Have arrived on board and are in our cabin. Am still awaiting one item on luggage. Typically it is my suitcase. I joked to Claire that maybe it had fallen into the sea. I was told not to joke about such a thing.

The journey from Bath to Southampton was pretty straightforward. After parking, we had to catch a minibus, which took us and all our luggage to the ship’s terminal.

Getting through security was relatively painless. As I have mobility issues, we were able to skip the huge queue of fellow cruisers.

I was hot, sweaty and worn out my time we finally found our cabin. It probably didn’t help the fact I missed breakfast. I’ve so far had a complimentary ginger nut biscuit and Maoam sweets, which I brought from home. The ship won’t be setting sail for almost three hours, so my evening meal is long way off. I have my eyes on a packet of chocolate bourbon.

A couple of hours after writing the above, chocolate biscuits eaten and back from a tutorial on how to fit a life jacket. I think it would have been easier to learn how to operate the ship, than get into thing which is supposed to save my life, should be have to abandon ship. I failed to get into mine, but the steward teaching us told me I had passed. To be quite frank, if my ship is recreating the Titanic, how I would get into a bit of flimsy foam would be the last of my worries.

We have now left the port and are sailing out of Southampton. Industrial estates and factories with tall chimneys bellowing smoke and fire, line the coastline. The crewe deck is beneath ours. One crewe member is making a lengthy telephone call. We’ll be at sea for four days now, with no means of contacting loved ones back home (unless you want to pay the extortionate rates to connect to the ship’s network). Off to find some dinner now…

It’s almost 11 O’clock. I am in bed, having been fed, watered and right royaly entertained. Two years ago, on our honeymoon, Claire and I visited the buffet for the vast majority of our meals. This was often a free for all, with every man, woman and child fighting for the most amount of chips, sausages and the occasional bit of lettuce. This time, Claire’s parents took us to a restaurant, where we were served a delicious three course meal – all included in the price of our cruise.

After the visit to the restaurant, we headed to the theatre. Sitting almost on the front row, we were entertained by a group of four performers, who sung and danced to famous songs, although I had only heard of a couple of them. Apparently, Peter Andre will be visiting the ship at some point. He will certainly be worth watching, if only to see him perform the 90’s classic Mysterious Girl live. I don’t have a bucket list, but if I did, watching him live, singing that song would be on it. No idea if Bubba Ranks will be joining him.

Off to bed now. Sleep will be easy. It’s been a long day, so I am naturally tired. The bed is luxuriously comfortable and the sound of the ocean outside is enough to calm anyone.