Days 2 & 3

Tom Burgess was right about being kept busy while cruising. For the last couple of days I've only managed to be able to eat afternoon tea and dinner but I think my waist-line is going to self-destruct anyway. Heartbreaking after losing 9kg this year but when I'm on holiday it is usually from schedules, diets, and exercise as well as from work.

The Planetarium is really fascinating and I find I am in there every day to see the show (there are 4 different ones to see). The first one was narrated by Tom Hanks and it was impossible to not walk away realising how small the world is. [Editor's note: others are narrated by Harrison Ford and Robert Redford.] Yesterday I learned that our galaxy and that of Andromeda are on a collision course. It's not something I'm really worried about because I don't expect to live to be 3 billion years old - about when NASA expects the crash to happen.

The spa is divine. I had an 80 minute hot stone massage yesterday. I came close to falling asleep it was so good. Before dinner I had my hair put up in a "Do" and had a make-up artist deal to my face which has been done the same way every day since the 1980s. It was nice to have a change and the ladies at my table were oohing and aahing at me ... I think I may have started a trend at our table.

One of the women I sit with for dinner every night is an Australian artist and she is writing a travel book and painting water colours as she goes along. The sketches she did of Dubai were beautiful and I wish there was more art like it available locally. She has also painted the grand stairwell here on QM2 and has given it much more life than my camera could capture.

Yesterday we had a bit of excitement as there were dolphins on one side of the ship and a large whale on the other. It was wonderful to be outside in the fresh air and seeing these animals in their natural habitat, splashing and playing in the water. Which reminds me, I still haven't been to one of the swimming pools and it has been 3 days already! Well, unless you count the jacuzzi in the spa. Usually I'm a wee water-baby and you can't get me out of the water unless a shark bell rings. Even that is a bit tricky - I recall Dad using all his powers of persuasion to get me back on the beach after a hammerhead was spotted at Titahi Bay one time.

I've lost track of time but I think we might arrive at the Suez Canal around 1am in the morning. Apparently it takes the best part of a day to get through so I'll be able to get some snapshots later in the day.

'Bye for now. I'm going to try my luck in the casino...