I turned on the TV for the "Report from the Bridge" (Where you can find out the temperature, wind speed, time etc) and found out we were experiencing 18-20ft swells! On any other ship we would have really been rocking and rolling but on the QM2 it was only slightly more noticeable. I again ate my breakfast and rolled over after setting my alarm. 
 

Interview with Jennie Fosket

An hour later I felt more alive and after a refreshing shower was ready to roll. All the same, I took my time doing my hair and left my cabin just a little before noon. Today was packed with appointments. My first for the day was the formal interview with Jennie Foskett. A long time member of the Cunard family she grew up as the Chief Purser's daughter on the QE2 and now works as the Personal Assistant to the Hotel Manager Robert Howie. From a young age a position with Cunard was the only career choice she considered. Working on a ship with so many people that she knew from her childhood has "been interesting" as many of the senior officers and long time employees remind her often of her childhood antics! She is talkative and funny and enjoys mingling with passengers at various cocktail parties and events. As could be expected, she is much saddened by the retirement of her childhood home to Dubai later this year.  The interview is on video and will be posted shortly.. As soon as our meeting was over I had just enough time for lunch (Can you guess what and where?) before having to show up for the last immigration call. Cunard carries British Immigration officials onboard during Eastbound crossings so that guests can avoid the long lines on the last day that plagues most ships. Immigration is held over the course of 2 days and if you miss it there is a catch up day (but try not to miss the first ones as they don't like that!) 
 

My favorite picture. Notice the rough seas!

Once Immigration was done I returned to my room to (quickly) agonize over what to wear to my next interview. The whimsical brown cotton sundress? Black pencil skirt with kimono style cotton top? Just what does one wear when interviewing the Captain of the grandest ocean liner at sea? I settled for a knee length black silk dress and paired it with black and silver heels and a blue/green necklace. After carefully touching up my hair and makeup I left to meet the Captain's secretary, Emily, on A Stairwell on Deck 12. From there she escorted me through a very discreet door way and into a narrow hall off of which was another door way into which we entered. I was greeted warmly by Captain and Mrs. Rynd into their cozy "home", a comfortable stateroom with an office space, wet bar and living room in one area and what I assumed to be a bedroom and bath in another room. The décor was tastefully done, neither luxurious nor scarce. On a small table in the living room was laid out the most beautiful setting for tea. The Cunard Wedgewood china was set carefully on a white linen table cloth which was also the backdrop for a silver tray of the most delectable sweets, another silver bowl held fresh scones with the dishes of clotted cream and jam close at hand. An impressive array of sandwiches where displayed on three tiers of silver and a vase of fresh flowers finished the table. It was a display fit for a queen!  
 
What I thought was going to be a more rushed formal interview turned out to be a lovely social visit. After selecting a plate of the delicate edibles I sat on the couch to the diagonal of the Captain and his wife who sat in two club chairs with a small table between them. I was served a cup of peppermint tea by Mrs. Rynd, excuse me... Julie. (I was quickly corrected!) Because I had entered their home on what was obviously a special visit I kept my camera in it's bag and just relaxed to enjoy the afternoon. We talked about life onboard ship and since this has been a long time career for Captain Rynd we also discussed the challenges of raising a family from/at sea. The Rynd's have 3 children in their young to mid twenties who currently live in Australia although they come onboard ship to visit from time to time. As it turns out Julie was the one he credits most for the raising of the family as he was often gone so much of the time and with nothing near the communication advancements we enjoy now. Julie really is a wonder woman who has been known to fly for 24 hours and upon arriving home cook a roast dinner for the family. I don't know how she manages! While on holiday back in Australia (Julie's home) they always take time to visit the Captain's birth country of New Zealand to hike in the mountains and go boating. The Captain also enjoys fishing and according to the bartenders in a to-remain-nameless-bar he received a new fishing rod as a birthday present from his wife this year. Both of the Rynds expressed that they so enjoyed the mountains streams, lakes and wildlife of New Zealand because it was such a vast change from the endless ocean that surrounds them daily. On the same token, they enjoy returning to sea because it is a dramatic change from the more dry and arid Australia. Their next holiday is coming up soon and they are looking forward to meeting the newest member of the family...a new puppy!
 
One of the questions that I asked was if they could tell me of a special or odd request that they had received from a guest. As it turns out, they were at that moment fulfilling just such a thing! A guest onboard that had worked

Officer Ned, the escort of my visit.

while a young boy on the Ivernia had requested the opportunity to "polish some brass" as that was his old job onboard ship in the 1950s and was at that very moment polishing the bell from the first Queen Elizabeth that now hangs on a wall on the bridge. At 5:00pm our social visit came to an end but before I left I was escorted down to another doorway and allowed another very special visit that made my husband very jealous! (I was asked not to expound upon this too much since it was a privilege very rarely extended) It was during this visit that I took one of my favorite pictures of the ship shared above.
 
I said goodbye to the Captain and Julie and thanked them for a most amazing afternoon before I was again escorted back through the door to the rest of the ship. It had been a wonderful afternoon! Alas, I could not revel in it too long as tonight was another formal night proceeded by the Senior Officer's cocktail party that was being held at 7:30pm in the G32. I had to rush to be ready on time! Tonight's dress choice was a silver and black satin gown with a black net overlay adorned with small sparkles. Ballet flats and black gloves finished the look.
 
While mingling during the party I meet a young cadet who was like a school boy allowed out for a recess. He was obviously enjoying the opportunity to dress his best, have a glass of champagne and mix freely with the guests. I learned from him that the process of becoming an officer has really not changed much in over 300 years. They require their officers to know every job on the ship that they would be overseeing so the philosophy is: if you don't know how to do it yourself how are you going to oversee someone who is? So, they polish brass, swab the decks, sand and paint the hull and do whatever is required of them by their senior officers. The one thing that has changed is the length of the apprenticeship which has been reduced from seven to three years. Once completed our young cadet will be a third officer and was clearly excited to be working for Cunard. "You can't get better than this" was his comment on the position.  Just before leaving for dinner I also met the doctor onboard, who bestowed upon me one of the nicest compliments I had ever received while pregnant.
 
Dinner tonight was in the Britannia at Mr. Lainer's table where we were joined by Berndt and Mindy and three other couple's, all of whom were interesting and fun dinner companions. Particularly Wendy & Fulko Hew who I sat next too and enjoyed a fun conversation. Since I was yet again not going to be joining my new table the Maitre d' of the Britannia arranged to have the bottle of bubbly that was placed in my room the first day (that I obviously couldn't drink and had been sitting in my fridge) to be served at table 17 with my regrets for my absence. If you dine with Rudi Lainer expect to have a long dinner as conversations inevitably go long, not that you notice the time at all! Following dinner was a drink in the Chart Room with the sounds of a Jazz trio in the background. While the others sipped martini's I enjoyed a fruit cocktail. We parted and as had become my custom I stepped into the Queens Room to enjoy the music before heading to bed. I was really worn out today and since tomorrow will be my last day onboard with plenty already scheduled I want to make the most of it. I left the Queens Room after only a few moments and retired.