Embarkation - Southampton, UK

 July 29 - Embarkation in Southampton,th UK 

July 28 - Arrival.  After a perfect flight - on time, great seats, tasty and well presented meals on real dishes with real cutlery, delicious Cabernet Merlot in a tumbler! and well looked after by Stefan, a flight attendant who called us by name after introducing himself! - we had a very long wait for special services to come with our transport.    

The ride through the airport was interesting; it reminded us of the CNE and the Haunted House ride ( minus the ghosts!) - winding through many rather poorly lit corridors and into elevators that were just the right size!  Even with the wait we were grateful to have this service as it was a long way to passport control, customs, and the baggage claim area.  To make a long, boring story short, the driver of the transport vehicle was extremely helpful in locating our transfer guy who had actually had to go back to the parking lot because he had exceeded his time waiting.  The driver then took the scenic route  to Southampton where we stayed at the Leonardo Royal Harbour Hotel.

After a tasty Caesar Salad with Chicken for late lunch, we walked around the old city and wall looking at the stone structures and buildings in the old medieval city that once protected the town and welcomed seafarers and pilgrims.

 

They have built new accommodation and repurposed many of the old buildings.  After that, we were really tired after the flight, little sleep and a lot of walking so called it a day!  

July 29 - After a good night’s sleep we were ready to head to the Island Princess to begin our long awaited cruise!   Check in was so easy and efficient as much of the registration and documentation about vaccines and Covid tests had been done online before we left home. We heard there are only 1500 passengers on the ship ( capacity is about 2200) which makes it feel roomy and passengers are requested to wear masks indoors which we are thankful for.

Once onboard we went straight to the Lido deck for lunch - and a celebratory glass of wine!  We spent the afternoon watching traffic in the harbour and enjoying a perfect day on the Promenade deck.

After dinner we returned to our cabin to enjoy the sunset on our balcony!  We’ll have an early night in preparation for our excursion in Guernsey tomorrow.  We are so happy to be sailing again!

Until next time….

The Happy Travellers