Shipshape. . . . . . . . . . . .

Remember how I told you the interior of Cunard's Queen Victoria is beautiful.

 This is the central staircase, decorated for the holiday season, leading to the

 shopping arcade upstairs, and then down to areas such as the ballroom, casino, 

British style pub, many lounge areas with live music such as piano, harp, jazz combo,

classical string quartet etc., and a walk forward to the bow brings you to the fabulous

 Royal Court Theatre. All the interiors of the ship are tasteful, classic, elegant,

 and I suppose very British. 

Then there are the open deck areas, and plenty of them. Of course on a winter 

cruise one doesn't get to use the wet areas unless you are brave and hardy . . . . . . and

 have perhaps tucked a wetsuit into the suitcase!

After unpacking I took a walkabout to refresh my memory of the ship's layout as

 it was over two years since we sailed on her to the Baltic and Russia.

 You can see on the water sloshing somewhat in the smaller pool on this our first day

 whilst crossing the English Channel.

My favorite print in a stairwell on the ship - I just couldn't resist adding an 

appropriate comment.

Pool towels didn't get much use - the ship's laundry must like this season.

This is the larger pool, the sun was brilliant but the temperature chilly, and you can

 see the water movement. I did see one swimmer there later - then she, along with

 two other young women, jumped into the nearby hot tub.

As the evening drew in and the sun illuminated the lovely billowy clouds above the

 Channel, Bob popped the cork of the complimentary bottle of bubbly chilling in our

 cabin. We stepped out on the balcony, clinked our glasses, and hoped for a

 smooth crossing as we headed to the often choppy Bay of Biscay and 

 Spain. . . . . . . . . . . and loved being at sea again.

We had a great time on this cruise.