A lovely, relaxing last day at sea. The weather was so good. 21C by midday and sunny. A very slight sea. We spent most of the day travelling from south and east of Ireland to Bishop;’s Rock and then along the Cornish Coast, past Plymouth at about 5pm and onwards up the Channel.

We went to one of the morning lectures on international terrorism which was very good. She is a fantastic speaker. Then we had our last sushi lunch, a mooch around the shops and then laid out on the deck in the sun. It was gorgeous and totally unexpected. We definitely didn’t expect this sort of weather so close to the UK at the end of October. At 3pm we went to a wine tasting event that Cunard had sent us invitations for. We tasted two white wines and 2 red, from around the world. The sommeliers gave us a lot of info on each one and tasting notes. After that we went back to the stern deck and pegged out again.
Finally gave up at about 430 and came back to the cabin to pack. It didn’t take long. We got 2 cases and the Igloo outside the door within the hour and then we had a rest. The last case went outside the cabin after we turned in. They all get collected and will be waiting for us in the terminal tomorrow. It’s a great service.
The show in the theatre was early to allow for packing etc. We went to the 7pm one. It was a split between The Knights and Mike Doyle. They were both absolutely superb. We really like The Knights. We’d pay money to see them. We sat in the front row which was brave considering Mike Doyle does comedy as well as music. A lot of fun.
As soon as the show ended we legged it upstairs to the Commodore cocktail lounge to meet 2 of our table companions for drinks. Very nice gin martinis. A lovely American couple who split their time between summers in upstate New York and winters near Geneva in Switzerland. They are on the same sailing as us home from the States next year so we will see them again.
A last dinner. I had lamb shank which was very nice. Back on the big diet as soon as I get home. I’ve been pretty good this whole trip but frankly I just have to look at food and the pounds go on. It will come off… slowly….. but hopefully surely.
Back to the cabin and the last case is out. We’ve had a fabulous crossing. This is definitely the way to come back from the States if you can afford the extra week. If you factor in the food, the entertainment and the accommodation it is really superb value. We paid about £800 each for the week. Well… the flight would have been about 400. And then we’d have come back with jetlag etc. This way we land in Southampton tomorrow already well on UK time and ready to go. Highly highly recommended.