Smithy's Cruise Blog

Jane has coped really well over the last 3 days at sea despite the fact that her injured ankle generates many more spasms in both her legs than she normally experiences. She finds them really painful and they are clearly far worse than the cramp that old blokes like me suffer from occasionally. This is the boot that she wears to speed up the healing process

The sea was fairly rough on Tuesday and Wednesday through the Bay of Biscay although the crew said it had been much worse on the return to Southampton from the earlier Med cruise when the Nicholsons were aboard.

Today was our first port – Madeira. I know that many of you regularly visit the island and love it. We always enjoy it. Funchal was the first port on the maiden voyage of Queen Mary 2 – Jane’s first cruise all those years ago in 2004. On that occasion the port was packed with spectators for our arrival and the numbers grew through the day, so that by the time we departed every part of the waterfront was occupied by local people and holidaymakers wanting to see the ship that was, at that time, the largest passenger liner afloat.

Since that time Jane and I have cruised for 726 days. I only know that because at the beginning of this voyage Cunard gave us details of our voyages with them and the days spent aboard their ships. I calculate that in four days time when we sail from Lanzarote to Lisbon we will have been at sea on ships for exactly 2 years!

I had booked an adapted taxi for our day in Madeira. The driver David was waiting for us as we walked out of the terminal at 10.00. I knew that his English was good but did not know that he was a qualified guide. Jane and Kim wanted to enjoy one of the numerous botanical gardens on Madeira and David decided to take us to the Palheiro Gardens on the road to Camacha.

It was an inspired choice. Initially he took us into the private grounds of the Blandy family, who own the estate, and then into the area open to the pubic. Jane, Kim and David were soon identifying the trees and plants. All gardens in Madeira are inevitably on slopes but David led us down paths to the lower levels and while we had a coffee he climbed the hill to the carpark, retrieved the Mercedes and brought it down to collect us. Perfect.

The Blandy estate (I don’t think that the family are related to Richard ‘Blandy’ Bland, Stoneham’s touring pro, but no doubt he will let me know!) is immediately alongside the Palheiro Championship Golf Course and the cafe where we took coffee was right by the tee to the rather awkward 13th hole.

By a pond in the garden was a rock carved into the shape of a flower. The rock had been brought to Madeira from the Houses of Parliament!We then travelled west before returning to the ship. The weather was sunny and windy but perfect for us tourists. Tonight we will set sail for the Canaries where we will be for the next 3 days.

Captain Alan Hawkins is Master of Queen Victoria. He is one of the next generation of Captains and appears to be a very popular with his crew. At the Captain’s cocktail party on Wednesday evening he spoke very well to the assembled guests, who, unusually at such events, stopped talking amongst themselves, and listened to what he had to say. He was very amusing.

Cunard have clearly listened to criticism about the way in which these events were run in the past. Finding a drink used to be a nightmare, but now they are readily available and the scrum around the wine waiters no longer occurs. It’s all much more relaxed.

When we arrived at the party I (we) drifted towards two young ladies in uniform. Very attractive they were. One of them was in charge of the receptionists and the other was in HR. They kept us entertained until the Captain introduced his senior Officers.

A number of senior Cunard Captains have retired and as a result men who were Deputy Captains in the Cunard and P&O fleets are now getting their chance as Masters. One such former Deputy is Captain Simon Love. We met him back in 2014 on QV’s World Voyage and I predicted in my blog at that time that he would soon get a command. He is now one of the Masters of Queen Elizabeth and I have it on very good authority that his crew love working for him.

All went well on Monday despite Jane’s broken ankle. What broken ankle?

Last week Jane was being driven in her wheelchair. Her foot slipped off the footplate and caught up in one of the front wheels. She was in considerable pain but after some paracetamol the pain subsided and it appeared to me that she had just suffered bruising.

As the week went on the bruising appeared to be stable but the ankle had started to swell. I repeated my belief that there was nothing wrong and that in a few more days the bruising would go. What do I know.

Jane’s sister Sarah, a retired GP, came to help with the packing on Friday. She felt the ankle and said that she suspected a break and that Jane ought have an X-ray. So off they went to A&E at Winchester. Three hours later it was confirmed that two small bones in her ankle were broken. Luckily no heavy plaster but she was kitted out with one of those large grey boots that footballers wear. More about that later.

I was cut off last night before telling you of one of the most important members of the shore team – Sarah, Jane’s sister. She is one of the most travelled grannies I have ever met. She looks after grandchildren in London and Chester and also manages to spend plenty of time with Jane. When here, she is up and down the stairs selecting clothes for Jane to take. The stairs are a great way of keeping fit.

On Monday the Queen Victoria should be arriving in Southampton at about 6.30am. Peter and Lesley-Jane Nicholson will be disembarking after a cruise to the Western Mediterranean.

As they disembark, the Smith team will be arriving at the Mayflower terminal for Queen Victoria’s next cruise – to the Canaries.

Some of the shore team have been involved for some time

Linda – head housesitter – she takes over on Monday. Then she looks after the house and always leaves it cleaner and tidier than it is when she takes control.

Ian – Notary Public and accessible vehicle driver. He gets Jane to the port in our adapted Peugeot. Thinks he is Lewis Hamilton and always tries to get there first. But we love him.

Gary from Area Cars. He is always reliable and good fun. Regrettably I get paid nothing for advertising Area Cars. They always charge me full whack. If you want to get to Heathrow, or anywhere, Area Cars are the men to take you. We need them because the adapted Peugeot won’t take all of us and the luggage.

It’s always a busy time in the days leading up to a cruise. Other members of the shore team come in.

Jane St looks after Jane when I have to be out during the build up. She is a star. She goes through our diary and works out when she can be here. But she does have a fault. She refuses to fill our dishwasher as I like it to be done.

Carole G helps Jane to decide which clothes she wants to take and she comes again to pack them. She is an expert, but they always pack too much and I am always ignored when I tell them.

Chris J takes Jane out on shopping missions to find more and more clothes for Carole to pack. They always hide the credit card slips from me and inevitably, when items need to be returned, I’m the one who is blamed for not knowing where the slips are.

And Georgina and Miranda are regular supporters and lead Jane astray by taking her to National Trust estates and garden centres leaving me behind to mastermind the cruise schedule and the tours.

The person that makes cruising work for us arrives the day before departure. Kim Bigwood. This will be Kim’s 6th cruise with us. She is fantastic and without her we couldn’t contemplate joining Queen Victoria on Monday.

This set of coincidences started with the regular Pick of the Week piece by the Managing Director of the Regent Seven Seas cruise company, Graham Sadler. He was aboard Seven Seas Voyager with his family on a cruise from Venice to Barcelona.

The ship was in Zadar in Croatia for the day. Graham set a puzzle for his readers pointing out that there were very few ports beginning with the letter Z. He offered a prize for the name of the film that made a Z port famous in the final and emotional scene in what he described as one of the greatest films ever.

I forget how or when I first met Graham Sadler. Regents UK office is just across the road from Paris Smith’s Southampton Office and possibly I did some Notarial work for him all those years ago, when I worked for a living. Certainly when Jane was more agile, she and I had two wonderful cruises on Regents Seven Seas Navigator, one out of Cannes for two weeks in the Med and another out of Fort Lauderdale for 2 weeks in the Caribbean. Six star luxury.

And some of my wealthier friends occasionally ask for advice about six star cruising and I always direct them to Regent. Mr and Mrs C, Mr and Mrs T and Mr and Mrs B and others.

I do recall that about 10 years ago I was invited to a lunch on Seven Seas Voyager when it was in Southampton for the day and I guess that it was Graham that invited me. Ben Ainslie (now Sir Ben) was also a guest and I managed to engineer a handshake and a photo with my hero before we left the ship.

As usual I have digressed. Back to Graham Sadler and his Pick of the Week. If I had read on I would have realised that the port beginning with a Z was on the itinerary of a voyage he was promoting on Seven Seas Mariner between Miami and San Francisco in January 2020 – Zihuatanejo. But even if I had worked that out, I would not have come up with the name of the film.

My pathetic answer was Zulu. It was not surprising that I didn’t win! Graham gave me the answer – the name of the film was Shawshank Redemption. I had heard of it and inevitably I looked it up only to find that it was nominated for 7 Oscars in 1995 and I had never seen it.

The next day I was playing golf with Nick Brewer and I told him the story. He told me that Graham Sadler and Regent had agreed to support the Southampton Shipping Golfing Society in its Centenary celebrations in 2021 when Nick will be President of the Society. That was a connection I knew nothing about. The first coincidence.

That evening Nick emailed me. Shawshank Redemption was on ITV on Wednesday. This coincidence was ‘Scary’ he said and it was.

On Wednesday morning I saw a link to an old Pathe News clip about the original liner Queen Elizabeth. I have been looking for footage of my Father for years without success. This short clip showed QE after she had come to Southampton for the first time. The year was 1945 and Queen Elizabeth had arrived from New York. She had been sent there in secret in 1940 after completion but before sea trials. She served as a troop ship through the war, making her first visit to Southampton in August 1945.

Father had served on Franconia, Ascania and Queen Mary during the war and was granted leave in July/August 1945 so that he could be at home when I was born at the end of July 1945. When his leave finished, he joined Queen Elizabeth on 22 August for what was the first of many trips returning American GI’s to New York. This clip records the send off from Southampton. They called it the Maiden Voyage. Father is on the left (CLICK HERE FOR THE MOVIE CLIP)

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on the bridge with the Commodore of the Cunard fleet Sir James Bissett.

And now to the final scary coincidence. That evening I watched the Shawshank Redemption. I was enthralled by it and when it reached the scene where Red finds the tree near Buxton, and finds the dry stone wall, I was ready. But what I had not expected was that when Red found the tin containing the money and the note, it was a Queen Mary tin. Queen Mary, the ocean liner that my Father had served on during the war.

That’s the convoluted story of a couple of days in my mundane life! And this is the place where the two hero’s of the film met in the final scene.

I wonder if Mr and Mrs C went to Zihuatanejo when they sailed between San Francisco and Florida on a Regent ship a year or two ago. The nearest port to that part of Mexico Jane and I have visited was Cabo San Lucas at the bottom of the Baja California Peninsula.

Richard Smith is pleased to announce that today on the 2 July 2019 he is celebrating his 27,000th day on earth.

No need for congratulations or cards but please save a few pounds or dollars or euros so that when the autobiography is completed you will be able to buy one of the first editions.

I’m on the right.

On Tuesday morning we left Queen Victoria and headed home. Poor Maureen was on her way to Winchester County Hospital to have her broken wrist sorted out. The drivers Ian and Gary arrived as we came out of the Terminal building and we were home by 10.00am.

And then the D – Day 75 activities began and that prompted me to think about the movements at sea during WW2 of my father, George E Smith. Like so many of his generation, father never talked about the war. Mother never knew where in the world he was during the war. If his ship came into a UK port he would telephone and sometimes they would be able to meet.

Father first went to sea in 1930 when he was 16. He joined the New Zealand Shipping Company as a cadet.

His apprenticeship was for 4 years. He used to say that he had been round the world 7 times before he was 21. His first ship was the TSS Northumberland. After gaining his Second Mates Certificate he joined the United Baltic Corporation and sailed on their ships SS Baltara and SS Balteako where he stayed until he had gained his Masters Certificate.

At that point he decided that he wanted to move to something bigger. He wrote to 8 Shipping companies. Cunard responded immediately asking him to attend an interview and more importantly sending him a rail ticket to get to the interview!

He joined Cunard on 18 June 1940 and 3 days later on 21 June 1940 he boarded RMS Franconia as 3rd Officer.

I have discovered that Franconia had been requisitioned as a troopship at the outbreak of the war in September 1939. On 16 June 1940, while en route to St Nazaire as part of Operation Ariel – the evacuation of the Second British Expeditionary Force from France – the Franconia was damaged by near misses from German bombs and was escorted back to Liverpool

Father must have joined her when she arrived in Liverpool. Later in the war she took part in landings at Madagascar in May 1942, Operation Torch in North Africa 8-16 November 1942. During his time aboard Franconia, father was promoted to Junior Second Officer and then Senior Second Officer before moving to RMS Ascania as First Officer.

Interestingly in 1945 the Franconia was used as a headquarters ship for Winston Churchill and the British delegation at the Yalta Conference.

RMS Ascania was built in Newcastle and was completed in May 1925. Before the war she was employed on the London/Southampton – Quebec- Montreal route, switching to Halifax and New York in the winter. In August 1939 she was converted into an Armed Merchant Cruiser. After spells on convoy protection she returned to the UK and was converted into a Landing Ship – Infantry.

Father joined her on 7 February 1943 and she took part in the Invasion of Sicily between 10 July and 17 August 1943, the Anzio Landings which began on 22 January 1944 and the landings in the South of France – Operation Dragoon – on 15 August 1944.

On 19 December 1944 Father joined Queen Mary as Senior First Officer moving to the Queen Elizabeth soon after the war had ended.

And to finish this piece and to bring us up to date, Jane’s brother Nigel was carrying out his formal duties in Portsmouth on Wednesday, welcoming the Queen to Hampshire, for the D Day 75th commemoration. He was caught by the cameras as he walked just behind President Trump.

Sunday 2 June 2019 and it’s the last port for this voyage. Another new place for us. Yet again the Captain’s weather forecast was pretty accurate. Not very warm and the possibility of some rain.

We knew that access into the city would be easy and shuttle buses were not necessary (although there was a Noddy train which toured the city and some of Cunard’s more elderly customers eagerly boarded it).

I don’t suppose that many of the 87,432 readers of this blog know a great deal about this place. Briefly, the city is the 5th largest in Norway and was founded and named after King Christian IV of Denmark and Norway in 1641. (No one has explained to me why the name of the City starts with a K, but no doubt one of you will tell me). Norway was part of the Kingdom of Denmark then and remained so until 1814.

Kristiansand is a thriving port and commercial centre and is the favourite summer destination for many Norwegians. The city centre is laid out in a US style grid system which made it easy to locate the major sights. We mistimed our arrival at the Cathedral because morning service was underway and the sermon was being delivered.

After the best cup of coffee of the whole trip, we moved across to the Christiansholm Fortress built in a prominent position in 1660 to protect the port. Its 15 foot thick walls were impressive but apparently rarely put to the test. It is said that the Fortress only saw active service once and that was when the British mounted an invasion in 1807. HMS Spencer attacked the port but was repulsed by massive cannon fire from these weapons.

The city is delightful – clean and tidy. The roads and pavements are immaculate and it was a pleasure to visit and wander around the place. The cruise ship pier appears to be fairly new and accommodates just one ship. That is possibly all the city wants. It means they can cope with a thousand or two visitors for a day without causing too much disruption to their city.

Despite it being a Sunday, some shops opened and there were a few small market stalls near the ship and in the centre of the City. But the locals and the Norwegian tourists didn’t appear to be disturbed at the arrival of a ship load of foreigners. And there was a McDonald’s for some of our fellow passengers!

After we had returned to the ship we heard that one of our dinner companions, Maureen from Bishops Waltham, had tripped on a crossing during the day and had broken her wrist. The medical centre on the ship is looking after her, but whether or not we will see her at dinner, we will have to wait and see.

I am pleased to report that Maureen did arrive at dinner and was remarkably cheerful. She will need a fair bit of help to get herself packed and ready for our arrival in Southampton on Tuesday morning, but there appear to be plenty of volunteers.

This is our table in the Britannia.

From left to right clockwise. Malcolm, Me, Diana, James, Maureen, Kim, Jane and Peter. All great fun and excellent table companions.

Jane and I first came here in the summer of 2004. It was our second cruise together. Earlier that year our first cruise was the Maiden Voyage of Queen Mary 2. We had enjoyed that first cruise so much, we decided that we must book on to the QE2 before she was retired from service.

QE2 was important to me. For the benefit of new readers, my late father, Captain George E Smith was the second ever Captain of QE2 and was one of only 3 men who were Masters of both the original Queen Elizabeth and the Queen Elizabeth 2 (QE2).

My first cruise was on QE2. After she was built, Cunard refused to accept her because her turbines were defective. After the problems had been sorted out, but before Cunard accepted the ship, a shakedown cruise was organised. Families of the officers and crew including “dependant” children were invited. I just qualified as a dependant child. £10 a week (less income tax) as a trainee meant that I was still dependant on my Dad.

We had a freebie cruise to the Canaries and back. To help we had to move cabins from time to time and write reports about defects. We were given a sheet each morning telling us where we had to eat and where we had to play. They would put pressure on staff by flooding particular areas of the ship (with people not water). It was a great 10 day trip for us as passengers.

As usual I have digressed. So it was on QE2 that Jane and I first came to Oslo. It was the first port of call on a 14 day voyage to the Norwegian Fjords. If you have not tried one, I can recommend a Fjords cruise.

Since that voyage we have been back to Oslo a number of times and have seen it changing. The dock area has expanded and Oslo has modernised. On our way into the port we passed this house built on a rock!

Inevitably our day started with a transport problem. No adapted shuttle was there to get us into the City. The Tour manager was located and admitted that the vehicle had been stood down after delivering one person! Sounded a bit unlikely, but an adapted taxi soon appeared and we were then in town. Although it rained, it was a Saturday and Oslo people were out enjoying themselves. Kim was given the map (which on reflection was a bit unfair of me) and we set off in search of Cathedrals and Museums!

We found that a music festival was taking place in the main Central Park. We heard a Bagpipe band while we were having coffee. There were dressed as if they were Scots but we didn’t manage to hear them speak so were not sure whether or not they were Norwegian imitators. They had kilts, sporrans and dirks!

There were blues bands and folk groups as well, but the rain inevitably put the dampers on proceedings.

On our way down the fjord, after leaving Oslo, these are just a few of the homes we passed – in the main holiday or weekend homes apparently.