Nov.
2022
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SoToN
by 15:30
Nov.
2022
de
Tenerife
La Laguna
Nov.
2022
town
Barbados
p.m. Ship
Nov.
2022
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BoMoH
by 15:15
| Flag: | Date: | Port: | Comment: |
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9th Nov. 2022 |
BoMoH --> SoToN |
On board by 15:30 |
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13th Nov. 2022 |
Santa Cruz de Tenerife |
S.C.d.T. & La Laguna |
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20th Nov. 2022 |
Bridge- town Barbados |
a.m. City p.m. Ship |
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21st Nov. 2022 |
LGW --> BoMoH |
Home by 15:15 |
| Flag: | Date: | Port: | Comment: |
I awoke early and started to pack. At 9:15 I walked to Upper Parkstone, catching the bus back to Westbourne. Back at home, I had an early lunch of a cheese omelette to use up my last two eggs. I then had an early fitfull siesta.
Chris, one of my dancing partners from Poole, arrived in her taxi at my house at two o'clock, ready to ferry me to SoToN. Chris kindly paid for the taxi, whilst I gave the driver a ten pound tip. At check in they wanted to see my four vax QR codes and my negative RALF test result from the previous day. There was a slight delay here because I didn't have a US ESTA visa waiver, since I was only going as far as Bridgetown, Barbados. I wish that Silversea had done the same check back in January, when I was fined over five hundred dollars by the US immigration officials, since my old ESTA had lapsed!
I was on board by 3:30 and met up with Chris for a drink by the pool. I then touched base with Matthew the Assistant Entertainments Manager. Unfortunately they still had my talk titles from my MV Iona Norway cruise in the summer, so the next day's programme said I would be lecturing on the Fjords, not the North Atlantic!
I then got a message from fellow speaker Tony Babb, who had been on my Saga Spitsbergen cruise during the summer. I met up with him in the buffet where he said his wife, Norwegian Margrete, had suffered from a CoViD vax rash!
At six o'clock I used the P&O app to book a freedom dining place in the Meridian restaurant. I had to queue for ten minutes before sitting down with just TWO ladies and SIX gents at a table by the huge rear view window. I was sat next to blind Simon from Oxford, who is a gold trader!
I had the ham & lentil soup to start, followed by the sirloin steak with chips and green beans. I finished with the dark chocolate marquise with vanilla ice cream.
At 8:30 I went to the forty minute long "On the Horizon" production show in the Palladium theatre. It consisted of four musicians, five male singers & dancers and eight females. At the end, Cruise Director Giovanni mentioned the rest of the evening's venues, but not the next day's programme.
At 9:30 I went to the recorded music dance session in the Retreat hosted by Claire, who used to work for FOCL. Chris and I did all the popular sequence dances, generally with four or five other couples, but we were the only ones on the floor for the Party Samba and the Gay Gordons! We departed from the Retreat at 10:45 and I was asleep by eleven o'clock, having done nearly fifteen thousand steps, equal to six miles of walking during the day!
I awoke at 6:45 having slept for nearly eight hours. I enjoyed an instant decaff coffee in the cabin, before abluting. At 7:30 I broke my fast with a freshly made cheese omelette with bacon and tinned plum tomatoes in the Belvedere buffet. Back in my cabin at eight o'clock, George had already made it up. I then up dated this blog and worked on my up coming presentations.
At 9:30 I did three laps of the main promenade where I chatted to Chris. At ten o'clock I went to Tony's interesting lecture on the Falklands war. I didn't know that HMS Sheffield was built of steel, NOT aluminium as the press had said.
Afterwards, Emanuele set me up on the stage of the Palladium theatre. At 11:15 I gave my forty five minute talk on the Story of the North Atlantic. Assistant Entertainments Manager Matthew introduced me by saying that I wouldn't be giving my Fjords lecture as we weren't going to Norway! At 12:15 I lunched with Chris al fresco by the outside pool. I had the butter nut squash soup, ham with chips & peas and then strawberry mousse. I then slept for an hour and a half.
At 3:15 I went with Chris and 25 other guests to Graham & Margaret's second social foxtrot class of the cruise. He recapped the basic and the side sways (not taps) which he had covered earlier in the day. Towards the end of the class he introduced the box step in the waltz. At 4:30 I spent ten minutes in one of the hot tubs beside the empty pool under the huge closed sun roof.
At 6:25 I met up with Chris outside the Meridian restaurant. The Maitre d' said that there was no space left on her old table, so they placed us on the next one, where I sat with Marjorie, Pat from Dunmow, Sue, Alison, Jean from Brighouse and Chris from Poole. I had the lamb koftas to start, followed by the roast turkey. I finished with the raspberry ripple ice cream.
At 8:30 I went to Jack Glanville's comedy show time. He had a hard time getting the audience to react and was a little bit naughty! He finished his act with some magic rope tricks. I retired to my cabin at 9:30 and watched TV. I went to sleep at 10:15 having done seven and a half thousand steps, equal to three miles of walking during the day.
I awoke at 6:45 having slept for eight and a half hours! I enjoyed my usual instant decaff coffee in the cabin, before abluting. At 7:30 I broke my fast with a freshly made cheese omelette with bacon and tinned plum tomatoes in the Belvedere buffet. I did just one circuit of the top deck in the bright sun shine, before spotting Chris by the aft pool. We chatted whilst she had her al fresco break fast.
Back in my cabin, George had already made it up, so I was able to up date this blog. At 9:45 I went to the Armistice Day service in the Palladium theatre, where we sang the usual hymns and heard the moving poems. The hymns were The Lord's My Shepherd, Jerusalem, Abide With Me and Eternal Father, Strong to Save. The poems included The Merchant Seaman and Please Wear a Poppy. At the end, I sang God Save the King for the very first time in my life!
In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row
That mark our place, and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the dead, short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow
Loved and were loved, and now we lie in Flanders fields.
Take up our quarrel with the foe
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch, be yours to hold it high
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow in Flanders fields.
At 11:15 I joined Chris from Poole and about fifty guests in the Retreat for Graham's waltz class. First he taught the box step, followed by the figure of eight which he made into a zigzag around the room. At the end, we adjourned to the back of the ship for our al fresco lunch. I had the sweet potato soup, the fish cakes with chips & aubergines and the sherry trifle.
I then slept for an hour and a quarter. When I awoke, I had some FOCL cruises to bid for. At 5:30 I dipped my toe in the main swimming pool, but it was too cold, so I just spent ten minutes in one of the hot tubs instead.
Back in my cabin, I got dressed in my grey formal rig. At 6:25 I met Chris outside the Meridian restaurant to join the usual table, this time with Dorothy from Ambleside as well, making a full table of SEVEN ladies and me! I had the shrimp cocktail, the minestrone soup, the proper beef Wellington and the cherries jubilee dessert. There was a some argy-bargy over the complimentary glasses of wine and so, in the end, I went up to Chris's cabin to collect her free ticket. I popped in to the buffet to redeem a free glass of red wine together with some Stilton cheese and biscuits, making FIVE courses in all!
At 8:30 I went to Peter Howarth's first show time. This was the same as on Saga back in the summer, with a mix of Hollies, Roy Orbison and Cliff Richard numbers. At 9:15 I adjourned to the formal ball in the Globe night club. As I arrived, a lady had fallen on the slippery floor. I did several ballroom, latin american and sequence dances with Chris and just one waltz with Alison. Graham called a halt to the dancing at 10:30, when I went to my room. I went to sleep at eleven o'clock, having done under five thousand steps, not counting the ball dancing, equal to less than two miles of walking, during the day.
I got up at 6:15 ready for my mug of instant decaff coffee. At 6:45 I broke my fast with a freshly made cheese omelette with bacon and tinned plum tomatoes. Back at my cabin at 7:30, George was about to service it, so I did three circuits of the promenade deck in stead, equal to one mile. I then up dated this blog and worked on my next presentation.
At ten o'clock I went to Tony's interesting talk on the Falkland Islands after the war. Afterwards, Rosie set me up and gave me the go ahead at 11:15 for my 45 minute talk on Volcanoes with two short videos at the end. Before I had even started, one gent asked me why do volcanoes attract lightning. I was able to quickly look this up on Wikipedia and then mention in my talk that static electricity is generated by rising ash particles rubbing together!
At 12:15 I lunched with Chris al fresco by the outside pool. I had asparagus soup, followed by chicken korma and chilli beef with rice and finishing with plum & vanilla fool. I then slept for an hour and a half.
At 3:15 I went with Chris and 25 other guests to Graham & Margaret's third Rumba (Number) One sequence dance class of the cruise. This was NOT the Rosalie Rumba sequence dance which had been advertised in the programme! He recapped the dance slowly and towards the end of the class he introduced the quick step.
Back in my cabin, I up dated my volcano lecture. At 5:30 I did my first six lengths of the short, shallow, cool pool. I then spent half an hour in one of the jacuzzis chatting to Luke from south east London. He had started out as an actor, had moved in to writing screen plays and even directing films. He was now a writer of corporate training manuals and was working on his first novel!
At 6:30 I dined with the usual suspects on the upper floor of the main dining room. I had the broccoli soup, the roast lamb and the cookie dough ice cream. At 8:30 I went to the variety show of the comedian Jack Glanville and the singer Peter Howarth. The former was naughty again and the latter repeated "He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother" which he had sung at his previous show.
At 9:15 I moved up to the Retreat where I danced with Chris until she went to bed at 10:45. I then danced with instructress Margaret including a proper cha cha, a Sally Ann Cha Cha, Melody Foxtrot & Tango Serida! At eleven o'clock I went to the midnight buffet for the first time this cruise, having a small gammon steak with out chips! I went to bed at 11:15 having done nearly twelve thousand steps, equal to nearly five miles of walking during the day!
I got up at a quarter to six, excited to be going ashore today. At 7:30 I broke my fast with my usual freshly made cheese omelette with bacon, sausage, hash brown and tinned plum tomatoes. I then watched the sail in from the Crow's Nest obervation lounge.
At 8:05 I was one of the first people off the ship. There was a marathon taking place, but I couldn't get their free wi-fi (wiffy) to work. By the tourist information office in Spain Place (Plaza de Espana), I found a good signal with which to send a long message from my lap top, only being able to use one device, my Nokia mobile phone back on the ship.
I then took my lap top back to the ship and set off again in to the city. With the marathon taking place, the trams weren't running to the old capital of La Laguna, so I had to make do with Santa Cruz itself. I visited the covered market, which was in full swing, but missed out the Sunday street market which was also operating along side it.
I went in the Tenerife Arts Centre for the first time, designed by the architects who had turned the Bankside power station into the Tate Modern art gallery in London. It is a very impressive brutalist building, but the modern art inside was dubious. The huge library was teeming with hard working students early on a Sunday morning.
The natural history museum required five euros, so I gave it a miss, as I have been in when it had had free admission in the past. I went in the Conception church and the central parish church, some times wrongly described as the city's cathedral. The Fine Art Gallery had free admission, so I photographed the famous medieval Flemish triptych for the first time. I also took a couple of pictures of battle scenes and one by the local artist Oscar Dominguez.
I walked through the city park to La Rambla where I photographed the casino. I then went in the military museum which had free admission, but I couldn't find the famous tiger cannon which had hit Nelson here. (Later fellow destination lecturer Hazel Griffiths wrote: "El Tigre is in the exhibition/museum under Plaza d'Espana, Santa Cruz".) I photographed some of the larger out door exhibits and took pictures of the cruise ships from the cafe terrace.
Back at the ship, I had the pea soup and the roast lamb al fresco sat with Chris.
I then slept for one hour.
Having had my afternoon mug of instant decaff coffee, I caught the 2:45 tram to La Laguna the old capital for two euros seventy cents return.
I recorded a piece to camera in one of the squares and then went in my favourite hotel, the Nivaria, to use their loo and pick up a street map. I doubled back to the cathedral, but it was closed. I then caught the tram back to Santa Cruz, where I alighted at Weyler Place to walk back down the main drag, Castle Street, towards the ship.
Back in Spain Place (Plaza de Espana), I recorded a second piece to camera, ready for my Christmas cruise back here on the Saga Spirit of Discovery. Actually Saga's Spirit of Adventure was in the harbour with us this day, but they were berthed out on the pier, whereas we had pole position by the exit terminal!
Back at the ship again, I had another mug of instant decaff coffee, before doing six lengths in the cool pool with Alison and spending ten minutes in one of the hot tubs. I then attended the sail away with Chris, where we did just one social foxtrot, both bare footed by the aft pool! I had to slip away at 6:10 to get changed for dinner. Here I had the chicken noodle soup, the roast beef and the strawberry ice cream sat with the usual diners.
At 8:30 I went to hear the classical guitarist, but slept through the entire concert of samey flamenco music. At 9:30 I danced with Chris to Graham's recorded, mainly sequence, music. I also did a couple of dances with Margaret, before retiring at 10:45. I then spent nearly an hour on FaceBook, emails and this blog. I went to sleep at 11:45 having done twenty eight thousand steps, equal to over eleven miles of walking during the day, of which seven had been in the morning around Santa Cruz, three had been around La Laguna in the afternoon with one mile added during the evening!
I got up at seven o'clock, but it was now only six as we crossed a time zone going west. Having had my mug of full strength instant coffee, I broke my fast at 6:45 with my usual freshly made cheese omelette, with bacon, tinned plum tomatoes and deep fried potato balls!
At 7:20 George was only just setting up in the corridor, so I did three laps of the promenade deck equal to one mile. This took me two thousand five hundred steps and sixteen minutes, which means I was going at just under four miles per hour!
Back in my cabin, I up dated this blog and worked on my up coming presentations. At ten o'clock I went to Tony's interesting talk on Railways in the Great War. At 11:15 I gave my forty minute lecture on Continents Adrift: The Story of Plate Tectonics.
At 12:15 I lunched with Chris by the pool on the aft deck. I had the onion soup, the roast lamb (which was a bit tough) and the berry mousse. When Chris left, I chatted to two other couples who quizzed me about my work on the ship.
At two o'clock I went to a screening of the excellent new Elvis Biopic. This lasted TWO and a half hours, during which time I developed a tension headache in the back of my head. This was caused by the air con vent being directly above my desk! Back in my cabin, I dozed for just half an hour, before having a mug of decaff tea. I then spent ten minutes in total in all three of the jacuzzis. The water in the main pool was far too frisky to swim in, but one brave lady risked it!
At 6:20 I went to the main dining room for the second formal dinner with the usual suspects. I had the sea food starter, the cauliflower soup, the duo of beef & lamb fillets and the souffle. This meal, designed by Marco Pierre White, was the best on the ship so far!
At 8:30 I went to the excellent seventies tribute production show time sat with Tony. He told me about the Norwegian National Library's photograph archive, which will be useful for my new lecture on the Railways of Norway. At 9:30 I danced with Chris in the Globe night club to Graham's tracks. I did one waltz with Alison and one Tango Serida with Margaret. At 10:45 we retired for the night. I went to sleep at eleven o'clock having done just over eight thousand steps, equal to over three miles of walking during the day.
I got up at 6:35 ready for a mug of decaff tea. At 7:20 I had my usual freshly made cheese omelette with bacon, hash brown, corn beef hash and canned plum tomatoes. At eight o'clock I spent eighteen minutes doing three laps of the promenade deck equal to one mile of walking. Unfortunately my old Huawei mobile phone with integral pedometer had run out of juice!
Back in my cabin, I worked on my lap top. At ten o'clock I went to Tony's interesting talk on the Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS), which operated airships and aeroplanes during the first world war.
At 11:15 I gave my thirty five minute talk on Elvis: the King of Rock & Roll! Afterwards I found Chris by the central pool as the aft pool area was chocker block with guests in the hot sun shine. I had the chick pea with chorizo soup followed by the haddock & chips with baked beans, not mushy peas, for luncheon. I then slept for an hour, followed by a mug of instant decaff coffee.
At 3:15 we went to Graham's waltz class for twenty guests, where he taught the spin turn. Back in the cabin, I had another mug of instant decaff coffee, before slipping in to my cossie. I did six lengths of the smaller, but deeper, aft pool, before spending sixteen minutes in one of the rear jacuzzis, chatting to a gent from Plymouth.
At 6:30 I dined on the vegetable soup, the lamb shank and the cherry cheese cake with the usual diners on table 65 in the Upper Meridian dining room. Chris and I slipped out for the 7:45 dance session in the Globe night club on deck 2 to Graham's tracks.
At 8:30 we went to Steve Terry's amusing comedy show time. I have heard him several times before on Saga and FOCL. At 9:30 we danced again, this time in the Retreat dance studio on deck 10. I did just one waltz with Alison and the Sindy Swing with Margaret. During the session we heard that Russian missiles had hit Poland.
At 10:15 I had had enough and I retired to my cabin. I went to sleep at 10:45 having done nearly ten thousand steps equal to four miles of walking during the day.
I got up at seven o'clock, but it was now only six as we crossed another time zone going west. At 6:40 I broke my fast with my usual freshly made cheese omelette with bacon and tomatoes. Marjorie congratulated me on my Elvis talk the previous day! I then did three laps of the promenade deck equal to one mile. This took me two thousand five hundred steps and sixteen minutes, which means I was going at just under four miles per hour!
Back in my cabin, George had just finished servicing it. I spent the morning working on my lap top as usual. At 9:15 I had done my preparation and so explored the ship some more, including the lovely little screening room cinema.
At ten o'clock I listened to Tony's sensitive talk on world war one animals. Then Nandi set me up for my forty minute talk on "Michael Jackson: King of Pop". During the session the head mike failed and she had to come rushing down to the stage to give me a hand mike instead!
Afterwards I had lunch with Chris by the aft pool, but it was quite misty and damp. In the queue for the buffet, Alison congratulated me on my Michael Jackson talk. I had the butter nut squash soup, the sweet & sour chicken with chips and a small moussaka on the side. I finished the meal with some lovely soft, blue cheese and biscuits. I then slept for an hour and a half.
At 3:15 I went to the second cha cha dance class of the day with Chris. Graham counted to three ready for the side close side of the proper cha cha CHA. He then taught the hand to hand, the New Yorks and the ladies spot turn. Towards the end of the class he started to teach the Rock & Roll Blues sequence dance, which is neither rock & roll, nor blues!
Afterwards I walked around the top deck and chatted to comedian Steve Terry. I had previously worked with him twice on the Boudicca and once on the Braemar, but he said that FOCL hadn't booked him since CoViD!
At 4:50 I did six lengths of the cool pool with the roof closed, as it was over cast out side. I then spent ten minutes in one of the hot tubs. Back in my cabin, I up dated this blog.
At 6:20 I went to our regular table in the upper part of the Meridian restaurant.
Here I had the tomato soup, the roast rib of beef and the tiramisu.
At 8:30 I went to Duncan Heather's excellent show time.
Amongst others he sang:
"Fallen Angel" and "Can't Take My Eyes Off You" after Frankie Valli
"Flash, Bang, Wallop" after Tommy Steele from "Half a Sixpence"
"I Dreamed a Dream" from "Les Miserables"
"Mr Bojangles" after Sammy Davis Junior
"Secret Love" after Doris Day
At 9:30 I danced with Chris to Graham's tracks in the Retreat dance studio. I did one waltz with Alison and the Sindy Swing & Saunter Together with Margaret. At 10:30 I went back to see Duncan Heather's show for a second time, this time sat at the very front row of the balcony.
Afterwards, I went up to the top deck, but couldn't see many stars. I had a small pulled pork wrap and a small shwarma pitta, only the second time at the midnight buffet! I went to bed at 11:45, having done nearly thirteen thousand steps, equal to five miles of walking during the day.
I got up at 6:45 ready for my mug of instant decaff coffee in the cabin. After abluting, I did three laps of the promenade deck with the hot sun on one side of the ship. At eight o'clock I had my first pair of eggs Benedict in the lower part of the Meridian restaurant. I was sat with a couple from Hengistbury Head in BoMoH and a couple from Woodhall Spa in Lincolnshire.
At ten o'clock I went to Tony's interesting talk on the wildlife he has photographed on his cruises. This finished with pictures from our fabulous cruise to Spitsbergen in the Svalbard Arctic archipelago of Norway in the summer, when we saw off-white polar bears and pure white beluga whales. At 11:15 I gave my thirty five minute talk on "Elton John: Rocket Man!"
Afterwards, I lunched with Chris inside the Belvedere buffet, where I had the lentil & five bean soup, a small salmon ramekin and a minute steak with chips & peas. I then slept for an hour and a quarter. I awoke to two pieces of good news: my questionnaire score (8.69 out of 10 = 87%) from my last Silversea cruise and another FOCL contract to the Med!
At 3:15 I went to Graham's class with Chris, where he finally completed the teaching of the Rock & Roll Blues sequence dance. I then mooched around the top of the ship for a time. At 4:30 I did six lengths of the cool pool with the roof open to the hot sun. I then spent ten minutes in one of the hot tubs.
At 6:20 I went to the upper deck of the Meridian restaurant for dinner. I had the chicken soup to begin, followed by Chris's tempura vegetable starter. I continued with the sirloin steak with chips & beans. I finished with the mixed ice cream plus some of Chris's cheese cake.
At 8:30 I went to the Tap Step Brothers show time which was surprisingly good. They opened with a tap dance medley, which included Elvis's Jailhouse Rock. They finished with an Irish River Dance medley. At 9:30 I danced with Chris up in the Retreat dance studio, but the girl DJ's lap top was having problems. I departed at 10:15 and was asleep by 10:30, having done eleven thousand steps, equal to over four miles of walking during the day.
I awoke at 6:45 to the dawn, as I had been leaving my TV switched on over night tuned to the bridge camera. However, we had crossed another time zone going west and so it was now only 5:45. At 6:30 I broke my over night fasting with a freshly made cheese omelette with bacon, potatoes and tomatoes. I then did three laps (one mile) of the promenade deck in seventeen minutes.
Back at the cabin, George was still working, so I did one circuit of the top deck to kill time. I was then able to up date this blog and do some paperwork. At 9:45 I met Ents. Man. Gio and touched base with Ass. Ents. Man. Matthew to offer him "Cliff Richard: Peter Pan of Pop" as my last presentation. At ten o'clock I listened to Tony's interesting talk on genealogy, including his own ancestors.
At 11:15 I gave my 40 minute talk on "Freddie Mercury: Killer Queen". I then lunched on the cauliflower soup followed by gammon, prawns, carrots and chips. I finished with the sherry trifle in preference to the extensive spread of gateaux! I then slept for an hour and a quarter.
At 3:15 I went with Chris to Graham's dance class, where he taught the Square Tango and revised the Rock & Roll Blues. At 4:30 I went to a tap dance class for the very first time. The two chaps who had performed last night took all forty five minutes to teach a quite complicated routine to "Singing in the Rain". Unfortunately their terminology (ball changes, shuffles, toe taps etc) was at odds with classic line dance terms. For instance their toe taps were actually toe fans!
Afterwards I did six lengths of the cool pool with the roof wide open to the setting sun. The Captain said there was a blue flash, not a green one, at the point of sun set! I then did ten minutes in the jacuzzi with out bubbles and ten in one of those that was working. As it was my third and final formal night, I got into my grey bow tie, grey cummerbund and grey hanky dinner suit outfit.
At 6:20 I went to dinner at table 65 as usual. I had the prawn cocktail, the clam chowder soup, the grilled salmon and the baked Alaska. At 8:30 I went to James Frew's Simply Rod Stewart show time, sitting in one of the boxes for the first time. I didn't know the majority of the songs, but he did finish with the famous "Maggie May" and "Sailing". His singing voice was spot on, but his Scottish accent was difficult to understand, so I didn't go back for the second house.
At 9:30 I went to the Gala Ball in the Globe night club to Graham's records. I did most of the dances with Chris, plus a waltz with Alison and the Saunter Together & Caribbean Calypso with Margaret. At 10:30 I adjourned to my cabin to up date this blog. I went to sleep at 11:15, having done nearly ten thousand steps, equal to nearly four miles of walking during the day.
I got up at six o'clock as the dawn broke on the bridge camera showing on my TV. After my mug of decaff tea, I had my ablutions. At 6:35 I had my usual freshly made cheese omelette with bacon and tinned plum tomatoes.
Back in my cabin, I up dated this blog and worked on my lap top. When George arrived at 7:25, I did three circuits of the promenade deck, equal to one mile of walking in eighteen minutes in the hot sun. I then did just one lap of the top deck around the open pool to take some more pictures.
At ten o'clock I went to Tony's talk on naval technologies, including sonar, which he had worked on during his career. At 11:15 I gave my forty minute talk on "Cliff Richard: the Peter Pan of Pop". Towards the end my battery was about to give up as their mains supply wasn't working, but it just lasted out.
I then lunched with Chris in the Belvedere buffet. I had the mushroom & beef broth, two types of chicken with chips, broad beans AND green beans in masala sauce. I then tried to sleep, but it was interrupted by TWO phone calls. Matthew the Ass. Ents. Man. called to say that my pick up would be at five o'clock tomorrow afternoon at the gangway. Then Maxine phoned to say that immigration would be at seven o'clock tomorrow morning at reception.
At 3:15 I danced with Chris in Graham's Square Tango class of twenty people. Back in my cabin, I started packing. At 5:10 all three jacuzzis by the main pool were free, but the pool itself was busy. Poor Alison had to weave her way between people just standing and chatting. I spent twenty minutes in the hot tub, but the numbers in the pool hardly decreased, so I gave up on having my final swim of the cruise.
At 6:20 I went to the main dining room as usual. I had the tomato soup, the roast duck and the cheese plate for dinner. At the end of the meal, I said my goodbyes to Alison, Sue, Pat, Marjorie, Dorothy and Jean, but not Chris, who I would be lunching with the next day.
At 8:30 I went to the excellent Magic Moments production show. This told the life story of Burt Bacharach through his songs. I had forgotten that hits sung by Tom Jones & Cilla Black had been written by him. Unfortunately I kept nodding off as the time changes hit me, so I didn't go back for the second house, much as I had enjoyed the first!
At 9:30 I danced with Chris to Graham's tracks in the Retreat dance studio. I also had just one waltz with Alison, but none with Margaret. At 10:45 I went to look at the stars and have a small shawarma pitta. I went to sleep at eleven o'clock, having done nearly seven thousand steps during the day, nearly equal to three miles of walking.
I awoke to the dawn on my TV at 6:45, but it was now only 5:45 on Bajan time. I had my last mug of instant decaff coffee, before abluting. At 6:30 there was already a queue at the omelette station, so I opted for the scrambled egg in stead.
Unfortunately a container ship AND the pilot boat had both broken down in the harbour, so we stood off for some time. Maxine phoned to say that immigration would be delayed until we had berthed. At eight o'clock they took our passports away and I was able to move my bags to Chris's cabin. I said goodbye to George, giving him a tip of fifteen euros.
I then got my passport back and was off the ship by 8:20. I walked along the quay to the cruise terminal and then into the city. The Pelican craft centre had been newly repainted, but nothing was open so early on a Sunday morning, whereas the fish market opposite was already running down.
At the western bus station I found free wi-fi. The heliport was still derelict and the old LIME building was still empty. There was several catamarans loading up with pax along side the board walk.
I crossed Independence bridge and doubled back along the Careenage waterway to the famous screw dock. I walked through Independence square to the eastern bus station and newly painted eastern market. I crossed back over the river to get to Queen's Park where I bumped in to Chris on her peramble. There was a new, attractive fountain and pool in the shape of the island.
I then turned back towards the city, going around the newly landscaped village green. I walked through the Anglican cathedral grave yard, but couldn't go in, as the Sunday service was in full swing. In order to record my piece to camera, I went in the parliament car park.
The Palmetto market mall was closed, so I just walked west along pedestrianised Swan street. I again used the wi-fi at the western bus station, this time to up load my newly recorded video. Walking back along the promenade, I caught up with Chris and we headed back to the cruise terminal together. We then caught the complimentary shuttle bus back to the ship berthed along side the main pier.
At noon I lunched, sat with Chris & Dorothy, on the split pea soup and the gammon with chips, carrots, broccoli and parsnips. I then dozed for an hour and a half in the coolness of the Retreat dance studio. At 4:25 I went to Chris's cabin to take a shower and change in to my going home clothes.
At five o'clock I was waiting on the quay side for my transport, which arrived within five minutes. He said he had been looking for me at three o'clock, NOT five o'clock, but was able none the less to drive me to the airport (BGI). I think the confusion was between 15:00 and 5:00 pm! I gave him a tip of $20 for the trouble he had had to go through.
There was a long queue at the BA check in desks which took an hour and a quarter to get through. At the desk the computer said my old passport was way out of date, so the clerk had to up date the system with my new passport details! Security was quick, but my American bolos again caused problems with the X-ray machine! In the departure lounge, I found a spare power socket with which to up date this blog and charge up my Nokia mobile phone.
Our plane was late arriving, so we were an hour and a half late taking off. Once air borne, I was able to get my lap top out and up date this blog again. I watched some BBC Click technology programmes and some BBC Travel Shows too.
On the first round of the trolley, I had apple juice with a small bag of pretzels. On the second round, I had the red wine with the chicken casserole, rice and vegetables. I had the cheese & biscuits, but not the stale roll. I finished the supper with the fruit mousse. I gave the third round of tea and coffee a miss and went to sleep for three hours.
I awoke with two hours to go over the Atlantic. One hour to go saw the breakfast trolley rounds, when I had apple juice, tea and the lovely warm ham & egg wrap. After eight hours aloft, we landed in a cold and wet Gatwick (LGW) South Terminal at 9:45, over an hour late. Border control was quick, but we had to wait at the baggage reclaim carousel. I then bought a National Express coach ticket for GBP 25.90. This left at eleven o'clock on time, but proceeded to go to the Gatwick North Terminal and then via the M23 and M25 to both terminals at Heathrow (LHR) as well! We cruised home via the M25 and the M3, going over the newly opened three lane bridge at Ringwood.
At Bournemouth Central, I caught a GBP 12 taxi, getting home just after three o'clock, after a long journey.
Chris wrote in her blog: "I managed an hour and a quarter of ballroom and Latin last night with Martin, who is the destination speaker and enrichment lecturer. However he is only on till we reach the Caribbean and Barbados, when he flies home. Still I'm not complaining, as I get to dance with him whilst he is onboard. He leads and I follow, so I do not have to remember the steps."
Chris later wrote in her blog: "Martin is a glutton for punishment as he is still dancing with me. He gets off in Barbados, so I'm unlikely to get much ballroom dancing after that. I'm not complaining, as I've enjoyed the dancing I've had. I've learnt the Mayfair Quickstep and the White City Waltz. To be fair I don't really remember the steps, I just follow. Some of you will find this difficult to understand, but I have learnt to let my partner lead and dictate what steps we do. I just try and keep up and keep in time with the music."
One lady later wrote: "Super photos, lovely places visited. Lectures sounded great too."
168 Cruises 39 Cruise ships (see below) 14 Elevators 12 Day cruise 11 Cruise lines 10 ? 9 Sea days 8 Enrichment Lectures given 7 ? 6 ? 5 Pop music talks (EP, MJ, EJ, FM & CR) 5 Brand new lectures (Not Atlantic, Volcanoes or Elton) 4 External observation elevators 4 Cabin drawers 3 Storey atrium 2 Geology lectures (Volcanoes & Plate Tectonics) 1 Ocean lecture (Atlantic) 1 Port of call (SCdT)
Silver Wind Silver Muse Silver Moon Silver Spirit Silver Whisper Silver Dawn Black Prince Black Watch Balmoral Boudicca Braemar Bolette Celebrity Silhouette Celebrity Solstice Celebrity Eclipse Celebrity Edge Celebrity Apex Saga Rose Saga Ruby Saga Sapphire Saga Pearl II Quest for Adventure Spirit of Adventure (Old SofA) Spirit of Adventure (New SofA) Spirit of Discovery Queen Elizabeth 2 (QE2) Queen Elizabeth (QE) Queen Victoria (QV) Queen Mary 2 (QM2) P&O Arcadia P&O Oriana P&O Iona Crystal Symphony Crystal Serenity Seabourn Odyssey Seabourn Sojourn Ambassador Ambience Sapphire Princess VoD Discovery