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Embarkation Day
Weather: Rain, heavy at times
Sea: Calm
Callum made the final decision on where we were cruising – it was a post-A Level cruise so could go before the schools broke up!
He had the choice of a Med Cruise on Britannia or Aurora heading to Iceland. He knew Aurora was now “adult only” so would be one of the youngest onboard, but as he had never been to Iceland or Ireland before, he chose this cruise.
We’d pretty much packed everything the night before. A little shocked at how many cases we had between us. Three suitcases, two hold-alls and a suit carrier. Plus a wheelie suitcase, camera bag, rucksack and my laptop bag. And then there was mother’s luggage. Two more suitcases and a hold all.
Getting a taxi to the docks was the right call … No way would we get all our luggage into a car. With car parking at the docks increasing dramatically since COVID, it was actually cheaper than paying for parking too.
I went to pick Mum up from home. As soon as I pulled away from home, the heavens opened and didn’t let up until I got back home. Even though I parked as close a possible to the door, I still got soaked though loading her luggage into the car! Bad timing!
Andy the Taxi man arrived bang on schedule and brought the sun with him. It was a never ending stream of cases we were taking with us. The journey down to the docks was straightforward although some spells of really heavy rain. Traffic queuing on the M3 heading in the opposite direction all the way down the M3 and also on the M27. Not sure what’s happened but very slow going.
After a short queue with all the West Quay traffic, we arrived at Mayflower Terminal abt 12.15. luggage unloaded and fed through the hole in the wall and then we headed towards the entrance.
Mum had a 12.30PM boarding time whilst we had 2.45pm. We were fully prepared for a 2 hour wait but were pleasantly surprised when we were waved through. Checked in, through security and onboard Aurora by 12.45pm.
Mum headed off for her welcome aboard lunch for Baltic passengers whilst we headed to the buffet. Cabins were all still closed off so couldn’t drop off our carry on bags.
Nice lunch to fill a gap and the announcement came through at 1.30pm they were ready. Perfect timing as we’d just finished lunch.
We were in cabin B255 for this cruise (Mum was in the cabin next door in B253). We were limited in choice as we needed a cabin for three on this deck and these were few and far between. The doors opened into the lift vestible but any concerns about noise filtering through into the cabins were quickly banished.
Back to our cabin and all our cases had arrived … Lined up down the corridor. We had packed expecting to be some of the last to board so everything we need for tonight and tomorrow was in one case. Getting on early meant we (or rather I!) had plenty of time to unpack everything.
Jon meanwhile was out on the balcony waiting for the SS Shieldhall pass by on one of her daytrips.
We had plenty of storage … three drawers each plus drawers in the bed side tables. Lots of hanging rails in the wardrobe and cupboards above the desk and in the bathroom.
We were unpacked just in time for the F1. We headed down to Champions and it was standing room only. We did spot three seats at the bar next to a TV. It was a little weird watching the race without sound. Something to do with the licensing as they were meant to be showing MotoGP! A little frustrating to see George Russell retiring without knowing why!
Captain made the necessary announcements for Muster Drill … and all of a sudden, the sound sprang into life for the final laps of the race!
Great to see Lewis get his win and Lando on the podium too. Just a real shame the George had to retire and the possibility of a British 1-2-3 on the podium. At least Max has the fastest lap taken away from him by Piastri.
Captain then came back on the tannoy to say that our departure was delayed as they were still waiting for a coach to arrive. We found out later in the cruise that the coach from the North East had broken down on the M1. A replacement coach arrived but then encountered problems and could only drive at 20 miles an hour and a passenger was feeling unwell. They then stopped at a service station. Poorly lady started to feel better with fresh air and able to continue. Meanwhile the original coach had been repaired, met the other coach at the services and took the passengers the rest of the way. The coach was due in at 7.30pm so once everyone and their luggage onboard, we could set sail!
Arvia was also in port today – at Ocean Terminal. With us needing to wait for the last coach, they would be setting sail before us.
Back to the cabin to chill (and Jon back on the balcony awaiting for SS Shieldhall to return) until we head down for dinner.
We were on freedom dining this cruise … A change for mum as she usually goes set dining at 8.30pm.
The freedom dining restaurant was the Medina Restaurant in the middle of ship. We were down for 7.15pm and told it would be a 30 minute wait. Just enough time to head up to Anderson’s for a pre dinner drink. No sooner than our drinks arrived at our table, we were buzzed to return back to Medina.
Our table was right behind the welcome desk and you do feel sorry for the staff and the attitude of some of the passengers leaves a lot to be desired.
Well fed tonight …
Chicken Croquettes (KC), Ham and Lentil Soup (J) and Tomato Soup (M)
Lamb (MK), Sea Bass (J) and Pork Loin (C)
Pavlova (M), Sticky Toffee Pudding (C) and Cheese Plate (JK)
After dinner, mum was calling it a night. Meanwhile the three of us headed to Champions for the General knowledge quiz … Easy, medium and hard questions. We got 12/21 … the winners got 13. Tie breaker to decide. First up … How many dimples on a golf ball. One to remember as this often comes up on quizzes. Answer: 336.
The question that decided the winners was when did the UK top 40 music charts start.
