Day 10 onwards - All down hill towards home

Sunday 14th
The start of another few sea days, as we head southwest towards the equator.  The sea is a bit rough today and we are noticing the movement, particularly in the dining room.  We are back to the usual routine and while Vivian went to bridge, I got the blog up to date.   Traditional afternoon tea and yes, it is another formal night tonight -Valentines Ball.  All the ladies were given a red rose at dinner, but nothing for the guys 😠.   We did not go to the ball but enjoyed the show.  Hopefully just a warning, but a bit of a sore throat, so garlic & panadol for a nightcap.

Monday 15th
It worked, so much better today.  The sea is still pretty choppy but a beautiful day and  very warm.  We only got in a half mile before we went to the Samoa lecture.   As we've been there before we'll just do our own thing and look for a local bus.  We've just had the Captain's noon update and the news that we may not actually be going to Samoa, as there is an active cyclone called Winston (typical !) just south of Samoa.  It is still 3 days away, but I get the feeling that we are being softened up early on to avoid disappointment.   Watch this space.  The magician tonight was excellent and exceeded Vivian's expectations.

Tuesday 16th
The sea is a bit calmer but it is very muggy as we approach the equator. The Captain has just made the announcement that we were crossing the equator at 9.48 and the ship's whistle was sounded.  I didn't have time to check the bathroom to see whether the water went straight down at that time.  Anyway, seems like we are home, now in the South Pacific.  Heavy rain clouds are all around and the latest prediction is just a 20% chance of getting into Samoa.

The noon announcement confirmed that we are missing Samoa due to Winston.  There are many very upset by this and while we can understand, we also have sympathy for the locals who will miss out on a huge amount of revenue.  However cyclones are dangerous and it is better to be safe.  We will apparently track more to the east to avoid it and assume that we'll reduce speed to keep to our scheduled arrival in Auckland.  Some hopeful souls thought we may get in early, but I am sure Cunard do not want to pay extra berthage fees.

Continuing on the grumpy note today, I had a letter under the door from the Purser's office advising that the credit card preauthorisation had not been approved (yep, we've spent the free on board credit).  For a  change we went up to the Commodore Club at the front of deck 10.  Lovely views,  despite the light showers.  Decided to have a morning coffee, oops, shipboard card is blocked!  Down to Purser's on deck 1 to remonstrate, as I had  other been told that this would happen.  I told them that I'd go and get some USD to put our account in credit.  Back up to Deck 5 - my card has been deactivated and I can't get in!  Back to Deck 1, get new card and back to Deck 5, get cash and back to Deck 1.  I should add that on each occasion there were at least 5 in the queue ahead of me, so it was almost 45 minutes by the time I got back to Vivian on deck 10.  By now it's time for lunch.

After lunch, I get to use my one free call (a bit like being under arrest) to the bank in NZ.  As I suspected all along, it was Cunard's fault as they had entered the wrong expiry date in the system (because their scanner in LA wasn't working when we checked in).  All resolved and I am expectantly waiting for their apology.  Still waiting.  Still waiting.