| Flag: | Date: | Port: | Comment: |
|---|---|---|---|
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16th July 2023 |
Tilbury Essex UK |
Saga Transfer from DoVeR |
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18th July 2023 |
FoWeY Cornwall England |
Delights of Dartmoor DeVoN |
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19th July 2023 |
Falmouth Cornwall England |
Cornish Coast to Land's End tour |
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20th July 2023 |
Hugh Town Saint Mary's Isles of Scilly |
Scilly Isles Sea Safari tour |
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23rd July 2023 |
Portsmouth Hampshire England |
Exbury Gardens New Forest |
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24th July 2023 |
DoVeR Kent UK |
Lunch with the family |
| Flag: | Date: | Port: | Comment: |
I awoke at 6:40, later than I had intended as I still had some packing up to do. I left the house at 10:35 and made good progress until the Winchester bypass road works. I turned off the M3 here and drove along the much quieter A31.
At 12:30, in Send village in Surrey, I had my picnic and one hour siesta. At Maidstone services in Kent, I splashed out £1.99 on a McD wrap of the day. When I got to Wye in the North Downs, I went for a half hour walk around the charming village.
I got to my £33 AirBnB in Sturry near Canterbury at five o'clock. After settling-in, I went for a walk around the village. I bought some sarnies in the local co-op for my supper and breakfast.
Back in my room, I had to prepare some more Oceania bids. I watched the hilarious East Street comedy amalgamation of the Eastenders and Coronation Street TV soap operas, prepared for a charity marathon back in 2010, which I had never heard about before! I went to sleep at 10:20 having done under eight thousand steps, equal to just three miles of walking during the day of travel.
I awoke at 7:20 having slept for nine hours. Having showered, I ate my sarnies and packed up, ready to leave at eight o'clock. I drove into Canterbury and parked on a side street, spending the next two hours walking around this medieval city taking photographs.
At 10:30 I headed off for Dover, being the first car to arrive at the locked cruise terminal as eleven o'clock. Soon the chaplain Gavin and his sidekick Liam arrived, followed by other supernumeraries, Saga transfer vehicles and some guests. Eventually the police let us in to park our cars and we headed off in our limousines. I was with lecturer Charlotte and her husband, driven by Darren. She was a Saga Virgin, so I brought her up to speed!
At the Dartford crossing the right hand tunnel had an accident, so we had to queue for twenty minutes for the left hand tunnel. At the cruise terminal, I got a label for my large case and found out I was in cabin E003. Whilst waiting I chatted to Ann from Brockenhurst, Winnie from Belfast, and former dance host Tony with partner Marianne. I had last cruised with the latter pair in 2010 on the Black Watch.
I was on board by three o'clock, when I found that I had a double cabin on deck seven (Echo) with balcony. I had the roast leg of beef for a late lunch, sat with Sally and two ladies from Devon. I then slept for an hour and twenty minutes, only to be awoken by the safety drill announcement.
After the troop down the service staircase and through the back of the theatre, I went to the Chart Room. Here Cruise Director Christopher ran through the do's and don't's with us. I sat with speakers Charlotte and Jim and then chatted with speaker Keith from North Lincolnshire. I then dined on the broccoli soup, the scampi & chips and the mixed ice cream, sat with ladies from Farnboro', Portsmouth and Welwyn.
At 9:30 I went to the excellent "We are the Champions" Queen tribute production show, which I have seen a few times, but never tire of. I went to sleep at 10:30 after a busy day travelling, having done nearly fifteen thousand steps, nearly equal to six miles of walking during the day!
I awoke to my alarm at six o'clock, ready for my mug of instant decaff coffee in the cabin with their milk and my Sainsbury's Lighter Coffee Whitener. Having showered and washed out my smalls, I updated this blog and worked on my next two presentations. At eight o'clock I had TWO eggs royale, which was the special breakfast on offer for the day.
At nine o'clock I touched base with Louise at the Explore Ashore desk as Oana was in a meeting. At 9:45 I was set up in the theatre by Kegan, ready to give my forty minute talk on Fowey at 10:30 to a decent sized audience. At noon I spoke to Louise again to prepare for my talk on Falmouth later that afternoon.
I then lunched on the clear soup and the roast lamb with a single lady and a couple from Guernsey. Afterwards I slept for one hour, before having my afternoon decaff instant coffee. I then worked on my Falmouth presentation ready to give my forty minute lecture at five o'clock.
I immediately got into my grey formal rig, ready for the Captain's cocktail party. Here there was no-one to dance with, so I just chatted to Jill the lady from Thornwood near Harlow. When the Captain came on, I retired to the back of the Britannia lounge and sat with Ann from Brockenhurst. After a while, I withdrew to the Grill for dinner. Here I had the killing skunk soup, the sorbet, the tenderloin of beef and the chocolate opera cake, sat with a couple from Portishead near Bristol.
At 9:15 I went to Viva's Lively Music for Dancing Set, but there was only disco dancing. At 9:45 I moved down to the theatre for King Jamsheed's excellent high energy piano and vocal show time. He covered a wide variety of genres from Leonard Cohen (Hallelujah) to Edith Piaf (Non, Je Ne Regrette Rien). I particularly enjoyed Elton John's "Can You Feel the Love Tonight" from the Lion King, which took me back to our great holiday in the Rockies back in 1994! I went to bed at 10:50 having done less than six thousand steps, equal to just over two miles, on my busy first sea day!
I awoke before my alarm at six o'clock ready for my instant decaff coffee in the cabin. At 6:40 there was some noise as the anchors went down, with us some way offshore. At seven o'clock I had the full English breakfast in the Grill buffet.
At 7:45 I was on dispatch duty in the Playhouse ready to escort the Delights of Dartmoor (£59) tour. I was the first escort away, even though I had lollipop number two. We tendered into the Berrill's Yard pontoon, but there were no independents on board to alight here. We motored on to the fuel filling station at the Imerys private, commercial yard to jump on our coach.
We drove through Cornwall and crossed the Tamar river into Devon at Gunnislake. We didn't stop at Tavistock or Princetown, but pushed on to Two Bridges, where we stopped at the National Park Information Centre. The old clapper bridge and the newer stone bridge were very photogenic! Our final stop was at Bovey Tracey, where I went in the library to use the free wi-fi. I was asleep at the back of the coach when we crossed back over the River Tamar on the suspension bridge alongside Brunel's famous railway bridge.
Back at the yard, we had to wait on the bus until the next batch of guests had come up the stairs from the pontoon. We got on to the second tender and I gave my escort bag to Oana, so I could get off again at Berrill's Yard pontoon for the town. I paid £1 to go in the lovely little Town Museum, where I photographed the Daphne du Maurier display and other exhibits. I walked to the Wind in the Willows garden to use the Harbour Hotel's free wi-fi. I got as far along the esplanade as Dawn French's former home at Point Neptune overlooking Readymoney beach, before heading back.
Back at Berrill's Yard pontoon, I got on the next tender back to the ship. Here I did six short widths of the hydrotherapy pool, until another lady arrived. I then used the various water jets for massage. Unfortunately, as had happened on my last few cruises, the chlorinated water irritated my piles, so I had to cut back on my jacuzzi-ing! At six o'clock I went to the ballroom dance session, but there were no single ladies present. At seven o'clock I dined with Lorna the Welsh lady and her Yorkshire friends Ann & Brian on the potato and leek cold soup, the sirloin steak and the rocky road ice cream.
At 9:30 I went to the excellent Moondogs trio show time. The first half was 60s pop songs including the Beatles, whilst the second half was 50s rock and roll including Elvis. I went to sleep at eleven o'clock having done over eleven thousand steps, equal to over four miles of walking during the day.
I got up at six o'clock and enjoyed my usual mug of instant decaff coffee in the cabin. At seven o'clock I had the breakfast special of a poached egg on a brioche bun filled with baked beans.
At nine o'clock I led my Cornish Coast to Land's End tour group (£49) out to the bus. We drove via the A30 to Land's End where I recorded a piece to camera and took some more photographs. After passing through Penzance we stopped on the beach for the view across to St. Michael's Mount.
Back at the ship, I had the teryiaki salmon with another egg and vegetables but no chips for lunch. I immediately walked into Falmouth via the RNLI station and the expensive National Maritime Museum (NMM). I got as far at the Art Gallery which had a fabulous free Pre-Raphaelite art exhibition. They had the famous painting of the Lady of Shallot, plus tapestries and prints as well as other paintings.
Back at the NMM, I caught the shuttle bus back to the ship. At five o'clock I gave my forty minute talk on Hugh Town, St. Mary's, Isle of Scilly. At six o'clock I went to the ballroom dance session, but again there were no single ladies present.
At seven o'clock I dined on the pumpkin soup, Caesar salad, veal schnitzel, with my third egg of the day, and honeycomb ice cream, sat with a couple from Shenfield, at the eastern end of the new Elizabeth line from London. At 9:30 I watched the magic and acrobatic show of Duo Sensation from Ukraine. I particularly enjoyed the juggling with laser beams, which I have seen on other ships already. Back in my cabin I watched the last two thirds of my IoS talk, recorded after the Captain's interruption! I went to sleep at eleven o'clock having done nearly sixteen thousand steps equal to over six miles of walking during the day!
I awoke at six o'clock, an hour before my alarm, ready for my in cabin decaff instant coffee. At seven o'clock I breakfasted on the day's special of one fried egg on a tomato, chorizo and mushroom ragout. I also had a croissant with smoked salmon, sat with Jill the lady from Thornwood near Harlow.
At eight o'clock I collected an independents tender ticket and sat with Charlotte and Gary in the South Cape Bar. We descended at 8:20 and after some dithering on the threshold the local tender departed for Hugh Town. Here I walked along the north west coast of St. Mary's to King Harry's Walls and the free Carreg Dhu gardens.
I walked back via the nature trail and the old town church, where I found Harold Wilson's grave at the second time of searching. I went in the library to use their free wi-fi and upload TWO video pieces to camera. I went in the tourist information office, before catching the 11:50 local tender back to the ship.
Here I had the fish and chips al fresco on the rear verandah. At 13:25 I was on dispatch duty in the Playhouse, but we didn't depart until 14:20. We had an hour and a half's cruise around the western islands seeing lots of Atlantic grey seals and lots of seabirds. The latter included shags, auks and puffins, but no dolphins or basking sharks were to be seen.
Back at the ship, I had my late afternoon instant decaff coffee, before sleeping for half an hour, interrupted by the Captain's departure announcement. At six o'clock I went to the ballroom dance session, but there were still no single ladies present. At seven o'clock I dined on the cauliflower soup, the roast duck and the honeycomb ice cream (again). I was sat with Welsh Lorna and her Yorkshire friends Ann & Brian again. I had one glass of red wine and a glass of Baileys at the end.
Back in my cabin, I worked on my next presentation. At 9:30 I went to the Twisted Circus fantasy production show which I first saw last December. This included great pop songs, like Roxanne by the Police, Sweet Dreams by the Eurhythmics and Tainted Love by Soft Cell. I went to sleep at 10:30 having done nearly eighteen thousand steps, equal to over seven miles of walking during the day!
I awoke just before six o'clock over an hour before my alarm. At seven o'clock I had TWO eggs Royale to eat with a glass of Buck's Fizz to drink. I then worked on my Portsmouth presentation. When Randy came to service the cabin at 8:30 I did six and a half circuits, equal to one mile of walking, of the top deck. At nine o'clock, I touched base with Louise at the Explore Ashore desk.
At 10:30 I gave my forty five minute talk on Portsmouth. At the end one guest said that I had got the date wrong and that we would be there on Saturday, not Sunday as I had said. Fortunately other guests told him he was wrong, and that I had got it right! One guest said that you could go into the Historic Dockyard without paying. Later I looked this up on Google and it is true that you can breeze past the ticket office without paying!
At 11:30 I went to the line dancing where two of the female dancers taught three beginner dances, the first of which, Nut Bush, was entirely on the spot! At noon I gave the Lido a miss as it was heaving with both curry and fish & chip stations doing a roaring trade. Instead I had a small piece of chicken Kiev, a small fish cake with chips and peas al fresco on the rear Verandah. Back in my cabin, I caught a glimpse of some dolphins from my balcony. I then slept for over an hour until awoken by a scenic cruising announcement off of Fowey. After my mid-afternoon coffee, I watched my Portsmouth talk on the telly.
At 3:30 I went to Keith's excellent fifty minute talk on the Tower of London. I spent the rest of the afternoon updating this blog. I did another six and a half circuits, equal to one mile of walking, of the top deck before dinner. Here I had the butternut squash soup, the salmon and the almond toffee ice cream to eat and a tin can of cider to drink. I was sat with a ninety year old lady from Abbey Wood in South East London and a dancing couple from Leigh on Sea in Essex. Back in my cabin I had another decaff instant coffee as I back upped my photographs from the previous three ports of call.
At 9:30 I went to The Broadway Showman King Jamsheed's second show. He began with the Morning song from Oklahoma and the Evening one from South Pacific, both by R&H. His Sondheim piece was inevitably the Clown song and his first ALW one was Memory from Cats. He sang the River song from Jerome Kern's Showboat, which he correctly proclaimed to be the first true musical. He continued with the Street song from My Fair Lady, the Rich Man from Fiddler on the Roof and the Walk song from Carousel (also by R&H). His encore was the Love song from Jesus Christ Superstar (also by ALW), so a complete set of barnstorming numbers!
I went to sleep just after eleven o'clock, having done just over my daily quota of ten thousand steps, equal to four miles of waling during the day.
I awoke just before seven o'clock, having slept for nearly eight hours, as we sailed up the Solent past PoMoH. At 7:30 I sat with Jill from Thornwood and a lady from Farnham, but the hot breakfasts didn't start until eight, so I had a croissant with smoked salmon to be going on with. I had TWO glasses of Bucks Fizz and ONE glass of raspberry smoothie to drink. At eight o'clock I had just ONE egg Royale to eat.
Back in my cabin, Randy had already been, so I worked on my laptop. At 10:30 I went to the Meet the Cast interviews with CD Christopher James. Niall Gray demonstrated his quick costume change from Sweep to Gent in the Mary Poppins medley.
At 11:45 I hosted a table in the solo travellers luncheon, where I was sat with three gents and two ladies. I had the Cornish broth, the gammon and the tiramisu ice cream to eat and just one glass of red wine to drink. The table broke up when the bridge announced that the Fastnet yachts were on their way in the wet and windy conditions. I then slept for an hour and a half, before having my mid-afternoon instant decaff coffee in the cabin.
At 3:30 I went to the Victory Piano Quartet's popular classics concert, whose Carmen finale was interrupted by the Captain's annoucement. I then continued working on my Scottish presentations. At 6:15 I went to the Britannia club cocktail party where I sat with dancers Elizabeth and Richard from Essex. CD Christopher, his deputy Bradley and the production company sang One Day More from Les Mis, but the Captain was busy on the bridge. There were two diamond club members present, one of whom I dined with that night.
At seven o'clock I dined with Jill from Thornwood. I had the asparagus soup, the Caesar salad, the sorbet, the Chateaubriand beef and the crepes Suzette to eat and TWO glasses of red wine to drink. We were sat next to a couple from Cambridgeshire, who were curious about my use of FaceBook!
At ten o'clock I went to the Moondogs second show, this time in the Britannia lounge. They again had a mix of 60s UK pop and 50s US rock 'n' roll. The first half was some hits of the Beatles, the Who, the Hollies, the Kinks and the Stones. The second half included a couple of Buddy Holly numbers. I went to sleep just after eleven, having done only less than four thousand steps, equal to less than two miles of walking on a wet and windy day!
I awoke just after six o'clock, over an hour before my alarm, having slept for seven hours. After my instant decaff coffee in the cabin, I showered and got into my Saga yellow escort's outfit. I stood out on my balcony to watch the sail-in past Old Portsmouth and chatted to Charlotte and Gary on their balcony two cabins along.
At seven o'clock I had the naan breakfast special with fried egg, spiced avocado, mango chutney and cream cheese! I had just one glass of tomato juice to drink, as we sailed into Portsmouth International Ferry Port. Back in my cabin, Randy had already been in and out, so I was able to work on one of my Scottish presentations.
At 9:30 I was on dispatch duty in the Playhouse ready to escort my second choice Exbury Gardens tour (£84). I led just seventeen guests down to the quayside, where we met guide Anna from South West London and local driver Adam. It took just over an hour to reach Exbury, via Lyndhurst and Beaulieu. Here we met local guide Theo, originally from Zimbabwe, who was an enthusiastic gardener.
We began with a twenty minute ride on the steam train, where I was sat with Jill from Thornwood. Then half the group wanted to do their own thing, as the other half walked around with Theo. We only saw about ten percent of the extensive gardens, but did see the lady of the house in her electric golf buggy. We met back at the coach at 1:50, before driving back to Portsmouth via the Portsdown ridge.
Back at the ship, I slept for an hour, before going up to the top deck to watch the sailaway through PoMoH harbour. I then did three and a half circuits of the top deck, equal to half a mile of walking. At six o'clock I went to the dance session, where I did just one Mayfair Quickstep with Elizabeth from Essex. This was both my first and last dance on this one week cruise! At seven o'clock I had the ham & egg salad starter, the torpedo prawns with chips as the main course and the baked egg custard for dessert. I was sat with Welsh Evelyn from Swindon and a couple from Northants.
At 9:30 I went to the final excellent variety show time in the Playhouse. This began with CD Christopher James singing "This is the Moment", followed by the production cast with an Oklahoma medley. Next came the Moondogs trio which segued into King Jamsheed with his Tony Bennet Tribute. He then accompanied Christopher in "Music of the Night". Next came the Duo Sensation acrobats with a short floor show sequence. Finally the production company did their Chorus Line sequence.
I had to do one lap of the promenade deck to reach my ten thousand step daily quota, equal to four miles of walking during the day. I went to sleep at 10:45, after another fabulous day on board the superb Saga Spirit of Discovery!
I awoke at 6:20 five minutes before the bow thrusters started up. At seven o'clock, I had the full English breakfast al fresco on the Verandah. Back in my cabin, I updated this blog, before heading off the ship.
At 8:30 I was stood with Sally awaiting the shuttle bus into town. When it arrived, he said he wan't going to leave until 8:50, so I started walking instead. I explored the newly redeveloped Western Docks, which have been tastefully renovated. In town I bought some sticky labels in the WHSmith clearance section and a pair of fawn jeans in the Scope one pound charity shop! I then walked back to the ship, where I had my mid morning instant decaff coffee, with the extra whitener I had brought from home.
At noon my cousin Jean arrived with her daughter Michelle and whisked me off to Cullins Yard restaurant in Dover. Here I had the ham, egg & chips, whilst Jean had the fish & chips and Michelle had the spaghetti with prawns. I had a pint of cider and the two ladies had bottles of Peroni beer. Then Michelle drove me back to the ship, where I slept for one hour.
At the safety drill I chatted to Archdeacon Gavin whose colleague Liam had now gone back to Nottingham. At six o'clock we had the entertainers cocktail party where I had just one glass of cranberry fizz. Amanda remembered me and asked what was I going to say about the Tall Ships in Lerwick, so I rushed back to my cabin to get my laptop to show her my slides.
At seven o'clock I dined on the broccoli and blue cheese soup, the prime rib of beef and the mixed ice cream. I had just one tin can of cider to drink, sat with a Welsh lady and her Scottish husband. He had spent his career in wool carpets, including time in Kidderminster and Abingdon. At 9:30 I went to hear the Twisted Circus fantasy production show for a second time. This again included great pop songs, like Roxanne by the Police, Sweet Dreams by the Eurhythmics and Tainted Love by Soft Cell. I went to sleep just after eleven o'clock having done over seventeen thousand steps, equal to seven miles of walking during the day!
Charlotte wrote about my first lecture: "Hugely informative and well delivered"
Her husband Gary later wrote: "Enjoyed reading your account Martin. Nice reminder of a wonderful cruise."
8 Night cruise 8 Grill dinners 8 Grill breakfasts 7 Drawers 6 Grill lunches 6 Dancers 5 Singers 4 Port Talks (Fowey, Falmouth, IoS & PoMoH) 4 Tours escorted (Ditto) 3 Sea days 3 Eggs Royale (2+2+1 = 5 eggs) 3 Breakfast specials 2 Beef dinners 2 Full English breakfasts 2 Cocktail parties 2 Scampis 1 Packed lunch 1 Sirloin steak 1 Solos luncheon 0 Eggs Benedict!
Thirteen Cruise Lines:
* Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines * Saga Shipping Company * Voyages of Discovery * Seabourn (Carnival) * Princess (Carnival) * Cunard (Carnival) * P&O (Carnival) * Celebrity (RCCL) * Silversea (RCCL) * Oceania (NCL) * Marella (TUI) * Ambassador * CrystalForty Two Cruise Ships:
Silver Whisper Silver Spirit Silver Wind Silver Muse Silver Moon Silver Dawn Black Prince Black Watch Boudicca Balmoral 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 Aurora P&O Oriana P&O Iona Crystal Symphony Crystal Serenity Seabourn Odyssey Seabourn Sojourn Marella Explorer Oceania Sirena Ambassador Ambience Sapphire Princess VoD Discovery