From 2 days out of Cape Town until the ship reached Dubai, weeks later, the ship had an epidemic of norovirus and my partner was one of the victims. Apparently Carnival, owners of Cunard ships, sold a large contingent of cheap tickets - sort of a hop on/hop off service. Fly to Cape Town and sail back to Perth, or Perth to Adelaide or Adelaide to Sydney, Sydney to Brisbane.
We had new neighbors at least 12 times during the World Voyage - I stopped counting at 12 - and there was total confusion about where what was, why they were not allowed to smoke on the balcony or in the stateroom, why a string undershirt was no appropriate attire for afternoon high tea. Add to that the influx of new bacteria combined with a lack of manners at the buffet or in the dining room and it's no wonder there was an epidemic.
At times, the ship went to "red level" - no self-service of any food or drink and the complaints, especially from the day-trippers, were loud and rude. No self-service meant that you had to ask the waiter service if you wanted an extra portion and this distressed quite a few who were used to piling the plate high.
What norovirus meant for us was isolation for P and semi-isolation for me. As his illness coincided with the 2nd visit to Hong Kong, there are no photos. I picked up glasses which had been repaired during the time between the first stop at HK a month before, and returned to the ship.
At least we could land. Due to norovirus, QUEEN MARY 2 was not allowed to land in Oman, a truly fascinating country, or at Aqaba, gateway to Petra, the Red-Rose City.
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