We decided to use the ferry from Hull to Rotterdam to set us on our way, one way costing £190 with the Caravan Club (a bargain as P&O wanted £325 for the same journey). It was nice not to have to drive down to the Channel ports - Hull is a 2½ hour journey for us – and we joined the Pride of Rotterdam after a very wet drive across the country. The ship is HUGE, certainly the largest ferry we’ve ever been on with 12 decks and hundreds of cabins. The cabins were small but perfectly formed with single beds and an en-suite shower room; well, I thought ours was small until we saw a plan of the ship, and discovered ours was half again as big as most of the inside ones!

Today was the FA Cup Final between Manchester United and Crystal Palace, and having listened to the first half on the M62, we found ourselves a seat in the Irish Bar (don’t ask!) to watch the end of the second half plus extra time. R went to the bar for beers & came back with a Crabbies for me – my favourite drink! The football was interesting but ultimately the outcome didn’t matter a jot (United won 2-1) so we went to find some dinner; the Kitchen restaurant was doing an all-you-can-eat buffet – great, we thought, until they said it was £21 each!! A hot dog with onions in Starbucks had to suffice.

The Irish Bar got a bit noisy & the Entertainment bar had a (not particulary good) group on so we spent the rest of the evening in the Sun Lounge where a pianist tickled the ivories and sang along quite nicely. The crossing was obviously smooth as we were not disturbed at all by the motion of the ship, and we docked in Rotterdam at 9am after a good night’s sleep.