Sorry about the late post – VERY dodgy Internet.

Nice leisurely start to the day and cloudless blue skies.

After a decent breakfast (excellent omelette), we returned to our room to pack with that slightly sad feeling one has when things are coming to an end.

As we had plenty of time before we needed to board, I popped next door for a much-needed haircut. Didn’t have to wait too long, and they did a good job.

The hotel then summoned a Yellow Cab to take us to the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal, which turned up promptly. However, the driver was under the impression he was to take us to the airport! When we disabused him of this idea, he muttered something under his breath along the lines that he’d just dropped someone off at the cruise terminal. Not my problem, mate.

I’d downloaded the Curb app, so was able to pay him that way with a nominal tip, as he was a surly git.

Checked in to the cruise terminal and went through the usual gamut of Security and other necessary admin evils. Fortunately, we had Priority Boarding, which meant we were on board far more quickly.

Our room – number 65 on Deck 10, since you ask – is remarkably well designed, with a lot of storage space.

The view from the balcony was fantastic.

At about 5.15 p.m., the ship left its mooring and started its journey to Southampton.

Once past the Verrazzano Narrows Bridge, we began to head out into the open Atlantic Ocean.

A major result was getting the washing done, as we know from past experience that the onboard launderettes can get very busy. These things are important, you know….

Dinner was partaken of in the Princess Grill, where we chatted with a delightful couple, Gary and Jay, from Eastbourne, who are real Cunard experts, and had been onboard since the ship left Southampton on its current voyage some three weeks ago.

As there is still so much to discover on this ship, they were enormously helpful in explaining how some of the systems worked. For example, we didn’t realise that the table we were at was our dinner table for the duration of the voyage.

The meal itself was very nice, but not outstanding, and it could have been hotter.  The drinks service was also too slow. Apart from that, it was great.

To finish off the evening, we attended a show in the Royal Court Theatre showcasing the talents of four close harmony singers, the 4Tunes. Geddit? I remember a pop group called the Fortunes from the mid-60s…..

Not really my kind of music, but they did do a remarkably good rendition of Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody”. My respect for not only them, but the backing band, increased when we were informed that they had been rushed aboard that day because the scheduled act couldn’t make it for some reason, and the backing band had only received the music at 5 p.m. that afternoon. Genuinely musically very talented indeed.

And so to bed.

I doubt that there will be much to report over the next few days, as we are at sea, but hopefully there’ll be some titbits as we discover more about this splendid ship. The Internet connection is very flaky, so communication will likely be intermittent, but I’ll do my best.