SLIDER

A typical day aboard Cunard's Queen Anne cruise ship

Thursday, 23 January 2025

Less that a year old, Cunard’s Queen Anne has just set off on its maiden world voyage. This was big news in cruise world and only a few days earlier, I was aboard, with my family, for its previous journey to Hamburg and back.

The Queen Anne is one of 10+ ships I’ve been on and even as Cunard’s second largest, it still felt very intimate - carrying only to 2,996 passengers. So, whilst there isn’t a huge amount to do, it was surprisingly easy to keep myself busy.

Here’s what a typical day on board looked like.

We are a family of early risers, so breakfast at 8:30 would typically be the plan. I was sharing a room with my brothers and they often stayed in bed until the last minute which meant I had undisturbed access to the bathroom; a surprisingly spacious one for a cruise cabin. The shower was huge.

We chose to eat breakfast at the restaurant rather than the buffet which meant heading down to to Deck 3 for a more formal dining experience with white tablecloths and waiter service.

Breakfast, like every other meal on board was a multiple course occasion. We all started with the smoked salmon, it’s a die hard Goodman favourite, and it was delicious - served with cream cheese, a slice of lemon & some zingy capers.

I liked to keep breakfast light as I knew how much eating the rest of the day involved. My brothers and dad, however, went all in and ordered second and third courses.

After breakfast, it was time to disembark - we’d arrived in Hamburg today. Getting on and off the ship was as simple as scanning the room card at the exit and stepping off the boat. A shuttle bus then picked us up from the terminal and dropped us in the middle of the city. It was a minimal hard work situation.

Germany in January was cold so we didn’t get a lot done. We wandered around the shops for a while, but after failing to find a cute café to enjoy some German treats, we decided it was just too cold and headed back to the ship for lunch.

I’d planned on having a light lunch, as I was determined not to miss afternoon tea again. However, that plan quickly went out the window when I joined my family at the buffet on Deck 9. I ate a plate of roast pork with mash and vegetables and then a bowl of ice cream. Despite my love for food, I found the constant availability overwhelming, and by this point, I was eating more out of habit than hunger - an aspect of cruising I didn’t enjoy this time.

After lunch, it will come as no surprise that we headed straight down to the tea room - a couple of hours early - to secure a good spot before the next round of eating began.

Afternoon tea was delicious, and this was one meal I truly enjoyed - not just for the food but for the theatre of it all. White gloved waiters served finger sandwiches and miniature desserts from silver platters, followed by freshly baked scones with clotted cream and strawberry jam.

As you can imagine, I was completely delirious afterwards, so I headed straight to the gym for refuge and to try and restore some normality.

The gym on board is small but perfectly functional - and honestly, how often do you get to work out with a view of the ocean right in front of you? Since it was a port day, the gym was pretty empty with most people off exploring, which meant I could get through my workout without any interruptions and was able to hang around afterwards. I find the gym really peaceful and often end up lazing on a yoga mat for half an hour after I’m done, simply enjoying the tranquillity.

I then headed back to the room to have a shower and get ready for dinner. Tonight was a formal night which meant getting dressed up. I wore a black dress and my new heels while my brothers both put on a suit jacket and tie. During the formal nights, there are photographers set up all around the ship taking photos so on our way to meet my parents for dinner, we stopped for a photo.

This evening’s dinner was the best one we had on our four day voyage. The veal that my dad and I both ordered was nice, but nothing special so as we watched everyone else go on about their beef wellington, we decided to order ourselves a second main course to share; and they were right, it was a standout dish.

For dessert, I was stuck again between the brownie and the pineapple so I just ordered them both, it seems such a normal thing to do on a cruise ship. The brownie again, was unremarkable but the rum roasted pineapple, was I think, my favourite dish of the whole cruise.

After dinner, we wandered into one of the big lounges and found a table with some nice chairs around it. Not that I needed to eat any more, my mum ordered the hot chocolate she had been telling me about for the last three days, which arrived in a teapot enough for two so I shared that with her. It came with three accompanying plates of chocolate shards, whipped cream and marshmallows.

As we were enjoying our drinks, my brother pulled out two packs of cards and told us about one of his favourite games by which everyone had to guess the rules as you go. A very confusing concept at first but we enjoyed it so much that we were up playing it, in that lounge until 2 am; before heading back to the cabin and swiftly falling asleep. I always sleep very well on a cruise ship!

plaza khao gaeng

Tuesday, 21 January 2025

I went to Plaza Khao Gaeng last night, and I'm still thinking about the food this morning. 

Actually, it wasn’t just the food - it was the whole experience. It was so good, in fact, that I have very few photos to share from the evening. Sorry about that.

Plaza Khao Gaeng is the lesser known little sister of Soho's currently very popular Speedboat Bar. Walking through Centre Point’s bustling Arcade food hall after work, I was surprised at just how busy it was for a Monday evening. Even with the cold, people still love to go out, I love London. 

I found an unassuming staircase tucked away at the back - you wouldn’t really know it was there unless you were specifically looking for it - leading to a small mezzanine brimming with energy. Packed tight with tables covered in plastic tablecloths, trays of cheap pressed metal cutlery, and a roaring wok at the back that would burst into flames every few minutes. Chaos.

If I hadn’t spent a lot of time in Thailand, I might have thought it was a bit of a hot mess for a central London restaurant. But this wasn’t a cheap gimmick - it was very Thai - all that was missing were the tiny plastic stools, although I’m sure the public were much happier with Londoner-sized chairs. Regardless, it was the most authentic dining experience I’ve had since leaving Thailand, and the menu reflected that same authenticity.

This was not a restaurant for unadventurous taste buds. I was a little bit confused about what to try, and I’ve spent years eating who-knows-what from street stalls in Thailand. The Massaman curry was an obvious favourite, although it didn’t look like the Massaman I knew. Two huge chunks of beef and two potatoes sat in a broth-like sauce. It was all over Instagram, and lots of plates of it were whizzing past.

Both of my friends ordered it, but I had a yearning for a plate of morning glory, which is hard to find in England. Unconventionally, I built my meal around that and decided on sticky rice and fried chicken to accompany. It took me straight back to a particular meal I ate on a street in Bangkok, sitting opposite the party hostel I was staying in, eating a meal like this for breakfast - except that one cost 20p. Not that I’m complaining. The fact that I was able to get it in London made it worth it, and actually, the price wasn’t that bad. We had three mains, three sides and two drinks (yay Thai iced milk tea) for £81. 
By 6:30 PM, the restaurant was packed and stayed that way for hours, though atmosphere was super casual and inviting. We sat there chatting for a while after dinner, and by the time we left at 9:00 PM, things had calmed down, but the magic lingered. 

If you’re looking for an authentic taste of Thailand in London, I’d highly recommend Plaza Khao Gaeng.
and a perfect opportunity for me to post some old photos from Thailand.

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