Enjoy!
Hi all,
In Southampton today off the ship as they are doing another deep clean to try to rid Arcadia of the Noro Virus. We have both been fine but lots of passengers have succumbed.
Will try to post updates as we start the world cruise but it won't be daily due to the increased cost of purchasing the ships internet package.
New Year Cruise on Arcadia 28 December - 2 January 2017
Southampton.
The day finally arrived when we started our long ago planned epic cruise of 119 nights.
We travelled down yesterday and stayed overnight at the Holiday inn Express. First time in this hotel as our usual one was closed for the festive period. It ticked all the boxes for an overnight stay and the fresh coffee at breakfast was the best I have tasted at a budget hotel.
We had an embarkation time of 12:30 and after dropping our car at an under cover car park we had a taxi to the Mayflower terminal. A slight hitch when even though we had informed them about the amount of luggage we had it wouldn't all fit in the taxi. The car park guy soon sorted it and followed the taxi with the rest of the luggage. We were directed to the Priority area for tea and coffee and cake whilst we waited for the ship to be sanitised after a bout of Norovivus on the previous cruise.
We were on board for 1 pm and having our first glass of champers and lunch whilst we waited for the cabins to be completed which was about 2 pm. I managed to finish another 3 glasses of champers by then but didn't dare have more due to the task of unpacking the luggage.
All of our 7 pieces of luggage had arrived and we managed to get the Cabin about 90 percent sorted before we attended the muster drill at 4 pm.
The cabin steward has stored three pieces of luggage for us and the rest together with the hand luggage has fit under the bed. One case with larger sized clothes in has stayed packed ready for the final segments of the cruise if necessary.
We had dinner in freedom dining and had no problem getting a table for 2 just after 7 pm. The head wine steward recognised us from the September cruise and assured us that the rosé wine we had ordered was still intact and had our name on it. We decided to keep the rosé for warmer climes and instead purchased a 12 bottle wine package.
The wine waiter told us that the Stoneburn Sauv Blanc was once again in short supply. Just hope they stock up before the World cruise.
The Headliners troupe performed a very energetic Christmas Jingle Bell Rock in the Palladium theatre. They were down to 10 members not sure if this was due to ill health or other reasons.
After the show we had an early night in readiness for Zebrugge tomorrow. No sea day to relax until Friday.
Zebrugge 29 December 2016
We arrived early to a very foggy Zebrugge. I was disappointed that there was no early stretch and relax class so I condoned myself with a leisurely cooked breakfast in the main dining room.
We got the shuttle into Blankenburge which dropped off just outside the station to Bruges and lots of fellow pax headed there. We made the decision to stay in Blankenburge to see what was there. It was sooooo cold even though we were dressed for it the cold seemed to seep through to every extremity and the wind was fierce especially by the sea front. I was amazed at the cleanliness and size of the sandy beach. If only it was 80 degrees warmer I could have appreciated it more.
We found a local coffee shop and warmed up whilst using the free wifi to contact our youngest granddaughter as it was her 6 th birthday. After that it was how quickly we could get from one centrally heated shop to another. The library was another sanctuary again with free Wi Fi and central heating. We found lots of local information in there and a very friendly staff, but sightseeing just wasn't on my agenda as I could only think about keeping out of the cold.
As ice crystals were forming on our eye lashes and eyebrows (the only body parts showing) we made our way back to the shuttle and the promise of some hot soup once we reached Arcadia.
As we arrived back into the cabin a steward arrived bearing gifts. Lovely chocolates, a huge bowl of fruit and a bottle of wine. I would rather have the friend that sent them here with us but as that is not possible we will think of him as we enjoy them.
The evening show was a comedian Jeff Stevenson who was excellent. I am not normally a fan of comedians but he kept the audience laughing all the way through his act without being smutty or swearing and no old regurgitated ship jokes.
It was a late night stop with a back on board time of 10:30 p.m. I doubt that any pax took advantage of this late night call as the temperatures dropped even further as the fog thickened.
Sea Day to Hamburg 30 December
I started the day with the exercise classes only 3 passengers for the stretch & relax class and then only 2 of us stayed to be tortured for the fab abs class, very different to the September cruise when there were so many passengers attending mats were in short supply.
A relaxing sea Day and chance to catch our breath and finish sorting out the cabin. The sea was like a mill pond and it hardly felt like the ship was moving. A much better day weather wise and the sun came out making it a very pleasant sea day as we cruised Northwards.
Battle of the sexes quiz at 12:15 am and the ladies finished the session in the lead. A lot of passengers taking part and it was a good friendly quiz.
Instead of the advertised show of Blame it on the Boogie The Headliners performed a new show called Money makes the World go by. The troupe were up to 11 members and it made a nice change to see a new show. I hope there will be more of them.
To say it is a New Year cruise it was very subdued around the ship. Lots going on to choose from but passengers not wanting to participate or mix due to the threat of the Noro Virus. There were regular announcements from the Bridge regarding staying healthy and precautions were still in place in the restaurants and public rooms.
Hamburg New Years Eve
The Captain docked early and turned the ship around in readiness for the firework display at midnight. The fog was intense with very limited visibility.
The early morning exercise class ran later than normal due to the fitness instructor sleeping in. Still only 3 of us for the class and he offered us a free Pilates class tomorrow to make up for his tardiness but I doubt I will take him up on his offer after the festivities tonight.
Noro has reared its ugly head again and Arcadia has moved to a higher level of sanitisation. There were no condiments on the table at breakfast and the waiters were serving everything with tongs. I have not used the buffet at all so not sure how they are dealing with it in there.
It does put a dampener on things and every time someone coughs or sneezes heads turn and everyone moves away or covers their mouth and nose. When a gentleman sneezed very loudly on the shuttle bus there was a deathly silence and for a few seconds I wondered if everyone was going to vacate the bus. Instead everyone stopped talking and covered their faces with scarves and jumpers.
The shuttle bus dropped us into the town centre which being New Years Eve was exceptionally busy. It was very cold and the fog made it difficult to appreciate the architecture of the city. We had a coffee with free Wi Fi in the shopping centre but after a couple of hours traipsing around we decided to call it a day and headed back to the ship. Such a shame that our first visit here was foggy and cold and hope that next year we are luckier with the weather but as it will be the same time of year it may be just as bad. I need to do a summer cruise here to be able to appreciate it.
This was the only formal night of the cruise and the passengers all looked very glamorous in their New Year finery.
We ate in the Ocean Grill which was as usual superb but we didn't get out of there until after 9:30 pm which meant that we missed the show in the theatre and every venue was packed out. We finally found seats and had drinks in the Piano bar and were kept entertained by some of the Headliners troupe until it was time to make our way up onto the deck for the firework display. We called at the cabin to collect the champagne hats and coats but the view was so good from the balcony as well as being much warmer and we could hear the music and New Year announcements from the deck that we decided to stay on the balcony. Most of the balconies around us were occupied so everyone had the same idea. It was a great atmosphere and the fireworks were fantastic and appeared to be never ending.
Another great New Years Eve on board Arcadia just a pity we weren't in the sultry Caribbean.
Final Sea Day January 1 st 2017
I woke up feeling very groggy from the amount of alcohol and very rich food consumed last night. I thought about going to the exercise class for a millisecond but instead took a tablet and immediately went back to sleep. I finally got up just after 9 am which is at least 4 hours later than normal.
After more tablets I felt just okay enough to tackle the smoked salmon and scrambled egg breakfast. Everyone I spoke to thoroughly enjoyed the New Year Celebrations including the crew who had partied the night away.
Battle of the sexes before lunch and the ladies were victorious and the men bowed to our superiority.
We opted for a room service lunch as I really needed to go back to bed as the motion of the Ocean had begun to affect me. Nothing to do with the alcohol consumed last night. I slept the afternoon away and felt fine by dinner time.
The final Headliners show was Killer Queen. New costumes since the last time we saw this show and with the special lighting effects it had certainly been revamped. Always a show worth watching and this was certainly a Grand Finale to the cruise.
Tomorrow we are back in Southampton and we have been asked to disembark for a few hours so that the ship can have another deep clean in readiness for the World Cruise.
P & O are adding a generous amount onto our on board account to pay for a taxi into town and to purchase refreshments. As we intended to go into Southampton anyway to stock up on cabin essentials this is an added bonus.
Overall a good cruise which has given us the chance to relax and prepare for the World Cruise but I am so looking forward to reaching the warmer weather as we sail South towards the Caribbean tomorrow.
I was hoping to find a way to cheer me up until Easter arrives and hopefully some warmer weather, so your reports are going to go down a treat. thank you for taking the time to write them on your epic journey, I hope to be doing this myself some day.
