Hi Folks,
I'm back.
Sorry I didn't contact you from the ship, but as much as I love you all, I wasn't going to pay 50 pence a minute just to make you all jealous.
Five Star Plus luxury. It was a bit wearing after a bit. Four formal nights (tuxedos, etc) four semi-formal nights (jacket and tie) and eight smart casual nights. I gave up wearing a tie many years ago (except for keeping my trousers up
).
We could have had 'silver service' breakfast, four course lunch and five/six course dinner. We opted for just the dinner and ate at the buffet restaurant for breakfat and lunch - and the snacks in between
. I think I have put-on a stone! Chef-prepared food available from 6.00am until midnight - and room service from midnight to 6.00am - if you wanted it.
It was an experience that I might not repeat. Just a bit too precious! 710 passengers (served by 385 crew), most of whom had cruised many times before
and seemed only to want to compare which grading they had obtained (due to the number of cruises they had already taken with P & O) and if they were going to be invited to the appropriate select party with the Commodore. The majority were older than us, fatter than us, more arthritic than us, walked either with walking frames, walking sticks (1 or 2 sticks each), sat in wheel chairs or used an electric trolley and endeavoured to fall over in anything but a flat calm.
Oh Yes, I must apologise to you all
. In another topic I admitted to being 'filthy rich' after inheriting some dosh from my sister's estate. Having seen some of the really filthy rich and then the huge yachts in some of the harbours, I am regrading myself as NOT 'filthy rich' but a just 'slightly dirtier better-off' than I was before I inherited.
However, I've got several hundred photos which I need to sort and title and then I will give you a link to a gallery.
More later after I have checked the rest of my emails and caught up with 30 new post subjects since I left.
It IS lovely to be back!