Ship Day!!!
Our day began with a search for coffee… we walked up High Street. Finding our big cappuccino made us ready for a day that included driving. I know I’ve mentioned it before… driving on the other side of the road is stressful. Seriously… roundabout after roundabout. Our drive is short today but sheesh… any drive causes my blood pressure (and Barry’s) to rise! One note about this picture, this is on our way out of town after having coffee… heading back to our hotel to check out. Every day, vendors set up tents, sell their wares and tear down the tents at the end of the day. It’s festive in the daytime, cleared out at night. In all of the shops, booths, and tents… I never found a “Winchester” ornament. Well… I got them at all of our other stops so…
Here’s a quick site of lively Winchester… our last look before leaving town. Flowers, plants, artwork and clothing for sale in each of the little booths. Street musicians keep people entertained. It’s a very fun atmosphere!
Seriously, I was so nervous about driving… I had to focus on a burst of color! We have a reasonably short drive to Southampton Airport… turn in the car and head to port. Should be no big deal. Unfortunately, I can never remember which lane to turn into on a right-hand turn and space out thinking I’m in the wrong place…
Well… we made it to the airport…figured out “Bolt” which is the “Uber” of Europe and prepared to head for port. We never found a gas station so we owed for fuel, but the agent figured out they had overcharged us so we were actually getting a refund! We walked across to the area for rides (end of the airport) and waited. With luggage loaded and safely in our seats, we headed down to port. The driver didn’t seem too pleased but… oh well. When we arrived, we had nowhere to go. They wouldn’t let the taxi/ride share cars in because they were so backed up. Apparently, someone pulled the fire alarm and the port area had to be cleared. Boarding was delayed by quite a bit. We waited in line… a line that ran on for the longest. A Disneyland type line! Dropped off our bags and from there it was smooth sailing due to our status on Princess. That was nice… Before we knew it, we were on the ship.
Once on board, we RAN past all the lookie-loo guests and headed up to the pool area. Street tacos and Kraken rum were just what the doctor ordered. We easily found a table and our food arrive within minutes. That’s the beauty of knowing your ships…
We moved on to a bar that hovers out over the edge of the ship. With full windows, it lets you know you’re at sea! First drink of the cruise… Kraken Rum and Orange Juice. Good morning drink! Being the only two customers, the four bartenders were able to serve us quickly haha. We spent an hour visiting and then headed toward our cabin.
Yikes! Working our way to our cabin, we had to (well… we didn’t HAVE to) cross over this “Sea Pass”. As a person suffering from acute fear of heights, this wasn’t my cup of tea. Hubby walked right across the clear section. For me… it was tight against the rail on the solid part. Of course, I had to reach over a bit to snap this photo… but that was absolutely enough for me! This will be what I work on during the course of the trip. Maybe by the end, I will be able to walk across. I’ll keep you posted!
We made it! And so did your luggage… we have never arrived at our room to find our luggage this early. By 3pm, everything was unpacked… Our cabin was bigger than expected. We got a mini-suite that isn’t huge but has a little extra living space. It’s nice to have a desk to do my typing and a couch to watch tv. There’s also a tv at the bed… The best treat was a bathtub! Ordinarily, the shower is very tight quarters… not a lot of moving around space. This one is different. The bathroom is a little longer to accommodate the tub. This will be a great twelve days!
Our cabin steward stopped by to offer us a glass of bubbly! So, I grabbed my portable speaker and glass… headed for the balcony to play “cruising” songs. You know… “Sailing” by Rod Steward, the other Sailing by Christopher Cross and I couldn’t leave out “Sailin’” by Cecilio and Kapono!
Next, and most important task… decorating the cabin door and room. In honor of our upcoming visits to Ireland, I put up a little “Irish”. Not as crazy as some of my doors, but it will serve our purpose for the next twelve days! Especially helpful when looking for your cabin at the end of the night. After awhile, all the doors look alike (except ours!)
Oh but that’s not all… I also have to have pics of dogs and kids, past vacations, etc. With a little swirly streamers and other decorations, the wall space I see upon awakening each morning is complete! Jewelry (all cheap stuff) hangs like decoration from the walls… keeping it untangled and easy to find. On the wall next to my bed… by the couch… are my scarves, and purses. We thought it would be really dismal and chilly so I overpacked! So far, we haven’t had a need for any jacket or scarf!
In our cabin, we noticed the ship was beginning to move. Over an hour past our scheduled departure, I headed up one flight to attend the “Sail Away” party. Apparently, the party was held at the time we were supposed to sail away… and by the time I arrived, the band was packing up. So, I missed it completely!
Every cruise we go in search of the perfect bartender. Sometimes we find him/her right away… sometimes it takes the entire trip. We tried three bars on the first day. Two out of three were pretty good… one is off our list haha. This is a bar we will have to check out on another night.
Dinner time finally arrived. We booked quite early through the app and the only available time was 8:20. When we arrived, we found a near empty room. Asking why we couldn’t get in earlier, the waiter told us the tables are basically reserved for the “Suites” guests on the first night. Had we come in to check, we would have been seated earlier. The good news is, we got a great window seat for two… The “light” time is long in England. At this point, it is about 9:30pm… the sun is getting close to setting. Every morning since we arrived, I wake up feeling like I am oversleeping. With an alarm set for 8:30 or 9am, it’s always 5:30 or 6:30am! Already full bright by that early… it’s kind of nice because it makes me feel lazy!
What a way to end the evening… hubby got what is known as “Death by Chocolate”! Boy does that look good! I’m so jealous but it is made of different textures of cake…. a solid chocolate and a spongy chocolate. The thick sauces and hard chocolate shell around the ice cream topped it off! Wow!
