Having arrived at the Cruise terminal 1-hour early, we were greeted by a nice man who whisked away our luggage and a very nice lady who took away our car; all we then had to do was check in (when we were informed that our cabin number had changed), clear security and go straight onto the lovely Oceana. it was just like being back home, even though we haven’t been on board since the 175th Anniversary P&O Grand Event, the Oceana still feels like it’s where we belong.
Our only concern, well, my only concern as Mrs Me was just happy to be on the ship, was that our luggage labels had all been marked up with a different cabin number; when would we see our luggage? I kept asking myself. Naturally I need not have worried. We were after all sailing with P&O: trust me, they know what they’re doing. In no time at all, our luggage had been identified, relabelled and delivered to our new cabin. Our New Cabin? Oh yes, we’ll, we had booked an outside cabin with balcony, but when we shown to our ‘quarters’, we found not a balcony cabin, but a mini-suite complete with walk in wardrobe and jacuzzi bath and separate sleeping area with a double balcony. I’m always happy when I’m on a cruise ship, this time I was emotionally happy. What a fab start to my 60th Birthday Cruise. Better still, the fridge had a bottle of champagne waiting for us.
The afternoon was spent re-acquainting ourselves with the ship, enjoying a glass of complimentary champagne (the bottle of champagne still waiting in the fridge) as we sailed away from Southampton and off to the seven seas: we’ll, not all seven obviously! Then, it was time for a pre-dinner drink then off to the restaurant for what we know will always be a fine meal; we weren’t disappointed. The meal was, as always faultless, our table companions were extremely amiable and waiters were just fan, one of them even remembered us from a previous cruise. The Bottle of fizzy pop served by a wine waiter, who also remembered us, made for a most enjoyable dinner.
All that remained was for us to settle into the Yacht & Compass bar for a nice glass of Merlot, which became two, before retiring to our huge bed in our lovely cabin.
That night, the winds got up as did the waves and we were rocked up and down and side to side as we started our 3-day sail to the Canaries: our adventure had truly started.
With the dawn came gentler seas and yes, sunshine. I was even able to sit out on my balcony, Mrs Me had divided it into his and hers, at 08:30 in a tee-shirt enjoying my early morning coffee. No matter which way I looked, all I could see, was sea and sea was all we were going to see for three days. When you sail for day after day and see nothing but sea, you realise just how vast the sea is.
Anyway, we’ve had breakfast, walked 3.2 laps of the ship (1mile) had our 11:00 coffee and now wondering; what’s for lunch? Maybe my next post will answer that question. Pictures will follow. Meanwhile, ZZZzzzzz.
See also: Podge Hits 60
