EMBARCATION – THE LEAVING OF LIVERPOOL – Thursday 30th July 2015.
“Just how many cases are you taking” seems to be the question. Instructions say there is no limit but you do have to keep them in your cabin. Now a fellow can get away with a few carrier bags of stuff but not the ladies – 10 days means ten frocks, ten trousers, ten of this, ten of that. I digress, this is August 2015, a milestone time for Kath and myself – a big (very big) number wedding anniversary. So it was decided our girls Samantha and Elizabeth, with their fellas, Dave and Paul, would accompany us on a cruise to Iceland.
It is all excitement in Liverpool – Sam and Dave take our baggage in their car to the cruise terminal, then leave their car at a local Fire Station, whilst Kath and myself take a leisurely train journey from Southport. Meanwhile, Paul and Liz arrive from Basingstoke having booked private parking – well sort of private – a reserved place in the multi-storey behind the waterfront hotels!
The Liverpool cruise terminal is a hive of activity – baggage is efficiently removed from us onto a conveyor belt and disappears into the terminal, a bit too quick for Paul and Liz who need to label their cases but the staff say it does not matter! The terminal is a temporary tent-like structure, with plenty of chairs, a porta-loo and guided pathways zig zagging their way to the Reception Desk. Still, it works OK.
Passports checked in, we are photographed and issued with our plastic cabin door tags and identity cards as we climb some very rickety stairs onto the ship. Not a big ship, M/V Azores run by CMV, gives us a friendly welcome and we are escorted to our cabins. Magically our baggage has beat us to it, well most of it – unsurprisingly, Paul and Liz are two cases missing. These eventually turn up, one of the cases has its main handle bent out of shape, as though it has been used in some sort of throwing game. The ship blame the baggage handlers, I wonder who they will blame. However, the ship offer to attempt a repair.
Our cabin steward is Iryna, a lady from the Ukraine who welcomes us and shows us our cabin. Not spacious but comfortable and well organised and now the amount of baggage becomes critical as we try to stow away all our stuff. Then onto the top deck, a great sense of excitement in the air, we grab our first cocktails of the trip, yet again admire the wonderful Merseyside frontage of Liverpool, (it never disappoints), the ships hooter cuts through the air, “The Leaving of Liverpool” (that old Dublinners classic) blasts out through the ships speakers, the keyside workers sway in tune and wave us off as an explosion of ticker tape fills the air and covers us with a multitude of confetti. What a send off!
We are so lucky to live in the north-west, the Mersey scenery drifts by, the Crosby Iron Men look so different from the river, we can just make out Southport Pier in the distance as we sail into Liverpool Bay, before heading north between Scotland and Ireland.
We are now instructed to put on our life jackets and make our way to designated Muster Points. It is all a bit crowded and confusing since we are unfamiliar with the ship layout. There are some loudspeaker announcements and a quick demonstration of how to put on the lifejackets, then we are shunted to the appropriate disembarcation points near the lifeboats. Hopefully, a real re-enactment will not be necessary, some passengers thought it was a great exercise, I have experienced better.
We are now hitting the cocktails list and trying to work out whether the All Inclusive package is worthwhile – £17 per day per person per couple for selected beverages. Can I put away £17 worth of drink everyday? At ships prices probably yes, but Kath not drinking at moment and she has to be included in deal, so can I put away £34 of drink daily? This is the kind of problem which keeps me awake at night and I have till lunchtime tomorrow to decide.
Time for our first meal – the restaurant is beautifully furnished and as we are shown to our table we meet Inna. A Ukranian lady with a welcoming and attractive personality, we are all at ease immediately as we share a few laughs. We are now her “family” for the week, we are nicknamed the “happy family” and she now calls me “Papa”. The meal of five or six courses was excellent, the wine was good, the time just disappeared as we seamlessly shifted into the Showbar, where the entertainment people showcased their talents and gave us a taster of the shows to come. The cocktails just kept flowing – Marguerita, Planters Punch, Mai Tai, — I am losing count rapidly.
It is now past midnight and somehow we are now in the Disco Lounge – Dancing the Night Awaaaaaay”. The crowds drift away, we are last out (I think).
“So fare thee well, Liverpool, we are bound for ………”
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Six Sail to Iceland 