We slept and slept last night, in a heavenly bed with heavenly sheets in a quiet room, and it was actually easy to wake up this morning at 7am, so fingers crossed that we (me, at least) have adjusted to the time change as quickly as I’d hoped we would. We’ll know for sure tomorrow morning.
Looking out of our hotel window we could see the Regal Princess was berthed very close, at the Ocean Terminal. It’s always an exciting sight to see your ship from your hotel room. The hotel was surrounded by a marina and a plethora of boats (yachts, too). The marina was surrounded by some historic looking buildings right across from our room, prompting G to call me over. “Look, it’s Downton Abbey!” No, not quite, but they were picturesque.
Breakfast was not included in our room rate at the Harbour Hotel, and it was pricey, but we don’t generally eat the morning we board a ship anyway. Since we ate lightly yesterday though, we were hungry, and were really looking forward to Embarkation Day lunch. We hoped we would be on the Regal in time to enjoy it. Well, never has an embarkation gone as smoothly as this one, and we were walking on the ship just after 10:30am. That’s pretty smooth!
BTW, our Uber arrived just as scheduled, and we were right to reserve one. Walking to the ship from the Harbour Hotel was definitely do-able, but much of it was over bricks and cobblestone and we would have wrecked our luggage getting there. Definitely not worth it.
I chilled in Crooners and G ran around checking on dining arrangements. We had not been able to reserve a table for two on the app, and I was quite concerned that this would be a Ruby Redux, but the Regal has always been kinder to us. Despite the fact there were 900 guests in transit from last cruise (who I’m sure grabbed their favorite table reservations, because that’s what we’ve done on B2Bs), G returned to me with a definite table number for two at 5pm. Let’s get this party started!
Lunch was in Allegro (Deck 6 aft) and I had been hoping that we would see just a couple of our favorite waiters from last year’s crossing on the Regal. Well, we were immediately greeted by Restaurant Manager Nelson who we’ve known since he was a baby waiter, a hundred years ago on the Emerald and have seen many times since. Huge hugs; it was so wonderful to see him again. And he was just the first of many we’ve seen, including our waiter Peter from last year. He said Mathew (who we always called Captain Bob) from Zimbabwe just came back board today. Can’t wait to see him!
For the first time, we are staying in a sideways cabin on a Royal Class ship. I know some people swear by them, but we had to have a frank conversation about not entering the cabin surrounded by a gaggle of fellow guests, because one never knows in what state of undress one’s spouse might be. But, honestly, this cabin is luxe. My favorite part is that the cabin is so much wider. I’ve always struggled with opening and closing the nightstand drawers with the thickness of the comforter on the bed. Not an issue in a sideways cabin! We have storage plus, and our cabin looks downright empty.
Call it luck, but we had to do a full muster drill (which takes place every six months) today. Our muster station is in Crooners, and after that I took a walk along the Promenade Deck (such as it is), and saw that the rain we boarded in earlier in the day had stopped and it was a bit sunny. They were able to hold the sail away party on the Lido Deck after all. Not that I got there…I took advantage of those few minutes alone to get unpacked.
Our table for two in Symphony Dining Room is not by a window, but it is also not part of a row of tables for two, and I found that I love that about it. We are tucked away in a quiet section, and our waiters Berenice and Sebastian, both from Mexico, have already spoiled us rotten. Happiness reigns.
On one negative note, the rumors are correct. Regal will not allow cans of sodas or Pelligrinos as part of the soda package. G prepaid for that package and it specifically said cans were included. C’est la vie, I guess. If I see the F&B Manager this cruise, I’ll ask about it.
It turned out to be a decent day in Southampton
Tonight’s Princess Theater entertainment was an act that we had seen on the Ruby in June, Jared Freiburg and The Vagabonds. It took a high energy show like that one to wake the (nearly) dead, as so many in the audience were travel weary and jet lagged. They were excellent!!
But that is as long as we lasted. We move clocks ahead an hour overnight, but, unlike last year, we do not have a 7:15am meeting time for a tour of the Normandy beaches. In fact, we are going to wait until tomorrow morning see what we will (or won’t) be doing.
We are here. Life is good. :-)
