I am a land lubber (Val Benn)

Thur 05 to 07 January 2023

I was doing very well……we had got off on time, saying goodbye to Tristan, Claire and Eliot was the only sad part. They were returning to Canberra, Tristan on 16th January and Claire and Eliot on the 26th. We got to Jas in Hayling Island also in good time . Our car was going to be left on her drive for the duration of our cruise. We arrived at Portsmouth Harbour soon after by taxi (we had to request the taxi company to replace our booking with a bigger car as we had 6.5 pieces of luggage!). The suitcases were swiftly taken off our hands whilst we waited for our embarkation card (very precious and we have to be very careful about its safety once issued. You won’t be able to get on board or pay for anything on the ship without it. I did wonder why the security checks weren’t as strict as the one when you are flying?!

Anyway we had been allocated Cabin 4146 and it was a nice room and not as small as I had envisaged. See photo. However we had to wait for some time for the luggage to appear and finally we had to go and claim them ourselves. We had 15 minutes to get changed before going up to our welcome dinner. I guess John will cover meeting our table guests.

The reference to being a land lubber was because the second day (Friday) we were in heavy seas and inevitably I had succumbed to motion sickness. I fought very hard against taking the tablet but had to admit defeat as I couldn’t even have dinner. Yesterday turned out to be better but all the passengers were like people after a booze-up. We were swaying all over the place and the ladies dressed for a formal dinner did look funny. In fact while playing table tennis yesterday, a couple of players landed on the laps of the waiting players. Yes, we played while the ship continued to punish us! I thought my days of suffering from motion sickness was over. Nope! It is alive and well

Today Sunday 08 Jan 2023

We had a very bad night with each of us getting up and reading at different times. Also my bladder was being overactive. I figured since I was up I’d go to the gym. Unfortunately I had a bad fall in the bathroom and had to call the medical centre. All is well. Couple of bruises and not much else to worry about. I thought I had broken my neck and my nose initially. Have been given a soft collar just to make sure in case the neck plays up. That was the most exciting episode on this trip so far. I have rested all day, reading, watching a movie and playing UNO. John is thrashing me. There is time yet to turn my fortunes round. John is at Darts and Table Tennis at the mo whilst I’m writing this blog.