THE SCOTTISH ADVENTURES OF A CRUISE SHIP ADDICT

I was a bundle of nerves approaching Dock Gate 4. So much so, I went in the wrong entrance! Luckily some of the natives pointed me in the right direction.   Cruise Passenger Services were wonderful with the car handling. I waved Helga the Merc off on her holidays for a week, with Squeak the Mouse and the Pink Panther keeping her company, and quickly transferred through the terminal. It was such a difference to when I was transiting through the terminals in the 1980s. Nowadays it is such a HUGE and sophisticated operation.   Rather than explain what Ventura looks like, I'm attaching some photos:  And our cabin:   When we were leaving, we saw Queen Mary 2, Queen Victoria and 'the other ship' (as she was commonly referred to...) Celebrity Edge. We checked Evie into H2O, the teens centre, and she disappeared off there after dinner. I felt quite lost to begin with! What do I do with all this time? Off to the pub, off to the Tamarind Lounge ...

I always love Southampton. For some people, therapy is a massage or a glass of wine. For me, it's going down to Mayflower Park to see what tonnage (ships) is in. From getting close up and personal with a ship in the city cruise terminal, to seeing the tugs in operation, and watching the cruise ships set sail like massive ghosts gliding effortlessly across the water. My other favourite place is on the approach to Southampton, along the dual-carriageway. As you drive onto one of the bridges, the ships in port pop up like giant balloons, then disappear as you drive off the bridge.  (Courtesy of cruise timetables.com) Another place to spot cruise ships is at Hythe, where you can walk out onto the Pier and see ships in the QE2 terminal. When Evie was a baby, we went there our to visit two of my favourite ships - QE2 and P&O's Victoria (ex-Kungsholm, Sea Princess, Mona Lisa, Scholarship). Both were docked at the QE2 terminal and they were gorgeous together.

Tuesday 11 November 2008 - Arriving into Southampton Sometimes you don't realise you are in the middle of an historic event until it happens! It's just the way of the world, I guess, being in just the right place at the right, or even wrong time. At 5.30am this morning I arrived on the Observation Deck of QE2 to watch her final arrival into Southampton. But nothing was happening! I could see the Fawley Oil Refinery to my left, but the ship was going nowhere. I was confused. At this point, QE2 should be just about arriving at the berth next to the QEII Terminal. I spoke to Gerry, who, like me, is also a shipping enthusiast. His reply was "This Queen ain't going anywhere, she's run aground". Minutes later, Captain McNaught made an announcement that indeed QE2 had run aground. He added that it happened when the "QE2 was turning a very tight corner. The wind caught her stern and pushed her onto soft clay". But he also stressed that we were not to worry.....

From tomorrow, my blog will slightly change as I will be heading on board QE2 for her last proper cruise before she goes off to Dubai. I'm not sure whether posting this blog from QE2 will be easy or not, so it might be a little sporadic.  I am in port on these dates: 29 Oct   Lisbon (last time I was here it was so foggy I couldn't see the huge bridge across the Tagus! We were right under it!) 31 Oct   Sardinia  1 Nov   Naples (Pompeii)  2 Nov Sicily (its a Sunday - everything will be closed)  3 Nov Dubrovnik (gorgeous)  4 Nov Zakinthos (there's nothing there - I'll get to practice my Greek on the locals)  5 Nov Athens (The Acropolis)  8 Nov Gibraltar (Shopping - ye-hey!)  9 Nov Vigo (its a Sunday again - 4th time lucky, I'm hoping to finally get to visit this place!) 11 Nov Southampton (a big party!) We're taking two stowaways with us: Oscar, my daughter Evie's school teddy, and Rex, the rhinocerous from my aunty's work.

Professor Willms presentation at the 1st International Cruise Conference in Bremerhaven started me thinking about my own experiences of cruise ships in port and the visitors they attract. I think the most amazing vision of this was arriving in Cherbourg on Queen Mary 2's maiden arrival in France. Over 10,000 people were waiting to see the ship arrive at 7am, and this had swelled into 15,000 by the time she left! On our arrival, fire boats were spurting plumes of water as a salute to the uncrowned queen of France, and a large floatilla of small boats  hovered dangerously near this enormous ship's bow. But the crowning moment was when she approached the terminal, she let out a roar from her massive horn! We all covered our ears and my daughter screamed - we couldn't hear her scream! One of these horns was from the original Queen Mary (now in Long Beach, California) and can be heard from over 10 miles away. France was proud of its Queen! But why had these people come to visit ...