Day 14 - Safe Harbour

We had a very comfortable run overnight. When I got up at 07:00, we were just south of the westernmost tip of the Isle of Wight. We should be snuggled up in Southampton before things get ”interesting”.

We joined Jane and Trevor for breakfast and finished with a group photo with our waitress, Julie.

After that, we went along to the theatre for the last of the talks by Linda Sage. This one was “Criminal Profiling” and explained the background to the technique and the reality of how it is applied in the UK. Unfortunately, halfway through the talk, there was a medical emergency as someone collapsed in the auditorium. The talk was suspended while medics were summoned, and the chap was taken away to recover. The talk continued, but it was clear that people were still concerned for the chap.

We met up with Jane as we left the theatre, and after a brief chat, we headed off in separate directions. They went to walk on the deck, and we returned to our suite to complete our packing. As we finished, we were pulling into Southampton Water. We stood in the misty gloom watching as the tugboat, like a good sheep dog, helped ease us up to our berth.

We met up for lunch at the buffet before returning to our suite to continue reading on our Kindles. Watching on the “Mast Camera”, we saw Iona coming into a berth in front of us. She was due into dry dock and a refurb after their cruise, so didn't really have to worry about the weather that was sweeping in.

It was a dreadfully dull afternoon, weatherwise. We made the most of this by reading our Kindles (I finished another book). The mist drifted in and then dispersed several times. It looked as if the ship at the end of the dock was disappearing completely.

We all met up for a drink before going down to dinner. When we sat down in the restaurant, there was a bit of a party atmosphere.

We settled down for our meal. Di chose melon (as usual) while I had Golden-fried Salt and Pepper Squid with Sweet Chilli Dip. Trevor had some credit left on his "on Board Credit," so he bought the drinks to ensure that he was as close to a zero balance as possible. I was way beyond my limit because I had bought the Internet package while on board. For our main dish, Diane chose the. Roasted Chicken Breast with Sauce Chasseur, I chose the Murgh Mahkni (butter chicken), which was superb. Before we left the restaurant, we made sure we had photos with "Papa" Jose and "Lheny", our waiters.

We made our way to the Arena theatre. Simeon Woods was on the bill. Again, he was superb, though I did think the flute was over-amplified and that was causing some distortion. Unfortunately, young sound engineers don't understand that volume and quality are not the same thing. (I did, of course, mention this to the Ents Manager).

Leaving the Arena, we headed for Havana, where the Headliners were performing a show called "Made in London". This was an opportunity for their vocalists to exercise their vocal chords without worrying too much about choreography. The music was all based on its London heritage - Fleetwood Mac, Adele, Elton John, Phil Collins, Ed Sheeran, and so forth. It was a good way to finish the cruise.

We retired to our suite and Diane finished her packing. It was nearly 23:30 before we went to bed.