PORTSMOUTH – START OF A CARIBBEAN ADVENTURE

Yesterday, we travelled south, from West Yorkshire, to Portsmouth, a pleasingly uneventful five hours driving without even a comfort stop (which has to be something of a record).

Roughly 30 minutes before reaching our hotel, located in the outskirts of Portsmouth, we telephoned-in an order with a local Chinese takeaway, which was ready and waiting for us upon our arrival, so all we had to do was head for the Travelodge, check-in and eat.

This morning, after checking out, we drove to the Dunelm in Fareham (which is right next to Portsmouth) for our traditional bacon butty at the in-store cafe there. It didn’t disappoint.

So far, so good… all according to plan. We would normally take our time in Dunelm and maybe do a little light shopping before heading towards the cruise terminal. Today, however, on account of the fact that I forgot to pack a pair of trusty old black shoes that go with my formal suit, we drove a little further, into Fareham itself, looking for any shop that might sell shoes.

The shoes we found in TK Max were close to what I was after – and they had them in my size – but they were quite expensive, at nearly £40, so we continued our search, with only 30 minutes to go, in the shopping centre and managed to find a ‘Shoe Zone’. Here, for a cool and very respectable £20, we found the prefect pair of shoes for the job.

Again… so far so good.

Joining the ship at Portsmouth Cruise terminal was a breeze. This was not unexpected; having embarked here with Saga on several occasions now, we have come to expect a smooth, hassle-free experience… and today, as with the bacon butty, it didn’t disappoint.

So, it is with great anticipation that folks have come from far and wide to join the Spirit of Adventure, looking forward to a month of festive celebrations and on-board painting classes (well not every passenger, obviously), heading towards the sun-soaked islands of the Caribbean.

Only there’s the small issue of a major storm blowing in from the South-West, by the name of ‘Darrah’ and a rare ‘red warning’ from the Met Office, right across the south of England, including the British Channel, of extreme and potentially life-threatening weather conditions.

Needless to say, we’ve sailed out of Portsmouth, only to turn into Southampton, the port right next door, where we will be spending the night in the hope that Storm Darragh will blow over and we can be on our way tomorrow.

Fingers Crossed…