If you get sick on the Queen Elizabeth,do so at your peril.

In the evening of Friday 20th Nov,2015 in the gym I drank a plastic cupful of drinking water, provided by the ship.Only when I downed a full cup, before refilling it again, did I notice the water had some strange grey tinge.Now, we are not talking about fifty shades of grey,we are talking about a greyish tinge of what should have been a sparklingly clear water.The staff said there was nothing wrong wit it.24 hours later I begged to differ.When the avalanche came, it was as sudden as it was unexpected.I barely made it to the bathroom,collapsed by the toilet and the light supper I had in Lido, the lunch consumed in Britannia restaurant,the porridge I so love every morning ,it all came out though my mouth and my nose. I remained seated on the toilet, having lost strength to move.And then, before I managed to turn round I threw up again, again, and again, into the sink. Then I blacked out,there, on the bathroom floor.When I came to for a moment I didn't know where I was and what had happened.I was cold,my left shoulder excruciatingly painful,I couldn't move,no strength in my legs,in my arms,I crawled on all fours towards the bed and with all the strength I could master climbed into it.I was shivering.So this is what drinking water that "there is nothing wrong with"feels like.Thirsty,I staggered to get a bottle of water from the fridge and took a gulp.Mistake.My stomach turned .I just made it into the bathroom, where I remained for what seemed like hours.Have you ever had diarrhea? Well, who has,understands.Just after six, when I knew I had the energy to hold a conversation, I dialed the ships 999,a chirpy young man took my call and after extensive questioning, put me through to the duty nurse.The phone rang and rang and finally a sleepy woman answered.She didn't seem to be listening, several times she asked the same question, several times I gave the same answer.Then she said the medical centre opens at 8,they will send for me a wheelchair to see a doctor.A fee of £100 would be payable.I didn't laugh.I didn't cry.7.15 was the last time I looked at my watch, then must have fallen asleep.I woke up at 9.We were in Ponta Delgada.I knew I had to force myself to try and get back to normal.I went out, but my legs could barely carry me and had to sit down several times, so I turned back.I didn't venture out of the cabin until the following morning.To date there has been no visit, not even a call from any member of the staff.How absolutely unacceptable, how utterly disgraceful.When I was on the QE in 2011 weeks after it was launched, it was not a happy experience,but as it was a five star Cunard vessel, I put it down to teething problems.Four years on the gums have started to bleed.This is the second and the last time, I have taken a cruise on this ship. The service is sloppy.The waiter instead of coming round and placing the cutlery down as he had no doubt, been taught,just leans over and throws it down.The food is a hit and miss affair with more misses than hits.But the ship has something quite wonderful-The Library, in which I am writing this.It is in the corner of a central atrium, spread on 2 floors. The books are plentiful.On the lower level there are tables and chairs facing the windows and there I love to sit the most.Reading,looking out into the vast expanse of the sea, it is something quite special, something precious and when there, I realize how very,very lucky I am to be able to travel,to wake up every morning in a different port,to be on the way to the Caribbean!Caribbean!How wonderful is that.One day the memory of the excruciating night will be gone. The Azores. The name is enchanting.And that's it.Rumanian constructions erected under communism is more elegant in comparison with the concrete jungle put up here. Not even a jungle. Monstrosity. Grey shabbiness surrounds you at every step.If ever I come here again, I am not venturing off the ship.In five days we are docking in Barbados,I love days spent at sea.I have a routine I am going to stick to from now on:freshly squeezed orange juice in the Britannia restaurant,this is at extra charge, then porridge.Then I go to the self-service restaurant Lido to prepare hot water with lemon, I take this to my cabin, then there are daily activities and just after 1,lunch in Britannia.Today passable mushroom soup, inedible gnocchi with duck confit,duck confit,for goodness sake, are they nuts. Why not plain gnocchi, a bit of olive oil, Parmesan and lunch ready for a queen! They have to spoil it with a fancy sauce.Fresh fruit plate had lovely LOOKING melon, kiwi, grapes, again left uneaten as they were too bitter.It is now 2.45 and I may going to Lido to have a tuna sandwich,this they cannot ruin.