Aurora 2010 Southampton to Madeira

Our adventure began on Saturday 8^th when we were taken to Gibraltar for our flight to Heathrow. After the winter weather disruption before Christmas we had our fingers crossed that we would not be affected by delays and BA came up trumps with a perfect flight. Glad we hadn´t chosen Easyjet as theirs was 4 hours late! After a night in an airport hotel our journey to Southampton on Sunday was uneventful courtesy of National Express and after taking on supplies from Asda we were in the considerable queue for check in at the Mayflower Terminal by 1230hrs and on board soon after 1300hrs.

   Boarding a cruise ship is always so exciting and this time was no exception. With the world cruise it is even better as friendly faces soon appear. So many people cruise every year on the same ship that it is like a meeting of an exclusive club. This time we understand that there are 1450 people staying on for the whole 96day Grand Voyage to Australia via South America and return via Panama.

   Finding our cabin was easy as we have been on the ship before and after the usual Emergency Drill we were on deck for the Sailaway Party at 1730 but it was so cold! However stores and baggage were still being loaded and this continued up until nearly 1830 when a big cheer went up signaling the last case. It is obvious that for a world cruise some ladies bring a lot of luggage-I overheard a woman at sailaway saying that she checked in at 1200 but 5 of her cases had still not reached her cabin!

   At around 1840 we moved off the berth and were entertained by an exclusive firework display as a sendoff from P&O. However we soon moved inside to get warm! Luckily the dress code was casual for the evening as my suitcase didn´t reach my cabin until after 2230. Luckily our table companions were good company and it bodes well for the voyage.

  The trip across the Bay of Biscay was OK considering the wind was SW´ly force 8-9 and we got into our usual routine except for the walking laps around the deck. Despite the Orangery Buffet being closed for the first 2 days plus no room service, as a precaution to contain any Novovirus that may have been brought on board, we managed to attend Pilates at 0900, Line Dancing at 1000, Yoga at 1630 and intend to keep this up for the voyage.

  Entertainment on the first leg looks good with Pam Eyres and the Merseybeats amongst others.

   On Thursday 13^th we arrived on schedule in Funchal, Madeira a Portuguese Island about twice the size of the IOW and the sun was shining and it looked glorious. Out came the shorts at last and we could feel some warmth! A short walk into town was enjoyed as this is such a beautiful town and we were off again at 1745. Ahead is a 5.5day voyage south to Brazil and crossing the line!