Britannia Cruise 2017
Monday Sept 4th 2017
Mum and I drove down to the Ocean Terminal, Southampton from Barry, arriving at about 12.30pm. We got
Mum a wheelchair ride onto the ship, which took us to the Peninsular Restaurant as none of the cabins / suites were ready. We had a
free buffet lunch and a
couple of glasses of cava, before going to the Kashmir Suite B623. It was a different design from the one on Aurora, and a bit
smaller in size, but with a much more modern TV entertainment system. The smaller size did make it easier for Mum to navigate.
According to the Captain's log, 3,500 passengers embarked. Departure checks started two hours before the scheduled departure time. The
Chief Engineer ensured that the ships main and auxilliary machinery was fully operational, plus there was enough fuel, fresh water,
lubricating oil and spares onboard. The Officer of the Watch confirmed that all navigational systems were operating correctly, and that
bridge and associated operational personnel were in place and ready to set sail. We set sail at 4.30pm and there was the usual practice
muster with the life jackets, in the bar area for the Sindhu restaurant.
We had been assigned the Peninsular Restaurant as the default for our Freedom dining, where the staff were late opening up, as they had
been mustering too. After a 5-10 minute wait, we were assigned a two person table which we managed to keep each subsequent evening.
We used one bottle from our 12 Captain's Collection with dinner, and drank the free bottle of champagne back in the suite after dinner.
Mum struggled with the Freedom Dining rather than set sitting concept. As people wandered in as they liked, she kept saying "They're
late coming in". We met our Steward Ted, who delivered the chocolates and the newsletter for the following day, and our Butler, Roni,
delivered our canapes, and the menu for the next day.
Whilst we ate and slept the river passage saw Britannia pass Fawley Oil Terminal on her starboard side, continuing on to complete the tight
turns around Calshot Spit and Bramble Bank. Britannia then followed the north eastern coastline of the Isle of Wight before alterint to the
south and passing west of Nab Tower where the pilot disembarked. Britannia continued on her planned track to the south west through the
English Channel.
Tuesday September 5th 2017
Throughout the Britannia continued to the south west through the English Channel, calling into Joberg traffic
as she entered the reporting point relaying information such as the number of passengers and crew, her next and last port of call, the
estimated time of arrival to Madeira and her maximum draught. After leaving the Casquets traffic separation scheme Britannia set a course
towards the outer lane of the Ushant traffic separation scheme which lies off the island of Ushant, the north-westernmost point of France.
After rounding the North West of France, Britania sailed into the Bay of Biscay.
For us it was a day at sea heading down through the Bay of Biscay and the sea was lumpy. Roni, the Butler had told us the night before that
as suite occupants we could have an exclusive, sit down breakfast in the Epicurean restaurant. There were a couple of issues with this:-
a) We were in the stern section of the ship, and the Epicurean was in the aft section, so quite a long walk, and
b) It shut at 9.00am. Who gets up for breakfast that early on holiday? We declined our invitation. The self service Horizon restaurant
was fine for what we wanted, and you could have breakfast there up to noon, not that we were ever that late. Mum had a bowl of
Alpen, a bowl of fruit, a croissant and a yoghurt. I had cooked breakfast - bacon, sausage, fried egg, scrambled egg, mushrooms and toast,
plus croissant and yoghurt.
The 12 noon report from the Officer of the Watch, confirmed the wind was blowing Force 8, and sea conditions were rough. Luckily Mum and I
are good sailors, and I like it that lumpy. The pressure differential made opening the balcony doors very difficult. When we did open
the door, the wind was shrieking around the toilet door jamb, making a dreadful noise. Eric Lanlard, Master Patissier was on board.
For £75 you could have a hands on class with him at the Cookery Club. Alternatively, there was a adult shuffleboard explanation and
competition, a line dancing class, or a corsage & buttonhole class, in readiness for the black tie dinner.
On our way down to the first of our Black Tie dinners, due to the rough sea state, the stairwells had "motion discomfort bags" available.
That's sick bags to you and me. I watched the ladies entering the restaurant in their Black Tie dress, and, as I love to people watch,
I judged the ladies attire, and put them into 1 of 4 categories:-
- Gosh that outfit must have cost an absolute fortune
- Oh, that outfit suits her and it didn't cost an arm and a leg
- That looks like a good outfit but not on you madam, and
- What were you thinking woman?
Our Marco Pierre White insprired menu was:-
- Starters - Smoked Duck Breast with a Crushed Hazelnut and Herb Crouton or Fried Goat's Cheese Crottin
Soup - Ham and Puy Lentil
Sorbet - Passion Fruit
Mains - Grilled Halibut Glazed with a Crab Sabayon or Hot Oak-Smoked Salmon or Ballotine of Corn-fed Chicken with a Quail, Pistachio
and Truffle Mousseline or Grilled Milk-fed Calves Liver, Veal Kidney and Chorizo Sausage Brochette or Twice Baked Garlic &
Onion Souffle
Desserts - Apple Tart Tatin or Chocolate and Grand Marnier Tart or White and Dark Chocolate Mousse Cake or Tropical Dream Sundae
Cheeseboard - Described as "A selection of Regional British & Continental Cheese with Biscuits", it was really naff, to anyone who
really likes cheese..
