| We went on deck for our departure, which was delayed an hour due to bunkering so we made ourselves comfy. There was the end of an Extinction Rebellion demonstration as we waited, surprisingly going home rather than protest about that great big smelly cruise ship opposite them! My dad decided to go back in as it was getting cold. Many had by then so there was plenty of seating. Shortly before we came up to Damen shipyard again, I got chatting to two officers, one of whom changed the info channel destination from Southampton back to Amsterdam after I'd posted it. He then suggested a photo before they went back to work and I went in and found the disembarkation information, with our time as 8.40am.
We went earlier for dinner again and this time were put on table 303, immediately behind the one we'd sat at the night before and next to the stairs. We were in the lock by the time we returned to the cabin so watched us leave and head back into open sea. With my free internet, I'd been keeping an eye out for the brand new Holland America Line flagship, Rotterdam (VII), which was originally going to be called Ryndam (IV) until they sold Rotterdam (VI) to Fred Olsen during shutdown, along with Amsterdam. She was heading from an overnight in Rotterdam towards Amsterdam as we left it. Due to her being on the starboard side, I headed up to the Lido deck and made myself comfy. As with Regal Princess, I was glad of the gaps between glass panes so I could sit down and point my camera lens through it. I was also glad Cunard don't clean decks in the middle of the night so the chairs were dry. Artania passed, heading towards IJmuiden but at least I could do that from the balcony then it was bed. |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| The next day was our last at se which began, again, with breakfast. This was the first time the hot chocolate had actually been hot! I was going to miss that. It was delicious. Back to bed until it was time to get up for lunch, which was in the Golden Lion again. I popped up to get the noon whistle and got chatting to a bloke who loved CMV, especially Marco Polo. A quick pop to Deck One to see Maureen's inside cabin then back to mine for an afternoon nap. Formal again and Roaring Twenties night. In the Britannia, we were on table 422, next to our first that trip! Back to the cabin to put the case out then bed after Bolette had passed us, en route to Dover. |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| Almost home so an early start. One thing I miss about the Fawley power station chimney is the lights were an indicator for when I should go on deck if I didn't have a balcony, but they were switched off at the end of August. Since breakfast wasn't until 7am in the Britannia, I went up to see us partially dock. The wine waiter I had on Queen Victoria in 2017, who we called Pop-Up Dave, because he'd pop up when you least expected it, showed a lady to the next table. Back to the cabin to wait until it was time to go just as Queen Mary 2 was docking, so I headed up briefly since a car carrier had blocked the view. We decided to try and go earlier and no one stopped us. |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| So that was that and home! Despite the stress before getting to check-in due to all these protocols, it's worth it all once you get on that ship. And, despite printing off the Passenger Locator Form, there was no one there to check it. While my dad is mask exempt on land, unfortunately he isn't on a ship so struggles more due to lack of oxygen. He's always glad to take the thing off, as are most of us! It was a good cruise, despite our limitations. To see photos of the ships in the North Sea and English Channel, click here while more photos of the Southampton arrivals can be found here. |
| Back to Our Cruises Index |