The Adventures of Podge & Tubbs

Having weighed myself in the Gym and aghast to see that my weight was now just under 16 stone, I vowed that I would try to lose weight, and lose weight soon. 🙂

So, after a good nights sleep, we made for a leisurely breakfast (09:30) in the Spey Restaurant – Full English for me of course after which we all went for a stroll round the on board shops. Now tell me, who on earth is going to go on a 2-week cruise to the Baltic’s and then spend £27,000 on a Faberge Egg. I don’t know the answer, but I do know that it isn’t going to be me.

Weather wise, the sky was grey, grey and grey with a bit of rain and a force 6 wind. The direction of the ship in relation to the wind / waves however meant that it was actually difficult to accept that yes, we were actually at sea: It was SO still. As the day went on though, although the sky remained grey, the rain stopped and it did ‘seem’ a bit brighter and even a bit warmer.

Debbie introduced Nick & her Mum (Peggy) to ‘Dolphin’ racing, bet £4, won £4, bet £4, won £0. Still, it was surprisingly good fun. In the afternoon, Nick introduced Peggy to Bingo and won nothing. In between Debbie and Peggy had their nails done and I sat on the balcony and read my book: We do have a full and active time on these boats you know.

Oh, did I mention afternoon Tea – dainty sandwiches and scrummy cakes. This is timed just right – being half way between lunch and dinner. 🙂

So far, there has been little opportunity for photographs which is just as well as I haven’t yet worked out how to transfer them onto my laptop (forgot my card reader / cable) but I will overcome this and photos will follow.

Evening bring the infamous Captains Cocktail Party where everybody gets to dress up in their best suits and frocks a has the chance to meet Captain Olav Sovdsnes and partake in some champagne – Nice. Then it’s off to Dinner – Yum Yum. Tonight however is bonus night as we are graced with the presence of Food & Beverages Manager (Michael Emmenegger) for dinner, which means that the wine and after dinner aperitif is courtesy of Fred Olsen – Result. The initial reaction of course when an Officer of the ship sits down with you for dinner is that you have behave and listen to small talk. But no, the conversation was varied and interesting: as a result we were one of the last tables to leave the restaurant, oops.

After dinner we ‘retired’ to the Observatory Lounge for a couple of rather large brandy’s which were accompanied by a variety of cakes and  chocolates. Yummy….

And so, off to bed. Tomorrow brings with it the Kiel Canal.

Maybe, I’ll try to lose the weight tomorrow.

So, we arrived at the Cruise Terminal (predictably Early), and within 40 minutes of checking in, we on on board and in our cabins, which were all extremely well appointed and liked by all. Phew, that’s the first hurdle over and without a hitch. Debbie’s Mum seems to be adjusting quite well (this is her first time on a cruise) though she was a little daunted at the size of the ship to begin with.  She also thought the safe in her cabin was a microwave!

Anyway, having checked out the facilities, we checked out the paperwork only to find that there had been a change to the planned itinerary, though as it works out, the change isn’t too bad. Instead of going to Saaremaa, we would now be going to Kristiansand in Norway. The reason for the change was that those pesky Russkies wanted to being in one of their naval vessels into our scheduled berth in St Petersburg. Rather than cutting short our stay there, they had decided to move date around a bit which did mean sacrificing one port and finding a new one. Obviously, Fred Olsen have excellent Continuity Strategies :-).

Sailing out of the Port of Southampton, we cam away from the dockside then had to sit there and wait for the QM2 to come out of her berth before heading off to New York, leading the way round the Isle of Wight before she [QM2] turned right (starboard) for the Atlantic and we turned left (port) for the North Sea.

The excellent evening dinner was had in the Spey Restaurant where we met a waiter who remembered us from a previous Cruise of a couple of years ago. Dinner was followed by a show, which wasn’t really our cup of tea (The Can Can is a bit too raunchy for a man of my advancing years) so, as well felt tired anyway, we all gladly went off to bed for an ‘early’ night.

The next day was a Sea Day as we headed toward Germany and into the Kiel Canal.

More Soon.

Cruise Podge, Cruise.

My breathing hasn’t been so good lately hence the lack of training updates. 🙂

Will report back on the training side later.

Hi there, here is my training update for week ending 13th February 2011:

Date        Distance        Speed       Weight       Peak Flow
13/02          58           13.95         209           410

Not as good a week as I’d hoped but hey ho, at least I’m doing something. Weight loss is slow but at least it is a loss. Breathing seems to be dropping but I’m putting this down the affect of the cold air which can impact on the old (some might say very old) lungs. I’ll just have to keep the Vitamin C going: There must be some other supplement, legal, I can take that will help.

Anyway, I have just one more week of free time before I, hopefully, start work again so I guess I’d better make the most of it. Naturally, this week will be full of rain and be generally cold so I the iMagic shall continue to rule.

That all for now.

Go Podge, Go