Off to Tilbury on a Mini-Adventure

Today, we began a new adventure. We left home at around 10:30am and headed south, towards Tilbury in London, where we arrived at around 3:45pm.

It was a generally uneventful journey; the roads weren’t too busy considering it was a Tuesday (we just made one minor course adjustment when we came to the A14, for Cambridge and the M11, to avoid some delays that were being highlighted on the matrix displays and confirmed by the AA phone app), and the weather was dry. Since embarkation wasn’t due to start until 3:15pm (and finish at 5pm), we figured we had lots of time to get there, allowing plenty of time for a relaxing lunch stop and no need to keep the foot pressed hard to the floor.

We were a little surprised, therefore, only minutes away from arriving at the London Cruise Terminal, to receive a phone call on my mobile… from the CMV representative at the cruise terminal… asking how far away we were…

It turned out that most people had arrived early and they were hoping to get away quickly. When we arrived literally only minutes later, the representative admitted that passengers had been notified but not lecturers and tutors; she was supposed to have given me a call yesterday, but forgot… oops…

Fortunately, we weren’t the last, but, in contrast to the leisurely pace of the rest of the day, there was an unexpected pick-up in pace as we checked in and passed through security. Within 15 minutes of arriving, we were on board the Astoria. All I can say is that it’s a good job we hadn’t taken the journey any slower, or decided to leave later, otherwise they’d have been waiting for us!

First impressions of the ship are good. It’s an old ship, so it naturally feels dated, but in a good way. There’s an elegance to it, albeit slightly faded, but there is an undeniable sense of class, with some very ornate touches here and there. As a small ship, it compares most closely to the now sadly-departed Voyager in size, carrying 550 passengers when sailing at full capacity. Despite its diminutive size, it feels remarkably spacious, and not at all cramped.

The cabin is nice and roomy, and the bathroom actually has a bath in it… a rarity indeed on cruise ships. Not only that; there’s a handy drinking fountain positioned right next to the loo… very refreshing, and handy if you’re in there for a long time… (check out Tracey’s blog, where she’s posted a photo of it…).

Despite their haste in wanting to leave early, we still didn’t depart the quayside until gone half-past five. It turns out, high winds have been forecast for the North sea, resulting in our first port-of-call, Amsterdam, being changed to IJmuiden (the second capital isn’t a spelling mistake, by the way) in the Netherlands. All this means is that folks wanting to visit Amsterdam will have to take a 30-40 minute shuttle bus journey.

We’ve enjoyed our first meal on the Astoria, and our first show. Being a smaller ship, I expected a cut-down version of what we’re used to on the Marco Polo. The show lounge is much smaller, with a smaller stage, but the entertainment was full-on, with a full-sized show team and an impressive orchestra to boot.

Tonight, the clocks go forward one hour, so we don’t want too late a night. Our original plans were to try and do our own thing in ports and not take on any escorting duties. We’ve just found out tonight, though, that the Shore Excursions manager is Raoul, who we know very well, from the Voyager… so there’s a high probability that plan may change…