Saturday, 13 August. Today we were leaving for Dover to board the Constellation. We put our luggage out at 8:00 before having breakfast. The buses left at 10:00. We were surprised that we had to drive all the way across London before we could get on a motorway (expressway). We arrived at the pier in Dover at 12:30. The weather had turned overcast and misty, but we still had a nice view of the Dover Castle sitting atop the famous white cliffs.

The white cliffs of Dover

The S.S. Constellation in the mist

Decoration in a passageway

It took us a full hour to process through security and get to our cabin. In the process, we met our GCT representatives, Chris and Dee, a married couple from England. We first went to the buffet lunch, then unpacked. We looked forward to two weeks without having to pack up again. The 45-minute lifeboat drill was held at 4:15. After that I went to book the few excursions we hadn’t been able to sign up for on the internet. The ship sailed at 5:00 in a steady rain. Our luggage was delivered to our room promptly, and we unpacked. It was great to know that we wouldn't have to pack up again for two weeks.

We had been assigned the main (first) seating for dinner at 6:00, as we requested, and were given an excellent table for six, right in front of a large window on the upper level of the dining room. Our table mates (Doris & El; Adrienne & Dave), also GCT travelers, were very compatible. Our waiters, from Honduras and Poland, were friendly and efficient. Our assistant maitre d’, Lorenzo from Hungary, was especially gregarious and visited our table regularly.

Dinner was leisurely and we had to rush at the end to get to the theater at 8:00 for a brief musical show. The performers were members of the crew, but obviously hired specifically for their singing and dancing skills. They performed almost every night of the cruise and were very good. Afterwards we set our clocks ahead, the first of several such changes, and got to bed about 11:00 (new time).

Swimming pools on deck

Sunday, 14 August. Today was an “at sea” day and we were glad to have a little time to relax. With perfect timing, the weather was cool and wet when we weren’t going to be outside anyway. GCT had a briefing on shore excursions at 10:00 that led us to change some of our bookings. I went to the gym at 11:00 for a 90-minute workout. After lunch we explored the ship, then just relaxed until the GCT welcoming party at 5:00. From there it was directly to dinner.

Although I generally avoid describing what we have for our meals, I must mention one course here because of the amusing aftermath. One of the choices for the appetizer this evening was escargot. All six at our table ordered it, and it was outstanding. When Lorenzo, our assistant maitre d’, came by, we all raved about it. Lorenzo asked whether we would like it again tomorrow, and we all said yes. (Continued tomorrow.)

After dinner we attended the Captain’s welcome in the theater at 8:00 followed by a lively Broadway Review. After that we called it a day.

 

Part I - Page   1   2   3   4   5   6   7                    Go to:  Part II   Part III   Part IV

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