| I can't remember what I did after that but it probably included crap telly and sleeping. I had popped down to Reception to query something on the account but it was sorted fast. If only they'd put dates on the receipts they write by hand it would be so much easier. I bumped into Brian and Val, who had just got back on board. Brian wasn't feeling well thanks to a selfish bitch knowingly boarding with a chest infection. Just when are cruise lines going to do something about that as well as flu? There are a lot of vulnerable people on cruises (such as those with low immunity, children or the elderly) and it beggars belief cruise lines say they can't do anything when they do with norovirus immediately. During my last long Aurora cruise so many people got sick (including me) thanks to a selfish bitch, only that one was a travel agent who should know better and stay in the cabin instead of infecting people on ship and shore. Juanita returned about 4pm and I still can't remember what I was doing but it hadn't rained still in Bergen, though did on her tour. There was a Great British Sailaway party at the Terrace Pool for our 4.30pm departure so I went along to see what was going on, sharing the lift with Natalie Milverton. The Captain gave his pre-departure spiel as we walked there, saying we would hit stormy weather - woo! I went to Natalie to get some of P&O's job lot of plastic Union Jacks and told her about Steve asking me to say hello from him when I'd last been on in November but didn't get a chance and how he sadly died suddenly in February. Whether or not she really recognised the description I have no idea but she said she'd have a drink for him. I'd left my phone in the cabin so couldn't show her a photo. Then I went forward, after briefly chatting to Marge, for our departure and going under the bridge. |
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| Marge found me, having given up trying to find Cedric. Then Juanita came followed by Mike. He asked if he was going to get laid on this cruise or what. I said no and I thought he enjoyed my scintillating company. He said he did so I said I come on cruises to have fun to which he remarked, "Getting laid's fun." Full marks for cheek but the answer was still the same. |
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| It was at this point I began to get a little upset, thinking about how much had happened since I last sailed from Bergen in June 2008 on Lizzie. Of course, Lizzie herself is no longer in service, instead rotting in the heat of Dubai, her soul gone. My mum's gone and so is Steve. My last trip on Aurora had a connection with my mum and Steve too. I miss them all but my mum should be here because I have so much to tell her while Steve should be in the bouncy North Sea at the press launch of Celebrity Silhouette with John Honeywell of the Daily Mirror and knocking back G&Ts, not to mention whatever's in the mini bar. John Honeywell had told me it was 22 knots - that's nothing compared to what we'd had all trip! So I asked him to send it my way for my final sea day with increased wind speed. Every little helps! I snapped a cute little boat in the distance which reminded me of old P&O liners. My friend Christina Heinrich told me she's the Royal Yacht, Norge, belonging to the Norwegian Royal Family. Norge is one of only two left, the other belonging to the Danish Royals. Norge weighs just 1,700grt and began life in 1937 as Philante, built in Gosport for Thomas Sopwith, first visiting Norway a year later as part of a regatta. During World War II, she was first an Atlantic convey vessel until 1942 when she became a training school, being returned to Sopwith in 1947. After being sold in 1948 and undergoing refurbishment, she officially became the Royal Yacht Norge on the 9th June. It's wonderful to see old classics still sailing. Also it had stayed dry ALL day - someone call the Guinness Book of Records!!!! |
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| It was nice, for once, not to rush to dinner, especially with it being the final formal night so I just watched some telly while Juanita read her book. Once we left the shelter of land, it started to get quite bouncy and were told Arcadia would be heading into it the other way. Thank you, John! We found out what the racket was - the propellers flying out of the water! When the food was served it was amazing how my Beef Wellington came with pastry yet Sabu, the head waiter, had said it would be without. We also had a champagne sorbet between the starter and main. Cedric eyed Gareth's chocolate desserts so he quicky moved to Brian and Val's table! We were given the menus but only dinner and they only went up so far so the last few days would be missing. |
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| Juanita suggested we all have a formal photo taken though Brian and Val declined because Brian was feeling really awful so was heading to bed. The rest of us went to the atrium and the photographer didn't have a clue. He tried to cram us all into the narrow space between plants and it never occured to him to have us on the steps until we suggested it. When he did that he got all our heights wrong and poor Gareth was almost hidden. Back to the cabin and I decided it was time to write a couple of postcards. Unfortunately, due to expense, I can't send as many as I'd like but I always sent one home. I noticed a little error on the card I'd picked up from the Emporium on the first day. |
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| Oops! What a stupid blunder although I'm sure many of the nearly dead wouldn't notice the differences. It's not like the clones where they can use the same picture and paint out the name. This even had the name of Oriana on the photo! We went to Gareth's Film Invisibles quiz and got 13 points, which wasn't bad considering how hard it was. Lovely view at the start of his bum! |
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| Back to the cabin and we had our disembarkation info. We were yellow so bloody last at 10.10am! At least you can wait in your cabin now but it's still so boring. There would be no announcements so what was to stop people just going???? We also had our tips envelopes. |
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| Another sea day only this was bouncy, bouncy, bouncy! Juanita did her laundry while I went to the Cyb@study to finish my minutes. The stupid thing doesn't calculate properly. After it said I had 90 left, I calculated it was really 64 using the log out summary I'd pasted onto Word only when I logged on it said it was 40! That means you have to buy MORE minutes if there's a lot you want to get finished before the end of the cruise. Crafty! It also deactivates if you don't use it for three minutes so best to write emails or whatever on Word then paste it over. I took a photo of Christian before I left then went to the Emporium to check out how many racks of wrong postcards there were. |
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| Lunch in the Sidewalk then enjoyed the weather after Reception printed off fresh copies of Britain Today, not that there's anything really worth reading but it passes the time for about five minutes. John Honeywell did better than expected by sending us some rotten weather as we hit a force 10 - woo! I thanked him. |
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| Time for our final Scattergories in Champions with Katie and we scored five points - wooo! I got two for Anthony Ainley after I had to explain he played the Master in the original series of Doctor Who. I overhead a drunk bloke on a window table say, "How sad is that?" and he wasn't even playing! Then the picture quiz with Gavin and we lost out again- damn! We had 16 points though, losing to a tie on 17 which wasn't bad. Friendly rival Phil thought we'd jumped ship since he hadn't seen us since Reykjavik. I had my photo taken with Gavin afterwards. |
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| Time to start packing to put the cases out between admiring the window washing. Unusually it didn't give a latest time and some people had them out the day before! No idea why since they weren't being collected until the 23rd. Others had them out in the morning. And so to our final dinner with our mad couples. Brian had been confined to his cabin after seeing the doctor, or rather requested to stay but no enforced. He was feeling a bit better but still not great. |
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| We said our goodbyes then went to collect the DVD. The girl asked what time we'd been told to collect so I replied I'd asked if it was after 8pm on the last day when I ordered. Apprently, despite it even saying from 8pm in the Horizon, many nearly deads were going in the afternoon and 6pm insisting that was the correct time. No matter what ship you're on, it's usually 8pm on the last day to make sure they do enough copies. Either they've never ordered any before or are just thick. Then it was to Gavin's second Video Vault quiz in Masquerades. We didn't win but got one more point than Phil which made all the difference! Mike had come over while we were marking then offered to buy us a drink afterwards, to which Juanita declined because she had to finish her packing. I agreed, asking for a Coke with ice and no lemon. After a while Juanita reappeared to tell me there was a ship outside - cor! It was the Ryndam en route to Dover from Stavanger so we passed her. The first photo is Juanita's and I said earlier ship pictures weren't for me no matter what she says since we were passing when she took hers and had passed when she got me! It was very windy so not easy to get her at all, especially when your bum's being slapped as you're concentrating. I yelled at Mike for that but felt like punching him! Shippies come first!!!! |
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I went back to Masquerades while Juanita went to the cabin and my order had come as Diet Coke with lemon and no ice. Idiots! It's not as if it was busy since there was just me, Mike and the waiters in there. As usual, once things ended the nearly dead buggered off to make somewhere else dead. I then said my goodnights and he went from a peck on the cheek to trying a full-blown snog. Uh-uh! That's naughty. Juanita was still packing when I got back and once she'd finished, out went the cases. We gained an hour from putting the clocks forward but I was still up at 5am to see us come in. It doesn't matter how much I've enjoyed a cruise, I always love coming HOME. As I headed out I found the bill but instead of being like the interim one, it was a mess because it didn't say who spent what now, just mine carried to hers without a total. This is why we couldn't understand it. So Juanita went to sort it only to be told they couldn't do them like the interim because of the software. Huh??? Well I enjoyed being on the deck despite following in Anvil Point. I started to get a bit teary as we neared Hythe, wishing my mum hadn't bothered getting up to see me arrive, although sometimes she did. It was my dad and the heavy breathing dogs waiting as usual for us to pass. |
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My final healthy breakfast from the Orangery since homecomings are hungry work! It was a shame we were the only ones in but the weather was so much better than the cold, wind and rain when we'd left eighteen days earlier. |
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I went back to the cabin and got a picture of Agosthino before I forgot en route then went with Juanita to the Orangery for her own breakfast, grabbing some fruit, so he could begin to sort out the cabin for the next people. Mike found us, on his way to the Medina to meet the rest of his group for a farewell breakfast at 8am. |
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I went to see if that damn webcam was working then upload a grab to Facebook since everyone would miss me then said goodbye to Christian in the Cyb@study. I couldn't understand why people going home (not nearly deads, I hasten to add), would be online when they'd be off soon. An announcement came through disembarkation would be running forty minutes ahead of schedule and our new time was 9.30am, the time I'd told Juanita we'd be off by! |
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The final photo was taken by my dad of us arriving. Usually he only does video but had been practicing with Europa and Artania while I was away! |
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We decided to go down about 9.15am because we were bored. The nearly dead were hogging all the lifts but we managed to squeeze in one. In the atrium, I showed the woman my card and she said we can just go. Nearly deads pushed in front of us like it was a race to be off first! I saw Mike's friend Sue (not bride Sue) and said goodbye then we went to collect our luggage. Juanita had to help me get my case onto the trolley then we went to the taxi rank. While we waited at the sign with others, nearly deads didn't so got what should have been our taxi, not once but twice. PLEASE ban them for leaving their homes!!!! We got one at the third attempt and the bloke apologised. So the verdict? Fabulous (weather especially) apart from everything aimed at nearly deads and the nearly deads themselves which has turned me into a moaner about this cruise! P&O really do need to do something if they want to attract and keep non-nearly deads and those between 20-50. It was fate Juanita came last year, since after Equinox, she wasn't planning to be back in Europe for several years again. I'd never have been able to do this without her unless I won the lottery. She's always good for a laugh and helped keep my spirits up. To see more photos of the ships at our various ports of call, click on the Other Stalking index. |
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