Today we have a big rotation on board. Many of the people we
used to have dinner with have left and the QM2 is in process of boarding about
1500 new passengers. Mostly Germans who are now going back to Germany, do a
northern loop to include Norway and a few islands and then back to South
Hampton to sail across the Atlantic west bound to New York.
We docked early this morning in South Hampton, England. It
has been raining all day. For a little while it actually looked like snowflakes
or at least slightly frozen rain drops. Combined with the strong wind it is
just really raw outside. I feel bad for
the passengers that booked port excursions, sightseeing or shopping trips.
Visibility is very low. The Queen Victoria, another Cunard ship, is docked
behind us and two other cruise ships are in an opposite docking area. Typical
harbor activities are loading and unloading cargo (mostly vehicles), and on our
ship outside maintenance started immediately. The poor ship took a beating this
crossing.
It is 2:00p now and we have another 3 ½ hours until we sail
across to Belgium. We will dock in Seebrügge early tomorrow morning. Another
day when most passengers leave the ship to explore the port area. We will stay
“home”. Then we have to start packing and prepare for our arrival in Hamburg,
Germany.
