Caronia cruise :
April 30 untill May 4 :
By Jochen Gielen

Day 1 :
I left home at 07.00 to drive to Brussels Airport (where I work) , once there I experienced the great SN Brussels Airlines service at the airport and on the flight from Brussels to Southampton of course the great service of British Airways.
On arrival in Southampton it was raining like never before but I managed to meet up with SS Lewis and we had few hours to talk about ships , airplanes , ships , travel , ships and Cunard ships of course. Once inside the QE2 Terminal Cunard service became visible , excellent of course , and onboard Caronia everything went from good to better. The passengers are about 60 % over 50 , 30 % between 30 and 50 , and 10 % under 30. I have 5 great tablemates including some younger people. Dinner was very nice of course and after that and an evening deck walk I had good night sleep. The speed of the ship between Southampton and Guernsey was most of the time just above 15 knots.

Day 2 :
Breakfast in the dining room was of course stylish and rich , after dropping anchor the tender service was delayed for half an hour because of the fog , after the fog lifted the tenders sailed out and I went ashore at St. Peter Port to see the harbour and another classic visitor , the Black Watch from Fred. Olsen Cruise Line. I spent most of my time ashore at the Lighthouse and Castle Cornet with the 5 museums and of course I took a lot of photographs. After I returned to the ship I took a long walk on deck to see the great views on the islands around us and the Black Watch. Dinner was even more stylish today with the informal dress code and I had a great evening with my tablemates , after that just a calm drink at the White Star Bar and then to my cabin for a night at sea with a slow speed of only 7 knots.

Day 3 :
Today no port , just a full day at a calm sea with a slow 8 knots speed. Skipped breakfast for some sleeping , then a short deck walk and a photo tour of the ship. Lunch in the Dining room and a long chat with the tablemates. Because the sun was shining in the right direction I spent almost 3 hours just relaxing on the Sun Deck when I realised it was only 45 minutes until the Captain’s reception in the Ballroom , so I went back to the cabin and got changed (formal night) to meet Captain Nick Bates and enjoy a nice dinner after the reception. When dinner was over I really needed something nice and relaxing , like the show in the Ballroom of course wich was really great. And after some late night comedy (also in the Ballroom) I went to bed.

Day 4 :
Grey morning today when we arrived in Le Havre (France) , but breakfast was very good again and after that I went off the ship to see Le Havre City Centre and I also searched for the 2 lightships and the Titanic tender Nomadic , I found them of course , before getting back onboard I looked around the little cruise terminal where they have 3 improvised shops when there’s a Cruise ship in port and I bought some Cunard memorabilia. When back onboard I had a little deck walk when I saw the P&O ferry Pride of Portsmouth come in and turn in front of Caronia’s bow and of course also some freighters. When we left Le Havre it was raining again with a strong wind so I didn’t stay on deck very long but every time I hear the whistle of a Cruise ship I get the shivers , that’s the real voice of a ship and it sounds fantastic.
Back inside I took a shower and got dressed up for dinner (Casual) , my tablemates and I promised to be at breakfast table at 07.30 in the morning to meet one last time. After dinner I went for a deck walk again and soon realised it was already 23.30 so I went back to my cabin for a little TV and then fell asleep.