It was with a sense of relief that I boarded mv Artemis in Bridgetown, Barbados on Saturday. The 8 hour flight was excellent and had passed in a flash. As we touched down all passengers on the Thomson flight from Gatwick were excited at the prospect of the cruise and eagerly gathered up their belongings in readiness to deplane. After 15 minutes of standing in the gangways it became obvious that we were going nowhere and eventually our Captain confirmed this fact stating that apparently as three flights had arrived together P & O were quite unable to cope with the number of people booking in. None of us could come up with a reasonable explanation as to why the arrival of three airplanes within 30 minutes caused such a problem for P & O - surely they knew we were all arriving at this time as they had set the schedule !!
There was nothing for it but to wait - and wait - and wait - for one whole hour still cramped up on the airplane. Eventually we were allowed to leave and were ushered directly onto coaches which whisked us off to the dock where cruise ships berth. On arrival there was another 30 minutes of waiting on the coach because again there were too many people in the tent which P & O were using as their Booking In Hall. By this time it was 5pm in the afternoon and when the time difference was taken into account we had all been travelling for a minimum of 15 hours. When we were allowed to join the queue within the tent who were the first members of the ships staff that we came across - yes, you have guessed it - the photographers. Two very pretty young ladies, full of fun and exuberance shouted "Photo Time" and expected each of us to stand in front of a very tatty brightly coloured backdrop to have an embarkation photo taken for our holiday albums. After such a long day and with the delays on arrival I can't say any of us were in the mood. I instantly became a grumpy old woman and refused point blank to embarrass myself with a photo. I remembered the awful photo from Southampton a year ago and at that time I was excited and happy - goodness knows what this would have been like had I succumbed.
The good news was that by 5.30pm I was aboard Artemis and in my cabin. The bad news was that dinner was at 6.15pm and that suitcases were not expected to be delivered until 9pm !! It was a very bedraggled bunch of passengers who dragged themselves into the restaurant on that first night - most dressed in clothes that they had been wearing for 16 - 17 hours. When I returned to my cabin I discovered that I could not get the door to open. I tried the keycard all different ways. Nothing. I pushed and struggled with the handle. The door remained tightly closed. I went in search of my cabin steward, Carlos, and naturally when he tried the door opened as if by magic. I tried again with Carlos standing at my side. Nothing. He did it again and it opened. I did it and the door stayed closed !!! I began to feel that perhaps senility was setting in. The Deck Officer had to be called and it was he who taught me the knack of opening cabin A448. Apparently I had to change from being a "delicate flower" into a "sumo wrestler" and instead of just gently pushing the door handle down I had to attack it with some gusto. I am pleased to report that I only needed the one lesson. Since that first day I have heard stories of other passengers who have had similar experiences - some have even tried kicking their doors in!
Some contributors on the P & O Community website describe the Artemis as a "rust bucket" , however, my own description would be that she has "a touch of antiquity". It is the end of a long season for her and it is true that the rust is beginning to show through in places but this will all be removed during her spring spruce-up on her return to Southampton. I had also read that she suffers from a continual "shake, rattle & roll" but I have to admit that I find the constant throb of the engines a reassuring & comforting sensation when in the middle of the ocean. It reminds me that I am on a voyage on one the very grand ladies of the sea. Artemis was built in 1984 for the Princess Cruise Line and was originally called the Royal Princess. She was named by our very own Fairy Tale Princess - Princess Diana. When she was bought by P & O she was renamed the Artemis and now has only one more year in service before being sold on yet again.
I am as happy as the proverbially sandboy in Cabin A448. It is a tiny cabin when compared to that which I had on Arcadia last year but it is more than sufficient for a 2 week holiday. It even has its own little balcony where I spend many happy hours relaxing and watching the ever changing seascape. I am on the Port side of the ship (for the benefit of land lubbers that is the left hand side) which means that I see the sunshine during the afternoons when the sun begins its descent to the west.
This being the first full day at sea meant that I was able to resume my exercise regime of pounding the boards of the Promenade Deck after breakfast. A small plaque on deck informed me that 1 mile equalled 3.65 laps and I noticed that the wooden boards where bleached from the salt spray and as smooth as silk from the millions of pairs of feet that had pounded them in the past. I was pleased to see that the other preambulators on deck at that time were all going in an anti-clockwise direction. I don't know why but for me, at least, this is by far the best direction to travel in. On the Arcadia there did not seem to be any set direction of travel and that ended up as complete mayhem as everyone tried to dodge everyone else. Off I set at a hearty pace down the Port side. When I reached the back and turned to return up the Starboard side I found I was suddenly battling the most almighty sea breeze which caught that side of the ship. It was a matter of digging in and pushing against it. On this my first morning I have to admit that because of the very strong wind I only managed 8 laps ( a little over 2 miles).
Artemis is described by the crew as "The Little Ship with the Big Heart" and from what I have seen she has a wonderful quirky personality. She has corridors which seem to go nowhere except dead ends. She has staircases which suddenly end leaving one wondering in which direction to go next. Her public areas on deck extend to the very front of the ship making it possible to sit just below the webcam and feel that one is on the bridge navigating her across the ocean. There is also no doubting that one is at sea for even in a calmish waters I can feel the motion as if I am a cork bouncing around in a basin. This is something that I never felt on the larger Arcadia. But it is not an unpleasant feeling - at least not when the wind is only Force 3. I am just hoping that the weather is kind to us and that we do not hit a Force 10 Gale !!!!!! For anyone who is interested it is possible for you all to see the view from the webcam on Artemis and see the view of the ocean that I have. Just go the the P & O Cruise website and choose the option that is headed SHIPS. A list of all P & O ships will come up and at the bottom you should see WEBCAMS & TRACKING. If you click on this it will bring up the webcams from all the P & O ships. You will need to wait a couple of minutes for a connection to be made as the view has to be beamed down from a satellite and is not instant. After a couple of minutes you should see the views through each of the webcams and Artemis should be the second on the screen.
If a photo appears at the head of this blog it will be one that I took of Artemis whilst we were in Antigua. She is berthed alongside one of her big sisters, the Oceanea, which meant a lot of tourists in port on that particular day. At present I am not certain whether I will be able to download a photo whilst at sea so forgive me if none appears.
In the next few days I will try to find time to write a little about Grenada, St. Lucia and Antigua - although most of it will probably be about my search to find old British graves. So if you are interested please return to Travels with Twiglet. And as my Dad would say "Over and Out".
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