Leaving England

Monday, October 03, 2016
Civitavecchia, Lazio, Italy

Embarkation day

First welcome surprise was the make-up of the passenger population, which seems to be mainly Aussies heading home and Brits .

Phew! We can look forward to not hearing about Hillary Clinton’s murderous, Lesbian and whorish ways, thank heavens and not have to worry about not packing enough jewellery or ball gowns.

Second bit of good news. We were upgraded to a junior suite!

The cabin has a very nice little sitting area which is just so much nicer than just a bed and desk.

Not that I’m grumbling about THAT! 

After that 1972 Sydney to Southampton sailing on the Australis, sharing a 4-berth inside cabin with my travel companion, Julianne, and two strangers, with the communal bathroom down the corridor and around the corner — our original cabin with ensuite bathroom, queen-sized bed, storage galore and a balcony — would have been bliss.

And comparing that Australis 4-berth cabin with SS Great Britain’s skinny wooden pallets, communal tiny loos, NO bathrooms apart from the odd washbasin — the Australis experience was pure heaven .

Surprise number three: A voucher for bottle of delicious champagne from Michael and Sue Wakeford! We’re saving that for a special occasion. November sounds a good time to redeem that generous gift.

The sadness I’d been feeling on leaving the UK was not forgotten by these happy events, but definitely softened.

Note to Malcolm Pearce: 
We didn’t pass by the white cliffs as the route takes us south west near Brittany. But I DO remember getting up early back in January 1972 to see us pass the white cliffs, en route from Bremerhaven, and was in tears. I felt I was coming home.

First sick day

We woke up way too early with heaving seas (force 9 near Gale) and unfortunately for Rick, a heaving stomach.

There’s a reason we’ve only done one cruise before — and that a gentle river cruise — while everyone else we know seems to have been doing this for years . And that’s because Rick, yachting devotee, suffers horribly from seasickness.

Never mind. He recovered by the evening and anyway, someone else suffered much worse.

It seems someone was taken seriously ill in the wee hours and a helicopter was brought in, negotiating a tricky airborne recovery, with cabins near the helicopter reconnaissance site evacuated  in case of a crash.

We were oblivious to the whole event.

Princess Cruises — first impressions of sea days

We feared we’d be gouged for every penny and we weren’t disappointed. The food in general, apart from room service,  is good but the service can be a little surly, especially from the female staff, interestingly.

Water is extra, except for what’s in the taps and that’s what we’re drinking; many activities incur an extra charge; the compulsory tipping tariff (is this a substitute for them actually paying their staff a decent wage!?); the never-ending sales promotion ‘activities’ such as beauty enhancements, teeth whitening, fine art sales, health products — become very wearing and increase the sense of being a ‘mark’

A big issue are the massive charges for the poor Internet connection — a real negative.

The positives have been some interesting lectures and activities — WW2 history, astronomy, history of art, drawing and the gym.

Would we do this again?

At this point — no.

Comparing our experience in Santorini with such a large cruise ship, Santorini wins hands down. I guess we’ve found out we’re happier with a more independent, flexible experience.

The Viking cruise was a different kettle of fish — with a much smaller, more intimate vessel and much shorter voyage.

Next time we travel long-haul, we’d fly in three stages, staying in Asia and Greece or Turkey for a few days each. 

But not wanting to end sounding like a ‘Bah!Humbug!’ wet blanket here are the pros:

  Not driving thousands of miles with accompanying breakdowns

  Moving about vs sitting rigid in a metal tube with no leg room

  Sleeping in a nice comfy bed, minus cats, dogs and endless bell ringing from nearby churches

  Not fearing delayed flights, ferocious US officials, negotiating airport trains with cumbersome luggage.

Rick and I met travelling by train on a Eurail pass with all our stuff in our back packs, sleeping on trains and splurging on a cheap hotel every third night. 

Now it’s a fancy cruise with loads of luggage and a couple of thousand middle- and old-aged fellow travellers.

I kind of miss winging it — and definitely miss being 25, carefree and with no expectations.
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