First impressions

I knew it was too good to last. The taxi picked us up from home 10 minutes early. The flight landed in Southampton 15 minutes early. We arrived at our hotel 20 minutes early. The taxi from the hotel to the dock was bang on time. We checked in within 5 minutes of arriving at the terminal. We were then stuck for two hours in the terminal waiting to board the ship whilst the Marine Safety Inspectorate conducted an unannounced review of the ship. Still, we did manage to get embarked by 2pm...I doubt the Inspectorate were particularly worried about delaying the ships sailing time.

This delay meant that our safety drill was carried out just as the ship was pulling away from the quayside and thankfully only 45 minutes later than the original scheduled leaving time of 4pm.

At 115,000 tons and with a passenger list containing 3,000 names, the Emerald Princess is probably the largest cruise ship that we have sailed on to date. It certainly seems spacious and I am sure I will provide many more details of the public rooms and amenities as the trip unfolds. I daresay that, like us, many of the passengers have spent the first few hours exploring the ship, getting their bearings and finding a bar in which to wile away the evening. We discovered the Adagio bar, a relatively small watering hole overlooking the stern of the ship but being high up, well placed for views. 

The staff were attentive and friendly and provided a small selection of nuts, cheese straws and olives to accompany our drinks.

We have opted for the late seating traditional dining and again, the initial impression was very good, with our waiters being efficient and helpful. The first night menu didn't look particularly exciting in terms of words, but I opted for the strip steak which was tasty, cooked perfectly and could have fed three people rather than just one. Just for the record I had passion fruit soufflé for dessert. Lush.

We have had to add one hour to our clocks tonight so as to be on par with Central European time. Thus it is already well after midnight as I compose this note and it will seem like an early start tomorrow. After all the travel and excitement a day of rest and relaxation will be most welcome.