Day 11 South Quensferry for Edinburgh

So today the fog is still clinging on to us which at first delayed our docking. It was so thick that the port got closed so we had to anchor offshore 18 miles out in the Firth of Forth. Although onlyBaca lagi
So today the fog is still clinging on to us which at first delayed our docking. It was so thick that the port got closed so we had to anchor offshore 18 miles out in the Firth of Forth. Although only 18 miles out, it was going to take us 2 hours to reach the port when we got the ok from the pilot and the harbourmaster. The fog did lift very slightly which revealed the Viking Neptune beside us but sadly it worsened in port. The decision was made to cancel the dock and head towards our next stop in Portland on Wednesday. I’m sure if it’s clear and the pier is empty we may pop in at Skeggy on the way down.
So, in impromptu sea day. The next few blogs will be light as we are at sea now until Wednesday. The fog has not lifted all day really and it started to clear a couple of hours ago at around 8pm just after we entered Englandshire. So in all honestly we’ve done bugger all today really. Hot tub in the rain, food, nanna naps and more food.
I’m sure the medical department would have been busy today, mainly heart attack victims every time the captain sounded his horn. Jesus, when out on deck that thing scares the living daylights out of you. And it’s been sounded every 90 seconds for the last 2 days and 3 nights.
As we had a bit of time we went downstairs for dinner tonight but vowed we wouldn’t make the mistake of having four courses. Epic fail, starter, middle and because I couldn’t decide on main he fetched both, followed by dessert. I asked the waiter if he had a wheelchair we could use to get us back to our cabin, he laughed and said we’d be better suited to a wheelbarrow !!
Not many pics sadly, it’s been a hard day and picking up the camera may have just made it too much 😂😂😂Baca lagi
The sun finally made a reappearance today but this morning it was noticeably more chilly. Theres not really a lot to say about today, we’ve been at sea all day. First novelty of the day was packing all our washing up for them to wash, dry and iron for us before we get off the ship, we’ve never done that before.
The usual leisurely breakfast and then a wander round the ship. Sharon’s had her eye on some Smize and cream ice cream by Tyra Banks but it’s been like rocking horse poo to find onboard despite being advertised but she managed to hunt some down today so she was happy. We also had some hand made chocolates delivered to us courtesy of Princess and Canapés were offered too but we declined due to us feeling like fat pigs !!
We spent an hour or so in the plaza having tea earlier this afternoon. We decided to give the captains party miss tonight and go out on deck in the hot tub to watch the film. It appears we were missed as a couple of people asked where we were last night !! The film was called missing and was actually quite good. There was some kind of fighter plane doing loops over us, quite difficult to spot but loud and quite close when it made an appearance through the broken clouds.it has warmed up slightly the further south we get.
10pm, we’re sat at the back of the ship with a cuppa and a biscuit - currently sailing south and about level with Mablethorpe. Hope Skeggy have the port staff ready tomorrow for our quick call in for fish and chips 😂Baca lagi
PengembaraHey I hope they don't run out of food, what with being at sea so long!
Our last sea day today, although we aren’t fully certain we’ll dock in Portland tomorrow. It’s been very windy and choppy today and we have slightly more knowledge than we had yesterday !!
After breakfast Sharon went to the sale in the plaza, I went on a secret squirrel mission. The medallion app proved useful in finding Sharon as it located her with great accuracy and even gave me directions !!
We sat in on a talk done by our captain who is from Croatia 🇭🇷., an “ Enrichment Talk”. It was interesting, informative and in parts funny. One thing we learned is that in a large number of ports, it’s difficult to dock if the wind is above 15 knots. He can manage about 19 knots with tugs but they are not always available. Currently it’s extremely windy and very rough so I’d say 50/50 chance tomorrow of docking, fingers crossed we do. At one point we were queuing for the English Channel, it was very busy on the sea and there were lots of ships. We noticed a cargo ship overtaking us. We kept our eye on him as we were about and he was on the same side of the ship as our cabin. It took him an hour and a half to get about half way past our ship.
We had Afternoon Tea delivered to us to enjoy on the balcony in our cabin this afternoon, delicious but we’re likely to need a helicopter to lift us off the ship - I don’t think we’ll need to eat until at least November !! PS after about 2 hours the ship overtaking us was about three quarters of the way past our ship, the master of the vessel must have seen him in the rear view mirror as about half an hour later ha was back level with our balcony which is at the back of the ship. We burned him off !!
The boss did a bit of packing early evening as we want to make as much use of tomorrow as we can. It gets dark here considerably earlier than it has been doing - as much as 30 minutes since Scotland. This evening the weather is shocking, the ship is wobbling all over the show, it’s very wet and very windy. There are 3000 passengers and 2000 crew on this ship and tonight 4998 of them were inside in the warm. Two silly buggers were out on the open deck sat in the hot tub watching some Marvel film that was rubbish !! It doesn’t take Einstein to work out which two !!
So, we’re just back in from the storm, dry and changed and are just popping up to the food deck just to see what’s there !! Oh and to get a warm cuppa !!Baca lagi
A special day today as it’s Sharon’s Birthday, and pleased to report we docked in Portland without issue.
It was an extremely rough night on the sea last night, probably the choppiest we’ve had all holiday but we don’t mind it, although when Sharon nearly fell out of bed she decided she didn’t like it quite so much. She didn’t get much sleep last night, I was unaffected 😂😂. However this morning was bright and beautiful although quite blustery.
It was an early dock in to Portland this morning, before I had time to wish Sharon a happy birthday she said to me “Lumberjacks this morning”. Lumberjacks is my favourite breakfast of the holiday if it is on, steak, eggs and hash brown. So we went down to the dining room for breakfast. First time this holiday, it shuts at 9 and we’ve not made it down so far.
A complimentary shuttle service was in place today with a couple of stops, Portland Castle and Weymouth. So off we went in to Weymouth. What a treat, an absolutely beautiful place. A lovely marina, beautiful town and postcard perfect promenade. We walked down one side of the harbour then an old man in his little rowing boat rowed us across to the other side. So idyllic. We wandered down the prom before stopping for fish & chips (I mean, it’s not like we’ve eaten much). We then moved on to the town and finally the harbour before getting the bus back. Our intention was to stop at the castle but it was busy so we just carried on back to the ship. A cuppa out on the open decks then a bit of packing before returning back to the open decks for some food.
A later departure this evening, and we were out on deck for the sail away. It was blowing a proper gale and was very cold in the wind. On our side of the ship there were 3 lady singers on the dockside singing songs to see us off, they were great but sadly the decks weren’t very busy which is a bit of a shame but there was a bit of cheering and waving. I said last night I thought we may not dock but we did without challenge. However, departing proved a bit challenging. 6 engines, all available thrusters, 2 tug boats pulling us out and an hours worth of perseverance before we finally departed the berth. Amazing to watch but absolutely frozen by the time we got away. So straight down for the last night in the tub. No sooner were we in when the heavens opened and we got a soaking, fortunately it only lasted about 30 mins so not too bad. Tonight’s film, Otto with Tom Hanks, a good film but a tad sad at the end.
So, a wonderful day today, Sharon had a smashing birthday, Weymouth was amazing and we’ve packed so much in to the day. A tremendous last day aboard, just having our last drink at the back of the ship in the evening reflecting on the day. We must pop downstairs and finish packing.
Well well would you believe, just about to go to the cabin when bloke turns up with a meat feast pizza - 2 pieces please (one each)👍 - would’ve been lovely, if it weren’t for the chilly flakes - eeebeejeesus !! 🔥Baca lagi
Pengembara
They look a lovely pair xx