Arcadia J206. Around Britian, June 2012.

[wolfie]

Arcadia J206

Southampton was very busy with IOTS, Arcadia, Azura, and MSC Opera in port. Having made good time on the coach, provided by our TA, we then had a short delay in traffic and another at check in as the mobility and Caribbean queues were one and the same. However, it moved more quickly than the other queue which was huge!
Once aboard we were directed to the Orchid Restaurant for nibbles and drinks; a very comfortable venue where we enjoyed superior nibles on offer compared to the usual fare in the Crow’s Nest.
Our cabin was soon ready and, having booked a guarantee cabin for the first time, we were not disappointed. In fact we were delighted with both its position and size, especially the size of the balcony.It was a very large aft cabin.
After attending the drill we expected to be away but departure was delayed due to the horrific weather and we finally left around 7pm.

Our table in the Meridian was on the upper tier aft and a window table. Little did we realise that first evening just how memorable a cruise it was to be!! We were often among the last of tables to vacate the restaurant, good company, and after the first night we felt like old friends.

The first sea day dawned to blue skies and sunshine and TG we were to make Queensferry, for Edinburgh, on time. At anchor, with great views of the Forth Bridge. Another warm day and we visited Britannia which we enjoyed immensely, then a stroll around Edinburgh and back to the ship for another laughter filled evening at dinner.

Invergordon is a small sleepy town that was inundated by the number of passengers form Arcadia as well as those arriving from Black Watch, berthed further away from the town. The afternoon saw us enjoying the wonderful scenery around Loch Ness, with a brief stop in Inverness where a car argued with the coach!! A good dinner was not complemented by a dire show, a comedian called Steve Tandy. At 11pm it was light enough on the balcony to write my daily journal, the oil rigs were all lit up and, although the sun had set, there was still a red glow in the clouds and it brought back memories of Greenland and the red glow on the horizon in the small hours.

3.30am the next day and I thought it was morning but it was a very early dawn, it had never truly got completely dark. Sitting with our early morning cuppa with more blue skies and dolphins following us made us realise what we had missed so much after being unable to cruise for a while. Today we sailed very close to many of the islands and eventually we had a short commentary telling us which they were; Lewis, Uist, and more that I failed to take note of. This was the second and last of our sea days so I took the opportunity to play both quoits and shuffleboard albeit a bit wobbly after our Caribbean lunch! Also this evening we had the joy of a school of whales off the Promenade deck where were taking an after dinner walk. I did say that the weather was pretty good!!
Tonight, B&W, our half bottle of champagne was waiting for us but, after the lunch, we decided to put in the fridge for another day.

The show tonight was appropriate, ‘Beatles Experience’; we missed their first show but it was quite acceptable but wouldn’t go again on another cruise.
Belfast was drizzly and we had nothing planned except to wander and prepare for the next few days of intensive ports of call. We had a great, if misty view, of the new Titanic building, but having visited the Titanic exhibition last year in the O2, we decided we had overload and gave it a miss this time.

Liverpool………………………………..we arrived to the same weather that we had left on departure day!! Horizontal rain and wind that you could hardly stand up in!! We made it to the Albert Dock; first call was the Maritime Museum and the International Museum of Slavery. Then a spot of lunch at the Pan Am restaurant, followed by the Tate and the Museum of Liverpool. All in all, a very cultural and enjoyable day. The Tate had a special exhibition of Monet, Turner and Twombly paintings so I took the opportunity, while OH dried off with a coffee.

Later, we met up with a cruising friend at the Malmaison Hotel, very close to the ship. We were due to have an evening in port but it turned out to be an overnighter due to the weather, so, another day in Liverpool, this time on the HOHO bus. The sail out here is not impressive with many disused crumbling buildings, wasteland and scrap metal yards. No doubt it will be regenerated in years to come and become prime real estate.

Due to our extended stay in Liverpool we had to miss out Dublin. Some very disappointed passengers but it was either miss one port completely or a shortened stay in both Dublin and St. Peter Port. The captain, Ian Hutley, made the right decision in our opinion although I know many were disappointed.

Cobh, and another warm day. It’s amazing when you look back at the ship here how it appears to be docked in the main street! We do enjoy a walk here and many other passengers were also out and about enjoying the balmy weather. This afternoon saw us off to Kinsale, a pretty little town, and our tour provided some beautiful scenery.

St. Peter Port…………….we made it!!! No undue delay waiting for a tender and we were ashore and
on the local bus before the crowds. What an hour and a quarter, and all for £1. The bus took us all around the island with some lovely coastal views and then it was time for lunch at, Le Petit Bistro/Café, the only truly French restaurant in the immediate area, no doubt there are many fine ones on the island.

It was strange having a port of call the day before disembarkation but we had packed in advance so as to enjoy our last day to the full.

Some other points:

The Headliners always do their best but, they seem to be overused and their shows/ new routines disseminated to the rest of the fleet. Consequently a new title does not constitute a new show!! Just, a bit of this and bit of that, that we have seen before.

Jonathan Ainsworth, classical pianist, was on this cruise and he was excellent.

Our cabin steward was adequate. Most cabin stewards fine tune their servicing of the cabin around your movements. Some mornings we were out for a few hours but he did not seem to want to move from his routine and when we got back, near to midday, the cabin was as we had left it. Not wanting to be out and about again we sat on the balcony, as we have done many times before, but he seemed not happy to carry on. When we got locked out on our balcony our neighbours sounded the alarm and he came to let us in and assured us that, ‘if we had a problem again, be sure to let him know.’ Well, in future we shall take our mobile phone and the number of the ship with us onto the balcony!! As it was 6.30pm we might have been there some time with neighbours on first sitting having already left and those on second around and about the ship. Not putting the, ‘make up my cabin,’ card in the door slot might have seen us there until people returned from the show!

Excellent waiters at dinner, as ever.

Some tours were not as per the tour brochure nor the amount of time spent on tour.

We really did have a lovely cruise with no complaints to speak of. Arcadia was never our favourite ship of the fleet but, after yet another cruise on her, we do itinerary rather than the ship, we are becoming smitten, a little.

[Dennis The Menace]

A good first cruise report for the new forum Wolfie, cheers I enjoyed that

[JohnTheDog]

We like Arcadia done a few cruises but we ended up doing too many & got "Arcadia'd" out...nice to do a short cruise last Xmas though, love the hydropool.

[Romig1]

Glad you had a good cruise Wolfie - it did sound fantastic.

Good table mates can really make the cruise can't they?

[wolfie]

Would love to have you, 'on our table' R, any day, not literally of course.

Thanks DTM. There may be more when I have time, not least the very long one!!!

Meanwhile, for my very close buddies, I may be of a mind to send you my blog of that cruise. It makes good bedtime reading.