British Isles 2015:
Day 13 - At Sea
Day 13 - At Sea
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Thursday, July 30, 2015: Our cruise itinerary only had two at-sea days of 11 total, so we took advantage of the break to sleep in. Then we gathered some photos of the ship. |
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The ship is large and beautiful but it has one serious flaw: not nearly enough elevators for the size of the ship. There were four elevators at each end, and six in the center: 14 elevators for 3600 passengers. |
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This means that is is not possible to get an elevator to dinner and that you will wait a long time if you leave the dining room after the dessert course. We learned to leave the dining room before dessert so we didn't have to walk up 11 flights of stairs. Here is a rare shot of an empty elevator. |
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Here's some art on one of the stairwell landings. |
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Here's the Princess Theater, ... |
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... the casino, ... |
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... Bellini's bar, ... |
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... and the atrium ... |
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... complete with Scottish banners. |
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Here are two of the elevators in the center. |
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Here's a tiny alcove right outside the promenade deck that never seemed to be open to the guests. |
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Here's some of the art that is always for sale on every ship. Seriously, who are these people who buy those ubiquitous Peter Max paintings? |
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Here's a nice peacock statue. |
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Here's the lower level where the customer service and shore excursion desks are. |
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This version of the Royal Princess was given its name by Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge in June 2013. |
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This display contained mementos of that day, including the maternity dress Kate had been wearing that day. Our only other Princess cruise had been on the previous version of the Royal Princess in 2011. |
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It was another gorgeous day, so we found the sunny side of the ship and soaked in some sun. |
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Occasionally, a British military jet would fly overhead on a combat air patrol. |
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The Crown Grill was offering a British pub-themed lunch, ... |
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... so we had some beer and lunch. Debbie had shrimp and chips, and Tom had fish and chips, with mushy peas. Seriously, that is the official name of the side dish: mushy peas. |
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In the afternoon, we glided past numerous drilling rigs. Here's one ... |
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.. and here's another. |
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It's now time for a tour of our cabin: mini-suite M331 on the starboard side of the ship. |
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There was a large walk-in closet that doubled as the hallway to the bathroom. It included lots of space for hanging garments plus a full-size cabinet with lots of shelves and the safe. |
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Here's the bathroom, part one ... |
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... and part two. |
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Here's the bedroom ... |
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... and here's the living room, part one ... |
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... and part two. |
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After dinner, there was lots to see outside our cabin, starting with another beautifully aligned wind farm. |
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In the distance, we could see the white cliffs of Dover. It was a race against time: would we get there before the sun went down? |
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Here's the part of England where they keep Margate. "Not Margate!" (You're welcome, 1940 film version of Pride and Prejudice fans.) |
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As we got close to Dover, we got close to a P&O Ferry like the one we had taken to Calais 11 days earlier. |
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Shortly after the sun set, we got a lovely shot of that ferry approaching the white cliffs. |
Copyright © Deborah Schilling/Thomas Bundy