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With Callum heading off to Birmingham for the weekend with friends, it was just Jon and I for our annual voyage on SS Shieldhall.
As we weren’t sailing until 2pm or so, we headed to WestQuay for a bite to eat beforehand. It was pretty busy but we managed to find a table at Franco Manca – a sourdough pizza place we’d never tried before. We had a garlic bread with cheese to start – really nice and light.
Jon opted for his usual ham and mushroom whilst I opted for the Spicy Salami with Caramelised Red Onion. Both really tasty and one to remember for the next time we are in Southampton.
From WestQuay, it’s the short drive to Dock Gate 4 and onto Berth 110. It’s quite close to Mayflower Terminal and this Shieldhall sailing should allow us to see the four cruise ships sailing out. It was a shorter cruise than we’ve done previously – just sailing down The Solent.
There were four cruise ships in port today – P&Os Iona and Ventura; Princess Cruises Sky Princess and MSC Virtuosa docked at Mayflower, QE2, Ocean and the new Horizon terminal. Virtuosa was in port but not sailing until the following day.
It was a hot day so we decided to find a table with shade on the upper decks – we were onboard early so had the pick of tables!
We’ve sailed down the Solent on numerous occasions so there wasn’t anything new to see on the shores, just really the passing traffic.
As we were heading back, Sky Princess was already heading out the Solent, heading passed the Isle of Wight and Ventura and Iona were heading off on their new voyage. Great opportunity for SS Shieldhall to sound her whistle and entertain the passengers out on deck and on balconies.
