Southampton

May 24^th, 2024

Well, here we are back at the Mayflower Cruise Terminal. Brian took the coach transfer to Heathrow so it was an early morning as he had to be on the bus by 7:45.

I finished packing my stuff for moving and took the shuttle bus in to town to run some errands and do some shopping. Most of all I wanted to post a Queen Anne bear to a couple in Germany as a replacement for their lost bear.

By 11:30 I was ready to return to the ship, and hoping that my new stateroom would be ready.

As I got off the bus I could see that there was something going on. People were arriving in hordes and trying to drop off their bags, meanwhile people were trying to push their luggage carts through the melee in order to get to the taxis and other transport. Wow, there were still folks trying to disembark. It was a mess.

I stood staring at it all, trying to work out how I could forge a path through all of this to get to the departures area.

I must have looked perplexed because a kind gentleman came up to me and asked if I was in transit. When I let him know I was, he led me away, and took me to the crew area, where I was able to calmly walk on and avoid the crowds. Phew, that was a bit of luck!

Back on board again, it was wonderfully peaceful. The calm before the storm. I knew that in another hour there would be plenty of confused people battling with their hand luggage to find their staterooms. The lifts, which are already a huge problem, will be totally non functional as the newcomers will be in competition for an available lifts with the crew pushing the cartloads of baggage trying to squeeze into the lift before the doors close.

But for now it was wonderful.

I decided that instead of sitting in the Commodore Club I would try the Drawing Room on deck 1 for a change.

It turned out to be a good idea, and I found the perfect spot to work.

Then I went to the Café Carinthia and had lunch,

looking out at the now deserted Promenade deck.

Meanwhile Brian was not having an easy time of it. Brian had requested to be on the bus to Terminal 3 and the paperwork we received showed that he was going to Terminal 3, the bus that matched the luggage labels we had been given, but was going to Terminal 2. Brian questioned this, and bus the driver told Brian that he could drop him at Terminal 3. However, it turned out he couldn’t and Brian had to make his own way there with all of the luggage. All in all, it was not a good start to Brian’s journey home.

After my lunch I went to our stateroom to unpack.

I had hoped that our room steward would now know that he should place the ice bucket on a plate to prevent the condensation from dripping all over the table and on to the carpet.

Alas, that was not the case, and there was no serviette either. I decided to take it on myself to gently let him know for future guests.

It was time to visit the launderette again.

I was pleased to see that the deck 4 launderette has a chair. Phew, something to climb on so I can see to get my clothes out of the dryer. So much better than a laundry basket.

I noted that 2 of the washers and one dryer had an error signal. Not good.

I finished unpacking just as Deirdre arrived so that was good timing. I was concerned that there would not be enough storage space for the 2 of us, but it turned out there was plenty of space, even in the hanging closets.

We opened the Prosecco and settled in.

I had been very excited about the sail away. This is the start of the Festive British Isles voyage. If I was planning things there would be a festive old fashioned British sail away with flags and stirring British music. Once more a Cunard ship would sail on the Solent blasting out Jerusalem as we pass Hythe Pier.

I was a bit concerned when I saw that DJ Lily and saxophonist Sergei were providing the entertainment at the Panorama pool for the sail away. Maybe Lily had a great selection of British music she could play.

Although it was a bit cold, it was a lovely sunny afternoon. Perfect for a festive sail away.

Deirdre and I went to the Panorama pool to get our flags, but there were NO FLAGS. Meanwhile Lily was playing what sounded like hip hop music. There were no crowds of people by the pool ready to party and sing along. Talk about a low key sail away.

There was hardly anyone out on deck.

We sat at the Cabana Bar and watched as we slowly left the dock and sailed away on our Festive British Isles voyage, not feeling very festive at all.

Still, there was much whistle blowing so I was happy about that. Sometimes you simply can’t have everything.

Deirdre and I got changed and went to the Commodore Club to meet up with a friend. I was in my happy place. Yes, the sail away was a huge disappointment, but I am sure there will be exciting things to come.