One of the extra perks of doing a full World Cruise are the special cocktail parties thrown by the ship in your honour and on this year’s World Cruise I can report one particularly special party and the return to the good old days with an old fashioned Caviar Station.
I know that you are sick and tired of hearing about the good old days of cruising, how the QE2 was the unrivalled height of luxury and Cunard was only for the rich and infamous; but in those days on the QE2, Caviar really did flow, like water from a tap of extravagance.
It was served from great vats, you could order it for free in the dining rooms, it was used as butter on sandwiches, cooked into omelettes and spread liberally on pieces of toast with vodka chasers. In those days we served ourselves with great spoonfuls of the stuff, perhaps afterwards,whole blobs were fed to us intravenously during our sleep.
The QE2 was the largest consumer of Caviar on the planet and rightly so, the passengers were known to take huge bowlfuls back to their suites and do God knows what with it. Stories abound of passengers face-masking in it, ordering it in take-away sandwiches for excursions and even of one passenger requesting her unused allocation be packaged up and be taken off with her at the end of her World Voyage.
In those days it really flowed - without conscience.
But the old order has changed, the bean counters entered service about the same time as Cunard was sold to Carnival PLC. Now, if we are lucky to come across this delicacy, it is down to one of the chefs dolling it out carefully, respectfully and with great aplomb, passing it to us in tentative apology while armed guards stand menacingly behind him, glaring at us as we scoff it down. Just kidding ... they weren't that menacing. At US$10,000 a pound though, I suppose they have every right to ensure that we were imbibing it immediately and not ferreting it away to sell later on some nefarious black market.
First world problems I know and I shouldn't complain, if it wasn't for Carnival PLC, my home away from home would not exist and Caviar would be the least of my problems.
The Queens Ballroom is usually the centrepiece for such events. A glorious double height chandelier-bedecked room, resplendent with stained glass windows, polished floors and marble pillars, that boasts one of the largest dance floors afloat, second only to that on her big sister the QM2.
At one end, the Queens Orchestra and the resident vocalist belts out hits from the Sinatra era, whilst gloved waiters circulate with vast trays of champagne, cocktails and freshly prepared Hors D’oeuvres.
During the day this room, is the scene of fencing lessons, at night, after dinner entertainment or sometimes another form of combat - a formal ball. Despite the world becoming a far more modern place, Cunard specialises in traditional cruising, and each night when we world cruisers weren't gatecrashing it, the ships resident crooner would be hosting a night of ballroom dancing. The dancers sparkling with sequins and Swarovski, quadrilling and twirling around, showing off newly acquired skills from the days dance lessons, and there is always a multitude of ship sponsored “Gentleman hosts” on board ready to accompany the solo female attendees.
I await the day that they are joined by hosts ready to accompany the solo male attendees.
Those of us intimidated by such displays and possessing at least two left feet, prefer to retire to one or other of the numerous bars and theatres on board and be entertained by amongst others NZ singer, Will Martin. He made a welcome change from the juggler who was thrown off balance on the main stage of the theatre by a sudden rogue wave and wasn't seen since he disappeared headfirst into the orchestra pit.
Cunarders seem to prefer the throwback to the more formal version of cruising which contrasts most cruise-lines who have a dress code of “resortwear”. They only have formal nights as a “special” held maybe once a week. On the opposite end of the scale Cunard’s version of a casual evening is “tie not required” but a jacket is always definitely “de riguer”.
There is a cruise line to suit everyone one and their expectations of a holiday however, if it takes a formal code to enjoy the occasional foray into a caviar station…count me in.
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