Portsmouth – Welcome to The Voyager

Portsmouth isn’t my favourite starting point for a cruise; it’s a little disorganised, and getting on board isn’t as smooth an experience as at most other ports, but yesterday’s embarkation went through more or less without a hitch. Having had an uneventful drive South on Sunday and a pleasurable stay in Portsmouth over Sunday night, we were one of the first vehicles to arrive at the port on Monday morning. We were on board by 1pm, ready for chocks away at 3:30pm.

Our first evening on the ship was mostly spent meandering about rather aimlessly, trying to familiarise ourselves with the layout. That’s not hard, since the Voyager is without doubt the smallest ship I’ve worked on. Comparisons with other vessels are inevitable, of course; the largest ship I’ve worked on is Fred Olsen’s Balmoral, but the one I’m most familiar with is The Marco Polo. The Voyager is much smaller, with a capacity of only 560 passengers against The Marco Polo’s 800+. Interestingly; the corridors are wider, and the stairwells feel much more spacious. The decor is a little more modern, but beyond that… well, the Voyager has a charm all of its own; it feels very relaxed, and the open Sun Deck at the top of the ship is going to be popular when we’re looking to the skies in a few days time.

In the evening there was a well-organised meeting of lecturers and tutors, followed by an introductory show, welcoming the passengers on board… a very pleasant introduction to The Voyager.