| Our guide was Judy, who made the tour as much fun as Annette Henry had around St Peter Port when I was on Constellation the previous year. Many of us chose to go on the walk with her rather than solo. It was a steep climb - 230 feet steep! I wanted to stay in the pub since it was ground level and Pam was keen to spend her ten Guernsey pounds but I went up the incline. Judy said she'd look after me and she did. Real star that lady. It wasn't so bad though except coming down. The sand on one pathway was compacted making it slippery. |
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| It had either got very warm or we had after all that walking! I took a couple of layers off. We stopped for ten minutes at Shell Beach. Pam was going to have a paddle but changed her mind. You wouldn't get me in the sea without a towel. I had enough sand in my shoes as it was. |
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| There were a couple of us at the meeting point so Judy took us to see the smallest and most unused prison on the world. I don't know what the lawnmower and pitchfork had done to deserve being locked up.. |
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| The queue waiting for the tender was horrendous and got worse. They had a table set up with orange or pineapple drinks which they gave out to the passengers. I think that's a good idea and we could have done with that at Cabo San Lucas when Amy and I were on Vision of the Seas. Instead they let us bake in the heat. Fred. Olsen were certainly endearing themselves to me. When we went to dinner, Jane and Louise didn't turn up so we chatted to John and Georgina a lot instead. Our waiter asked for my phone number which Pam gave him on the tips envelope. At 9pm we were on our way back to Southampton. |
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| Muri and I posed for the above photo and he made a joke of being so much smaller than me so stood on tiptoes while I bent my knees to reach his and he gave me a peck under the ear. Pam was desperate to get a photo like that but kept missing it. The remaining people at his tables were egging him on which was quite amusing. I expect I was the talk of the crew's quarters that night! We went to the Neptune Lounge to see the last night's show. We missed Melody Lane and Tucker on the first night and the boys told us they were really good. This performance was a bit of everything, beginning with the theatre company. Melody Lane were really good and both would pose whenever they spotted my camera. The comedian Tucker was bloody hilarious. At the end everyone was brought on the stage, incuding the entertainments team and we finished off the evening by singing Auld Lang Syne. Couldn't help feel a little foolish as it wasn't New Year's Eve but it was a lot of fun. |
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| While Pam stayed with Gary and Allan, I went outside to get night shots as it was the last chance. Very annoying thing was they had wet varnish signs basically hidden so it would went walking, as I and a few others did, it was too easy to miss them and get covered. |
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| Pam, Gary and Allan had disappeared to the Secret Garden for a late-night coffee while I went back to the cabin to remove the varnish. When I got there they were sat outside as it was closed and Pam told me Muri had been working there, occasionally looking towards her. At just after 1am we called it a night as the cases had to be out by 2am. |
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| 5am and a text arrived saying the QE2 was in front of us! The sun was starting to come up on a beautiful morning. I could barely see her from the balcony so got washed and dressed. Our scheduled arrival time was 7.30am meaning we would have passed her already in dock. However VTS had us both for 7am leaving us to wonder who would be last. Oceana would also be with us, an almost repeat of April. All we needed was Aurora. We didn't have to worry about Oceana as she was due to dock at Mayflower for 6.30am anyway. Lizzie was the important one that day. |
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| At around 5.25am the most beautiful sight in the world appeared around the lifeboat at Calshot beach as we passed Cowes - my Lizzie!!!! This is how it should have been in LA or at least better light. I had been so lucky with Lizzie at home anyway this year and this would be my only time arriving with her rather than her already being in as she had been in April. I stood there watching her, thinking how when she came back it was our cruise to the Fjords and on the 2nd July that would be me, Rowan, Amy and Jason sailing home. I'm really going to miss the old girl but am glad I have one joint arrival. Following her into her home was better than the 21st May I ended up missing when they brought the maiden voyage of Independence of the Seas forward. That wouldn't have been the same anyway as we'd have been in port waiting. I was so glad we brought up the rear as it made for excellent photo opportunities. |
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| Once Pam had taken her photos we went on deck, although I was ahead of her. Bloody hell it was windy and cold! It made it so difficult to keep the camera still but we persevered as we'd only come in with her like this once and wanted to make the best of it. |
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| As we were passing the gorgeous Lizzie, Peter Rushton came up to me and we chatted a while. The sun was at the wrong angle making it difficult to photograph her. |
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| We went to the Four Seasons for breakfast and Muri wasn't serving while our other waiter was, yet suddenly he appeared from nowhere. He also reappeared just before we left as well. As Pam sat in the Observatory I went to get a couple more photos of the ships. |
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| Despite failing to find Gary and Allan to say goodbye, we waited for disembarkation in the Neptune Lounge. They would be calling in deck order from 9 downwards and we were 8 so didn't have too long to hang around. I went to try and find them again but on my way back bumped into Peter Rushton again and spoke a little while before returning to Pam. Finally decks 9 and 8 were called together and we were off by 9am. Once Pam had collected her keys from the desk in the terminal, we went to find the car which was near Dock Gate 8. Then we drove to Mayflower Park for some Bouddy bum shots. |
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| The weather was glorious and quite a contrast to when we left. Once Pam had her container ship, we headed for Marchwood for some shots but they are such lousy angles. It made me glad of where I live as if I went stalking there I wouldn't see anything in QEII Terminal. |
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| Pam dropped me off home then headed for the motorway. It was an exhausting but fun cruise and great to catch up with Gary and Allan again. I really enjoyed Boudicca and the whole Fred. Olsen experience and want to go again. There's a lot to be said for smaller ships over overcrowded megamonsters. Older ships, such as Bouddy, have character those others may never have. It's no wonder the company has such a loyal following when everyone is so friendly. For more pictures of Marco Polo in Guernsey, click here. To see more of Oceana and the QE2 as we arrived, click here. |
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