At about 3.30 today, a thick fog enveloped the ship. This fog is caused by warm moist air flowing over a relatively cold sea surface. It was quite eerie as the Dawn Princess had to sound a long blast of the ship’s whistle every two minutes. As I walked the deck at this time, you could not see anything to the side or front or back of the ship. The guys who were working on the deck, even though they work in pairs were wearing safety harnesses. If one had fallen overboard nobody would have been able to find him. Each day at midday, someone from the bridge tells us where we are and discusses a few nautical points of interest. Today, he told us, together with a comprehensive set of slides, all about the Titanic, as we will be sailing over the wreck of the titanic at 11.40 p.m. Evidently, the English crew locked the Italians in their cabins because they thought that they would become hysterical with their Latin temperament. All of these Italians died. Six out of seven of the first class children survived and all the second - class children survived, but the third class children were not so lucky. I had lunch with a lady who travelled third class back in the sixties. She said there was no way to get out of the third class area, except on Sundays when they opened the doors so they could ascend for church service. A different time! The Beatles performed again tonight, this time up on deck under a starless sky, with the mist still wafting in. People who usually go to bed early remained up for this event and the deck was full of people dancing to the strains of such songs as “We All Live in a Yellow Submarine”. There were even people dancing and rocking to the music with the help of walking sticks. At 11.40 Bill and I wandered out on deck 7 to spare a thought and a prayer for the people who went down with the Titanic, which was directly 3 km below us. (Barbara) Strange sights and sounds on board a cruise liner: (1) a woman reading the steps of a dance from a sheet of paper over her partner’s shoulder and issuing instructions to him as they moved around the floor; (2) people putting skim milk in their coffee to accompany their three slices of chocolate cake for lunch; (3) people saying that they are quite happy with their small weight increase of only 1 kilo per day at the start of their 104 day cruise; (4) the Beatles’ enthusiast at the concert who sang along out of tune with every song and clapped his hands out of time with the music; (5) the disappointed look on the waiter’s face when you only order a glass of water at the bar; (6) the passengers who get in the lift on the top deck and ask whether the lift is going down; (7) Question to crew: “Does this ship generate its own electricity” Answer: “ No, we have a really long extension lead.”; (8) “The microwave in my cabin doesn’t work” – That’s because it is a safe. (Bill)
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