We just started packing and can't believe that tomorrow is the last sea day. These glorious days have a way of blending into each other....relaxing, good friends, good food, good entertainment, good weather....make for a wonderful trip. It's been a bit rocky this time, but sleeping is enhanced (I may put rockers on our bed when we get home so I continue to sleep well :)). Will fill in the details when it's not 55 cents a minute and the Internet connection is faster and reliable. Not at all that way on the ship with satellite connection.
Stay tuned for details and pictures next week and thanks for following us on what has turned out to be a terrific trip.
Belated HAPPY 20th ANNIVERSARY to Eric and Beth. Internet was down yesterday and I couldn't post. Hope you had a great day!
Thursday, November 11, 2010
Sunday, November 7, 2010
Ahhhh, Sea Day!
We love sea days and today was a good example of why. We got up leaisurely - no ride to catch or thing to do! Had breakfast with Sandy and Roy in the Elite Lounge (again! Tomorrow I'm getting my Waffles :)) then spent the day as we each wanted. First we went to the Gym - yes, it's time to get back to that routine. Then at 1030, I participated in the Cruise Critic group's Slot Pull...never did one before since I'm not much of a gambler. We each put in $15 for 5 trys at the Wheel of Fortune slot machines (there were 96 participants) and the groups split the final credits accrued. Lots of fun, cheering, just enjoying ourselves. For our $15 investment, we eat won $12.06 or, to put it another waay, we each lost $2.94 :) Art has been part of a Trivia team so he and Tina left Tim and me to pull for them and headed to their Trivia game. It's a progressive game so they won't know if they win until later in the week.
This afternoon was spent relaxing, reading on the balcony, seeing parts of the ship that we haven't seen yet. Weather is mid-70s, sunny with puffy clouds, perfect. I went to the Captain's Club reception while Art took a nap. Then time to dress for Formal Night (we actually love dressing up since it's only 3 nights out of 2 weeks) and head for dinner. Tonight's show is a singer! Will report tomorrow.
Sorry that I had to stop posting pictures; the Internet is very slow and costly AND frustrating. So I'm writing blog posts offline and just logging on to upload. I am organizing pictures as I go along so will upload them when we get home.
This afternoon was spent relaxing, reading on the balcony, seeing parts of the ship that we haven't seen yet. Weather is mid-70s, sunny with puffy clouds, perfect. I went to the Captain's Club reception while Art took a nap. Then time to dress for Formal Night (we actually love dressing up since it's only 3 nights out of 2 weeks) and head for dinner. Tonight's show is a singer! Will report tomorrow.
Sorry that I had to stop posting pictures; the Internet is very slow and costly AND frustrating. So I'm writing blog posts offline and just logging on to upload. I am organizing pictures as I go along so will upload them when we get home.
Ponta Delgato, Azores
Ponta Delgata, Sao Miguel, Azores
Once again, we did a private taxi tour of the island and it was terrific. We were told that someone would be holding a sign with our name on it as we left the ship. Horrors, no person, no sign. Fortunately, I saw the 'boss' Ricardo who was wearing a name tag. He said that I had not confirmed the booking - my stomach sank but for just a few minutes. He immediately had his assistant call a driver who had worked for him before and we were off to tour the island with Helder - pronounced Elder. The Azores are part of Portugal and the islanders speak Portugese, English, some Spanish, French and Italian. We constantly feel chagrined at our lack of being fluent in at least ONE language.
We asked lots of questions about the islands as we drove from the city to the Lake of Fires, dodged cows in the road along the way. When I add my pictures, you'll see what I mean. Cows are everywhere with milk being one of the main exports. The scenery was magnificent as we went from the coast to the mountains on well paved roads. Interestingly, we have yet to be anywhere where drivers honk their horns, yell at others or demonstrate road rage at any level. We stopped along the way for Kodak moments and were in awe of the vistas at Fire Lake. We then drove through a small town with a river running through it, more photos, and on to the Seven Cities ( a misnomer since we only saw villages) and to a national park where there were 7 lakes. Lots of narrow 2 lane roads where we often were the only car. We made fun of all the tour buses that we saw since they could not, for the most part, see all that we were seeing. One of the real highlights of the day was the Twin Lake - one blue reflecting the sky and one green surrounded by trees and reflecting the greenery. There was a narrow road between the two which, at one time were one lake. We then drove to a small village where Helder saw his grandfather standing outside (we think he called him from the Twin Lakes and told him he was coming there). Took a few pictures of him with his elderly relatives to send via email and we then made our way back to the ship.
On the dock was a lively school band playing for us and some actors on stilts dancing to the music. And so our lovely day ended. We hadn't even stopped for lunch, but never fear - there is always food on a cruise ship. We ate fruit from our fruit basket, showered and changed for our almost nightly Captain's Club Cocktail party and then went to dinner. The eight of us at our dining table have meshed well and there is always lots of laughter and sharing of stories. We rotate seats every night so we've all gotten to know everyone at the table. The assistant waiter entertained us by making each of the ladies a beautiful rose from a small paper cocktail napkin!
Off to the show which tonight was a Cirque de Soleil type which we had seen before and are not great fans of....but a nice ending to a very nice day.
Pictures of the 'sleeper' of this trip. We had no idea how beautiful the Azores are
Once again, we did a private taxi tour of the island and it was terrific. We were told that someone would be holding a sign with our name on it as we left the ship. Horrors, no person, no sign. Fortunately, I saw the 'boss' Ricardo who was wearing a name tag. He said that I had not confirmed the booking - my stomach sank but for just a few minutes. He immediately had his assistant call a driver who had worked for him before and we were off to tour the island with Helder - pronounced Elder. The Azores are part of Portugal and the islanders speak Portugese, English, some Spanish, French and Italian. We constantly feel chagrined at our lack of being fluent in at least ONE language.
We asked lots of questions about the islands as we drove from the city to the Lake of Fires, dodged cows in the road along the way. When I add my pictures, you'll see what I mean. Cows are everywhere with milk being one of the main exports. The scenery was magnificent as we went from the coast to the mountains on well paved roads. Interestingly, we have yet to be anywhere where drivers honk their horns, yell at others or demonstrate road rage at any level. We stopped along the way for Kodak moments and were in awe of the vistas at Fire Lake. We then drove through a small town with a river running through it, more photos, and on to the Seven Cities ( a misnomer since we only saw villages) and to a national park where there were 7 lakes. Lots of narrow 2 lane roads where we often were the only car. We made fun of all the tour buses that we saw since they could not, for the most part, see all that we were seeing. One of the real highlights of the day was the Twin Lake - one blue reflecting the sky and one green surrounded by trees and reflecting the greenery. There was a narrow road between the two which, at one time were one lake. We then drove to a small village where Helder saw his grandfather standing outside (we think he called him from the Twin Lakes and told him he was coming there). Took a few pictures of him with his elderly relatives to send via email and we then made our way back to the ship.
On the dock was a lively school band playing for us and some actors on stilts dancing to the music. And so our lovely day ended. We hadn't even stopped for lunch, but never fear - there is always food on a cruise ship. We ate fruit from our fruit basket, showered and changed for our almost nightly Captain's Club Cocktail party and then went to dinner. The eight of us at our dining table have meshed well and there is always lots of laughter and sharing of stories. We rotate seats every night so we've all gotten to know everyone at the table. The assistant waiter entertained us by making each of the ladies a beautiful rose from a small paper cocktail napkin!
Off to the show which tonight was a Cirque de Soleil type which we had seen before and are not great fans of....but a nice ending to a very nice day.
Pictures of the 'sleeper' of this trip. We had no idea how beautiful the Azores are
Thursday, November 4, 2010
November 4 - Vigo, Spain
Love ports with no planned excursions! Got up leisurely and, for the first time, had breakfast in the Captain's Club Elite Lounge...very nice continental breakfast with good choices including specialty coffees and great service. Kept us from overdoing at the buffet or wasting time in the Main Dining room where breakfast service is usually slow.
We decided to stop at the Tourist Center very close to the dock to get directions to El
Castro - the Citadel, one of the three forts that guarded the town. It is located above the port on a hill at the top of the city. What we didn't know was that not only was it straight uphill (which we assumed if it was at the top of the city) but entailed climbing hundreds (seemed like thousands) of steps some of which were steep and uneven. We met another couple from the ship that were headed in the same direction and began to climb. It was a lovely, sunny morning that got warmer as we climbed....sweaters peeled off pretty quickly. By the time we got to the bottom of the steps, the other couple dropped out but we continued to the top! Although we thought we deserved it, no one offered us a Gold Medal for achieving such heights :)
The views were beautiful entailing lots of pictures (0f course). Strangely, since this is a local park, there were no T shirt stands or vendors of drinks...they could make lots of money from the stalwart few to make it to the top. After a brief rest, we started back down a bit surprised and happy that we found a winding path down with lots of shallow steps. If only we had discovered that way up. There were NO signs anywhere to give directions. So...we became tour guides and told everyone looking for a way up the best route that we had found...such nice people we are.
When we got back to the lower city, we bumped into our friends Tina and Tim and wandered through the old part of town with them visiting a local market, buying a few shawls and stopping for coffee for the girls and Belgian beers for the guys in the sidewalk area, that, of all things, was part of an Australian Bar with lots of those signs that say things like "Kangaroos and Wallabies 5 Km". Then we headed back to the ship, taking pictures and stopping in a local food market along the way.
Back on the ship, we had lunch and relaxed, reading, napping and enjoying the good weather on our balcony. The evening show, after dinner, was an amazing British singer who had played the lead in Les Miserables in London. We thoroughly enjoyed her and were pleased to know that she will do another show later in the cruise where she will perform requests from passengers. A brief stop to observe a friend doing well in the casino and off to our cabin glad to know that tonight we get an hour back. One of the joys of a westbound Transatlantic cruise is the 25 days along the way that get us back home on local time without jet lag. And tomorrow is another sea day before a stop in the Azores.
Pictures of our climb up to the Castro and walk around Vigo with Tim and Tina show what a nice day it was - a relaxing one after our unanticipated hike to the top of the town.
We decided to stop at the Tourist Center very close to the dock to get directions to El
Castro - the Citadel, one of the three forts that guarded the town. It is located above the port on a hill at the top of the city. What we didn't know was that not only was it straight uphill (which we assumed if it was at the top of the city) but entailed climbing hundreds (seemed like thousands) of steps some of which were steep and uneven. We met another couple from the ship that were headed in the same direction and began to climb. It was a lovely, sunny morning that got warmer as we climbed....sweaters peeled off pretty quickly. By the time we got to the bottom of the steps, the other couple dropped out but we continued to the top! Although we thought we deserved it, no one offered us a Gold Medal for achieving such heights :)
The views were beautiful entailing lots of pictures (0f course). Strangely, since this is a local park, there were no T shirt stands or vendors of drinks...they could make lots of money from the stalwart few to make it to the top. After a brief rest, we started back down a bit surprised and happy that we found a winding path down with lots of shallow steps. If only we had discovered that way up. There were NO signs anywhere to give directions. So...we became tour guides and told everyone looking for a way up the best route that we had found...such nice people we are.
When we got back to the lower city, we bumped into our friends Tina and Tim and wandered through the old part of town with them visiting a local market, buying a few shawls and stopping for coffee for the girls and Belgian beers for the guys in the sidewalk area, that, of all things, was part of an Australian Bar with lots of those signs that say things like "Kangaroos and Wallabies 5 Km". Then we headed back to the ship, taking pictures and stopping in a local food market along the way.
Back on the ship, we had lunch and relaxed, reading, napping and enjoying the good weather on our balcony. The evening show, after dinner, was an amazing British singer who had played the lead in Les Miserables in London. We thoroughly enjoyed her and were pleased to know that she will do another show later in the cruise where she will perform requests from passengers. A brief stop to observe a friend doing well in the casino and off to our cabin glad to know that tonight we get an hour back. One of the joys of a westbound Transatlantic cruise is the 25 days along the way that get us back home on local time without jet lag. And tomorrow is another sea day before a stop in the Azores.
Pictures of our climb up to the Castro and walk around Vigo with Tim and Tina show what a nice day it was - a relaxing one after our unanticipated hike to the top of the town.
November 3 - Sea Day - Birthday
What a nice day! Slept late; brunch served at 10 AM (with just made Belgian Waffles), and relaxing day onboard. We enjoyed visiting with friends, Team Trivia (Art played and I observed), and just relaxing. After a week in London and 2 busy days in Normandy, it was nice to catch our breath and relax. Last night we were gently rocked to sleep by the ship hitting 18 foot waves (no extra charge for the rocking). Today it was misty and foggy most of the day with most of us walking as if we had too much to drink last night!. Tomorrow is supposed to be sunny with a high of close to 70 when we walk around Vigo, Spain. Vigo is 32 kilometers from Portugal on the coast of Galacia with a population of 300,000. The Galacia region is Celtic in origin. Languages are both Spanish and Galacian. More tomorrow.
Tonight we had dinner at a new Celebrity restaurant called Qzine. It's really hard to explain what this was - besides a wonderful experience. The menu (on an iPad) looks similar to a Tapas menu in that it has multiple choices (more than 20) that you choose and which are put together by the chef to made a menu. Friends Sandy and Roy joined us and we had a magical time. The pictures will show the food selections better (when I get them organized). We each selected several items (all to be shared with tablemates). Selections ranged from Sushi lolllipops, diablo shrimp, three types of cold soup served in test tubes with straws and 3 hot souffles to filets and Persian chicken kabobs....desserts were cupcakes that you decorated with choice of 3 icings and 4 toppings, mini cheesecake with mini-graham crackers, incredible chocolate ginache and 3 flavored geloto bomb. I don't know if I ever ate so much at one time or felt so full. But I do know that we had a delightful evening including candles in the ginache and happy birthday singing by my table, waiters and other guests. Really terrific.
We walked a few calories off and headed to our cabin where we watched the pundits dissect the election results. No more about that....I want the day to end on an upbeat note!
Tonight we had dinner at a new Celebrity restaurant called Qzine. It's really hard to explain what this was - besides a wonderful experience. The menu (on an iPad) looks similar to a Tapas menu in that it has multiple choices (more than 20) that you choose and which are put together by the chef to made a menu. Friends Sandy and Roy joined us and we had a magical time. The pictures will show the food selections better (when I get them organized). We each selected several items (all to be shared with tablemates). Selections ranged from Sushi lolllipops, diablo shrimp, three types of cold soup served in test tubes with straws and 3 hot souffles to filets and Persian chicken kabobs....desserts were cupcakes that you decorated with choice of 3 icings and 4 toppings, mini cheesecake with mini-graham crackers, incredible chocolate ginache and 3 flavored geloto bomb. I don't know if I ever ate so much at one time or felt so full. But I do know that we had a delightful evening including candles in the ginache and happy birthday singing by my table, waiters and other guests. Really terrific.
We walked a few calories off and headed to our cabin where we watched the pundits dissect the election results. No more about that....I want the day to end on an upbeat note!
November 2 - Normandy Beaches
I had arranged with Colin McGarry, an independent tour guide who lives in Caen to take 8 of us on a tour of the Normandy Beaches. We were docked in Cherbourg. Colin picked us up in his van promptly at 8:30 am on a day with gray skies promising rain. We drove through the beautiful french countryside to our first stop - the German Cemetary. None of us had expected to stop here but it was sobering to know that 22,000 German graves were in this cemetary with many of them marked as unknown soldiers. Originally American, Canadian and German graves were buried here but when the American Cemetery was established, the graves were moved.
Our next stop was the American Cemetery - an emotional and introspective reaction for most of us, yet lovely in its own way. 149 Stars of David among more than 9000 graves. Each grave marked with the dog tag number, name, unit, day of death and state where the soldier came from OR as an Unknown Soldier. We viewed Omaha Beach while Colin showed us maps and pictures of the landing sites and described the obstacles facing the units that landed here. After viewing the Chapel and sculpture at the entrances, we went on to the monument at Omaha Beach. There is a large sculpture, done by an artist from NJ, on the Beach as well as the monument above the beach. We ate lunch at a restaurant near the beach called D Day House. Once again making our orders known in broken French to a French speaking waitress - with some help from Colin. Our group planned to pay for Colin's lunch only to find that the restaurant had comped his lunch.
On we went to Pont du Hoc where the rangers landed. Much evidence of bomb craters and craters made by guns shooting from ships was there along with bunkers and reenforcements built by the Germans. Millions of Euros are being spent to protect the area to ensure that future generations will have experiences similar to ours. We spent a lot of time walking the paths, viewing the existing bunkers and seeing where large guns had been placed to prevent the invasion.
Then Colin drove down lots of country roads showing us where The Band of Brothers was filmed (and sharing errors made in both that movie and Saving Private Ryan). We also visited a farm where one US unit demolished a german machine gun nest and a town held by the Germans where one US soldier cleared out 9 houses single handed. On the Sainte-Mere Eglise to view the effigy of a paratrooper who had been caught on the church belfry. We got there while a funeral was ending and, respectfully, watched as the whole town walked slowly behind the casket. After they were gone, we entered the church to see the stained glass window dedicated to the Paratroopers, then saw bullets still enbedded in the exterior of the church along with holes from a machine gun...certainly brought the actual details of the impact of the war on this tiny town.
We skipped Utah beach since time was drawing close to when the ship would leave the port.
It was a very interesting and moving day for all of us and we were all glad that we had this experience with a knowledgeable and dedicated Frenchman.
Our pictures are meant to share information in addition to seeing where we visited so some long titles on some pictures
Our next stop was the American Cemetery - an emotional and introspective reaction for most of us, yet lovely in its own way. 149 Stars of David among more than 9000 graves. Each grave marked with the dog tag number, name, unit, day of death and state where the soldier came from OR as an Unknown Soldier. We viewed Omaha Beach while Colin showed us maps and pictures of the landing sites and described the obstacles facing the units that landed here. After viewing the Chapel and sculpture at the entrances, we went on to the monument at Omaha Beach. There is a large sculpture, done by an artist from NJ, on the Beach as well as the monument above the beach. We ate lunch at a restaurant near the beach called D Day House. Once again making our orders known in broken French to a French speaking waitress - with some help from Colin. Our group planned to pay for Colin's lunch only to find that the restaurant had comped his lunch.
On we went to Pont du Hoc where the rangers landed. Much evidence of bomb craters and craters made by guns shooting from ships was there along with bunkers and reenforcements built by the Germans. Millions of Euros are being spent to protect the area to ensure that future generations will have experiences similar to ours. We spent a lot of time walking the paths, viewing the existing bunkers and seeing where large guns had been placed to prevent the invasion.
Then Colin drove down lots of country roads showing us where The Band of Brothers was filmed (and sharing errors made in both that movie and Saving Private Ryan). We also visited a farm where one US unit demolished a german machine gun nest and a town held by the Germans where one US soldier cleared out 9 houses single handed. On the Sainte-Mere Eglise to view the effigy of a paratrooper who had been caught on the church belfry. We got there while a funeral was ending and, respectfully, watched as the whole town walked slowly behind the casket. After they were gone, we entered the church to see the stained glass window dedicated to the Paratroopers, then saw bullets still enbedded in the exterior of the church along with holes from a machine gun...certainly brought the actual details of the impact of the war on this tiny town.
We skipped Utah beach since time was drawing close to when the ship would leave the port.
It was a very interesting and moving day for all of us and we were all glad that we had this experience with a knowledgeable and dedicated Frenchman.
Our pictures are meant to share information in addition to seeing where we visited so some long titles on some pictures
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
Tuesday, Nov 1 - Le Havre - Etretat, Beaumont en Auge, Deauville, and Honfleur
Met Diane and Lou at Guest Relations and found our way to the Coach Park where Art found Patrick, our Driver and guide for the day! Patrick offered us the option of adding a typical small French Village (Beaumont en Auge) to our itinerary. We were delighted to baccept and off we went through the port city of Le Havre and onto a modern bridge over Le Seine! From there we drove through the lovely French countryside made even more beautiful by the golden and red autumn leaves and the colorful vines covering the walls of many of the houses.
Our first stop was at Etretat. I was thrilled to be seeing, in real life, the scene on the poster on our dining room wall – the caves and arches of the coast of France in Etretat. It is a lovely town with classic architecture (including intricate brick and stone work or wooden beams with white wash. I think we all took seemingly hundreds of pictures from the hilltop overlooking the arches, the arches at beach level and the town. It was cloudy and windy most of the time so we stopped for a coffee at a little bistro and got to practice a bit of high school french before leaving for our next stop. Somewhat depressing after having Patrick tell us that French children learn English as well as either German or Spanish! Anyway the coffee was excellent and after warming up, we headed for Beaumont en Auge.
This 2nd town was charming…very small, lovely architecture and scenic views as well as a visit to a church built in the 16th century and its surrounding grounds. Pictures are much better than words when viewing scenic beauty.
We left Beaumont en Auge for another scenic drive to Deauville It is a resort town with beautiful, large homes and hotels frequented by Parisians who, according to Patrick, bought the very large houses that we admired for weekend or summer homes! We walked through the main streets of town and drove along the beach front then stopped for lunch at a restaurant and patisserie recommended by Patrick. After waiting for a table, we found a helpful waitress who did not speak English who understood my poor french and sign language and found us a table. We each ordered a ‘real’ Quiche – Art had Goat Cheese, I had Tomate and squash and Diane and Lou had Lorraine. They were individual quiches served with a salad and, of course, glasses of house wine… very nice, delicious and a fun experience. We walked back to our meeting place where Patrick picked us up for our ride to Honfleur.
Honfleur looked just like the Monet picture that we saw at the NC State Museum of Art with Marilyn. and Bob. A lovely town with a small, beautiful marina, very old churches (1400) including one made of wood and lots of shops and restaurants. Our first stop was an art shop to buy a poster of Honfleur done by a local artist to go with the Monet poster in our dining room. We took lots of pictures (again) and tired and happy headed back to the ship. Patrick dropped us off as close as possible to the on rank and we were back home after thanking him for a wonderful day full of new experiences and dreams come true.
Had a quick drink in the Captain's Club Lounge and dressed for dinner...once again a great way to end the day with interesting conversations and lots of laughs. And again to sleep early - no show tonight due to another early tour in the AM.
Glorious Normandy in pictures Beware! there are many pictures of my favorite places. Although I loved this entire trip, this was, after all, my favorite day. I've always wanted to see some of the areas where Monet got his inspiration. It was so beautiful and tranquil that even Art said he'd like to come back...perhaps he forgot that it's in France :)
Our first stop was at Etretat. I was thrilled to be seeing, in real life, the scene on the poster on our dining room wall – the caves and arches of the coast of France in Etretat. It is a lovely town with classic architecture (including intricate brick and stone work or wooden beams with white wash. I think we all took seemingly hundreds of pictures from the hilltop overlooking the arches, the arches at beach level and the town. It was cloudy and windy most of the time so we stopped for a coffee at a little bistro and got to practice a bit of high school french before leaving for our next stop. Somewhat depressing after having Patrick tell us that French children learn English as well as either German or Spanish! Anyway the coffee was excellent and after warming up, we headed for Beaumont en Auge.
This 2nd town was charming…very small, lovely architecture and scenic views as well as a visit to a church built in the 16th century and its surrounding grounds. Pictures are much better than words when viewing scenic beauty.
We left Beaumont en Auge for another scenic drive to Deauville It is a resort town with beautiful, large homes and hotels frequented by Parisians who, according to Patrick, bought the very large houses that we admired for weekend or summer homes! We walked through the main streets of town and drove along the beach front then stopped for lunch at a restaurant and patisserie recommended by Patrick. After waiting for a table, we found a helpful waitress who did not speak English who understood my poor french and sign language and found us a table. We each ordered a ‘real’ Quiche – Art had Goat Cheese, I had Tomate and squash and Diane and Lou had Lorraine. They were individual quiches served with a salad and, of course, glasses of house wine… very nice, delicious and a fun experience. We walked back to our meeting place where Patrick picked us up for our ride to Honfleur.
Honfleur looked just like the Monet picture that we saw at the NC State Museum of Art with Marilyn. and Bob. A lovely town with a small, beautiful marina, very old churches (1400) including one made of wood and lots of shops and restaurants. Our first stop was an art shop to buy a poster of Honfleur done by a local artist to go with the Monet poster in our dining room. We took lots of pictures (again) and tired and happy headed back to the ship. Patrick dropped us off as close as possible to the on rank and we were back home after thanking him for a wonderful day full of new experiences and dreams come true.
Had a quick drink in the Captain's Club Lounge and dressed for dinner...once again a great way to end the day with interesting conversations and lots of laughs. And again to sleep early - no show tonight due to another early tour in the AM.
Glorious Normandy in pictures Beware! there are many pictures of my favorite places. Although I loved this entire trip, this was, after all, my favorite day. I've always wanted to see some of the areas where Monet got his inspiration. It was so beautiful and tranquil that even Art said he'd like to come back...perhaps he forgot that it's in France :)
Embarkation Day - Oct 31
We were up early for our last breakfast in the Executive Lounge and a good-bye to our favorite hostess there. Then to the lobby to meet up with our group of 16, find our bus and, hopefully, load 16 people’s cruise luggage in the boot and the unoccupied rear seats. I have no idea how they did it, but the great driver, Art and some of the other guys managed to fit everything in. And we were on our way from London to Southampton – a little more than 1 hour and 40 minutes drive in dreary on and off rain.
We arrived safely, speedily went through the check-in routine, boarding pictures, cabin keycards and traditional (on Celebrity) glass of Champagne (or OJ). We went directly to the Buffet which was open for lunch. It still amazes me that earlier that morning 2000 + people disembarked and in just a few hours, the ship was cleaned, food prepared, and 2000+ new people were welcomed onboard. Shortly after 1 PM, the announcement was made that the cabins were ready.
We found our cabin and, amazingly, one suitcase delivered already...the others followed rapidly and we settled in. Had fun roaming the ship, making specialty restaurant reservations and seeing folks that we hadn't see since last year's cruise.
We went to our early dinner and met our tablemates - one couple from Washington and 4 Aussies...should be a fun group with lots of laughter. After dinner we went to the Opening show during which both of us dozed...off to bed looking forward to our first port Le Havre, France.
We arrived safely, speedily went through the check-in routine, boarding pictures, cabin keycards and traditional (on Celebrity) glass of Champagne (or OJ). We went directly to the Buffet which was open for lunch. It still amazes me that earlier that morning 2000 + people disembarked and in just a few hours, the ship was cleaned, food prepared, and 2000+ new people were welcomed onboard. Shortly after 1 PM, the announcement was made that the cabins were ready.
We found our cabin and, amazingly, one suitcase delivered already...the others followed rapidly and we settled in. Had fun roaming the ship, making specialty restaurant reservations and seeing folks that we hadn't see since last year's cruise.
We went to our early dinner and met our tablemates - one couple from Washington and 4 Aussies...should be a fun group with lots of laughter. After dinner we went to the Opening show during which both of us dozed...off to bed looking forward to our first port Le Havre, France.
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