Smurfie's Christmas Cruise

[david63]

Saturday 26th December
Woke up today to a total change in the weather – hot, sunny and little wind, it also changes the atmosphere on board with everyone now in “holiday” mode and not milling around inside wondering what to do as if they were in the “home for the bewildered”. However Christmas is over – all the waiters have stopped wearing their Santa hats and normal service has resumed!

The latest moan is “This is nothing like Cunard” – erm no it is P&O.

For interest photos are now £12 for “normal” ones and if you have one with Captain on you can say goodbye to £18 (and “poster boy” has been replaced by a younger version!)

Sunday 27th December
Another hot and sunny day with the temperature up in mid 20’s. This is our last sea day before arriving in Antigua tomorrow and also our third black tie night

To be continued …

[Mervyn and Trish]

I'm not sure I was ever on Arcadia Smurfy, just Azura and then to our surprise Britannia. But someone younger? Surely not. I may sue. My life is ruined.

[towny44]

I'm not sure I was ever on Arcadia Smurfy, just Azura and then to our surprise Britannia. But someone younger? Surely not. I may sue. My life is ruined.

Just imagine how we felt when we saw your portrait in the photo shop? Not certain it would have lead to extra sales!!!

[Mervyn and Trish]

They make great dart boards

[Raybosailor]

They make great dart boards

I think we would all be aiming well to the left to avoid hitting the lovely Lady Trish Merv

[Mervyn and Trish]

She'll be grateful to hear that!

[david63]

Monday 28th December
Today we saw land for the first time in four days and it was another hot day which was also very humid which tended to make it uncomfortable to move around outside. We were the third ship to arrive in Antigua today the others being a Silversea’s and a Regent ship – this had the obvious knock-on effect that everywhere was busy. We were cleared for going ashore by 09:00 with a back on-board time of 17:30. It now appears that there is no 30 minutes “grace” with the back on-board time that there has been in the past – perhaps this is to placate the moaners about shorter times in port! Incidentally we were the first of the three ships to depart.

We decided to have a walk so we spent some time around the town and then started to walk out of town following the bay. This was not a particularly pleasant walk as the motorists were not taking prisoners and there was not much in the way of a pavement. We did however see some of the less salubrious areas that tourists are kept away from and it was evident that Antigua is quite a poor country.

Tonight we ate in Sindhu and the meal was excellent. One noticeable fact was that there were not many bookings which, we were told, was due to it being a port day.

Tuesday 29th December
We arrived in Tortola this morning to a heavy shower. The Captain assured us that it was a typical “Caribbean” shower and would only last for a few minutes – well that was correct but what he failed to say was that there were several more of these showers to follow. When we docked in Tortola Thomson Celebrity was already docked – she does look, from the outside, as quite an old ship. We were again cleared to go ashore about 09:00 with a back on-board time again of 17:30 (in fact we were on our way within 10 minutes of that time – Thomson Celebrity was still there!).

Tortola is in the process of building a new cruise terminal which one completed will be similar to most of the other “new” Caribbean island’s new cruise terminal, however with it still being under construction and the heavy rain showers it was something of a mud bath. Once out of the terminal we set off on another walk which although better than yesterday’s walk was still not that pleasant as it was along quite a busy road.

One other thing that happened overnight was that the Gingerbread village disappeared!

I don’t know if this due to the introduction of Freedom dining on Arcadia but there appears to be fewer Head Waiters around at night than there has been in the past – if I was of a cynical disposition I would suggest that this was another cost saving exercise!

Tonight was “Tropical” night with the customary tropical shirts coming out and the deck party. In the theatre was String Idols which we have seen before and, in our opinion, are very good.

Wednesday 30th December
Another really hot and humid day for our arrival in St Maarten (Thomson Celebrity had beaten us here!) We were cleared to go ashore around 08:00 with a back on-board time of 16:30. As we were docking there were two other ships on the horizon RCI Oasis of the Seas and a Celebrity ship (sorry forgot her name) – these are humongous beasts compared to Arcadia and Thomson Celebrity looks like one of their lifeboats!

St Maarten is clearly geared up as an American “shop ‘till you drop” port and whilst it was obviously very busy with four ships in port it did not feel overcrowded – that may be more to do with us being out early before it got too hot. It was quite amusing at the number of RCI photographers that wanted to take our photo as we were leaving the ship (I wonder how much they charge for their photos?)

We were off the ship just after 09:00 and had about a two hour walk along the “front” and then up around the bay. This was a much more pleasant walk than the previous two and even though we were being asked every few minutes if we wanted a taxi ride or a sunbed there was no hassel.

To be continued …

[Manoverboard]

Sorry to say it Boss but your Cruise sounds a tad boring to me, XMas wise, so may I recommend a Riverboat Cruise next year ?

[Mervyn and Trish]

Still no mention of Cubie. Has the Smurf made him walk the plank?

[jay-ell71]

All seems to be going well for you. A tiny criticism if I dare? The weather here is grim. Wet, very windy and generally dull and dark. I would be please to have a bit of hot,sunny, humidity and I feel you are complaining about it being so??

[david63]

Right then where were we? Still in St Maarten. It would appear that St Maarten is the cruise ship “petrol station” as most of the ships were being refuelled. There was quite a good sailaway up in the Aquarius Pool area with plenty of banter between Arcadia and Oasis. As usual we were the first to leave on the pretext that it was a long journey down to St Lucia – although our 16:30 departure was delayed due to a medevac.

Thursday 31st December
New Year’s Eve started off as a bit of a disaster as Mrs Smurf had made an appointment at the Spa for 08:00 which was then changed a couple of days ago to 09:00. This was all well and good apart from the fact that nobody had told the Captain of this when he decided to bring the crew drill forward by 15 minutes with the result that her treatment was only half done and she had to go back at 11:00. By the time all of this was done it was about 11:30 before we were able to get off the ship.

There was some good news in that we were not tendering and some bad news in that we were docked at the “grotty” side of the port with a Carnival ship taking up the best berth. For anyone who has visited St Lucia I can assure you that it has not improved over the years – in fact I would say that it has deteriorated.

This being New Year’s Eve it was a “Black Tie” night – yes on a port day (there goes another myth!) The meal was a special gala meal and was amongst the better meals that we have had on this cruise and there was a real part atmosphere in the dining room with party hats and party poppers. After dinner we went up to the Aquarius Pool to “let the New Year in” and to watch the fireworks (thanks to the Captain for doing his “mystery tour” in and out of St Lucia so that we were in the right position to be able to see the fireworks all across the island). Midnight came and the New Year was rung in on the ship’s bell by the oldest and youngest members of the ship’s crew. The Captain even shook my hand (along with several others) wishing me a Happy New Year.

We said that it was one of the better New Year Eve’s that we have had and only wished that Christmas had had the same atmosphere.

Friday 1st January
Today started off with having breakfast on the balcony with the part finished bottle of champagne from last night as we arrived in Barbados – Arcadia being one of five ships in port today (had my first view of Britannia and she looks might big!)

Being New Year’s Day almost everywhere in Bridgetown was closed – good bit of planning there!

One thing that I have noticed on this cruise is the number of wheelchairs. I do not know if P&O have changed their policy but there appears to be a lot more than I recall on previous cruises. Also it looks as if P&O now have some wheelchairs that can “hired” as there are several new wheelchairs with Arcadia on them.

We left almost on time at 17:30 for the five day crossing to Madeira.

Tonight there was a MPW special menu for dinner which was quite good.

To be continued …

[david63]

Saturday 2nd January
Today is the first of our five sea days crossing over to Madeira. The weather was quite warm with temperatures up in the middle 20’s but there was a fairly strong wind which made it somewhat uncomfortable to sit out on deck – although it was more pleasant sitting on our sheltered balcony where there was some sun.

There were two new speakers on board today for the final leg of this cruise – Dr Ed Derbyshire (excellent) who is talking all things space and David Shute (OK) who, apparently used to be a reported for the BBC.

Tonight’s main entertainment was Marc Oberon who was, supposedly, a magician – the general consensus from our table was that Paul Daniels has nothing to worry about!

Sunday 3rd January
Day two of our return crossing with the weather similar to yesterday although it was considerably better today on our balcony.

Not a lot going on today, same speakers as yesterday (different talks) and a Headliner’s show Destination Dance. We do feel that the Headlines on this cruise are probably one of the best that we have seen but they are let down, in our opinion, by poor material.

Monday 4th January
Crossing – day three. The weather was slightly better – more sun (especially on our balcony, warmer and less wind.

This afternoon there was “The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel” being shown in the Screening Room. This is the first time that we have used this venue and whilst it is quite comfortable there does seem to be a lot of space wasted – I would guess that they could get a few more seats in if it was re-organised. As is typical there always has to be someone chancing their arm and taking up seats that somebody else has booked in the hope that they are not coming.

Another first for us was to have our meal at MPW’s Ocean Grill and whilst it was not quite up to the standard of Garry Rhodes it was not far off, and was an excellent meal with good service, it just makes a change from eating in the MDR every night – not that there is anything wrong with the MDR where we have an excellent, if somewhat noisy, table and two very good waiters.

Tonight’s main entertainment was Justine Balmer a sort of cross between an opera singer and a West End singer.

Tuesday 5th January
Day four of the crossing with the weather getting slightly better – in fact it was too hot to sit out this afternoon!

This morning, apart from the usual speakers there was a “virtual bridge tour” given by the Captain which was not only very informative but amusing. The Captain told us that two passengers, literally, “missed the boat” in St Maarten and re-joined it in Barbados!

Tonight was “Black & White” night and there was an extremely high number of passengers conforming with various permutations of black and white. One thing that I can say is that the “black tie” nights have been well supported with very few “non-conformists” – although some, especially women, do stretch the definition somewhat!

Entertainment tonight was another Headliner’s show (Reel to Reel), one we have seen before but with different content. There was some excellent dancing (particularly the ballet number), unfortunately the same cannot be said of some of the singing – why do they have to screech?

Wednesday 6th January
This is our final sea day before we arrive at Madeira and the weather has changed quite a bit. It is much cooler with the temperature around the 17 – 19 degree mark and the sky is overcast.

We went to another of the space talks today which was informative but other than that there is not a lot going on around the ship – unless you want to spend money on the usual “tat” stalls that they insist on having and people have to swarm around as if there is a bargain to be had.

To be continued …

[david63]

Thursday 7th January
Well after five days at sea we finally arrived in Madeira at about 10:00 – has to wait for Thomson Majesty to dock first as we needed to be first away at 16:30.

This is the first time that we have been to Madeira since the new cruise terminal has been built and I have to say that it a great improvement from the “sheds” that it has replaced.

The weather today is noticeably cooler at 17 degrees with an overcast sky.

On previous visits to Madeira the cable car has been closed due to the low cloud levels so, for the first time, we were able to go up in the cable car – I never realised just how far up it goes. Not wanting, nor needing, to go down on one of the toboggans (been there, done that, got the tee-shirt) we had a walk round and then went back down in the cable car – at first we thought about walking down but there does not appear to be a clear route down.

Once back on board there were the “de-Christmas” decoration removers on-board and by the end of the night all signs of Christmas has gone!

The ship set sail for the three day trip back to Southampton just after 16:30 with a warning from the Captain that the BoB is going to be a “bit choppy” (I believe that is naval speak for it to not be a pleasant crossing!)

To be continued …

[jay-ell71]

Thank you for all of these reports. Very enjoyable. Good luck in the BoB. I am never sure whether it is better to be forewarned about the sea or not.
Well..... of course it is better to take the pills in good time. J

[david63]

Friday 8th January
Today is day one of our three day crossing back to Southampton. You just know that the cruise is coming to an end when you get the end of cruise survey form – nothing new there except I would have thought that they would have included Britannia on the list of ships that passengers might want to go on next!

The day started off very overcast with the occasional shower and a bit cooler than it has been recently – oh and the winds are stronger, but surprisingly in the afternoon the sun came out and we managed three laps (one mile) of the Prom deck. Noe what is it with people? In the Horizon a couple of days ago it was asking passengers to walk in a clockwise direction around the Prom deck – so guess which way mast of them were going? You’ve got it – anti-clockwise!

Today was the “Audience with the captain” which, as expected, was well attended and was quite amusing at times – although he did stop short of telling us what the salary was of a ship’s Captain.

Tonight we dined in the Ocean Grill again which was equally as good as the previous time we ate there – although it was the same menu. This was followed by the Headliners excellent show Killer Queen.

To be continued …

[Stephen]

Friday 8th January
Today is day one of our three day crossing back to Southampton. You just know that the cruise is coming to an end when you get the end of cruise survey form – nothing new there except I would have thought that they would have included Britannia on the list of ships that passengers might want to go on next!

The day started off very overcast with the occasional shower and a bit cooler than it has been recently – oh and the winds are stronger, but surprisingly in the afternoon the sun came out and we managed three laps (one mile) of the Prom deck. Noe what is it with people? In the Horizon a couple of days ago it was asking passengers to walk in a clockwise direction around the Prom deck – so guess which way mast of them were going? You’ve got it – anti-clockwise!

Today was the “Audience with the captain” which, as expected, was well attended and was quite amusing at times – although he did stop short of telling us what the salary was of a ship’s Captain.

Tonight we dined in the Ocean Grill again which was equally as good as the previous time we ate there – although it was the same menu. This was followed by the Headliners excellent show Killer Queen.

To be continued …

In case anyone is interested.
http://www.payscale.com/research/UK/Emp ... nes/Salary

[Mervyn and Trish]

Well that's a fair range! I'd guess nearer the top than the bottom

[Mervyn and Trish]

P.s. stand by for Cubie's re entry

[david63]

Well that's a fair range! I'd guess nearer the top than the bottom

Based on what he said I would, at least, double that

[Mervyn and Trish]

It's a big job and big responsibility. Worth every penny if they get it right

[david63]

Saturday 9th January
Today started much the same as yesterday, only without the showers but much stronger winds. The ship is “rocking and rolling” but not (as yet) as bad as the Captain had promised us! Once again the sun came out in the afternoon and we managed another mile around the Prom deck.

Tonight is out last Black Tie night and another of MPW’s gala dinners.

The show tonight was Jon Fisher as Gary Barlow – we thought he was excellent but others did not like him very much.

Sunday 10th January
Today is our last day so obviously the main task is the dreaded packing.

We have now finished our crossing of the Bob and it was not as bad as the Captain had predicted – I think he deliberately misled us so that there would be nothing for the “moaners” to complain about!

The day started off much the same as the previous couple of days in that it was clod, overcast with the occasional shower. By early afternoon the sun was out and it was quite pleasant doing “the mile” around the Promenade Deck.

The entertainment in the Palladium today was a bit obsure. In the afternoon was the excellent Danielle Hope, who was the winner of BBC’s Over the Rainbow five years ago. Then there was a repeat of the comedian Jeff Stevenson with an early show (for second sitting) and a later show (for first sitting), and finally at 10:15 (the normal late sitting show) was the Passenger Talent show which was the usual mix of “not so bad” and “cringe-worthy”.

Monday 11th January
Disembarkation day . I can fully understand and accept the thinking behind “silent disembarkation” but today this did not work as is possibly one of the worst disembarkations that I have had . It did not start well when there was an announcement that there was a delay due to the amount of luggage that had to be off-loaded – now correct me if I am wrong but was this same luggage not loaded three weeks ago? This may have been compounded by the fact that our disembarkation terminal had changed from Ocean to Mayflower (with usual comments that all the cars will have to be moved!)

The whole disembarkation process was made worse by three things:
1. There was nobody in the “corral” to manage the situation and keep us updated – all it needed was “disembarkation will be delayed for about half an hour”. So the result was that passengers started moving to the queue at the allotted time resulting in the previous situation of masses of people everywhere trying to disembark. So much for the “MCA safety guidelines” of only having so many passengers in each group.
2. It would be prudent if, when allocating, a corral that somebody actually checked to ensure that there were sufficient seats for the number of passengers that had been allocated that area.
3. If they want you to show your disembarkation papers then tell us to have them available.

We eventually got off the ship at about 09:50 and then had to endure the fiasco of the “baggage shed” – it is about time that they put some thought and effort into improving that, but hey we are off the ship and it is ABP’s problem.

With hindsight it would have been easier to have the Baggage Handling Company take our luggage back home and self-disembark with one case (a point to consider for the future)

The journey home was uneventful arriving home just before 15:00

Overall Conclusion
Did we enjoy the cruise? Yes and no – we enjoyed the being away aspect and being pampered as you are on a cruise. We did not enjoy the Christmas experience (or should I say lack of it!)

Would we do a Christmas cruise again – never say never, but it is highly unlikely.

The end

[qbman1]

I see from the webcam that you have got into port in The Azores...that should keep Cubie happy (for a while at least).

Certainly did - and I enjoyed The Azores very much thanks

[qbman1]

I wonder if poor Cubie has been quarantined to his cabin, or something?

It worked - hiding in one of the lifeboats for 23 days meant that no one found me !!

[Mervyn and Trish]

Welcome back. Blod's lawyer will be in touch

[qbman1]

Welcome back. Blod's lawyer will be in touch

Don't mention Blod - I got the beers in at Coconut's bar in Barbados for our date on New Year's Day and she stood me up !