Okay, here we go!

WARNING: I have been told I seem to complain a lot. I do criticise certain aspects of the management and organisation; when you’ve travelled with the same company for 27 years, it’s hard not to notice changes (for the better or worse!). But I’m not complaining. I’m just observing the changes. Most of the time, I couldn’t give a tinker’s cuss either way, but it is interesting to see how things develop/regress. Please do not read this in a whiny voice. I am VERY well aware of how fortunate we are to be able to cruise, and to do so fairly frequently. If I believed in a deity, I would thank Him/Her/It/Them every night. This is a very luxurious kind of holiday – which, unfortunately, makes mistakes all the more glaringly obvious. Caveat ends.

Anyway, welcome to the (refitted since we last saw her) Arcadia. Lots of blue carpets. Purpose made to fit the spaces, with borders and stuff to really show off. The same fern-like carpet in Reception as we had on Aurora – grey ferns on a cream background. A friend tried to buy some at home after it appeared on Aurora, but it is apparently proprietary/ copyright or some such nonsense and not available to the ordinary proletariat to purchase. Why this is so, is anyone’s guess. Everything else is blue: the carpets in the public rooms, the corridors*, the funnel, everything. Blue, blue, blue (Ba ba dee ba ba dah). The sea, too, is currently a very impressive bright cobalt, as the sun sets quite fast on our starboard side.

So, where to start? They brought forward the coach pickup time at South Mimms Services from 11.30 to 9.30 am. Colour us unimpressed. But we managed to make it upright, the minicab arrived on time (driver’s name was Khaled), and they’ve put picnic tables in the coach park so we didn’t have to stand around whilst queuing. All so far so good. We made it to Southampton in 2.5 hours, which, for a bank holiday Friday, was astounding. Maybe the variable speed limits on the M25 really do work?!

This time, mercifully, there was no issue with getting two wheelchairs and we were on board in time for lunch. Although who wants FIVE courses, with cheese and petit fours (albeit with free wine), at lunchtime on any day is beyond my ken.

The cabin keys worked, the wifi worked, it was all dubiously smooth. Until…

Dad’s case didn’t arrive. We went to Reception and were assured that it was “almost certainly” on board. Very reassuring, thanks. We traded phone calls, we went back and forth to Reception to nag in person at least half a dozen times, they dispatched every deck supervisor to search the ship. At 9.15pm – EIGHT HOURS after we boarded, someone thought to ask Security. And there it was. ALLEGEDLY, they had spotted something suspicious on the x-ray, but could not open the combination lock. They didn’t TELL us. They didn’t even tell any of the Reception team. When we finally did locate it (in a room about six feet from the Reception Desk), the only Security person on duty had NO IDEA what the problem might have been. We unlocked it and she took a cursory look and asked her supervisor about some large scissors with 2.5 inch blades (the maximum is 4). And that was that. Only we still had to go and unpack it, after an already exhausting day – neither of us could be mistaken for spring chickens, let’s face it.

Just to add the cherry on top, we discovered last year that said combination lock has developed a worrying habit of jumping wheels, so the number you opened it with may not work the next time! It’s clearly aging at the same rate as we are! Still, makes for fun and games when trying to open it. It’s amazing what can be achieved with a bit of brute force and ignorance, and a teaspoon.

Arcadia is suffering from the standard ailments – tired décor, dents, dirty windows, etc. That’s all par for the course and not really a problem. But some bits are inconvenient. All the automatic doors (currently) work perfectly, but someone has put new closers on everything else, and you really have to put your back into it to open anything. Do NOT go to the loo in a hurry (or a one-piece bathing suit), because this includes the individual cubicle doors. If you do, don’t use the loos nearest the restaurant, because there’s no loo paper. Seriously, P&O, at lunchtime on Embarkation Day?! FFS.

The corner cutting continues apace. The new toilet paper is a bit hard for my liking (but I suppose I should just be grateful I found some!). The drinks prices continue to rise (anyone would think they were made of Brent Crude), but the food is plentiful, and largely edible (although the herrings pickled in sherry are not very popular!). The new mattresses are lovely – they were all replaced in January, apparently. But, conversely, whereas the staff used to use Red Henrys to hoover between sittings, they now use grey and blue imitations, which are lovely and quiet, but branded with P&O livery! Really? Is it necessary to waste money branding the vacuum cleaners?! Madness.

The lack of communication continues to blight matters – left hand and right hand still completely ignore each other. For example, a couple of years ago, all the cabin doors were metal, and had been since time immemorial. Some bright spark decided that, in the last refit, all the cabin doors should be covered with wood veneer. It looks very smart indeed. But it makes the MAGNETIC Do Not Disturb signs rather tricky to use. Seriously, you could not make this stuff up, you really couldn’t. Thank goodness they didn’t alter the door frames as well! As the magnetic signs only came in a few years ago, when we switched from push-pull card slots to contactless locks, which meant the demise of the little card DND signs that we used to just post in the gap and were impossible to ignore if you went to use a key, the silliness really starts to come into focus.

As with much with P&O, it’s one step forward, several back – less progress, more cha-cha-cha.

My massage was booked for today at 3.30pm. I booked it online before we sailed. When I got there, they said I was booked in for 5.30pm. Luckily, due to being a “Fool me once” kind of cynic, I had a screencap of my purchase. So I got a lovely massage from Beki, and we (accidentally, ahem) overran by half an hour by way of compensation – so I got a full body massage plus a facial massage plus an Indian head massage as well! By the time I left, I was so relaxed, I could barely stand!

I do wonder if things feel a little out of kilter because our beds are facing a different way to usual. Whereas, as far as I can recall, the cabin has always been laid out with the headboards either side of the window, facing across the beam, this time, our heads are aft and our feet are pointing forward. I have no idea if this really has any effect, but it’s interesting to note.

But, on the plus side, my massages are on 3 for 2 (oh well, if you INSIST), and the Bay of Biscay was so calm, I had to look out the window to check we were still moving. Bearing in mind that some people fly to Spain to meet the ship rather than cross it on board (because it’s very shallow and therefore tends to be quite rough), it was very pleasant.

We haven’t seen much in the way of wildlife or birds, as yet, although today we have passed two low-and-slows – both likely tankers, as not a container in sight on either. We’re doing about 15 knots, so we easily outpace them, particularly as these two were quite laden down and low in the water.

We didn’t get a dinner table on Day 1, but we got one last night. Carol and Roy are lovely (despite being Scottish). So are Sue and Malcolm, but a little quieter. The latter pair were on the same coach as us, and boarded at South Mimms. There are hardly ever Londoners on board, so Enfielders make a refreshing change.

We have bumped into several friends from earlier cruises. Thank heavens I started noting names in my blogs! It’s ever so useful to be able to look up people’s names. I’m good at faces, but not names. Dad isn’t very good at either, it transpires! But the blog archive has been invaluable in that respect, and we’re only on Day 3.

I am currently trying to persuade Dad to go and see Hidden Figures at the cinema tomorrow. Today was Raising Arizona, which I didn’t think he’d appreciate as much.

Tomorrow is Julia’s birthday, so happy birthday, Mrs Mushin! And May the 4th be with the rest of you.

*I will upload a photo, but apologies in advance to those of a more OCD persuasion.