Southampton

May 3^rd, 2024

Usually when we fly to join a cruise we use frequent flyer miles for the flights, and arrive in the port a day or two before the sailing.

However, due to time constraints we needed to arrive on the day we were due to sail, so just to be sure we didn’t miss the boat, we used Cunard air, and a Cunard transfer to the ship.

As it turned out this was a good move. If not, we would have been looking for a flight to La Coruna.

We were a bit anxious when our flight to Heathrow from the US was delayed by and hour, but as we prepared to land in London the Captain let us know that we had made us for the lost time, and we were only 15 minutes behind schedule. Good. However, as often happens at Heathrow, the fact that we were flying over the airport didn’t mean anything. We were treated to a scenic flight over London and actually landed an hour later.

We were getting a bit anxious, but getting through immigration was a breeze, and soon we were waiting at the carousel for our luggage.

We waited and waited. No sign of our luggage. I thought we should call Cunard as our driver must be concerned that we had not emerged with our luggage and may think we had missed the flight. We also needed to alert them to the fact that our arrival in Southampton was going to be pretty close to the time that check in closed, 4:30.

When someone finally answered to phone I let her know what our concerns were. I thought it would be fairly simple. She would call the transport company and the port to alert them of our delay. But no. She had no idea what to do, and spoke to several supervisors for assistance. Finally she said that she could not help with it, and I needed to call my travel advisor, and get them to deal with the situation.

I decided not to tell her that I was my travel advisor, and should a client have the same issue, I would call Cunard in the UK to alert them to the situation. So we just stood there staring at the motionless carousel willing it to spring into action.

Finally, over an hour since we had arrived to collect our luggage, the carousel did spring into action, and there were our suitcases. Yay!

We rushed to the exit, and phew, there was a nice man standing there with a Cunard sign. I knew then that all would be well.

We still had to wait for our friend, Jackie, who was joining us on the cruise. She had also experienced delays. It was very clear that we were going to miss the 4:30 check in deadline and I am sure had we been on private transport we would not have been able to check in, but with a Cunard flight and transfer they were obliged to let us board.

We had an uneventful drive through England’s green and pleasant land

and finally arrived at the Mayflower terminal at 5:30.

I had had a glimpse of Queen Anne when we were in Venice last year, but this was my first real look at her.

I can’t say she is a very attractive ship, somehow her forward section looks unbalanced compared to her aft section.

Brian thinks she has an untidy funnel.

However, I’ve been on less than attractive ships before, after all they can’t all look like Queen Mary 2, and that has never detracted from my enjoyment of my cruise.

The terminal was almost deserted. There were the 2 ladies there who assisted us with the check in, and pointed us in the direction of the ship. They asked the 2 stevedores who were standing around doing nothing if they could take the luggage. However, their shift had ended so they could not. So the 2 ladies and Brian and I grabbed Jackie’s and our suitcases and wheeled them on to the ship ourselves.

Finally we are there!

We went straight to check out our stateroom. There was the Pol Acker in an ice bucket waiting for us. But wait, it’s not Pol Acker, it’s prosecco!

The stateroom is small, but gorgeous, and I love everything about it

Plenty of outlets

A bit skimpy on closet space, but we had no trouble getting our 3 suitcases full of stuff stored away.

The bathroom is tiny, and I miss a bath tub, but it is very functional and the shower has a great shower head, with strong water pressure. It is certainly a one person at a time space, but the storage space is great, the lighting is bright. I approve.

By the time we were unpacked, with the suitcases fitting easily under the bed, it was time to meet friends for a drink in the Commodore Club.

The Commodore Club is large and it doesn’t have that clubby feel that it does on the other Queens, but it is still a very nice space, and sitting there sipping my bubbly listening to the piano player playing softly in the back ground, I really did feel like I was in my happy place.

But we couldn’t linger in the Commodore Club too long. It was time to go out on deck and watch the sail away fireworks.

The fireworks were amazing, and it felt like the perfect send off for a maiden voyage.

With our late arrival on board we had missed the 24^th Invicta Rifles Band and the Kings of the Boardwalk afternoon performances in the Queens Room, both were much appreciated.

After the fireworks we went to the Royal Court Theater to hear Peter Doyle. We have heard him many times, but I always love his performances, and he really was in fine form tonight. The theater does not have the charm or elegance of the other Queens, but you get a great view of the stage from everywhere – no annoying columns to obstruct your view.

We had missed lunch and dinner, so after the show we went to the buffet, which is called the Artisan’s Food Hall, but seems like a regular buffet to me, except the staff serve your food and there is no self-service. With recent outbreaks of norovirus and the like on cruise ships, this is not a bad idea at all.

Finally we went back to the stateroom. There on the bed were 2 delicious chocolate truffles. The perfect food to end the day!

The mattresses are not as wonderful as those on the other Queens, but after last night spent courtesy of British Airways, they were perfection as far as I was concerned…..