| Our 9.30am sailaway was delayed 15 minutes as we waited for Svitzer Alma to attach to our stern and then we were off without fanfare. We did eventually blow the horn and at Britannia, which was silent as they were clearly doing a drill. Arcadia responded. Then we were off on our seas day, such as it was. Captain Sarah Breton had told us we would be heading straight to Guernsey and anchor overnight, which meant passing Ventura and Columbus outbound. After taking our coats back to the cabin, we went to the Crows Nest. My dad ordered hot chocolates while I went to get the boarding photo. The shops were open earlier than scheduled so I also bought some logo tat they were flogging off. After the hot chocolate, it was time for a nap following the noon announcement.
Having skipped lunch, it was time for afternoon tea. I had only done it once on P&O back on Aurora in 2011 and found it superior to Cunard in every way, especially offering freshly cooked toasted teacakes and crumpets. However, things had changed a lot but I don't know whether it was because of cost cutting, the ship going or just lazy waiters. The cake stand was replaced by a plate while toasted teacakes and crumpets were in a basket already cooked and going cold. The waiters shoved a plate of sandwiches in front of you and only stayed a few seconds. My dad has one cataract and two hearing aids and they didn't give him a chance. I saw other areas getting offered more plus small pies and tea replenished often but ours weren't. My dad was very disappointed at his first free, served afternoon tea experience on a ship.
We went for a wander around the Prom Deck afterwards and watched our approach towards the Channel Islands. Ventura was scheduled to up anchor at 6pm from St Peter Port with Columbus an hour later so we went to the top deck when Ventura was moving. It was very windy. Met Anthony Broomhead from Facebook. Back to the cabin after a quick detour to the Crows Nest to buy some Pepsi to take back to the cabin as we changed for formal night. Everyone was given a half glass of bubbly for a toast to Oriana during the meal. We skipped dessert as we wanted to get to the theatre to get a good seat to see comedian Mike Doyle for his final show on the ship, having been associated with her for 24 years. The 90 minutes flew by, with him ribbing his ex-crew friends in the audience and ending with a song for the ship. Back to the cabin and time for bed.
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