British Isles- Day 4- Boarding the Leviathan

Saturday, July 16, 2011- London, England

We were up by 7 A.M. We read the London papers and had coffee in our room. Outside, a light drizzle was falling. We packed up out things and settled the hotel bill. A cab scooped us up outside the hotel and ferried up to Waterloo Station. The traffic was light for a Saturday morning. The real chaos was inside the terminal. Crowds of people, speaking a dozen languages, walked hither and yon, most laden with luggage of some sort.. We located the ticket booth for the British Rail Service and stood in line. Tickets to Southampton were L 34 each for the ninety minute ride South. The trains leave every half hour, so we boarded one almost immediately. It was wall to wall passengers headed for the seaside resorts on Southern England. We settled in across from a Spanish couple and watched the very green and very wet countryside flow by us. The train stopped frequently, so we watched with interest the various scramblings at each stop. The rain and gloomy skies put a damper on the day.

At Southampton, we got off at the Cruise ship station and hailed a cab for a quick ride to the docks and the berth of the Crown Princess. It was raining and in the 60’s out. Two very cheerful luggage attendants took our bags and toted them aboard the ship. The Brits do always seem to be cheerful in any endeavor in which you encounter them. It is an attractive national trait.

We checked in with the ship’s shore personnel and were assigned Cabin #306 on the Baja Deck. ( deck 11 to landlubbers.) The security grid processed us as unlikely terrorists and we walked up the gangway to enter this sea going Leviathan. We had been aboard three other Princess ships so the layout was familiar to us. The ship’s crew sent us on our way. We found and entered our cabin. The Cabin steward, Raul, introduced himself to us. These estimable personnel can make your stay ever so much nicer if they are competent. Raul turned out to be among the best that we had ever help us enjoy our stay aboard ship. All of our shore destination tickets had been delivered to us. Princess at times can be a marvel of organization. The rented tux had been delivered. I checked it out for size. Everything appeared to be okay. I didn’t find out until 20 minutes before dinner, on the first cruise formal night, that I had been given two right shoes. But I will detail that later.

The ship itself is an amazing vessel. The Crown Princess, registered in Bermuda, is one of the largest Princess ships, with room for 3,080 passengers and another 3,000 crew. She weighs in at 113,000 gross tons, is 952 feet in length and soars 18 decks above the waterline. It really is a floating five star hotel, with all of the same amenities.

We walked the gangways amidship to deck #15, the location of the Horizon’s lounge. It is a buffet-style offering that feeds most of the ship breakfast and lunch. Tuna, Rockfish and some curried tortelini with iced tea were very good. We watched the rain fall ashore from our perch high above the docks. On days like this shipboard, you just dine, and then settle in with a good book.

After lunch, our luggage was delivered to the cabin. We unpacked and stowed our gear. Then we watched a little of the ship’s television, read our books ( The Ridge- Michael Koryta) and caught a nap. It is a nice way to spend a day.

Late in the afternoon, we mustered for an all hand’s lifeboat drill in the Deck #7 Explorer’s Lounge. The crew’s tone was light hearted but everyone paid attention. A long sea voyage could bring anything your way. It helped to know that the ship has both space and procedure to evacuate us in an emergency. We were all wearing our gaudy orange life vests with whistle and blinking lights as we listened to ships personnel explain emergency evacuation procedures.

The ship was scheduled to leave Southampton at 5 P.M. We stowed our life vests and made our way topside. We have a nice tradition while aboard ship. When the vessel leaves port, we get a glass of cabernet and stand topside watching the land drift behind us and feeling the fresh sea breeze on our face, We stood at the ship’s rail and watched the mighty nautical leviathan maneuver her way through a series of canals
on her way out into the English Channel. We were headed for Le Havre, France. As big as the Crown Princess is, you soon realize that she is a small ship in a mighty sea.

At 7 P.M. we made our way to the Michaelangelo dining room on deck five. We stood in line for a bit and then were assigned a table, sharing it with Jim and Ann from Oxford, England and Susan and John from New Jersey. Conversation is always lively on ship at dinner. A lobster pate appetizer was followed by a tasty mushroom soup, bowl of crawfish chowder and and some sinful chocolate cake, washed down with a Mondavi Cabernet. The dinner and the conversation were pleasant. I could see where this trip was going to pack on a few pounds. C’est la vie.

We had stayed late dining, so at 9:30 we headed up to our cabin. The seas were rough in the channel and the boat was rocking back and forth, even using her side-thruster stabilizers. We settled in to read our books and retire. The next two weeks would amount to a veritable sprint through the British isles. We were much looking forward to it.