Sailing South

Goodness, it was a bit lumpy overnight. Though the winds only reached gale force (8), the angle of attack and direction of the swell made the ship pitch and the wind was hitting from a direction that made it howl. It was cosy and warm in the suite and made the whole thing quite an experience.

There was no particular hurry to get going this morning… consequently I woke early! By a few minutes after 07:00 I was washed, dressed, and reading my Kindle. We went up to breakfast (it always seems strange saying “up to breakfast”) at 09:00 and met up with Jane and Trevor. Though it’s a sea day and there are activities available all day, there was nothing particularly screamed “do me”.

We went too the sales desk to ask about joining the loyalty programme. This, however, is automatic when you have completed 15 nights of cruising and then the benefits increase as the number of nights increases. We, needless to say, are 3 days short of the entry level. We then went shopping. We have some onboard credit that needs spending before we arrive back in Southampton. Diane managed to find some handbags that helped reduce the balance.

We spent the rest of the morning up in “The Crow’s Nest” drinking coffee and reading out Kindles as the ship powers through the Force 6 southerly winds at a steady 17 knots.

Though I brought my iPad with me, I haven’t even switched it on since leaving home. I have been using my phone and portable keyboard to write and illustrate this journal. It has worked remarkably well and it really convenient as I can tuck it away in my shoulder bag and use it wherever.

We met up with Jane and Trevor for lunch. We raided The Belvedere (buffet) and had a snack that would keep us going until the evening. Afterwards we returned to the shops. Diane wanted an additional birthday gift for Denise (who we will be seeing this coming weekend) and I wanted some manly fragrance that didn’t smell like engine oil and might trick people into believing I have a degree of sophistication. We spent the rest of the afternoon in our suite with our books and watching as the weather closed in and then cleared a bit. We are still in a Force 8, with seas described as “rough” but it is quite comfortable and no worse than driving over the potholes of the West Sussex highway system.

We met up, in all our black-tie finery for an early drink and then went down for dinner. We were eager to get away quickly to the theatre as we expected it would be busy tonight. The show was another offering from “The Headliners” - this one called “Applause” and featuring songs from the musicals. Everyone (else) seemed to thoroughly enjoy the joy and I could not fault the energy and commitment of the entertainers. It’s just that it’s no my sort of thing and by the time they moved into “Les Mis” I was bored senseless. Finally, it was over and we made our way to the bar for a drink. A duo chirped in and started to sing - we could barely hear each other over the music and sighed with relief as they finished.

It is still blowing a Force 8, and sea state is reported as rough. It is likely to be a noisy night.