| Having still not had a sailaway drink, we went up once we'd passed Hythe and I saw the emergency lights were on. Did we have to abandon ship so soon? We couldn't believe how perfect the conditions were, especially visibility. We certainly go lucky on this trip. Having been stalked down Southampton Water before, we both enjoyed doing the stalking for a change. We were also late sitting so could stay out longer. |
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| By the time Pam arrived having been taking photos of who knows what (well I can guess), I actually had a drink! It did take its time coming since I'd ordered it before Fawley and we were now at Calshot. Pam ordered one herself and that took its time arriving too. |
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| By the time we neared Nab it had become chilly but as we were only quarter of an hour off dropping our pilot, we stayed on deck. Oriana lost hers then the boat zoomed towards us. Captain Box announced over the tannoy how the pilot would jump onto the boat which made us laugh. We were the only ones out there by 7.15pm when he came alongside. |
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| Sea Princess and Oriana were picking up speed as they went in the opposite direction so we went inside to get ready for dinner. We stopped by Reception to pick up another Artemis Today and looked at the plaque by the portrait of Prunella Scales, the Godmother of Artemis. Why the hell they insist of calling them Lady Sponsor I have no idea unless it's a stupid politically correct thing. Afterwards we went down to the Coral Dining Room for dinner. We were on table 7, which was a table for eight and I was the youngest on it. Nice table companions though. We had two elderly couples who were travelling together. They had booked a longer cruise on the ship for next year and were trying her out. If they didn't like her they'd have cancelled the other cruise. There was also a really nice 84 year old and her daughter. The service from our waiters was excellent. The food on the other hand was in desperate need of improvement. The bread was on the hard side and there wasn't really a lot of choice on the menu. The wine steward also didn't reappear to top up people's glasses so they had to do it themselves. |
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| Time for the all-important shopping! Only one choice of postcard which was the computer rendering when she became Artemis. They had models! £19.99. Why can't we get models on the other P&O ships? I want an Aurora!!!! Give us models!!!! One rip off was AA lithium batteries costing £9.99 regardless of whether it was a two or four pack. When we returned to the cabin afterwards Oriana could just about still be seen in the distance. It was quite a mild night but the wind was starting to whip up a bit. |
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| Once it was dark, time to head outside for night shots and see if the funnel was lit. So many public rooms were empty which was great. Only the lounges were really busy. Trumps games room had a wonderful pattern on the tables. Also the main door to the spa was unlocked but the rest of the place wasn't. |
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| The wind had whipped up and it was bitterly cold so Pam went back to the cabin. I was determined to persevere as far down as I could get without being blown overboard. |
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| That was my lot. I'd made it to the wonderful walkway and stood by the flagpole to get the above shot then called it a night. I was quite pleased with myself though as she looks fabulous all lit up at the stern. I headed back up to the Arcadia deck door. I hate these things. It must be at least a foot drop from outside to carpet. Whoever designed these parts was an idiot or about 10 feet tall so weren't at risk of injuring themselves! Finding the cabin from aft was fairly easy although not the straight corridor you get on more modern ships. |
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| The following morning we had, to our amazement, docked port! That gave us a view of Cobalfrets rather than the dockside. Bad enough in December on the QE2. Grrr! Still if you ignored them it was a marvellous view. Pam could also watch the comings and goings in comfort if she chose to. We had breakfast in the Conservatory then explored the ship. Being so much smaller than Independence of the Seas, I was really looking forward to less leg ache! It was another beautiful day. How did we get so lucky for May? Right below was the crew area complete with pool. I'm not sure I'd like everyone gawping at me from above or worse like gobbing. |
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| Yet again the gate to the bow was open. If you came port the way we had chances are you wouldn't notice it saying crew only. Therefore, as I wrote earlier, if they don't want people wandering out there they should lock it. From there would could see all the workings below and it would have been really easy to go down. No one was around or on the bow meaning we could have done anything if we had been inclined to. |
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| When you go back inside from the Promenade Deck, you are met with a vast expanse and leather sofas. Unfortunately the sofas are rock hard so I expect people won't be staying there long. There are also mirrors on the walls. It is a nice area and on a more modern ship would probably have a bar or something. |
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| We came across the port plaques and were both surprised to see a plaque lurking along one side of Ventura! What the hell is that doing on Artemis? I know they're both Princess ships but that's ridiculous. P&O said in an reply to me it was because of their first meeting. The plaques lead out to Tiffany's which is at the top of the atrium and clearly another Oriana inspiration. |
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| We went down first and would make our way up. The atrium was in front of the Coral Dining Room so we had a wander around before going down a deck to find the medical centre. She was really vibrating badly. The medical centre was shut but the difference in floor covering from paying passenger area to crew was obvious. |
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| This had been a real surprise. Jon, my and Karen's Knight in Shining Armour on Aurora over New Year as Cruise Director on little Artemis! I'd texted Karen to ask if she knew his last name but spoke to Anton in the International Bar & Lounge who is on his team and he confirmed it. He told me they'd started together five years ago and he thought Jon had worked on Fred Olsen and Cunard. He also said Jon was a trained ballet dancer! Kept that quiet. We were pleased as he thoroughly deserved his promotion, not just for saving us from Eric a couple of times, but because he's so good with people. When Anton left I discovered Pam had vanished. |
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| Pam and I found each other and continued exploring. With this ship being so small we were running out of things to look at. We were already on Devanha Deck. |
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| I was delighted to see the Future Cruise Sales desk would be open as it hadn't been on Oceana. I had the Winter Wonderland in December booked on Aurora but something came up meaning I can't do it so wanted to ask about transferring my booking to 2009. There was a form so I filled that in and put it in the box before continuing to the library. It was still just open and I bought a couple of books, including the Oriana one as I had Aurora's. |
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| Starlights aft is a nice little lounge which has the wedding chapel annexed. The wedding chapel contains a spiral staircase leading to the deck above. Also off this lounge was the lower crew area with yet another unlocked door. |
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| After dropping the books off in the cabin we went to get the navigational information and thought it hilarious that with all their technology they printed the weather off the BBC website. I had to get a photo of our door handle as it's a mix of old and new. To actually open the door you left the card in rather than swipe in and out to get the green light. |
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| Now it was time to go on the dock for photos and she was very low in the water. It really was unusual being port rather than starboard so we made the most of it. The security guard at the end of the gangway was very funny and had an Ocean Village Holidays lanyard. We went to the end of the dock and down the ramp and not one person yelled at us to come away which we'd half-expected. |
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| We returned quickly inside as a shuttle arrived back and didn't want to get caught in a queue. As we headed upstairs for lunch we stopped briefly at the gym which was empty. A very rare occurance as even on weekenders there's usually many using it. |
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| After lunch I left Pam to await some car carriers in the locks and went back to the cabin to write postcards. There was a message waiting from Debbie, the cruise consultant, saying transferring would be easy and to pop down when the deck was open. By the time ten to four arrived there was still no sign of Pam and Asis had been in to fix something in the bathroom. No idea what but he had a screwdriver. He is so nice and apologised for disturbing me. It's his job. He doesn't need to apologise and if anyone objects they should get stuffed. Anyway I went down and it was already open with a slight queue. When I got to her she went through the booking I had and wanted to change to only I didn't have my credit card as we were using Pam's so I had to phone home to get it then rejoin the even longer queue. As I waited I chatted to Brooke, who was the guide on the Arcadia visit and now on the Portunus Club desk. She's from Perth too or 'South of the river' as she put it. Her parents are doing the Arcadia worldie from Fremantle. It was good seeing her again and she hasn't changed at all. Debbie asked a couple if they'd mind if she quickly dealt with me and changed my booking, even getting me the same cabin. There was just a small extra deposit to pay plus £50 admin charge so less painful than I'd imagined. I then went back to the cabin but as I awaited the lift, I received a text from Pam asking if I was on the deck forward. I replied I was at the lifts on D Deck. A tug was attaching itself to our stern and going out forward would be a novel experience. |
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| Captain Box's cap says Captain on it, probably to remind everyone he's the boss. My stupid camcorder said the tape had run out, despite being brand new, so I had to rush to the cabin for a new one and hoped he wouldn't blast. When I checked the tape later there was nothing wrong with it. A similar thing happened in LA so perhaps the machine needs a service. We hadn't blasted but were some way off the quay by the time I returned. |
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| That wind certainly came up and it was really bad so we sheltered. It was only later as we sat watching the Belgian coastline get further and further away he did it but only the once. Talk about bone rattling and deafening! It was the Captain's Gala Party only he'd already announced he wouldn't attend. Bit pointless really then. Off we went to Starlights and Jon was on the door greeting passengers. We ended up having a long natter while Pam disappeared inside and found seats. He remembered all that with Eric and told me about his flight from Paris to Santiago where he was sat next to him the whole way. I left him to it and went to find Pam. She told me I'd be better off getting my own drink as they weren't going round and she was right. It was quite bad really and often they would just walk by. The nibbles were naff as well. By the time second sitting was announced most people headed for the restaurant. We were rocking a bit more than we had and she wasn't half vibrating again. I couldn't help noting the number of people leaving without leaving a tip or even saying good night to the waiters, including our table companions. After dinner we returned to the cabin. Pam, like Oceana, was originally going to take her case off then changed her mind. |
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| We were due for 8am. A text woke me up at 5.45am but I went back to sleep for half an hour. By the time I woke up we were already near Hamble so a mad dash to get washed, dressed and out. A little nip in the air but really nice to come back to. |
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| We decided to go and have breakfast then took it outside while trying to imagine we were in the Med or Caribbean rather than Southampton Water. Pam told me to take a photo of her yoghurt as it was incredibly stupid it had been imported from America rather than use UK ones. |
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| Crikey this old ship didn't half rattle and vibrate. We thought it was bad enough when she was just in dock but turning was something else. Imagine standing on a pneumatic drill while holding another and hearing a constant drrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr. |
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| It was silly having to vacate the cabin by 8am considering disembarkation wasn't beginning for another hour. Our colour was yellow so 9.15am. We waited in the International Bar & Lounge and saw free copies of the Financial Times were being delivered. Pam had disappeared for a while and filmed them unloading fifteen filthy chairs. We remembered we hadn't got a decent shot of the casino so were on our way when our colour was called just after 9am. |
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| We weren't docked quite in 106. More like between 105 and 106. Going along the dockside gave more photo opportunities and I wasn't even stopped in baggage reclaim when I photographed some trollies. In fact, the camera was around my neck in full view from on the ship to when we got in the car. |
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| Afterwards, as Pam was driving me back home, we made a detour to Marchwood. It had been years since I was there and the roads had changed a hell of a lot. |
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| So the verdict. I enjoyed her, despite her being a rattling, vibrating antique of the shipping world. It added to her charm. She was very different to anything I'd been on to date and, if they reduced the prices, especially single rate, I would go on her again like a shot. I'd like to see how she handles on a longer cruise. She certainly wasn't as terrible as we'd been led to believe. Like the QE2 she is what she is and should be accepted as such. People probably expect too much of her. To see photos of all four ships in dock, click here. To see us departing, click here. |
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