Home again

Just back from a lovely 22 night cruise to the Caribbean on Oriana. Since I had no free internet access I'll be posting my blog retrospectively so here is the first instalment:-
Oriana – Caribbean Transatlantic 25 September – 17 October 2012

I arrived at the Mayflower Terminal at just past 11am and was sipping champagne in the Oriental Restaurant by 11.40. Apparently boarding starts now at 11am. The Peninsular lunch was excellent with plentiful wine, champagne and orange juice and free newspapers. The age range includes lots of younger people from 20s upwards by the look of them.

So – my single cabin! Well, it’s nearly perfect – if only they would get a woman’s opinion before completing the design though! There is plenty of storage – so much that even I (with my four bags!) cannot fill it! – A 3 ft hanging robe with top shelf, four deep wide drawers with cupboard with shelves over, four wide shallow drawers beside the dresser, a shallow drawer over the knee hole and eight narrow shallow drawers either side of the 4 foot bed. The bathroom has two corner cupboards and shelves under the basin. There are two hooks on the back of the door and twin bedside lamps. The fridge is over the dresser drawers and a flat-screen TV on top. There is plenty of room for my 2 large cases to fit under the bed. Straight out of my cabin door and turn left and I am on the deck by the Terrace Pool and Sunset Bar (where a sailaway party is in full swing!)

The downside? – the wardrobe rail is so low my evening dresses trail on the floor by about a foot and the lighting in the bathroom is so dim I thought there must be another light I hadn’t switched on – but sadly no! WiFi in the cabin was good, but no mobile phone signal.

 

Captain Pembridge has warned of increasing movement through the ship for the next two days. There is also a strike in Ponta Delgada so we are calling at Madeira first instead. This means every call throughout the cruise will be a day later than originally scheduled and we only get half a day in the Azores and a full day now in Madeira.

I am in the Oriental Restaurant on a table for 8 in the middle. Unfortunately it is an oblong shape so we will have to move round to talk to one another, although there were only four of us tonight – all singles and good company, one who had never cruised before. I wandered round the ship for a little after dinner. Oriana is rocking a little now but just enough to lull one to sleep.